BRABANT

July 18-18, 2015

Maybe my fascination with Zeeuws Vlaanderen expressed in previous columns of this blog may be a little over the top. We bid that beauty spot of Holland farewell and crossed over to the center South province of the Netherlands, Brabant and found great natural beauty and exceptional hospitality there too. For the first time since we arrived in the Netherlands we got a chance to ride a bike and we toured for two hours the sights around the village of Ulvenhout with our friends Bert and Mieke. On this trip we saw no windmills but several age old country estates and one site that at one time was called ‘t Jagertje (the little Jager). Bert and Mieke live at the end of the road (only a bike path penetrates the forest deeper) in a renovated farm house that goes back centuries. They keep 6 horses there and the place is charming, beautiful and accommodating. The weather permitted outdoor living and we drank some delightful rose wine coming back from our bike tour. We had dinner in an old convent in Alphen-Chaam, the village where Bert serves as councilman in charge of finance and economy. A former business executive, Bert has –upon his retirement – stayed active in the public sector in the province of Brabant and in his community. From him I learned that all the many new roundabouts I now find on my way when driving around Holland have been installed to remove or avoid traffic lights and reduce power and maintenance expense. They also are believed to enhance traffic safety.

The province of Brabant is one of three provinces bordering Belgium. In the Southwest the province of Zeeland is border country, in the center south it is Brabant and in the Southeast it is Limburg (a province we will not hit on this trip). All three are largely rural, not overly densely populated and rich in natural beauty.

We also visited with Frits and Anjes, who have traded life on the farm in Westdorpe, Zeeuws Vlaanderen for an adult living facility in Oisterwijk to be closer to their children and grand-children. We reminisced about the fun times we shared during Mardi Gras and at the beach and on the farm. Frits’ side-show was the raising of pedigree sheep and we put many a lamb, which did not quite pass the muster, on the spit to feed a party. The story remains the same: our friends of yesteryear have all made a success out of their lives and so do their children. My generation has experienced a lifetime of peace and prosperity in Holland and elsewhere in Western Europe and they have nicely benefitted from significant appreciation in the value of real property and a vibrant and expanding community. The coming together and the expansion of the EU has been very beneficial to enterprising young talent in this part of the world. The high level of taxation prevailing in Holland does appear to have had an appreciable dampening effect on economic activity nor wealth creation. It has certainly helped that higher education and healthcare are largely financed with public rather than private funds. There are benefits to paying higher taxes if the government offers vital quality services in return. With negligible cost of higher education, every child in the Netherlands truly had and has a chance to get educated to the hilt and – as a result – there is now much more social mobility in Europe than in the US.

We finished a great weekend in Bilthoven at the home of one of Christie’s cousins who lives in the most desirable part of the village in a park-like landscape with age old trees and spectacular flower beds. He and his wife served us an elegant dinner and he had invited his sister, with whom we had been very good friends in Rotterdam and who shares our love for travel, to join us. This cousin, who followed two years after me in studying at what is now the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, has also made a very successful career in business and still serves on several boards of directors. It was hard to say goodbye when time came to return to home base in Kockengen.