Auguries of Innocence

To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.
-William Blake
















Written sometime at the end of February

Time befuddles me. How is it that some periods of life stretch towards the never-ending doldrum and monotony that is life, while others pack enough emotional highs and lows to equal an elephant in a carry-on?

No matter how much I pare down, I manage to fill my suitcase each week. Give a girl a suitcase to fill and she’ll always find an extra nook or cranny for that ‘just in case’ pair of pantyhose or not so practical thong she’ll never wear.

P recently told me he read that the airlines may ban carry-on luggage. Grreeeaaat. I’m all for protecting us from terrorists, but what am I going to do on the plane for 9 hours? First they make us put all our liquid (which somehow includes chapstick) toiletries into a tiny plastic bag (half the size of a normal plastic sandwich bag). Then, we’re not even allowed water anymore. Currently, all bags (purse, laptop…etc.) have to fit into 1 carry-on. And now, they’re planning on taking that away. I guess they just want us to stare at each other and play ‘guess who the terrorist is’. Rrrgggghhh.

I just turned 31. I’m officially, officially in my 30’s now. Last year I was just dipping my toe in the pond. But as of now I’m officially 30-something. (Does anyone remember that horrible sitcom? I always thought they looked so old). My birthday was fun. We had a big event at work and the whole place was decorated. So it felt like a big celebration on my birthday. I left work early and went out to dinner with a couple of my girlfriends (which is always nice) in Enschede. Thank you to all my friends who called and sent cards, e-cards and sms’. It made my day to hear from you!

P surprised me with a secret get-away weekend for Valentines and my birthday. We left early Saturday morning and ended up in Hierden an hour or so later. We turned into a tree lined entrance leading up to Kasteel de Essenburgh where we stayed the night. But first, P had reservations for the day in Zwaluwhoeve Sauna, where the fluffy, soft new robe he gave me the night before came in very handy.

I’d been saying for weeks, “all I want is a weekend where we do nothing.” And that was exactly what he gave me. It was perfect. We did nothing all day except sweat in the various saunas, lounge in front of a fire reading, more saunas, hot tubs…etc. For those of you who have yet to experience a European sauna, imagine a day full of 100 naked people moving from 1 small sweatbox to another. Sounds lovely, huh? After you get over the initial 30 minute shock of naked people (all sizes, ages and shapes) all around you (it wears off quickly), it really is a great experience. I’m most fond of the wet steam saunas. It’s usually dark and misty and you breathe the moisture in through your lungs – bizarre feeling. But our favorite was the salt rock sauna, with walls made of salt rocks, some with glowing lights behind, a waterfall and new agey spa music. There was also the ice cave (a walk-in refrigerator cave with a stalactite that shoots out ice chips), an herbal bath (cave-like whirlpool filled with herbs), Finnish sauna, panorama sauna (large window view of the pictoral landscape), scrub room (everyone stands around scrubbing themselves with sand)…etc.

In between all the saunas, we lounged in several cozy sitting rooms, my favorite had a big coffee table turned fireplace in the center of big cushy couches where Paul fell into quiet slumber and I finished a book titled The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – a gorgeous, literary mystery. Anyone who has fallen under the enchantment of a book or been consumed by the power of the written word will love this book. After finishing, I tried to work my way into The Devil in the White City (recommended by several friends) but was quickly lulled into the same lethargic spell that had taken over my husband.

That night (back at the castle) we took our aperitif in the bar before joining the rest of the guests for our 4-course candlelight meal. Despite their disguising layers of clothing, I recognized several couples from the sauna that day. While in the sauna, I felt a certain level of anonymity surrounded by everyone’s nakedness. But once recognized in my modest layers of clothing (for if I recognized them, I’m sure they recognized me) I felt exposed and a bit embarrassed. Strange, huh?

Here are some photos of where we stayed (sorry – no sauna pics!)

The following day, after taking our breakfast in the castle, we decided to drive into Amersfoort and spend some time wandering around, as I’ve never been in Amersfoort proper and we’ve been discussing this city as a possible solution to our current distance problem. I wanted to have a really positive experience, but the day started out with a comedy of errors including P walking straight into a pole and me spilling a smoothie all over myself. Hmmm, what can I say about it? The town has a lot of charm. The center is surrounded by a big canal and has lots of medieval buildings and pretty canal houses in the center. There were lots of small, boutique shops and restaurants downtown. It definitely felt like a place for exploring little alleys and side streets for interesting local finds. We spent a few hours that afternoon in a local coffee café, which despite my current employer, should we live in Amersfoort, I could see us spending lots of time there. That’s saying a lot as I feel quite loyal to my company, but it had a great feel with books lining the walls, a whole play area for kids, internet-enabled computers…everything to make you feel cozy. I also saw lots of couples with young kids meeting other couples with kids on their Sunday afternoon. I liked the look of that. We have lots more research to do, but for me it was a successful reconnaissance mission. For more on Amersfoort, read here…