Going Dutch

The Daxon Clan headed to the Netherlands over the July 4th weekend and a) we had an absolutely wonderful time and b) we literally almost melted in the heat. A heat wave hit Europe over the weekend of the 4th, reaching triple digits and nearly killing every expat used to turning on the A/C for temps higher than 75°F. Newsflash: what makes a normally semi-sane toddler stop sleeping and cry incessantly? Unmitigated, sweltering, sweat-pool inducing heat. In our genius, however, we decided to visit friends of ours in Rotterdam, who had the brilliant and generous idea of getting out of the urban sauna and escaping to their family's beach house on the North Sea. It. Was. Glorious. And for more reasons than the constant, cool breeze.

Eat your heart out, Don Quixote.

Mac n' cheese

But let's go back to the beginning of our trip. Our first night was spent in Delft, which is so quintessentially Dutch I'm not sure I need to describe it. A few words will do: 17th century architecture. Canals. Boats on canals. People in boats eating food on canals. Bikes. People on bikes. Tall, beautiful, blond people on bikes. Bikes and beautiful people everywhere. The End. I highly recommend Delft, but only if you can get over the fact that you will never be intrepid enough to bike at high speeds in narrow lanes and will never look impossibly attractive while doing so. If you can get over the fact that you'll never be Dutch, you'll love Delft. And the Netherlands, for that matter.

Blond people. Eating. Boat. Canal.

Sugar-dusted perfection 

Visiting William of Orange

On Friday, we headed to Rotterdam, where we met up with the Vissers (impossibly Dutch; see above). We met the Vissers about three years ago when they were visiting D.C. and attended our Dutch Reformed church. They were generous enough to invite us for the weekend and it was honestly the most refreshing weekend of fellowship we've had in a long time. Jan Jaap and Christine have three young boys and they took to Mac instantly (and vice versa). I'm not sure what was more fun--watching Mac play his little heart out with his new besties or having stimulating and meaningful conversations with friends. As mentioned above, the Brilliant Vissers led the way to the beach on Saturday (where we stopped sweating after 48 hours of nonstop moisture), and we had the privilege of meeting their entire extended family. Mac was in heaven, specifically owing to a tot-sized, fully automated Audi and loads of kids right around his age. We went to the beach for a bit and Mac had his first ocean experience! I felt like we had somehow managed to end up at a resort with good friends. The whole weekend was a deep, restful sigh.

Mac has exquisite taste.

Heading to the beach.

Christine and I

Melt-in-your-mouth stroopwafels

Besties

On Sunday, we attended church with the Vissers. A few observations: everyone goes to church, at least in the town we were in. On the drive to church, we saw people everywhere biking to church. All the women wore hats, much to my delight. Older women wore any variety of hat, while the younger girls wore white, knit berets. We loved singing Psalms with our brothers and sisters even if we had no idea what we were saying and were most definitely butchering the Dutch language. I will say, Ben and I were deeply confused when, right before the sermon, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, opened a small sweet or mint. The sanctuary was overtaken by a distinct rustling noise as everyone reached for their treat. Ben and I were obviously not in the know and were the only two in the large congregation to remain mint-less. 

Mac was thrilled by wooden shoes.

The town of Marken displayed an excellent sense of humor.

That afternoon, we said goodbye to our friends and headed north to Waterland. We spent the next day exploring Marken, a traditional fishing village frozen in time; Edam, where cheese reigns supreme; and the Zuiderzee Museum, an open-air museum where traditional Dutch ways of life from the turn of the 20th century are recreated. The day was accented by long drives through polders (did you know that nearly 17% of the land mass of the Netherlands is reclaimed from the sea?), old windmills (historically, they controlled water levels in the polders by way of an Archimedes' screw), peaceful canals, and dairy cows galore.  The towns are reminiscent of Holland's economic and maritime supremacy during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, with most boasting harbors and architectural remnants of vibrant trading centers. Now, however, the towns are quiet if beautiful, and the overwhelming sense is one of peace and a relaxed quality of life.

The fishing village of Marken 

Hand-knotted fishing nets

Traditional Dutch clothing

Tuesday marked the last day of our trip. I managed to pick up what will doubtless be one of my most prized possessions--a Dutch oven with a Royal Delftware lid. Cooking has never been more beautiful. And with that, we sped home. Actually, I lie. Our demon-possessed GPS took us through the heart of Utrecht for some ungodly reason, adding an hour to our journey. Mac decided that road trips are for the birds and screamed approximately 75% of the five-hour trip home. I started crying because Mac was crying and because that is what I do when pregnant. Ahhh the restful family vacation. All ended well and we (I)  have been busy every since planning our next adventure (starting in t-minus 13 days). 

Stay tuned.

'til next time.