A Trip into the Past

                                                              

Nestled along the River Spaarne, the city of Haarlem was founded in the 10th century.  It is rich in both beauty and history. We had arranged to meet Papa's cousin, Henk, early in the morning.

Ariana and I on the bridge over the River Spaarne waiting for Henk to arrive. It was a lovely day, hot, sun shining, the sky blue and hazy with heat.

                                                 

                                                Henk arrives in his Saab

We started off the day by having breakfast together in the diningroom at the Joop. It has a rather oddly themed over-the-top decor of combined Egyptian and Rennaisance, but the food was delicious.

                               

Ariana and Nana sip our morning tea in the golden Joop diningroom.

This was a highly anticipated day for Gordon; to see the places where his parents had their beginnings. As we set out with Henk to explore Haarlem, I am aware of a sense of personal connection. For Papa this feeling is, of course, deeply intense and he is very eager to impart that powerful kinship of history and belonging to Ariana.

                                  

Overseeing the Market Square is a statue of L. J. Coster, the man Haarlemers credit with creating modern printing techniques. Forty years before Gutenberg invented the first printing press, this man carved the letter "A" out of wood, dropped it into some wet sand and saw the imprint it left. In the statue, Coster (c. 1370-1440) holds up a block of movable type and points to himself, saying: "I made this."

Ariana sits on the marble sculpture of an A in the Market Square. "A for Ariana!", she declares.

                                  

Also in Haarlem's market square is the Town Hall, the site of the city's government since about 1100. This is the place where Papa's parents, Ariana's Great-Oma nd Great-Opa, who both died before she was born, in 1997 and 2001, were married, and where their births are registered.

       
Rising above the market square is the magnificent 16th century St. Bavo Grote Kerk (Great Church), one of the best-known landmarks in the Holland. Papa's father, Cornelis Maurits, was baptised in this church in 1923 and was also an altar boy there for several years.

Driving up to the street where Papa's father was born.

                             
Papa standing outside the row house (number 34) where his father was born, the eighth of nine children, on February 6th, 1923. He was born to Hendricus Maurits and Cornelia (Selhorst), who birthed, raised all their children, and resided there for over 40 years. Papa's cousin Henk, is the son of their oldest child, also named Hendricus.

Another view of the street where Papa's father was born.

The historical school Papa's father attended from the age of 5 to 13, when he left to become an apprentice baker. The original part of the school is now attached to a large, modern building and is still a school.

The house where Papa's grandfather died in 1965. It is just around the corner from the family house. He moved in with his daughter and her family after his wife died. Papa remembers visiting his Opa in the room at the top right hand corner of this house shortly before his death.

Papa's grandfather, Hendricus Adrianus Maurits (Ariana's Great-Great Opa) in the garden of the above house.

His wife, Papa's grandmother, Cornelia Selhorst Maurits (Ariana's Great-Great Oma). 

Papa stands outside the house where his grandfather died. The last time he was there was when he was eight years old, the same age Ariana is now.

The cemetery in Haarlem where Papa's grandparents and other family members are buried. Unfortunately it was closed for maintenance on the day we were there and we were unable to visit their graves.

The house, also in Haarlem, where Papa's two older sisters, Pauline and Johannah, were born in 1947 and 1948. They had a four room apartment on the second floor.

Our next stop was at a nearby children's play area for Ariana. She enjoyed darting in and out of the wooden facades of the playhouses.

A bit blurry, but she loved the swing!

Before leaving Haarlem for the second part of our nostalgic trip into the past, we had lunch at this quaint little cafe at the end of the street.

We ate Frikandels, which is basically the Dutch version of the hot dog. The toasted bun holds homemade sausage and is topped with chopped onions, mayo and a special curry ketchup. It was delicious! Ariana ate hers plain but happily dipped her chips in the mayo. As we ate we told her the beautiful, romantic story of how her Papa's parents, her Great-Opa and Great-Oma, met at a place called the Heuvelweg, which is where we were headed next.