Sneek

Sneek (pronounced snake) is the heart of boating in Friesland and mooring in front of Sneek's famous waterpoort, once the town's major defense, is the holy grail for boaters in the Netherlands.

We've made our own pilgrimage but we're here a year too late.  We understand that last May the temperatures were in the 80s.  This May has been wet and cold, hardly getting to 50.  We can count on the fingers of one hand the number of sunny days we've seen since we've been in Holland.  It is getting wearisome and we have painting and boat repairs to do that depend on sunny weather.  Dang!

 

We didn't realize that May 5, Liberation Day, is a national holiday in the Netherlands.  Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag) marks the end of the Nazi occupation during World War II. Canadian General Charles Foulkes negotiated the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands in 1945, which this newer generation still commemorates.  It is an important day here with parades, marching bands, exhibits.  This year to add to the celebration in Sneek, a small white boat flew the Stars and Stripes.

We were entertained by a snappy youth marching band, a parade of 28 (count 'em) WWII army vehicles, exhibits of beautifully restored horse drawn r.v.'s, ship-shape antique motor boats, old farm machinery and tractors.  We had singers serenading us and a nifty looking nautical men's chorus delighting our ears with Dutch sea-shanties.

There were tears in our eyes witnessing the lighting of the commemorative flame, seeing the wreaths and flowers in the church yard to remember those who died, and especially while hearing a personal thank you to us, inadvertent representatives of the Allied forces, from a Dutch woman much too young to have experienced WWII.

We were moved and gratified to realize that sacrifices made 65 years ago are still remembered and honored.