My wife and I start to go a little stir-crazy when too much time passes without traveling.
We try to get away even for just a day or two every few months to either visit a new place or return to an old haunt. Our last weekend getaway was almost three months ago, and we were really looking forward to a trip to the Great Lakes State that had been on our calendar for several months.
The trip combined both returning to an old haunt but also a new experience for me.
We love traveling to Holland, Mich., at least once every summer to visit the Saturday farmer’s market, to walk around the downtown stores, and to visit some of the surrounding produce farms. We always take a cooler with us, as coming home empty handed from the farmer’s market has never happened.
Several times in the past, my wife’s family would make a weekend road trip to Holland around Thanksgiving time to visit a Christmas market and to experience downtown Holland at night.
We’ve talked about going up as a family for several years, as I had never been to Holland during the holiday season. We finally made it there this past weekend and had such a good time that I’m hoping we can return next year.
Our first stop was at Holland’s Kerstmarkt — an outdoor European-style market where you can buy holiday gifts, arts and crafts, food and more.
Kerstmarkt is a Dutch word that means “Christmas market.” These type of small markets are located across the Netherlands during the Christmas holiday, I learned last weekend.
It reminded me of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt that we visited a couple of winters ago when we were in Indianapolis — also an outdoor market in which you can buy Christmas gifts, food and more.
After grabbing a quick dinner, we returned to downtown Holland where more than 50 stores and restaurants were open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the annual Downtown Holland Holiday Open House.
The city’s beautiful lights and decorations immediately gave it a Christmas ambience and put you in the Christmas spirit. We had only walked a few feet when we saw two reindeer that children were gathering around.
A few minutes later, we heard carolers clad in Charles-Dickens-era clothing singing Christmas music. A block later, we stopped to sample some chestnuts that had been roasting on an open fire as Santa Claus walked past us and stopped to take pictures with some children who were in awe as soon as they saw him.
And who can forget the larger-than-life elf we saw walking down the heated sidewalk on stilts.
In between enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the Downtown Holland Holiday Open House, we entered a myriad of stores and did our first Christmas shopping of the year.
All of the stores had treats out for guests — everything from cookies and candy to popcorn and gourmet cherry salsa with chips. It was like a Saturday afternoon visit to Costco on steroids, as there were more snacks and samples than you can imagine.
The only thing missing was a soft snowfall gently coming down from the sky.
There’s always next year.
Our 24-hour getaway to lovely Holland was the perfect way to start the holiday season. If you’re looking for a beautiful place to visit that’s not too far from home, consider a trip to this charming city on the shore of Lake Macatawa.
You’ll come home very much in the Christmas spirit.
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