Teman-teman yang mengenal aku dengan baik, pasti tahu bahwa aku adalah jenis orang yang tidak suka merepotkan sesama manusia(?) Selama masih bisa dilakukan atau diselesaikan sendiri, tak perlulah 'menyeret' orang lain apalagi jika sampai memberatkan pihak lain tersebut. Begitu pun dalam masalah nge-trip, selama masih ada hostel untuk diinapi dan transportasi umum untuk ditumpangi, tabu rasanya jika aku harus menghubungi keluarga, sahabat, atau kenalan di destinasi.

Those who have known me for quite some times might notice that I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to bother other people. As long as it can be done or resolved by myself, I don't feel it's necessary to 'drag' other people. It also applies to my trip-related issues, as long as there's hostels for book and public transportation to take, I prefer not to contact any family, friends, or acquaintances in my trip destination.

Family trekking trip

Kali ini, aku harus memendam dalam-dalam prinsip tersebut. Semenjak kali pertama aku menyebutkan bahwa Belanda adalah tujuan utama trip tahun 2018, Mama langsung menyuarakan keinginannya untuk kunjungan kasih ke keluarga kami yang sebuyut dan sekampung halaman di Poigar, Minahasa Selatan. Kebetulan, "keluarga Belanda" ini juga sempat mengunjungi kami di Manado dan Poigar saat summer holiday mereka tahun 2017 lalu. Karena bertepatan dengan hari ulang tahun Mama, aku juga sempat mudik beberapa hari dan bertemu keluarga 'besar' ini.

But this time, I had to 'swallow' that principle. Since the first time I told Mama about visiting the Netherlands in this 2018 trip, Mama disclosed her desire to visit our family from the same great-grandfather (I'm not sure hahaha) and the same hometown of Poigar, South Minahasa. I have never known them or met any of them, not until last summer when this "Dutch family" visited us in Manado and Poigar during their summer holiday. It was Mama's birthday too so I went home for several days and finally had the chance to meet this 'big' family.

Selain hal-hal diatas, alasan terbesar kenapa aku rela mengabaikan prinsip dasar traveling-ku adalah karena keluarga Belanda terlihat begitu antusias menyambut kami. Mereka sudah menanya-nanyai jadwal penerbangan dan hotel, bahkan menawarkan untuk menjemput di bandara. Baik banget, kan? Hari Rabu, 28 Maret 2018 ini aku mendapat kesempatan berharga untuk mengenal Keluarga Kosakoy lebih jauh lagi, lebih akrab lagi. Belum kusadari sekarang bahwa Keluarga Kosakoy juga menjadi faktor besar dari ketidakmampuanku move-on dari Netherlands Trip 2018 🙈

In addition to the above things, the biggest reason of why I'm willing to put my principle away was because my Dutch family seemed very enthusiastic about welcoming us. They kept questioning us about the flight schedules and hotels; even offered to pick us up at the airport. Very sweet, aren't they? Today, March 28, I got this valuable opportunity to get to know the Kosakoy Family further, more closely. Little did I realize that the Kosakoy Family will play a big role in making me feel unable to move-on from this Netherlands Trip 2018 🙈

SELASA, 27 MARET / TUESDAY, 27 MARCH

Malamnya setelah pelesir seharian hingga ke Madurodam, kami bertandang ke rumah Oma dan Opa Kosakoy di Arnhem. Kota ini berada di tenggara Amsterdam, sekitar 100 km jauhnya atau sama dengan 1,5 jam bermobil. Arnhem adalah ibu kota provinsi Gelderland yang memiliki populasi lebih dari 150 ribu penduduk. Kesan pertamaku tentang Arnhem? Asri dan teratur! Aku paling menikmati pemandangan tiap kali kami melintas dekat atau diatas Sungai Nederrijn ... rasanya pengen sekali turun dari mobil dan berjalan jauh menyusuri sungai ini, memuaskan hobi foto-fotoku. FYI, Arnhem  menerima penghargaan pada tahun 2007 sebagai 'Best Innercity 2007-2009 dari Belanda'.

