Over Thanksgiving weekend we took a trip to Holland. Fransisco, a roommate of Brian's from back in the Minnesota days, is living in Eindhoven and invited us there to share an American Thanksgiving. We welcomed the invitation, and had a great time visiting Fran and helping to prepare the big meal. Neither Brian nor I had ever prepared such a big meal before. It was both fun and relaxing to spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dish after dish.
After visiting Fran for 2 days we headed out in search of the towns that my ancestors had emigrated to America from. I have ancestors on both sides of my family that came over from Holland, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to trace my roots. We headed first to the very Southwestern-most corner of Holland, visiting the towns of Retranchement, Cadzand, and Zuidzande. In Cadzand we found the church where my Great-Great Grandparents were both baptized and married. The church was locked, so we could not get inside, but it was still a great feeling to be standing in this churchyard.
Next, we headed to Northern Holland to visit the towns of Burgwerd, Bolsward, and IJlst. In Burgwerd we found the house where my Great-Great Grandfather had lived with his family for 5 years when he was a little boy. We talked briefly to the lady who is living there now, and she was quite friendly. She was unfamiliar, though, with who had lived in that house 120 years ago. Still, we felt lucky to have found the house. For me, walking the streets that my ancestors had walked and seeing the sights they had seen was quite a feeling.
We found Holland to be a beautiful country, despite the constant drizzle and fog. As you might guess, canals and windmills can be found everywhere. It was fun to get in a car and tour about the small towns and the countryside.
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