Limburg is the most southern province of The Netherlands. It is legally Dutch but its landscape and atmosphere have a strong Belgium flavour, with a hint of French and a dollop of German mixed in. It’s also my favourite part of the country because it is hilly rather than flat, forested rather than polders.

The architecture is typical southern and more common in Germany: white stucco houses with dark wooden beams showing on the inside and out, usually with window boxes with cascading red geraniums under each window.

Limburg has lovely rolling hills, pastures with cows surrounded by dark, leafy forests and dotted with tiny villages. Each village has a bit of a medieval look to it: narrow crooked streets lined with houses that lean in a tight circle around a pointy church. Sometimes the streets are so narrow that I worried we had somehow missed the road and were driving on a bicycle path but it always really was the street - just wide enough for a horse and wagon that used to come around the bend not long ago.

Through Air B&B we found a cozy little house to rent - a small brick building with a kitchen, tiny living room with fireplace and a small bed- and bathroom. Perfect for a week of hiking and writing.

I had wifi and a kitchen table so I happily worked away on overdue manuscripts and tedious editing. In the mornings I dropped Kees off at the spot of his choice from where he would hike that day. He savoured these hilly hikes through foggy farm land and picturesque forests.

One morning I noticed I was driving right by the American Military Cemetery of Margraten so we paid a visit. The rows and rows of white crosses under a blue sky and bright red and yellow fall colours, were touching and gave me goosebumps. To read the names of thousands of young American boys who came from so far to help liberate a country they didn’t know…. a humbling and sobering experience. When will we ever learn?

There are many military and honorary cemeteries across The Netherlands. Check out the website below to visit one next time you are in the country. Cemeteries in Groesbeek, Holten and other cities specifically honour Canadian soldiers who lost their lives to help liberate the country.

The capital city of this Dutch province is Maastricht. The area is catholic and so has many churches, cathedrals and convents. In the heart of Maastricht, the seven hundred year old Dominican Church has been transformed into a thriving bookstore - one of the most beautiful places on earth to search for a book!

A long time ago, when Kees and I got engaged, we spent a few days in southern Limburg. One day we hiked along a narrow path lined with brambles. Through the greenery we spotted a huge, very unique house. Peaking through the blackberries we saw a red tile roof over a wide veranda with many arched openings. On the veranda, in wooden reclining chairs, were men reading.

Much later we learned that this house was called Emmaus and that it belonged to the Catholic church, specifically to the cloister of Wittem. The priests came here for a day off, to rest, to read and to contemplate. One of the priests, an Italian architect, had designed the building. And many priests worked on the construction in the early 1900’s. The building really only consisted of one large room surrounded by an enormous wrap-around porch and a second story that was open on all sides serving as another porch.

Over the years, we often came back to this exact spot and we never failed to take a peek at “our” ghost house as we called it. It seemed bleak and deserted for many years and we often dreamed about what it might have been like if we had not emigrated to Canada and what if we had bought it and renovated it and ran a B & B here….?

During a more recent visit we noticed there was construction going on. The house was being renovated! This time around, I googled for ‘Emmaus’ and discovered that the building was now privately owned, renovated and used as a small, exclusive meeting place for business leaders. I contacted the manager to see if, by chance, there was a restaurant so that we could finally see this building inside. There wasn’t. However, she liked the idea that we had been drooling through hedges for so many years, she kindly invited us for coffee. And that is why, after more than 40 years, we got to see the house that has become so special to us. It was gorgeously renovated but preserved the old features: a grey stone floor, the arched windows, the enormous wrap-around porches. The old wall paintings that once flanked the altar are preserved under a thin layer of new walls. The ceilings still tower and candles everywhere gave a serene feel to the house. Finally we could look at this special house without feeling like a spy! I’m not sure how long it served as a conference center but it has since closed again and is now listed as a national historic site.

The Dutch are known for creativity and innovation: windmills that pump new land dry. Dikes and sluiceways that protect new land from the sea and allow expansion of cities and farmland. Waterproof shoes made from chunks of poplar wood. The ‘bak fiets’ that allows you to effortlessly carry children, groceries and dogs on one bike. Chocolate sprinkles to eat on your daily bread. But less well known is the fact that the Dutch also create many popular reality shows. Big Brother - first created in Holland. The Voice was invented in Holland. Theatre shows and musicals have been popular here for a long time. Perhaps the most famous one of all is called Soldier of Orange. This stage show has been performed since 2010 and had over 3 million visitors. It is still going strong.

Soldier of Orange is a war time story, a musical based on a book. The book was largely unknown until it was made into a movie many years ago. And now, as the musical of the same name, éveryone has heard of it. And it is impressive: the Dutch military has made available a huge hangar on an old military airfield. The hangar has been transformed into a trendy lobby, a restaurants and theatre. When you enter the theater it feels like you walk into a wartime bunker with walls of grey concrete (when I touched it I discovered it was painted plywood).

The plush theatre chairs are comfortable and nearly every seat has a decent view because both the seats and the stage turn. They circle each other like rings around a planet. And the circular stage changes scenery through clever use of projections. At one moment you are looking down an old city street with gabled houses. The next it turns into red flames and a bombed seascape.

The stage opens up to reveal new sets with each turn: the inside of a university building where young students first come face to face with fascism and German occupation. Then it turns into the inside of the palace where a frustrated Queen does not want to abandon her country by fleeing to England. Next, the stage reveals a ‘real’ sand beach with ‘real’ ocean waves as soldiers board a boat headed for England. The set design is very impressive.

What we found not so impressive was the singing. I do like musicals but I feel that, if this was not a musical but a regular play, it would have been a lot stronger. The voices were not particularly great and texts and melodies not very memorable. When you leave the Phantom of the Opera or the Lion King you’re humming and singing the songs that will stay in your head forever. Not so with this musical. But I am glad we saw this World War II drama that hit so close to home. A moving experience that we recommend if you have a chance to visit before the show ends.

RESOURCES:

Military Cemeteries: https://www.tweedewereldoorlog.nl/gedenkplekken/oorlogsbegraafplaatsen/

Check out ‘our’ ghost house here for photos and location: https://rijksmonumenten.nl/monument/511492/emmaus/mechelen/

Soldier of Orange stage show: https://www.soldaatvanoranje.nl/tickets/