European holiday ....Leiden

Today all the kiddies went to Lily-Mai's school for her final day before holidays, bike riding all the way. After a leisurely start to the day, TRO and myself decided to take the bus to Leiden, and have a little wander around there, hopefully doing the last of our Christmas shopping at the same time.

It's really not like Christmas at all here! The Christmas carols are not playing in the shops, and there does not seem to be the frantic atmosphere we often sense at home. Although a lot of shops have Christmas trees, they are varying colors, and not quite the same as our mainly green ones.
Liz tells us that Sinterklass (St Nicholas) takes more precedence than Christmas here in the Netherlands
Of course, Christmas for us is hot weather, not cold. I am usually running around like headless chook by this time, getting in all the supplies we need, planning the cooking, and cleaning the house ready for guests. No need for any of that here!




The Siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish under Francisco de Valdez attempted to capture the rebellious city of Leiden. In the end the siege failed when the city was successfully relieved in October 1574. This beautiful mosaic chair commemorates that event, and there is a huge festival each October as well.

Leiden is the third largest city of the Netherlands, and after Amsterdam, has the largest amount of canals











Pieterskerk, the first church in Leiden, was originally built as a chapel in 1121. It was built by the Count of Holland, and dedicated to the apostle Peter. It has been extended, demolished and rebuilt repeatedly before taking on its modern form.

We were a little early for the opening hours, so had to be content with a view from the outside.





Another small problem with Frank's chipkaart on the bus...for some reason it did not have enough money on it, although mine did. It was a paper ticket for him!

Location: Leiderdorp,The Netherlands