The Netherlands charmed us

We have spent the last 6 days based in Haarlem, an old and beautiful small city to the West of Amsterdam. It was a great base for us, allowing us to have easy access by train to Amsterdam and the Hague, to the beaches and dunes by the coast by bike, and charming Haarlem itself. We ate some delicious meals both at home, with food from the market, and out and about. In Amsterdam we saw the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh, the Vondelpark, and explored the canals both by foot and by Rontvaart (Ha!). We had two warm visits with old family friends, Peter Reiss and Marc Chavannes and his daughter Esther. We also met up with Marc’s son Remy and his wife Saskia, and made a new friend, Ian (a friend of Carl’s and a Wes grad), and his son Enso for a playdate in the park. Enso and Willa were thick as thieves.

I feel very nostalgic for this place, where I spent some time as a 9 year old, and where my family has such connections that go back to Post War, when my Grandfather worked here for the Marshall plan. I loved being able to share my fondness for this place with the kids. We also were graced with very breezy and cool, sunny weather.

Our last day here today was filled with logistics: doing some last minute shopping to prepare for our next chapter (school supplies!), and get all our documents in order. Tommorow, we are off to Kenya. I’m sure the contrast will be significant.