The Kennedy Mars

  
     It is sometimes surprising, when traveling, to discover that your president has made a deep impression on people in a way you never suspected.  President Kennedy, for instance, is still very much alive in Europe.  You see his name on street signs and memorials, and everyone knows about his famous speech in West Berlin.  What surprised me was the 50-mile hike named in his honor, which is held yearly in two regions of Holland: in April around the city of Sittard, and in July around the city of Someren. I was fortunate to cheer on some of the Someren walkers.
     Some history: the Kennedy White House (inspired by Teddy Roosevelt) challenged the Marines to finish a 50-mile march within 20 hours as proof of their fitness, and the challenge was then extended to his administration.  The president's brother, Robert, took the challenge and completed the march wearing oxford dress shoes.  American citizens took up the challenge, the idea spread to the U.K. and eventually as far as the south of Holland.  When a small group of students in Holland completed the hike during their Easter holidays in 1963, they agreed to make it a yearly tradition.  And it grew from there.
     Now, take a fitness marathon that in America would be treated very seriously (think moisture-wicking athletic gear, sports shoes, sports drinks, glucose tabs, etc.)  Now put it into the hands of the Dutch, and it becomes... a PARTY!  Of course, it's taken seriously, it's well-organized (as is anything in Holland), and safety is always foremost.
     But it's still a party!  The walk starts at 10 p.m. with ceremonies honoring the U.S. and Netherlands friendship, and the walkers are sent on their way with cheering and lively music.  Every village makes it a point to be awake and in party mode when the walkers come through, even in the wee hours of the morning.  They play loud music, clap and cheer as the walkers come through, and offer them refreshments and encouragement.  

While hiking boots and athletic shoes were very much in view, there was also this guy:

     And this guy, (below) who, incidentally, finished the entire walk in clogs:

A local band, called Tiswa (meaning, "It's always something") really rocked the party as walkers made their way through the village main street.

     Of the 2224 people who started the walk, 74.7% finished within the 20 hour limit.

     This month is exam time for students in the Netherlands.  I asked about a strange custom I noticed around town, and my friends explained to me.  When a student finishes his exams and does well on them, he hangs his backpack outside his window.  This student included the Netherlands flag and his vuvuzale. Hup Holland Hup!

It's Hot in Holland!

     The temperature on July 2 in southern Holland topped out at about 97 degrees F.  This is the highest temperature they've had in 50 years, I'm told.  An area of grassland not far from Eindhoven caught fire from the extreme heat.  From what I hear, there are over a hundred acres involved so far.
     We saw helicopters flying by with large buckets of water to douse the fire.  Large plumes of smoke were visible for miles, and the highway was closed to keep people out of the smoke.  Fire engines poured into town, and I'm sure firemen from all over the area will be deployed to fight the fire.

A plume of smoke was visible for miles over the burning grassland.

Helicopters carried buckets of water to fight the blaze.

     On a brighter note, Holland won a very exciting game against Brazil.  Fans in orange were celebrating everywhere we went:

     

     We discovered, in the town of Veldhoven, a fantastic garden center, Oogenlust,  that was having a summer open house this weekend.  This place is over-the-top gorgeous, and we walked through several displays of the most creative arrangements I've ever seen.  The photos speak for themselves.  They also had several varieties of roses for sale, at great prices--about 8 to 10 euros for very healthy plants. They have a web site in both English and Dutch.  Check them out here:Oogenlust.

A luxurious seat by the rose-filled pool.

A collection of potted roses "The Faun" displayed in an urn.

Pear trees grow like large bonsai in boxes at the entrance to Oogenlust.

These chairs look like white leather, but they're actually air-filled vinyl.  The brand is called "Blofield."  If you're interested in seeing more of the shop, I have several more photos on my Flickr page:AynsleysPlace.

Blond Amsterdam

     

     Before I forget, I want to mention my trip to Blond Amsterdam yesterday.  I love cute girly stuff, and I have wanted to go to the Blond Amsterdam store for a long time.  It was only an hour till closing time when we finally got on the road from Haarlem to Amsterdam.  Everyone told us the trip would only take 15 minutes.  Unfortunately, we were traveling in rush hour.  After a harrowing drive, dodging lorries and bicyclists, and taking several wrong turns in Amsterdam thanks to the GPS and several areas of road construction, we arrived at the shop one minute before closing time.  My daughter's friend jumped out of the car with me and we ran for the door!

