Hof van Ede

We are awoken by the tannoy at seven o'clock, central European time, an hour ahead of the UK, and we quickly shower and make our way back to Langham's for breakfast. The cabin was a little too warm, but most of us managed to get some sleep eventually. The ship, The Pride of Rotterdam, is making its approach to Europort, down the Rhine delta and we are being shepherded by a coastguard cutter. The day has dawned fine and hazy the sea calm, glossy, with a milky white tinge. The forecast is for another hot day. We all order full English breakfasts and have just time to eat them before we dock and are summoned to our cars. Within minutes we are disembarked and parked in a layby trying to get the satnav to take us to Graham's house in Rotterdam down Ijsellmondselaan. For some reason the satnav believes we are still on the King George the fifth dock in Hull. I set off anyway and drive the thirty kilometres into Rotterdam, while Gino tries to work out the satnav from the manual. I never use it in England. As we approach the outskirsts of Rotterdam we ring Graham for directions and find the house without a problem. By the time we get there Gino has cracked the issue with the satnav and found a way to tell the database to move to Holland. Graham and Lilliane have a visitor, Sue, a friend from the Shetlands they have known for thirty years. So we are all introduced and then given coffee and some of Graham's excellent walnut Madeira cake on the patio. This is after we have been introduced to Frankie, their border collie puppy, who is now about six months old and very friendly. After cake Graham, Andrew and I take Frankie for a walk along the dyke past Graham's allotment, as he needs to run some energy off before we go for lunch to the "Salmon House", restaurant on the banks of the river Maas. On our way round the dyke we find a tennis ball but then manage to lose Frankie's squeaky ball. He doesn't seem to mind, as everyone is making a fuss of him. We walk the half mile or so to the restaurant, weaving between a seemingly endless stream of cyclists, as we walk cross the main road. Graham has booked a table on the terrace, overlooking the river and fortunately we are shaded from the sun by a canopy, as by now it is scorchingly hot. Graham's son, Kenny and his wife Shalini are due to meet us for lunch, they live in Tilburg, about thirty miles to the east, but when it gets to twelve thirty without sign of them, we decide to order anyway. The food is excellent and the warm weather has brought out the crowds and soon the restaurant is full. Today is "open harbour day" in Rotterdam and a procession of boats makes its way down the river. Just as we are about to leave, Kenny and Shalini arrive, she tells us she has had her handbag stolen the previous day, with her passport in it and they have been trying to make arrangements with the Indian embassy to get a new one for her, before they fly to Vancouver on Tuesday. Graham's daughter Melanie and her family live there, they emigrated from England several years ago. It is so hot that Sue and Lilliane drive back in Kenny's beetle, whilst we walk back at a leisurely pace. More tea is brewed by Lilliane whilst we commiserate with Shalini regarding her passport and congratulate her on her bump, which in three months will become, Connor Wood, their first child. Unfortunately we cannot stay too long as we have to make our way to Maarssen, near Utrecht, to take possession of our holiday cottage. Gino has got the satnav working, but as I exit Ijsselmondselaan, I forget I am on the continent and take the left hand lane. After apologising to several Dutch motorists, I manage to reverse and make my way onto the main road. The satnav tells me to keep right as we come onto the motorway, but when I do, I find myself on a slip road that takes me into a housing estate, somewhere back near Graham's house. The satnav throws a wobbler and packs up completely, but eventually we find Ijsellmondselaan again and start again. Unfortunately the satnav is in such a state of shock, it doesn't recover until we have arrived at our destination in Maarssen, Hof van Ede, ( which Graham tells us later is translated as the Garden of Eden). Of course we had to ask some Dutch people for guidance on the final approach. Thank goodness they all speak English. All except Waldo, the young guy from whom we have to collect the keys for our house. Anyway, by six o'clock we are all in the house and drinking tea outside. There are about a dozen holiday homes along the bank of a small canal and ours is the ninth. At the front of the house is a large rectangular pond, about 100m long by 20m wide, ( we learn later that this is a swimming pool.) there are swans, ducks, grebes and coots cruising the canal. Jackie goes for a lie down and Andrew and I walk into the village for a reconnoitre. It's about half a mile into Maarssen Dorp, (Dorp means village), and the place is very picturesque, with old houses situated to either side of a canal, and a small square with restaurants and bars where people are sat outside eating and drinking. We have a couple of beers with them and then make our way back to the "Hof van Ede". When we get back Jackie has turned in for the night, so we make some fried egg sandwiches, with the breakfast gear that Graham had kindly bought in for us. After a long day we were all glad to get to bed for ten.