Northern Holland, it bears mentioning, is not near where I live. What? you say. Don't you live a little north of center in the Netherlands? True. But using Holland and the Netherlands interchangably to describe the same country is a common mistake. In fact, calling somebody a Hollander if they don't necessarily live in those provinces is a little derogatory, like calling them a hick or something. I live in the province of Gelderland. Noord- and Zuid-Holland are two other provinces west of Amsterdam.
Lesson over. Let's get to the pictures.
We started off in Haarlem, which is, um, vastly unlike Harlem as we understand it. Lots of canals and houseboats and pretty, pretty flowers. We had a cup of coffee and some tostis (traditional Dutch grilled cheese-like thing) in the sunny town square as the bells tolled in the Grote Kerk, then made our way through the winding cobblestone streets.
And there was a windmill! True, we have one in Nijmegen, but this one was older and cuter. (Cute will be an oft-used adjective today. Get used to it.)
Houseboat living isn't too weird in the Netherlands because there's so. much. water. We saw some particularly lovely ones in Haarlem. This one, for instance, had a hot tub. YUM.
Next, we jumped on a 20-minute train to Zandvoort-aan-Zee, which is a resort town on the North Sea. It was surprisingly warm, and we went wading.
...then Jaclyn and Dahl went swimming.
After a brief sunning session to wring some of the water out of said jeans (ahem), we took a train to Alkmaar, another town known worldwide for its cheese market and countrywide for its football team. (Quick note: I think I really live here now because when somebody talks about football, I don't immediately think about quarterbacks...I think about what Americans like to call 'soccer'.)
Another windmill! It was surrounded by this lovely leafy park and pretty houses and canals, and just as we were leaving to head to the train station, a puppy came galumphing over and jumped in my purse. YESSSSS.
I can't believe how different Holland is from the rest of the Netherlands. Even Amsterdam doesn't compare in cuteness, and Amsterdam is a frighteningly cute city once you get past the whole OH MY GOD THERE IS A SHOP SELLING MARIJUANA TWO FEET AWAY thing. True, we visited on a Sunday so there's the whole natural slowdown of everything being closed, but everything just seems more pleasant and livable and humane, really.
We agreed that Nijmegen needs some canals. Perhaps we'll start digging a moat around Hoogeveldt today.
Sara from Italy is cooking up a whole lot of tiramisu tonight for her birthday and for the rest of the week, I'm consumed with preparations for London. It's surprisingly cold out. I mean, come on, Netherlands...it's gonna be June in a couple weeks. Get your act together.
where's my shout-out?
ReplyDeletedammit. next time.
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