Tag: Limburg

cedar strip canoe

Reposted-Memorial Day – The Netherlands

The Cedar Journal February 21, 2023

I am reposting this blog from Dutch Memorial Day of last year. My feelings have not changed, we as a collective should not forget that each and every war is paid in blood by those who fight it on the front lines. Please take a few moments this week in quiet reflection to remember those on both sides of the current conflict who have loss their lives.

Tonight at 8 pm Dutch standard time the entire country will pause for two minutes of silence. This tradition each year is to honor, remember and respect all war dead. That it includes, not only military, but civilian casualties from those conflicts.

On March 10th this year, the Hubby and I visited the largest American Cemetery in The Netherlands from World War II, Margraten.

One of the thousands of graves of American military who died liberating The Netherlands in 1945.

Not our first visit, but I needed time to reflect on what was happening on the World stage. I needed counsel from the silence to make sense to what was happening in the Ukraine.

War is never cheap! It costs lives, some so young, they never got to live the life I have lived. Marriage, children, jobs that would give them joy. They never experienced Europe free from Nazi rule. Yet, each and everyone one of those souls helped to change the course of history. Leaders of the time after these soldiers had fought and died, said NEVER AGAIN!

Yet, here I was in 2022 trying to understand why? How?

Silence of those American’s who died for the freedom of Europe.

As we walked through the silence of the peacefully resting souls who now are forever part of the Dutch landscape, I cried. To know that so many were lost, that so many helped to make Europe what it is today without ever seeing the war at the ending…sad…yet sadder to see a repeat of something so similar in the Ukraine.

Some of the gravesites have been adopted by local Dutch families who continue to place flowers on the grave. This one just happened to be from my home state of Minnesota.

So, wherever you are in the World as you read this blog today, please stop and send your thoughts towards peace. War is never the answer but we must remember the ultimate cost for everyone.

cedar strip canoe

Watching Spring

The Cedar Journal March 22, 2021

We had a short escape recently to Limburg. The beady eyes are from the EMU that lives down the street from the Meen’s B&B where we stayed. I surprised myself, how just a few hours outside the house on a road trip made me feel a little less stressed about the restrictions we are still under.

The problem is that where we live is very populated. People are stacked ontop of each other. Normally the crowded conditions don’t bug me, but after a year of being mostly in our bubble of the house and garden it has me feeling a bit of “Minnesota winter cabin feverish”. We embraced the outing.

When we woke the next morning we had a light frost on the grass.

Now back in Amsterdam, the Spring season has started and I am busy with starting plants for the volunteer garden. Spring is everywhere…

The blooming bulb mix that edges the walking path here in our town.

The tree at the volunteer garden starting to bloom.

The daffodils are blooming everywhere.

So the seasons change here as in the rest of the world. We are still on restrictions for at least until 23 April. Then… who knows?

Hopefully when we get our vaccination (now predicted June). A bit more freedom of movement. I would just like to walk down the sidewalk without fearing that someone will breath on me and get me sick.

We are setting our eye on our first canoe paddle for next week. Fingers crossed.

Stay safe everyone and let us know how things are in your world in our comments section as we love hearing from all our blog followers.

The bees getting busy with Spring

Hummm…2020

The Cedar Journal August 25, 2020

Many of my followers know what is coming with the strange and the possible far out there of this Hummm post. I have to admit, hard to find or see such things if you are locked in your own house for months on end or within the local community where the once hummm… is now just part of the landscape.

But, we have ventured out a small amount and the hummm file got larger than I thought. Now, I must share all the strange hummm in our world with the world.

Always good to keep a positive attitude in these trying times. Engine cover for one of the aircraft at Schiphol International Airport being mothballed during the Covid 19 shutdown.

Hummm…that is one darn big egg! This has been a common thing and now is no longer a hummmm in our house. Always good to break open a double yoke egg.

When I am out for my much needed exercise I sometimes see some strange things in the neighborhood. Yes, this made me look twice and then reach for the camera to make sure I am not totally loosing it.

