The Netherlands & Sweden

Mon June 3- On overnight flights Laura Beth likes to sit at the window, while Maurits prefers the isle seat. The person in the middle seat had a hard time understanding why we sat apart... The flight to Amsterdam (via Dubai) was fine and around 1:30pm we landed at Schiphol. No more rental cars or taxis as Maurits' parents (Harry and Henny) picked us up. The coming couple of days would be family time! We stayed at Marieke’s (Maurits' sister) newly acquired house in Emmen. Maurits' parents were redoing their house and were also staying at Marieke’s place. It was great to see Maurits' two grandmothers again. At 92 and 93 they loved receiving postcards and following the google-translation of the blog (thanks to Marieke!), but seeing us live was of course much better.

Marieke, Oma de Boston Bruin, Maurits and Laura Beth

Tue June 4- Laura Beth would be starting her new job in just 27 days! In order to start as a doctor she had to get a tuberculosis test (PPD). This would have been possible in Emmen, but since we were on a tight schedule we drove 30 minutes north to the city of Assen. Back in Emmen we ran some errands, did laundry and washed our disgusting raincoats. The smoky teahouses in Nepal had left quite some black residue on our jackets and a hot wash was needed! After lunch we had a haircut and in the afternoon we went shopping for a pair of jeans, a shirt and a pair of shoes. It felt great to wear some different (and decent) clothes again! The weather was nice these first days in Holland. Just like in South Africa it was about 25C/80F, sunny and not humid. It was lovely to sit outside and have drinks on Marieke’s patio. Like many evenings during our stay in Emmen, oma de Bruin (grandmother – Henny’s mother – 92) drove herself over for dinner.

Laura Beth, Maurits and Oma Muskee

Wed June 5- After a lazy morning we biked without helmets – eeeek! – to Maurits’ Oma Muskee (Harry’s mother) in Veenoord. Oma, born in 1919, had just biked to the store to buy eggs and flower. We hope we can still ride our bikes at 93 as well! With the newly acquired ingredients Oma made pancakes for lunch. After lunch we sat in the garden and showed her our African pictures. The pictures were – of course – ‘hartstikke’ (LB liked the Dutch word for ‘very’) wonderful!

Maurits and Marieke in Amsterdam

Thu June 6- Just past 9am we (Harry, Henny, Marieke, Maurits and Laura Beth) boarded the train to Amsterdam. Shortly after 11 we arrived in the Dutch capital where we started with an early lunch. We then visited the newly renovated Rijksmuseum which had been closed for the last 10 years. We were impressed with the beauty of the museum. The museum is large and we focused our time and energy on the Golden Age masterpieces. With our apetite for 17th century art stilled, we continued our tour of Amsterdam with a self-guided walking tour. We bought a booklet at the tourist information which explained the history of many of the canal houses. The weather was still lovely and we of course had to stop for a drink and dinner on one of the many terraces. We had a great day out and were back in Emmen around 10pm (just before dark).

Marieke, Henny, Harry and Laura Beth in front of Rembrandt's 'De Nachtwacht'

Fri June 7- We had to get up early to get Laura Beth’s PPD result in Assen. As we already knew LB had no tuberculosis, but this result was now official! Back in Emmen we visited the Friday market. This market has been rated as the best market in the Netherlands! Laura Beth really liked it. We bought bread and cheese (what else) and had a fine Dutch lunch. In the afternoon we picked up Oma Muskee from Veenoord who wanted to come over and see Marieke’s new house. After her approval of the purchase – we also loved Marieke’s house – we had afternoon tea. Oma Muskee did not want to stay for dinner, but like many other nights Oma de Bruin was more than happy to have dinner with us. Like our typical Dutch lunch, we had another typical Dutch homemade dinner of new potatoes and white asparagus.

The Harry Muskee train

Sat June 8- Happy Birthday to Maurits! But instead of celebrating with the family, Maurits ‘had to’ attend the bachelor party of his good friend Wessel. This was actually the first and only night that we (LB and Maurits) were apart during our sabbatical... What happened at the bachelor party stayed at the bachelor party, but it sure was a ‘knight to remember!’ Laura Beth spent the day with the in-laws in Emmen who took her out for a nice lunch.

Nothing happened

Sun June 9- After a night in the bachelor tent in the Southern Netherlands, Maurits returned back in Emmen at lunch time. Since the weather was still beautiful we went for a walk in the not so wild forest of Emmen. We had a good look at the hunebed (a.k.a. dolmen - a stone grave built by the Funnel-beaker-people about 5,000 years ago). For a belated birthday dinner Harry made a fine nasi, just like we had in Bali!

Laura Beh at the hunebed

Mon June 10- Sweden Road Trip Day 1
Our last road trip of the year! We borrowed Maurits’ parents fancy Volvo (Thank you!!) and drove to Sweden. In Sweden we would visit two of Maurits’ friends; Daniel and David. Maurits met both of them during an exchange year in Tasmania - 15 years ago – where all of them attended the same school. In addition to visiting friends, we also wanted to do a little canoeing on one of Sweden’s many lakes.

