Around Christmas I proposed that our family take a trip to the Netherlands over Spring Break. The rest of the family was enthusiastic about the idea. Finding a reasonable was easy on the Internet. Then the local agent was able to get the same fare and the sale was kept local.
Next came passports. The end of January we all applied for passports. Lynn's went in a couple days after mine and the kids. She had trouble finding her birth certificate. At the end of February, passports arrived for Krista, Derek and myself. Lynn kept waiting.
25 Jan - Dick, Derek & Krista apply for passport
26 Jan - Lynn applies, Birth Certificate #1 not acceptable
27 Jan - Lynn's mother Fed-Ex Birth Certificate #2
29 Jan - Lynn reapplies for passport
26 Feb - Dick and Derek receive passports
27 Feb - Krista receives passport
11 Mar - Lynn calls Houston passport office - computer down
12 Mar - Lynn calls Houston passport office - BC #1 not acceptable
12 Mar - BC #2 Fed-Ex to Houston included Express fees
12 Mar - BC #3 ordered from Michigan
13 Mar - Denial letter arrives from Houston
15 Mar - Houston receives BC #1 needs Fed-Ex fees for quick return
16 Mar - Passport approved, BC #3 arrives
17 Mar - Passport mailed - Houston forgot to Fed-Ex
19 Mar - Passport hasn't arrived
19 Mar - Lynn and Derek take early flight to get emergency passport
19 Mar - Derek's ticket denied, just turned 15 ticket says 14
-----------US Air relents because there is no fare difference
19 Mar - Lynn cannot check bags thru - no passport
19 Mar - Philadelphia passport office says the cannot issue passport for
-----------the Houston office. Supervisor's approval finally obtained.
-----------Thank goodness for BC #3, the rest went to Houston
19 Mar - 3:30 pm Lynn finally get emergency passport
19 Mar - 6:20 pm flight leaves for Amsterdam
Arrival
After arriving at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Saturday morning, Derek had to check to see if Lynn's head was on straight. After all of the problems getting there, she had seemed very stressed at times. Then it was directly to the Hertz counter and pick up our rental car. They had a brand new "full sized" Opel with only 40 km on it waiting for us. Luckily, I hadn't opted for the mid-sized car. We had just enough room for us and our luggage. We hit the road and headed for our first meeting with one of the Netherlands Botbijl "cousins".
On saturday, just after noon, we visited David and Engelina Botbijl in Hilversum. We were later joined by his son, Irwin. This was our first exposure to the wonderful hospitality of my Netherlands relatives. David and I compared our genealogy information and family photos. Irwin made sure the conversation was interlaced with humor. Once the effects of our long flight and lack of sleep started to set in, we bid farewell and headed to our motel in Dordrecht.
The Holland Biesbosch Motel is located next to a nature preserve an couple km outside of Dordrecht. This was a very covenant location for our travels around the Netherlands. Breakfast was included with the room and it was ample enough that we usually would skip lunch. Although it was a friendly and clean 2 star establishment, it lacked double beds and was a little cooler than we are used to. We survived. The motel caters to groups and this could have been a problem but wasn't. A couple nights there were many vacancies. The groups that were there were well behaved. Dutch, English and German students all enjoyed themselves without the rowdiness seen every weekend in Aggieville (Manhattan, Kansas).
Kinderdijke
On Sunday we visited Perry and Lynn Knight near Rotterdam. They moved from Manhattan Kansas last fall. Perry was transferred from Fort Riley to a small Army post in the Netherlands. Lynn B. had messages for their children , Phillip and Emily, from their former classmates in Manhattan. They provided us with many pointers for Americans traveling in the Netherlands. They also loaned us a voltage converter so Lynn could use her hair dryer. (Something we forget to get before leaving.)
Late in the afternoon, we went to Delft. It was a little disappointing because not much is open on Sunday. We did get to see the market square and the churches.
Parliament - Den Hage
Monday we traveled to Kinderdijke and then to Den Hage. As in the previous days we made a couple wrong turns and mad dashes to get back to the car before the meter ran out. To our disappointment, the museums we all closed on Mondays. We later returned to Dordretch for dinner and a stroll around the Centrum.
Tuesday, we traveled to Eindhoven to meet the family of Aad and Connie Botbijl. They have two sons, Mattijs, 17 and Sjoerd, 14. They are very close to the ages of our children. Aad has joined in my quest of the Botbijl genealogy and has been a regular e-mail corespondent for the last year. His parents, Marinus and Paulina, were curious enough about the American Botbyls that they traveled by train from Rotterdam to meet us. The initial conversation centered around family genealogy but later was focused on a comparison of life styles and how we treat our children. This was only interrupted by a gourmet, three course meal prepared by Connie. Again, hospitality usually reserved for close family, not distant relatives.
The children found common interests (computer games) quite quickly. After dinner, they all traveled to town for some laser tag and foosball. Mattijs and Sjoerd got to show Krista and Derek their choices for excitement and entertainment. It was a very enjoyable visit for the entire family.
Wednesday, I had scheduled to meet Jan and Maria Bodbijl in Schouwen-
Duiveland part of Zeeland. Although Jan and Maria live in Germany, they make regular trips to Browershaven to the home that belonged to his Mother. Jan volunteered to be our tour guide for the day. We started out in Zierikzee. Five generations of my Botbyl line lived in Zierikzee before emigrating to Michigan. We then traveled to the Delta Expo and got to see the Dike system that protects the Netherlands from flooding. After a visit to the beaches and a light house, Jan and I were interviewed by Petra van Gent, a reporter for the local weekly newspaper. She was extremely pleasant and listened to the story of my search for my roots. An article was published a week later. Maybe a few more Netherlanders will be less suspicious about my contact with them. We concluded the bread and coffee at Jan's house. More extremely gracious hospitality.
On Thursday, we became tourists. The tulip fields at Kuekenhof had opened the day before. We spent a couple hours strolling the grounds and greenhouses. Lynn bought a couple hundred bulbs to be shipped in the fall.
Then we headed to the Ryksmuseum in Amsterdam. Our map reading and adapting to Dutch traffic had elevated to the point that we went directly to the Museum without any wrong turns. We found parking two blocks from the museum. Convenient but expensive. We spent several hours touring the museum. I was never was impressed with Rembrandt until I saw "The Nightwatch". The size and the realism are something photos in books cannot ever convey.
Friday was the day to tour Rotterdam. We went to three museums and the Picasso exhibit. All OK but nothing matched the Ryksmuseum and I am no great fan of Picasso. Lynn decided to take a break, so the kids and I went to the IMAX and saw a documentary on whales.. We returned to Dordrecht for dinner and retired early for our return trip. Although our flight did not leave until 11:00 am, we had to leave Dordrecht by 7:00 am. Mainly because of the mandatory check-in two hours before departure. I suppose this help the duty free shops in the airport and the increase duties paid on return to the US. It was pretty uneventful except for the security pat down I got at check-in. (I think he was just attracted to me).
It did take about a week for the jet lag to disappear and our sleep patterns to get back to normal. Derek was going to bed before 9:00 pm and that is very rare.
Dick, Lynn, Derek and Krista