The weekend is over and jet lag has subsided. Hooray! Now what is possible for this new week?
One benefit of being in business for yourself is the flexibility to work anywhere. Have Wifi and computer? Check. Check. I can work. I spent Monday working on client projects and my new books while in Utrecht. After work, Johan and I headed to Naarden for a quiet evening.
Naarden is a favorite place for us to visit and near to another favorite location, the castle Muiderslot. Naarden is fortified village (Google it to see photos from above.) You can walk through the entire village in less than an hour. You can also go up on top of the fortifications and walk then also walk the perimeter.
The village is old and beautiful. You can park on old cobbled streets or outside the bridges into the village. The views from the top of the fortifications are breathtaking. We took a long walk around and then had drinks and snacks (bitterballen!) in an outdoor cafe. What a perfect way to end the day.
Tuesday I worked at home and worked on my books a little. Later in the day Johan and I opened up a box of decadent chocolates our friends brought us Saturday.
Wednesday was a really fun day because I got to go to ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) to spend time with my sister in-law. Den Bosch is my favorite city in the Netherlands. It has Sint-Jan Cathedral, which I visit every time I am in the city. There is such peace there. I love the stained glass, smell of incense, lighting a candle for Mother Mary in the back of the church and, when it is open, walking through the back of the cathedral to see the niches for different saints. I was lucky that this time the back of the church was open. I was in Den Bosch four other times and only one of those visits was the back open.
There was a market in the square and my sister in-law and I had a lovely lunch outside. Lunch is so much better outdoors don’t you think?
Before we left the city and I went home, we stopped at Jan de Groot to pick up Appelflappen and Bosche Bollen. Appelflapp is a flaky pastry, usually triangle shaped with apples and cinnamon inside and covered in heavy sugar. YUM! Bosche Bol is something everyone should have if they love chocolate and cream. These are about the size of your fist or slightly larger, are like what we know as cream puffs, covered in a dark chocolate and filled with whipped cream. Jan de Groot makes the best. I’ll have another one before I fly back to Chicago when a woman comes over from the U.S. to meet with her Dutch ‘family’ and we get to spend some time together.
My journey has only just begun but more adventures await. Soon it will be time to head to Belgium and then stay in Margraten for Memorial Day weekend. I wonder what and who will show up……..
© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center
Wish I could have showed up! You go Girl!