     I fully expected to be rudely informed that the store was closed and that I would have to leave.  I'm sorry to say, my past experiences have led me to expect indifference, if not rudeness, from shopkeepers--even in this economy. 

     But not this time!  The young woman working in the store smiled and said very kindly, "We are about to close, but take your time and find what you like.  I am in no hurry."  When we brought our items to the counter to check out, she gladly gift-wrapped several packages for us in their adorable pink wrapping paper.  She also told us that we can shop on their web site from home and they will ship to the U.S.  If you haven't seen their products, check out their web site.  There is something there for every girl and woman in your life.

     So, thank you Hadassah, for being kind to the two tourists who ran into your shop at the last minute.  You made us feel like royalty, and we have written to make sure your employers know that.  Thank you!

     Pretty in pink: some of the goodies I found at Blond Amsterdam.  The pink book is actually a moleskine notebook that I covered with their cute wrapping paper!

        

A Day in Haarlem

     Haarlem is a beautiful town, and it has all the Dutch classics: a windmill, canals, a cathedral, and bicycles galore!  The architecture of the buildings is striking.  We went there this afternoon, with the main goal of going to see the Corrie Ten Boom house.  I wish now that we had gone much earlier because the city is worth exploring in much more detail.  Maybe another time!

                                  Windmill and Canal, Haarlem, Netherlands.
     The Ten Boom house is located on Barteljorisstraat, in an area of nice shops.  The first floor of the building is still a jewelry & watch shop.  To enter the museum, you go to the side of the building and enter at the side door.  There are periodic tours in English, and the times for those are posted.  The tour was free, and very informative.
     The most striking thing to me was the tiny size of the rooms in the house, especially Corrie's bedroom, where the hiding place was built.  The hiding place itself was barely large enough for six to eight people to hide, standing up.  I'm sure it didn't take long for the space to become stifling hot and claustrophobic.
     In the Anne Frank house, the Jewish people who were hiding had several rooms that were hidden away from the public.  But here at the Ten Boom house, the residents used the family bedrooms, sitting room and dining room, and fled to the tiny hiding place whenever there was danger of being discovered.  They had practiced until they were all able to escape to the hidden room within 70 seconds.  More information here.

The photo to the left shows the exterior of the Ten Boom house and shop.  On the right is Corrie's bedroom, with the hiding place opened up, and the closet door open to show  the secret entrance under the bottom shelf.
      We had a lunch of soup and sandwiches at the nearby open cafe, and enjoyed watching people (as all the cafe patrons do!)  A happy wedding party was celebrating at St. Bavo church, and they posed for photos on the church steps.  Of course, on the way back to the car, I couldn't resist taking some photos of bicycles and roses.  I'm always so awed at the way people in European cities can grow these glorious roses by their doorways, with only a few feet of ground!

        (Sigh) Roses, mellow bricks, a classic black bicycle....who could ask for more?

Hup Holland Hup!

     After 12 hours of sleep, I'm myself again!  We are staying in a bed & breakfast in Lierop, a small village in the south of Holland.  The owners have a delightful garden which we can see from our dining table.  There are three resident hens who give us fresh eggs for breakfast.  They reside in a charming chicken coop in the garden.  I am especially envious of an urn overflowing with pink fuchsias.  I've never been able to keep fuchsias alive through a Kentucky summer!

World Cup Fever is everywhere, and the Dutch are fervent supporters of their team. Shops and homes are decked out in orange flags and signs saying "Hup Holland Hup!"   I can't wait till Friday, when Holland plays Brazil, to watch the crowds go crazy. This shop display advertises different packages available for showing your support of the Dutch national team.

We have been watching "The Hiding Place," which is the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family, who worked to help Jews escape occupied Holland during WWII.  Their Christian faith was incredible.  I can't imagine how I would act under such circumstances, but I'm certain I couldn't be as loving and faithful as Corrie and her sister Betsie.  We plan to tour their home in Haarlem tomorrow.

