Chapter 35 – Let's go and see the sea!

Martin and Louisa decided to stay away from the highways. It would take them a little longer to reach the village where they had hired a cottage, but it would allow them to see a bit more of the flat province of North-Holland. It had another positive side-effect: James Henry could have a good afternoon nap.

It would take them about one hour to get there, but Martin knew that Louisa would ask him to stop here and there to take pictures of the landscape that also had inspired some of the famous painters of which they had seen the artworks that morning. Besides, they would pass the Zaanse Schans*), a neighbourhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk and located on the borders of the river Zaan. It has a collection of 8 well-preserved historic windmills and circa 35 historic houses. The houses weren't originally located near the windmills, but they were moved there in 1961. Together with the mills, they now form a very popular tourist attraction. Martin told Louisa about it.

'It is interesting to see it, but I guess it will be packed with tourists at this time of the day. If you agree, we'll skip the visit and just stop to take some pictures'.

Louisa agreed with Martin's suggestion. They already had had a lot of cultural impressions that day and neither she nor Martin would have the energy to cope with pushing tourists from all over the world.

'Ok Martin. Better to let James sleep too. I prefer making a small walk on the beach at the end of the day, just the three of us'.

'Mm, yes', Martin tucked in his chin, for Louisa a sign of agreement.

When they arrived at the Zaanse Schans, Martin parked the car at a place where they had a distant, yet beautiful view on the mills. Louisa stepped out of the car to take pictures. After checking James and stating that his son was still sound asleep, Martin also left the car and stood next to his wife.

'If you like, I can give you a short explanation on the mils?, he asked.

'Please Martin, yes!', Louisa answered, beaming up at him with her most radiant smile.

'Well as told before, there are 8 different mills and all of them have different names. They also had different functions. The reason why there are so many mills can of course be explained by the flat and open circumstances, not too far from the sea. Winds are mostly coming from the west here, but even when a north eastern wind is blowing, the mills can do their work. The wind from the east also has all possibilities to gain forces while blowing over the Ijsselmeer'.

He quickly went back at the car to check if James hadn't woken up and then came back to her. He stood right behind her, to protect her a bit from the wind with his tall frame. Louisa showed how glad she was that he did that, by leaning back against his front. Martin put his left arm around her to steady her. With his right arm, he pointed to the first mill and then continued

That's the Houseman, a mustard mill, that's, the Crowned Poelenburg, which is a sawmill. Then there is th Cat, mill where they dyed fabrics and another sawmill, called the Young Sheep. The third sawmill is called the Cloverleaf. There are also three oil mills, called the Ox , the Seeker and the Spotted Hen.'

'What a funny names!', Louisa said. How is it possible that you know all of those names?'

'I've been here before', Martin replied. Then he realized that it wasn't probably very usual that he'd still could recall those names after all those years, but yet he did.

'Wish I had such a good memory', Louisa complimented. Martin blushed since he still had difficulties with dealing with compliments.

Louisa took a lot of pictures. At a certain moment, she moved a bit away from Martin, who still was admiring the view. She succeeded in secretly taking a snapshot from her otherwise so grumpy husband, whose face now was nearly relaxed. When a group of about fifteen teenagers passed on their bikes, all of them making their bell – a mandatory attribute on a bike in the Netherlands – ring as loud as possible, the quiet moment was over and Martin's face showed again the deepest possible frown.

'Bloody teenagers! They are waking up our son!'

'Shush Martin, otherwise it will be you who is waking up our son'.

As quiet as possible, but still very irritated, Martin got back in the car. Louisa tried not to smile and softly patted his left thigh to calm him.

'Let's move on then, Martin', she whispered.

A few hundred yards further, they got a nice view on the Museum shop of Albert Heijn. Albert Heijn is now the biggest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, the founder, also the carrier of the chain's name, started the first shop in Oostzaan.

They continued their route along the meadows, canals and picturesque villages. Around three o'clock, they arrived at Wijk aan Zee.

'What kind of cottage did you rent, Martin?', Louisa enquired.

