The Weekend (and Windmills)

 This past weekend brought with it some typical Dutch weather (on again and off again showers).  That didn't stop us from venturing out to the small town of Kloosterburen for Jeremy's soccer game.  I think I have mentioned before how much I love windmills. And, along the journey to Kloosterburen, we drove through several small Dutch towns, and I was able to spot ALOT of windmills. There is something about them that I love to look at when they are standing alone in an open field...they are just so pretty.:)

Pretty Dutch house we passed by along the way.:)

Canal with houseboats..Very Dutch:)

 We also passed by several farms along the way and many farm houses.  Farm houses here are different from the ones in the U.S.  The Dutch farmers actually have their barns attached to their homes...

You can see the barn attached to the house in this picture.

Another farm house

Horses on a farm.

Yet another house with the barn attached to it.:)

Arriving in Kloosterburen

 When we got back to Groningen after the soccer game, there was a festival going on in de Vismarkt for Ascension Day, the day observed by Catholics as the day jesus ascended into Heaven body and spirit.  It is a national holiday here and you can read more about the celebration here.  (The kids are actually getting a week and half off from school starting the end of next week beginning on Ascension Day.  We will be heading off to the south of France at that time so stay tuned for some French blog posts!:))  I don't think Jeremy and Elizabeth really cared what the festival was for as long as they got to climb into some giant bouncy balls and spin around on them in water!:)

 And of course a day at the fair wouldn't be complete without a ride on the Ferris wheel overlooking the City Center.:)

It did rain on and off that day, but I think that even I am becoming Dutch...I was soaking wet, but it didn't bother me at all!:)

Tot zeins!:)

Guilty Pleasure

 So, I thought I would let you in on some more good eats I have discovered here.  One is Fries Sugar bread or Fries Suikerbrood as it is called in Holland.

 Filled with cinnamon and sugar...I have to be careful not to polish off the whole oak by myself!!  Friesland ( where the term Fries comes from) is a province in the northwest part of The Netherlands. It is west of the province of Groningen.  It actually has its own dialect of Dutch called West Lauwers Frisian.  Many Dutch people I have met here cannot speak that language very well unless you are from Friesland.  To learn more about Friesland, click here.

I have to say, the people in Friesland have come up with a tasty treat.:)

 My other find is the chocolate bread from the local grocery store, Albert Heijn.  This is exactly what it sounds like and I cannot resist anything with chocolate in it!:)

But, Jeremy and Elizabeth still can't resist the boxes of Mac and Cheese we smuggled back in our suitcases from the U.S.:)

Doei!

Dancing and Biking

 This weekend brought with it some sunny spring weather!:) (Although, we are still waiting on the temps to come up a bit).  Elizabeth's ballet class had the opportunity to see the Introdans Dance Company perform a ballet in honor of the Dutch choreographer Hans Van Manen's 85th birthday this year.  She was so excited to see the ballet performed here in The Netherlands.:)  To read more about Hans Van Manen, you can click here.  Elizabeth is in her fifth year of  practicing ballet, and she was super excited to meet some professional dancers!:)

Picture in front of Stadsschouwburg Theater in Groningen

Inside the theater

picture of the ceiling

gorgeous balconies

Elizabeth's dance school also had the opportunity to go and watch the dancers warm up on the barre.:)  

 No pictures were permitted during the actual performance, but it was so fun to watch.  The costumes were all very unique and so was the dancing.  Hans Van Manen is a choreographer of modern ballet and his dances include lots of amazing choreography and different lighting.  And, afterwards, the dancers were available for the younger ballerinas to ask questions and get some autographs.:)

 I was so excited for her to see ballet in such a different way than what she has experienced in the past!:)

 And, on Monday, Jeremy's class (along with the Dutch department) had a big biking test!  The students all had to be able to properly identify the parts of their bike ...(and all the parts had to be on their own bikes as well,)

 And then, they had to follow a route which they had to memorize around the neighborhood of the school(about 2km).  There were adults along the way to serve as check points and to grade them on using their hand signals, staying on the correct side of the road, etc.....

