Blogs from North Brabant, Netherlands, Europe

"De Tuinconsulent" www.detuinconsulent.nl Hello dear readers of my blog, it has been a long time since I have added new stories here. That does not mean I did not travel and have a good time. Several visits to Africa, some diving and f you know me some strange situations i got myself into. But now its a complete different adventure, I would like to share with you. I started my own garden advising company De Tuinconsulent : www.detuinconsulent.nl next to my new job. As its based in my home, it means my working area is in The Netherlands; North Brabant. Therefore the rest of information is in Dutch: Welkom op mijn Travelblog, Ik ben een eigen bedrijf begonnen "DeTuinconsulent" omdat ik zie dat er veel verspilling plaats vind en mensen op onnodig hoge kosten worden gejaagd. ... read more

We intended to spend our last full day here well. And we did. Our visit to Oirschot yesterday made us like this town and we took my sisters Toni and Annemie back there for lunch today. It was a bit of an adventure to get everyone into our little car, since both my sisters have issues with their legs, but that effort was overcome. The Gelagkamer, meaning taproom, looked busiest yesterday, so we figured it would be a good place to go. It turned out to be a good choice. The uitsmijters, spicy chicken and goat cheese salad were good choices for our lunch meals at very reasonable prices. It was a fitting occasion to say goodbye until a return visit maybe a few years from now! Our AirBnb hosts had previously invited to a “last ... read more

Today was another day to visit family. Who needs a destination when you can drive along secondary roads to get to where you want to go. That was the case today, starting with a visit to my cousin Mieke in Lith, a bit off the beaten track. They have a gorgeous “Dijkhuisje” built on top of the dike next to the Maas River, which means the back part of the house is at least one level lower behind the dike. Makes for interesting architecture. Her husband Frans is a very handy man that rebuilt the place from the foundation up after he retired from their restaurant business. He did an absolutely incredible job, even a home-made elevator in recognition of their retirement age. Their motorhome has a completely automated levelling system and Marion was quite taken ... read more

There was no post yesterday because we didn’t do anything special. Just hanging around Eindhoven and doing some shopping. Today was also spent around Eindhoven but we had two things in mind: walk to the Woensel Market and then to the annual fair called Park Hilaria. Brother-in-law Peter joined us for the walk and also to be our guide. The market was not as busy as usual, even several empty sales spots because of the vacation period in the southern Netherlands. Lots of cheap clothes, knick-knacks, vegetables, baked goods, fish and of course cheese. The smoked eel, a delicacy here, was quite expensive and looked greasy to me, so I did not try it this time around. After having stopped off at the train station for a coffee and quick snack, we headed to the fair ... read more

With nothing definitively planned for today, we slept in a bit and took our time getting ready. Kasteel Maurick in Vught was our first stop today. Nestled in a beautiful wooded area only meters away from the centre of Vught, this castle played a significant role during the 80-year war with Spain when Den Bosch was under siege. Today, it is not open as a castle, but is rented out for functions and events. However, the grounds are open to the public so we wander around and took some photos before we stopped at the restaurant for, just guess, coffee and dessert. We had been told that the St. Petrus church in Vught would be worth a visit, since it’s conversion to a community centre just recently. The church had sat empty for 15 years and ... read more