The Koetsy Capers

We farewelled Eily at the train station and returned to the hotel to meet Peter Koetsveld who had arranged to pick us up there.

Peter was around the mid 40s and he surprised me with his height as he was quite tall. We introduced ourselves and we quickly discovered that in the Nederlands, Koetsveld is pronounced as Cootsvaald. As some people had already told me, the name translates as coachfield although others had told me that it translated as cowfield. Peter had found me through Google and had made contact with me a few years ago.

We were ushered into his Mercedes people mover and set off for a bit of a tour around the dikes and polders. He took us to a site named Kinderdjjk which is a World Heritage area due to the concentration of old windmills there. We were able to go inside one which was quite educational. People even slept in the mills, but the beds were, by today’s standards, quite small. Anybody who was taller than five feet or a little more would have found it a little uncomfortable. I have to admit that I never dreamt that I would be walking around in one, so it really was quite a thrill.

We eventually made our way to Peter’s home in Veenendaal after he showed us more of the countryside. The land is very flat and intersected in every direction by drains. The grass is very green, much like the colour of the grass at Interlaken. Dairy farms appeared to be the predominate enterprise and corn was everywhere. Apparently it is only used for feed for animals, although Peter did say that while he enjoyed a cob of corn now and then, the Dutch rarely eat it.

We met three of the children (Jannnieta, Hanna & Alieke, Naomi we were to meet later) and had a light lunch before setting off on bicycles to the local supermarket with Peter and Jannnieta. That’s right, Gloria and Grumps were riding bikes in the Nederlands! This caused the local drivers much confusion and consternation as they could see that I in particular was completely out of control. I nearly fell off twice (who said that you never forget how to ride a bike?) and almost collided with a car as I crossed a street. In my defence, it is a little confusing because at some intersections, bikes have right of way, at others you have to obey the traffic lights along with the cars and at some others you have to obey the traffic lights like pedestrians.

A stroll around the supermarket where we inspected the very different foods was followed by a small gift of foods to bring back to Australia. I’m very sorry to tell you that some of it was consumed in the next couple of days and we will be looking for these foods in Australia.

Jannnieta left us to return home and Peter then took us on a bike ride around the local forest – and this was as great a highlight as the windmills – it was stunningly beautiful. Not at all like Interlaken, but almost as good. The scent of the forest was completely different to anything I had been exposed to – it is probably the same in forests all through Europe, but it was certainly refreshing and invigorating.

We eventually made our way back into town and saw the city centre before returning to Peter’s home. We meet his wife Alie when she came home from work. It was Alie who made the observation that Mrs Peter Koetsveld was talking with Mrs Peter Koetsveld and Peter was inspired by this to want to have as photo taken with his two wives.....

Peter prepared a Dutch dinner consisting of mashed potato, bacon pieces and endives, all mixed together, accompanied by sausage. The Australian palate might deem this to sound a little bland, but I can tell you that it was quite tasty. Ice cream followed as a sweet – it seems people all over the world love ice cream.....which is not a surprise really.

After dinner, we were treated to an impromptu violin concert by Hanna. She was accompanied by Peter on his clarinet and she played 4 small pieces, which we really enjoyed.  It was terrific to see a young person learn and play an instrument other than a guitar or the drums.

I should mention here that Peter is a professional musician and he gave us a CD to bring home. He plays in a quartet, has a choir which regularly sings in churches and teaches music as well.

I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable days I have ever had on our European travels. It was great to sit down to some home cooked meals and have a conversation around dinner table and we saw parts of the Nederlands that we never, ever though that we would see. We thoroughly enjoyed the company of Peter and Alie and the kids. It was something we will not forget.

We eventually returned to Rotterdam by train that night to pack our cases for Belgium.