On my 80th birthday, 17 April 2024 , a few of my waterfall friends surprised me with a present.
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A Waterfall Puzzle!
“How did you know that I like doing jigsaw puzzles?”. I asked. They didn’t, it was the waterfall that made them decide to give it to me as a present.
Actually, not only me, but all my siblings have been avid jigsaw puzzlers. In Amsterdam I had dozens of jigsaw puzzles and even here in Malaysia I still have a few, They are big, 2000 and 3000 pieces, the huge one has even 5000 pieces. Too big for me nowadays, if anybody is interested, he can get them for free, just contact me.
But I still like doing jigsaws. In 2020 I received (by post!) a present from my brother Arie and his wife Ineke, after I had visited with them the heritage building shown in the puzzle. Not an easy one but doable 😉 .
We even have puzzles made for us from one of our own photos, by a specialised company. Here is an example, a photo of my siblings and their partners at a reunion meeting, a couple of years ago.
And here’s another one. The photo was taken by my youngest brother Otto, and we asked him to make a puzzle of it. This puzzle still needs to be done.
All this to show that I come from a jigsaw family 😉
As I was going back to the Netherlands a few weeks after my birthday, I decided to take the puzzle with me to Amsterdam. There I started with optimism, a puzzle of 1000 pieces should be no problem.
The usual approach is to collect the border pieces first. The puzzle is of Japanese origin, high quality and the puzzle pieces fit accurately.
The next step is to select an “easy” part” of the puzzle. I chose the white region of the waterfall and discovered soon that even that part was not easy at all.
I used a few tricks, one is to spread out all the puzzle pieces, just doable for a 1000-piece jigsaw. The next step is to sort the pieces according to colour.
As I had many other commitments, it became clear that it would be impossible to complete the puzzle during my stay. At a reunion meeting with my siblings, I asked if anyone would like to give it a try. My brother Ruud showed interest, so I put the puzzle back in its box, the various colors in separate plastic bags.
When my brother Pim brought me to the airport, in June last year, I gave him the puzzle and he passed it on to Ruud when he visited him in Groningen a few months later.
Unfortunately it was getting clear that Ruud’s health, both mental and physical, was deteriorating. When I asked about the puzzle in February, his partner Jur replied that Ruud would not be able to do it. My sister Lous was willing to take over.
Then things went fast. On 9 April Ruud passed away, only 76 year old. The funeral took place on 15 April. I could attend it digitally via life-streaming. On a condolence visit Lous received the puzzle..
It was a hectic time. Two days after the funeral I turned 81 and the weekend after that was Easter.
That weekend Lous sent me this photo. She had started the puzzle on 18 April and finished it three days later. Amazing.
“What shall I do with it now”, she asked. These Japanese puzzles always have a tube of glue included, so the puzzle can be glued on a piece of cardboard and hung on a wall as a kind of painting. “Can you split in separate pieces and put them back in the box?”, I asked. Then I will take it back to Malaysia, put it together, glue it and hang it in my home as a kind of in memoriam for our brother.
She managed to do it. Here is the result. The puzzle is now waiting for me to be taken back to Malaysia.
What started as a post about a puzzle, given to me by my waterfall friends, became more personal. Although Ruud probably never touched it, it will become a memorial for him.
A relative of Aric invited us to a housewarming party in Melaka. We decided to go there on a day trip and combine it with a visit to Machap. In January we went to Melaka and Machap with our UK friend Rodney. Our main interest was Melaka’s old town and the CNY decorations in Machap  Umboo. When writing my report, Melaka and Machap, I googled for more information about Machap and found on Wikipedia an entry about Machap Baru , one of the New Villages, created during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). I am quite interested in the Emergency, have mentioned New Villages several times in my blog posts, and may write a separate blog post about them.
This time wanted to explore Machap Baru and also to visit (again) the Old Mosque of Machap.
Although nobody was there, this time the gate was not locked, so we ventured inside to have a look at the mosque.
The mosque has an interesting history. In the days of the Melaka Sultanate, a trader from Makassar, Datuk Machap, supported the sultan, but had to flee when the Portuguese invaded in 1511. Following the Melaka river, he founded a few settlements and also a simple wooden mosque. In 1865, a Muslim Chinese missionary arrived in the Machap region. He collected donations to rebuild the mosque in stone. A marble slab in the mosque shows the names of the donors. More in this report: Machap Old Mosque on the website of the Alor Gajah Municipal Council.
In front of the mosque, there is the tomb of Datuk Machap and a few more graves. The signboard is less detailed but mentions that it became a holy place, a Keramat. where devotees came with offerings. Similar to the Datok Kong shrines, you can find everywhere in Malaysia.
The redesign in the 19th century by a Chinese missionary explains that the mosque looks very different from the traditional Malay mosques. There is no minaret, and the beautiful decorations on the walls also don’t look Malay. The mosque is surrounded by a verandah. On the left side, next to a Malay drum, there is the original marble tablet with the names of the donors.
