My new life in Kolhorn, April 25, 1946

After boarding the ship the 'Bosfontein' in Tanjong Priok on March 30,1946 we arrived in the Netherlands,we had been 4 weeks at sea.

The ship arrived in Amsterdam and we were assigned to a small bus and taken to Kolhorn, a small village where my mothers parents were living.How sad it must have been for my mother to leave the Dutch-Indies as a widow.I was 5 years old and I remember this big ship. I was so scared. I had lived for three and a half years in such confinement, that I could not take it all in. Too many things were happening to me.My mother told me I screamed so loud, when I had to walk up the gangplank

On top of the gang plank are my mother and I, we were on the Boschfontein. The ship I would meet my new father.

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We children were so scared, we did not know what to believe anymore, we had gone through so much, and this ship was so high and we saw so much water.

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On the ship we were sleeping in hammocks with hundreds of other women and children.We often had drills because the sea was full of mines.(I wrote about this trip on my older blog)

Arriving in this small village Kolhorn my new life began.Many good memories are stored in my memory, although I only lived in Kolhorn for two years.In 1948 we moved to Zandvoort, where I lived until 1970, when I left for Canada with my husband and two children.

My two years in Kolhorn were one of the happiest times of my life.When we arrived here from the Dutch Indies I always asked my mother if we could stay in this camp forever, because I liked it here the best. I was sleeping in a bed with crispy nice sheets, and we had these wonderful meals. I did not have to eat this horrible wall paper paste porridge every day anymore.

The small house from my grandparents, where I spent the best two years of my life. This picture we took in the summer of 2010 when we were on vacation in Holland.

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This picture is taken from the dyke, see the arrow, that's the house, see above picture.

This house was where my mother's sister lived.

She lived next door to us.Memory lane 2010, see the window above, I sometimes slept there in the attic with my cousin Jannie.On the picture I am talking to my uncle Kees. He married the youngest sister of my mother. My half-sister Sietske is standing beside her.We visited Kolhorn in 2010 with my half-sister and brother. My brother, Leendert, is born in this small village in 1947.

Visiting the small village of Holland in 2010. Time stood still, so many memories. On the left my uncle Kees, me Thea, my brother Leendert, my aunt Anneke, her son Piet and his wife Gees, my sister in law Netty, and my sister Sietske. It was an emotional visit.My aunt told me so many things I never knew about. Lots of tears flowed. We went back again this year in May, and had such a good time.

This bridge I had to cross everyday when I went to school. On the left Ruud, my husband, my sister in law Netty and myself on the right.I will never forget that one day I had to cross this bridge to pick up some tins my mother had bought. I dropped the package on the bridge and one of the lids from one of the tins blew into the water. So from then on my mother had three tins,one without a lid.The tins were for coffee, tea and sugar.It's such a vivid memory, because when this happened, and when I came home with the package, my mother cried because I had lost the lid from one of these tins. Later she told me, that this was her first purchase, to set up her new household.She had saved every penny and coupons for these tins.The year was spring 1948.

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Kolhorn is a beautiful village.

Such memories.

This picture was taken at the house from my uncle and aunt. My half brother was just a few months old. I wear a skirt my mother had knitted and a coat  I received in Ataka, Egypt, on our way back to the Netherlands.I love my aunt Anneke, she is my second mother.

Water every where.

Nothing has changed.

Taking a walk in the village, with my aunt and my sister.

My husband buying wooden shoes with my uncle Kees.

My aunt Anneke on the left with my husband Ruud my sister Sietske and my uncle Kees on the right.

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At the house of my uncle and aunt in Kolhorn.

This is the house my uncle Kees and aunt Anneke are living in Kolhorn..What a nice village to live. Every where is water and so quiet. On the picture you see me on the left, with my uncle Kees and my sister Sietske.This was taken in May 2011. 

What a nice trip that was.For me, it was memory lane all over again. I loved it. I hope to visit my aunt and uncle again this year. Please stay healthy! I love you both very much.

My next blog will be about our move to Zandvoort aan/zee, that was not pleasant for me. I did not like to leave this village Kolhorn, I just was settled, and now we had to move again.