Breakfast is served at the table in a large, empty dining room, I think we must be the only guests in this hotel. Some restaurant and hotel people say it's a bit quiet, but not too bad, mainly the foreign tourists are missing. Other hotel owners say it's been too quiet and are worried about… Continue reading A short way back home
The usual breakfast routine, the restaurant chef brings us a selection of fruits, cheeses and meats and makes us eggs on demand. Out before nine, we decide to do a little detour to see the Venner Moor nature reserve that gives the hotel its name. We can't see much of it from the road and… Continue reading Up
Up at seven, breakfast half an hour later, gone before nine. Today will probably the hottest day of the week and I prepped some packing yesterday, just so we could leave early enough. Arne wakes up a bit woozy, he's always been a bit bothered like that by antihistamines. Hopefully the grumpiness disappears during the… Continue reading Views from hills
Not a good night, I would say. Too hot! And too itchy! We opened the windows at some point, desperate to the point that we're willing to risk the extra bug bite and that seems to help a bit. Not many bugs either, I suppose the swallows and bats take care of those. A wet… Continue reading Itchy! And hot!
Up at seven after a good night's sleep, under just the sheet and with our head at the foot end to catch more air circulation. I'm not sure if any of it made a difference, but can't have hurt. The bug bites were pretty itchy though.. We put on our masks to go down for… Continue reading A bit of an effort
Quite warm in the room, there's a fan but even so I take the blanket out of the sheet and use the sheet to sleep under. Alarm at seven, we put on our decent clothes and a mouth mask to go to breakfast downstairs. It's strange.. you can take the mouth mask off only when… Continue reading Deer!
Alarm at seven, we slept okay, not too hot in the room fortunately. We go down to the breakfast room, they have just switched back to the classic buffet system, but ask that you follow a one way tour throughout the area to avoid close contact with others, though there is no requirement to wear… Continue reading Sunny hills
Today is Sunday and tonight we are sleeping in Beckum. Up at seven, the usual weekend breakfast and afterwards we can start packing. We had a family BBQ in our patio yesterday, fortunately everybody helped clean up and the state of the house is not so bad, but we will have to tidy a bit,… Continue reading the first schnitzel
Our first holiday of the year is only a few days away! After our winter holiday in Gerardmer in December 2019 we had plans to take a long week with family in the spring, but these of course got cancelled due to corona. We planned to take a week off and picked the end of… Continue reading Preparation!
A day out to discover street art by bike, south of Antwerp city: from faded tags to sanctioned brick walls and commissioned murals, a wide variety of graphic art.
Product sheet for the perfect mini-short and string. Easy to make if you have the right machinery, these have the best fit ever - for me.
Product sheet for a harness to carry the big camera on hikes: custom made to fit over thick winter clothing but underneath my back pack, the harness holds the camera steady but still allows you to take pictures without unclipping the camera.
Maybe you think it's a bit strange to write a cat's biography, but as I'm new to it I picked my cats George and Alpha as the first subjects. I can't interview them, but I have known them their whole lives so I should be able to get the facts straight. Admittedly it's a time… Continue reading The boring cat lives of George and Alpha
Another quarantine week, so again I'm looking for a way to burn off some energy and spend time outside. Since I spend all day every day at home in the same company, I also simply need some time away. I call my mom again and we decide to do another long bike tour. Since we… Continue reading Suprised by my own neighborhood
Due to the corona virus we're not allowed to leave the house except for indispensable tasks like grocery shopping, getting medical help, etc. Fortunately the governement considers sports and excercise an essential task, so going out for a walk or bike tour is okay as long as (1) you don't take the car to go… Continue reading along the water
Up at 8, breakfast as usual, Arne searches for the name of the birds we saw yesterday on the higher snowy slopes, turns out they were bullfinches. They were too quick to photograph, but we remember the distinct coloration. Some doubt about what to do today.. we could go to one of the official winter… Continue reading lots of trees
Alarm at 7, but we snooze until 8: it's raining and we're not in a hurry to get out there. Breakfast with champagne - the last of the bottle we opened two days ago - and then the usual procedure to start the hiking day. We decide to do one of the official winter hikes… Continue reading some snow after all
I wake up thinking it must be time to wake up, though there was no alarm yet. Turns out I turned it off yesterday, but indeed it is exactly 7 am. The morning proceeds the same as yesterday: healthy breakfast, lunch prep and pack the two backpacks. Today we even remember to take the thermos… Continue reading a bit of unexpected danger
Up at seven, it's still dark but we can tell it's no longer raining. The weather is supposed to be mild and dry, not very promising for snow.. One of the reasons we took a studio this year is to have better food. Not better as in more tasty, but as in healthy and in… Continue reading green!
we have a five day holiday planned in the Vosges mountains in France and as usual it starts with lots of packing. For only the second time ever we've rented a studio instead of booking a hotel room, so the packing requires a bit more thought than usual. I did prepare and make a few… Continue reading to the Vosges
Today is our last day in Rome.. Up at six thirty, packed/checked out and walking before eight. We don't have a particular goal in mind, but the weather is beautiful so we'll probably spend most of the morning outside. The only time constraint is our shuttle to the airport at two pm. We walk past… Continue reading a last walk around Rome
Febe writes 