Vlissingen, Netherlands 6/27/1935
Now I better get started with telling you all about the last exciting days here in Vlissingen, Netherlands where we have met a gentleman working at the measuring office. He and his wife have been extremely friendly to us. It started with Peter who should learn a little navigation, later he got such an interest in us that he gave us his sextant and now we are studying full speed in these days. we are supposed to sail tomorrow since we have to meet the Germans from Rysboerg in Ostende on sunday, furthermore we have been visiting the family here in Vlissingen everyday so I had it easy with the food preparations. One afternoon the wife and I went on a trip into the forest, a beautiful trip without the children. The last impression of the dutchmen was better than the first. At the end of our winter stay we sailed a couple of days to Kapelle, Netherlands where the German engineer lives and there we had very nice days with visits from a lot of people on board including the General Director of the factory who invited us for dinner but these people here in Vlissingen have outdone everything that we have experienced so far, except Marie and Valde, naturally. Then I also want to tell you about Mrs. Marta who wanted to sail along and gave it a big second thought when she saw the boat, Lars, or me, then she went to Koln the same day she arrived. Well that was probably the best even if it had been nice to have her as a nurse (babysitter) once in a while. We didn’t know that she had a little girl and thought that she was having an argument with her husband, but since she is so tied down it is really not good to go too far away. She is looking for a way to make her living outside of Germany, yet not to far away and she asked us if we knew someone in Denmark, which we don’t know. Do you know something she could do in Denmark? will you let us know? It was extremely clever about the 100 Kronen, I had thought she would have taken the steamer directly from Copenhagen and not travelled through Germany but if you want to buy English Pounds and send them PR pout restante Poole England, we can get them there when we arrive most likely in about 14 days. Now you must excuse the sloppy writing. I hope the next letter will be better. Finally, the whole family’s hearty greetings your adoring Else.
P.S. Among other things Marie has written in her letter about the disappointment over the house, what is she disappointed about? In my last letter I told her about Anne’s progress in be having herself, now she starts with misbehaving such as emptying a package of cornmeal all over the whole cabin.