Of course, we didn’t enter the prayer hall. Everything looked well-maintained, but I think the mosque has been closed.
Aric used his drone to take an aerial photo of the mosque. So quiet and peaceful. The water in front is the Durian Tunggal reservoir. Built in the 1970s as a water supply for Melaka.
Of course, I was wondering, how the situation was before the reservoir was built. I found the answer in this topo map, dating to the 1940s. Right a GE screenshot where I have marked in red some roads that already existed in 1943. Note that in the 1943 map, there are three Machap settlements. Twice Machap Umbor and one Macchap Tengah, close to the Masjid Lama, (marked Keramat). In the GE map, I have marked in blue the two Machap settlements that are now deep below the waters of the Durian Tunggal lake.
Looking for more information, I found this report, A day trip to Masjid Lama Machap, Melaka, written in 2014 by Joan Wan. A trip with her father. They meet the caretaker, who tells them that after completion of the reservoir, the mosque could only be reached by sampan until a new access road was built. And that devotees still visited the Keramat but were not allowed to burn joss sticks at the tomb of Datuk Machap.
In another report, written in 2017 by her uncle, he describes how as a young boy he accompanied his mother to the mosque. By a rickety bus, then climbing stairs to the mosque. His mother brought offerings. prepared by Muslim neighbours and a few days before their visit, they could not eat pork. Delightful report.
We continued to Machap Baru. It was time for lunch, we went to the Restaurant Mei Yuan, It was well patronised, we had nice food, Garlic pork, Lobaak, and veggie for RM59.40 only!
We drove around in Machap Baru. Here is the entrance gate and another gate for the Machap Walk. An attempt to copy the famous Jonker Walk in Big Sister Melaka 😉
In the town a mixture of old houses and modern ones. It would have been nice to meet some seniors with memories of the past. We asked about it in an old bakery, but the young owner could only tell us that the shop was old (4th generation) and had moved to here in the 1960s. Maybe from the submerged Machap settlements?
Fortunately, in the second report, mentioned above, the writer describes how he in the early 1960s, visited Machap Baru with a school friend. That was after the end of the Emergency, but his friend had visited his grandmother when the village was still fenced with a security guard. Once he was caught by the security because he brought food to his grandma, which was not allowed..
Here is a drone photo of Machap Baru. Many other New Villages, like Aulong and Pokok Assam, have now merged with a nearby town (Taiping in this case). But Machap Baru is still surrounded by nature and may be about the same size as when it was created in the 1950s.
Nearby Machap Umboo is also a new village, but not related to the Emergency and the Brigg’s plan. Many of the villagers in the river valley were relocated here when the reservoir was created. It is rather confusing that it is sometimes called a New Village, for example, le in these STAR and Malay Mail articles.
From Machap, it was only a half-hour drive to the housewarming party, as the location in Jubang was nearer to Alor Gajah than to Melaka.
In Malaysia, the house is called a bungalow; I would call it an Urban Villa. As is common these days, it is located in a gated community. It’s a big villa, with a well-designed garden. But the houses are too close to each other, I would prefer more privacy.
We arrived in the late afternoon, and most of Aric’s maternal family had already arrived before lunch. Here I am having a toast with the host, drinking a glass of dragon fruit wine! Very drinkable. He had a huge collection of expensive cognac and other liquors.
The family enjoyed watching TV and playing cards. I know almost all of them, I had a friendly chat with several of them, but of course, much of the conversation was in Chinese.
We went out for dinner to a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was crowded as it was the eve of Mother’s Day. Good that our host had booked tables for our party.
After dinner, we drove back and arrived home around 11 pm. A nice, busy day, full of variety.
Usually I celebrate my birthday privately, at home with a birthday cake or in a restaurant with a nice dinner. The exception was my 60th birthday, which I celebrated with a small group of friends at Maxwell Hill, here is the report: My 60th Birthday 17-4-2004 . In Chinese astrology there are 12 zodiac signs and 5 elements, after 5×12 year your life cycle is full and a new one starts. That’s why that birthday is an important one for Chinese. By the way, I am a Wood Monkey.
Of course, reaching eighty and becoming an octogenarian is considered a milestone by many. But statistically it is the last milestone I will pass and that gives me mixed feelings.
Therefore I wasn’t planning to have a special celebration this year. Aric and I had booked an overnight stay in Colmar Tropicale on 16 April. But Aric’s relatives consider me part of the family and insisted that I should at least have a birthday dinner with them.
We had this dinner in Sg Besar, not far fromParit Baru, Aric’s hometown. One week earlier, on 10 April. Interesting cultural difference, in many Western countries it is considered bad luck to celebrate a birthday BEFORE the actual date, but ih Chinese culture it is taboo to celebrate it AFTER the actual date ! So we followed the Chinese tradition 😉 .
Aric and I arrived early in Parit Baru and had enough time to relax and walk around a bit.
The family had booked a private room in a seafood restaurant in Sg Besar. Two tables, 18 pax.
