The Dutch Farm

We had rented out our flat in Vancouver to a Medical researcher as the apartment is conveniently located close to his work and to the Metro which goes straight to the airport. He has rented it for a year with an option to extend.

Therefore I have returned to the Netherlands to find a place to stay during the winters and breaks. Returning to the Netherlands, after not having lived there for 62 years, can be both surprising and challenging.

The Dutch also have their fondness for paperwork, much like the French but organized with efficiency and helpfulness.

I had found a suitable little place in a 1910 Dutch farm, not too far from Schiphol Airport. A little flat tugged in between the orchard and the hothouses and comes with a private patio which I share with two Calico cats who are competing for the sunny spot on the bench outside. 

The farmhouse is quaint and next-door is a cottage-looking building with large French doors and lace curtains. It is the residence of two pot-bellied pigs and some large Brahma hens and not without its proud rooster doing his job. 

There was a hen nesting in the yard and I was looking forward to some small chicks running around they never hatched. I also purchased some-assembly-required-IKEA-furniture for the making of a new home in the Netherlands. It was simple and they deliver to the small apartment. The farmer came with his toolbox and started to assemble the units so that I could have a bed to sleep on.

I had sent for my bicycle and other small belongings from the barge in France. After all, you need a bicycle to get around in the Netherlands. With spring being just around the corner and the tulip fields in range, I was ready for when they start blooming. I had somehow never managed to see the tulip fields and this would be the first time.