My dad is the oldest of eleven children. All of them were born on the same farm in the province of Gelderland, in the Netherlands. We are fortunate that the farm is still in the family, and that’s where Jacob and I headed on our way out of Berlin. “De boerderij” as we call it is now a stables, where people board their horses and my cousin Astrid gives riding lessons and does horse therapy. My Oom Wim and Tante Helma also live on the farm, and my sister and I have stayed with them before when we were teens. That was the last time I was on the farm, though, which is now 18 years ago! I was so excited to go back and visit my family, and being able to stay on the farm in the van was a perfect setup.
We arrived on the farm just in time for dinner, and were graciously invited to join Astrid and her family for pannekoeken - what a classic! We had pannekoeken met spek (with bacon), met banaan (with banana), and plain. Scrumptious! We followed this up with a visit to the nearby town for gelato, where I had my favourite (pistachio) and Jacob had the Dutch classic: stroopwafel! It was such a lovely evening and a great start to the week.
Stroopwafel gelato
A lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins still live in the general vicinity of the farm, so I was excited to visit a lot of them (and there are A LOT of them!) I had made a few plans with people before we arrived, but some spontaneous plans also emerged, and were so much fun. One of the plans I scheduled was to get my hair cut by my cousin Linda, who owns her own salon. It’s a gorgeous space, with three floors: men’s barbershop on top, women’s salon on the main floor, and a beauty salon with hammam spa on the bottom floor. Jacob and I both got new do’s, and I had a lot of fun catching up with Linda at the same time!
In addition to the pannekoeken we enjoyed on our first night, we were lucky to be fed dinner by several more relatives over the course of the week, which worked out well because it was quite hot while we were there and this way we didn’t need to use the stove! On Tuesday we had a lovely time with my Oom Brand and Tante Jeanet in their garden, which includes one of the most impressive displays of hydrangeas I’ve seen! Then on Thursday we visited with my Tante Dini and cousin Anja in Sneek, and enjoyed some traditional croquetten and frikandellen.
It was on this trip to Sneek (a 1.5-2 hour drive from the farm, considering van speed) that we noticed a little something funky about the van. One thing about staying on a farm is that you try to “tune out” some of the less pleasant odours. So, when we got in and started driving and noticed a bit of a smell, we just turned the fan mode to “internal” and figured it was just farm stuff. However, when we returned to the van from our visit with Tante Dini, it was clear that the van smelled a lot worse than the outside air! We therefore began the great “sniff test” to try to determine the source of the stink. It turned out to be the grey water tank (thankfully not the toilet!), which we had likely rinsed some milk into that had then soured in the heat of the day. We needed to dump it, and quick! As it turns out, the parking spot we’d just pulled into in the Albert Heijn (grocery store) parking lot had a storm drain conveniently located directly under our grey water spout. Given the dark clouds threatening imminent rain, we figured everything would wash down quite nicely, and opened the tank on our way into the store. By the time we emerged, the tank was empty, and the smell was greatly reduced! We added some dish soap and water and let that slosh around on the drive home, and all was well again.
On Wednesday, we spent the day at the Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum) with Oom Wim and Tante Helma. At the museum, you ride a little tram around to different areas: Dorp (village), Platteland (countryside), Tuinen (gardens), etc. In each area, they have related buildings from different time periods set up as one might have found them in that period. For example, in the village, there was a typical Dutch house from the 1970s with the same decor, furniture and household items as it had during the 70’s. This was Tante Helma’s favourite display, as apparently it looked just like the house they lived in when they were first married! I think Oom Wim’s favourite display was some of the old farming equipment they had in one of the barns. My favourite exhibit was called “Wij Gaan Naar Canada / Off We Go to Canada,” all about Dutch emigration after WWII. I was so excited about it because I thought, “This is the story of my family!” My mom emigrated with her family when she was around four years old, and my dad emigrated on his own when he was in his early 20s. Seeing the stories about families who settled in Canada but kept close ties to their Dutch heritage was so comfortingly familiar that I felt a bit homesick! We, too, celebrated Sinterklaas, made oliebollen at New Years, kept a verjaardagskalender in the bathroom, read Jip en Janneke books, and said “Eet smakelijk!” at the start of every meal. It felt a bit surreal to be in the Netherlands, reconnecting with my relatives and family history, while also seeing how much my own childhood paralleled that of other Dutch-Canadian families. I am very grateful to my parents for preserving Dutch culture in our own family, and above all for teaching us Dutch when we were little!
Recipe for krentenbrood (raisin bread) on display at the Openluchtmuseum
Wednesday turned into a double-header of events, as my cousin Bejanca had organized an impromptu canoeing event in the evening with a big group of relatives! There were probably 25 of us or so (and this was nowhere near the whole gang!), and we paddled down de Grift, a canal that runs between Utrecht and Gelderland. As with most water-based group activities, there was more splashing involved than paddling! We also happened upon a bird caught in some netting, and with the assistance of someone on shore who had a pair of scissors, one of our boats was able to rescue the bird. After the fun on the water, most of us headed back to the farm for drinks and a lively chat. I had so much fun reconnecting with people I haven’t seen since I was a kid!
Kanovaren op de Grift (canoeing on the Grift) - photo by my cousin Astrid
It was also great to meet some family members for the first time during this trip, mostly first cousins once removed (yes, I had to look it up). On Friday evening, we were invited to my Oom Peter and Tante Riekie’s house to visit with them, their kids, and their grandkids (my first cousins once removed!) One of the reasons I have so many of these removed cousins is that, although my dad is the oldest of his siblings, I am the youngest of the next generation (the cousins). Some of my cousins have kids close to my age! Anyhow, we had a great time sharing stories in a mix of English and Dutch, and learning all about the HEMA tompouce fiets.
This whole trip to the Netherlands and the boerderij felt like a coming of age for me. During all my previous visits with my dad’s family, either my parents or my sister were there to act as the primary communicators. I was more of a tag-along, shyer and more tentative to speak Dutch than my sister. This time, though, I had to figure things out on my own! I had to make my own plans, coordinate with people, and carry on conversations in Dutch. And I’m pleased to say, I think I managed quite well. I certainly understand more Dutch than I can speak, and I had to look up words on Google Translate a few times, but overall I think my relatives were able to get to know me as an adult. One of the best examples of this from the week was my solo visit with Tante Loes. I went to her place for coffee and cake on Friday morning, and got a tour of her incredible garden. We spent a few hours together, talking and catching up, and I really felt how special it was to be able to connect with my family in Dutch.
Tea in the garden with Tante Loes
With all the get-togethers, the week really flew by, and soon it was time to close up the van and leave it behind for a few weeks! We took the train to Amsterdam Centraal, and from there boarded the Eurostar to London. We spent a few days in London at an Airbnb, mostly decompressing and enjoying some time with just the two of us. My highlight of our visit was going to the Victoria & Albert Museum. I’ve been to London a few times but had never gone there, and I’m so glad we went this time! I felt so inspired, being around so many gorgeous and particularly designed objects. There were some sculptures and carvings that were at such a large scale yet with such minute detail that I marvelled at the dedication of the craftspeople to complete the work!
Before we left London, we made sure to stock up on Hobnobs, which travelled with us to Canada and back again. And then, after 3.5 months away, we were back in BC for a quick trip home! I was thrilled to be able to visit many of my faithful blog readers, so thanks to everyone I got to see for making time to visit. The visit was short but sweet, and when it came time to leave again I felt ready to embark on the next phase of our adventure! So more on that in the next post.