Left the senior table, of course I was by far the oldest. Right the table with Aric’s nephews and nieces.
Aric had gone to the restaurant in the afternoon to discuss the menu. As he knows my food , preferences, it was a very delicious dinner, here are the dishes.
From left to right, top row: Seafood Noodles,Steamed Chicken (a restaurant speciality), Prawn Curry. Middle row: Deep Fried Cuttlefish, Steamed Pomfret. Vegetables with special Sauce. Bottom row: Tofu Soup with crabmeat, Fresh Clam Soup, Steamed Yam with Pumpkin and Ginkgo .
After the dinner there was the traditional birthday cake. Not just an odrinary cake, but a durian cake for Uncle Jan ;-). A real beauty.
Blowing out the candles (while doing a wish) and cutting the cake.
The traditional group photo.
One week later, on the eve of my birthday, we drove to Colmar Tropicale. When we checked in at the reception, they told us that we got an upgrade to a suite. Almost an apartment, with a separate livingroom.
We had a nice view of the surrounding forest and even got company from a family of Dusky Leaf Monkeys.
Colmar Tropicale is a kind of extravagant “folly”, based on the French town of Colmar in the Alsace. It is basically a hotel, where the rooms are located in the various French houses. There are a few restaurants but there is not much else to do. We walked around and took pictures.
We had dinner in one of the restaurants and walked a bit more. Romantic atmosphere.
This photo was taken 5 minutes after midnight. I am an octogenarian now
Breakfast was included in the room rate. They had made an attempt to make it Western/French, even with a variety of cheese. But hahal, no pork or bacon.
After breakfast we enjoyed the cool fresh atmosphere. It had rained during the night and was still foggy, very scenic.
Before driving back to KL, we visited the Japanese Garden. A popular tourist attaction, with many flowers, even an (artificial) waterfall. Visitors can rent Japanese clothes.
Our plan was to have lunch in the Wonderland Valley restaurant, but they had their weekly closing day. So instead we went home and in the evening had a sumptuous Korean BBQ dinner.
I had told my friends that I was not going to have a gathering for my birthday. However, a few of my waterfall friends called me that they wanted to drop by for a short while and give me a present. How could I refuse that 😉 ? Here is the present they gave, a waterfall puzzle. For me a symbolic gift, as I had decided some time ago that I would no longer take part in “real” waterfall exploration.
I may write another blog post later about getting old.
This is the last part of my journal about my Dutch trip 2024. Here are part1, part 2 and part 3. The last week of my stay was more relaxed than the hectic first month.
Wednesday 29 May
A (rainy) rest day. In one week time I will fly back to Malaysia. Enjoying another raw herring for lunch.
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Thursday 30 May
In the morning I took my bicycle to visit the Amstel park. It has a famous rhododendron valley and I was hoping to see it in full bloom. But I was too late, only a few bushes were still in bloom. The weather was nice and the park is beautiful.
In the afternoon I visited my friend Lambert again in the care home. I had bought some cake to cheer him up.
Friday 31 May
My friend Yolanda celebrated her 75th birthday and organised a party. Here she is, radiant as ever, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
It was a pleasant meeting, followed by a nice Japanese style dinner. In the left photo I am making a toast with Angela, one of Yolanda’s oldest friends.
Saturday 1 June
In part 2 of my journal I wrote that my waterfall gang had presented me with a jigsaw puzzle for my 80th birthday. And that the puzzle was a VERY difficult one, without much structure. Actually it was TOO difficult for me, I hardly made any progress. I asked my siblings if any of them was interested and my brother Ruud wanted to give it a try. As I had sorted the puzzle pieces according to color, I put them back in separate plastic bags. I wish him good luck.
Sunday 2 June
A visit to Alphen aan den Rijn, my hometown. My youngest brother is living now in the ancestral home with his family. I arrived by train, he was waiting for me. In the right picture I am standing in the garden. The top window was in my room, when I was a teenager. The family has been living in this house for 75 years!
The front garden is often admired by passers-by. In the backyard I had a chat with Nina, my sister-in -law.
As usual we visited my parents’ grave and planted some new shrubs.
When we were kids, my mother got help from a young girl, Janny, who soon became a friend of the family. When my brother told me that she was still alive, now 88 year old, I said that I would love to meet her. It was a remarkable meeting, she told us many details about her and our past. She started helping my mother in 1949, when she was only 13 year old. A few years later she went to the Martha Stichting in Alphen , a home for uncared for children. I always thought she was there as a pupil, but she explained that she worked there as a group leader. A very nice meeting.
After bringing her back home, Otto brought me to the Martha Stichting, now no longer a home, but a beautiful park. The right photo show the main building, now an Arts Center, called Park Villa.
A beautiful park surrounds the buildings. When I was a kid, it was out of bounds and the Martha Stichting had a rather negative reputation.
