Our Holland Trip

For our first "real" post, we decided to blog about our recent trip to The Netherlands.  It was a last minute (literally less than a week to plan) trip that was pretty phenomenal.  We lucked out with weather, which was gorgeous, and got to see some beautiful parts of Holland on our whirlwind tour.

First night we stayed in Tilburg, home to the good monks of Abdij O.B.V. Koningshoeven.  They are one of only seven breweries in the world that brews Trappist Ale.  And man do those monks know their beer!  The photo above was taken in their garden just off of their Abbey (Abdij).  

The next day we headed into Arnhem, where we met up with a furniture dealer who was selling old cheese racks (where they used to age cheese years and years ago), among other things.  The lady there was so nice, she even showed us around her home and farm.  For you WWII buffs, Arnhem is the site of Operation Market Garden - of "A Bridge Too Far" fame.  We didn't cross that bridge (it's been replaced anyways), but we did cross the Rhein and went to the Openluchtmuseum - the Open Air Museum.  If you are ever in The Netherlands, plan a trip here.  More than 100 acres of multiple villages, windmills, a bakery, etc. all showcasing life in Holland from years past.  All of the buildings on the site were brought in from different parts of the country.

From there we went to Haarlem.  It is only minutes from Amsterdam, but without all the hustle and bustle of a big city.  Great choice!  The photo below is from the train and bus station in Haarlem.  When we first drove past Catherine and I were laughing pretty hard because the sheer number of bikes left on and around the bike racks was ridiculous!

I came back while Leah and Ian were napping to grab some photos - head over to my Flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/mskinner) to see some more shots.  It was a short walk away, maybe 10 minutes, but well worth it.  Haarlem had a lot to see and do - but we mostly walked the streets and did some window shopping and eating at the sidewalk cafes - still one of my all time favorites.

On the way home we swung into Amsterdam for a tour of the Van Gogh museum.  The museum had a near chronological lay-out of his work, which was so interesting to see.  He started out so dark, so somber - and progressed to works so bright and saturated.  It really was pretty cool.

Look for more in future blogs!