VIDEO | Weighing in on witchery

July 5, 2017 - Oudewater, Holland - Let's just be clear, if I sat on a broom I'd crush it; there would be no sailing about. But no matter, according to the executive director of the Museum de Heksenwaag, also known as the Witches Museum. 

From 1450 to 1650 it was a low place in history because of the witch trials. Witches, don't you know, were as light as a feather and able to fly. 

Burning of witches was a real plague. A rumor was enough to declare the accusation official, thus, thousands of people were killed. 

During the witch trials, if someone was accused of being a witch, a “water test” was performed to prove whether or not the accusation was valid.  Examiners would throw a suspect with tied hands and feet into the water. If the suspect sank, then innocence was proven and she was dredged up and released. 

If the 'witch' stayed afloat she was proven to work magic and subsequently brought to court.

People from across Europe and beyond flocked to Oudewater to be weighed and given a certificate declaring they were not a witch. 

It wasn't the scale in Oudewater that was specifically spot on ....it was a matter of the person manning the scale being honest. 

I agreed to be weighed and tested. As the executive director, Jeanette Blake, said, "there was really no way to win."  

Listen in when I say I'm too fat to fly a broomstick and she comes back with the claim that I schmeared boiled baby fat on the broomstick and that helped lift me off the ground. 

Eventually I passed and was given a certificate worth framing. 

What an odd time... but what a great museum. Hat tip to the hostess, Jeanette Blake; she was a great storyteller!

VIDEO | Finding Wisconsin in the Netherlands, Part II

July 4, 2017 – Gouda, Netherlands - Hokey and loving it. Gouda is a community in the Netherlands known for its clay pipes, treacle waffles and of course it's cheese.  Upon my entrance to the city I find this cheeky cow made of Legos. Reminds me of home. 

Toured the historic Museum Gouda. The location used to be a shelter for the homeless, begging monks and escaped serfs. They were allowed to spend the night.  

Also at the museum was a remake of the hospital pharmacy. If a pharmacist wanted to display his status to his clients he put crocodiles and other exotic animals like salamanders and snakes on show. Snakes were, by the way, also used as a cookie ingredient; viper cookies kept you young.

Agypy  was the medicine made of finely pounded mummies -  believed to give you eternal life.

 Felis was made of dried cats good against rheumatism as cats are flexible.

The famous cheese shop in Gouda (photo, above) where they even made blue lavender cheese (see video, below).

VIDEO | The singing bears and my party invitation

July 3, 2017 - Rotterdam, Netherlands - The communities in the Netherlands are pretty tight knit. There is a lot of agricultural area with farm fields and livestock. Today I happened upon a family of swans just outside Rotterdam. 

This was the neatest idea in Zoetermeer where a historic photo of the street would be posted in the same area of the current street. 

Just an FYI: This is also a grocery in the Netherlands. I rode past it about three times before finally asking where the food store was located. 

Met Wilma in the grocery. I asked her about the singing bears (see video below). She was extremely friendly and chatty. "Happy 4th of July," she said. "Come celebrate with us. My American friend is in town." 

And with that I've been invited to a July 4th party!

A new reality show.

July 3, 2017 - Delft, Netherlands - Broke way out of my box this morning and asked my Polish neighbors at the campsite if I could tag along on their kayaking adventure. 

I'm not sure any of us knew what we going on until I climbed in the kayak with Wojciech. 

And make that Wojciech No. 2 as both boys had the same name. Susanna was our translator.

This could be the next successful reality TV show. Drop an American in a kayak with a group of people who only speak Polish. It was quite a bit of time spent in the weeds.

Susanna packed a GoPro and the boys a lighter and a six pack. It was a co-ed team in each kayak. 

During a break on shore we connected through music. Justin Bieber drew a laugh. Pink garnered no reaction. AC/DC got head nods from the boys. Very fun.

Hat tip to my camping host Alex who connects with the Alzheimer's tour and let me stay the night for free. Such nice hospitality. 

Started off after the noon whistle to Rotterdam. 

