Feyenoord voetball match!

If you are my dad, my grandpa, or any of my uncles, try not too get too jealous as you read the following about my amazing experience at an authentic Dutch soccer game. I had the privilege of going this past Sunday with my roomie Danni and her Dutch boyfriend Rene. Now if you ever want to meet a stereotypically Dutch guy... you have to meet Rene. He is about 6'9", blond hair, blue eyes and very nice. I had a great time spending the day with them.

What was really good about this day was that because I was going to a soccer game with a true Feyenoord fan, I learn so much about the Dutch soccer league. It worked out really well that Danni has a Dutch boyfriend because you actually can't get tickets to a Dutch National game unless you are a member of the team. Rene has been a fan of Feyenoord for years and because he's a member, we could get tickets. I was a little nervous I had to admit because you hear such crazy stories about the fans getting involved in brawls and riots. Rene said he's never personally seen a riot, but the fans certainly do get a little crazy. There are a number of measures in place to keep the peace among the fans though.

For example, you can only buy tickets from the team you are a member of. The opposing fans will never cross paths at a match. You cannont access the areas of the opposing fans. Gates, snack stands and all of that is separate. If you are a fan of the visiting team, you will board a bus at your home stadium to the visiting stadium about an hour before the home fans are allowed to arrive. In the stands, the visiting team fan section was glassed off from all the home fans! It was wild!

The Feyenoord stadium in Rotterdam can hold 30,000 fans which makes it the largest stadium in the Netherlands. Also, the team will turn 100 years old in 2008 which was pretty cool. The colours of Feyenoord are red and white and of course, Rene had a jersey to wear. The game had sold out and it was really exciting so see all the people getting so pumped up. To my horror - they all started singing the Dutch football songs that my dad has on his cd back home!! Oh no!! On the bright side, the songs didn't bother me that much - I think it had something to do with the fact that I was listening to them while I was actually at a Dutch football game and not in a car with my dad.

After the first half of the game the score was still 0 - 0. By the second half though things were getting very intense.... there were a couple of really big mistakes on the referee's part - NEC (the other team) just pummelled one of our guys and there was no card! The crowd started to sing a really rude song about the ref's mother. Feyenoord came back though and scored a goal! The place went wild and the Dutch soccer songs were at full force.

By the end of the game the score was 1-1. Feyenoord tied which means that this weekend - they have to at least tie their game to go on. I definately plan on watching the game on TV.

The tulip fields around Lisse

As I was saying - Loretta's visit was not complete until tulip fields could be found and photographed. We decided that the best way to see them would be on the way back to Tilburg from Friesland. The only obstacle standing in the way of our bloemen destiny was a severe lack of funds. We had to find a way to tulip fields on less than 10 euros. We made it as far to Leiden central station and immediately saw signs for the Keukenhof. In case you don't know, the Keukenhof is a gigantic exposition of tulip fields and gardens that is a major tourist attraction.

We were thinking it would be nice to go to the Keukenhof, but once we saw that the combo ticket of bus and admission was 18 euros, we realized that we had to find another way of realizing our tulip dream. After a brilliant light bulb moment, we found that there was another regional bus that goes on the same route as the special Keukenhof bus, only this bus cost 5 euros instead of 13 like the other bus ride did. Score!!

So we paid our fare, hopped on the bus and made a note to get off at the first sign of tulip fields. And so we did. Once the glorious fields of red, orange, pink, white, purple and yellow were visible, we booted it off of the bus and began the long-awaited tulip stroll.

How can I describe the air? Well, basically you have to imagine the scent of millions of tulips and that's what it smelled like. The fields we strolled among weren't tourist fields, they were the real deal. Once we saw a particularily colourful looking field, we checked the way left and right and stealthily walked into the farmer's fields. You have to understand, Loretta and I are hardcore. If we want to get pictures of us frollicking in fields of tulips, that's what we'll do. If an angry farmer were to come, we would just run as fast as we could.

Thankfully, our wonderful time in the tulip field was left undisturbed. We were able to capture all the tulip pictures one could possibly want. As a bonus, we noticed that we were in Lisse, which happens to be the town that my Grandma grew up in! I found it nice to think that maybe some fifty years ago my Grandma had looked at the same fields I was looking at that day.

