Tagged with ‘Holland’

Cousins Ina and Andries live near Groningen in the very top of Holland. We live close to Amsterdam. When we go camping, we often meet in the middle.

Okay, not so much in the middle. We choose a quiet little spot in Vierhuizen. Less crowded than other campings nearby …

The proximity to Lauwersmeer National Park (Lauwer lake) makes it fabulous for cycling. Another drawcard to the area is the ferry to Schiermonnikoog. Read the rest »

In 2002 I first heard about the mysterious Christmas market in the caves somewhere in Limburg. Previous years brought various attempts to organise a visit, but inevitably something else came up and this market dropped down our to-do list. This year … we got lucky! On 6th of December we drove 250 km’s from Lelystad to Valkenburg to visit the Dutch Christmas Caves. Read the rest »

Batavia Stad is a designer clothing outlet shopping centre a few km’s from where we live. Some friends jealously wonder why we don’t live there permanently. Well the truth is, I don’t like shopping!

Yes … I’m a woman! Gosh, just ask my husband about the nightmare it was to find my wedding dress … (he was the only person I could entrust with the goal, so we did that together). Marcel has the patience of Job when it comes to spending time in stores. Read the rest »

Our serene harbour village is approximately 65 km’s away from the bustle of Amsterdam. We enjoy the water and nature, but once in a blue moon we venture off to the capital to take in city life.

We park our car relatively close to Amsterdam, and catch the train for the last few stops, which saves us mucho money and stress from trying to find parking. The train journey into Amsterdam is really cool. First you ride past dreary flat blocks, which considering we’d contemplated living in the city, makes us appreciate our home even more. Then you ride past architectually-stunning apartments on the IJ River. Read the rest »

We all need to eat, have shelter, wear clothing (there are some who would argue this) and travel around. To do this, we buy clothes, houses, furniture, gas, water, vehicles, and the list goes on and on. However in undeveloped countries, this list is much shorter. “They’ve got warmth and sunshine” I’ve heard in rebuff as to why they “don’t have the same needs”. But this is changing big time now that India and China are becoming super-consumers. Read the rest »

The winters in The Netherlands are becoming milder and milder. Much to the dismay of the Dutch, for whom ice skating on natural ice is highly sought after. Thanks to the myriad of canals and rivers, skaters can enjoy courses of up to 200km.

The outdoors, ice skating in nature, wafting along reed beds, freedom. That’s the intention behind the multi-functional outdoor recreation centre that opened in December 2007, called “FlevOnice” or “Ice World”. We visited the course on a very busy Boxing Day (2007). Read the rest »

The most beautiful spring gardens in the world are open for a few months each year. In 2007, when we filmed this video, they were open from 23/03/07 until 20/05/2007.

It was our second visit to Keukenhof and we spent 5,5 hours in this 32-hectare eden. Not surprising, you need the time to fully enjoy the flowers, smells, sights and sounds. Further details about Keukenhof appear below the video. Read the rest »

We live next to a Dutch wetlands nature reserve, called the Oostvaardersplassen (lakes of the East-farers, roughly translated). It’s totally peaceful and home to a multitude of bird species and wild animals like beavers, roe deer, red deer, heck cows and wild horses.

This video is our first foray into making films. Hee hee. It’s great fun looking back at our first attempt. Hope you enjoy it too, and the beautiful marshlands. Read the rest »

Marcel was born in Holland and grew up in South Africa as his folks emigrated in 1971. Fortunately over the years, Marcel learned how to speak Dutch from his parents.

Another real blessing for us, he lived in Holland for five years (from 1990) and then returned to South Africa, where we met and got married. At the end of 2001, we moved to The Netherlands. Read the rest »

“No matter where you come from, as long as you’re a black man, you’re an African. No mind your nationality, you have got the identity of an African“. ~ Peter Tosh

Albeit in reverse, Peter Tosh sings about the way I felt a lot of the time while growing up in South Africa with my pale skin - I felt out of place in my country of birth. The old apartheid “European Only” signs indicated that a white skin meant that we were European, but we felt African. So, who and what are we? Are we South Africans? Are we English? Are we Dutch? None of the above? Read the rest »