It was a year ago when we last visited dear Shutterchance friend, Philine, following her knee replacement, and was definitely time to visit her again, to see her progress with our own eyes. Also, because of a renovation on her apartment building, where she had lived for 50 years, necessitating a move to an assisted-living community around the corner, we wanted to see her in her new home since February.
It's a trip that can be done in one day (2½-3 hours each way, 484 km round-trip) but, to make things easier, we decided to spend a night in one of our favorite Fletcher hotels this past Tuesday, April 29, and then drive the rest of the way, Wednesday, for our visit with Philine.
As you know by now, Astrid loves doing the research for these trips (big or small)
and found a lovely city for our lunch stop on Tuesday: Doesberg.
Population: ca. 11K. Exactly our kind of place.
Where we ate lunch was at La Fleur Lunchroom, full of a gazillion teapots,
and all kinds of quirkiness.
Needless to say, both Astrid and I went crazy with our iPhone cameras.
The lady on the right is Fleur, the owner and matron of the place for 37 years!
Totally worth all the oohing and aahing!
It was another half hour's drive to our hotel in Lochem, over the back roads...
through farm country and wooded areas.
Exactly our kind of place for leisurely driving.
After settling in at our hotel for a couple hours, we went downstairs
for our version of a Happy Hour: nachos, beer and Five Crowns.
Exactly our kind of "snack" after a big lunch.
After breakfast on Wednesday, April 30, we left at 9:15am for our arrival at Philine's by 11am, in time to see her apartment before lunch.
OMG. Where she lives in her assisted-living community is absolutely fabulous,
with 300+ residents in cozy and modern apartments.
Besides enjoying her own apartment, she took us on a grand tour of the place,
followed by treating us to a main-meal lunch in their communal, restaurant-style dining room.
That one meal is included every day in her rental fee, which we love for her, meeting her neighbors!
As you see, she was a good sport, letting me go crazy with my iPhone camera.
After lunch, Philine hailed a taxi to take us to the nearby 1684 Café, up on the 12th floor,
where we could view Münster's famous landmarks, recognizable by now
after several visits to see her over the past years.
She was up for walking the 15 minutes back to to her complex, trooper that she is,
passing many of the Münster highlights that by now are familiar to us.
Once back at the complex, we said our goodbyes to dear Philine, leaving for home at 3pm., fully thankful and relieved to see her being taken care of. She's mostly on her own these days, at age 83, having lost her mother and brother in recent years. Some of her past friends are also gone but we fully expect that by the next time we see her again, she'll have gained many NEW friends there where she lives.
In the meantime, we'll stay in touch with Philine on our Shutterchance photoblog, where she posts regularly at Philine. It's a small world after all, isn't it! Exactly the way we like it.
Jullie zijn vreselijk actief deze tijd!
ReplyDeleteVan de USA naar Keukenhof en dan weer naar Duitsland via Lochem .
En alles wat er zich tussen afgespeeld heeft.
Mooie collages weer die veel plezier uitstralen.
Dank voor het delen
As we often say, Marjolein, "when it rains, it pours!" Now we have 3 weeks of "rest" to prepare for our 3-week vacation to Switzerland! HA!
DeleteJust delightful! I’m sure Philine appreciated your dear visit. I do!
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Ruth. It was clear to us both that Philine was greatly encouraged by our visit, which makes it that much more appreciated even for us!
DeleteLovely to see dear Philine.
ReplyDeleteIndeed so, Bill. She was clearly moved by the greetings from her SC friends.
DeleteWhat a lovely visit with a friend. It must be reassuring to see how Philine is settled into her new home.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed, Marie, on both counts. Our visit was visibly encouraging to her, which made it totally worth it for us both.
DeleteIt was a wonderful visit to Philine and to see that she is doing alright. Our visit to Doesburg was such a wonderful one and I loved "La Fleur". What a place to eat and see all the decorations they had set up. The hotel is at a great location and worth going back again. Great collages to show how much fun we can get in two day. IHVJ.
ReplyDeleteMay we be forever and ever Partners in Crime for such wee trips, Astrid. So many good memories, especially on our trips to see Philine! We will never know how much time left any of us will have, so let's keep making the effort. Thank you.
Delete