mcharlottesmith

I went to the grocery shop to get something specific, but because I’m not sure the small Albert Hein near me has what I need, I walked to the bigger one, just a little further.

The problem with that one, however, is it has located next to a Lidl that always distracts me. Since my last visit the Lidl had been renovated, and I found myself getting a lot of stuff I didn’t plan. Walking out with a couple of heavy shopping bags, I realised that I still didn’t get one of the things I was looking for, so I had to go to the Albert Hein anyway!

The problem is, with two super heavy shopping bags, I now had to walk back the longer distance,which isn’t a comfortable walk.

I need to work on not getting more groceries than I can comfortably carry…

Be kind. Stay safe.

Amersfoort is located in a very nature rich area. On Saturday morning, after a hearty breakfast, we followed a walking train through the forest next to our hotel.

Not only is this a great social distancing activity, but the weather was also quite nice, with beams of sunlight coming through the leaves at times.

We passed by a memorial with a tower and we heard the carillon play, probably by a student from the local “beiaardierschool”. It was lovely and definitely a new experience, walking through a forest with clock music in the background.

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Afterwards we headed to Die Spens, another South African shop, and I could stock up on biltong and Ina Paarman spices to name a few.

We continued our trip back to the city center and had a takeaway coffee on the main square next to the tower. According to the tourist booklet there was a church in years gone by, but it was not attached to the tower. When the church tragically burnt down, the tower survived. The tower is also home to two carillons and we could hear the playing while spending time in the city.

It was an interesting visit to an interesting place, and definitely in a strange time with everything shut down.

Be kind. Stay safe.

Back when the corona measures were lighter, Marinus and I decided to book a weekend away to another part of the Netherlands. We decided on the old city of Amersfoort.

With the increase in measures we heard that restaurants and pubs are closed, but we decided to go any way.

The city is gorgeous, with buildings from the medieval times and everything since. This time of year it is decked out in the pretty colours of autumn. We did a city walk on advice from the tourist information centre, and learnt a bit about the city too.

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There’s a big rock, called the “Amersfoortse kei” and according to the information booklet the story (as retold from my memory) goes as follows:

Way back when, a guy found this big rock and he decided to see if he can get his mates to drag this rock into town. He rounded up a few hundred people and they succeeded to drag it to one of the squares. The neighbouring people thought they were silly with this task and tried to make fun of them, but in the end they decided not to let it bother them, and made it an emblem of the city.

If the plus side of autumn is the lovely colours, the downside is the weather. An hour or so into our walk it started to rain and we realised that due to the corona measures we can’t duck into a cafe for a warm drink and a bit of shelter. Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city to be closer to nature, but this didn’t help when we were bedraggled in town and wishing we were staying much closer.

Be kind. Stay safe.

Today it looks like there’s a light at the end of the house hunting tunnel.

I made an offer on an apartment in the morning and then I received a call that it was accepted!

Due to my stay cation, I had arranged a long music lesson to make up for last week, and moved it to the morning, because there will be no interruption right?

Wrong!

I had a call from the estate agent to clarify something about the offer, and before the end of the lesson another call to tell me that they accepted it.

Needless to say, I was pretty much distracted after that, and I couldn’t wait to phone everyone to share the news.

It is in times like these that I really appreciate the support and encouragement of my wonderful friends and family from all around the world.

I am still somewhat nervous because it’s all verbal, and I’ll be more at ease when it is written down.

Be kind. Stay safe.

When I was a kid, there was a radio advert for the hotel 224. I can tell you about the jingle, and everything it was close to and it had 224 rooms.

Today I continued my house hunting. I went to see a lovely apartment that I found out about through an acquaintance and I really loved it.

I was supposed to see another one as well, but I got distracted by the Albert Hein XL.

It’s probably one of the biggest grocery stores I’ve seen in the netherlands, where everything except the people are small.

I always love seeing grocery stores in different places and seeing what is regular in that location. But this one is like a shopping explosion. Definitely worth the visit.

Be kind. Stay safe

It’s been 7 years and some change since I last visited a zoo, and at that time also in the Netherlands!

Today, as part of my stay cation I joined Marinus and his five year old nephew on a trip to the zoo. Incidentally, I got a lot of Dutch practice, because the kid doesn’t speak English yet.

The Dutch weather isn’t sunshine and blue skies anymore, but at least we got to spend some time outside.

Because we are in the time of Corona, the restaurants are closed as well as some indoor spaces, so we had to be creative around the rain. Luckily there was enough to see inside as well, such as the big aquarium.

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Be kind. Stay safe.

Today is the first day of my stay cation and I made the best of it.

I started out my morning with a visit to the fabric market that I’ve been meaning to check out. It’s good for a bargain, but it comes up short on amazing finds.

Afterwards I stopped by the Albert Cuyp Market for a look see. Although it’s open, it’s still rather quiet, and I wonder if this is due to the week day or the corona times.

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I cycled home with my bike laden in shopping and fresh produce and even got rained on a bit!

Be kind. Stay safe

We went to the beach in the afternoon, with a friend and her two dogs.

The day was a typical Dutch gray day, but it was fun, nonetheless, waking on the sand, seeing the dogs run and play.

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At some point I turned around and saw the dark storm cloud but I thought we’ll make it back to the car in time.

We didn’t.

I have heard people say the rain comes down sideways in the Netherlands. And as the rain came down, I know what they mean.

Big fat water drops came down hard and fast, directly into my eyes and ears. We found shelter next to a screen wall, a few cm taller than Marinus,with no canopy or roof whatsoever. If we stood next to the wall, we were dry!

It didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon, but it did get a bit lighter and we made our way back to the car like a group of wet, bedraggled chickens. Still a fun adventure though!

Be kind. Stay safe.

I had a strange dream last night. I was swimming in a sea of some sort, with some friends, and some big waves were coming at us. Come to think of it, it’s odd that we weren’t on surfboards, but then again, who said dreams have to make sense?

The strange thing was, at some point there was a wave that came from the other side, and everyone warned each other and was a bit panicky about how to handle it. But eventually this too passed and we could safely get on with what we were doing.

It kind of reminds me of life, throwing year after year at us. Every year we think it’s challenging and on 31st of December we tell each other “next year will be better.” And then comes 2020, and challenges every expectation we had of how the world works.

But hopefully, this too will pass and we can get on with what we were doing.

Be kind. Stay safe.

I think it’s fair to say that autumn is now in full swing.

Be kind. Stay safe.