A day with Mein and Anouk

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We just concluded our last day in Holland, and have been too busy to write. On Monday Mom's cousin by marriage, Mien and her granddaughter, Anouk met us at the train station in Dordrecht. Mien, who is 86, and 23-year old Anouk took us to a cafe on the River Maas for coffee and apple pie. We traveled by bus goingby the old, but ornate building where she and Jo had their wedding reception. Six weeks after they met, she saw a ring in the window of a store that she commented on, and he went in and bought it for her as an engagement ring. They were happily married for 41 years. Anouilh lives with her grandmother and works as a dental hygienist in Delft. In November she will move there, as she has decided against moving back to Sweden, where her family emigrated towhen she was 14. She found that she prefers life in holland. She likes the weather and social life better, although she liked "nature" in Sweden (but not the winters).

We took a waterbus to Rotterdam for lunch on the water, just across from where Grandpa Havelaar left via Holland-America line to Hoboken, USA. People came from all over Europe to immigrate to America. Now there are just high rise buildings there. The River Maas is a marine highway, full of barges, water taxis, waterbuses, used for commuting as well as international shipping. Returning to Dordrecht, we all took the bus to Mien's house for tea, coffee, and cookies.. Mien is amazing, and it was fun to witness her and Anouk's affectionate arguments about how and where to go. When we were ready to come back to our hotel by bus, she called a neighbor lady with a car who told her to cAll if she needed anything. Mien is obviously looked after by her neighbors, as she has lived there 35 years. We were full from lunch, and I was unable to find the grocery store by the train station for sandwiches, so we settled for snacks we had with us.

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