Weekend Getaways

Spending the night in a castle? YES PLEASE! ;) This weekend my sister and I drove to Limburg - a southern province of the Netherlands - to soak up some sunshine, hike in style, have breakfast by the waterside and do some shopping. Apart from enjoying all the laughter and fun I was also once again very grateful for the way my life turned out this past year. A new city, a new home, a new job… and my driver's license and first car! After doing all my traveling - including holidays - by public transportation or hitching rides for decades, there is something so incredibly freeing and adventurous about throwing your stuff in a car and just GO. It was something I had been craving for years, so it feels really good to have finally provided this for myself. 

Can't wait for all the other roadtrips in my future!! :)

Summertime!

Summertime made me forget how to blog!!! ;) 

Seriously people, I can't even believe it's been TWO MONTHS since my last post!! This year is just flying by like crazy. Fortunately I filled my time with nothing but good stuff. I enjoyed a week off from work to further explore my new hometown, enjoying the sunshine, strolling around the city centre, riding my bike through the surrounding countryside, visiting the zoo and the local movie theatre. In short: I'm still settling in LIKE A BOSS ;) Then I started a new job in Amsterdam, meeting new people and enjoying the change of scenery. And in between there was lots of family and friends, a bluegrass festival, good food, (iced) coffee, visiting Hollands first cat-cafe Kopjes in Amsterdam, fancy sushi, barbecuing in the park, a heatwave and lots of ice cream. Oh, and to top it all off: I started volunteering at the local animal shelter! 

So here are some snapshots I took along the way. And here's for hoping the second half of summer will be as lovely as the first :)

October Magic

There is something about a damp October forest, the ground muddy, the air chilly, the light shining brightly through the trees. Summer gone, winter coming. An in between stage of silent anticipation. Magical :)

A weekend in Maastricht

I had the most lovely time this weekend in Maastricht, a city in the very south of the Netherlands. There was food, drinks, shopping, exploring the city and surrounding countryside, food, playing the worst game of pool ever, more shopping, oh and did I mention there was food?? ;) The weather was absolutely amazing which made it even more perfect. Good times! :)

September (So Far)

So far, September has been amazing :) I'm starting a new job in October so I'm taking some time in between to recharge. And since the weather has been absolutely lovely - the last bits of summer spoiling us with lots of sunshine and high temperatures - there was plenty of time for stuff like bike rides, picnics, the beach and a trip to the zoo!

I suspect the second half of September will bring the arrival of Fall… but so far, so good! :)