Making new family connections

As part of my year of traveling I wanted to reconnect with many family members who I haven't seen recently. This generally means my father's side of the family, as I see my mother's side every few years or so.

So I have returned to Holland after 24 years; a lot is new, but some things remain unchanged. I came here twice as a child as well. But I think this time I can finally appreciate this part of my heritage. It is a remarkable country with a rich history.

My father fled Holland to the Dutch West Indies with his family during the war. He only returned for a short time before emigrating to Canada as a teenager. Therefore, our connection to our Dutch relatives has always been very thin.

During my visit here I have spent my time with my father's cousins. They have been so incredibly kind and generous to take me around to so many interesting sights. And there is quite often a story that connects a relative to each place.

I have been to Den Haag (The Hague). This was where my father grew up as a small boy. It is a beautiful old city with typical canals and fleets cyclists making their way around the tiny streets. Holland is definitely a country of bicycles. Nowadays, Den Haag is known as the place for justice. War criminals from around the world are brought here to answer for their actions.

We were also in the south of the country to visit my cousin, Serena. She is eight months pregnant, so our time was spent cleaning the baby furniture and getting the room ready for the new arrival. It was great to be able to offer some support. No point sitting around drinking tea when there is work to be done. She lives on a farm where she keeps her two horses, two dogs and four cats. These animals will have some tough competition when the baby comes. However, she is well suited for managing chaos, as Serena is a police officer.

I have also been to a lovely castle, Slot Loevenstein. It is situated on an island at the convergence of two rivers. The count that build the fortress charge a toll to all ships in the rivers. He was often under attack, but managed to reap a good bit of money. Later the castle was turned into a prison as it was quite isolated. Hugo de Groot, a founder of modern law, was imprisoned there until he escape in his book chest in 1621. This scheme was conceived by his wife and her maid.

The castle is near Woudrichem, a quaint historical town. We had a fantastic dinner at the old town hall or Raadhuys (pronounced rat•house). Not the best name for a restaurant, but it was certainly delicious.

We also stopped by a charming medieval town named Heusden. It is a walled city on one of the many rivers in the area. It reminds you just how precarious life in a sub-sealevel country really is. In Holland there is entire government ministry dedicated to monitoring the water levels. There is a well developed series of ditches, canals, rivers, lakes and pumps to move water through the country and out to the sea. Holland is essentically a catchbasin for most of north eastern Europe. There are even giant sea gates at the base of the Maas river that can be closed in case of rough weather in the North Sea. If there is a high likelihood of surges, then the gates are closed and all shipping, both in and out has to stop. You can imagine how expensive it can be to be trapped at dock with a cargo hold full of goodies. Worse yet, to be trapped outside the gates in the ferious North Sea.

This has been a whirlwind tour so far with so much to see, and it is only just started. I hope I can keep up the pace. My relatives are in great shape so I will have to keep moving to stay with them.