Wednesday 13 August 2008

A guest from Australia

AR from OZ was here in Amsterdam yesterday and today. Last night, OS and I had dinner with him at Restaurant De Belhamel where I liked the food, where the view (for OS and AR) was good, and the conversation flowed nicely.
I decided not to go to work today and joined AR who wanted to visit Haarlem. Haarlem is only 15 minutes away from Amsterdam but I seldom visit so it was good to be back there after quite some time.
We visited the Grote of Sint Bavo Kerk (a church), the Teylers Museum, and finally the Corrie ten Boom Museum
which was AR's main reason to visit Haarlem. Cornelia Johanna Arnolda ten Boom, generally known as Corrie ten Boom, (April 15, 1892 – April 15, 1983) was a Dutch, Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Ten Boom co-wrote her autobiography, The Hiding Place, which was later made into a movie of the same name.
Unfortunately, our guide was a Christian preacher who proselytised a bit too much for my liking. I almost stood up and protested when she said: "The Ten Boom house was always open for everybody. When you needed something, you were always welcome to get a drink or some food. That's because they were Christians." Bullshit! That's because they were good people.
Anyway, it was nice to spend time with AR and I wish him a good trip to Indonesia where he will arrive tomorrow for a surprise visit to his parents.

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