Our Week in Holland July 24 to 30, 2009

Bus, plane, train, tram, car and foot served as our transportation for the week of fun in Holland.

Our "boy," Cristián, met us at the airport early Friday morning.

		Cristián and Antonia's four-story split-level apartment is located on this quaint street (above) in The Hague. Unfortunately, Antonia could not join us during our week's visit, as she was in Chile to attend the funeral of her father, and to be with her mother and family during this trying time.

		The building (left) used to be a bookstore, with multi-levels, large rooms and bright spaces. Cristián joked that we were like firemen, getting our exercise each day running up and down many steep flights of stairs.

The interior construction was so different, with large exposed wooden beams inside the upper rooms.

The back of the house, shown at right, included a comfortable outdoor patio adjacent to the living room. Antonia and Cristián did not yet have Internet service, so Margy is shown here in one of the street-side unused upper rooms where Margy could pirate access. As you see, the place is full of light and charm.

		We began our first days with pleasant walks around their neighborhood, taking in all the pretty sights with notable differences in architecture, use of bikes and great museums.

		The nearby city parks were decorated with sculptures from global artists.

These sand sculptures were particularly unique.

It was fun just to wander, seeing old buildings, strange sounding street names, narrow alleys and colorful plazas.

Flowers, clean streets and bicycles were part of our initial impressions.

		An interesting mix of old and new buildings.

Murals and fountains.		Even a McDonalds, of course.

This one street provided a surprising transition of modern glass-fronted structures on the left, to mid-block older designs, to end-of-block construction that dated back hundreds of years. It was like walking through the centuries as we strolled this avenue.

		Beautiful old churches, fountains and even municipal buildings were special.

Our first night, and then all week long (except for one evening), Cristián made us great tasting home-made dinners.
The chef!

Every night something different, tasty, and artfully presented. The best seasoning and secret ingredient: love!

For dessert we brought Australian Tim-Tams for Cristián to experience. What a fantastic chocolate treat!

Our full days ended with late sunsets. The sky was still bright like this at 10 p.m.

What a pleasure it was all week to hear Cristián play several of his instruments, as he practiced for hours each day during our stay. This odd looking instrument is called the archlute, with 19 strings, six of which are extended to the longer neck for a deep base tone. Cristián finished his equivalent of a Ph.D. in June 2009 in Seville Spain, getting the top honors of his program. As class valedictorian, his diploma will be signed by the King of Spain!

The archlute, the favorite instrument in the late baroque period, about 1700.		The vihuela, the "earliest" of Cristián's instruments, popular in about 1530

Perfect practice makes perfect music.		Multiple cases for multiple instruments which Cristián plays.

We're so proud of our boy!

Bikes: They're everywhere.... they're everywhere!

This scene at the central railroad station of The Hague (Den Haag) was typical. Hundreds of commuter bikes parked for the day. We enjoyed seeing the variety of bikes, people (formal and informal dress) and transport (kids, dogs, whatever).

		Bikers were everywhere, often alone, or in groups.

At times, with surprisingly formal riding wear.

Some traveled side-saddled.

		Some got to ride in front.

Others rode on back, while some were carried front-and-back.

Still others were carried in boxes, built into the bike frame.

		Perhaps the most fun biker to see was this lady and her dogs out for a spin.

Whether moving swiftly, or simply stationary, all the bikes and their riders were entertaining to see.

Two of our days we visited art museums. The first included 800 masterpieces, such as original Rembrandts, and this Vermeer, "Girl with A Pearl Earring." Artie had to photograph a reproduction, since this particular museum did not allow photos inside the gallery.
The next day, we visited the Escher Museum, where we could take pictures. We took so many, that we needed an entire page to show you just some of them. This link is also at the bottom of this page.

		Departing from the Central Station near his apartment, Cristián took us on a train to Delft, about 20 minutes from The Hague.

Despite a dreary day, this old village was beautiful.

Canals, bridges and old buildings were all photogenic.

		The grand central plaza was inspiring, with church and municipal building.

Shops border the canals, sometimes with "back doors" right on the water.

A lush church garden provided a brief rest-stop to enjoy the view and smell the roses.

What a beautiful city.

		It wouldn't be Holland if we did not see some windmills and wooden shoes. We saw both! In fact, this windmill at left was open to the public, and we climbed the steep steps to the top to see the innards and exterior. A nice way to see the local village from above too.

		It was a long way up, but worth the climb.

		A view of Delft from the windmill.

		Back at ground level we enjoyed this silly mural, with built-in mirror.

Whether a simple house front or a soaring cathedral, the architecture continued to catch our attention.

The canals, bridges, boats and shops added to the city's charm.

Delft: a place to enjoy and remember.

		Back in The Hague, for our last day, we enjoyed birds and reflections on the water.

We also entered an old church that was being remodeled.

Beautiful views and memories from our week in Holland. Then we were off to the Central Station for return to the airport.

		We were so glad we were able to have this special time with our boy. We were sorry Antonia could not join us, but she was with us in spirit.

A few final shots before we depart this beautiful land.

We ended the week as we began: airport hugs.

Holland from above as we head back to New Hampshire with joyful memories of our time with Cristián.