COUNTRY LANE

Living Room

Personal obeservations and memories

This personal section of Waldmark's Web is about ourselves, Robert and Jolanda. Rather than using glue to stick photographs into albums, we use an Apple Macintosh and some software.

Happy to meet

sorry to part

Good-bye we said in May 2004 to Rodono House in the beautiful Scottish Borders and to all our friends around the loch. We were moving out of Scotland to spend more time on the Continent.

But we really had no great desire to return to our native Holland. We had left there all those years ago, not only to pursue a dream, but also because our cosy little country on the North Sea had become unbearably overcrowded. The stress of nationwide, continuous traffic jams and the unrest of a 24/7 economy were not inviting prospects. It remains, however, a very nice country for regular visits.

Germany

Present homeland

So now we're living in Germany and fortunately, many of the things we expected to find here are, indeed, present. The atmosphere is obviously quite different from the valley we left in Scotland but still there are some remarkable similarities. The many good things here are cause for constant wonder and gratitude.

Scotland

Still a little bit homeland

The years in Scotland have been terrific. The important ingredients for a happy life were all there: brilliant neighbours, spectacular scenery, a dream house and ample peace and quiet. Fortunately, we can re-vist the neighbours and the scenery any time we choose.

We feel empathy for all the Scots and Irish who, in difficult times in the past, went far across the seas. And were longing for the hills for the remainder of their lives. We think we know how they felt. However, to us at least, the longing for Scotland has become in itself the object of a gentle, bittersweet melancholia which we sometimes deliberately indulge in. Like eating a pound of chocolate straight after a work-out in the gym: you just know it's good for you.