Daniel and Sarah

The drive to Malmo took about 8 hours including an expensive boat ride and bridge crossing. We arrived at Daniel’s house in Sweden’s third largest city around 5. The reunion with Daniel was great! It had already been 10+ years since Maurits and Daniel had seen each other. Since the weather was perfect Daniel took us on a bike ride through the city and to Malmo’s waterfront. We parked our bikes and walked along the boulevard; a hip and revitalized area with a few city beaches. Daniel even went for a quick swim in the cold sound! We decided against the cold water and instead opted for ice-cream. Back home Daniel’s girlfriend Sarah had just returned from work. We had a fun evening with the four us; beers, cocktails and BBQ.

Maurits and Daniel on the Malmo waterfront

Tue June 11- Sweden Road Trip Day 2
Daniel, who has his own photography business (http://www.studiobus.se/), was able to take the day off and hang out with us. After an easy morning, we decided to go canoeing. Daniel is a member of the Malmo Canoe club and goes kayaking regularly. Malmo is a great place to paddle, it is right on the ocean (sound) and the city has a canal system that connects to the sound. We paddled through the canals along the warehouses on this (once more) beautiful day. We thought Malmo was a surprisingly nice city and thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hour loop.

Daniel in his kayak

After our canoe-activity it was time to go for a walk. We headed to the Kullaberg Nature Reserve about one hour north of Malmo. We picked up Sarah from her office and drove to the Grand Hotel in Molle. Before we set out on our walk, we had a late but delicious shrimp lunch at the hotel. Kullaberg is on a small peninsula and the walk took us along the coast. All in all a beautiful evening walk with nice views and great weather. We were back in Malmo around 10 for a late, but exceptionally tasty falafel dinner.

Maurits, Daniel and Sarah in Kullaberg

Wed June 12- Sweden Road Trip Day 3

After 2 days of great fun in Malmo we said goodbye to Daniel and Sarah. Thank you and see you soon! We continued our road trip north to the province of Varmland, with Glaskogen Nature Reserve as our destination for the coming two nights. According to wikipedia “…the province [Varmland] is rich in small lakes, ponds and streams. The scenic nature with mountains and lakes is usually regarded among the most picturesque in Sweden …"

Nice campsite!

David, Maurits’ friend who we would meet in two days, had recommended Glaskogen for its excellent canoeing. The 500 kilometer drive took us about 6 hours including a stop for groceries. Since it was still early in the summer season, the campsite was empty and we found a beautiful spot right on the lake. The weather had been spectacular ever since we arrived in Europe, but right after dinner our luck ran out. It started to rain!

The ducks did not mind the rain...

Thu June 13- Sweden Road Trip Day 4

The rain made our night in the tent cozy. We had hoped for clear skies in the morning, but the weather was going to be pretty bad the whole day. Given the weather we gave up on canoeing and instead went for a walk through the woods. After about one hour of tramping through the rain and fighting off the one thousand billion mosquitoes, we were happy to be back at the car. We looked for a place to hang out at, but the nearest café was not open till Saturday… the downside of being outside the main season… Instead we spent most of the day reading in the comfortable and bug free car seat.

Threatening skies

Fri June 14- Sweden Road Trip Day 5

In the early morning the rain stopped and it turned out to be quite a nice day. Today we headed to David, Maurits’ other friend from Tasmania. We really liked Glaskogen though and decided to come back after we had visited David and his family. We packed up and headed to Kil - pronounced as ‘shiel’. Around noon we arrived at David’s place for the second great reunion! David and his wife Emily live with their two sons (3 and 5) in a nice house not far from Karlstad where David works as a lawyer. We hung out in the backyard, had lunch and in the afternoon we went for ice-cream in the city. Just like at Daniel’s place, David and Maurits shared many old Tasmanian stories during the BBQ dinner.

Emily and David

Sat June 15- Sweden Road Trip Day 6

In less than two weeks Laura Beth would be starting her new job! At various points during our trip she had to fill in one form or the other and send it back to her new employer. In Katmandu we made quite a few trips to and from the internet café to ‘print-sign-scan-email’ required paperwork. We actually got to know the owner of the internet café – a Ravens fan with a house in Baltimore – very well. All these Nepali memories aside, today we first had to pay David’s office a visit to scan and email forms for our health insurance. We of course wanted to be responsible citizens and not go without insurance.

David and Maurits in Angen

With the red tape done, we set off to go for a walk around the lake of Ängen. Emily stayed at home with the boys and we drove one hour into the woods of Varmland. In Angen David’s parents have a second home. Maurits actually visited this lake house in 1999 as well! It is a beautiful place, in the woods and close to the lake. It was a gorgeous day for an easy hike on top of the hills overlooking the lake. This is a place we would love to come back to in the winter for cross country skiing! Back in Kil, just like yesterday, we sat on the porch overlooking the yard. We had a lot of fun hanging out with David and his family – another great get-together!

Family BBQ!!

