Weekend away in the East
Astrid’s parents have been married 35 years, and so had decided to rent a huisje in the east of the country, not far from Enschede where I used to study. The whole family was invited along, inluding me, which has meant a few days of eating, drinking, swimming, and wandering in the snow. In the normal course of things it would hopefully be quite a relaxing experience, unfortunately I am so busy right now with work and various other projects that I felt it quite difficult to unwind. All the same, it was good to get away for a bit.
Everyone was continuously amused by the comical accents that folks have in this part of the country. I always have the idea that Twentse people speak a bit like how Geordies would speak if they were Dutch, if that helps by way of explanation.
This was also of course something of a farewell, since we may not see all of them before departing next month on our great trip. It made me think a lot of being with my own family in December, and realising that we will not be seeing each other for a very long time indeed. And dare I say it, for the older ones it was of course no means certain that that was not the very last time.