What is that? Hummm lets get a closer look.

Hummm is this really needed? Am I late or early for something? More importantly WHO placed this here? Hummmm… Next day it had disappeared. Hummmm

Then there was the COVID 19 downsizing clean up of the attic. This now brings into question my hubby and his profession in the aviation industry or hummmm… CIA watcher?

Article of the CIA flying into Schiphol Airport. Hummmm….

Hummm two pages about the possible CIA flight. Well, what can I say? Americans are always seeking around the world. Hummmmm… Nothing can get past the Dutch undetected!

Then a Spring trip to Limburg I saw this.

Hummm… Looks like an outdoors person for sure. My hummm was not long as I actually talked with the owner and he is a teacher with the International School in Brunssum and comes from Canada. Anyone teaching kids should document with stickers!

Then there was this strange mailbox on that same Limburg trip.

“Hummm Bob. What should we do with the wine barrel once it is empty?” Hummm I don’t know Joe. Wait, I got it! Let’s make a mailbox out of it!” Hummmm… maybe cut back on the wine in Limburg?

Another walk in our local area produced this hummm… combination in a front garden.

Hummmm… is that? A ski lift cart? Really? Hummm…a British mailbox? Hummmm strange.

Same street.

Hummm…The square North Holland relatives of the guys in Limburg?

The garden where I volunteer always makes me think hummm. Nature has a way of surprising all of us when we least expect it. This guy, I didn’t expect and never had seen one this big a good 3 inches long in The Netherlands before.

So that brings us close to the end of the summer and this past weekend. Driving home from the Rotterdam area we did a double take when this passed us on the road.

Hummm… A Green Car! Really Green Car. Hummm…

Have you seen the strange and the hummm…recently? Share your comments below. Stay safe and Stay Healthy!

Limburg Camping Escape

The Cedar Journal August 20, 2020

We have accomplished another short escape from the Amsterdam area. This time we headed to Limburg.

A window box of flowers in Eygelshoven. We saw many of these along our bike ride.

Normally we stay at a wonderful B&B (Meens B&B) in Schinnen but this time of the year, most vacation lodging is booked far in advance. This year with Covid running rampant in European vacation locations outside of the Netherlands, many Dutch have decided to stay and vacation here inside the country. This has made getting accommodations (even camping spots) challenging.

We decided on very short notice to go to Limburg. We were very lucky to find a farm camping location in the outskirts of Landgraaf.

I worked in Limburg for a couple of years prior to my retirement and knew that Landgraaf has a downhill ski facility and hosts a summer music festival (that didn’t happen this summer). As in most locations where I have worked sometimes I didn’t really explore as much as I would have liked due to time constraints. It is nice now to really enjoy the areas around where I spent my last two years of employment with the US Government.

We were nicely surprised at this camping location. Large roomy bathroom facilities. Trees between the camping spots that provide some much needed shade as the temperatures creeped towards 30C. A expansive view of the Limburg landscape reaching into Germany. The German border is only 2 kilometers (approximately 1 mile) from where we camped.

The differences in Limburg from Amsterdam area are vast. Hills instead of flat land make it great for bicycle training. The Dutch language also changes here into something that is part German, local Dutch and influenced also by the Belgium speakers of French, making hard even for my Dutch hubby to understand.

It was a nice getaway. Biking in the Limburg area, relaxing at the campsite. Too short in duration, different too from other vacations as we can’t just shop without a mask or are constantly thinking is this or that safe. It was a time to regroup, reconnect, listen to nature and re-energize.

A few thousand free range chickens next to the camping.

These cattle were trying to stay cool and keep the flies away. Much like the campers

Loaded down with the last of my American shopping for the year we head home to Amsterdam.

My bike loaded with American products from the military commissary.

Terborgh Castle Hike in Limburg – NL

The Cedar Journal December 17, 2018

I started at the Schiphol Airport via the train to Schinnen located in the heart of Limburg.