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2020 travels in review
As for us all, 2020 was completely different than we expected. We had only one trip abroad to Austria. Other than that we stayed in The Netherlands. Luckily we made some beautiful trips in The Netherlands during the Summer. So here are our 2020 travels from month to month. January Just like in 2019 we started the New Year at friends in Almere. We played board games and watched the fireworks. Our first outing was Uden on Ice with my nieces during Christmas break. Later in the month I went shopping with a friend in Uden, while Paul and Yuri had the day for themselves. The last day of the…
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25 Fun Things to do in Zeeland
Zeeland is one of the provinces in The Netherlands, which is perfect for a vacation. It consists of islands and peninsulas. There’s so much to see and do here, that we keep coming back. Whether for a weekend getaway or a vacation. Here’s our list of 25 things to do in Zeeland that we have compiled from all our visits over the years. 25 Things to do in Zeeland: Food 1. Eat Kibbeling or a Lekkerbekje. It’s braided fried cod, which is in big pieces (kibbeling) of still in fish form (lekkerbekje). You can eat both dishes all over The Netherlands, but so close to the sea you have the…
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A family vacation close to home during the pandemic: Texel
When the intelligent lockdown was declared all our vacation and getaway weekend planning was put on hold. When they say stay home and only go out for necessary stuff, I’m not making plans for outings let alone a vacation. After a few months restrictions were slightly loosened, so we booked a long weekend getaway for Acension weekend, a vacation close to home. One of our first 2020 travels. We opted for Texel, an island in the northwest of The Netherlands. The reasons for choosing Texel are that it has beautiful nature, we’ve been here before, social distancing seemed achievable, biking is great on Texel and there are plenty of beaches.…
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Fun times at Disneyland Paris: with and without kids
We’ve been to Disneyland Paris three times: once before Yuri was born, in 1999. Back then it was still called EuroDisney. Twice with Yuri in 2014 and 2019. In 1999 we went in the Summer and spent one day at EuroDisney. In 2014 it was a winter visit with an almost 4 year old boy and last time was 20 years after our first visit to Disneyland Paris, again in the Summer. Both visits were 3 days, 2 nights. We’ve enjoyed ourselves every single time. In this blog I will highlight things to do in Disneyland Paris and how our experience was. At the end I will shortly compare Disneyland…
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Grandfather Mountain: climbing rocks and a swinging bridge
Back in 2015 we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, which was simply beautiful. During our drive we stopped at several attractions just off the parkway. Grandfather Mountain was one of them, and was well worth our time. Yuri loved climbing the rocks and we enjoyed the grand views on the Blue Ridge Mountains. Where is Grandfather Mountain? Grandfather Mountain is located close to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. It’s in the vicinity of the town of Linville. The detour is about 3.3 mile or 5.3 kilometers, which is approximately an 18 minute drive from the parkway. Some facts about Grandfather Mountain The elevation of Grandfather is 5946 feet,…
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Finding peace as a family
My husband was driving on highway 1, we had to be on time at San Francisco airport to catch our flight home. Home being Utrecht in The Netherlands. Far away from the beach and rolling waves I was seeing out of our car window. Yuri was asking why we had to go home, why couldn’t we keep on driving, he didn’t want to go home. Paul said shall we drive on? We all wanted to go further North on highway 1, was going through my mind. Half a half year before driving on highway 1 Paul, my husband, was unhappy in his job. That Monday in February, I was still…
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4 days in Switzerland: camping, mountains and cheese
In the Summer of 2016 we had a roadtrip through Europe and Switzerland was included. We hadn’t been there before, but were curious to see the beauty of Switzerland. We had 4 days in total in Switzerland and loved it. Our days were marked by camping, the beautiful mountains, cheese, glaciers and sadly rain. 4 days in Switzerland: itinerary In this blog I describe the route we took on those 4 days in Switzerland. Lots to see and do on the route. 4 days isn’t enough to explore the whole of Switzerland. We roughly followed a route, from Italy to France, through Switzerland and took 4 days for that in…
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A week in Austria: roadtrip itinerary
In the Summer of 2016 we spent a week in Austria. We had such a fun time, before this week we had only been to Austria in the snow, which is magical on its own. Below I give an itinerary for one week in Austria. Where to start a week in Austria We started our week in Austria in Breitenwang. It’s close to the German border and to Füssen, Germany. Füssen is home to the famous Neuschwanstein castle and the Hohenschwangau castle. Both are beautiful. After visiting both these castles, cross the border into Austria and make the short drive to Breitenwang. Breitenwang Breitenwang is in the Austrian state of…
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What to do during lockdown
Like a lot of families around the world right now, we’re in a lockdown. In The Netherlands there’s a soft lockdown. We still can go outside for groceries, a short walk, a motorbike ride, to help someone who can’t go outside or to work if you have an essential job. Group formation is forbidden, more than 2 people together is forbidden except when you form a household. Luckily we can still go outside in moderation. Sadly I have a cold and Yuri the flu, so we have to stay inside. Here’s what to do during the lockdown. What we’re doing during the lockdown Although things we can do and where…
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Stopover hotels on the way South
When traveling from The Netherlands to Mid-, Southern France or Spain, a stopover hotel comes in handy to break up the long drive. People swear by different options in driving to Southern France or Spain. Some people drive it in one take, others mostly drive at night (less traffic and kids are asleep). We usually opt to drive a small part on the first evening and the rest the next day, or when it’s Spain a second stopover hotel in the South of France. Here’s a list of hotels we’ve tested and liked. A stopover hotel is ideally located close to the highway you’re driving South on. They’re not that…
