Holland

Jen and I took a trip to visit the Holy Land.  On the way there, we flew through Amsterdam and stopped in Holland for a few days.  We met up with Jen's parents and other family, including a couple of cousins who live in The Netherlands.

Jen is 3/4 Dutch in her family tree.  I never realized how Dutch she looks until we went to Holland.

This is Jen's 1st cousin once removed, Nico van der Horst.  He gave us a tour of his hometown, Delft.  Amazing chance to visit this old city with such a knowledgeable guide.  Here he is explaining the sign on the building.  It reads "per angusta ad augusta" - out of hardship into honors.  The shape of that Y is a symbol.  As you come to a fork in the road, you can take the broad road, which eventually narrows and points you back down, or you can take the narrow road which eventually opens up to more possibilities.  Just one of the many fascinating details that he shared with us.

We visited a couple of churches.  This one is called the New Church because construction didn't begin until 1396!  As the tower was completed over the next 100 years the city became more and more prosperous.  So, you can see how they changed building materials as it progressed and now have this impressive tricolor.  Also seen in this photo is the town square and town hall.

We climbed many, many stairs to the top of New Church tower.  Holland is so flat, you can see a long way off.  We could see the Hague, several km away.  It was exhilarating.

All of Holland is covered with canals. 

I thought this was amazing.   They park their cars right alongside the canal.  Have you ever had trouble parallel parking?  Just imagine this.  How do you even get out of your car?

Bikes were everywhere in this town.  It totally makes sense.  It is a relatively compact town and there's not a hill anywhere.

This is the courtyard at Prinsenhof.  (The Prince's House)  William the Silent was the founding father of The Netherlands.  He lived here in Delft for a time and was assassinated in his home.  Now it is a museum about Dutch history.

We got out of town and wandered around the country side.  This whole country belongs underwater, but they have an amazing network of canals and pumps that keeps the water under control. 

This is the old city gate.  It is impressive today.  Imagine how that would look in medieval times.