I used my visit to Alphen to cast my vote for the European elections, held in the Netherlands on 6 June. As I don’t have my domicile anymore in the Netherlands, I am a postal voter, so I needed stamps to send my vote. Otto provided the stamps 😉
Before I left Alphen, I had dinner with Otto and my two nephews, prepared by Nina, wo had to work that evening. Xander and Aswin are identical twins, when they were kids I could not tell them apart, but they have developed differently and now I can 😉
Monday 3 June
n the morning Annelies, a former colleague, came to visit me in Backershagen. We had coffee and cake and had a lot to talk about, because we hadn’t seen each other in years.
The last few days before my departure, I always am busy preparing the apartment, washing bedsheets, vacuuming the floor etc. I have to empty and clean the fridge, so I try to get myself invited for dinner 😉 Usually Inez does that the last night, but she was not free that day. Instead I visited her one day earlier, she had prepared a nice Dutch meal, melon with smoked ham as a starter, meatballs and spinach as main.
Tuesday 4 June
The last evening for departure I visited my friends Johan and Edmund in Vinkeveen. We had a drink in their nice garden and enjoyed Surinam food, prepared by Edmund.
A view from their garden and Edmund’s meal, BBR (brown beans and rice), a popular Surinam dish.
Wednesday 5 June
My brother Pim picked me up at 6pm, we were early at Schiphol airport, time enough after check in to enjoy a coffee and a snack.
Schiphol can be overcrowded with long queues for the security check, but this time it was a breeze. The flight was full, but I managed to sleep a few hours.
Back in Malaysia now and trying to overcome my jet lag
Click here for a report about the first part of my trip. The last journal entry was about Remembrance Day on Saturday 4 May.
Sunday 5 May
Using bicycle, tram and bus I went to Ouderkerk, where I met Henk and Marian. Henk is a former colleague from the university. We had lunch and I admired their beautiful “wild” garden.
On the fifth of May 1945, Germany capitulated in the Netherlands and each year this is celebrated as Liberation Day. In the same location as on Remembrance Day, one day earlier, a Big Band played a medley of old songs for a (mainly) senior audience. Nice weather.
Monday 6 May.
A rest day. My waterfall “gang” had given me a jigsaw puzzle as a present for my 80th birthday., With a waterfall of course ;-). They didn’t know that in my family we like to do jigsaw puzzles, so I brought it with me to Amsterdam, planning to “solve” it first myself and then share it with my siblings. Soon I discovered that this is a VERY difficult puzzle, without much structure. I may not be able to finish it before I fly back to Malaysia.
Tuesday 7 May
In the afternoon I visited again my friend Lambert, who is at the moment staying in a care home. It was a beautiful day and after having a cup of tea with him, I decided to visit the museum Het Schip, a 20 minute walk away.
I had to cross the Westerpark. In the past there was a gas factory here, heavily polluted, after a lot of cleaning it is now an attractive park. Left the monumental villa of the chief engineer. No tulips anymore, it is now the rhododendron season
Het Schip (The Ship) is a masterpiece of the Amsterdam School architecture. designed in 1919 as a housing complex for the working classes. I had visited the museum several times, click here for a visit in 2017.
This iconic image you will find in any article about the Amsterdam School. Right a detail.
This time I joined a guided tour, where you visit parts of the complex that are not open to the public. We first visited the former post office.
The living conditions for the poor were atrocious in those days and a basement slum has been reconstructed. Up to seven people lived here in one room. The other picture shows the living room of an apartment in the housing complex.
I am planning to write a separate blog about the museums I visited during this trip, with more details and photos.
Wednesday 8 May
A lunch with friends from my school past. It has become a yearly tradition. This time Atie, the wife of my former vice-principal had invited us and prepared a nice lunch. Of course we had enough to chat about. Another occasion where I was the youngest in the company 😉
Thursday 9 May
The start of my “expedition”. With my siblings we had planned on 11 May a reunion in Franeker, where Nanda is living, the partner of my brother Pim. I decided to combine it with visits to my sister Lous in North-Holland and my brother Ruud in Groningen.
I took a train to Schagen where my sister was already waiting for me. We had a relaxing afternoon in their bungalow. They have a big garden and use a “robot mower” to keep the grass trimmed short. Interesting variation on the robot vacuum cleaner that we use in Malaysia.
For dinner Lous and Arend took me to Warmenhuizen, a small village near Schagen. What a surprise to find there the Globe Streetfood Restaurant , where food from all over the world is served in a friendly atmosphere.
Here are a few of the dishes we ordered. From left to right Crunchy tacos salmon, Duck Gyoza and Flammkuchen. Here is the menu. Worth coming back.
Back home I took a picture of the sunset. A few weeks earlier Lous had taken a photo of the same view (compare the trees). Spectacular, could win a prize in a photo contest.
Friday 10 May
We visited the Huis van Hilde (Hilde’s House), the archeology museum of the province of North-Holland. Again only a few pictures in this journal, more in a separate museum blog.
