Family visit to Holland

Click here to see all the photos if the visit

Last weekend we hosted our wedding party for the Dutch family and friends. It was my parents final week here in Holland, and my brother Jeremy’s first few days here. It was only the second time that both sides of our families have met. The first of course was at our wedding, where the Flieders hosted the Kapteins in LA. Now, Rob’s family returned the favor and showed my parents fine Dutch hospitality. We were hosted by Rob’s parents Jan/Nettie, and his sister Femke, her husband Tomas and their son Quinten



My family slept in one converted castle in Rob’s home town, and we had our wedding in the other. I absolutely promise to put all the wedding pics up with all the stories, but that is an blog or 3 in itself! This blog I’ll just tell a little of my family’s visit.

My family got to see the house that Rob grew up in, and actually so did his mother! Unlike in LA, where a house from 1950 is practically an antique, and very few families stay in the same house they’re entire life…Rob’s mother lives in the same house she grew up in. The house is from the 1930’s, but she moved there as a teen-ager in the 1950’s with her family. They can point out the was the coy pond Nettie’s brother built in the garden, some original woodwork and actual doors from the 1930’s, the garage put in 1960…each corner of the house has a story to tell about the same family living there!



On Saturday, we all went over to Femke & Tomas’s house for coffee. There my parents could see 1 year old Quinten on his home turf, and since he can walk a bit now and has a huge vocabulary of 2 words, he gave us a complete tour of the house with commentary. After coffee, Jan & Nettie showed my parents the local dunes and beach areas.



Meanwhile, Rob and I went into Amsterdam to pick Jeremy up from the airport. We went into the city with Jeremy for a bite to eat, and get a brief glimpse of the town. After words, we all returned to Jan & Nettie house for an authentic Indonesian dinner called Rijsttafel. It literally translates in Dutch to “Rice on the Table”, and consists of rice & meats/veggies cooked in an Indonesian curry sauce.

As said before, I’m already writing a novel here, but done need War & Peace the Blog Version, so Sunday wedding party will go in another blog.

On Monday, Jeremy flew to Spain to join a tour of the area. My parents sight saw in Amsterdam for a few days. On Weds., Rob and I joined them for a fun day seeing art in the famous Rijksmuseum, doing a canal boat tour, and eating Dim Sum. My mother had some fresh pears left over, and could not bear to let them go to waste. She kept saying “Maybe the family on the tour boat would like them, some people at the train station….”, but unfortunately did not find any takers. Well, maybe by anonymous donation someone found them and said “Oh my, how did they know I wanted pears? How lucky!”



Well, Thursday, my parents flew back to LA, where they are now comfortably sitting and reading this blog. It was an incredible visit, and we cant wait to see them again here…and I cant wait to come back in January!