What do you imagine when you think of Holland? Tulips…windmills…clogs…canals…hundreds of bicycles?
Disclosure: Paid partnership with DutchGrown
My husband was born and raised in Noord-Holland, in a small town called Bergen, where my parents-in-law still live. I spent every Xmas between 2005-2013 there (halted only by my first child being due on the 23rd Dec 2014, and then making us wait another 2 weeks before arrival!) plus some special occasions in-between, such as, Lichtes Avond, Sinterklaas and Koningsdag. My husband proposed to me at the Ruinekerk – not his original plan, it should have been in the sand dunes - but I’ll tell you about that story another time! I visited wedding dress designers, Dutch cheese markets and shipped home tiny little love heart shaped sweets and Wilhelmina mints as wedding favours. Although I’m terrible at languages, and no amount of books, CDs and ‘only speak Dutch’ days have helped me – there are some words I only know in Dutch, having learnt them first in Holland! Imagine my confusion when attempting to buy a new blade for my shower screen wiper and referring to it as a ‘trekker’ in the UK (for those confused as to why I didn’t learn this word before, I grew up with just a bath at home, no shower. I met my husband at University which is when I left home).