The museum exhibits many objects, found during excavations. Also skeletons. Some of these skeletons have been used to “recreate” the people and dress then in the clothes that were in use during their lifetime. Fascinating, here are a few pictures.
And three more. From left to right Cees (Stone Age), HIlde (4th century) and Jan (still alive). A very interesting museum.
We had lunch in Hargen aan Zee in a beach restaurant, Here is the North Sea and the beach.
Saturday 11 May
The next morning we drove over the Afsluitdijk to Franeker, where we met the rest of my family. Pity that Lous and Nina could not join. We had coffee and sandwiches in Nanda’s garden, beautiful weather.
Franeker is a small town with a rich historical past, It had the second-oldest university of the Netherlands, after Leiden. It is famous for its Planetarium, the oldest working orrery in the world and since 2023 a UNESCO World Heritage site. Now so popular that you have to book a timeslot for your visit. Pim and Nanda had done that for us. It’s only a short walk from Nanda’s house. Here we are waiting at the Planetarium for our turn.
The planetarium (orrery) was built from 1774 to 1781 by Eise Eisinga, a rich wool merchant and amateur astronomer. The planets move in real time, so you can not see them move.
The orrery is located at the ceiling of the living room. One floor up is the complicated mechanism to keep everything moving. I had visited it decades ago and forgotten the details. Impressive.
There was time enough to visit the Martena Museum. Built in 1506 as a city castle in Franeker. Now a museum about the history of Franeker.
The Martinikerk was built in the 14th century. Although I am not a believer, I always burn a candle and do a wish 😉 .
Before walking to a restaurant, we had a drink.
We had our dinner in de Stadsherberg. I had apergetartaar as starter and kalfssukade as main. Click here for the menu (in Dutch).
After this nice reunion dinner, I joined Ruud and Jur to Groningen.
Sunday 12 May
We decided to have a lazy Sunday and enjoy the nice weather in the garden. A big garden needs maintenance, here Jur is watering the plants.
We went out for dinner to restaurant Garnwerd aan Zee. Actually it is not located “on sea”, but far inland.
Another nice meal, although we had to wait very long for our main dish. However they apologised and offered us a drink “on the house”. I had blinis with smoked salmon as starter and a lamb skewer on tzatziki as main. It looks like global cuisine is getting popular in the Netherlands 😉 .
On our way back to Groningen. Can it be more Dutch?
Monday 13 May
On my way back to Amsterdam I decided to have a short stopover in Leeuwarden to meet my friend Nellie. We met as freshmen at the university in 1961, became friends and try to meet each other when I am back in the Netherlands. Behind me the Court of Justice and behind Nellie the Fries museum.
We had coffee and lunch, I had the traditional uitsmijter, two eggs with ham and cheese on bread.
That was the end of my expedition. Nice but a bit tiring for a senior 😉 .
Tuesday 14 May
Lunch with two friends who I had met on Kingsday (see 27 April) . Tulip time was over, I bought roses.
A selfie with Wout and Han.
Wednesday 15 May
Coffee with my former colleague Hans (see 8 May) and dinner with Nico, Paul’s brother in the Entrepot restaurant in Amsterdam. Popular, good reviews, a bit too expensive.
From left to right Raw Sea Bass (nice), Gnocchi (a bit too cheesy) and Lamb (delicious). With wine etc 90 Euro pp.
Yesterday the Chinese New Year celebrations ended with Chap Goh Mei on 24 February. Shopping malls try to outdo each other in elaborate and often spectacular CNY decorations. We visited a few. This year is the year of the dragon, so dragons everywhere.
On 1 February we went to the Curve, a shopping mall near to where we live. Relatively modest decorations.
The next day we visited the ExchangeTRX, a new, huge shopping complex in the center of Kuala Lumpur.
On Saturday our first CNY-dinner with Aric’s maternal family in Kepong.
The following day another CNY meeting with my Bukit Lanjan hiking friends, just around the corner from where we live.
On 7 February we visited the Pavilion shopping mall in Bukit Bintang. By far the most impressive decorations.
On Friday we went to Aric’s family house in Parit Baru for the CNY eve reunion dinner. Traditional steamboat, in multiple sessions because the (extended) family is huge.
Aric always creates his own CNY decorations around the house and this time he was particularly successful.
The theme this year was to wear traditional Chinese dress. The right picture shows Aric with a few competitors.
The extended family is huge 😉
On 18 February we went to Puchong for the celebration of the Hokkien CNY, another tradition.
The next day another CNY meeting with Aric’s maternal family.
On 22 February we went to Jenjarom to visit the Dong Zen temple. Usually a serene quiet Buddhist temple, but during CNY a famous tourist attraction. Huge crowds. This is the centrepiece, flashing lights with loud music.
Very colorful but a bit kitschy.
The main hall still has a different atmosphere.
On 24 February, early morning, we went again to Parit Baru. Prayers for the ancestors.
