Tulips and Travel

Tuesday April 19th 2011
Another fine day! We had a choice of either visiting the Ten Boom museum or the tulip fields. I preferred the museum option but Bruce was keener on seeing the tulips. We decided to try the museum option first, being unsure as to when the English tour would be held.
Unfortunately when we arrived at the museum, we found out that there were no English tours until the afternoon, and we needed to catch a train after lunch to take us to Düsseldorf airport so that we could catch our plane home. So off into the countryside we went to find some tulips.
Well, many of the tulips weren’t yet in flower or the land was fallow so it took rather a long time to find them. But once we did we were entranced by the colourful stripes carpeting the fields. The orange and yellow bicoloured variety were quite splendid.
Stripes of purple turned out to be hyacinths.
We walked into one field to get a closer look but unfortunately the camera doesn’t do justice to the play of light on the opened flowers.
After lunch we were driven back to Haarlem Station to catch our train. There were some fascinating sights as we passed through Amsterdam.



Out in the countryside between towns and villages, it was interesting to note the variety of livestock, including sheep, in Holland. It was quite funny seeing a cow drinking out of one of the many open drains in the fields, thinking of the furore it'd cause here and the chaos that would ensue in Holland should the farmers be forced to apply the same rules regarding fencing off stock from waterways that are now proving such a problem here.
The flights home was rather uneventful but, as usual, quite exhausting, so we were glad to be picked up at Dunedin airport on Thursday night and to have a comfortable stay at Longbourne Lodge where we were allowed to sleep in and make our way home when we were ready on Friday morning. Much safer than trying to drive home in the dark completely exhausted even though it would have been a less than 2 hour journey.

Haarlem

Monday 18th April
It was another lovely day, but unfortunately I was feeling very tired and was struggling a bit with a migraine that had started the previous day.

We went out mid-morning into the town centre, found a carpark in a parking building and went for a walk down the streets to the ten Boom museum. Deep shadows still filled some of the narrow streets due to the tall buildings blocking out the morning sunshine.
Unfortunately we found out that the museum is closed on Mondays, so we decided to try again the next day as we had the whole morning available.
So we went on a wander around the shopping area – lots of shops stocking clothing and shoes, and a range of others too of course. There were so many bicycles either being ridden or parked in the streets, often in one of the many bicycle parks
There was a very bustling market full of all kinds of interesting things and I enjoyed hearing Kay enquiring about prices at a stall, and the gutteral reply. The Town Hall is one of the imposing buildings surrounding the market place. We went for a coffee inside one of them before continuing our walk.



Guess what we saw on one street corner! (LH pic.) Inside an arched passage off another street we spied the fresh green of a spring garden - we found a plaque on the wall which said that it was the site of a former convent. Further on we saw a most unusual-looking building at the end of a long, narrow alleyway.
The many canals intersecting the city are very beautiful with a variety of boats and bridges. On the way back to the car park we came across a tiny car parked on the pavement!

After lunch, we went out for a good walk, passing by an old fortification and German gun positions from the Second World War before reaching the Spoorbaam river. Many people were out walking dogs, some several together – in fact, for some people it is their occupation, walking dogs for people who live in apartment buildings but work all day. There was a lot of traffic on the river, and one barge looked particularly low in the water, it appeared to be full of concrete! One could almost imagine you were out in the countryside walking beside the river as the houses drop back some way. Many people come here to escape their urban surroundings and to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.
We followed a canal back into Haarlem and enjoyed looking at the lock gates and interesting housing round and about. Soon we were back to the statue of the boy with his finger in the dyke. You can see just how unrealistic this is when you have seen the real dykes.



Some of the streets had some really interesting houses and some were at a much higher level than the canals.

Further on we walked beside a very dank smelling canal that had houses with quite substantial gardens on the opposite side to us. The path on our side of the canal bordered quite a larger marshy strip of land that has been allowed to remain as part of the green belt. There were quite a few wetland birds around.
After dinner we watched a couple of videos before going to bed rather later than usual. It had been a wonderful day.

