A little about Holland

Holland rains from high tide
Flower feelings of disturbing depth,
Cyclists roll playfully
In the clouds of my destiny
The rain drizzles in summer and winter.
Spring misses somewhere around the corner
And the moon smiles with me.
Sometimes changing your face.
Holland rains from high tide
The sun hangs in the sky like cheese.
And melts the tulips to red.
Which the whole world admires.
The stubborn wind grinds nicely.
In the hands of the mill meaningful days
With the flow of air, I come off easily.
I'm dreaming of this fuss.
And I feel the awakening again.
In the low lands of the island of love,
And a bunny of sun on the wall,
Calls me to look for dreams...

 

Finally, my dream came true – I was granted a visa to the Netherlands. It's very difficult, I confess. First, the embassy confused my passport with my surname. The woman also needed a visa to Amsterdam. Then they asked for another payment for the hotel. A fax in two languages was sent from a hotel in Amsterdam. And I got a 3-week visa. How bad that Russia is not part of the European Union! You must always open a visa to leave. I am getting off the plane, but where to go, where to find what? Where's my luggage? After 30 minutes, I leave with my luggage to the hall, where I am greeted by Dutch friends with a bouquet of flowers. Amsterdam International Airport Schiphol in its architectural design is the embodiment of clarity and pragmatism. However, the advertising diversity of walls, stained glass and pillars turns it into a kaleidoscopic labyrinth, where it is very easy to get lost. A Dutch proverb says that God created heaven and earth, and they created Holland. If there is an exaggeration, it is small: almost half of the country is polder, land, which the Dutch with their own hands won from the sea. For example, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport – its name means “harbour” – is located on the very spot where in 1573 there was a fierce naval battle between the Gez and the Spaniards. We've come to Appeldoorn. A small house for several owners. The houses are right next door. This is because there is a lot of people and little land.

 

I brought all my Dutch friends Russian souvenirs. By the way, there were no return souvenirs. The next day I cooked a simple lunch - borscht and salad "herring under a fur coat." We invited our neighbors, Richard and Thiera. They really liked the salad. I made another one for them to take home. The couple recently got married – each has another marriage behind them. Each has three children. The first impressions of the city are silence, purity, peace. Big park behind the house. Everyone's on bicycles. In Russia, the bicycle is used as a sport and for the entertainment of children. Here, as a means of transportation. Flowers around. Here everything is saturated with moisture: the sky, and fat meadows, and dense greenery of trees, and countless channels, and wet wind, and rain, which only occasionally pretends that it does not go, and the rest of the time pours like a bucket. No one is paying attention to him. Neither did I. It gets hot in an hour and I take off my coat. Children play on the sidewalk in the rain, lovers kiss on the embankment. The Dutchman should always be calm, reasonable, not pay attention to minor troubles. Only those who do not know the Dutch can suspect them of coldness, stiffness and homeliness. With external restraint, the Dutch are terribly curious, more active people. Even more than scolding the weather, they love to travel and attend cultural events. We looked at the city. In the center was a choir and orchestra. A group of elderly people danced to music. After 3 days we went to visit Amsterdam. From the side of the IJsselmer Bay, Amsterdam resembles a giant jaw with sero-stone teeth of houses.

 

From afar you can see the famous Tower of Tears. Once the wives of Dutch sailors gathered here in order to appease the formidable Neptune with abundant tears and thus ensure the happy return of their wandering spouses. Amsterdamers joke that the wives of modern sailors are flooded with combustible tears when their husbands return home. You can see from the sea and the building of the exchange, one of the largest in Europe – its daily turnover is 20 million euros – and like woven from metal lace, the Central Station machine, leaning on piles that go to the bottom of the Gulf of Het-Ey. Against the general background of medieval houses and buildings of the beginning of the century, the “golden tooth” of architectural modernity stands out sharply – the skyscraper of the headquarters of the Shell oil company. The building was built at a time when the foundations of the Western economy had not yet felt the full impact of the energy crisis. The windows of the Shell headquarters, made with a small addition of gold, like the lanterns of a giant lighthouse, point to Amsterdam Harbour, as if indicating the way to a quiet and safe berth. We traveled through the canals on a boat and looked at everything carefully.