Before going back home we visited a local Datok Kong shrine near Aric’s family house
A busy three weeks 😉
Aric’s Zodiac sign is the dragon, so you should be able to calculate how old he will be this year. Here is our CNY wish.
On Sunday 3 December there were two major events in Aric’s family. His maternal uncle, David, who lives in Singapore, had come to Malaysia to celebrate his 80th birthday. He had invited the family for a birthday lunch. And the youngest daughter of Aric’s paternal uncle no 6 was going to get married and we were invited for the wedding dinner on Sunday evening. How to survive two sumptuous meals on one day?
The weekend started on Saturday evening with a pre-wedding party in Cheras where Aric’s uncle lives. Buffet style. It was a pleasant evening. As usual, I was the only Kwai Loh in the group, but by now I know most of the family members.
The birthday lunch took place in the Tropicana Garden Mall. Four tables. Sumptuous is an apt description of the lunch. Look at the menu, ten (!) dishes .
To survive, I decided to take only minuscule portions of the various dishes. And I also refused to have any alcohol, telling that I don’t drink before 6 pm, which actually is generally true 😉 . In the food collage only the Longevity Birthday Peach Bun is missing.
There was karaoke singing. Aric is a good singer, but rarely sings nowadays. I recorded his song, but he doesn’t allow me to share it here. Pity, click here for the original song, it was a popular 1959 movie, The Kingdom and the Beauty.
Of course there was a birthday cake and the singing of Happy Birthday To You.
David in the center with various combinations of family, relatives and friends.
And the usual group photo.
Then finally the cake was cut. A very nice birthday celebration
We came home and had a few hours to rest and recover before we went out again to the Hee Lai Ton Ballroom & Restaurant in Puchong. The wedding dinner took place in a big hall on the first floor, twenty tables.
Left the parents of the bride, right the entrance of the couple.
The food was delicious. but again I took only very small portions. And as it was after 6 pm, I had a few glasses of wine. This time I took picture of the dishes, not of what I put on my plate.
It was a pleasant , traditional gathering with a lot of Yam Seng toasting.
Here we are posing with bride and groom. One of the traditions is that the groom has to uncork a bottle of sparkling wine. A modern element was that here both bride and groom uncorked a bottle 😉
After filling the glasses they call the close relatives to the stage for a toast. That is basically the end of the dinner.
It was the end of a busy food-filled Sunday. But not yet the end of the weekend. David and his family had come from Singapore to Malaysia for the birthday celebration, but were also eager to have a look at our new penthouse. So we invited them for a get together on Monday evening. We had prepared drinks and snack food and they brought even more. It resulted in an animated party with a lot of wine 😉
A group photo at the end of the evening. The next few days we were recovering.
Here is the report about my fourth week in the Netherlands in 2023. For earlier reports see: week 1, week 2, week 3
In this fourth (and last) week I had to prepare the Backershagen apartment for my departure. Do some cleaning and laundry. Main task to empty the fridge.
———————————————– Thursday 15 June
Visit from Henk and his wife Marian. I know Henk for many years, since my university time. First we had coffee with vlaai. In the shopping center near my aprtment there is a popular shop that sells this Limburg delicacy. I had bought three slices.
To make it easier to choose, Henk and Marian helped to cut he slices in half 😉 .We continued with lunch. It was a kind of heatwave in the Netherlands, I decided that a bowl of gazpacho (cold Spanish soup) would be a good start of our lunch. But in the supermarket there was no more stock, so I chose the “unknown vegetable soup”. They liked it.
That evening I visited Nico, Paul’s brother for dinner and a chat. He had prepared poussin (young chicken) stuffed with Boursin (French cheese), a Belgian recipe. Excellent dinner.
———————————————– Friday 16 June
A day without commitments, so I could relax after three hectic weeks. For dinner and wine I had not much choice, just finishing what was left, some of my meatballs in this case.
———————————————– Saturday 17 June
As my first meeting with Lambert, in the Amsterdam public library, had been rather short, I decided to visit him again, this time going to Purmerend, where he lives. Forgot to take pictures.
I am very happy with the public transport in the Netherlands. I have been using train, metro, bus many times, using my so-called public-transport card, With this card you can access any kind of transport in the country. You don’t have to worry about enough balance on the card, it will be topped up automatically from your bank account.
Here a bus to my hometown and the train to Arnhem.
The bus has special seats for senior citizens, and in the Amsterdam metro you are allowed to take your bicycle with you.
———————————————– Sunday 18 June
I was lucky that during the last few days, friends invited me for dinner, so I didn’t have to cook myself. In this case Johan and Edmund, living in Vinkeveen in a nice house. They are proud of their beautiful garden and rightly so.
Johan and Edmund had invited Theo, another friend, for dinner. As the weather was good we had dinner in their garden.
Edmund had prepared delicious Surinam food. Theo, also living in Amsterdam, took me back in his car to the town. Nice evening.
