RIDE TO HAARLEM
Henny, Susie’s cousin, the same age as Susie, came to Winsen at 11 a.m. to pick us up and take us to Haarlem, a five hour ride in the car. We drove through Germany on the autobahn without being able to see much of what we were passing through because of walls or raised borders of the road. It rained must of the way to Haarlem where we arrived after dark. We had a good time talking to Henny, who spent 7 years recently in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Bertrand and daughter Chiara, 14, doing digital design work with an American advertising agency. Henny speaks perfect English as does Bertrand, who is French and doesn’t speak German while Henny is German who doesn’t spread French. They speak English with each other. First in Winsen she got to know Heinrich and Elke over coffee at their house and then we caught up with Henny’s life as we drove through the Netherlands.
When we arrived in Haarlem I was surprised by how modern the Dutch, at least in Haarlem, are. Somehow I still thought of the Dutch in wooden shoes on the Dutch Cleanser package of my childhood. Their architecture is adventurous and our Airbnb is the most spacious and most modern Airbnb we have been in on this trip. We are in the bar and restaurant section of town with everything within arm’s reach. Henny and Bertrand have moved 28 times in their lives and are most at home in Haarlem.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 