Oma (Johanna Aalbers-Kranenburg) was a sweet, stately lady with her white-grey hair caught up.
We found her hands cold and bony.
Opa (Hendrik) was a stern man with a moustache and ready with a set of rules the moment we arrived.
Mum told us beforehand to sit quietly and not to run around the place.
The lounge didn’t look inviting with its dark burgundy drapes, its mustiness pointed to being a place not much used, reserved for visitors only.
Delighted once the old folks gave us permission to get some fresh air, we darted straight for the stable with its smell and sight of the animals.
Under the watchful eyes of Opa we were allowed to roam outside through a maze of narrow paths dividing long beds of all kinds of vegetables and a double row of fruit trees, painstakingly aware not to set a foot wrong.