The third reunion takes us, Nathalie, Petra, Hans and myself to Hillegom to pick up my sister Clementine and husband Willem to proceed to the Oosterduinse Meer, eastern dune lake, in Noordwijkerhout where we go for lunch at the restaurant Como & Co who call the lake Lake Como. It is a beautiful and quiet area in the bulb cultivation region of West Holland.

I hadn’t seen Clementine for years and Willem only at a funeral three years ago. While we converse and tell jokes I try to eat Dutch croquettes on natural bread, because the crust is hard to cut even with a knife I remove it and ask the waitress to give it to the Kauwen (Jackdaws). It was our first sunny day in a week, a reposeful afternoon at Lake Como.

Our efforts so far to reunite with family, once in awhile or once a year, trigger genuine feelings of appreciation with conversations revealing personal issues uplifted by the fun of doing things together, and even when opinions differ there is the wisdom of ‘ah, we human beings’.

The last part of my journey is in historical and internationally renowned Maastricht. I lived here for two years in the mid-Seventies. Petra studied here at the art academy. Hans lives here for most of his adult life, he knows the city and its surroundings by heart. For the one day that we can go for a long walk the weather prediction is sunny. That we want.

The attractive Sint Pietersberg, the highest point of Maastricht, is the choice for our hike. When seeing the closed-down yellow limestone quarries of ENCI we like what has remained of them, they are now nature reserves. They date from 1926 and the findings of fossils tell the history of this region. Can you guess what ENCI stands for? It is Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie or First Dutch Cement Industry.

Meanwhile, the weather is really sunny, we look forward taking a break at Slavante, picturesque for its architecture and its view over the Maas plain. Maastricht apple pie and fresh herb tea do their comforting trick. We are not done yet, the hike downhill Sint Pietersberg is as rewarding.

Like Marseille, Dordrecht, Maastricht, and many other places, you only have to step out of the center and you are out in the Open. I like this contrast and combination, the bustle of people and bountiful Nature. Hence, that we may cherish Nature and Nature may sustain us forever.

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