A few minutes’ drive from Saugatuck is the town of Holland. Named one of “America’s Prettiest Towns” by Forbes Magazine, Holland is home to the prestigious Hope College, some great views of Lake Michigan, and the largest municipal snowmelt system in North America.
One of our first stops in Holland was to Nelis’ Dutch Village. We wanted to sample some treats, enjoy the scenery, and pet some farm animals.
Village People
At the Dutch Village, I was so excited to see that my Dutch lessons through DuoLingo were really beginning to pay off. When the ticket-taker said, “That’ll be $16, alsjeblieft”, I turned excitedly to my boyfriend and said, “Oh! He just said ‘please’!”
“You understood him?” he said, visibly impressed.
“Yes! I didn’t even have to think about it!” I was so thrilled with myself, and again a moment later when we were pulling away and he called after us, “Tot ziens!”
“Tot ziens!” I replied, turning in my seat to wave.
There were lots of places around the Village for me to practice what I knew. “We have to go there!” I said, pointing to a place called ‘t Kaasmeisje. “They have cheese!”
“How do you know?” my boyfriend said.
“Because it’s called Th’ Cheesegirl!”
We sampled all the cheeses on display. I bought some chocolate and a boterkoek (butter cake) and had fun translating the ingredients. “This is the most fattening thing in the store,” the cashier said of my boterkoek, but I was ready. I’d read of boterkoek online and had thought I would never get the chance to try it, so finding it in one of the shops was a real treat. It was as delicious as I’d expected.
The Petting Zoo
At the petting zoo, I was bitten by both a baby goat and a pig. This became one of the highlights of our entire trip. It’s possibly our new favorite story to tell. I was busy petting a gigantic hog who kept rolling over onto his side to let me rub his belly. He reminded me of a big cuddly dog. Every time I tried to back away, he gave me a loud grunt and turned to gaze up into my eyes until I gave in and continued petting. A smaller pig, perhaps jealous of the attention, trotted over and climbed on top of the larger pig to take a chomp out of my hand. No skin was broken, but I could tell it could have broken bone had it wanted to.
I also got to pet bunnies and chickens. All in all, the petting zoo was a wonderful experience! Keep an eye on your kids, though; those animals are peckish.
More Dutch Village images:
On the Shore
At a stop on the shore of Lake Michigan, I saw two sights I’d never seen before: Amish people who weren’t in a Harrison Ford movie, and lightning stones.
We were standing on the shore gazing at the horizon, and a woman who had been scavenging for stones for herself came over and handed us two of them, explaining what they were. So I got to bring these two home.
Another cool sight on the Holland shore was Big Red, the most photographed lighthouse in the state of Michigan!
As you can see, we were able to go right up to it, though we were on a private beach at the time. I’m not sure if there’s public access or not. We were visiting my boyfriend’s sister and brother-in-law, whom I was meeting for the first time, at their cottage along the beach. Their son had apparently caught a gigantic fish early that morning. Everyone we ran into on our walk down the shore stopped to speak to them about it. It was the biggest news of the day. I’d thought running into the Mayor at lunch in Saugatuck was about as Gilmore Girls as it could get, but that fish story stole the charming-small-town trophy right back.
The Yellow-Brick Road
While I didn’t see an actual yellow-brick road in Holland, I did see this unexpected castle which apparently was L. Frank Baum’s inspiration for Oz.
So that was exciting. I love looking at impressive old houses, and castles certainly fit that bill! But there are lots more adorable houses in Holland. Here are some of the houses I loved just a few streets from Hope College:
Going Dutch
Before I met my boyfriend, I was unaware of just how solemnly certain regions in the US regard their heritage. I’ve never lived in a place where everyone’s ancestors were the same nationality, and where that nationality is so present in every aspect of life. But it’s all over Holland. Being Dutch means a lot to my boyfriend–so much so that I started learning Dutch before we were dating in an effort to impress him. (I think it worked.) I haven’t an ounce of Dutch in my blood, and before we met, pretty much all I associated with Dutch culture was as follows:
- those little wooden shoes
- windmills
- stroopwafel–yummy, delicious stroopwafel
- Hans Christian Andersen
- the little Dutch boy who saved Holland by putting his finger in the dam–not a true story, BTW
- architecture with what I embarrassingly referred to as “shloopy triangle” dormer roofs
I knew that anytime I tried to picture the Netherlands, the main images that came to mind were of the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney World and a beloved old animated version of The Snow Queen–again, Hans Christian Andersen. So I imagined the Netherlands as essentially a real-life faerie tale world.
Now I know many more Dutch words than my boyfriend. I know that the concept of “going Dutch” comes from the apparently common (in Michigan) knowledge that Dutch people are very frugal with their money. And I know that Hans Christian Andersen isn’t Dutch at all, but Danish.
In conclusion, if you want to see Dutch culture without leaving the 50 states, Holland is the place to go!
Stay tuned for the next post, when we drive up the western coast to Petoskey.
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