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Newsletter #44 - April 15 - 22, 1960 |
| Newsletter #44 April 15 to 22nd, 1960 HOLLAND Hello, Tonight we are in The Hague - the seat of the government of Netherlands as well as the part-time residence of the queen. We left Rotterdam this morning in sunshine, but before we arrived in Schoonhoven we had another good April shower. In Schoonhoven we saw several old windmills and drove on to Kinderdijk and Albasserdam. Here we saw a unique collection of windmills which was a very impressive sight. The drive along the river Lek (the name of the Rhine in this part of the country) was also quite impressive and we saw lovely Dutch landscape of the typically known canals and meadows far below sea level as well as the polders on the other side of the dike with the cows grazing on the beautiful green countryside. In Holland we saw many cows with covers similar to coats over their backs for which we have found no reason -- thus far. We then drove to Vlaardingen which is an important port in Holland for cod and herring fishing. For the next twenty miles we drove through a part of Holland which had greenhouses by the thousands and tulips in field after field. These glass hot houses, which amazed us, are famous for their grapes, tomatoes, peaches and, naturally, for their flowers. It is one of Holland's greatest horticultural regions. We then drove to the Hook of Holland and watched many large freighters and a few liners leave the river and sail out into the North Sea. This is a very unusual sight and most interesting. Our last stop for today before checking into our hotel here in The Hague was Scheveningen - a very delightful seaside resort and a suburb of The Hague. Scheveningen is divided into two parts: one is the old fishing village where we saw women wearing their traditional costumes (though not very colorful as their skirts and aprons were of somber colors). The other part of Scheveningen is a fashionable resort containing many lovely hotels and recreational areas which offer tennis, riding, golf, swimming and even horse racing. Along the dikes, young people were using areas about 15 x 20 feet to make designs which looked like mosaics. These areas were designed and composed of hyacinths in all colors and hues. As you walked near them, the perfume emitted from the flowers was delightful. This, we thought, was perhaps a contest since there were at least 12 to 15 different groups at work creating the mosaic pictures. However, we learned that this is a custom which the young people practice just for the love and thrill of achievement during this season of the year. These mosaic designs of flowers were really magnificent and so colorful. |
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Today is Easter [April 17] and it was a cool as any winter day — at least here in Holland! However, during the few periods of the day when the sun shone, it was quite comfortable. We drove to all the important buildings, churches, palaces and monuments; such as, the Peace Palace, Royal Palaces (of which there are three), the Binnenhof which is an area containing the Hall of Knights, the First Chamber of the States General or Parliament and the Second Chamber of the Parliament as well as the fountain and statue of Count William II and the Plein with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, War, Justice and Netherlands High Court. Another section of The Hague which was most interesting was the Hofvijven. This is a lake area in the heart of the city which is flanked by stately patrician mansions and which has graceful swans and fountains adding to its beauty. We also saw the Mauritshuis which is an old Dutch mansion that is now a very celebrated art gallery. During our drive, we also saw The Hague Woods with its Deer Park as well as its hundreds of acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. The Hague is really a royal, aristocratic city with large squares, broad streets, beautiful parks, imposing buildings and fine mansions. One of its main attractions which opened in 1952 is the "Madurodam" - a miniature city, one twenty-fifth the size of a typical Dutch city with old and new quarters reproduced. Traffic actually moves in the streets, miniature trains run on a complicated network of railroads, a busy airfield with "Jets", helicopters, etc. are included as well as a very excellent seaport Installation which is very similar to Rotterdam's harbor and possesses "flagships", "freighters", etc. These ships actually move in synchronization with the lighthouse and the modern type of constructions applied. In Hamburg, Pennsylvania, we have a similar miniature town, but it is on a much smaller scale and with not nearly so much complicated engineering features. The one in Hamburg, Pa., is located inside of a building while the one we visited today was outside. There, were huge crowds of people at this unusual attraction. During the late afternoon, we drove to the coastal resort of Noordwijk Aan Zee and enjoyed the hundreds of tulip fields enroute. Traffic was bumper to bumper as I believe that one-third of the German, Belgian, Swiss and other European tourists are in the Netherlands this month and every other car has an out-of-the-country license. We thought we'd see an Easter Parade at the beach, but it seems they celebrate Easter entirely different from us. Very few people were dressed for Spring and we saw not even one woman wearing a corsage. However, many cars, bicycles and motor-scooters and buses were decorated with leis of flowers made from daffodils and tulips. We again enjoyed seeing the many mosaics of flowers along the highway today. These were done in the same manner as those I described seeing in Scheveningen. Tonight we drove to three different Netherlands towns and asked at six hotels before we found a place for the night. This was because of all the tourists jamming each town and hotel. |
