I had a week of holidays between the end of my intensive french course and the beginning of classes, and so I decided to make the trek to the Netherlands to visit friends and family. I took the train in the early morning from Lausanne to Geneva Airport, and from there flew into the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. I spent the afternoon in Amsterdam, two days in Ede, one day in Scheveningen, and a final three days in Zeeland.
When I was in Ede I went with family to visit the town of Aalten, which was where my grandmother grew up. I got to visit a museum there that honors my great grandfather for his efforts in the the resistance during the second world war. I also visited the little town of Dinxperlo which lies on the border with Germany, and got to straddle the two countries on a street that runs right along it.
During my time in Zeeland I took a day trip with family to Rotterdam and got to see the Cube houses for the first time by dutch architect Piet Blom. We also went to the Museum Park and got a tour of the Sonneveld house, which is a house in the ‘Nieuwe Bouwen’ style – a dutch branch of functionalism. Designed in the 1930’s by architect Leendert van der Vlugt, it follows many ‘Le Corbusian’ ideas.
The only downside to my trip is that it rained and it rained…. and it rained! No matter though because I had a great time and it was so nice to see the family that I had not seen in over a year. I learned quite a few dutch phrases as well and was amazed at how much I could understand. Now I have to begin planning the next trip for Christmas… : )
Life Section 