———————————————– Monday 19 June
Dinner with Dick Jurriaans, former colleage at the Snellius school, in the Elements restaurant in Amsterdam. The kitchen and restaurant are staffed by students from the hotel school, connected to the ROC of Amsterdam. The result is perfect service, a creative menu and a very affordable price.
Almost the Summer Solstice. Compare the two photos, left on 28 May, right on 19 June
———————————————– Tuesday 20 June
During this Netherlands trip I had been extremely fortunate with the weather. But for this day there was a warning voor extreme weather with lots of rain in the afternoon and evening. I was invited by Roald, a former student and a close friend for many years, to have dinner at his apartment in Amsterdam, but we deicded to cancel it.
Left a screenshot of the rain radar website, in the center the actual downpour. So I had to prepare some food myself. Vegetarian, I still had some potatoes and cucumber. With a glass of wine, quite acceptable 😉 .
———————————————– Wednesday 21 June
It has become a tradition that I have dinner with Inez, the day before I fly back. What would you like to eat, she asked. Real Dutch food, I told her, but I had already tasted many typical Dutch dishes. What about zuurkool stamppot met spek en rookworst? (sauerkraut stew with pork belly and sausage) Great, that was still missing on my list 😉 Actually this stew is really winter fare, but we enjoyed it a lot..
———————————————– Thursday 22 June
Departure day. Packing my stuff, switching off the fridge, last minute checking of the apartment. My brother Otto brought me to Schiphol airport.
..This was the fourth week. During my four week stay, I had 25 meetings!
Here is the report about my third week in the Netherlands in 2023. Click here for the first week and here for the second week.
———————————————– Thursday 8 June
A visit from Wim, one of my first students and now a long-time friend. We had lunch in Backershagen and chatted a lot. Sunset is still moving (slowly) northwards, two more weeks to go until the summer solstice,
———————————————– Friday 9 June
A 3D2N visit to Ruud and Jur in Groningen is usually part of my program when I am back in the Netherlands. This time I combined it with a visit to Gerrit, another former student, who became a good friend. I started teaching in 1976, when I was 32 years old and I still am in contact with a few of my first students, who are now more than 60 years old 😉 .
Gerrit moved a couple of months ago from Amsterdam to Dokkum, a town in the Friesland province. First I took a train to Leeuwarden and from there a bus to Dokkum, where Gerrit was waiting for me. After coffee and cake, we walked to the historical center of Dokkum.
Dokkum has a rich history, in the past it had a harbour, and there are many heritage buildings. Many more photos can be found in my blog A Dutch Trip up North .
It was an enjoyable walk, worthwhile to come back another time. In the left photo I am standing in front of a historical map of Dokkum, in the right picture I am lighting a candle in one of the Dokkumer churches. I may be a staunch atheist, but I like to do this, while wishing something for a loved one.
In the afternoon I continued my travel, by bus and train, to Groningen, where Ruud was waiting for me at the station. We enjoyed a beer in their garden. Actually two beers ;-). Left Affligem alcohol-free beer, which is getting quite popular these days. Followed by a “real” beer, a Belgian tripel, very strong, 8.5 %.
Jur had prepared a nice dinner.
———————————————– Saturday 10 June
We made a trip to the northern part of the Friesland province. For me an unknown part of the Netherlands. Perfect weather.
Many more pictures and info in the album A Dutch Trip up North. The right picture is taken at the small village of Moddergat. I had never heard about it, Interesting history and really worth a visit.
For our dinner we went to Lauwersoog, where we had a sumptuous seafood dinner. I started with oysters
Jur and I shared a seafood platter. So much variety of seafood that we couldn’t even finish it. Ruud is not a fan of seafood, but enjoyed his dinner too. I will come back to this restaurant with Aric!
———————————————– Sunday 11 June
On my way back to Amsterdam, I stopped in Leeuwarden to meet my university friend Nellie, who is living in Friesland. Talking about long lasting friendship, we met in 1961 as freshmen at the Free University of Amsterdam.
———————————————– Monday 12 June
Rene and I were both physics teachers at the Snellius school, many years ago. When he started teaching in Utrecht, we kept in touch. Either I visit him and his wife Caroline in Nieuwegein, where they live, or they visit me in Backerhagen, like this year.
Caroline is always fascinated by the view from my apartment.
———————————————– Tuesday 13 June
I started the day with another walk from my apartment. This time part nature, part architecture. Here is a report with many photos: De Zuidas.
The right photo shows the Science Faculty of the Free University where I have been working from 1969 until 1976 for my Ph.D degree.
The Zuidas (South Axis) is a rapidly developing business district in Amsterdam, also nicknamed the Financial Mile. Lots of interesting modern architecture.
In the evening my brother Pim visited me for a mussel dinner. Nowadays mussels are available in the supermarkets even when there is no r in the name of the month (May-August). During this stay the dinner with Pim was the only time that I prepared dinner for a guest, the other guests came for lunch. Easier for me 😉 .
