After two days in Holland, I felt nearly over my jet-lag, with the exception of wanting to go to bed very early and get up very early (which is good when traveling anyway). Today Marlene and I got up at 5am to take a walk around the city of Kampen. Marlene spent a year in Holland in her early twenties working and connecting with family, so she knows the city well; she even showed me the apartment she rented while staying here all the those years ago.
One thing I struggled with in taking photos in Holland was that the buildings were so grand, but the streets were very narrow. I couldn't take some of the photos I wanted because I couldn't back up far enough so many of my photos were cropped, or shot from angles (rather than head on). Also, it was cloudy most days so all my skies are white (which I detest!).
Also, looking through my pictures, I was so confused that all my pictures looked crooked. But really, because of the age of the buildings, many structures are leaning or bowing out. I would try to get my lines balanced before taking a photo, but it still looks off. Take these photos as an example.
Because the cities (even in small towns) are built so tightly together there wasn't much green space in the cities. There was a park in Kampen, but it wasn't a park that had a playground for kids to run in, it was clean and serene, a place to walk and reflect. Throughout the town there were small "playgrounds" which are very different than what you'd find in the USA or Canada.
This photo shows the drinking age at one of the bars.
After we returned to our hotel, we had a quick breakfast before Erna, Marlene's friend from Kampen, arrived. Erna offered to show us some of her favorite nearby spots. Marlene and Erna spoke Dutch the entire day, so I was able to just sit in the back of the car and let my mind wander.
Our first stop was Wilsum, a picturesque town that Marlene's mother grew up in. Every Sunday, she and her family would come to the boat docks and ring the bell to signal that they needed a (boat) ride to church. A man from town would then meet them on the dock and take the family across the Ijssel river. Of course, we had to make sure Marlene rang the bell.
Next we went to Zalk for coffee and boffert, a dutch bread/treat, that was very delicious.
Next we drove to Hattem where we walked along the dyke, then headed into town where Erna and Marlene helped some school kids with their assignments (I don't speak Dutch so I was no help). The we walked to a cemetery just outside of the main town center.
On our drive to Elburg, we drove through a very windy wooded area that Erna explained was the J'tarde, the military training base and firing range.
Elburg was a bigger town that seemed to cater to tourists (more than any place we've been so far). We started our trip in a unique way - by eating salted raw herring from a cart inside the city gates. It was good, but not something I could eat very often.
We then walked around the city gates and saw several monuments. We saw a Jewish Cemetery that had all the stones lined up and facing the same direction. Also, the dates on the stones were from the Jewish calendar. As we were walking, Marlene pointed out cut made in the walls (or in front of houses), she told me that this was so that people could put in boards to stop water from advancing if the town flooded.
We had lunch at Zilver Zoen (Silver Kiss) and ice cream (I chose raspberry) from Casa Piccola.
Our last stop was Urk. Urk was a town right on the water (it used to be covered in water) and while we were walking (about to enter a cemetery) a local stopped us to tell us a really interesting story. During the war, British airmen were often pulled out of the water after they were shot down. They were brought into town and hid in one of the many underground tunnels in the town. In fact, there was one grave in the cemetery that had a fake name that was the entrance to a tunnel (the cemetery was next to the water) and only the people in the town knew which grave wasn't from one of their own.
We also saw a monument dedicated to those lost at sea. It was a woman who stood, dress billowing, still waiting for her husband/brother/son to return.
Next to the monument was a lighthouse that we could go to the top of for 2 euros. The stairs were extremely steep and narrow, but it was worth the climb!
We stopped for a drink before we headed home and I found this interesting note in the restaurant guestbook.
Our car got a lot of attention during today's travels and Erna thought it was really funny.
On the way home we were able to see some tulip fields.
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