Freisland (with a night in Amsterdam)

For Loretta's last weekend in Europe, we knew she had to do something crazy, we had to go somewhere wild, we had to make this the greatest weekend bash ever! So how did we end up going to Freisland? I really don't know. All I can say is that it was a most hilarious weekend filled with the usual humorous adventures that Loretta and I often find ourselves into. But before heading up to Sneek, Freisland, we had one night in Amsterdam. And so our adventure begins...

This might be hard to imagine, but I've been in Holland for almost three months and had not seen Amsterdam until last Thursday! We booked a night at a really cool hostel and arrived by mid-afternoon. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and even more gorgeous city. Our hostel was right in the center so we were surrounded by the canals and beautiful arcitecture. We started off by checking out an open-air market and then headed to our canal tour!

Canal tours are a very typical touristy thing to do but still well worth it. What better way to take in the city and sights than on a canal ride? Besides the fact that Loretta stabbed her finger on her Swiss Army knife before departing, the ride was a lot of fun. We had a good laugh over the 'Botel' (not a boat, not a hotel... a botel!) and had a great look at the Batavia - a ship recreated from the golden age sitting in the harbour.

By evening we got back to our hostel to get ready for Loretta's last night out on the town. We had signed up for a pub crawl in order to maximize our night. This night was a lot of fun and we met some really cool and interesting people. (Don't worry - we didn't visit any 'coffeeshops' :) ) By the morning we were really tired and had a very relaxing morning in the city. Loretta was very sad to be leaving the unbelievably good Dutch coffee so we made sure to indulge in a cup often.

We were having so much fun laughing and talking and kept running into the strangest people. While having coffee, an old toothless woman stood in the same position for over 10 minutes right beside us! As we were laughing a boy stopped on his bicycle and asked if he could have his picture taken with us... how random?!?

But by noon it was time for us to head out to Sneek (pronounced 'snake') Now, we had been warned that Freisian people are about 50 years behind the rest of the world..... they were RIGHT! So many incidents happened in Freisland that created the most unconventional vacation we had ever been on. And so the Freisian story begins.....

First of all, we got lost on an old country road trying to find the hostel. We were walking up and down up and down on this road not finding the correct house number ANYWHERE! The numbers weren't even in order! Finally, I called the hostel number only to be told to look for an old farmhouse with the Freisian flag in the yard. Great.... what does the Freisian flag look like? Finally, we found our hostel... or rather an old BARN... with a half-tattered flag flying on a pole. Even if we had known what a Freisian flag looked like, it wouldn't have mattered because the flag was so dirty you couldn't make out a pattern.

We were scared to say the least. We checked into the hostel and decided that we would like to ask the receptionist about water activities for tomorrow. We were after all, in the most popular watersporting town in Freisland as the guide books explained. On the way up, we kept thinking how cool it would be to go sailing or a river cruise! We asked the lady if there was anyway we could get onto the water tomorrow and she responded with a "No". Hmmm... 'no?!?!' How could this be? We were in the most popular nautical town?!? We saw sailing schools on the way! "NO?!?" We were rightly confused. Clearly this woman was misinformed.

By this time it was getting late and we were very hungry. Sneek really isn't the most 'happening' town so we made the first of many trips to a local fried food place down the street. By the end of the weekend, this couple thought of us as their best customers... breakfast lunch and dinner we were there without fail! I couldn't get enough of their kaassouffles and the owners loved helping me with Dutch. What's the word for 'straw' again Loretta?

There wasn't much of a nightlife here and our curfew was midnight anyway so we headed back to the hostel. Without movies, TV or internet... Loretta and I got to know each other real well. I don't think we've ever done so much talking in our lives! At this point I was feeling quite bad. This was supposed to be Loretta's 'big last weekend' and here we were in an old barn in Freisland in the boating capital of the land which apparantly you can't boat in at a hostel with a midnight curfew! Thankfully, we were able to laugh at our situation.

By morning we were determined to find something to do in this quiet town. After a visit to the tourist office we had a phone directory which listed all the boat rental places and what kind of boat they had. I called two places that were listed at having kayaks only to find out that they don't actually have kayaks. I asked the last one if he knew a place that did had kayaks and he told me 'top n' twel' did..... although they were listed as not having any. In turns out they did have a two-person kayak! After a very frustrating phone conversation to try to pick a time (Loretta is my witness) we headed out for a very longwalk to the boat dock.

