The Romans walked here..

Sunday evening we arrived at Riet's (cousin to my father) house. So wonderful to see her again! (It is sad for me to not see her husband Jo who passed away a few years ago. My memories of him are of a kind man who laughed a lot.) She has a lovely house and another one of the wonderful gardens the Dutch are so good at. Her garden is under rennovation and her grandsons have been hard at work transforming the lower half into a set of pebblestone steps down to the pond that frames the bottom of her property. It is quite lovely! There is a bench to sit on and fish from, or watch the nesting swans, or just contemplate the day! Riet had dinner waiting for us, and as she is a vegetarian, it was a noodle dish that had peppers, onions, cashews and
egg and was delicious!! After dinner, Riet's daughter and son-in-law, Sylvie and Richard came to visit. With them came their 3 sons, Jordie, Danny and Davy along with 2 girlfriends. A full house and it was much fun!

Yesterday was dedicated to sightseeing in Nijmegen, the oldest town of the Netherlands. The history of this town goes back two thousand years when the Romans settled here and Nijmegen grew to become the largest town of the Netherlands. It was granted market rights around the year 104 AD by the Roman Emperor Trajan. Initially Emperor Charlemagne chose to build his palace here and over the centuries that followed a succession of monarchs, dukes and emperors also chose Nijmegan as their residence. That meant the citizens became one of the most privileged people of Europe. It wasn't till several centuries later thay growing merchant towns surpassed Nijmegen.

Because of its strategic location, the town was often at the centre of conflicts. During the 2nd world war, the Allies bombed Nijmegen by mistake, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying most of the town centre. The people here have done a remarkable job with restoration. Riet took us to the square where our first stop was a Koffi date with her friends. They were super friendly to me and we had a lovely visit. A couple of the friends spoke very little English but made the effort to chat with me regardless. So nice. And so appreciated because I cannot do much in Dutch. It was so nice to sit outside and soak up the sun in an outdoor cafe and people watch in a centuries old square. The Lange Hezelstraat was an important thoroughfare even back in Roman times and it became one of the main trading routes in the region. Because of this, it can be called the oldest shopping street of the Netherlands. I must admit, we didn't really shop, but only browsed a couple of places where the vendor spread their wares on blankets. I am guessing though that if you like to shop this is a shopping heaven.

Our point of interest after koffi, was St. Stevenskerkhof the massive church and clock tower in the centrum. The original building was started in 1254 and was almost completely detroyed in the Allied bombing in 1944. It was subsequently restored and we climbed the 200+ plus steps to see the view of the city from under the clock. Dad and I had one pIcture taken with the famous Nijmegen bridge in the background. Our timing was perfect because we were able to climb to the top of the tower and watch a woman play an instrument called a Breeah (sp?) and hear the music that plays out to the centrum below. It was a cool experience to say the least.

After that, we walked an 11 km hike across the river Waal via the railway and foot bridge and then through a lovely neigbourhood with Riet acting as our guide and Dad chatting with people as we went. The hike back across the river was over the famous Waal Bridge which was the site of much action during World War II. Because it granted access to Germany, the occupying German forces put up fortifications to defend it. You can still see a German cannon still aiming at the bridge that was left in place after the war. Before this bridge was built in 1936, all traffic had to cross the river by ferry. This famous bridge remained intact during the liberation by the Allies (Operation Market Garden) in 1944 and is the topic of the movie "A Bridge too Far".

From the bridge, we explored the Valkholf where the Romans founded the capital of the Batvians prior to 70 AD and which later became the site of the Emperor's fortress. The fortress was expanded over the centuries but was later demolished in the 1700's with only the 2 attached chapels being spared. And although they overlook the Waal Bridge, somehow they were spared in WW II.

Well that is enough of a history lesson for one post. We dragged our tired butts back to Riet's for dinner and a visit with her son and DIL, Josh and Miriam and their children Wesley and Omi. Was so nice to put faces to names and to finally meet these people who share the same great grandparents!

That is the extent of my recall tonight. Not to mention all this typing on the BB is getting pretty old! Hope you enjoyed!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network