———————————————– Intermezzo
Not only did I enjoy the Dutch food, also the variety of fruits was very pleasant. When I am back in spring there are strawberries, now they were there too, even Dutch ones, But there were now also cherries, blueberries, raspberries, red berries and blackberries. Delicious.
And there was rhubarb. Cooked with raisins and sugar, with yoghurt a perfect dessert.
———————————————– Wednesday 14 June
A day trip to visit Carel Poeder and his wife Joanne. Carel was the principal of the Snellius school when I started teaching there in 1976. I kept in touch with them and in 2018 Aric and I visited them in France where they have a house. See my blog France 2018, part II. When back in the Netherlands they stay in a house on a campsite near Gaanderen. Nice rural environment.
Joanne picked me up from the Gaanderen station and drove me to the camping.
Originally two caravans, but it has the atmosphere of a real, nice house. A pleasant surprise. It was a short visit, we had coffee and lunch, then they dropped me at the station in Doetinchem.
Here is the report about my second week in the Netherlands in 2023. Click here for the first week.
———————————————– Thursday 1 June
A traditional part of my trip to the Netherlands is a 3D2N visit to my sister Lous in Valkkoog. On my way, by train, I stopped in Alkmaar to visit Ineke, the wife of my brother Arie who passed away last year October. Last time I met him was in April 2022 (left photo). I could not be present at his funeral. It was good to meet Ineke, we talked a lot and she had prepared a nice lunch.
In the afternoon Lous picked me up from Alkmaar, we drove to Valkkoog where we met her husband Arend and had a Korean dinner. For someone with tropical blood, they are quite spartan with temperatures below 20° Celsius inside their bungalow 😉
———————————————– Friday 2 June
We made a day trip to Den Helder where Lous and Arend had found two interesting places, a former school, transformed into a library and a botanical garden in a residential area. I wrote a separate blog about it, with info and more photos, A Dutch Trip up North .
We visited the school in the morning and the botanical garden in the afternoon. For our lunch we went to restaurant Lands End , I had kroketten, a typical Dutch delicacy.
This is the most northern point on the mainland of the Province North Holland. At the horizon left the island Texel.
We will keep the Maritime Museum for a next visit.
Instead we went back to Valkkoog where we enjoyed the weather, the beautiful garden and a nice BBQ.
———————————————– Saturday 3 June
Before traveling back to Amsterdam I walked around in the village and took some photos. Left a view of the agricultural land at the back of the garden. Right beuatiful Akelei flowers.
The church of Valkkoog and its cemetery.
Right Lous and I in the garden of a neighbour, under a Goudenregen (Golden Rain) tree.
———————————————– Sunday 4 June
Lunch with Atie, Annabella and Hans, another tradition. Hans is a former colleague at the Snellius school, Annabella his wife and Atie the wife of Dick Schuursma, vice-principal at Snellius , a good friend, sadly deceased some years ago. Last year they came to my condo, this time we met in the apartment of Hans and Annabella. As a present I had brought two of my cardboard polyhedra, many years ago one of my hobbies, see my blog Beautiful Shapes.
In the afternoon my nephew Aswin (right) visited me with his boyfriend Cedric (left). The weather was still very good, the sunset was shifting every day a bit further to the north (until the summer solstice on 21 June)
———————————————– Monday 5 June
As I had no commitments this day, I decided to take a walk to the Amstelpark. During the walk I took numerous photos, whcih you can see in my report Walk in the Park. Left the route I followed.
One of the attractions of the park is the Rhododendron Valley. The season was over, but there were still enough flowers to enjoy. The windmill near the river Amstel is a popular tourist attraction, specially for Asian visitors. But I was early, so it was still quiet.
Left some Highland Cattle, unusual to see them here. On my walk back I passed the Jewish Maimonides school, built like a fortress as protection against antisemitic attacks. Sad that this is needed.
———————————————– Tuesday 6 June
Another tradition: an outing with Inez. Last year we visited Kinderdijk, click here for my blog. This time we went to Bergen in the province Noord-Holland. We started with Park Meerwijk where in the period 1915-1918 a number of villas was built in the style of the Amsterdamse School. Beautifil villas with their thatched roofs.
Museum Kranenburgh is not far away, we had coffee there and visited the museum. Bergen is an artist village and there was an exhibition with works of local artists. Some of them were present to tell more about their work.
The museum has a nice sculpture garden.
We went to the beach for a short while. The wind was strong and quite chilly
But we found a sheltered spot in a beach cafe, where we had our lunch. I had an “uitsmijter”, two fried eggs with ham and cheese on bread. Another very Dutch dish.
Inez has a caravan on a camping near the beach, we went there for another coffee before going back to Amsterdam.
———————————————– Wednesday 7 June
A day without commitments 😉 Here is a screenshot of my digital calendar.
———————————————– Intermezzo
More (mostly) Dutch food. From left to right my signature meatballs, Boerenkool met Rookworst and Seafood Spaghetti. Boerenkool (Kale) stew is a typical winter dish, I was surprised that the supermarket still had fresh kale.
