A quick trip to the Netherlands

Recently, November 24, I had the chance to travel to Huis Ten Bosch. Huis Ten Bosch is Dutch for house in the woods. It is also a famous palace in the Netherlands.

It was a beautiful day, a little bit warm for the season. I went with Jessica (an American), Richard (a Brit) and Shino (a Japanese woman). I forgot to charge my camera so I have been waiting for Shino to send me pictures. She had a super nice digital camera so it was worth the wait.

We arrived at about mid-afternoon and walked about until sunset. We looked at the flowers, windmills and canals. We stopped at a cheese store and I went nuts. The Gouda was sooooo good, as was the smoked Gouda. Jessica and Richard were just as happy with the Gelato they had.

At 5:25, we, like many other people, gathered at the city hall for the tree lighting ceremony. Santa Clause came out along with two young women carrying candles. A woman sang a couple of carols. Then, a young woman professed her love for her beau. He embarrassedly stood there while she did so. Then the two of them used the candles the young women had carried to symbolically light the main tree.

We walked through the Christmas markets, but they had little that I wanted to buy. I had really hoped they would have mulled wine like they do in German Christmas markets. They had some beer, but Dutch beer has never been my favorite and I did not like the idea of transporting it so I didn`t buy any. We walked for a while, past many, many lighted buildings and trees.

Finally, we arrived at Huis Ten Bosch. The actual building (a museum) was closed but we were allowed through the basement into the rear gardens which were beautifully lit up.

Before we left, I bought a bunch of chocolate and some cheese. Yum!