As each experience proves more and more I’m finding that lunch, especially in lofty environs such as in Ermelo, is considerably far more satisfying than any dinner could conjure thus far. I can’t imagine for one that the expansive outdoor gardens, curiously manicured by maybe half a dozen lawn robots, would be as lovely and beguiling in the evening as they were earlier today. More so, a very special show of live hawks and owls in full view from our table would not have been possible at all – incidentally quite unexpected almost surreal to see such a thing that I imagined could only happen in other people’s reality, like Bill Gates’ backyard.

It’s now a dreamy memory, the freshly-opened bottle of champagne, waiters in business suits better groomed than any of the clientele, our lawn-side outdoor table, spacious enough to have its own large flowering potted plant on the side, all of it on this gorgeous, sunny Second Easter. It was all too civilized for words.