One of the best things I have found since I moved here is a ladies travel group. Adventurously Yours was created by a former expat in our community here. She has since moved back to the U.S., but thanks to a wider group it is still alive and thriving. After feeling crappy all summer, I was excited to get out on my first adventure with the group – a day trip to Haarlem, which is west of Amsterdam. When my daughter asked what I was up to that morning, I told her I was going on a mommy field trip. I think it was an apt description.
We were a group of about 20 women, many who are moms at the school my daughter attends, some new to The Netherlands, others several years into their time here. Thankfully we have some amazing group members who love checking out new places and researching the history behind them. Two such ladies were kind enough to lead us around the town, pointing out some areas and things of note. Here are a few photos of the fun.
One place I didn’t get to explore and want to go back to see is the Corrie ten Boom House. The ground floor of the building housed the Ten Boom family’s clock shop, and they lived above. During World War II, the family hid five to six Dutch Jews at a time in a secret room. Over the course of the war, they gave refuge to hundreds. The house was raided in 1944 based on a tip that the family was using a high number of ration coupons. On that day the house had more than 30 visitors, who were arrested, including Corrie, her sister Betsie and their father Casper. But the Nazis were unable to find the two Jewish men, two Jewish women and two members of the Dutch underground who were safely hidden away in the secret room.
Casper died in prison, Betsie and Corrie spent time in prison and then in the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp where Betsie died. Of the people hiding the day of the raid, three of the four Jews survived the war, along with one of the two underground workers.
Red, White and Tulips 