Palm Sunday

Sunday 17th April Palm Sunday
We were blessed with yet Another sunny day which warmed up well. Sunday in the Kolbe household is rather different from what we’re used to. It’s a day for sleeping in and having a substantial breakfast (brunch?) mid-morning! I was feeling a bit sad that we hadn't seen any churches in the neighbourhood that we might have attended (although Bruce wouldn't have understood any of the German), and started thinking about how much people who don't have faith in Christ miss out on in life. Reading the prophecy in Isaiah 42 about Christ's ministry and how people would respond to Him and His message - many act as if they are both blind and deaf and refuse to believe. Just a few of my thoughts on Palm Sunday leading up to Easter!
After breakfast, the computer was back in use again to check the train details for going to Holland. We had only booked the journey back from Haarlem to Düsseldorf the night before as it was a cheaper fare that day. The other ticket would be purchased at Dorsten station.
We sent a text to the Weavers to let them know our arrival details then managed to coax the misbehaving printer into printing off some tickets for us. Jeremy was busy packing up a bag for us to take back to NZ as we had so little luggage ourselves (one bag weighing under 15 kg plus our two small cabin bags!). He and Judith were planning to move to NZ in May and didn't want to have to pay too much excess. Anthony was also going to bring some luggage back with him. The suitcase was quite heavy when finished, but at 22kgs wouldn't exceed our baggage allowance.
It was soon time to go to the station by car, as it is a few kilometres from where the Kolbes live. Most railway stations in Germany have automatic ticket machines which can even print you a rather useful overview of your journey as well as the ticket.
The train was very short and had a diesel engine. We were amazed at wide carriages with fold-up seats. It stopped many times on the way to Cologne, where we had to change trains. We bought some peanut bars from a platform vending machine whilst we waited and coffee on the way to keep us going as there was no time for lunch.
Our first impressions of Holland were good - despite the flatness of most of the land, it is still interesting. There are so many new things to see, from the numerous ditches and canals with their barges and longboats, to the different types of housing.
It was quite cloudy from Arnhem to Utrecht, which seemed a very interesting place to visit. As we passed by a large canal, we saw what looked like floating houses, and an import/export building that had loading doors opening directly onto the water
At Amsterdam, we had to change to a small local train which went from a rather isolated platform that was a very long way for poor Bruce to carry that heavy suitcase! It wasn't very well signposted so it took us a while to find it.
On arriving at Haarlem, no-one was waiting to pick us up, so we sent some more texts, and were picked up after a shortish wait. No-one had picked up our earlier text with our train details!





After dropping off our bags at the Weavers', we were taken on a bit of a tour of the area as the evening was so fine and warm. So we drove to a local windmill, to the statue commemorating what is apparently an English legend about the boy and the dyke and the North Sea Canal where we watched the progress of a ferry boat, which apparently used to be free.
It's so different in Holland from NZ, there are so many, to us, unusual things - the almost omnipresence of bicycles, the narrow, bricked streets with many speed humps (it must be excruciating if you have to go to hospital by ambulance!), the canals with so many different types of bridges, the different types of housing..... Fascinating!

The Weavers spent many years as missionaries in a former Communist country and are now based in Holland running Kairos courses in Europe. It was delightful to see them again, and we had fun having a bit of a catch up on news since it was probably a couple of years since we'd last seen them. After a late tea around 8pm of soup, rolls, and cake we watched Bourne Supremacy before going to bed.

A trip to Dorsten

Saturday 16th April
After a brief shuteye, we decided to get up around 8 and went down to breakfast before 9. Eleanor was the first to come in. We enjoyed chatting with various folk including one of Judith's cousins who lives near Denmark in North Germany,and is a graphic designer for nature parks. It was good to be able to have a chat with Christina and find out a little about her family. She and Kelvin were married in the UK so most of the Turner family didn't manage to get there.

After lots of goodbyes, we left around 1pm. Pics are of our three children, Kelvin & Christina, and of a bouquet (not sure whether it was Judith's or not!)
We went with Judith's brother and Jeremy to Dorsten; Anthony and Judith went in her parents. Eleanor was going to travel to Cologne and stay there the night. We did offer to go with her so we could spend some time together, but she wanted to travel on later that Sunday.
The next meal after breakfast was coffee & wedding cake in the garden - by then we were all feeling hungry! It was a lovely sunny day until late afternoon when it clouded up and became colder. Their little dog, Joy, who's now 14, kept us amused.
At one stage Jeremy and Judith came in with a red balloon. I didn't think too much of it until I realised that it was full of origami birds, which turned out to be made from Euros - how did they get them inside?! After that we watched the Youtube film that was the inspiration for the Kiwi cake before the newly weds cooked us a late dinner of lasagne and salad (Judith's mum was out at a friend's party).
Bruce and I had a bit of a brain-wave - as we were so close to Holland, why didn't we try to see whether we could fit in a visit to the Weavers, missionary friends of ours from our Ashburton days. We eventually managed to get through on the phone, and found out that they'd love to have us for a couple of days.
After coffee and yet more cake for supper, we showed some photos of Erin, then I had to find us some cheap train fares on the internet.

The wedding

Friday 15th April
Today’s the Day!!! After a cold night, only 3 deg, it proved to be a fine, sunny day. We had breakfast at a cafe/bakery called Peter’s, then I went to the hairdresser’s. I managed to bamboozle one of the staff with my German but fortunately the chief stylist could speak English and was very friendly. I had been wondering how I would explain how I like my hair in German! We were given cups of coffee and a couple of tiny bottles of African liqueurs made from the fruit of the marula tree (elephant tree). We decided they’d make good presents for Judith’s parents.
Our cheap lunch at a nearby Imbiss wasn’t very nice. Bruce had chips which were served with a huge quantity of mayonnaise, and I chose a salami roll but it was too fatty and had heaps of butter as well. The coffees were very large but so bitter! We had fun talking to a young boy who turned up there to eat some chips. He was most interested to hear that we were from NZ.
Friends of Jeremy and Judith drove us to Duisburg and it took less than half an hour as there was very little traffic on the autobahn. It was hard to find a car park near the town hall though, it was really busy.