The First Day is Always the Hardest

     We flew from Dulles Airport in Washington D. C. to the Paris-Orly Airport, arriving in Paris at 7:45 a. m. local time.  We flew Open Skies, which is a new division of British Airways.  Open Skies planes are normal commercial sized planes, but they seat less than 100 people.  You can choose between "biz bed," a seat which reclines to a flat position, or "biz seat," which reclines to a comfortable position but does not make a bed.   Since they are so new, they've been running really good specials.  We got two seats for the price of one for our trip.  You can  read more about the airline here.

                                      The Chateau at Blerancourt, France
     Marty and I took turns driving from the airport to our hotel in Holland.  The first day of jet lag is the worst.  No matter how brightly the sun is shining, your body knows that it's really only 3 a. m. at home.  We try to push through the weariness and stay busy so that we can get on the local schedule, but it still takes me a few days to adjust.  So the two of us took turns napping between driving shifts.
     On the way to Holland, we visited the chateau at Blerancourt, France, which is the home of the Franco-American museum.  It was during World War I that J. P. Morgan's daughter Anne bought the chateau to use as a headquarters for herself and a group of American women volunteers who worked to help people in the area recover from the war.  Their charity was called "The American Committee for Devastated France."  The chateau later became a museum to celebrate French and American friendship.
     The museum itself is closed for renovations, but there are beautiful gardens surrounding the chateau, which are open to the public free of charge.  The gardens are planted within walls of smooth cream-colored stone, and many of the walls support various white climbing roses.
     I'm including some photos of my favorite of the roses: a blowsy white French beauty with a pale pink blush.  It's called "Palais Royal," and it looks absolutely gorgeous against those cream stone walls!

          Rosa "Palais Royal" growing against a garden wall at Chateau Blerancourt.

      Detail of Rosa "Palais Royal" growing against stone wall in gardens of Blerancourt.
  
     A less formal area of the grounds is planted as a wildflower meadow, with a path mown through colorful blue cornflowers and red poppies.

    A mown path winds through the meadow of red poppies and blue cornflowers.

                              A closer look at two iconic French wildflowers.
     On one of our rest stops in Belgium, we met a trio of fugitives from some local farm. A rooster and two hens walked casually out of the woods and across the driveway to look for bugs in the grass nearby.  When they caught me taking their photo, the two hens ran back to the woods.  The rooster, however, was bolder and happily took some bread crumbs from me before following the ladies back to the woods.

          Why did the chickens cross the road? Maybe they found out about "coq au vin."

Getting Ready for Europe

     I am sitting in my room at the Country Inn & Suites in Washington, D.C.  I just finished a great breakfast and chose a book from their "Read It and Return" library program.  I love it--you borrow the book, read it, and then return it to a Country Inn in your own hometown, or any other city on your trip.
     I chose The Janissary Tree, by Jason Goodwin.  I've never read anything by this author, and it should be fun to discover a new writer.  The book is a mystery set in the Ottoman Empire in 1836, and the detective is a eunuch named Yashim.  Sounds promising.
     I've just rechecked my suitcases and decided which items will make the carry-on list.  I'm traveling with my husband Marty and daughter Lizzy, and it's always a challenge to pack as lightly as possible.  Cars in Europe are small, and they don't hold a lot of luggage.  Lizzy and I always complain that Marty overpacks.  (He does!)  But to be fair, he is the travel planner, and he always brings books, maps, the GPS, etc.
     We're flying into Paris and then driving to Holland.  Marty is an amazing driver--he has driven us through Paris, Rome, London, New York City, and Amsterdam, among other cities.  He is fearless and never falls asleep at the wheel.  He has a good sense of direction, as well, which makes him a great traveling companion.  I'm great at reading a map, and I can tell which direction we're going by stars & sun, so I'm a great copilot/navigator.
     I'm always a little afraid of flying, especially on an overseas flight.  Once I'm up in the air, I'm okay--I guess because I'm at the point of no return.  But now, a few hours before flight time, is the time to think.  I'm a Christian, and I believe I will go to Heaven when I die.  But anytime I think about death, I feel humbled about how little I've accomplished with my life.  Life goes by so quickly.  To quote Virgil: "...time flees irretrievably, while we wander around, prisoners of our love of detail."  I hope that, in the time left to me, I can keep my eye on the big picture.