Begijnhof

Since I'm off on a new European adventure, I thought I'd write about a couple of things that I've been meaning to mention here since my last European adventure (two years ago!). In Amsterdam, I visited a lovely courtyard with some of the oldest houses in the city. It was founded, as I understand, by lay women who came together for community and good works (called Beguines). They weren't nuns and could leave at any time and have their own possessions (my sort of community!). There was a secret church hidden in the dwelling places for when the practice of their faith was forbidden (the Begijnhof could not be forcibly closed as many monasteries and convents were, since it was these women's private property).