Later that night after taking a day trip all the way to Madurodam, we went to Oma and Opa Kosakoy's house in Arnhem. Arnhem city located in the southeast of Amsterdam, about 100 km away or equal to 1.5 hours drive. Arnhem is the capital of Gelderland province which has a population of over 150 thousand inhabitants. My first impression of Arnhem? (Somehow) tropical and very well-organized.  I enjoyed the scenery every time we passed near or over the Nederrijn River ... I had this desire to get out of the car and just walk down the river, satisfying my photography hobby there. FYI, Arnhem received 'Best Innercity 2007-2009 of the Netherlands' award in 2007.

Bertemu Oma dan Opa sukses menghilangkan 'rasa lelah' Mama terhadap Bahasa Inggris yang terus-menerus didengarnya selama bersamaku. Hahaha. Akhirnya Mama punya teman ngobrol dalam Bahasa Indonesia! Kami bertukar cerita tentang banyak hal, termasuk 'merayu' Opa agar mau liburan ke Indonesia juga suatu saat nanti. Kami menikmati makan malam lezat hasil olahan Oma, Tante Grace, dan Om David. Makanan sudah mulai dingin namun tidak sedikitpun mengurangi sukacita kami. Selesai makan, kami pulang ke rumah Tante Grace karena disana lah kami akan bermalam selama 2 hari di Arnhem.

Meeting Oma and Opa successfully eliminated Mama's "tiredness" of English that she constantly heard during this trip. Hahaha. Finally Mama got friends for chatting in Bahasa! We exchanged stories about many things, including 'persuading' Opa to come to Indonesia for holiday. We enjoyed delicious dinner made by Oma, Tante Grace and Om David. The food was getting cold but our togetherness stayed warm. Afterwards we went to Aunt Grace's home where we'll be staying for 2 days in Arnhem. 

Malam itu kami bertemu lagi dengan Julie, anak bungsu Tante Grace. Saat liburan di Manado, Julie merayakan ulang tahunnya di Poigar dan aku tiba-tiba didapuk menjadi penerjemah bagi para tamu. Kami tidak banyak mengobrol saat itu, tapi ternyata dia adalah gadis yang sangat manis dan hangat :) Aku dan Mama juga berkenalan dengan Om John, suami Tante Grace, dan Ruben, anak sulung mereka. 

That night we met Julie again, she's Tante Grace's youngest child. On their holiday in Manado, Julie celebrated her 17th birthday in Poigar by helding a small worship with villagers and family from the city. I was recruited as a translator, all of the sudden with no preparation at all hahaha. (I remembered having difficulties when I tried to mention Om Freek's name, was it Fred or Rick?) Hahaha. I didn't chat a lot with Julie at that time, but only later I found out that she's a very sweet and lovely girl. Mama and I also met Om John, husband of Tante Grace, and Ruben, their eldest son.

RABU, 28 MARET / WEDNESDAY, 28 MARCH

Keluargaku baik sekali! Tahu bahwa kami masih capek dan kurang tidur karena baru bisa menelentangkan diri di kasur pada pukul 00.30, mereka 'mengizinkan' Arnhem Tour dimulai lebih siang dari yang dijadwalkan. Padahal kalau diingat lagi, alasan Om Freek mengajak kami menginap 1 malam di Arnhem adalah agar bisa mulai jelajah kota ini sepagi mungkin. Pagi hari kami dimulai jam 10.00 dimana Tante Grace sudah siap dengan sarapan. Menunya Indonesian food hasil masakan Oma dan Tante Grace kemarin yang tidak kami habiskan saking banyaknya 😅