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This morning [April 18] we had cloudy weather and also found a flat when we went to the garage to get the car. In addition to this, we discovered that the inside of the tire is ruined and we had to buy a new tire and tube. We certainly have had our share of flats as today was our seventh. It seems that these two-ply tires flatten and take on nails very easily. However, it is the best type of tire we can buy for this size wheel. After an hour-and-a-half in the garage, we started for the bulb fields in Sassenheim and Lisse where we saw field after field and acre after acre of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, etc. We went to Keukenhof, which is a colorful pageant of floral beauty set amid sixty acres of lovely natural scenery. Here the narcissi, tulips, hyacinths, iris, anemones, etc. are in bloom and in their regal glory. We were only two in a crowd of thousands of people as this is Easter Monday and a holiday in this country. We again drove bumper to bumper to and from Keukenhof and had to "queque-up" to pass about in the gardens. Even amidst these crowds we felt relaxed and enchanted with its attractive displays, its natural lakes where swans, ducks and other waterfowl float idly on the smooth surfaces of the water. The fresh air is quite fragrant with the scent of all the various flowers. This garden is really a springtime fairyland and certainly made an unforgettable impression upon us. We're very sorry that we won't have pictures to show you, but the sun didn't seem to shine very much today. If we can spare a day later on, we'll come back again next week. Today we also visited another interesting city called Leiden. This city is the birthplace of Rembrandt, Jan Steen and other Dutch painters as well as the former home of most of the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower. Leiden is also a renowned university city and a city which has a famous past. Here we saw several lovely old churches, a very old mill and the very picturesque stepped gable or facade of the Stadstimmerwerf (Old Carpenter's yard) which dates from 1612 and is still very colorful and interesting. The narrow shopping streets and many canals of this city are also quaint as well as the two remaining old city gates, the Weight House and the Town Hall. From Leiden, we drove to Katiwijk which is a popular seaside resort with an excellent beach. Then on to Zandvoort which is a bulbgrowing center and one of the most fashionable bathing resorts in Holland. We later drove through Aalsmeer where the big flower auctions are held and then on to Hilversum, Bussum, Laren and tonight we are in a lovely little aristocratic town called Soestdijk. We are staying at a very antiquated hotel almost across the street from the favorite Royal Palace of Queen Juliana and her family. It is a beautiful estate and resembles our White House except that it has acres of wooded area oh all sides and is a much larger residence. Another day [April 19] and you find us in Amsterdam - the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is very much like Venice as this city has fifty canals and 400 bridges. Therefore, we took a very complete sightseeing tour in a glass enclosed modern boat through the many canals and the modern harbor. One of the most interesting canals is known as the "Gentlemen's Canal" where you see the |
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former homes of the fabulously wealthy merchants of Amsterdam. Today these homes are office buildings and consulates. On this boat trip we saw such famous places as the Mint Tower, the Weepers Tower, the Montelbaans Tower, the huge round Lutheran Church with its colorful green dome, St. Nicholas Church, the Old Church which is the oldest building in Amsterdam and was consecrated, in 1306 and the New Church which is known as the Dutch Westminster. The most fascinating part of this boat excursion was the harbor because we saw constant streams of ferry boats, canal boats, barges and oceangoing liners as well as men painting hulls of ships and scrubbing the decks. After this fascinating and most interesting boat trip, we walked along the canal which has the Flower Market and visited the Dam Plein which is the principal square and the site of another Royal Palace as well as. the Rembrandt Square and the Museum Square. The colorful charm of this city lies in its mixture of the old and the new. The center of the city has quaint towers, old gabled houses, tree-lined canals with lovely reflections, romantic bridges, winding streets and unusual architecture. The new part of the city is ultra-modern with too much glass and many gaudy colors used in straight lines and stinted manner. We prefer the old to the new everywhere we've visited. Amsterdam seems to have the best collection of unusual facades or gables of any Dutch city and the facades have style names called bell, spout, neck, step, straight and crow. Each home has a hoist on the top floor as this is used to move furniture and other items into the upper stories since all of the stairways in the homes are very narrow and