Pictures For Wednesday - Kinderdijk

Pictures do not due this site justice as you gaze upon 19 windmills. A very fascinating and picturesque place.

Pictures From Tuesday - Haarlem

Andrew and Jake at the local market in Wassenaar. They can't decide what candy to buy.

The Ten Boom house. A story of God's love, compassion, grace and forgiveness.

Andrew standing in the "Hiding Place" where 6 Jews hid for 2.5 days while the Ten Boom family was arrested and sent to concentration camps for helping the Jews. The Germans tore apart the house and never found them. The German officers stayed in the house for 2 days arresting 16 Jews for arriving to seek refuge in this home. The Germans turned over the house to Dutch police officers who were also members of the underground and helped the Jews escape. The hole in the wall was not there, it was completely bricked in and open for display purposes. The hiders crawled in the opening in the closet and a wooden door was slid down to cover the entrance. This room is were Corrie Ten Boom slept.

Andrew pushing the warning bell at the Ten Boom house. When the bell was rung the Jews staying there had 70 seconds to hide there things and rush upstairs, quietly, to the hiding place.

Jake and Olivia in the Haarlem "Grot Markt" testing out the very large wooden shoes. And no, you do not see people wearing these shoes. We're told that mostly the farmers wear these shoes.

Walking down the street to an opening and then you see a tree to your left then all of a sudden when you pass the tree, St. Bavo's Catheral in Haarlem is right in your face. The church was constructed over 150 years and was completed in 1540 something (I forgot the date but close to around that time).

Pipe organ in St. Bavo's Catheral. This organ has been played by Handel and Mozart. Too bad we were not there in the evening when there are concerts every Tuesday night at 7:00pm.

Pictures From Monday - Amsterdam

View of the Anne Frank house. The top floor windows are covered in black from the inside for their protection during the German occupation. Workers producing jam in the building below were unaware of the Frank's presence upstairs.

Look at the word above Andrew's head . Jake and Andrew have been anything but. Picture taken on train to Amsterdam.

A typical view of houses/businesses along the canals of Amsterdam.

Other Highlights of the day:

Olivia petted her first horse.

We took the train into Amsterdam not before riding our bikes about 3 miles to the train station.

Walked the streets of Amsterdam with many views of the city.

Took a 45 minute canal boat tour of the city.

Ran out of time to visit any other places.

Took the train back to Wassenaar then the bike trip back to the Connelly's home.

Went to dinner on the beach while meeting up with some friends of the Connelly's who leave tomorrow to move back to the States.

Watched the sunset over the North Sea (sunset at 10:10pm).

In summary: 1.5 hours of train rides, 45 minutes of boat rides, 45 minutes of bike riding and a couple of hours of walking = we are tired but having a great time.

Pictures From Saturday - Delft

Lunch at the city square at outdoor cafe.

Hand painted recreation of Rembrandt's "Night Watch" on pottery tiles.

Andrew's favorite car...the Smart Car

The "new" church in Delft, Netherlands. Took 100 years to build and was completed in 1496.