Winterswijk, Netherlands

Yesterday we took off in the big van to go to Winterswijk, Netherlands for the afternoon. It would be Dylan's first time in the Netherlands, and both me and Dylan's first time riding with Bryan while he drove a stick-shift car.  Despite being a little jilted by GoogleMaps from our ill-fated trip to Kauflands, we consulted it once again for directions to Winterswijk and GoogleMaps redeemed itself. 


Here is the map from Borken to Winterswijk.

 Winterswijk is only about 12-15 miles away from where we live, so it was a pretty short drive for us across the border to the Netherlands. 

Some interesting history to note about Winterswijk is that according to Wikipedia (so it must be true!), Winterswijk was mainly an isolated farming town until 1830 when the road from Borken was built.  Then in the 1840s, many residents emigrated to America - mostly to Michigan.  So perhaps some of our Dutch friends in Michigan are have ancestors from this adorable little town.  Do you see how reading our blog can be informative as well as entertaining?

Anyway, Bryan did a decent job showing off his driving skills, although his movements weren't totally flawless, so I spent a lot of time grasping for the handle and pumping an imaginary brake from the passenger seat. No one got carsick, though, so the drive was a success.

Winterswijk has lots of clothing stores, shops, bakeries and shoe stores, so once we figure out what our shoe and clothes sizes are in European measurements, we will be headed back here to shop.  Yesterday we mainly just walked around, then bought some pastries to eat on our way home.  We also bought some more espresso shots from the nearby grocery store (we were already out).  We heard that coffee is cheaper in the Netherlands, so we took advantage of the opportunity.

Here is a little photo tour of what we did, followed by some cute recent photos of Dylan goofing around.



Bryan and Dylan at the beginning of the "marktplatz" in Winterswijk.  I asked Bryan if he wanted to change out of his workout clothes before we left.  He declined.  Once shopping, it didn't take long for him to say, "I think I'm a little under dressed."  Thank you, Captain Obvious. 



Every European town has a big church in its center.



Dylan and I in front of the big church.



Here are Dylan and I down a cute little side street.

Here is my happy baby.

Flashing his cheesy smile for the camera.



I try really hard to bundle him up at night so he'll stay warm, but this is usually how I find him in the  morning.  He has his pants off and has mostly taken off his shirt.  He is, obviously, very proud of himself.

 

Posing on his "Big Bobby Car."