Life: Idiotropic

When we were at the beach near The Hague a few weeks ago, Kirk got pannekoeken for dinner - a Dutch pancake, basically. I tried one bite and I was hooked, so I was hoping to find them easily available locally. No luck.

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend who mentioned this great pannekoeken place in Thorn, so last Thursday we went to see the little town and eat the pannekoeken that draws people there.

We were really pleasantly surprised. The town of Thorn, NL rests on the Maas river between Eindhoven and Maastricht. It is a small town and wouldn't be a draw by pannekoeken alone, but it has an interesting history. The Abby church that still sits in its center dates from the late 10th century and though it's been added on and changed over the years, the structure itself is still original containing crypts with two mummies in a lower chamber.

Most of the buildings in the town surrounding the Abby are brick painted white which is a very nice asthetic. The sun was shining and everything looked very beautiful and clean. Sidewalks and roads are all cobblestones making a bumpy ride for whoever was in the stroller, but the kids didn't seem to mind. It was a quiet day with not a lot of activity at first. All the people strolling through the streets were a bit older... quite a bit older, walking and riding bicycles (not at the same time, of course).

We headed for the church and found the pannekoeken place right on the corner, so we had to stop there first for some food. The decision process was difficult. They had over 300 topping combinations. Pannekeoken is more like a French crepe than an American pancake, but it is a bit thicker. They make them the size of a medium pizza and top them with anything from fruit and whipped cream, to salami and leeks. Some varieties even came with shots of alcohol on the side. We ended up getting one with strawberries and whipped cream (yum) and another with gyro meat, feta, tzaziki, and garlic - that one was amazing.

After lunch we toured the church which has art and artifacts from it's beginning in the 10thC up to the 18th century. It's really amazing how many architectural styles can get shoved together as churches evolve over the centuries. It's both Romanesque and Gothic, but with many art forms inside from Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands spanning over 800 years.

The church began and remained for of it's first 800 years, an Abby. The rules of the abby changed over the years, but at one point, membership was restricted only to 20 women of noble birth who could prove that they had 16 ancestors of noble birth - eight on their father's side and eight on their mother's. Quite a prestigious order, I think.

The French disolved the order and made the church state property when they invaded in 1797, and it has remained a parish church since.

We enjoyed touring it. The entire place was very beautiful and so full of sculpture and paintings, it was like walking through a museum. The crypt was interesting only because I hadn't seen mummies before, but they were amazingly tasteful - if that word could ever be used to describe mummies - they just weren't the creepy, Hollywood version. Instead, the bodies seemed very tranquil and almost beautiful.

The walk around the town was nice. Quiet, peaceful. White buildings are pretty and show off the window boxes of bright red geraniums very well. We walked along a little stream where teenage boys were fishing for the 3" fish swimming in it. Luci almost got hit by a car-ful of teenagers driving at breakneck speed down the tiny one lane road and over the bridge that was croweded with people. I, of course, yelled in English. But, beind Dutch, they should understand. Luci was unscathed, so my moment of panic ended quickly. Our walk continued... the girls had to walk over every little bridge and I stopped to take pictures at most white houses. One had beautiful little lace rectangles tied in the window as a curtain. Most windows have lace coverings around here and they never get boring - always fresh and beautiful.

Anyway... that was our day. Quiet and uneventful, really, but it was nice to see a new town and it is worth going back to. Next time we'll fit in a boat ride up the Maas river.


The Guide:  http://www.tiffanyweber.com/2007/07/thorn-netherlands.html