My family is awesome! Knowing that we were still tired and sleepless because we could only stretch out on the mattress at 00.30, they 'allowed' the Arnhem Tour to start later than what has been scheduled, even though the reason why Om Freek asked us to stay 1 night in Arnhem is so that we can begin exploring this city as early as possible. Our day started at 10.00 where Aunt Grace was ready to welcome us with breakfast. The menu was Indonesian food from yesterday's dinner which we didn't finish last night 😅

Tante Grace dan abang-abangnya memberi kami surprise pagi hari dengan mengajak ke toko Decathlon. Untuk apa? Membeli sepatu trekking! Woah, benar-benar surprise yang menyenangkan. Padahal aku cukup yakin dengan ketangguhan sepatu bot Nokha-ku (promosi) tapi ternyata emang beda rasanya jika memakai sepatu spesialis trekking yang ringan. 

Tante Grace and her brothers gave us a morning surprise by taking us to Decathlon warehouse. What for? For buying new trekking shoes! Woah, it's really a cool surprise. Though I'm pretty confident in my Nokha boots' performance, it did feel really different when wearing special shoes for light trekking.

Perhentian pertama kami adalah Landgoed (Estate) Mariëndaal, taman perbukitan luas yang berlokasi di Arnhem dan Oosterbeek. Begitu banyak taman sudah pernah kukunjungi baik di Indonesia maupun di negara lain, tapi tetap saja yang satu ini sukses membuatku jatuh cinta. Oh ya, ada satu taman lagi yang baru aku tahu belakangan setelah pulang dari trip ini. Namanya Hoge Veluwe National Park, terletak di Arnhem juga dan tidak kalah memukaunya dengan Mariendaal. Readers yang berkesempatan main ke Arnhem jangan lupa singgah ke taman satu itu ya!

Our first stop was Landgoed Mariëndaal, a large hilly park located in both Arnhem and Oosterbeek. So many parks I've visited both in Indonesia and other countries, but still this one succeed in making me fall in love. Ah, there's actually this one park I just found out later after returning from this trip. The name is Hoge Veluwe National Park, located in Arnhem and no less fascinating than Mariendaal. If you guys have the opportunity to visit Arnhem, please stop by at Hoge Veluwe park and tell me the complete story about it ;)

Entrance to Mariendaal

Om Ronald, Mama, Tante Grace, dan Om Freek. Kami belum bertemu Lynn / Lynn was not here yet

Perjalanan dimulai... / The trek begins...
(featuring Om Freek's voice)

Hujan sudah mulau turun rintik-rintik setibanya kami di Mariendaal. Dari kejauhan tampak sosok yang cukup familiar bagiku, siapa ya? Ternyata itu Lynn, seorang sepupu Kosakoy yang juga ikut liburan ke Manado. Aku mengenang Lynn sebagai seorang penari yang suka yoga dan sangat easy-going. Lynn menjadi tour guide kami seharian ini sebelum akhirnya berpisah dan tidak bisa ikut kumpul keluarga.

Rain started to drizzle once we arrived at Mariendaal. From the distance I saw someone that's quite familiar for me, who could that be? Apparently it was Lynn, one of my cousins who also went to Manado last summer. I remembered her as a dancer who likes doing yoga and has a very easy-going personality. She became on of our tour guides today before later this day she'd go and not join the family gathering.

Pepohonan berbentuk gerbang itu unik banget lho / The trees in an arch are one of a kind

Landgoed Mariëndaal paling dikenal karena Groene (Green) Bedstee, deretan pohon beech berbentuk terowongan sepanjang 300 meter. Istilah untuk terowongan ini adalah berceau, biasanya dibangun dengan bingkai kayu atau metal. Berceau satu ini dibangun pada tahun 1865 dengan tujuan menaungi para wanita penghuni estate yang ingin berjalan-jalan menghirup udara sejuk. Mereka bisa berjalan bawah naungan kanopi bebas dari sinar matahari yang bisa menggosongkan kulit. Di tengah-tengah, di persimpangan berceau, terdapat sebuah pohon limau bersebelahan dengan bangku. Konon, pohon itu merupakan perlambang cinta.