'To be honest, I don't really know. I asked the hotel manager to take care of it. Just told him there has to be enough space, it has to be child friendly, smokers free, in a quiet area, clean and …'.

Louisa laughed and interrupted him,

'Let me guess.. and not to expensive too? Well that are quite some conditions. It'd be hard to find something that meets all those requirements in Portwenn!'

'Hmm, let's go and see! Anyway we are well in time, so we will be able to do some shopping for dinner and yes for a stroll on the beach too…'

Martin had programmed the navigation system, so some minutes later he parked the car in front of the estate agent where he could sign the contract and get the keys. Louisa stayed in the car, because James was still sleeping.

She looked around a bit and saw a baker, a butcher and a small supermarket in the street as well as some small souvenir shops with the typical attributes of a coastal village, balls in all sizes, bright coloured shovels and buckets, moulds and fishing nets.

A quarter of an hour later, Martin came out of the estate agency office with keys in his hand and a bunch of papers. He stepped back in the car and programmed an unpronounceable street name in the navigation system.

'The woman told me that everything was prepared for our arrival. I wonder what that means..?'

'They probably put the warm water heater on and maybe the central heating?'

The cottage was located at the northern part of the village, near the dunes and the woods, fairly far away from the tourist apartments and the more noisy places of the village. Martin looked relieved at his first glance at the white bungalow.

Just when they stopped the car, James woke up, a pit cranky and probably also thirsty.

'We'll soon get you your afternoon drink, my love', his mother soothed him. we will first have a look at the house and where you will sleep tonight, shall we?'

Calmed by his mother's lovely voice, James let her carry him inside the house and together they went to explore it.

'Look James, there is plenty of place for you to play, even a play pen, so we don't have to use your camping bed for that. And look, there are even toys for you to play with. And little booklets too!'

Obviously, the bungalow belonged to a young couple with small children. Everything appeared to be ready for a stay with a toddler. The stairs were protected with special stairgates on top and at the bottom, there was a highchair and no so called authentic accents like useless figurines or vases on the tables. And everything was neat and clean. Just like Martin had asked for.

In the kitchen, Martin's professional eye also quickly noticed that the place was spotless and met his hygienic standards to the letter. He opened the refrigerator and had a pleasant surprise. The fridge was full with fresh milk, cheese, eggs, fruit, carrots, red and green peppers, salad, tomatoes and potatoes. He even discovered fresh salmon steaks and a package of North-sea shrimps. A bottle of white wine and a bottle of mineral water. On the table, a note from the owner.

Dear Dr. Ellingham, enjoy your stay in our family cottage. In the garage, you will find two bikes, both with a baby seat. Feel free to use them. My wife and I sincerely thank you again for saving the conference and we hope you enjoy your stay in my home-town Wijk aan zee!

The note was signed by the hotel manager himself.

'Well, I hope at least they let you pay for the stay?', Louisa asked. Martin nodded, 'Yes they did, otherwise it wouldn't have been acceptable anymore. We already stayed for free in the men's hotel!'

'Yes, but you know that for any company, image risk is the highest risk there is you know.'

'MM yes, but what Martinus and I did, was just our job. Anyone would have done that!'

'I'm not so sure, you know. The whole meeting room was packed with doctors.. But only you two took immediate action.'

'Mmm, well let's enjoy our stay and see what the first floor looks like'.

They found out that there was a spacious master bedroom and two other smaller rooms with single beds. They choose one of them as James's room. The other could be used to stow away their luggage.

Louisa went downstairs to give James something to eat and to drink and she made tea for her an Martin. In the meantime, Martin brought their luggage upstairs and quickly stored their clothes in the available drawers and cupboards. Just to be sure the bungalow wouldn't be a complete mess when Louisa would start to rummage around their stuff.

'Now I want to see the sea!, Louisa decided after their tea. Martin went to examine the bikes to discover that they were in perfect condition. They soon headed towards the beach. Martin had placed James in front of him. The little boy was happy to be outside and to feel the wind in his face. He babbled and squealed at every little bird he saw. When he saw a rabbit jumping away and hiding in his rabbit hole, he clapped his little hands.

