The week between Christmas and New Year went by in a rush. Not because we had an action packed calendar and were constantly on the go. Quite the contrary, our schedule was purposely relaxed ahead of the big trip to Holland at the end of the week. We decided to do a bit of a day trip on the 27th, but not one of the monstruous variety we've taken in the past. Our goals were a little more reasonable - Pluscarden Abbey and Elgin Cathedral. Our choices were a little limited by the inclusion of the dogs and the fact that a lot of historical sites were still closed for the holidays.
The day was bright but chilly and on the road we decided to add another attraction to the list - Huntly Castle. Having been before Fiona and I knew it was well worth seeing and the nearby dog park would allow us to run the dogs a little bit before arriving at the working monastery of Pluscarden. With the monks all wearing traditional white robes, it was definitely a good idea to try and avoid bringing hyperactive, muddy-footed little canines onto the grounds.
Fiona volunteered to walk the dogs while I escorted my parents around Huntly. These plans were quickly foiled by little Sydney, however, who spotted me on the castle grounds from across a field and took off like a little grey rocket to come and see us. She explored a hundred metres of fence line before finding a spot small enough to wriggle through and came dashing into the castle with all the aplomb of a viking raider.
Leaving Huntly we turned north again and soon hit Keith, where we stopped for a coffee and cocoa at a quirky little coffee shop called Boogie Woogie. They had a series of really cool clocks on the wall, all created by local artists. Keith lived up to its billing as the 'Friendly City' as a man walking his dog passed our car, noticed our trunk full of dogs and quickly came over to offer them both treats. Probably the highlight of their day.
We finally made our way through Elgin and onward to Pluscarden Abbey, which is situated in a beautiful valley just west of the town. The fields were covered in neatly rolled bales of straw and what seemed like hundreds of pheasants. They were absolutely everywhere, lending a sophisticated air to the area.
We didn't quite know what to expect from the Abbey. We knew it was a working monastery, but also quite a famous tourist attraction, having been recommended to us by several people. It may have been the bleak winter day, but it felt kind of underwhelming. There is no denying the beauty of the building itself, and the quiet serenity of hooded monks in white robes walking the grounds. Certainly it would look better in the spring or summer, with leaves on the trees and the gardens in bloom. That said, I was still glad we went. You could go into the Abbey and see a history of the monastery - this being Scotland it involved periods of stunning productivity interspersed with the usual burning and pillaging.
We left Pluscarden and wound our way back to Elgin, thinking mostly about lunch. This proved to be a difficult task, as a lot of places were still closed. We ended up in a pub off the high street, but the only seats were up on the second floor, where a seriously chilly draft seemed to come straight through the windows.
Our last stop was to be Elgin Cathedral, but the gates were closed. We walked around the site, but were soon ready to go home and hopped back into the car. We spent the evening playing a little more mahjongg - everyone was really starting to get the hang of it.
Wednesday and Thursday found me back at work. At home the time was spent doing some shopping in downtown Aberdeen, walking the dogs and watching darts in the evening. We went back to Mom and Dad's favorite restaurant, Ciao Napoli, where we had an excellent meal and some really nice wine. The waitstaff and owner are always friendly, and got quite a laugh when we ordered dessert. Fiona and I ordered our usuals - tiramisu for Fiona, profiteroles for me - and Dad ordered the tartuffo bianco. Mom ordered nothing, but Dad asked the waiter to bring an extra spoon. So when the desserts came we each got a nice dish and regular spoon, and then he brought out a large serving spoon to give to Mom.
Friday morning had us flying from Aberdeen to Schiphol. It was an incredibly smooth flight and we were there in just over an hour. We picked up our bags and headed for the train station, where we bought tickets on the Fyra train straight to Breda. The train was fast, smooth, relatively empty and incredibly easy. No changing in Dordrecht, as we used to do. Hopefully this service sticks around, although judging by the limited number of people in our carriage, I don't see how that is possible.
We spent Friday evening in the good company of Ome Wim and Tante Els in Dorst. They were their usual hospitable selves, taking us shopping in town so we could stock up on Dutch groceries to take home, cooking a wonderful meal (yay for Belgian Endive!) and watching an exciting evening of darts with us (boo for Gary Anderson losing in the quarterfinals!).
After a great night's sleep we all hopped in the little red Peugeot my parents had borrowed from my uncle and headed over to Baarle-Nassau, where we had coffee with Ome Ad and Tante Jose. They were also holding a car key and directions for us. We had made arrangements to spend New Year's Eve with my cousin Pim, who was ringing it in with friends from a holiday park in Bresskens, on the Dutch North Sea coast. Pim had everything ready, renting us a cabin and leaving us Sandra's car and a GPS with the course already laid in. I was a little nervous about driving such a long way in a strange car, on the other side of the road and in such a densely populated country, but it all proved very easy. The roads were empty, the directions were easy to follow and the car quite easy to drive. After a couple of hours, having taken a motorway through Belgium and around Antwerp, we were there.
Pim and Sandra had a fantastic group of friends that were all very welcoming and extremely tolerant of our poor Dutch. Pim and Sandra had their two kids, Dennis and Femke, their friends Timme and Neeltje, with their daughter Vera, Ron and Tienneke and Nicki and Wouter rounded out the group. After a little bit of lunch we all headed down to the bowling alley that was on site. Fiona took the opportunity to teach us all exactly how it should be done, coming out on top in the friendly competition.