Di bagian dalam berceau sangat gelap sehingga hampir tidak ada daun yang tumbuh. Kita bisa melihat jelas cabang-cabang pohon beech yang berbentuk meliuk-liuk. Banyak burung berkumpul dan bersarang di sekitar pepohonan ini. Tante Grace menemukan seekor burung menarik berbulu dada merah duduk di bawah rindangnya pepohonan, tampak anteng mengawasi kami.
Landgoed Mariëndaal is best known for its 'Groene Bedstee'. This is a tunnel-shaped beech hedge of more than 300 meters long. The term for this kind of tunnel is "berceau", usually built with wooden or metal frame as supports. This berceau was constructed in 1865. In the past the ladies of the estate usually walked under this hedge in the shade of the canopy, covered from the burning sunshine. In the middle of the berceau, at the intersection, there is a lime tree next to a bench. The tree symbolizes love.

This kind of fully closed hedge berceau is so dark on the inside that there hardly grow any leaves. We can clearly see the erratic branches of the beeches. Many birds gather and nest in the hedge, Aunt Grace even noticed one pretty bird with red-chest standing under the hedge, staring at us in silent.

Pintu masuk berceau / Entrance to berceau

Tidak ada daun yang tumbuh / No leaves grow in the inside

Sangat gelap saat tidak ada sinar matahari / It must be very dark when there's no sunshine

Taman Mariendaal bener-bener indah, readers. Berulang kali para Om dan Tante mengulang kalimat, "Kalian datang di waktu yang kurang tepat!" Tapi berulang kali juga aku sigap membantah, "I am not regretting this at all." Kapan lagi bisa jalan-jalan di taman seluas ini, melihat pohon-pohon berdaun oranye, di bawah siraman hujan gerimis. Dan hal paling indahnya adalah... we are the only visitors there! Mmm, emang ada 2-3 orang lain sih terutama para tuan dan hewan peliharaannya yang took a walk atau played fetch dengan riang gembira. Aku pun tak jauh beda dengan anjing-anjing lucu itu: BAHAGIA. Kalau saja tidak sedang bersama keluargaku dan tidak terikat tour duration, pengen rasanya lari-lari ke ujung-ujung taman mencari moment menarik untuk difoto.

Mariendaal Park was really beautiful, Readers. My uncles and aunt repeatedly saying the phrase, "You guys came at such a wrong time!" But I again and again denied, "I'm not regretting this at all." I mean, look at those orange-leaved trees, under the drizzling rain and little fog here and there. And the most beautiful thing is ... we were the only visitors there, except those 2-3 other people, especially owners who took their pets for a walk or playing fetch happily. I was also the same: HAPPY. If only I was alone, I definitely would have been running here and there, looking for an interesting sight to be captured.

Om Freek sedang mengecek suatu tanaman umbi-umbian untuk mengetahui jenisnya / Om Freek took a bite of a plant to find out what kind of plant it was

Ada juga aliran sungai dengan air terjun / There's a stream and mini waterfall

Katanya sih panjang jalur trekking taman ini 3,2 km. Masih belum separuh dari 10.000 langkah dong ya?

Sekian dulu cerita hari ini. Selanjutnya akan kukisahkan pengalamanku main ke pantai di Scheveningen Strand dan mempertemukan Mama dengan kerinduan hatinya: bunga tulip. Terima kasih sudah mampir, Readers. Sampai jumpa!

That's it for today. Next post I will tell my experience at the beach of Scheveningen Strand and taking Mama to her dream dstination: the tulips. Thanks for stopping by, Readers. See you later!

Cerita sebelumnya:

1) Asam Manis Paris - Western Europe Trip Part 1

2) Amsterdam Hingga Madurodam - Western Europe Part 2