Temple Trip to Zoetemeer

Spring has come to The Netherlands!  We took a trip to the beautiful Hague Temple in Zoetermeer and after the session we couldn't resist walking around the town to enjoy the lovely spring day.

This lovely flowering tree sets off the pretty windmill in the background.

Elder Beckstrand and Elder Anderson checked to see if we could go inside but they were ready to close.

It looks like cherry blossom time.  I don't know the names of all the varieties, but they are candy for the eye.

Every town has its Grote Kerk and Zoetermeer is no exception.

Some ambitious Dutch gardener  has spent many profitable hours in this garden.  The tulips in the foreground are all colors and varities.  These are some of the first we've seen.

The same garden from a different view.

If you happen to be living in Utah right now, these pictures are probably torture.  Will spring ever come there???

I could picture this pretty little pond as a setting for a puzzle.  Maybe someday I'll have it made into one.

This is an unusual sight.  A Jewish synogogue in The Netherlands is definitely not a common sight.

Another beautiful old church.  I especially liked the tower and the clock.

So many Dutch homes have this roof shape.  It is quite distinctive.  The other very popular one is the very pointed roof in the picture below.  Every street had its own charm.  This is a very pretty little community.

Not a whole lot going on this Saturday afternoon. 

Potted plants are very prominent.  People put them in their window sills, on their doorsteps, and give them as gifts when asked to dinner at a friend's home.

This cheese shop won't run out of product for a while.  It's amazing that none of these big wheels of cheese need refrigeration.  I would have thought they would spoil at normal room temperature.  Even the ones that have been cut are just sitting out on the open shelves.

The small square has quite a few tables for out-of-doors diners and people-watchers.

We're back at the temple and ready to return to our apartment in Amsterdam.  We have to say goodbye to the Andersons.  We've really missed them since we were transferred out of Dordrecht, but the country is small and there are always opportunities to get together - if not at the temple, then at zone conferences or JoVo activities.