We had an exceptionally hot summer in Mainz. It never rained, the temperatures were comparable to Jakarta and one could hardly leave the apartment during the day. I had a few days left and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to chill and explore my original Dutch roots. I booked some small hotels through the internet.
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| One of the traditional houses in Stokrooije near Hasselt |
The first station was Stokrooije, a suburb of the Belgian town Hasselt. It was a nice town, a popular destination for mainly Dutch and Belgian bikers. Since I sold my car, I needed to find a wel-priced little car to rent and found a 4-door-Corsa. This class was a two/door small car but I was lucky to find a 4-door small car. It had enough space for one person, my suitcases and cooler bags. The weather in the Netherlands can be unpredictable and I needed to be prepared with a jumper, raincoat, jeans, summer clothes, sports gear and 2 dresses for a nice night out.
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| This cosy bedroom looks like the homy bedroom in my dreams. The hotel is built in a mansion owned by a rich businessman |
On Sunday morning I started my trip in the new rented car. It was quite new, about less than 50 000 km and acceleration was quite good. After 3 1/2 half hours drive with one break to adjust the mirrors and have a drink and snack, I arrived in Stokrooije. It was a pretty homestay called Het Goed Leven where I really felt home from day one.
The owner welcomed me very nicely like an old uncle, offered me a free drink and I ordered a good cold Dutch chocomel. It was still as hot as in Mainz and I waited in the garden until late afternoon. This time I didn't rent a bike but decided to walk along the village and St. Albert Canal. I was impressed by the friendliness of both locals and tourists. It really felt like home and everybody greeted everybody. Most people were biking but I still enjoyed walking alongside the canal.
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| The St.Albert canal was close to our hotel. You can walk or bike here |
The breakfast at the homestay BnB was simple but very rich. They served several homemade jams, vegetables, salads, shrimps and a freshly made bacon and eggs. I also met a Danish family on their journey back to Denmark and a lovely well-traveled Belgian couple in the low 80s who this time took a cruise on the Danube River.I just wish I could still travel like that once I am in my 80s and be both physically and mentally fit. The stay was too short and I left Stokrooije with a heavy heart to drive in direction Zeeland.
This time I have learned again to avoid passing Antwerp because I was stuck between 30(!) huge trucks. Once I passed Antwerp I drove in direction Bergen op Zoom in Zeeland. My GPS was outdated and I needed to rely on my paper map and Google maps on my smartphone. Actually I do prefer a paper map when I am not driving because it is better to plan my journey.
The hotel address was stated at St. Philipsland on Booking.com but it was located in Annajacobapolder, about 6 km from St. Philipsland. Anyway, I drove around St. Philipsland and had a look at the typical Dutch town. Then I thought I needed to ask some people whether they know Hotel Oosterschelde or the restaurant Het Veerhuis. The restaurant was quite well/known and everybody could tell me which direction I should drive.
I arrived at the polder late afternoon. It looked like the Zeeland I imagined from my childhood although I have been driving through the polders. For anybody who don't know the word polder.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder
My room was shady and I could have a one facing the diving point and the water. The room was not cheap but I preferred to enjoy these few days I had to relax from my daily life. At the same time there is always a way to explore nature, the polders, watch how the crabs were caught and hung on pales. I also decided to give myself a treat and had two dinners in the restaurant. Not cheap but worth the effort. I met so many people in the hotel, primarily from the Netherlands and Belgium.
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| View of the water and the polders in Zeeland |
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| Everyday I could cross the Oosterschelde from Annajacobapolder to Bruinisse |
Nearly every morning I took the small ferryboat to cross the polder from Annajacobapolder to Bruinisse. I met people I already met in the hotel but in addition to that I met locals and enjoyed my time at the harbour. The weather was scorching hot though and sometimes I felt too exhausted to stay on the beach at Grevelingen Meer for too long. The water was crystal clear but I was not lucky that I didn't see many sea creatures.
Their age was between mid 40s and mid 80s. I really admired those people because some of them were disabled and wheelchair bound. And yet it didn't change their life and travel spirit. I wish I could be like them when I am their age. At first I made contact with two local Couchsurfing hosts. Both of them were single gender hosts who hosted females only. I didn't find it necessary to clarify whether what they offer was a sex couch.
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| The sun is going to sleep and I enjoyed a candle-lit dinner from here |
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| I waited until the sun was going to sleep totally |
The first guy had a sailboat who invited me for a copious dinner and at least he tried to make me drunk. The references he received from girls were excellent and I thought he was intelligent with interesting activities. But being smart and socially pro-active is something different from wanting to have sex. Apparently some women understood when the couch offered was a sex couch and therefore gave positive feedback. But could you imagine myself just enjoyed the alcoholic drinks and a copious dinner on his sailboat, then I needed to defend myself and try how much of my martial arts skills was still there??? After that I would have enjoyed to throw him into the polders. It would be a huge damage and pollution to the polders though.
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| I am glad that I could have my candle-lit dinner not on a sailboat with an ambiguous stranger but with friends from Belgium that I made at the hotel |
Of course I could ask him directly. I felt that he was not sensitive to my needs and therefore I decided spending time on his boat wouldn't be worth the effort. We had different views on how to meet up and I found it not necessary to talk to him about the matter. I could have my candlelight dinner with the friends I made at the hotel. The second host was from Rotterdam and the online communication was a lot smoother. He seemed to be sensitive to my needs and I decided to meet him in the safe area of my hotel.
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| What a delicious dinner: Fried mussles with salicornes, French fries and salad |
We had nice conversation and since I had the second breakfast for free I invited him to have breakfast together. He had over 100 references from females which I didn't even notice. but he told me about it and I asked him why. His answer was that men only talked about football and he enjoyed the company of females more. The football thing was not really the truth but I cut him some slack and thought it would be understandable that he was embarassed. Anyway, I enjoyed my time with him and I also felt that he would never jump on a woman without her consent.
So it is clear that you don't have to travel too far from home to have a new socio-cultural experience and enjoy different types of people in different social settings, learn a lot from them. I also enjoyed nature, a walk through the polders every evening and I came nearly too late to watch the sunset over the polders. The little town of Tholen was different, it was beautiful nature, architecture and Dutch lifestyle. You always discover something new in an environment you think you are very familiar with and go on a journey into your own inside.
