Drive-ways & Walk-ways

Well let me catch you up on our latest drives and walks… It’s Monday morning and Schylie and I are sitting at Starbucks across from the Train Station in Zwolle, Netherlands, she with a caramel cheesecake frappucino and I with a grande Pike roast with 3 pumps of white mocha syrup. We’re waiting on Christie to arrive on the train with her aunt. Once she arrives we’ll be back on the road again for a 6 hour drive back to Berlin. So how did we get here? Let’s bring you up to speed…

We checked out of our place Saturday AM and headed to the coffee shop on the corner to start the day. After waiting past the 8:00 hour in vain, I learned from the lady setting up chairs that since it was Saturday, they wouldn’t open until 9:00. Looks like coffee and breakfast will  have to wait. We took the next bus to Alexanderplatz and walked over to Europcar. 350 euros later we were driving away in a 2018 VW Golf wagon.

It was a kind mercy of the Lord to ordain this rental for a Saturday morning in August, giving me plenty of open road, with a lower volume of traffic, to orient myself to the German–and Dutch–road signs and roadways. I only turned onto a one-way the wrong-way once and––with the help of a honk from the car behind me and the sudden appearance of 3 arrows on the road in front of me pointing directly at me––I made a quick U-ee and was back on track. I took a right on red once, hoping it was okay, but learning later (after I did the same thing in the Netherlands) that it’s a big no-no. The rest of the drive to The Hague (or Den Haag) was fairly uneventful. We chatted, rested, and relaxed in the car, while I did my best to stay alert, learn the signs, and follow the cars in front of me.

We finally arrived at Christie’s aunt’s house around 5:00, and after a quick hello and goodbye, we left her to enjoy a nice weekend with her relatives while Schylie and I drove off to make our way to Zwolle in north Holland. The plan was to stop somewhere special for dinner and then pick up our friend Nico at his fiancé’s house in Haarlem, near Amsterdam. First we drove to the beach of the North Sea at Zandvoort-just to say we were there–and took a short walk along the beach–long enough for a kodak moment, short enough to get back in the car before getting caught without a parking ticket. People were flying kites everywhere on the beach and it was beautiful to see.

Upon leaving the beach we drove a mile or two before finding a quaint restaurant with outdoor tables that looked inviting. I ordered a juicy steak with garlic butter and gravy–likely the best tenderloins I’ve ever had. It was simply scrumpdillyicous. Schylie had an angus burger with a thick slice of blue cheese and–believe it or not–a half an apple filled with cranberry sauce skewered into it! Yep! You read that right. The apple was atop the cheese between the buns! After a gnarly battle with the local bees during our meal, we licked our plates clean and drove to the address in Haarlem. We arrived at Nico’s girlfriend’s house to meet Mary Ann and pick up Nico. She was absolutely delightful and greeted us with a warm and happy smile. We then drove about an hour and a half to his house. It was fun to catch up in the car and hear how he’s been doing, as well as share what we’ve been up to. As it turns out, Nico has sold his house (it was almost completely empty) and is taking a sabbatical from his work to do a 3 month term of volunteer service with Mercy Ships in Africa. He’s super excited about it! Indeed, it was a real joy to hear how excited he was to go on the mission field and serve the Lord. Furthermore, once he returns from Africa, he’s going to live with his parents until he gets married to Mary Ann in May! We are so happy for Nico!

Sunday morning, we had a relaxing morning and late breakfast before heading off to church. We left Nico’s house at 10:15 for a 12:-00 service at an international church in Amstelveen called Crossroads. Nico had attended that church once before but Mary Ann had been there many times. It was a very contemporary style service and the message was a practical and encouraging challenge to be a witness for Christ. We were encouraged to be open about our faith and engage in dialogue with the intent to bear witness to the gospel. The pastor used several Bible passages to support his points and clearly loved the Lord. We enjoyed the fellowship and were given time during the service to pray for missions with those sitting next to us.

After the service, Nico and Mary Ann left to spend the day together while Schylie and I went to have enjoy the afternoon by ourselves. After a bit of chit-chat, we decided to check out a park Nico recommended called Posbank near Arnhem It was about an hour’s drive. Normally, the hills would be covered in pretty purple heather, surrounded by oaks and pines, and rolling hills. But, unfortunately, this year The Netherlands has had a 14 week drought–completely unheard of–so everything is brown and dry. Nevertheless, it was a nice walk, beautiful landscape, and delightful weather. We then hung out at a restaurant nearby for some drinks and a small bite to eat before jumping in the car and heading back to Nico’s place for dinner.

Nico had planned to make us a nice dinner, but his neighbor spontaneously brought over some food from a birthday party earlier that morning. So we enjoyed fresh tomato soup, bread, and cheese. Nico wanted to take us on a walk around his neighborhood, so we finished up and left. We walked about 2 miles, down a few streets, across a river, checked out a few old locks on the River IJssel from the 1800s, and enjoyed the beautiful, old houses. Back at the house, I relaxed in the hammock for a bit before we all hit the sack.

This morning, we had breakfast with Nico and Ernst. Ernst was traveling with Nico 3 years ago when they visited the Cape and stayed with us over the weekend. Nico left for work around 8:30. We conversed with Ernst for about a half hour more before we wrapped up breakfast and prepared to hit the road. It was so nice to catch up with him and chat even for a short time. We said goodbye, loaded our things into the car, and made our way to the Zwolle train station.

This is where we had planned to pick up Christie. Unfortunately, we miscommunicated with Rachel, so Christie was actually at the train station in Almere–about an hour away. Long story short, Rachel and Christie rode the train a little further to Lelystad and we picked her up there.

Leaving the station, we made out for Berlin–a 6 hour drive. Christie and Schylie chatted part of the way, and then napped for a good bit while I enjoyed my Spotify music and sweet ride home. The traffic was minimal and it was a blast riding on the open road of the autobahn for hours. There were a few areas of construction, but they were short sections with a lot of miles in between. Most of the autobahn is marked with a speed limit of 130 kph (80 mph) but in the stretches through rural country, there is no marked speed limit and the left lane is always left open for those who have the pedal to the medal. They usually fly by at 180-200 kph. ––We arrived in Berlin around 6PM and drove directly to our apartment in Friedrichshain.

We had neglected to inform our Airbnb host when we’d be arriving, and did not receive the check-in information he had sent us, so we arrived at the house and were unsure what to do. His place ended up being on the 4th floor of an apartment. So, we had to lug our suitcases up all the stairs, then back down when we realized we weren’t able to get in. Oh well. We called him, left a message, and then drove around the block to find somewhere to eat dinner. We chose the right place. Delicious food and wonderful service. While we were enjoying our meal, we got a call from our host, who explained how to check-in. We finished up and then drove back to the apartment. This time we were able to get in without a problem–besides the huffing and puffing up the several flights of stairs. The rooms are very clean and comfortable.

I left the girls at the apartment and went to Alexanderplatz to drop off the car–without a hitch–and then took the train back.

Tomorrow we plan to make a day of it, visiting the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, and a few other sites nearby.

Thanks for praying for us! We bless God for His care and provision all along the way.

Until next time,

Daddy, Schylie, and Christie