Europe- Part 8- Friesland
On our last day in Holland we drove up to Freisland. This is a northern provence and happens to be where my dad's ancestors came from. (My mom's were actually very close to here too!)
The Dutch are very hardworking and our family has always taken great pride in that, especially my dad, so this place has great meaning for him.
Above, we are standing on a bridge over the Afsluitdjik. The Afsluitdjik is a 20 mile long dike that the Dutch built so they could gain more land. It took them 5 years to basically just move land and create a new land out of the ocean (and consequentially a new sea). You can see the horizon is off because the North Sea and the Zuiderzee have different sea levels. Pretty cool...and pretty stupid I couldn't figure out for 5 minutes why my pictures weren't straight ;)
This above, is the Menno Simons monument in Witmarsum. Another big reason why we chose to come to Freisland for a day. Menno Simons started the Mennonite religion in a church right where the monument stands. My dad's ancestors were some of those who first joined the church. If you don't know much about it, the Mennonite religion was basically started because Menno Simons, who was a Catholic priest in the early 1500s, was frustrated with the number of changes he felt the Catholics were making to the basic doctrines of the Bible. It, not surprisingly, shares many beliefs with the LDS Church.
The land was beautiful, and as someone who has always dreamed of living on a farm or somewhere other than the suburbs, it made me jealous of those who get to live in such breathtaking places, but also grateful for the comfortable life we live.
Also, these cows could not get enough of Addie--they were all riled up and grouping together. I honestly thought they were going to break down the fence and charge at her.
A scripture referenced on the monument:
1 Corinthians 3:11
After visiting the monument, we drove over to Hindeloopen, a little town on the water to get some Freisland gear and eat some lunch! Fish and chips, no surprise there.
We walked around the harbor, got some ice cream, took some pics and got in the car to head back to Amsterdam for our last night! We did manage to put the wrong gas in the rental car, (green does not mean diesel in all countries), but made it home alive. (I was thouroughly convinced we were all going to blow up.) We went to our fav Italian place where everyone loved Addie, for dinner, packed up, and got ready to head back to the US the next day. Couldn't have asked for a better or more meaningful way to spend my time in Holland with my parents. I know Addie won't remember, but she got to see where she comes from! We'll have to take her back one day ;)
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| Evidence that parents are still kids too. |
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