Blue Pearl on the road again

We feel confident landing at Schiphol now – been there done that many times and this time worked just as we had planned.  Hadn’t heard from Anjo but we would head out that way anyway and try to contact her from Goes and if that didn’t work we would just catch the bus. No hassle. We were good at this. The train is easy and has WIFI on it so we sat back with plenty of room and caught upon messages and watched the green fields of the Netherlands slide past as the very earnest looking Dutch people returned home at the end of the day. It was late evening but still very light so felt like day to us. Goes is not pronounced as if it has anything to do with going to places. It is much more a HHooose.  Anjo arrived smiling at the station just as the train did, a bit surprised we had arrived a day earlier than expected.  A small mix up but all ok. Zierikzee felt so familiar.   We did all the catch up stuff and said Hi to her friend Elisabeth who was busy chopping up vegetables for the birthday party the following day.  Elizabeth lived in New Zealand for a few years when her parents emigrated in the 50’s. It was not a successful emigration though and although Elizabeth’s dad was a kiwi the family moved back to the Netherlands from the sheep farm he had in New Zealand. He then went mushroom farming in Limburgh near an area of pioneer mushroom people and eventually to another family farm which Elisabeth’s brother still owns – after nearly 6 generations it is about to be sold as no family are interested. We talked of the strong women who have been involved in this operation and have made sure that the farm was retained for as long as it was. We heard more of the story the next day when we went round to her house to meet up again with the Blue Pearl which she and her husband had given safe harbour to on their drive. So many people moving around the world and setting up new lives and then moving on again.  The ties of home are very strong and seem to make it hard to really sink your souls into new places.

Anjo’s house is a very old Dutch Canal house, actually two houses pulled together and she is in the process of reconfiguring the upstairs part of it. 

What were the children’s big rooms are being rearranged into a flat for visitors both paying and otherwise.  A big project and one which has given the children a wee jolt but also gives Anjo something to get her teeth into with painting and dealing with contractors. There is an old Chinese saying  for parents which has been  anglicised as “you are only free when the children leave home and the dog dies” --- the reverse could be  for children “ it is  time to create your own home when your parents pull down the walls of  your room and start throwing out your pictures.” Maybe a bit severe but there is a moving on time. Mothers find it hard to throw out the pictures though!

As we lay in bed in the morning we thought again how public these houses are. Right on the canal or old harbour in this case, with big windows looking out to the world and the passers bay. The living areas are on the upper stories in this case  so not at direct eye level  as in many houses but people do look up and will wave if you wave back. Anjo sits at her dining table and her friends out walking wave to her and she can watch the world go by. A real sense of community is created and fostered or you can feel you are in a goldfish bowl. Maybe it depends on the expectations of those doing the looking in and out? We try to fence out the world   or stay private behind gardens but many places here seem to decorate their front world faces to entertain the world. The football world cup was in its early stages and Holland was in with a chance so many houses had some orange focus in their window displays along with the delicate framing lace curtains and flowers and other often very stylish additions.  These make the street wanders you do on holiday even more interesting.  Being a voyeur but with permission.

Anjo has also just had major restoration work done on the outside of her houses. Because her building is of historical significance there are special loans you are able to get but the cost is still substantial. The entrance door onto the harbour is now very elegant and restored to its original imposing state. So many of the doors along this way are made to be looked at and not just passed by. The original owners were making statements about themselves and their houses. They are now just beautiful.

We spent the first whole day inn Zierikzee sorting the van, fixing the awning with the help of Elizabeth’s husband Franz, helping Anjo with her party preparations, and reacquainting ourselves with this cute wee place.  Anjo has a big family and birthdays are special. I love the singing and enthusiasm of these occasions. We have met most of the family before and many of her friends so it is a reunion but we do feel that they all relax more when we are not there to be included as although their English is very good the language of relaxing is Dutch.   

Geoff needed a haircut so he had one along with a beard trim and while he did that I went shoe shopping – so successfully in fact that when I showed him my goods he bought some as well. A small shop in  a side street selling sports gear at discount prices and my pair of very smart comfortable and light Regatta walking shoes cost me $NZ 60 and his  hiking shoes cost him $NZ 75. 3 weeks later they have been declared a success and that is a miracle!!

Anjo stocks us up on cheese – the hard Dutch cheese with Fenugreek in it that Geoff really likes and the BIG white fluffy bread and Geoff buys his raisin buns. Comfort food. The bakery does not open as early as the ones in France so when we do our early morning prowl around the streets – trying to get some more walking in as part of our Mont Blanc preparation there are no wee shops to stop at. Drat.

Anjo has another family birthday to attend on the third night but we decide it is better to have an early night after watching the Netherlands team play Australia in one of their games in the World Cup. There are a couple of bars on the waterfront where we have sat many times and so we pick a seat in amongst some very passionate orange dressed fans. BBQ chicken skewer and wine and we settle in to cheer for the team of the country we are currently in. We are fickle fans.  The focus of the fans is varied. Many are incredibly orange in their attire but a bit isolated from the game, others are very conservative in their dress but sitting up close and serious to the screen.  On the first near goal by the Australians, a very stressed and loud “Jesus” came from the group around us. They were worried and this was not what they expected.

