We spent two short weeks in Antwerp, Boxtel, and Maastricht—visiting friends and family, swimming in pools with super long slides, eating loads of ice cream, exploring a school and a mine, and of course… farting in the forest.
The fun already starts before we even leave. At home, I say: "So, we need to leave for the airport at 8:30."
Katelyn, panic-stricken: "OMG! I have only eight hours left to pack!!"
While waiting in restaurants, the kids play with their coloring pencils.
Aiden: "This pencil is super blonde!"
Katelyn: "Ah, yes—that would be blunt."
We bring wonderful weather with us, warm enough for daily ice cream. Aiden accidentally breaks his, but nothing dents his mood: "Oh, look—now I have two ice creams!"
In Brabant, we visit Klaartje en José, Steef en Jan Willem. We swim in a pool with waves, and glide down many slides. We also bring Oma to the pool. She's hesitant about getting into the jacuzzi, but once inside, she admits: "Oh yes! I believe I will sit here for the rest of the day!"
Besides seeing Oma very often, we also visit Merel’s house. During the house tour, Merel says she loves green. Aiden does too—it’s his favorite color! Later, he quietly asks Katelyn: "If her favorite color is green… then why is her hair red?"
We walk a long walk in a big forest.
Elsa feels there’s no point to walking, but I tell her: "It’s good for us; the air is fresh."
Oma and Katelyn worry we’ll get lost. Aiden spots a black beetle and fears it might jump on his shoe.
"Only if it’s the illustrious black shoe-jumping beetle," I joke. Some polite laughter, and we walk on.
Then, when everyone is a few meters ahead, I quietly pass air—but it’s louder than expected.
Elsa fires back immediately: "So much for the fresh air here!"
Oma bursts out laughing: "Yes! I was thinking the same thing!"
Aiden tells a joke: "Why should you not fart in Apple? Because it has no windows!"
I add: "Why should you not fart in Microsoft? Because its Windows aren’t working!"
In Maastricht, we visit Katelyn’s international school campus. We enjoy lunch with Marleen and Eduard, and team Lonneke joins us for dinner.
Visiting the three-country point is good fun for kids who live in a city-state.
"Aiden, what country are we in now?"
"Maastricht!"
Katelyn likes Maastricht very much. "Look, please take my picture here," she says, "no need to go to the Provence for lavender!":
We also sight-see-proper: a stone-age flint mine. I can really recommend this excursion: shafts dug 6,000 years ago, 10 meters(!) deep into limestone. The tour brings us through a forest with remarkable flora and we even spot a badger sett (yes, I had to look that up too!). Our English-speaking guide is so incredibly knowledgeable—I learn more in one evening than I did in the past six months:
Aiden loves the trip to the flint mine too—he can pretend he’s in Minecraft:
"But so, what was the most fun part of the trip?"
Elsa, without hesitation: "Visiting Oma!" So sweet… or maybe a little diplomatic? But the two of them have always been close, and neither of them has changed all that much:
When we get home, Aiden is so exhausted from the journey, that he falls asleep on the floor. And, he too hasn’t really changed over the years:
Encore
A few days after we return, Petra sends a picture of herself with Oma on the duo-bike:
Elsa looks at it and says: "Oma looks just like Einstein with the wind in her hair!"