The group split after that, with some of us going for a walk on the beach, and others starting off the evening with some beer and drinks. Dinner was planned to be 'gourmetten', which is a little like fondue but instead of a pot of oil there is a griddle in the middle of the table. The group had organized many different cuts of fabulous marinated meats, from teriyaki chicken to shoarma, with a dazzling array of sauces on the side. It was truly epic and utterly enjoyable. Everyone was so friendly and in such a good mood that it would have been impossible to not have a good time.
After dinner we broke out some games, including 'What am I', which both the kids and the adults both enjoyed. Fiona had fun practicing her Dutch and even managed to figure out that she was a Brussels sprout. Post Bailey's and Jagermeister we played another game where a quiz master asked personal questions which you had to answer, but could then ask of anyone else in the room. It was a really cool way to get to know everyone a little better.
Midnight came on faster than expected, proof again that time flies when you are in good company. Pim, who was coming down with the flu and looked a little bit green around the edges, managed to stay upright long enough to set off the fireworks. We all gathered outside the cabin to watch the displays that people were putting on. It was amazing and went on for the better part of 45 minutes. And these weren't just dime-store fireworks, but large, professional looking ones. It was great.
We ended the night watching some Dutch television, with some classic Dutch entertainers (Franz Bouwers and Lee Towers) ringing in the New Year. By the time we got back to our cabin it was getting on to 3am and we were absolutely exhausted.
2012 started on a a bit of a downer for some in our party, as the flu started to spread. Pim and Timme were down and out, although Pim had enough energy to make it down to the beach to witness the Polar Bear Swim. I had also volunteered to participate, but despite actually having my trunks on at some point in the morning, never quite made it into the water. The only ones from our group brave enough to do it were Ron, Wouter and Nicki. Bravo to them.
After the chaos of the Swim we said our goodbyes and heartfelt thank you's and packed up the car for the return trip. We had to be back in Baarle-Nassau by 3:30 to attend the traditional New Year's reception. The reception is an annual tradition in my mom's family and everyone takes a turn in hosting. As my parents were actually around for this one, they decided to host, and with the help of Ome Ad and others organized a grand party at a local establishment. It was great to see so many aunts, uncles, cousins and now, especially, my cousins kids. There were so many people that I hadn't seen in years, and it was great to catch up. Fiona and Sandra managed to organize family pictures. We had a nice dinner of soup and sandwiches. The little kids danced to the latest trendy songs. Jokes were told. It was wonderful to feel a part of such a large and caring family.
The next day we all piled back into the Peugeot and went to Weert, where my family lived for a few years when I was very small. We went to see our old neighbours Ome Mart and Tante Rosalie, who became and still are really good family friends. They were very welcoming and it was nice to see everyone again. Martijn stopped by and we got to meet his girlfriend (and now fiancee!) Ellen. After a hearty pea-soup lunch we went for a walk and then popped by Valerie and Ad's house. They had spent a good deal of time and effort renovating it and the results were fantastic. We got to meet their daughter, Amber, who had made a little card for us. After coffee we moved on see a little bit of downtown Weert, which had some really nice shopping streets. We then stopped in to see Martijn and Ellen's new house, which was really nice. We spoke a little bit about Scotland, as the two of them may be coming to visit sometime in 2012.
We met everyone again for dinner at a 'wok' restaurant. It was the type of place where you can fill up a plate with meat and vegetables and then you go up to the front where you choose a sauce and someone fries it all up for you. It was quite tasty, although I could tell halfway through her first plate that something was wrong with Fiona. She starting feeling ill, and it was soon apparent that she had picked up the same flu bug that Pim and Timme had suffered through. We said some hasty goodbyes and headed back to our base in Baarle-Nassau. We made it back just in time and Fiona spent the next day and half sick in bed.
We limited our activities to short visits and stuck close to Ome Ad's. I never really came down with the same thing, but I didn't quite feel right either. Two days later we were back on our feet and felt well enough to go with my parents to Den Bosch, a beautiful old city about an hour's drive away. Den Bosch has two big things going for it - Bossebollen, which are huge cream filled profiteroles covered in chocolate, and the Sint-Jan, a giant cathedral built the thirteenth century. We experienced both and they were both spectacular. We were quite glad to get into the Cathedral, as the wind was bitterly cold and seemed to cut right through you. After some more shopping and a traditional lunch of croquetten, we made our way back towards Breda, where Fiona and I could catch the train back to Schiphol for a flight back to Scotland.
I think it was in the car when I first began to feel the rumblings and queasiness. By the time we exited the train and checked our bags I had the full-on flu. We had to wait a couple of hours, during which time I drank a lot of green tea and took a few paracetemol. By the time we got to our gate I was feeling a little better, but still grateful that we would soon be home. Things were not to be, however, as there was a technical malfunction with our plane and we were delayed and hour and a half. They then found another plane, but couldn't bring it to our gate, so we all had to exit and go through security again. By this time I was turning purple again.
Once seated we could hear the wind howling outside the plane and knew it was going to be a bumpy ride, exactly what I didn't need. After 30 minutes of bumping around at the back of the plane, clutching a 'relief bag' the whole time, a flight attendant took pity on me and offered to move me to the front of the plane. I got a seat over the wing and the amount of turbulence went way down. Nonetheless I felt awful as I had to abandon Fiona at the back of the plane on a bumpy flight, and she hates those types of flights.
I managed not to embarrass myself too badly on the flight and we eventually made it home. Despite being scheduled for work the next two days, I spent them at home, being nursed back to health by my wonderful wife.