Diana helped me find the grocery in Rotterdam. "I'd very much like to come to US but I hate flying," she said. So cheerful and with many questions about the US. "Is it big? I watch shows about the states on documentaries." 

Diana has a little girl born on Christmas Day. She was just so genuine and kind. 

Connecting deeper with the Dutch; spreading the word about Alzheimer's

July 3, 2017 - Naaldwijk, Holland - I connected with Cor at the Pluktuin gardens in Monster. Just received this email:

"I am sure you have met a lot of people here in Holland and one of them was me last Saturday, July 1, where we met in a place in Naaldwijk called de Pluktuin.

 I apologize I did not have the time to talk more with you because I had to go to my daughter's birthday. And actually I was already late.... because I took some more time to do my photography.. :-) I hope you were able to find a camping in Hook of Holland which was the nearest I think. It was nice to meet you and saw the passion in what you are doing.

So here the passion flower I photographed at the Pluktuin for you for your good work.

 All the best and feel free to mail me. 

With kind regards, 
Cor de Voogd - The Netherlands"

Sounds and sights of the sea in Monster, Holland

July 2, 2017 - Monster, Holland - Woke up Saturday morning to the sound of the sea; it lulled me back to sleep for another two hours; a weekend luxury, but (full disclosure) it was also raining. 

Packed up and headed to the sea. Windy weather was perfect for the kite surfers. Their speeds were fast and their kites lit up the sky along the shore. 

Pedaled south to the small community of Monster. 

Sam, 22, said he was 2 years old when his parents drove past a windmill and he was hooked. 

Sam took me for a tour and explained the mechanics of the mill. We stepped outdoors on the deck and he slowed the wings of the mill. Back indoors he pointed out the 'horse and the general.'  You could tell Sam loved his hobby. 

Teaser: Came upon this Passion flower in the nursery outside Monster called De Plucktuin. See next story!

Royal Horses leaving parade practice in De Hague

June 29, 2017 - De Hague, Netherlands - In addition to catching band practice, I got to see these horses flaunt their beauty as they left parade practice in De Hague.

Band Practice in De Hague a la Adele

June 29, 2017 - De Hague, Netherlands - Caught a bit of the parade band practice for De Parade in De Hague as they performed "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele.

Come along and tour the windmill with me!

June 29, 2017 - Leiden, Netherlands - For those of you who have never seen the inside of a bonafide Dutch windmill, I've shot some video to take you along on a tour with me. Click the video below and join me!

PHOTO GALLERY: Knocking Holland windmill off bucket list

June 29, 2017 - Leiden, Holland - I can knock Holland windmill tour off my bucket list.  

Then (above)...and NOW

The De Valk, or The Falcon, is a tower mill that dates to 1743.  It is seven floors in all and used to be home to the miller’s family and even a cow or two. 

Suggestions on how to get down. The docent said kids do the best but parents are scared. 

 The upscale living quarters on the first floor of the De Valk mill. 

The decorative sink in the kitchen inside the mill.

Wooden gears and wheels and whatnot near the ceiling on the fifth floor of the windmill. 

Looking up the narrow ladder stairs. 

The wheel on the outside to turn the sails on the windmill 

The grinding stones were enormous, the stairways or ladders steep and the life of a miller had to be difficult and very demanding and all while "wearing wooden shoes," said the docent Danielle at the front desk. 

A couple interesting tidbits: 

- The De Valk mill was pulled down in 1743 and replaced by the present tower mill; this time the body of the mill was built in brick.  A stone tablet shows the undertaking was completed in 2-1/2 months. 

-Over a century ago there were 10,000 windmills and now only 950. Most mills were lost in fires or they closed due to poor maintenance.  

- The millers in Leiden were organized in the Guild of Saint Victor. In the Netherlands Saint Victor is regarded as the patron saint of millers. He was a Roman soldier, who as a Christian and refused to sacrifice to a pagan Roman god. His punishment was to be drowned with a millstone around his neck.

- The steam engine came into use in the 19th century and windmills were no longer necessary. They gradually disappeared from the city. Since 1950 only one mill has survived and this is De Valk (The Falcon). 

