Frans Hals was born in Antwerp, around 1582. He is the famous 17th-century Dutch portrait painter who worked, lived and spent the rest of his life here in Haarlem. Hals painted vast portraits of people smiling or laughing from all levels of society. He is known for his playful technique,…
Category: North Holland
Haarlem
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Grote Kerk or Sint Bavokerk of Haarlem
There something about this big church towering over Haarlem’s market square. I would always look up and admire that beautiful lead covering wooden tower soaring high towards the sky. This is the Great Church or Sint Bavo Church of Haarlem. “Grote Kerk or Sint Bavo Kerk” in Dutch. Not to…
Amsterdam
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Family Six Collection
Have you heard about the Six Family? It started with Jean Six (1575–1617) and his wife Anna Wijmer (1584–1654), a well-to-do cloth merchant from France. Their son, Jan Six (1618 – 1700), became the son-in-law of Amsterdam mayor, Nicolaes Tulp, when he married Margaretha, in 1655. Jan emerged as magistrate…
Day Trips
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Het Paard van Marken
At the very tip of Marken island … The iconic lighthouse Paard van Marken or Horse of Marken was built in the 1700 as a square beacon to mark the Zuiderzee route from the islands in the North through Amsterdam. The current round lighthouse tower designed by J. Valk in…
Food
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New Herring | Haring Hollandse Nieuwe
The ultimate Dutch street food: “Haring”. Specifically, the one that is referred to as Hollandse Nieuwe or New Dutch Herring. A staple dish of the Netherlands since the Middle Ages!! So, a herring is a small, slender, silvery fish. More than 80% of the herring eaten in the Netherlands isn’t…
Amsterdam
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Anne Frank House Museum
[Anne Frank was born Annelies Marie Frank on on 12 June 1929] Growing up on the other side of the world, I have only heard general stories about Anne Frank. In a nutshell, the context was about a young German – Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family…