Chapter 47 – From the Dutch lake district to the "Hoge Veluwe"
For quite some time, they drove silently through the flat Dutch country side. Friesland is known for its lakes and Louisa could very well imagine how the brown sails of the kotters, the traditional sailing boats, inspired a lot of painters. Especially the white cumulus clouds and the blue sky reflecting in the water, made her wish she could draw or paint as well. She was rather good at crafting, but not that good with a pencil or a brush. Well.. she should simply enjoy other people's work then.. And even the crafting and her school project… she suddenly felt a bit insecure about it. Martin clearly hadn't understood anything about it, about its educational purpose to learn the children about the planets in the first place and about scale models as well. He didn't have a clue about the social effect such a project would have on the children having to work together as a team...
She glanced at Martin, who seemed more focussed on driving than these easy to drive highways would demand from his driving skills. She sighed. She wouldn't want to spoil his visit at the orrery, so the air needed to be cleared!
'Martin..' she started, just at the same moment he uttered 'Ehm.. Louisa..' and then she said 'You first!'.
It was his turn to sigh, since he always found it difficult to start a conversation. He still was afraid that Louisa wouldn't understand him. Just like he often didn't understand her, even if he tried to communicate as factually as possible. But maybe that was just the problem.. Louisa wasn't very factual herself at the best of times…
'Louisa, I ehm.. I just wanted to say that I really liked your idea of your crafting project about making scale models of the planets and to show your students the different dimensions and distances between them..'
'You do? Really?'
'Yes! You would also be able to teach them lots of other interesting things about the different materials they are composed of or explain them how to calculate the volume of a sphere…'
Then he added hesitantly 'But.. I still don't understand why started to talk about Eisinga's family and his orrery project? Do you expect me and James to participate in your crafting project?'
'Oh no, Martin of course not, it will be a project that I will do at school! The only thing you might help me with is to lend me one of your books on astronomy..'
'Of course! But why were you cross with me then?'
'I wasn't cross with you.. not really. I am sorry, I shouldn't have stormed out of that restaurant just like that… It's just… You never relate to the social aspect of a project.. only the scientific process. I should know that by now and not make it difficult for you.. I'm sorry..'
'Accepted! Would you please explain to me what you meant? I'd like to learn..', he added softly.
Louisa looked to her right again and they had brief eye contact. Louisa put her hand on his left thigh and smiled at him.
'I will try', she said, 'You know, as the orrery was made in Eisinga's own house, I just wondered to what extend his family was part of the project. If they were helping him and if they were discussing it at the dinner table. Maybe the questions of his children helped him with finding solutions for his construction. Or maybe his wife just gave him much needed support.. by just putting a cup of coffee on his desk while he was working. While you were trying to figure out how the orrery is constructed, I was wondering about the people who were living with him and who were supporting the project..'
It suddenly dawned to Martin that this was why his late Aunt Joan thought they were chalk and cheese.. But if they talked about it, just like they did now, without being disturbed by one of those bloody villagers, that wouldn't have to be a problem, he thought. He remained silent for a moment and then manoeuvred the Lexus to a parking. It was a beautiful spot and he wanted to show it to Louisa, but he wanted to do something else first. He stopped the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt to get some more room. He then bent over to Louisa and stroke her cheek with his left hand. He looked into her eyes, simply said 'Thank you' and kissed her softly. Louisa's heart swelled with love for her unpredictable grumpy husband. She sent him her biggest smile and kissed him back.
'Come on, I want to show you something', he said after this short moment and he stepped out of the car. James woke up and started to cry, but as soon as his father lifted him out of the childseat, he felt safe again and a little smile appeared on his cheeky face. 'Dada', he babbled and his father replied with a dry 'Yes.'
'Look, Louisa, this parking has been built in the lake. That's another small example of the Dutch water management. Instead of waisting precious farmland around the Tjeukemeer, they simply built a dike through it, with a parking at either side. It is always very windy over here, but you have a wonderful view on the lake'.
Martin lead Louisa to a place where she could see both sides of the lake and Louisa enthousiastically took lots of pictures. Later she would frame one of the pictures she took from Martin and James watching the sailboats on the lake. With his son perched on his left arm, Martin pointed to the different types of boats with his right hand and obviously told him all about them. James happily babbled and tried to imitate his father, by pointing to the colourful scene in front of them.
