Our Days Singing In The Rain

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We arrived in Amsterdam on Thursday morning with just a few catnaps on the plane. We were already ready for bed, but forced ourselves to stay awake until the evening. Guido picked us up from the airport and brought us to his home in the center of Haarlem. Haarlem is a nice town 30 minutes outside Amsterdam which is known for shopping. Their house is just inside the walking zone with cobbled streets and easy access to shopping. It's close to the train station so you can easily reach Amsterdam for work or play. Their house, what we Americans would call a condo, is wonderfully restored by Guido and Carole. Three stories with a terrace on the 3rd floor. We are staying on the top floor in their guest room.

Their street is typical Dutch, narrow, brick path, no grass, but everyone has flower pots, plants, benches and other decorated front entrances. Carole tells us their cute front porch area is always being photographed by the tourists and she is tempted to put a container out with a sign One Euro per photograph! The main source of transportation in the Nethlerlands is bicycle. And although we knew this it is still absolutely astounding how many bikes carrying kids, dogs, shopping and beer we see!

Carole took a day off work on Thursday--thank you Carole! So we spent the first day with Carole and baby Anouk visiting and listening to Anouk sing. At four months old, she is the happiest baby with the sweetest disposition. What a joy to be around her! Mom and I walked through the shopping district (in the RAIN!) --- it was very cold and wet. It was good that we got cold - since that made it easier to stay awake! Then later in the afternoon, we went out again with Carole and Anouk. There was no rain this time and it was very nice to see the city and explore a bit more. As you walk down the narrow streets you get a chance to view a bit of the Dutch life as we could peak in to see the living rooms of many neighbors. Without any grass or front lawns it is amazing how green the town is with the potted plants in front of each house.

We finally went to bed at about 7pm (we had been awake at this time 30-35 hours each). We slept very well 10-12 hours and woke up rested and ready to explore again. Guido took Friday off work so he could take us around the area. We drove north to the Zuider ZeeMuseum in Enkhuizen which is an open air museum where buildings, houses, a church, a windmill etc., have all been moved brick by brick from their original locations in Holland to the open air museum to show a bit of the daily life in the fishing villages. All the land in the area has been "reclaimed" from the sea. Much of Holland is under sea level and they continue to reclaim land from the sea to add to the area where they can build.

Today, Saturday, Guido, Mom and I went to Amsterdam for lunch with Dunja Firestein, a colleague of mine from Planar, and her husband Conrad. It was a lovely visit filled with fun stories and wonderful food. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and even got a tour of Dunja and Conrad's home which they are in the process of selling. After our visit, we strolled around Amsterdam Central Neighborhood watching the tourists, smelling a few funny cigarettes from the Koffee Shops and taking pictures of the bicylists and buildings on the canal. It was a sunny afternoon and a great time to see the city.

Now we're back in Haarlem, ready to enjoy another great meal cooked by Carole. I need to remember the reciepe from last night's dish. Included below.

Carole's Fish Roll a la Creme Fresh
Firm White Fish
Spread creme fresh on the fish
Roll the fish (with the creme fresh inside) and secure with two or three tooth picks each
Sprinkle with grated hard white cheese (like Gouda or Edam)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Drizzle olive oil over fish
Cook in 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until fish is done

We have one more day in Holland, then we leave Monday morning for London. More later from the road!

Kimarie and Fay

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Photos

Amsterdam via Bike
More bikes than cars are on the road in Holland!

Guido and Carole's Street
Guido, Fay and Anouk ready to explore the open air museum

Kimarie and Guido
At the open air museum - eating smoked herring.

At the Candy Store
Kimarie and Guido buying typical Dutch candy.

Carole, Guido and Fay
Ready to eat a delicious meal cooked Moroccan style.

Typical Dutch Front Porch
Decorated front porch in Enkhuizen.

Smoked Herring
At the open air museum in Enkhuizen we ate smoken herring. Freshly made. Yum!!!

Comments

[Carole]

Fish à la crème fraîche
Hi Kimarie, sorry but I don't want to dissapointed your readers, I have to give some comments on the receipe (or may be you don't want to give the secrets of my receipe :-) The crème should be fresh ... for sure You have to put on the fish crème fraîche and cheese, salt and peper. That's really important. On the top of the fish when you rolled it, then you can put some few cheese again to gratinate and again salt and peper. And please do not put it on 350 degrees, but at the max 200 degrees .... oh may be it was FD and not CD. Sorry if that's the case. Was really nice to have you guys at home, was great to see you again and meet your mum (hope I will be that fit at her age). Hope to see you soon again. Love Carole

[Kimarie]

Thanks for the receipe comments
It was 350 FD we were guessing that would work well. It's a pretty standard temp in the US for cooking. I will make sure to add more cheese on top and salt and pepper. We had a lovely visit. Thanks so much!