Tagged with ‘Lelystad’

I look back at the noughties with mixed feelings. It’s been the toughest decade ever and yet my most rewarding. We gave up the sunny comfort of South Africa and chose to migrate to the Netherlands.

Emmen was our first port of call. Where Marcel started life and still has some family. More to the point, it was chosen ‘cos of the work. For Marcel. And for me? Glad you asked. I couldn’t speak Dutch and being in the North East, there aren’t many English speaking jobs available. So I stayed at home.

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60 years ago we would have needed a boat to stand next to the “Dukdalf” that we were now celebrating. And a snorkel and goggles, and possibly a scuba diving dry suit.

But there we were, standing on dry land 5 metres below sea level. It’s all rather mind boggling!  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 »

The Netherlands experienced another record warm year in 2007. But in the week before Christmas, the temperatures plummeted. On the 21st of December, it even dropped to minus 8 deg Celcius. Brrr. Winter water sport enthusiasts were enthralled.

We hope you enjoy this brief glimpse into “hard water sailing” and read more about it further down the page. 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 »

For my birthday in 2006, Marcel gave me a totally unexpected and wonderful gift - a flight lesson in Lelystad. Since watching a documentary about Emelia Erhardt when I was a little girl, I’ve always thought it would be cool to be a pilot.

I’m also envious of a bird’s ability to fly … the apparent freedom to come and go as you please is very appealing. On the 8th of March, Marcel and I headed to Lelystad from Zwolle, where we were living at the time. We’d just bought a house in Lelystad-Haven and we very excited about moving there in May. Read the rest »