Meeting Lucien's family, and seeing them off - July 17 through 20
Wednesday
We got a pretty good night's sleep, then we had breakfast with Lucien's family, then Lucien took us around the block to see the house he inherited from his father, that he is offering for sale. Among other features it has a hidden room that was used during the war to hide a couple of men the Germans would have killed. It's a tiny cramped room, but I'm sure it was better than being killed.
Lucien told us where to find the local shopping mall, so we walked over there. It just took us about 15 minutes to walk there, and we wandered around in the mall for another hour, probably. We hadn't changed our money yet, so we weren't tempted to buy anything. We finally found the post office, where we changed some of our dollars to euros, and bought a multi-use public transportation ticket.
After riding around with Lucien on the way from the airport I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to accept his kind offer to drive his car while he's away. There are just too many unfamiliar things here, and too many possible ways I could get into trouble. So we'll have the adventure of travelling by foot or public transport.
We had hoped to pay a visit to the old Vogel home today, but Lucien had two appointments before he could take us, and it was pretty late by the time he was finished, so we decided to wait until Thursday to make that trip.
Thursday
I slept at least one hour, then I knew it was time to get up, so I stayed in bed, wide awake, until dawn. Jet lag had finally hit. So after dawn I was able to sleep a little bit, and when I finally got up everyone had already had their breakfast and started their day. Daddy had gone for a long walk, and the kids had gone to school. I had a late lunch, then Daddy and I took a long walk along the river. We saw the sculpture park I had heard about from Lucien for many years. It was strange seeing all the sculptures I had helped make a website for years ago.
I helped Lucien put a bathtub into the back of his van so he can take it to Finland when they leave. He's trying to take as much as he can this trip so it will be easier to move when the time comes. And a man has taken an option on the house Lucien is trying to sell so Lucien can't sell it to anyone else until next week. I guess if the inspector approves it the man will buy it. That will make things simpler for Lucien and Marjo.
After dinner (It stays light until 9:30 or 10PM here) we set off to see if we could find the old Vogel home. We had one page from a book that showed the picture of what was supposed to be the house, and the name of a nearby church that the early Vogels belonged to. So Lucien drove us to the church, left us in the car, and went to knock on the door. In a couple of minutes he motioned for us to join him. The man he was talking to was the minister of the church, and the author of the book we had the page from. He told us a bit about the history, and said that the house in the picture was not the right one, since it had been built after the time the Vogels lived in the area. But the house next door to it was probably the one. He gave us 2 copies of the book, and his mailing address and email address. He mentioned that a step-relative (I couldn't follow the dutch conversation well. so I'm not sure which one) had lived in a house a little way down the road. So we first took pictures of the wrong house, and the probably right one next to it, then we went to find the other one he had mentioned.
Daddy and I got out of the car to take pictures of the house, and a man saw us and came out, wondering why we were taking pictures. When Daddy said he thought his ancestors had lived in that house the man said, Is your name Vogel?" and he seemed astonished when Daddy said yes. He said there had been about 4 different Vogels looking at the house in the past few years. We all talked for a while about the history of the house and the Vogels, then he said he was sorry but he couldn't talk anymore because he had guests, but if we were going to be around for a while he would like to have us come back and he would show us around the area and tell stories. We got his name and phone number, and will probably try to set something up.
Click here to see the pictures I took at the old house.
Friday
I'm over my jetlag, I guess. When the sun gets up I am ready to get up too.
We had a quiet day. I did my email and checked on my business, Daddy took a long walk, and then we had lunch with the family. After lunch we walked over to the river and sat and watched the boats go by, and tried to figure out how the waterbus works. There are 2 boats that stop just across from Lucien's house. then one goes straight across the river and the other one goes upstream and out of sight. The one from across the river soes back and forth several times, then goes up and out of sight and the other one arrives and goes back and forth for a while. We bought a strip of tickets that are supposed to work on the waterbus and regular busses, but not on the trains. We'll practice using them in the next few days after Lucien and his family leave us alone. We don't wnat to spend much time away now, since this is our only chance to visit with them. When they return we'll already be home.
The river is teeming with traffic, going all throughout Europe, I guess. Lots of cargo boats with one car as well as the cargo they are carrying. I'm told that's the car belonging to the owner and his family.
We took the family out to dinner at a nice restaurant. The food was good, but the kids were really angry by the time they got theirs. They were hungry, and they didn't get a first course when the adults did, so they had to sit and wait and pout. I would have pouted too, I think. But eventually they got their food, and then they were happy.
Lucien has convinced me that I should drive his car while they are away, so I'll see about getting an international license soon. The car is small and easy to drive, and it already has some small dents, and there are some streets that are quiet and wide enough. I won't try to take it into the city, but I'll drive it locally.
Saturday
Lucien's family are supposed to leave for Finland today. They have shown me how to work the washing machine, and the fuse box, and the car, and what to lock and how to lock it. I'll have to water the plants every day, and I think I know where they all are and what their special needs are.
They don't know exactly what time they are to go, but it's 2PM as I write this, and they aren't anywhere near ready. They might decide to spend the night here and get an early start in the morning, but probably they won't.
We'll stay around today and see them off, then maybe we'll do some sightseeing. We have so much time that we can waste some if we want to. There's a one day trip to Paris available for not too much money, but it looks like a very long day. I suppose we will do that or similar tours beginning next week.
Finally, at 3:50 PM Dutch time (6:50 AM California time) they are on their way. Their older daughter Carmen will be staying part of the time, but she works and has other friends, so we won't be seeing much of her. We're on our own now. Sink or swim. Fish or cut bait ...
I guess we should start thinking about what to do for the rest of the day ...
Carmen and I decided to take a walk, and we went to the shopping area, and we had a sandwich at the restaurant where she works.
Then she tried and tried to get me to understand that if we didn't buy groceries right away we would have to wait until Monday morning for the stores to open. We discussed the situation as the doors of the grocery store were being closed and locked in front of us. When I finally understood, it was too late.
That's OK, though, we still have a little bit of food in the house that Lucien and the family left, and we'll manage.
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