To continue where I left off, Katie and I made it safe and
sound to Lille, France. I believe the memories of that day will always haunt us
though. Of all the people to be with when that happens though I am glad it was
Katie because she is much more laid back than I am, so we worked well together.
Anyways, by the time we made it to Aunt April’s house we
were all pretty wiped out, and it was definitely not a challenge to fall asleep
once my head hit the pillow. The next morning I awoke to the smell of pancakes,
and I thought I was in heaven. I was beyond ecstatic because if I am being
honest I have really missed Saturday mornings where my mom makes homemade
pancakes. I missed it when I was back in the states too. It was probably the
best way to wake up considering the previous day’s awful trail of events. I had
a leisurely morning, and I got to enjoy some time with my cousins, which I
didn’t realize how much I had missed them. It didn’t feel like it had been 3 years
since I had last seen them. Unfortunately, the kids had homework and had to
stay home while Aunt April, Katie, and I took the weekend to do some sight
seeing. The first thing on the schedule was Haarlem, Holland where we visited
Corrie Ten Boom’s house and museum. Her house was Aunt April’s favorite, and I
wish that I would have done a little more research because I have never seen
the movie, The Hiding Place, which is
based off of Corrie’s story. I had heard of her, but I didn’t really know all
the specific details. The guide who took us through her house, and who showed
us the hiding place did an excellent job of telling her story. It was very
intriguing to listen to, and I gained even more respect for this woman who
risked her life to save others during World War II. She opened up her home to
hide and protect those that the Nazi’s were after, and even when she was caught
and was sent to a concentration camp for 2 years, she never lost her faith. She
was a remarkable woman.
After visiting that museum, we hit the road again to go to
our bed and breakfast, which was located still in Holland, but right next door
to Zaanse Schans that we would be visiting the next morning. Our B&B
was gorgeous and our window view was gorgeous. All the architecture was
adorable in the area we were in, and it reminded me of little dollhouses that I
used to play with as a child. It was a very quaint place that I instantly fell
in love with, however there are not many places in Europe where that does not
happen. We took that evening to walk around and explore the little village area
we were in, and for dinner, we scouted out a Chinese restaurant in the next
city over. It was my first Chinese food experience in Europe, and I knew the
food wouldn’t be the same as home, but this place made me really miss my
Chinese places back home. It was not bad, but it was nothing to go on about.
And considering, Chinese is probably my favorite food, I can be very picky
about which places are the best! After our bellies were full we enjoyed a
relaxing rest of the evening before our next busy day.
Sunday, we woke up and ate breakfast prepared by the owners
of the B&B. They had a spread of bread, which I am finding is very
consistent in almost any European place you stay, but hey I have no complaints
about that except for that croissants are my weakness. Especially when they
offer nutella… It’s a combination that every person should try at least once.
Anyway, after our delicious breakfast we began our day in Zaanse Schans. It
is known for their windmills, which were huge, and Katie and I got to go inside
one that was used for grinding up chalk. It was pretty neat to see how it
worked because honestly I had no idea why people used windmills. And on top of
that every windmill was unique, no two looked alike. They may have had similar
characteristics, but it was fun to see all the different ones. We also were
able to see a Dutch shoe making demonstration, and if I am being honest those
shoes just do not look comfortable. At all. I have no idea how the workers were
wearing them all day because I would have been miserable! Then we tried some
different cheese in another building, and personally, I loved the smoked gouda,
but really I think I would like anything smoked. And then we obviously asked to
try some chocolate, milk, dark, and white because you can never have enough,
and it was to die for. Seriously, I have no idea what these people do over
here, but our chocolate in the states is a big thumbs down compared to the
heavenly stuff here. It’s like they put a drug in it or something to make you keep
eating it. It’s that good. No lie. We walked into a few more little shops, but
we soon had to leave because we needed to head to Amsterdam to see the Anne
Frank house.
