Sometimes we just need to stop for a moment and appriciate the little (or not that little) things in lifes...like the sunshine (especially in Holland), the beautiful coloration of the trees in autumn, our families and friends, health and peace around us. And in order to do that I usually look back where I came from and where am I heading...That is why, I thought I had to go back a few years (4,5) and remember where I started my adventure in The Netherlands. And it happened to be in Muiden, North-Holland county, where we spent 9 months living together with my in-laws. It was a very interesting experience, what I should never forget and I am still greatful for.
This is where I started to learn the language, started to get my first impression of the culture and the people. (what turned out to be very different from what I had used to, and that challanged me -and still does- since I live here) This is the place where I first (and last, never again, sorry :)) tasted the famous national food, the raw haring (herring), and where I had my very first snackbar experience. All this time I also had very nice home cooked meals, such as stamppot met boerenkool (smoked sausages with a type of cabbage I have never seen before and boiled potatoes) and I became a big fan of the gerookte makreel (smoked mackerel). I have also seen the very cute and special paying procedure for boats entering the kanals of Muiden. The bridgemaster let's down a wooden shoe attached to a rope where the shipowners have to put their fee in. (see the photo in the gallery)
Muiden is a small, lovely, quiet village just outside Amsterdam. It is famous for it's castle (more about the history: http://www.muiderslot.nl/castle/history/?lang=en) and also it's harbour, where you can find the famous and gorgeous ship of Princess Beatrix (former Queen of The Netherlands), the Groene Draeck (The Green Dragon). The village has apx. 3000 citizens, couple of cozy restaurants with terraces, and the harbour full of sailing and other type of boats.