steep. Today [April 20] we took another trip to Spakenburg and Bunschoten. These are two fishing villages which are quite quaint and here we saw more than half the people wearing their national costumes. The women wear a very stiffly starched shoulder collar which is very unique. After a good look at these two small towns, we drove to Urk. This is another interesting fishing village about twenty-five miles from Spakenburg located on a branch of the Rhine. Here the women also wear their national costumes. In Urk the streets were quite narrow and walking was your best mode of transportation to see this village which was most interesting. We next went to Kampen, a very ancient city, with some old buildings such as the Town Hall, the Renaissance Gate of Brothers, the Gate of Cellites, the Corn Market Gate, the old Meat House and several old, medieval churches. We later returned to the very Dutch town of Staphorst which we had visited in February and were once more charmed with its attractive and delightful homes an the traditional dress which is worn so tastefully by the inhabitants of the town. The headgear worn by these people is also very attractive and costs at least $125.00 to $150.00 (in our money) and is made predominately of silver and gold with a dainty lace undercap. The homes are small while the barns are enormous and the gaudy blue, green and red paint is used as trim which makes their village look like a Christmas tree yard. You can see wooden shoes on many doorsills as well as scrubbed shoes on the |
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fence posts drying. The thatched roofs of the homes also add to the town's dignity. The milk can storage racks on the sides of the barns are very decorative with designs similar to our Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols. Today we also went to Giethoorn which is a village without streets and even the postman and local cows must travel by canal to get from one polder to the next. In this area there are many many miles of polders (reclaimed lands) with new farmhouses possessing red roofs and several neat, tiny villages. We had a drive of about fifty miles back to Amsterdam. We are staying in Amsterdam for the night and on our return watched several farmers doing their evening milking chores in the fields. Some even used electric milkers in the field with a special machine which is mounted on wheels. Another day [April 21] finds us driving among the many bulb fields and on into Broek in Waterland and then to Monnickendam. In former centuries, Monnickendam carried on a worldwide trade and here we saw mansions and a famous tower with its chiming bells. The fishermen of this town were very busy doing their daily fishing chores. From here we took a boat to the Island of Marken. There is a quaint fishing village located on this island where colorfully dressed Hollanders live in houses possessing picturesque interiors and built on piles. We next went to Volendam where we saw girls in their lace caps, colorfully striped skirts and long aprons while the fishermen wore full, baggy pants, double-breasted coats with shiny buttons and clever caps. We watched them as they unbaited their hooks and hung their nets up to dry. Our hotel here in Volendam is very pleasant and all the employees in the hotel wear their native costumes. The waitresses are lovely in their large lace caps and colorful skirts and aprons with always a double or triple strand of red beads and a large gold button claps in the front. This is part of the typical Volendam native dress and we have noticed that no two villages dress exactly alike. Today [April 22], being Friday, we drove to Edam and then to Alkmaar to see the world famous cheese market. This cheese market takes place every Friday morning and is a most picturesque open-air occasion set against the background of a lovely Dutch town. The center of this activity is the l6th century town weighing house and the routine here has not changed in centuries. The cheese porters, wearing the traditional white costume of their guild and their peculiar hats (red, yellow, blue and green depending upon their particular guild), bring up thousands of round cheeses as well as the immense wheels of cheese in huge scales. The bidding ends with the traditional handclasp between seller and buyer. This was most interesting and, to make the day even more unusual, we met Mr. and Mrs. Horace Ports of York at the market. They had arrived in Holland only two days |
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ago and told us what wonderful weather you had been having in York - particularly on Palm Sunday and Easter. (Suppose you remember from my July newsletter that we also met them in Japan last year when they were returning from another trip.) This, we felt, was quite a coincidence and made us very happy to have someone tell us about home. We've shipped home about 30-35 pounds of cheese and we hope that perhaps most of you will get a sample as it is really good. After visiting the cheese market, we drove through bulbland once more and went to Lisse to view the floats which will be in the annual Flower Parade tomorrow. It was most interesting to view the men, women and children at work on the floats as well as to see the many flower mosaics in the yards of the various homes all along the highways. If weather permits, we hope to see the parade tomorrow. Thus ends another newsletter week. Hope you are all feeling as chipper as we are. Fondest regards, The Neimans, Meredith & Charlotte |