Sun June 16- Sweden Road Trip Day 7

After breakfast we said goodbye to the Hult family. After an excellent two days we were going back to Glaskogen for another canoeing attempt. David was actually going on a canoe trip as well! With a friend, he was going to paddle on the Dalsland Kanal. Maybe an idea for another trip… We stopped at the supermarket for supplies and drove back to Glaskogen. At the camp store we rented a canoe and bought a camping pass. We decided to go on a 2 night canoe trip on the big lake called Stora Gla. The weather was great with clouds and sun. To get to the lakes’ landing point we first had to portage the canoe (on wheels) up and down a big hill. Once we were in the water the going was luckily a lot easier.

Captain LB

We paddled for less than an hour before we got to one of the best campsites of our entire year long trip. Right on the tip of a small peninsula we found a little hut with a fire place and a mountain of ‘free’ firewood. We setup camp and enjoyed the lovely lake and surroundings. We were the only ones at this very well set-up campsite; beautiful! In the late afternoon we went back out on the water, paddled up an inlet and explored some of the small islands. Back at the camp we made a smoky fire to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

An awesome campsite

Mon June 17- Sweden Road Trip Day 8

The long daylight reminded us of Alaska. At 4 am the first sun touched the tent and it never got really dark. It was excellent camping weather though. It was not too warm and not too cold; just perfect! Around 10 we were in the canoe for a trip to the 'archipelago' of Stora Gla. We spent the whole day on the water and stopped on small islands for morning tea and lunch. It was a lovely day with beautiful lake scenery. We basically had the whole lake to ourselves and only saw 2 other canoes and 1 fishing boat. Canoeing is definitely the way to explore and enjoy this area!

Maurits the engine

Back at camp we went for a swim in the clear water of the lake. In the early evening we sat on the rocks overlooking the lake – it was warm in the sun – and read our kindles. We concluded that this was a worthy last remote camp of our trip!

Stora Gla

Tue June 18- Sweden Road Trip Day 9

Our last night in the tent… We packed up, had breakfast, paddled the hour back to the car and returned the canoe. Just after 10 we were on the road. Our initial plan was to camp somewhere in the Malmo area, but since it was still pretty early we decided to drive the 1,265 km back to Emmen. The drive in the XC60 was fine and, after passing at least two dozen Ikea’s, we were back in Emmen at 1am.

Swedish sunrise

Wed June 19- We did not do anything noteworthy and spent the day in Emmen and around.

Laura Beth, Henny and Harry in the Muskee construction zone

Thu June 20- Once more off to Assen for a second PPD test for Laura Beth. LB had to explain why she needed to have a second tuberculosis test, since having the same test twice in such a short period of time defied logic. As soon as the nurse understood that this second test had little to do with logic, the Purified Protein Derivative was injected once more.

In the afternoon we biked to Oma Muskee in Veenoord. The weather was still very nice and warm, but while we were relaxing in oma’s garden the thunderstorms arrived. It poured for 2 hours! As soon as it cleared a little we put on our raincoats and got on our bikes. Within minutes it started pouring again! The wind picked up and tried to blow us off our bikes! LB almost started walking, but luckily the weather improved somewhat. Drenched, but in one piece, we arrived safely at Marieke's home.

Dark clouds over Emmen

Fri June 21- Just before we set out on our adventure, Maurits’ friend Wessel got engaged to Tessa and they decided to get married right when we were in the Netherlands. We thank them for their excellent timing! The wedding took place just outside Utrecht in a beautiful 17th century ‘homestead’ called Goudestein. It was a wonderful wedding between two beautiful people! The following dinner and party took place in the nearby Olifant, where we partied till the early morning. A great party with non-stop dancing and jumping!

Wedding portrait time

Sat June 22- With a little hangover we had an after wedding brunch in a rainy park in Utrecht. It was nice to see everybody once more before saying goodbye and wishing Wessel and Tessa a great honeymoon in Malaysia!

Wessel and Tessa in Utrecht

Sun June 23- It was another one of those days that we did not do anything noteworthy in Emmen.

Mon June 24- After the fourth and final visit to the tuberculosis clinic in Assen, we continued up the road to Groningen. In Groningen – where Maurits went to school – we walked around the city and had plans to climb the Martini tower. Unfortunately, since it was Monday morning, most things wre closed; including the church. We still had a good time walking around the city on this drizzly day and in the end we even found an open café for a café. Back in Emmen we had lunch and decided to go for a walk. Together with Harry and Henny we went for a walk on the famous “Drentse hei” (heath landscape), just north of Emmen. In this specific case we walked on the ‘sheep field’ (Schapenveld) where the world’s oldest sheep race (Drents Heideschaap) is still roaming freely.

Sheep!

Tue June 25- We did not do much this last full day of our trip. We visited and said goodbye to Maurits’ grandmothers and went for a walk through the city. We were ready to go back home, but we must say that one year was exact the right amount of travel.

Marieke and her new house

Wed June 26- Day 366 – Our last flight!! We flew back to Boston via Iceland. The flight went fine, but for the very first time one of our bags did not arrive! LB’s backpack somehow got left behind in Reykjavik! It did arrive the next morning... LB’s parents Peter and Shelley picked us up from the airport and drove us back to Lexington. And so we arrived where we left off one year ago. What a great year it was!!

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