My last day in London with friends Eviane and Bharath was spent enjoying what happened to be one of the warmest days of the year in a park watching the London skyline. Spending some time to relax in all the craziness of constantly being on the move was a luxury. Upon return from the park I packed all my things together once again and set off for the Victoria Coach Station, where a bus would bring me from London to Amsterdam.
Monday, 9:15am, I step off the train at Abcoude Station, a long night of traveling behind me, and there is Oma (Grandma) waiting to pick me up. So begins my first week in the Netherlands with a big hug from Oma, and remembering that its been far too long since I’ve been in my country of birth. When we arrived in Vinkeveen, my big bag of laundry was taken in without second thought from Oma. The next day we went together to run errands, including a trip to Amsterdam to see if my MacBook Pro could be fixed. Oma, not one to travel to the city often, found that the train trip there was much easier and shorter than she would have imagined. After trekking through the city to find the Apple Store, we were told to come back on Friday for a scheduled appointment.
Tante (Aunt) Danielle and I went out the next day to check out some stores, get vaccinations for me in preparation for India, and enjoy a delicious lunch. Noting the fact that I had not yet had a ‘Broodje Kroket’ since I arrived, we made sure to have that on my plate. And delicious it was! That night, Tante Wendy and cousin Sky were over for dinner at Oma’s. Sky at five years old still remembers very well who I am despite not seeing each other for two years. More family came over for coffee and other beverages later in the night, culminating in a happily busy day of seeing family.
Ome Rob en Tante Mariette came to pick me up Thursday morning for a day of visiting Rotterdam, my father’s birth city, thus full of family history. What they had in store for me that day I was not quite ready for. Quick history lesson, Rotterdam suffered the most from bombings during the second world war, therefore it does not retain many old buildings like Amsterdam. What had sprouted from the dust of destruction is a beautiful city with architecture unparalleled, and it could be termed a sort city of the future. In any case, as we toured the city in both car and amphibious bus tour, we visited many key places, such as the street my dad and his brother grew up in many decades ago, the stadium of football club Sparta, and Hotel New York, old home of the Holland America Line which used to bring immigrants to New York.
After touring around, Rob en Mariette surprised once again as we arrived at long time family friends, Martin and Yvonne Corsten. After sitting down to catch up, we went for a tour of Legendary producer Ferry Corsten’s HQs and studio. As a profound listener of everything EDM, I was extremely excited! I got to sit down in the chair where music production has taken place with the likes of Armin van Buurin, Tiesto and Markus Schulz. The close of an already exciting day came with a delicious dinner back at the house and coming back to Oma’s house.
Friday began the weekend of brothers, and what a weekend it would be. Friday night was spent delightfully with brother Eric, with adventures big and small in a night of Amsterdam. The weather picked up as Saturday came along, when I arrived in Beinsdorp with the train, with brother Rick and my nephew Felix waiting for me.
A couple hours of relaxation and fun both at home and then to beach went well until a fatal moment. Messing around a bit with Felix, Rick took a hard step and hurt his ankle. After carrying him out to the car with a fellow beach goer, and a trip to the hospital, Rick came back home with a cast on and a report that indeed some bones were broken. Not a fun realization for him as he leaves for vacation in Egypt in the coming week. Luckily, being the happy guy he is, he sees the silver lining and smiles on.
A week back in Holland has been full of excitement and fun, and as I await next Tuesday when friend Mark Portillo arrives in Amsterdam from Berkeley.
