Dutch Courier
August 2012
PAGE 13
TRAVELLING THE NETHERLANDS
by Alexandra Hansen
From as far back as I could remember I’d longed to see the place where my family had come from and of which my Oma had told me so much . The canals, the windmills, the tiny terrace houses that sat shoulder-to-shoulder; I couldn’t wait to see Holland for myself. I had always felt that I had been brought up “Dutch”; from the food we ate, to bits of the language here and there and Here is another story written by my young friend Alexandra. Does it make you feel nostalgic? Are there any other young people of Dutch descent among our readers who would like to tell us about how they feel about their Dutch heritage? If so, please sent me an email [email protected]. We’d like to hear from you ! Ann Schipperheyn was to go for a walk around the tiny village of Houten and I was stunned by its natural beauty. Everything was so green, and the ponds and lakes complete with swans, lily pads and little bridges, were overwhelming in their beauty. Next I visited the supermarket, and couldn’t believe my eyes that all of the delicious Dutch food that was so hard to come by and a “real treat” in Australia, was all here in one place! After leaving with a big bag of komijnenkaas, speculaas, stroopwafels and many different types of hagelslag, I decided that I loved the place. My family took me to Maarn, where my Oma was born, to see the house she grew up in and the church in which she was baptized. Conversation was tricky
ROBERT ZAAL NIEUWE DIRECTEUR WERELDOMROEP
velling at the quaint houses and omnipresent bikes. Baskets of red and pink flowers hung from the bridges striding the canals, as though it wasn’t beautiful enough already. Also up there on my list of favourites was Rotterdam, the port from which my Oma and Opa departed all those years ago. I was delighted by the amazing Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum ; though I travelled all over Europe, I never found a collection to rival this museum in terms of modern art. Then I hopped on a boat and travelled to perhaps the most stunningly idyllic place I’d seen thus far; de Kinderdijk. The only things in sight for miles other than the waterways were windmills and flowers. Rotterdam has a very urban and artistic vibe about it, not dissimilar to Melbourne, and is, I feel, the most modern Dutch city. Next on my list was the city I was most excited about, not because I’m interested in international law, but because Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is my favourite painting and I had the chance to see it here, in The Hague. The Mauritshuis in The Hague contains three Vermeer works, including his most famous, which is often referred to as the Dutch Mona Lisa. The museum isn’t huge, but it’s spectacular. Also worth a look in The Hague is the Madurodam; Holland in miniature. Continuing on with my Vermeer quest I visited Delft, and here found my favourite place of all. I found some amazing antique treasures in the myriad of canal-side markets, and I pretended I was Vermeer as I wandered the streets visiting the various buildings that once were his home/studio/pub etc. I visited the Oude Kerk (O ? \??
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