This boat rental place was actually another old farmhouse. The nice lady showed us the kayak and informed us that if she and her husband were not home by the time we were done, to just bring the kayak back to this wood pile (my these are trusting people!) We were pleased to find we had matching lifejackets! Us girls hauled the kayak down to the river and headed out on the open sea... or really... very slow canals. It was a beautiful ride to say the least! We just casually made our way towards a village the lady had told us about. It was on this ride that I discovered something about Loretta that I had not known.... she is obcessed with ducks! Over half of our photos consisted of ducks! Ducks swimming, ducks diving, ducks nesting, ducks fighting, male duck, female duck and baby ducks! I was beginning to question whether this friendship could last because as some of you know, I have a great fear of all birds. Loretta did her best though to convince of how cute these creatures were.... I'm still not convinced though.

Our kayak ride took us to the evening and as we were docking up the couple we had rented the kayak from engaged us in some nice chit chat. They absolutely loved Canada and had vacationed out west a while ago. It maked me feel so patriotic when I hear things like that!

Well as you can guess, we had our last dinner in Freisland back at that fry place. We were sad to say goodbye to the couple but it was time for us to leave this place. It had been an interesting weekend to say the least! Although our experience in Freisland was not exactly wild.... we made this trip truly memorable. There was however, one thing missing from Loretta's Holland experience that had to taken care of before her flight home.... tulips!! (to be continued)

Bleiswijk

And here is an experience that I'm sure most of my family has been waiting for - my time in Bleiswijk: the town my Grandpa grew up in. As I said before, we (Loretta and I) went to Bleiswijk after Gouda. It was relatively close to Gouda but generally you say Bleiswijk is just outside of Rotterdam. We had to take a regional bus out to Bleiswijk because it's not big enough to house a train station.

By the time we arrived in Bleiswijk it was like the sky opened up for us. The clouds disappeared and there was only sunshine - perfect weather for this experience. I had drawn out a little map in my journal and had found the directions from Mapquest - I was able to use my great-aunt Anne's diagram to determine the street: Prins Mauritstraat.

Since Bleiswijk is a small town it didn't take us long to find the street - I was so excited that I was shaking.... I just couldn't beleive that I was walking on the same streeets that my grandpa played in over 50 years ago! Based on a photo from 1980, I knew I needed to find house number 25. It was a very small street so it didn't take long to reach 23... then 24.... and then... a pile of rubble and construction zone!!! WHAT?!? I was horrified! I just couldn't believe I had come all this way only to discover that my Grandpa's house no longer existed! How could I come back and share such news at the annual Duivesteyn picnic?!?

I saw a local neighbor outside and decided to ask for help. This really nice man told me that he was born here in 1950 - last name was DeKorter. He was able to recognize the house from the photo and offered some excellent information: the house wasn't demolished! In fact, it was right around the corner.... the street name had only changed!! He offered to take me there and even knocked on the door to introduce me to the couple living there - they didn't speak any English. I just couldn't believe it!! This couple was so nice, they let me come inside and look around. The layout was still the same at Aunt Anne's memory. They had a lot of fun looking at the old photos I had brought with me. Besides the white shed now being covered with vines, and two of the front windows being made into one big one, the house pretty much looked the same as the old pictures.

The couple living there now looked about Grandma and Grandpa's age. Like all the Dutch people I've been meeting - they were extremely helpful and nice. While we were inside the house, I asked if they knew any Duivesteyns still living in Bleiswijk. They mentioned the name Koos and I immediately recognized the names as the youngest brother of my great-opa Pieter Duivesteyn. They looked up Koos's address in the phonebook and wouldn't you know? He only lived about a 5 minute walk away!!

At this point, the Dekorter man left and so I had to rely on my Dutch to communicate with the man who now lived in the house as he walked Loretta and I over to Koos's. I was told that Koos's wife had passed away just two years ago and he now lived on his own but with daughters close by. At the door, an elderly man in his late 80s was surprised to see two young guests. Koos didn't speak any English whatsoever but as a surprise to myself - I was able to explain who I was and all about my travels in Holland so far.

Koos was SOOO happy to meet us. He very graciously got us some juice and sat down on the couch with me as we looked through the old photos. There was a huge smile accross his face as he recognized pictures of his brother, himself and his extended family. He understood that my grandfather was the "dreide zon van zijn oudste broer". Koos showed me pictures of his wife, his daugthers and his grandsons. We had a really nice visit and I was so happy that Loretta became the official photographer of this excursion. I made sure to get Koos's address so that I would be able to write him and tell him how happy I was to meet him.

