VOLENDAM Before we came last year, a Connecticut friend had recommended a number of places we should see. We got to most of them, but never managed to visit the seaside town of Volendam. So we took a bus there today, and loved it. The harbor is lovely, the town not at all tacky although full of souvenir shops and restaurants, and the most interesting boats come in and out.
It was a lovely afternoon. We stopped for coffee and an applecake in a waterside café. Ron was able to buy a huge smoked mackerel for his dinner for only two Euros and a stuk of nieuw haring with onions for one euro 25 to eat on the spot from a waterside vishandler. Is this living, or what?
NAARDEN Monday was still a holiday, 2nd Pinkstertag. We decided to visit the town of Naarden. It is famous for its star-shaped double moat fortification. The town is quite interesting looking, and the fortifications quite impressive. Apparently, like most forts, it was totally useless to anyone but the contractors who were paid to build it. They’ve been overrun in the past by the Bishop of Utrecht (!), the Spanish, the Prussians, the French and, of course, in modern times, the Germans. Forts seem to be some sort of boondoggle everywhere. Rarely useful and always expensive!
On this holiday at the fort museum, there was a show of cannon shooting. Two crack gun crews dressed up in Napoleonic era uniforms spotted an enemy ship through a telescope. They immediately sprang into action, loading, aiming and firing two iron cannon at the speedy rate of perhaps three shots an hour. And, of course, after they sank the phantom ship, they toasted their victory with several cheers and shots of gin. We enjoyed the show and the beautiful weather and also walked around town.
There was one startling moment. In walking around town we came across a display in a window-- pictures of four people, all of whom were lost on September 11 in WTC 2. Since the information under the photos was in Dutch, we don’t know if they were Naarden residents or relatives. But they clearly had ties to this little town and it dramatically demonstrated to us the great reach of the tragedy and gave much credence to the words that the attack on the World Trade Center was an attack on all nations.