'Martin, did you see that! James clapped his hands!'

Although Martin felt very proud of his son, he turned into medical modus and said to Louisa

'It was probably an involuntary movement, Louisa – He might be too young to have full control over his hands..'

'Martin!' Louisa gave him the look he preferred not to see to often, so he remained silent for the next five minutes.

But then they arrived at the access to the beach. It still was sunny, but the sun was already rather low, colouring the sand with the most beautiful afternoon light. The beach was nearly deserted. Martin and Louisa parked their bikes at the dedicated place. Martin took James in his arms and together they walked towards the see.

'James, this is the same sea as we saw in France last week, but now we are about 250 miles further northwards', he explained. 'We were also in Zeeland, remember? Tell me, is the water still as cold as it was a few days ago? He crouched and let his son touch the water with his little hands. James splashed the water happily. He also slapped his father's cheek again with his ice cold and wet hand.

'Oh yes, it IS cold!', he exclaimed quickly grabbing his son's little hand in his own. Louisa laughed and tousled her husband's grey hair. From behind, she put her arms around his neck and stroke her son's cheek. Martin nearly lost his balance, but just before he fell down flat on his back, he managed to find a more stable position. His beautiful wife kissed his cheek and laughed at him.

'I told you before that you 'd be a wonderful father!'

Martin stood up and he hoisted his son on his hip. He knew that the villagers of Portwenn always laughed at the way he carried his son, but it really was the most stable way to do it. Besides, James liked it and leaned with his head in his armpit or against his chest.

They walked for an hour and mad it also possible for James to crawl around a bit, giving him the exercise he needed.

By the time James was fully covered with moist sand, Louisa picked him up and said,

'Now, little croquette, we'll go home and give you a nice bath. I have seen that there's a big bathtub in our cottage'.

They walked to their bikes and were soon back at the cottage. While Louisa took care of James's bath, Martin prepared their dinner. He boiled some potatoes and carrots and peeled them afterwards, prepared a salad and seasoned the salmon steaks with pepper and herbs. He would grill them just before serving. He looked in all the drawers to find the necessary cutlery, plates and glasses and poured a glass of white wine for Louisa and served himself a glass of mineral water. For James he steamed a small piece of salmon and mixed it with some mashed potatoes and carrots.

When Louisa came downstairs with a clean but hungry boy, it smelled delicious in the kitchen. Louisa started to feed James and in the meantime, Martin grilled the salmon steaks. Soon the three of them enjoyed a healthy meal that met all Martin's standards of optimal nutritious value.

'There's fruit and cheese for afters', Martin said when they all had finished the main course.

After that, it was time for James to settle down. Martin took him upstairs, while Louisa cleaned the kitchen and filled the dishwasher. She soon heard the soft velvety sound of Martin reading James from one of the books they had brought with them. Martin preferred the books with text over the colourful picture books without much text. Anyway, James liked to hear his father's voice, no matter what he read to him, even the BMJ.

Wouldn't it be fun to hear him read Kipper the dog, with a funny voice… Louisa thought. She silently chuckled.

Later that evening, they were sitting on the couch and enjoyed a cup of tea.

'Thank you for the nice day, Martin', Louisa said, while snuggling closer to him. She kissed him on his soft and warm lips. He put an arm around her shoulder and simply said

'You're welcome'.

He pulled her closer, kissed her back and then just hold her very closely looking at her in pure adoration.

'Did you enjoy it? The day, a proper holiday … with just James and me, no patients, no medical emergencies?'

'Yes, it was good, fine..' and then with his lips curled up in a hint of a smile, he added.

'And undisturbed! Better benefit of that right away..'. He stood up, scooped up his wife and carried her upstairs.

To be continued

*) Tourists that stay in the Netherlands for a rather short time will most certainly go to the Zaanse Schans and see the mills. Later in this story, Martin and Louisa will visit another place with even more windmills.