After our visit with Koos, we went back to the house to get some more photos. We followed the steeple through the trees and came to the Reformation Church that was also in my photos. We couldn't go inside at that time, but it was still amazing just to see it.

The couple living in the house now told me that the old mill that had once been managed by grandpa's Verhuel grandparents no longer existed - a supermarket is there instead. However, the name of the mill "de Volharding" can still be seen on a house right beside the old site of the mill. We made sure to check that out as well.

I left Bleiswijk with such a happy feeling inside. I just was so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet the only Duivesteyn still living in the town. The way things worked out couldn't have been better. It was so fortunate that the people I met on this journey were so helpful. This couldn't have been a better day.

Gouda was good-a with Loretta

Hello again after this really long wait! So much has happened in the last week so I'm going to divide up my blogs into four parts you can expect in the next four days (didn't realize how demanding my readers were!) This one will be about Loretta and I going to Gouda, then I will write about visiting my grandfather's hometown Bleiswijk, then our trek to Freisland with a night in Amsterdam and finally the tulip fields. I hope you all love to read.

Now that it's mid-April Loretta's world adventures are coming to an end. I was so flattered that she wanted to spend her last week hanging out with me. Originally, we had wanted to do something crazy and exciting like Italy.... but then I lost my passport and about $400 trying to recover from that mistake. So we decided we would make my easter week off all about touring Holland and discovering more places in this small country. As usual, when you put the two of us together, everything we do turns out crazy!

Loretta arrived at my door after a very hectic trek to Holland from Vienna. The poor girl had slept in and missed the intended train.... on top of that she had been pickpocketed a few days before and lost her entire wallet!! We allowed for ample time to settle in and so we didn't do any travelling until Wednesday. But when Wednesday arrived..... it was cheese time!! (Loretta and I reuniting over some awful diebetic chocolate...)

We arrived in Gouda by noon hour and headed straight for the information booth so we could orient ourselves and find the best way to appreciate this cheese-loving town. It was in this information centre that I met probably the nicest, most helpful and sweet senior Dutch couple EVER! (Besides Grandma and Grandpa of course) The lady stepped in to take over from a confused tourist information girl I had been speaking to. She was more than willing to tell us how to get into the centrum but once I told them about my Dutch heritage and started practising my Dutch on them...... they were really impressed and helpful. I told them how later in the day I was going to Bleiswijk to visit my 'opa's' hometown and they were beside themselves trying to show us the most scenic route there. If only we had our bikes with us we could have done it! After a brief chit chat and complements on my Dutch 'accent', I was beaming and ready to see the CHEESE!

(Ow! The door at the Town Hall is a little low!) Now because summer isn't here yet the weekly 'cheese-weighing' event doesn't happen yet... but there was still a really unique town hall and cheese-weighing station to check out. For about 75 euro cents we were able to go inside the town hall and take a look around. We had a lot of fun with the Queen Beatrix head statue inside. After we checked out the town hall, we went to the St Jan's church just around the corner. We didn't realize this but this church happens to be the longest church in the Netherlands and is famous for it's enormous stained-glass windows. Some of the windows were over 60 feet long! It was incredibly beautiful.

But finally... the highlight of Gouda had arrived.... a visit to the cheese-weighing station/museum!! Because we were cheap, we didn't actually pay the fee to go through the museum, but there was plany to keep us busy in the lobby. Such as free samples, souveniours, and cheese wheels to pose with. The elderly ladies at the front were more than happy to humor us and take photos. But one particular souveniour caught my eye..... unless you come from a Dutch family, you don't quite understand how important it is to be able to slice cheese properly. I always thought the cheese slicer was a testament to Dutch ingenuity, but the museum lady said it is more of a testament to Dutch stinginess (wastes less cheese than chopping with knives)

But anyway.... I spluged on a lovely new cheese slicer as a special gift for mom - sorry I had to spoil the surprise mom but it goes with this story. Loretta's new appreciation of Dutch cheese forced her to buy a few slicers as well.

But at this point we had seen what we wanted to see in Gouda.... it was time to take a bus to Bleiswijk!

On a side note.... my Easter was a wonderful! The people that were left in our building had a lovely Easter brunch outside. I cooked over 50 Canadian pancakes for everyone and Una and Annalise covered the eggs, beans, toast and bacon. We had some nice weather to enjoy our meal and the company.