Kamikaze Canuck

Just when you thought the blog was over……….

It’s not.  

Our last couple of days in Holland were just too good not to blog about….. Let’s jump right into it.

After some emailing swapping I arranged to meet some relatives of my late Grandpa Honing(1932-2009) in Holland .  I had never met any of them before so we had no idea what to expect.

Megan and I arrived by train in the town of S’Hertogenbosch  at 9AM as we were instructed and were met in the train station by a smiley man in a red sportsjacket who introduced himself as Geert Seegers (my Grandpas cousin).  Geert and his wife Lies drove us to the town of Wijchen where we met up with my Wim (another of my Grandpas cousins) and his wife Anne.

Geert caught us off guard when he told us he was 78 years old as he moved around with the agility of a young man.  Later on he informed us that he once walked from Holland to the coast of Spain on a pilgrimage and he still walks 20 miles every week.  He was a retired High School History Teacher who now spends his time reading and playing with his many Grandchildren.

Wim also was extremely spry (it must be something in the water here).  One could hardly believe he was 85 years old.  He was an ex-carpenter who was drafted by the Dutch army to fight in the Indonesian War Of Independence in the late 1940’s.  Sources indicate between 200,000-400,000 men died in this war.

We were escorted 5 minutes outside of the town down a dirt road to a small group of farmhouses scattered upon a few dozen acres of farmland called Wezel where we had the opportunity to visit my Grandpas old house in Holland.

The current owners of the house showed exceptional hospitality towards us, inviting us into the house to take a look around and explaining some of the history surrounding the house.  My Grandfather Johanne had lived here with his 5 siblings and mother and father (Hendrick and Mary) during the Nazi occupation of Holland and my Great Grandfather Hendrick played a role in the underground resistance movement against the Germans.  They also harboured Canadian soldiers at this house during the liberation of Holland.

The house had been renovated only 5 years prior so it looked like a palace compared to how it used to look.  However, the family graciously showed us (and gave us a copy of) a DVD that displays the state of the house before they had renovated it.  I was getting a bit teary as I watched the DVD and I’m not sure why really – Perhaps my robotic emotions were momentarily overcome.

The wood fired oven for baking bread was still present and the smoke had stained the walls a smokey black.  The bricks were chipped from the pitch forks of the boys, who would hurl hay into the loft of the house for storage.  I ran my hand along the thick, cracked, timber beams supporting the roof as the owner explained to me that the initials “H.H.” are carved in one of the beams – which is of course my grandfather, Hendrick Honing.

After a very satisfying and long look at the old farmhouse, we were driven to a nearby restaurant for some lunch (where, of course, our hosts fervently insisted that they pick up the bill) before being dropped off at the train station to continue our journey.

We really can’t thank our hosts Geert and Lies enough as they showed such kind hospitatlity to two complete strangers.  For myself, learning a little about the childhood of someone I was so close with made for a very gratifying day.

Our journey is now complete.  Another chapter is written in the book.

This trip really was a rollercoaster for us.  We did witness hardship and poverty like I’ve never seen it before.  But West Africa is much more than this.  It is something that can only be understood when seen with your own two eyes.  Unfortunately, this blog can scarcely scratch the surface when describing an area of the world that is so far removed and drastically different from our own.

When we were returning on the plane, I realized that I have now spent over a year of my life outside of Canada.  It’s hard to believe really….. and as always, I can’t wait for the next opportunity to travel!  Thanks for following along with the blog, we appreciate every reader and every comment :).

I’ll leave you with some pictures of our last couple days in Holland:

We’ve been hanging out in Holland for the past week and it’s been a perfect comedown from our slightly more stressful travels in Ghana.

Holland is know for windmills, “coffeeshops”, red light districts, tall people, wooden shoes, cheese, and of course – their prime minister (below)

We are both in love with Amsterdam.  The old, faded brick buildings, the fresh ocean air, the beautiful canals that divide the city and the picturesque stone bridges that cross them.

There is so much to see and do here that packing it all into a 6 night stay seems like an impossibility.  Nonetheless, we tried.

Fortunately for us, our friends Dane and Britney Zahara were passing through Amsterdam at the same time, allowing us the opportunity to spend a couple of days together.

Our first stop was the infamous Anne Frank House.

This is one of those touristy things that has to be done.  All of you should know the story of Anne Frank and if you don’t, buy the “Diary of Anne Frank” to learn it.  I don’t know how, but I thought that Anne actually made it through the war.  She didn’t.  They hid successfully for two years before someone ratted them out to the Nazis (they don’t know who to this day).  The Nazis raided the house and captured the whole family, who were then transported to concentration camps where they all eventually died (Anne died of Typhoid only one month before liberation) except the father; Otto Frank.  After the war, Otto was given Annes’ diary by the Dutch people who were assisting the Frank family in hiding.  Otto had it published and today it’s one of the best selling books of all-time.  Below is a picture of the secret hidden staircase that is concealed by a bookshelf.  It really was a brilliant hiding spot.

Next stop: the “House Of Bols“.   I would consider this one of the only “must do’s” for someone who is coming to see Amsterdam.  Lucas Bols was a Dutch distiller of alcohols who invented Genever (the precursor to gin).  Today, Bols alcohol is world famous and exports to every developed nation in the world.  The House of Bols is a fun, interactive experience that lets you get a little drunk while learning a bit about the history of the Bols brand and how they make their more than 300 flavours of liqueres.

Then Megan drug me out to some wine and cheese tasting night.

It was not our thing.  Way too woo-woo.   They give you a piece of paper to fill out as you’re eating the cheese so you can express your senses as you eat the cheese.

Instructor: What does the cheese smell like?

Me: Cheese.

Instructor:  What does it taste like?  Can you describe the taste?

Me: It tastes like cheese.

Instructor: What about the texture?

Me: It has the texture of cheese

That’s not to say others didn’t enjoy it.  I was surprised at the number of people in the room that were loving this wine and cheese tasting thing.  I guess I’m not cultured enough to enjoy the finer things in life.