'Have you ever learnt how to sail, Martin? Of course you have.. at school?'
'Mmm yes, we had a mandatory sailing camp when I was 10.. Organized by the school indeed. The others were much older and nobody wanted to have the bedwetter in their boat. I was better at the theory lessons anyway... And you? You've lived in Portwenn most of your life so.. did you get sailing lessons?'
'I'm not keen on boats and there wasn't ever any money, so no I didn't. I am glad that learning how to swim was part of the education plan, otherwise I probably wouldn't ever have learnt how to swim. Maybe James will become a famous sailor, who knows..'
'There are plenty of other basic skills he should acquire first, like walk and talk and swim. It won't be likely with us as his parents, but he will be able to do whatever sport he likes to learn and I will give him my full support of course'.
'That's sweet of you to say, Martin. I knew, you'd be a wonderful father'.
Martin didn't answer. His thoughts went to his aweful parents who never showed any interest in anything he did. They reasonned that they had paid for his education and that that was more than enough. Martin silently promised his precious boy that he would never ever miss any sportive or cultural event his son would be part of. Except when there was a medical emergency he'd have to take care of, of course. And he knew that James would understand. Louisa and he would give apropriate explanations.. James was oblivious of his father's reflections and just wanted his daddy to go on with his story. James loved to listen to Martin's voice.
And so did Louisa. She was glad that spending time with each other permitted her to learn a bit more about Martin's youth. He would probably never tell her something spontaneously, but that was fine. As long as he answered her questions and later also thos that James would ask him undoubtly.
They spent a couple of more minutes at the parking place and then continued their way to the National Park "Hoge Veluwe". While Martin was driving, Louisa read ou loud some of the documentation she had gathered with her students before the journey.
'It is approximately 55 square kilometers in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands. It is situated in the Veluwe, the area of the largest terminal moraine in the Netherlands. Most of the landscape of the park and the Veluwe was created during the last Ice Age. The alternating sand dune areas and heathlands may have been caused by human utilization of the surrounding lands. The park forms one of the largest continuous nature reserves in the Netherlands.
The park was established by the businessman Anton Kröller and his wife Helene Kröller-Müller as a private estate in 1909. Up until 1923 the park was under construction with wildlife being imported and the building of the hunting lodge and fences. Inside the park, there is also a huntin lodge designed by the welknown Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage. Helene Kröller-Müller was an art collector and she wanted to createva museum in the park.
Due to worsening economic conditions the building of the museum was halted and the couple found themselves unable to keep the estate. In 1935 the art collection was donated to the State of the Netherlands, which then continued to build the Kröller-Müller Museum. The art collection of the museum, contains works of very famous artists, like Van Gogh, Piet Mondriaan and Pablo Picasso
The Kröller-Müller Museum is also famous for its large sculpture gardens within the forest park, one of the largest in Europe, with a fine collection of modern and contemporary sculptures. The garden reflects Helene Kröller-Müller's conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture and nature. The sculpture collection includes works by the famous French artist Auguste Rodin and many others.'
Louisa lowered the brochure she was reading. 'That sounds really interesting, Martin, I am looking forward to it'.
'You will like it, I am sure of that. Seeing those sculptures in the middle of the heather and sand dunes makes it really special. Hard to describe. We will park the car and rent some bikes. If we are lucky, we may see a deer or a wild boar.'
They arrived at the gate of the park and bought entry tickets for both the park and the museum. As it was very early in the season, they were practically alone to enjoy it. Louisa soon understood why Martin hadn't been able to express the feelings you have when you are admiring the fine work of Rodin and you suddemly see a small roe deer running over the grass and dissapear on the woods. Louisa added this visit to her best memories of these holidays. She glanced at Martin, who stood next to a very modern sculpture made of various round shapes. He looked content. Much to her surprise, he allowed James to crawl on the floor and to touch the strange forms. Being here with the man and son she loved so much, made here peaceful and happy. She walked to them and took Martin's hand. Martin scooped his son from the floor with his free hand and softly pulled Louisa towards the entrance of the museum. He gave his wife's hand a little squeeze. They both lacked the vocabulary to express their feelings, but for once, they understood each other perfectly!
To be continued.
Again, it took quite some time before I found the possibility to write another chapter. I do hope it has been worth waiting for.