What started with a cup of coffee and a chocolate ended in an intense trip for grandma Mieke from Boxtel. In no time her story was spread throughout the Netherlands. “I didn’t see it coming, I’m still surprised,” says Mieke van Vught (73).
Grandma Mieke and daughter Katja’s phone rang off the hook last week, after Omroep Brabant visited them to talk about their chocolate adventure. Grandma Mieke’s video has already been viewed 1.2 million times. All kinds of other media then lined up to hear the story. “SBS6, RTL, Mattie and Marieke from Q-music, Radio 538,” she lists.
Abandoned chocolates
For those who did not catch the story: Mieke helped her daughter Katja clean her B&B in Liempde. Guests had left two chocolates in the refrigerator. The two knew what to do with that: they had the chocolates with coffee during the break.
A little later Mieke didn’t feel well. She was in such bad shape that she even ended up at the doctor. What turned out afterwards? She was in the middle of a really hard trip. They were chocolates filled with cannabis. The guests informed Katja about this in a message. They had forgotten the chocolates and warned her about this.
Highlight with Eva Jinek
The highlight for mother and daughter was attending Eva Jinek’s talk show. They definitely didn’t see that phone call coming.
“Mom, do you want to go to Jinek?” Katja asked her mother. “Wow, Katja,” said Mieke. “How are you supposed to get there? Because there are traffic jams and such. And what should you wear,” she reflects on Friday, now that the media storm has subsided again. But it was all worth it. She calls it, in one word, ‘fantastic’.
Mieke had absolutely no idea that their chocolate adventure would receive so much attention. “Then there is so much happening in the world and they want attention for such a subject.”
B&B cleaned again
She’s been busy the past few days. Not only the bells and camera crews that were on the sidewalk, but also with all the odd jobs that continued as usual. “I just cleaned the B&B again,” she says matter-of-factly.
In addition to all the media attention, messages from acquaintances continued to pour in. “It was also tiring,” she admits. Still, Mieke really enjoyed it: “It passed me by. It just happens. Who can say this,” she concludes.
This is also a week for the books for daughter Katja. “It was as if the trip just continued,” she says with a laugh. “It started with panic and fear, but turned into a fun experience. One we will never forget. This will surely become a family legend for us.”