The Keukenhof and Thea

On Monday we we’re invited by cousin Renee to have an after dinner tea with what seems to be a distant relation that we didn’t know about. This left us with the whole day free since we were still sorting out when we would be meeting up with all the the other family members.

Dad had spotted some pamphlets for bus tours in the hotel lobby including an afternoon tour of De Keukenhof which translates as “The Kitchen Garden.” It’s a sort of all year flower show that has it’s high point in the spring. The specialty is of course Tulips. Apparently it started as the “little kitchen garden” of some local noble woman and that of course means it covers several acres.



I had no strong opinion on it but dad seemed excited about the idea. He had been once before with mom about 10 years ago and wanted to share it. It reminded me of the time when he use to teach an adult ed photography course. He would end each term with a trip to the Allen Garden’s green house so it seemed an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.



It was a beautiful but slightly brisk day. You can see the results for yourself. The place was also a bit of a minor theme park with sugary waffles and a real punch card organ grinder that played a mix of classical music and 80’s hits.



Once we got back into the city, we grabbed a bite at the last kosher sandwich shop in Amsterdam (It seems the hub of the Jewish community has moved to the suburbs) and went to meet Thea Koster-Sanders and her husband. Her connection to us actually goes back further than my grandfather Bendix to his uncle, her grandfather.

I don’t think what we learned will do much for the film but I did like seeing he old photos of these strange people who all looked a little familiar. As well it’s nice to know I’m connected to a bright, charming, successful psychotherapist.



We did find out one interesting thing that could really help. Apparently a shared relation in israel has developed an even more precise family tree than the one I got from Joop some years back. Thea had a copy on her computer and it included her AND me. This means I can track my family from before the Napoleanic census to some time last week. She gave me his contact info and I’m going to follow up to get my own copy.