Cheese & Tulip!

Once we arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday, August 19th, Greg got a short nap before heading out that afternoon for work in London until Saturday evening. That meant I was doing "jet-lagged toddler" duty on my own. :) It definitely wasn't easy, but thankfully there was unseasonably warm weather (in the 80's!) to get us outside and enjoy the hours that we were awake and somewhat functional. Here is some play time in the water at Westerpark. I am obviously getting more Dutch by the day...I was not at all bothered by the fact that Ben was just in a swim diaper with no trunks. Not sure that I would ever get to the "let him swim naked" stage, but this is progress, right? The Mirakelbrug photo is on our way into the park, and I always love the beauty of the park from this spot and the name of the bridge itself. And to wrap up, a few shots of my tired tot (who only uses one-fourth of his crib space) and some serious jet-lag bedhead. :)

Greg arrived home on Saturday evening, and it took us all another 3 or 4 days at least to get back on Amsterdam awake/sleep time. We were feeling pretty good by Thursday, August 27th for our day trip to Gouda. We had planned this trip a while ago and were determined to visit on a Thursday in the summer, when the cheese market is re-enacted in front of the Town Hall. Greg took the day off, and we hopped on the 8:30 a.m. train, arriving about 9:15.

The town of Gouda is known for its famous cheese and for the stained glass windows of the St. Janskerk. The cheese market began at 10 a.m. with farmers driving their brightly painted wagons piled high with round cheese in orange skins to the square behind the Stadhuis (Town Hall). Then, we saw the cheese buyers and sellers engage in negotiations. They were speaking in Dutch, but it went something like this. The seller would promote his cheese. The buyer would offer a price as he slapped the seller's hand. Then, the seller would come back with another price as he slapped the buyer's hand. They would go on like this until buyer or seller would walk away, or until they agreed on a price and then clasped hands and shook on it. The buyer would try some of the cheese, and then the cheese wheel would be carried off to the weighing house (Waag) to be weighed. It was pretty fun to watch, although Ben didn't think so. He was quite bored after only about 10 minutes, so we moved along.

We took a peek inside the Waag, Gouda's pride and joy, dating from 1669. Ben and I (and Tulip) even got weighed together and were presented with a certificate. Cute!! Then we were off in search of the Red Lion Windmill. Gouda, like almost every other Dutch city we've visited, had beautiful, quiet canals running through the city. We passed by Gouwekerk and to the Molen de Roode Leeuw (Red Lion Windmill). Oh brother! More restoration. I'm all for restoration, just bummed that we miss out on seeing things as they should be. So, we frowned and grumbled, then kept strolling.

We walked to see some of the water locks, and Ben proceeded to have a massive meltdown. We figured it was time to find some green space and a spot to eat snacks - and fast! We found a park and let our little monster, I mean boy, out to play. And, we happened to be right near a windmill that didn't have a bunch of white sheets wrapped around it...Molen 'T Slot. Spent a while just running around, looking at leaves, and eating snacks/lunch.

We were able to corral Ben and be on our way around noon. Greg and I took turns visiting St. Janskerk. It is the longest church of the Netherlands, dating back to approximately 1280. But, the church is most famous for its stained glass windows that depict scenes from biblical and national history. These were donated between 1555 and 1603 and became popular almost immediately. We read that before the outbreak of WWII, all the windows were removed and put in safety somewhere else. Good thinking!! As one of us enjoyed the beauty of the church, the other one enjoyed the beauty of watching Ben say, "aim, throw!" as he hurled rocks into a canal. We also walked through the arched gatehouse (1609) of the Museum Het Catharina Gasthuis and browsed the many engravings on the building walls. This house was built in the 14th century as a hospice for travellers, converted into a museum in 1910 and, among other things, displays portraits and landscapes by Dutch Impressionists.

After the church, we walked back towards the Stadhuis and the main square. Besides the cheese market on Thursdays, there is also a general outdoor market with food, fabrics, etc. It was quite crowded, and we circled the square a few times to find a cafe to sit and have lunch. (No, we did not have lunch at Subway, but for some reason I found it very funny that Subway was on the lower level of this very old and beautifully gabled Dutch house.) Well, by the time we circled, Ben had fallen asleep. We did find a spot to sit outside and enjoy the weather and the market action, and we also enjoyed the famous "kaassoep" - cheese soup. Had to - we're in Gouda, the land of cheese! It was a bit different than the cheese soup we think of in the States, more broth-based. But, still quite tasty, especially with all that yummy brown bread to soak it up with! We had tea and coffee after our sandwiches and just relaxed. Finally, around 2:30 p.m., we walked over to the Stadhuis for Greg to take a peek inside. It was built between 1448 and 1450 and is one of the oldest town halls in the Netherlands. It is still used mostly as town hall office space, so Greg didn't find it too exciting. The market was packing up now, and we decided to pack it up too. Ben woke up as we headed to the train station and caught the 3 p.m. train back to Amsterdam. I really don't know what we'll do when we move back to Illinois; Ben sure will miss kickin' back on the train with his Daddy pillow!

Once back in Amsterdam, we walked to the Mark Raven art store near Dam Square. We had been considering buying a piece of his unique artwork for some time and figured that today was as good a day as any. Mark himself was there, and he was very kind for the hour that we spent in the store looking again and again at his paintings - it was such a tough decision! At last we decided, and as he was wrapping it up, we got to chatting. Come to find out, we're neighbors! He lives on the Brouwersgracht too! Even funnier, we were out that evening playing with Ben on the neighborhood swings, and Mark rides by on his bike. He rings his bell and waves at us! How awesome is it that we are now best friends with a famous Dutch artist?! ;)

Well, I covered the "cheese" part of this blog entry, now onto a "Tulip" update. On Friday, August 28th, we had our 20 week ultrasound appointment. Notice the baby bump becoming much more visible! Greg and Ben came with, but sadly Ben wasn't as cooperative as he was 10 weeks ago. So, they missed most of the "show", but did get to see a little bit of Tulip's action. The ultrasound technician was very thorough and helpful at pointing out what she was seeing...closed skull, spine, 4 chambers of the beating heart. All good things! Yes, I'm sure she was able to see boy or girl, but no, we stayed strong (although it was hard!) and are still waiting until January. We even got a picture in 3D, very cool! It was so good to see our little Tulip again, and now I'm ready to start feeling him/her kick and jab! I know, I know...be careful what I wish for...