We had a bit of a wait outside the imposing building until it was time for the wedding party to go inside. Each wedding takes place in a special room called the Trausaal and is allowed half an hour. Then it's the next couple's turn.
It was lovely to meet up with Eleanor and Anthony again and also some of Bruce’s family – Maurice, Ruth and their two children Naomi and Stephen, also Ruth’s parents (they were all going to travel to Holland afterwards to visit relatives) – and our nephew Kelvin and his wife Christina who live in England. We met Judith’s sister for the first time – in ‘punk’ mode with a mohawked boyfriend – they really stood out!











It had taken Jeremy and Judith quite some time to find a venue that would seat enough guests – 40-50, most only seat 20-30. The room was nicely panelled and had interesting pillars too and looked quite ancient. All the guests sat at the back, but Jeremy and Judith had seats set back a little from one end of a long table. At the far end was a massive carved chair for the celebrant. Jeremy said it was quite daunting looking down the length of the table at her, and he was also worried about remembering his vows in German. Judith chose to say hers in English (centre pic). That's an optional part in a civil ceremony in Germany, as are witnesses. All you have to do to get married legally is to say, "Ja" at the right time and sign your name afterwards.
You don’t choose or meet the celebrant beforehand which can have its drawbacks. They were a little worried as they’d heard tales of the strange poem recited by one to friends of theirs. Fortunately they ended up with a very nice lady, who gave a little talk about the importance of marriage and read a nice poem about how to be happy. I was able to follow along and keep Bruce up to date on the procedure. It was obviously quite an emotional time for Judith during the vows and she even started signing the register with the wrong name – not like her usual organised self!








After the ceremony we trooped out to a central courtyard, where drinks were served. It had been decorated with red, heart-shaped balloons. The RH picture shows our nephew Kelvin and his wife Christina, who we hadn't met before, as well as our younger children Anthony and Eleanor.
When the next wedding party appeared it was time to head back outside again where we waited, for what seemed to be quite a long time, for the newly-weds to emerge onto the rose petals that had been sprinkled by a previous wedding party. It made a very pretty path to walk out on.
Returning to Essen took twice as long as getting to Duisburg as there was heavy traffic on the autobahn. As it was still nice and warm, we all waited across the road from the Alte Lohnhalle at the outside tables of a beer garden. We went with Maurice and Ruth for a cuppa at the bakers, knowing that dinner was some hours away.
Eventually the happy couple arrived, having completed a series of photographs at various venues. It was starting to get cold, so after taking some photos with family and friends, we all went inside for the reception.

The variety of entrées was rather overwhelming, and some were rather hard to identify. Some things that caught our attention were decorations of red chicory, and melon sliced finely and rolled up like ham. The mains were really nice, based on chicken and lamb, but also some vegetarian options for people like Judith.
Naturally there were quite a lot of speeches between courses. Jeremy and Judith had put together a very interesting one. Jeremy would say a few phrases in English then Judith would say the same plus a few more in German - so they were constantly overlapping and carrying the story on. Bruce was very nervous when he came to give his, and was surprised it wasn't translated as previously arranged - but they reckoned most there could understand enough English.
Jeremy and Judith went up to the serving tables and waited a little (RH pic) whilst the lights were dimmed. A cake covered in sparkling candles made a dramatic entrance. It appeared to be a little difficult to cut but definitely met the taste test!

After cutting the cake there was a bit of a lull in the proceedings so I took some photos of Judith's family.

The catering staff had tried to make a few pavlovas for the dessert but unfortunately the one I tried tasted extremely salty and was rather flat and cracked. It was covered with thin cream and kiwifruit.
An amazing piece of work was a cake iced to look like a Kiwi dressed up in flying kit complete with helmet and goggles. It had been made by friends from Heidelberg. It wasn't cut at the wedding but taken home by the Kolbes.
I'm sure all us overseas' folk were glad that the German speeches were translated, especially Ludger's long, but well-written poem.

After the poem, the final speech, there was a funny game that is quite popular at German weddings. The newly weds have to take off their shoes, and each gives their spouse one. The idea is to answer a series of questions by holding up the shoe which represents the person who is the best at doing something. If both agree, it is hoped the couple will have a harmonious relationship! Jeremy and Judith's answers were nearly all the same apart from one or two. Next, a video was shown about Judith going off into the wide world - she had to travel to the other side to find the man of her dreams.








Then their friends from Heidelberg sang some songs. Quite a large contingent had travelled up to join in the celebrations. Judith went to university there.
Eventually it was time for Jeremy and Judith's first dance together as a married couple. Bruce and I decided to go to bed after this as the music was really noisy and it was by now close to midnight! However, we didn't manage to get much sleep! It was noisy until nearly dawn although they turned the sound down a bit. At one stage some of the merry guests decided to dance a conga up the stairs past our room onto the balcony. I could hear Jeremy trying to persuade them to desist! It was quite amusing really.