The very name of the city ("Amsterdam" - literally: the dam on the river Amstel) suggests that its inhabitants, as well as all other subjects of the kingdom, are not used to natural disasters. From time immemorial, people have been erecting dams in the country, building diversion channels to resist the sea: almost half of the territory of the state lies below sea level. But let’s not worry, I’m on vacation. We decided to visit museums. We were in a museum with the world’s largest collection of works by Vincent Van Gogh – more than 200 paintings, including many of the artist’s famous masterpieces. The museum also houses an extensive collection of 19th-century sculpture and painting. I really liked the Dutch doll houses. These are family houses in miniature, these are not only toys, but also hobbies that the well-to-do ladies of the Golden Age enjoyed. Visitors from all over the world come to the Rijksmuseum to enjoy its collections. For most of them, the main attraction is Dutch painting of the seventeenth century, known as the Golden Age. The wide variety of the greatest works by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jacob Van Resdal, Jan Stehn and Johannes Wetmeer ensures that nowhere in the world can you appreciate and enjoy the special character of the high-quality painting of the Dutch school, as in this museum.

 

A few days later we went to the North of Holland by sea, there was ordered a camping for 2 families. And this house was like a miracle. In the kitchen we were waiting for a bouquet of roses and a wish to have a good rest. Everything you needed - dishes, food, tools, bicycles, games, washing machine - it was so wonderful! 2 bedrooms, lounge, shower, refrigerator, toilet, garden - I was delighted! All for recreation, all for people! We stayed at the Wild Park campground, but we went to other cities every day. For example, there are many historic buildings in Horn. At the Oude Posthurn Cafe, I ate apple pie. We visited the port with ships. On the parapet 3 sculptures, a boy standing, looking at the sky and climbing the parapet. Jan Fabritus wrote about these sculptures. Their names are Ayo, Rade, Rolf. On the embankment - the old church of 1532, is now being reconstructed. Dutch men are easy to recognize – they are blonde and tall. The streets are narrow, peculiar architecture, triangular roofs, roof colors: blue, green and dark gray.

 

In my opinion, the Dutch are a nation with an innate sense of beauty. Any boring housewife can turn the window of her house into a work of high art. I often stopped, admiring whether it was a house, or a storefront, I do not understand. We visited Eddam and Volendam. There were many buses with tourists in the parking lot, by the way, there were Russian groups of tourists. We ate fish caught immediately on the waterfront, talked to Singaporean girls in English. Photographed at the Spader Hotel. This hotel was visited by Renoir Pierre-Augustin, Walt Disney, Elizabeth Taylor, Kaiser William, Muhammad Ali (American boxing champion), Kern Douglas (American actor), Marco Van Wasten (coach of the national Dutch football team). We saw a cheese shop museum. On the doors of the store hang old photos, telling about the process of making cheese. Entering the store, on the left you will see figures of people making cheese. On the right you choose a head of cheese or related products (chocolate, tea, etc.). Theodora paid 11 euros for a head of cheese (400 grams). “Why is it so expensive?” he asked. This cheese was made 7 months ago. Cheese, like wine, the older, the more tasty and aromatic. The more mature the wine, the more expensive it is. So is cheese.

 

On the embankment we saw many tourists from different countries - from Italy, Spain, Germany, Korea. The shops are full of souvenirs, you can take pictures in national costumes. Every district in the Netherlands has its own national costume. Their painting of souvenirs is like our Gzhel. I bought magnetic souvenirs for the fridge. I have already collected a whole collection from the countries I have visited - Italy, France, Belgium.

 

The streets are narrow, I was constantly “scratching” from cyclists.

In Waterland, there is a plaque on one of the houses. Dating back to 1811, Emperor Napoleon came to this house to meet other royals from the Netherlands and Prussia.

 

In Zaanstrek there is a sculpture of the Russian Tsar Peter 1 sculptor Bernstam, Tsar Nicholas 2 paid this sculptor. (Please excuse my translation of Dutch names.) There is a small house in Zaandam where Peter was when he was learning to build ships. He was there twice: in 1697 and in 1717. Now it is a wooden house decorated with brick. We visited the bazaar of used things: dishes, books, jewelry, silver rings, watches with diamonds are inexpensive. Dutch women love jewelry, like magpies, and try to wear them for any reason and for any clothes. Both the bazaar and the shops are full of various beads. But neither clothes nor shoes (70-80-ies) you will not bring from there. On the last day of my stay, we visited the Aquarium Museum. Very similar to the Belgian zoomuseum in Liege. Now it's time to go home to Russia. I leave Holland with an abundance of impressions, with peace of mind, which is very important in our frenzied rhythm of life.

 

I won't sleep tonight, I know.

Let me cry loudly.

But every day I realize how much I miss you.

I miss those streets,

Where I've been and know everything.

Where I've been and know everything.

How I miss those faces,

It's a memory forever.

I miss that dawn,

That I woke up in the morning.

I miss that land,

Where I found happiness and unhappiness.