                                                                                       

-A millers fee was fixed by the authorities until 1805 when a tax had to be paid on every bag of grain. A tax inspector stood by the entrance to some mills; nevertheless, many millers managed to evade the regulations. Up until 1869 there were even 'smugglers cupboards' in De Valk in which the miller hid untaxed flour.

-Windmills were once saw mills that helped the ship building industry; the Dutch had one of the best fleets. 

Windmill art. Used to sell products.

Looking out on the city of Leiden from the fourth story

Weights used to hoist the grain up to the top level. The windmill did all the heavy lifting. 

A pulley and one of the old signs at the mill

The super secret bathroom on the first floor of the mill. 

The toilet paper was crisp and faded brown and looked original. The docent said the main bathroom was on the same floor as the cattle. So, not only did the family live in the windmill and operate it as a place of business to produce flour but it also housed a cow or two.

If a part broke in the windmill there was a person in town who could craft a new one. 
This was the directory hanging on the wall in the entryway 

VIDEO | Sorry, Wisconsin, no cheese for YOU

June 28, 2017 - Leiden, Holland - Spent an extra day in Leiden which is about 25 miles south of Amsterdam. 

Smaller community than Amsterdam but a college town and fast paced with a lot of museums. Plus, there was heavy rain overnight and more precipitation on tap today. There are also several museums I missed ... so those are all my excuses and I'm sticking to it. 

Ramon Severs was one of the first vendors I ran into. He was a good-looking guy and spoke English, but I was drawn to his big wheels of cheese. 

The 25-pounder would not fit on my bike nor would the cheddar stone of 40 kilos. Sorry, Wisconsin friends.

Side note: Listen in on the video. I like the part where he says "I'm my own boss."

The vendors with white tents ran down the edge of the river and all around the city centre. 

There was a meat man, bolts of fabric and sport socks, olives and candies. One could experience a real hum to the market. 

Touring the seminary with Thea

June 28, 2017 - Leiden, Holland - Thea, who once lived in  Philadelphia but returned to Holland, said she remembered when there was a festival in Warmond and all the priests walked around town in black robes. 

Thea managed to talk our way into the neighboring senior rehab and an administrator opened the old seminary chapel so we could take a look. (See video)

Have faith in God but lock your bike

June 27, 2017 - Leiden, Holland - Updates and tidbits.

A couple interesting notes about Holland:

- The bicycling community is fantastic; so many kids on bikes.

- There's a saying in the Netherlands, "Have faith in God but lock your bike."

- This is something I never read in a travel guide...the businesses in Holland are basically boycotting VISA. They're all sick of the hefty fees that come with processing every transaction. "That's bad news on this end," said the female biker who travels with a dedicated VISA.  I have a VISA debit card, too. They won't take that, either, so it's off to the cash machine or "robo cash" as it's called here. This will make for an interesting trip. 

-You know you're not in the U.S. when the campground you stay at has a trampoline for the kids.  

Theses signs relay direction to bicycles on the trails in Holland. For a biker it makes it very easy to get around and know the distance to your next city. And yes... McDonalds is at a prime intersection.

The stately building is formerly the Warmond Seminary. The building was then turned into senior housing. Now the seniors have been displaced and the new owner is likely to turn the place into apartments.

This statue of the woman was atop a building next to a church in the center of Leiden.
There was no description.

Rembrandt was born in Leiden. This is the marker on his birthplace home.
Which is now on the Leiden University campus. Shy the red and the "W," it all feels very Madison.

This sculpture of St. George slaying a dragon is atop a sandstone gate in Leiden.
The sculpture dates to 1645 and the gate later was the marker to the red-light district. 

Four story spiral staircase had me hanging on tight

June 27, 2017 - Leiden, Holland - This is a spiral staircase that spun up over four stories. It was at a botanical garden in Leiden, Holland. It was at a botanical garden in Leiden, Holland. Once you accomplished the climb you advanced to the catwalk.

Two kids were racing around and looking over the edge. This old lady (me) was white knuckling the railing and shuffling along.

I tried to relax and just watch the show until the kids were right behind me and like, "Can you get out of the way, old lady?"