We woke up about 8:00, had a breakfast of bread and cheese and headed out the door. The day was overcast and a bit rainy. Our destination, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, to meet up with Johann and his family. I met Johann just about one month before on Myspace. After I knew that I would be going to Germany, I got online and checked out some folks from The Netherlands, just out of curiosity. Johann was one of the first I found. Drummer, fan of metal and come to find out, Mormon as well. After a couple messages back and forth we started chatting online. I am not sure if I am just lucky or if I have a special sense about people. But turns out Johann is great. We have a ton in common including our sense of humor.
My first view of the Netherlands was that is was very green with lots of vegetation. There was a lot of farmland with rows and rows of greenhouses. The Netherlands is known for growing wonderful flowers. Lots of German people actually go there to buy their plants. Petro is cheaper as well. So we filled up first thing once we crossed the border. Holli stocked up on the ½ price coffee as well…and some tasty rolls and candy.
Holli programmed the GPS unit and it brought us right to the door of Johann’s place. (I need to get me one of those things). I think we all were a little nervous about meeting Johann and his family, and we suspected they were a bit nervous as well. We really didn’t know each other…just a few chats online and presto, we were having dinner and conversation in a foreign land with people we never met. Johann and Sindy invited us in to their home and introduced us to their three little girls. Within a couple of minutes we were all laughing, talking and having a great time like we had known each other forever. We discussed everything from church and family to money and heavy metal. We found out that the Dutch do not mind being called Holland as a country. (Liz had been taught that that was a bit rude to refer to the country as Holland). Not everyone wears wooden shoes. And even though some things were cheaper in Holland, property and houses was not. In fact, lots of families were moving out of Holland and into Germany but still working in Holland. Johann and family had a very nice and comfortable home.
Sindy made a wonderful dinner of meat and vegetables and Vla for dessert. It was like a cross between yogurt and custard. VERY yummy! Johann and I exchanged a bunch of music and videos. I found out he’s a big They Might Be Giants fan and promised to send him some of their stuff. He promised to video tape a performance of “the Prince of Egypt” that they have put together. The entire family performed a bit of it for us. It was wonderful!
The time with them passed very quickly but it was time to say good-bye. After a few photos we got in the car and headed back to Germany. In the car we all commenting on what a nice family Johann had and that we were very glad we made the trip up to meet them.
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