I had no idea how I would react to seeing Anne Frank’s house
because to me it felt extremely surreal to be going to the same house of the
girl I had learned about growing up. It is one thing to read Anne’s book and
hear her story, but it’s an entirely new level to see and stand in the actual
places she did. We had to stand in line for a little bit, but to me it was
completely worth it. The tour took us through her father’s offices, and then it
led us into the Secret Annex. The door to the attic was hidden behind a
bookshelf and you had to duck to go through the doorway leading to the attic.
The hiding place itself was actually bigger than I had originally imagined it
in my head, but overall it was still a very cramped place for 8 people to live
like quiet mice. There is nothing in the rooms to make them look like they once
did during that time and that is because Otto Frank, Anne’s father, chose to
leave them bare because it is very sobering to remember back to those times.
There is a model size that Otto helped designed, from his memory, of what the
Secret Annex would have looked like. The room that was the most real to me was
Anne’s room because the pictures and posters that she glued to her walls are
still there for the most part. They are surrounded by glass, but you can still
see them nonetheless. I cannot imagine going through what she did at her age
and it was heartbreaking to walk through this empty place. Like I said before
it was a very unreal moment to be standing in the bedroom of the girl whose
diary I grew up reading. It put truth to her words that I had read before, and
going through this museum affected me more than Corrie’s. One of the last areas
that you walk through is the place where they keep her original diary, and I
was able to see that as well as other journals she had written in for short
stories and favorite quotes from books. Her house is one that I would
definitely suggest visiting especially if you have read her diary because it
just makes everything in her diary a reality.
We didn’t stay in Amsterdam for anything else, and I didn’t really want to stay there much longer anyway because it is not exactly known as the best city around. We drove back to Aunt April’s house, and I was able to spend some more time with my cousins before they had school the next day. I could not get over how tall Jeremy was, or the beautiful young woman that Megan had grown in to. As for the younger boys, they were still as lively as I remember them being, and I could tell they were growing into fine young boys. I really loved getting the chance to spend some quality time with them and I knew it was going to make it hard to say good-bye when Wednesday came.
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| Jeremy was definitely much taller than I remember him being... |
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| Jeremy, Megan, me, Jared, and Joshua. Cousin Love :) |
We didn’t have long in Brugge because we needed to get back to get the kids from school and it was Jeremy’s birthday, so Aunt April was making him his favorite dinner, barbeque. Just typing it and then rereading it makes my heart sing because they don’t have barbeque sauce here. I think Aunt April spoiled Katie and I because we got peanut butter and doritos this weekend too! It was a small taste of home. We ate chocolate mousse for our dessert and it was seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten, and it was just store bought so I can’t even imagine how it tastes in restaurants! I liked my evenings at Aunt April’s because it was so laid back and stress free. Tuesday, we actually went into Lille to at least get a peek at it. It’s a beautiful city and from the city center there is so much to do to keep you busy! For lunch I finally got to experience a French crepe with nutella, and it was fantastic. However, the best part of the day was trying a macaroon for the first time. Aunt April had heard of this place called Meert, and so we went on a mission to find it. Macaroons are from Lille, so we wanted to try one because we had no idea what they were. When we found the place it was gorgeous because it still had the original cash register and designs from when they first opened in the 1700’s. I chose to try a caramel one and Aunt April tried vanilla. Let me just say that my expectations for this sandwich cookie looking thing were very low. I mean I thought I would just detest it because they look weird, and I had no idea what in the world it was, however Aunt April and I were floored. They were phenomenal! Aunt April’s was our favorite, but they were way better than what we were expecting. Aunt April definitely found herself a new shop to get her goodies from!
I wish that we could
have had more time in Lille, but we had to get back, and I wanted to have some
time with my cousins before leaving the next morning. But that just means I
will have to be back, so I can explore the beautiful city some more. I
thoroughly enjoyed being able to see my family, and getting the chance to take
a look into how their lives run over here in the beautiful country of France. I
hope to be back at the end of the semester, so that I can spend some more time
with them because 5 days was nowhere near enough time. I am praying that God
opens the doors and works it out for me to be able to come back, but we shall
see. Currently, I am sitting on a train to Zurich as I write this, and I can
say, thankfully, that Katie and I did not miss any of our trains this time, so
I should be safely back home in about 3 hours or so. Til Next Time.
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