A special event of a graduation sort took us to Europe in mid-September, just in time for the autumn equinox. While Mees had completed his degree program earlier this year, the ceremony in London was not held until the end of September. And being supportive of education at all levels, we wanted to be present to celebrate his achievement. It didn’t hurt that we also wanted to visit Emily- and get a break from the grind of this stressful season of work.
As is becoming our routine, we flew into Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, and stayed with Emily and Mees in Amsterdam. This afforded us visits to our regular spots in the city, as well as a few new adventures. One such adventure was a trip to an historic harbor city in North Holland, about 30 minutes from Amsterdam.
Hoorn was founded around 1300 and was once the capital of West Friesland back in medieval times. It was once a hub for trade and major port during the Dutch Golden age until the end of the eighteenth century. The city was one of the six involved in the founding of Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the Dutch East India Company. Today, Hoorn is a beautiful historic city with many landmarks, museums, and opportunities for recreation on the water.
The kids rented a car for the day with the intention of visiting the harbor city to satiate the history nerds, visiting historic sites interspersed with some shopping, and then have some time to go pumpkin picking. Public transportation can be taken from Amsterdam, and with about the same amount of time. But taking a car made things a bit more direct for our tasks at hand; it also allowed for us to buy more at the local Dille and Kamille, a favorite home goods store of ours. After buying a basket full of fall decor, we walked to Roode Steen, the historic city square.
Besides enjoying the fresh air on a mildly sunny day, we savored an al fresco brunch at Brunch Brothers. The food was good, and the company better. It was good that we fueled up; we wound up taking a self-guided walking tour through the city. In typical Haas fashion, this involved a couple wrong turns. But no matter, we were able to see more of the city and its historic buildings
We followed the route to the water, stopping to take photos and look at the boats, both new and old. The city sits on Markermeer, a large freshwater lake that was formed as a result of several water management projects. Once upon a time, this body of water was once part of the Zuiderzee, a saltwater inlet of the larger North Sea. In 1932, it was enclosed by the Afsluitdijk, separating it from saltwater sources and turning it to a freshwater lake now known as the IJsselmeer. Markermeer as it is today was shaped in 1976 as the result of a water project that included the building of the Markerwaarddijk, closing it off from the rest of the IJsselmeer, yielding the lake in its current form. The bigger project was later abandoned due to budgetary constraints- a story all too familiar here in parts of the States- and the Markermeer remains an important aspect of flood control and ecological management for the area. Indeed, there were some birds we were able to watch along our walk.
We followed the walking path along the water, enjoying our surroundings, both manmade and otherwise. There was a maintenance worker mowing the grass near the water, the earthy smell adding to the charm of the walk. Unfortunately, we hit a little detour heading back to the car on account of some construction. This was the less scenic part of the visit, but we were able to manage, dodging cars on occasion in the more narrow parts of the road. Fortunately this was not heavily trafficked, and we made it back to the car safely, with our purchases in tow.
While there were many other points of interest we could have visited in Hoorn, we had other places on our itinerary. Emily wanted to visit a pumpkin patch, reminiscent of days when we used to pick out pumpkins when she was little. She found a place, Pompoenen Boerderij Bos, in nearby Opperdoes.
The pumpkin farm is family owned and operated. According to their website, the family began growing pumpkins as a hobby. Today, they offer a plethora of beautiful pumpkins, in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. I am no stranger to pumpkin varieties; being from California and having attended a university with a major agricultural program, I have seen many kinds of pumpkins. But this farm seemed to have them all.
Emily took her time picking out a few gourds to decorate the windows in her Amsterdam apartment. Meanwhile, I explored the barn, which had some cute home decor and giftables. Though my checked bag was getting rather full from our trips to the Albert Heijn and other shopping on this trip, I still managed to find a gift set with a pretty ceramic bird feeder and a bunny tea light holder. It would be the perfect addition to my California garden, so I was going to make room to bring it back.
The owners were very nice. We chatted about pets and home, going between English and my broken Dutch, talking of our connections to both the United States and the Netherlands. And Emily picked out a few lovely pumpkins. I especially liked the pretty sage green one she found. Too bad we couldn’t bring any back to California- you know, pesty agricultural regulations.
We had a few more errands to run, including some antiquing and another trip to Albert Heijn for groceries and more snacks to take back to the States. We said our good-byes and headed out. It was a beautiful day spent in Noord Holland, and a perfect way to usher in fall. Proost!
References:
IJsselmeer | Netherlands, Map, & Facts | Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/place/IJsselmeer.
“CDFA ~ Guide: Bringing Various Fruits and Vegetables into California from All States except Hawaii.” California Department of Food and Agriculture, http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/factsheets/BringingFruitsVeggies_to_CA.pdf. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
