Pull up a chair; grab a coffee or a drink. Shut down your phone and relax. This will be a long one!
What an amazingly superb and wonderful trip. Can we just start with that? And then I would like to follow it by saying how proud I am to not only be a DUTCH citizen but to also carry the last name of Paardekooper. (You may want to trade up that coffee to something stronger!) <!–more–>
As you all know this trip to the Netherlands carried a lot of weight with it. Not only were we going to try to have the trip George was never allowed to have in 2006, it was also to allow me to find my own roots again in my home country, without including either one of them. I had some anxiety about it, I will not lie. As we descended into Amsterdam airport, my heart did beat a little faster as I envisioned myself walking into the ARRIVALS hall with nobody waiting for me this time. It would be the first of several awkward moments I thought.
So as I pushed my luggage through the door, George right behind me, my heart STOPPED beating, ALL BLOOD ceased to flow upon hearing my name being shouted “Sven! Sven!!”
“How in the name of hell did they find out?” As I turn into the direction of the voice I see this tall, strikingly beautiful woman, who looks a lot like my sister (she has always been pretty on the outside…) and my heart picks up again. It is NOT my sister, NOT my mother, it is my friend Ariane! After not seeing each other for 20 years, after knowing everything we all went through she decided to surprise us at the airport. 
For once I was literally STUNNED. Happy, flabbergasted, STUNNED. This would be a sign of things to come.
She followed ahead of our car and directed us to our apartment in Scheveningen. We would have arrived 30 minutes sooner had we actually FOLLOWED her instead of listening to Latrice the GPS lady, but we arrived nonetheless.
To our gorgeous flat, overlooking the marina with the North Sea behind us. Let me know if you ever need me to make reservations for y’all. You would LOVE IT!!!!
After a good night’s rest, we hopped back in our rental car and headed out to explore.
I am kidding, that was just a car we saw on the road! We had the cutest Renault Modus (I know RENAULT! AND IT WAS NICE!) 
It was a manual, which George loved; I needed some more time to get used to it again. Mainly because after driving on the highway for a while in 6th gear I would simply forget it was NOT an automatic and get on the off-ramp and turn onto the side street and skipped hopped and skipped again before realizing I should probably downshift into second. Whatever.
We loved it.
First major tourist stop: The Keukenhof. 7 million bulbs waiting to be seen by us. Now, not all 7 million were out yet, they stage them in early bloomers, normal bloomers and late bloomers (much like myself and some of you! HAHAHA!) But we saw flowers we never would have believed were real! 
Next stop, the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE Site called KINDERDIJK. A perfect example of Dutch brilliant water engineering. Did you know there is a word, invented by the Dutch, that is unique in its meaning?? It is called “POLDER” and it means an area of dry land, surrounded by higher laying water. How do you achieve that? By pumping the water up through a series of pumps/windmills. 
After riding our bikes against wind (now George knows what I mean when I tell him that I had to ride my bike against the wind and how BONECHILLING cold it is) the next day we had dinner with my old friend Ariane and her family. The first time I got to introduce George to anybody else in Holland. Ariane and I have stayed in touch for over 20 years, sometimes more frequent than others. I was 18 when I worked with her! Because of what happened in my life, or INSPITE of what happened, was done, we stayed friends. That evening at her house, with her kids and her husband, was wonderful. It just was.
One of our “MUST SEES” this trip were the delta works, a series of dams, barriers and flood control works created after the great flood of 1953. All of you have heard me talk about this at one point or another but it is not just one “thing” it is a series of “things” that took a total 43 years to complete and billions of dollars. 
The last piece to be completed was the Maeslantkering which is where we visited. This part of the waterway contains the Port of Rotterdam, until a few years ago the busiest port in the WORLD, so a barrier of any kind would not work as you could not block the port. Instead what was invented were two enourmous “arms” so to speak. Hollow on the inside, with tubing that is 5’4 in diameter, one arm on each side of the waterway. 
It closes when there is a threat of flooding. 
the arms come together, they fill up with water and sink to the floor where a concrete matt has been layed and it will LITERALLY KEEP THE ENTIRE NORTH SEA OUT. Until the storm surge passes and she will open up again.
Protection of any kind is done based on probability; you want/can protect yourself based on certain chances. You will never be 100% safe, cannot be done. So here in Texas, we are covered against a 1 in 100 year flood. That is the standard here in Texas. I think parts of California have earthquake coverage in the same measures. London, on the river Thames which feeds into and from the North Sea, has a flood protection of 1 in 1000 years. If the “BIG FLOOD” that hits once in a thousand years hit, London is safe.
The Dutch? The Netherlands? Our standard? ONE IN TEN THOUSAND!! 1 in 10,000 Years.
Did you know that if the Dutch would cease all water control for 3 months 40% of the country would be flooded completely within 3 months. The city of Rotterdam? 72 hours is all it would take for it to be gone. Pretty amazing stuff.
George’s birthday we spent in my birth town and STILL my favorite town of all time:‘s-Hertogenbosch, also known as Den Bosch. 
Yes, we had our pastry! As a matter of fact, we ate our way through most of the country I am happy to report!
The next day we drove down to Venlo, near the German border, to meet up with my uncle and his family. My uncle Nico is the only living relative I have left on my father’s side. For many years we were not in touch. There was a long period where I resented the last name I had because of who it was associated with. None of those things matter anymore. When we met, face to face, person to person, we did not meet as uncle and nephew. We met as two adults, man to man. We met with open arms. My aunt, my cousins who I had never seen, George and my uncle and I had the most unique day I have ever experienced. First of all we all got along! Second of all, we talked. And talked. About everything. No holds barred. And it was all good. Really good.
In the end, I think Nico said it best: how wonderful to realize you have family again.
There were a lot of memories I had to encounter and face on this trip. A lot of emotions to deal with. Going “home” to where I was born was a big one. Meeting my friend and my uncle and aunt. Not seeing “them.” There was a lot pending on this trip.
But this amazing thing happened along the way.
I made my own memories, I planted my own roots and I stood my own ground. I am no longer just my parent’s child; I am my own person, no matter WHAT continent I am on. I am a proud Dutch Citizen; I come from a great and wonderful country with an amazing history and a BRIGHT future. I have friends that have stuck with me for over 20 years. And I have family. Good family!
For many years I thought I could no longer go home, that all of that was taken away from me. I thought that all of whom I was, where I came from was gone, no longer valid or accessible. That is not so. I can go home. I am home.
As I grow up with each experience, my definitions of home and family are forever evolving. They now expand well over two continents. They include so much and so many.
This was just the first of many return trips home, so sure we are of that that I have even established a DUTCH checking account to make future trips easier.
So this trip, this trip was just right. In every conceivable way.
To Ariane, Nico, Els and the kids: we’ll see you next year!
Love,
Sven
Oh, one more thing: after having spent more money on GASOLINE than on groceries in two weeks at the tune of $10/gallon I will NEVER complain about gas prices again. NEVER EVER!