I sure wish they would do a bike safety class in the US for the students.  Jeremy was a bit nervous as the Dutch people are VERY serious about their biking, but he did really well along with his class.  Maybe one day, wearing helmets here will also be part of the bike safety class!!;)

Doei!:)

Liberation Day

On Thursday evening, we noticed some currently serving Military officers gathering near a World War II memorial near our house...

 May fourth is the date in Holland which the Dutch people remember the dead.  On this particular day, The Dutch people remember all the people who have died ( both civilians and Armed Forces) since World War II.  At eight o'clock P.M. on May 4th, all cars halt, all people take pause and not a sound can be heard on the streets for two straight minutes all across the country.  To read more about remembering the dead, you can click here.  It really is amazing; we also  paused for two straight minutes and you could have heard a pin drop, it was so quiet.

On May 5th, when most of my American friends are celebrating Cinco De Mayo in the U.S., the Dutch people are celebrating Liberation Day to commemorate when they were liberated by Canadian and Polish troops in World War II.  There were Dutch flags flying everywhere!:)

My street

Coming from the U.S. where World War II is talked about,  I can not fathom the horrors of war which played out in Europe.  There was no actual fighting on the continental U.S. soil.   It is a different experience here in Holland.  World War II was fought in their country and all the countries in Europe. There are scars of war in the shrapnel still embedded in buildings here as well as the plaques that lay in front of homes where Jewish people were taken away never to be seen again. Memories of the fighting still run deep from people who lived through it and have passed those memories on to their own children and grandchildren.  To read some more about the history of Dutch Liberation day, click here.  Let us hope and pray that we learn from history and not let it repeat itself.

Doei!

Koningsdag

We started to notice some subtle orange changes around our town and in the shop windows...

 Even the manequins had something orange to wear...

 And there was even orange hanging in the sky...

Of course, there is any excuse to do a dab!:)

 It turns out while I went back to visit my parents last week to see my mom and attend my dad's retirement party...

Gift from us for my dad to record all of his retirement travels.:)

mom and me

Just before heading off to Dad's retirement party with my parents, little brother, Andrew and his fiance, Hima

 That there is a huge celebration happening in The Netherlands on April 27...and everyone wears the color ORANGE!!!!

 It is a national holiday here to celebrate King Wilhelm-Alexander's birthday which happens to be...you guessed it...on April 27th!!  the celebration used to be knows as Koninginnedag (Queens's day) and celebrated on April 30 (her birthday) while Queen Beatrix was the queen, but in 2013, she abdicated the throne to her son, King Willem- Alexander, and now the celebration has moved to April 27 for his birthday.:)  I was sad to miss this huge Dutch celebration, but so enjoyed my time in the US with my family there.  Guy did a great job of taking care of the kids last week and took them out to see what the celebration was all about.:) You can click here to read more about this celebration.



Some may be wondering,"Why wear orange when the Dutch flag is red, white and blue?"  The orange color is the color of the Dutch royal family and dates back to the House of Orange.  William the First, from the House of Orange, organized the Dutch revolt against Spain and after the 80 years war, The Netherlands won its freedom from Spain. He became " The Prince of Orange" in 1544 and is an ancestor of the Dutch Royal family.  For more information on William of Orange, click here.  For more info on why the color orange is so important in The Netherlands, click here.

 

 It turns out that there are a lot of festivities happening all over Holland on Koningsdag from food, children selling items they have made or used items, and lots and lots of people watching.  Jeremy and Elizabeth found some neat treasures....who can say no to a Transformer Xbox game that only costs 1 euro??  Why not buy two used "squishy" stuffed animals???:)

Guy and the kids had lot of fun during the celebration and met some friends in the City Center.:)   Just another fun tradition we have learned about during our time in The Netherlands!:)

Doei!:)