Thorn, Netherlands and Valkenburg Christmas Market

It has been 3 weekends now that I have yet to blog about.  Well there are a few reasons for that. One is that I hurt my knee running in the spring, took a month off and started back with aching and soreness again.  Since then both knees have become increasingly sore and a couple of weeks ago actually feeling like they will buckle under my tremendous weight. So I have not gotten around much the last two weeks. Reason two is Amsterdam (right).  This was my second trip there and again I was not impressed: maybe it was the hoards of people, or the driving rain and icy wind, or the lines and fees for anything I wanted to do but I just didn’t like it. The things I did do were unimpressive like the Jewish History Museum which I thought might be a good substitute for the Anne Frank or Corrie Ten Boom House, but was an expensive lesson in basic Jewishness with a lot of pictures of Dutch historical figures who allowed Jews to have minimal rights as if that was a noble gesture. The Sex Museum (not my idea, but better I thought than standing outside in the rain) was the dumbest thing I may have ever seen and I felt a little stupider for the experience (standing outside in the rain would have been more edifying). The cars parked precariously along the canals however did impress me (right). The streets reeked like old bong-water and the openness of the prostitution made me feel pity rather than joy about the progressive nature of Amsterdam. Half of the prostitutes were just gruesome and the other half looked like sex trade victims. I don’t plan to ever go back to Amsterdam; nothing to see here folks unless you want to crawl into a coffeeshop and stay in a stupor for the duration, which be time better spent.  Last weekend I went to some smaller places for some local flavor.  First, the town of Thorn (left) for pancakes at their quite famous Pannenkoekenbakkerij (Pancake Bakery).  Pancakes are like a crepe the size of a pizza and covered with any number of toppings.  I had Salmon, mushroom and spinach, but didnt take a picture since I was hungry and it looked too good to become distracted with getting the perfect photo. The town was created as a monastery then a cloister and then turned over to exclusively women’s rule about 800 years ago where the Abbess (Head Nun) ran the abbey and town.  The whole downtown aka the Old Town is and always has been, whitewashed and the church is 1000 years old. From there I went to the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten (left) where 8301 Americans are buried.  I am awestruck as I hear over and over how grateful the Dutch are to America for the liberation from the Nazis and they have markers and reminders everywhere. The cemetery is very reverent and clean and is maintained by the citizens of the local community. Then a late afternoon drive to the Hoensbroek Castle which is about 15 minutes drive from my place here in Brunnsum (left). Nice big old castle with a moat, drawbridge and a café that serves espresso and vlaai (a special Limburgisch fruit pie where the whole pie is baked and the filling is very thick with fruit – heavy but delicious). To finally catch up, the Kerstmarkts (Christmas Markets)began opening on Friday the 16^th.  Here they celebrate Sinterklaas which is the day, December 5, when the big fat man (St. Nicholas) dressed in red arrives to Netherlands by steam boat (stoomboot) and brings toys to all the good children and Swarze Piet (Black Pete – a skinny white guy in black-face, supposedly representing the Moorish tradition but obviously not in a positive light) comes to collect the bad kids, throw them in a burlap bag and take them away to Spain. In recent years Swarze Piet has just become a bunch of guys in black-face who keep the kids amused with antics and candy. But I saw no Swarze Piets last night, only a Sinterklaas and his lovely wife. I topped the day off about 730 pm with some gluweine (hot mulled red wine) and a pannenkoeken met kaas (cheese pancake). I missed the big parade because my compadres didn’t want to stay.  Mental health professionals, all PhDs: one afraid of clowns, one afraid of crowds and one who hates to wait, and me, feeling like a kid loaded with gluweine and giddy to see Sinterklaas and Swarze Piet.  Although I had the car keys, I figured it was better to go home now, than to force them to stay while I am amused and then ride home for 20 minutes with 3 angry womyn.  No, just kidding, they are all great and we had a lovely time. We laughed and laughed and enjoyed the crisp air and the day without rain.  My knees ache a little this morning but I only have to go grocery shopping and iron my shirts for my final two weeks here. Next week, weather permitting, knees permitting and finances permitting I will spend in Cologne, Deutschland.