Rein

After surviving life-threatening heart problems five years ago, Rein Paulides decided it was time to slow down and focus on enjoying life. He has always enjoyed boating, so he started volunteering as a guide with De Leidse Rederij, a company that offers boat tours around Leiden’s waterways. He also scaled back his teaching schedule at a school in Zoetermeer, and last year he accepted an early retirement offer. Rein now works three days a week as a skipper with De Leidse Rederij, while prioritizing time with family and holidays in Greece. Rein, 64, lives with his wife in Leiden. He is happy to report that both his children are now living independently.

 “You’re right, Paulides isn’t a Dutch name. It’s a Greek name. But my parents were Dutch. I was born and raised in Leiderdorp … when Napoleon was here [in the Netherlands], people were required to take last names … some people named themselves after the job they did. A fisherman called himself visser, a farmer called himself boer, and so on. One of my ancestors was a jeweler in Friesland … he said ‘well, let’s find a nice name. All my children will be called son of Paul, or Paulides in Greek.”

Perhaps this naming decision sparked Rein’s interest in Greece. “For more than 35 years, my wife and I have been going to Greece for holidays.

That’s why I’m the only skipper here in Leiden, perhaps in all of Holland, who speaks Greek.”

“I was a teacher of physical education for 38 years [at Stedelijk College in Zoetermeer] … I did sports all my life, I played basketball … I don’t smoke, I don’t drink much … and suddenly one night my heart stopped … that was about five years ago, in 2013 … the first time I was getting out of my bed in the middle of the night … I don’t remember exactly what happened. I was standing above the stairs and … then I fell down the stairs.” Rein points to a scar where this fall opened his forehead.

“More than half a year later, a second time, I was in my bed … and my heart stopped for 15 seconds. The doctors were able to [determine what happened] because after the first [heart stoppage] they had inserted a monitoring device.” After this second heart stoppage, Rein had a pacemaker installed. “It doesn’t bother me at all. Only when I go to Greece and I walk on the beach and people see [the bulge in his chest where the pacemaker is installed] and they ask what is this? … I can do everything I want now, and the good doctor said you will be alright.”

After his pacemaker was installed, Rein began wondering about the source of his heart problems. “I thought ‘what is the reason for this? Maybe it’s due to stress or getting older. The boys [at school the school where he taught] stay the same age every year, 12 to 16, and I was in my 60s. I was always busy: as a basketball coach, as a football coach, a volunteer, as a teacher … so I started thinking about finding something less stressful.”

Rein’s wife saw a newspaper ad in which a start-up boat tour company in Leiden was "looking for volunteer skippers. I said wonderful … I have a small boat in Greece … so I came here to De Leidse Rederij (which translates as The Leiden Shipping Company). I spent three years here as a volunteer. When they rented this building, I was there painting, helping out. I helped create this office.”

The volunteer skipper position eventually turned into a paid job. “They said ‘Rein, why don’t you become a ZZP, which means alone without personnel? You can work some days as a captain and earn some money.’ And I said ‘that’s it.’”

Rein continued to split time between his skippering job and PE teaching at Stedelijk College until September 2017. “I was working two days at the school, and three days here. It was a nice schedule … I always did Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And I want to keep [that schedule] because these are the best days.” (laughs)

“Then suddenly our school went down. We had many problems … and that’s not good for your reputation as a school … instead of having 250 new students coming in every year we only had 85.” As a result, the school’s administrators began looking for ways to trim costs. “As you can guess, they started talking to teachers aged 60-plus. I was 63. They said ‘Rein, can we make an arrangement?’ So I made an arrangement. So since last September, I’m retired, and I have my pension.”

Given his upbeat personality and ability to command attention, the skipper’s job seems like an ideal fit for Rein. His teaching experience “prepared me well. Sometimes I hear people say ‘you must have been a school teacher … I never turn my back to the people in the boat … I always have the people in front of me … I don’t like the traditional cruise boats where the man is in the front and all the people are behind him, and often there is an audio system … I always want it to be interactive. If the people want to, they can ask me questions.”

To prepare for his work as a boat tour guide, Rein read “a lot of books about Leiden’s history and architecture … my father who was originally from Leiden had many old books about the city’s history. He died eight years ago, but I took all the books and I was reading.” 

“Of course, when you begin giving tours you take a simple story, and then you make it better and better. And sometimes funny, and sometimes serious. Because the city is funny, and it has beautiful historical things … and still my stories are changing. It’s very nice to do. And at the end of the tour, the people always clap. And sometimes I say ‘thank you very much. For 38 years I was a teacher of physical education, and my students never clapped.” (laughs)

“I really enjoy my work. Leiden is a beautiful city. When I’m lucky the weather is very nice. (laughs) … I see that many people enjoy the tours very much, and they are happy and they love to hear my stories. So that’s what I like most about my work.”

“I don’t know how much longer I will do this work … I’m 64 now, and I don’t think I will reach 70 here, I will stop earlier. I’m glad there are other [guides] helping me here …  I am at the age to enjoy life … my wife and I love to go to Greece. We love the country very much … we have a very nice camping place with a lot of shadow, and we have a very nice caravan … our children come there, friends come there … I’m thinking about buying a boat there, being a skipper there in Greece because it’s always nice weather.” (laughs)

Of all his life accomplishments, Rein is most proud “that I was very loyal to my school. I was 38 years in the same school.” So was he sad to leave Stedelijk College last year? “Actually, it was very convenient. I said to myself this is a good chance. After 38 years, and the serious health problems my wife and I were having … I don’t want to be Rein Paulides, who died at age 65 and didn’t enjoy his pension. This happens many times with colleague teachers. They get their pension and within half a year they die.”

“Last year my sister died at age 56 … this was another wake-up call for us. My younger brother is a physiotherapist, and he is also now looking for a way to get his pension and enjoy life. Because everyone needs to enjoy life.”

De Leidse Rederij is located at Apothekersdijk 5 in Leiden. Information is available at www.leidserederij.nl.