An Expensive Fish

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I would like to tell you about an event Fred and I had while we were in Germany.  As it happens, this took place in the same place where Fred and his family stopped back in the 1940’s.  From his posts he wrote about a trip he and his family took:

I remember one of the places we stopped was in a little town called Scherpenzeel [Holland].  I was really taken aback while we were there – not only there but other places in Holland, just in driving around, we would see many, many women out in front of their house or the place where they worked, actually scrubbing the outside of their building – to keep it clean!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that any place else where I’ve lived.  We stayed in a little inn there, which was called the DeWitte Holevoet, and I think, as I recall, we even ate there.

Hotel DeWitte in Scherpenzeel – 1948

1948 – Hotel DeWitte – Kitty and Emily (by the door) – Scherpenzeel, Holland

While Fred and I were in Germany (Wiesbaden, 1967-1970), we hired a church couple to take care of Karen (she was only two years old) while we did a road trip.  On that road trip, we also stopped in Scherpenzeel, Holland.  Fred remembered the trip he and his family had taken, and the Hotel DeWitte where they stayed and had meals.  So we thought it would be a fun memory for him to eat there again.

Hotel DeWitte in Scherpenzeel – Credit Google Search and tripadvisor

We stopped and looked for a menu for the restaurant.  First rule of thumb when eating out:  never…NEVER…NEVER eat at a restaurant if the menu isn’t posted – that means it is ultra-expensive!  And so, even though we couldn’t find a menu, we decided to eat there, anyway.  Big Mistake!!

When we were given the menu in the restaurant, we swallowed our pride and ordered a fish dinner.  We knew it was going to be expensive, but had no idea just HOW expensive.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was so expensive that it was our “splurge” for the entire trip!  

And then we waited…and waited….and waited…and WAITED.  After about an hour or so, they finally brought the fish out on a platter – the WHOLE fish!  They had actually gone out and caught the fish after we had ordered it, de-scaled it, and then cooked it whole – head and all!  Well, okay, it was REALLY fresh!

Credit Pixabay

In all our other travels in Holland – and many years later with our daughters with us – we never again ate there.  It had changed from a hotel and restaurant, to a gourmet restaurant with a few rooms to let!

We learned our lesson about eating at a place that has no menu displayed!

As a side note – in researching the sites for pictures of this beautiful hotel and restaurant, I was saddened to see that they are “permanently closed.”  No explanation was given.  Unfortunate, since most, if not all, reviews were highly complementary.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: Holland, Hotel DeWitte, Scherpenzeel