A large white 300SD Mercedes cruised along amongst the people thronging over the road -- the driver a large chap with a Tom Selleck moustache. They looked like old hoods. It then sped backwards down the road again. Just checking!!

The cheers for a Dutch goal were huge – so huge they all missed the Australian goal and there was silence. Just a wee quiet giggle inside Wendy.

Maybe people looking at New Zealanders see similarities but some I noticed among the mass of people watching this game  --- I did get a bit side-tracked – were

·         Suntanned

·         Haircuts of the young men all very short on sides and long on top

·         Older men either shaved low or flowing locks.

·         Women in boots

·         Very tight t shirts or tops irrespective of the shape underneath

·         High heels and trousers

·         Blond and tanned and not necessarily skinny

·         Broad shoulders, solid and stylish in an individual way.

When the Dutch finally won the noise was huge with tooters, horns etc. and went on for ages.

Small towns have a special flavour to them.   Both social and physical. The early morning smells are of the gentle rain and grass but also horse manure in the cobbles.

We wandered round early in the morning looking at the tilting houses and some of the bricks being eroded – reminded us a bit of our house at home but also makes me think about how much and how often some of these houses have been restored and patched up. Some are very old but still here and not in perfect condition but still very liveable. Why are we so focussed in Christchurch on returning houses to excellent   condition?

 We picked up our bikes from the farm they were stored at and handed over the whiskey payment. The tyres were flat but good once pumped up. Geoff had been planning new wheels as they are very narrow but as soon as he got on again he remembered how uncomfortable the position of the bike is for him. Maybe just leave them as they are.

Everything loaded into and onto the van we set off on the adventure in the Blue Pearl – heading to Ellie and Duncan in Oldenburg but a couple of housing projects to look at on the way.

The plan was to head for Almere and Nijmegen following up some links we had been given by contacts in New Zealand. The focus is affordable and possibly self-build housing with a community focus.

We went first to Nijmegen and the Vossenpels area. The initial impression was of a large new area of buildings and not what we were really interested in. But we had an address and drove to – past it actually – but   eventually we parked and walked around. Some small houses being built but so what!! How do we find out more?  

 

We walked over the road to a large new building under development and found magic. It was a large community housing development for about 150 people at the entrance to an open area with a fairly rudimentary road which led us on. As we walked in I recognised some of the buildings I had seen on websites. We had found the place. How to find out more. We looked at and criticized cladding and house design. We thought about section size. We thought about lack of fences and proximity to the road through the development; we looked at roofing styles and materials and I then decided I was going to attempt to talk to someone.

I had seen a woman in one house and she was my target. With fingers crossed for her having some English, I headed for the small grass roofed house on a corner. The garden was wildflowers and very new and the small front path had a random and uncertain manner. The owner was just walking down it as I walked up to the house.  She spoke good English and was very happy and proud to talk about her house and the whole development. She had been in her house, of her own design, for about 2 months and had the beautiful photo books describing its development on her table.  The information flowed out of her and we later received an email with the extra details Geoff asked for. 

 Such an incredibly worthwhile and positive stop and we were able to tell her about our Cooperative Sections project which she followed up later. Her house was small but perfect for her and her husband with room for visitors and her role as an art teacher. It was self-built as were most of the houses in the development. The house was wooden and the roof was topped with peat bags from Norway.

We left smiling and decided that after that long stop and the heap of information we had gathered we would delay our visit to Almere and head straight for Oldenburg.

 Needed coffee though so off the motorway and into Heere. I think we came here on our initial van hunt but maybe many of these places look the same. We now had even more of a house style and community planning focus in our heads.

The fish cart was set up in the main street and the grey day made the hot offerings look even more delicious and tempting. We were.  A packet of hot Kibbeling was perfect but the coffee and advocaat and chocolate cheesecake topped off the stop added even more.

The Netherlands merged into Northern Germany almost imperceptibly and I did wonder why these people ever fight each other. They are the same.

 One more stop before Oldenburg for a quick dinner. This one was at a mall style of place with a huge hardware and supermarket complex. It was late in the day but parts were still open. Think Warehouse combined with Mitre 10 and pack’n’save  on steroids

I left Geoff eating his sausage and went to explore the supermarket. There was more alcohol there than I have ever seen in my life and some I never want to see again. The different colours of F… alcohol really made me wonder. All the coffee of the day did mean we needed to explore the toilets and Geoff came back reflecting on the  fluorescent lights in his --- a bit like the Brothel lights which used to be on the dairy at Halswell. Not saying it was a brothel, just that is what the lights suggested to me. I went to the Dames version and yes the same lights but the toilet paper dispenser really made me smile.

The beach huts for sale also reminded me I was in a different pat of the world. These will  never be trendy at Le Bons. 

20 mins later I hugged my lovely big girl and her young chap and I was a very  very happy Mum.