TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

One of the forest walks we did last year was in Den Dolder.

...when it’s getting dark is not fun at all. Thankfully this section of Austerlitz forest is relatively small and we have the option to go back and take a different route through a nearby village. To prove the point, we had to retrace our tracks twice because we could not remember seeing the fallen pine tree on the road. It was getting dark and in another 10 minutes it will be pitch black in the forest. You never know, there could be a serial killer sheltering behind the iced bushes and trees waiting for his chance to slay. I know, macabre thoughts always come into the equation eh? Can’t help it, its automatic pilot when dire consternation is involved, plus it’s freezing cold, definitely not my choice of place to be stranded. So trusting our instincts we followed the path we thought is best and indeed after several minutes we saw moving lights from a distance. Must be the main road! Ah, thank goodness we are almost there, we just need to figure out which side of the road the car was pa...

This weekend was back to regular programming where we normally enjoy our walks in the forest. It’s been weeks since we’ve done this so I was really looking forward to commune with nature once again. The weather wasn’t really gorgeous; it was windy and still a bit cold for spring but it was nice to be outside. After the walk we went to the forbidden snack bar nearby and feasted on ‘patat oorlog’ (Dutch fries with mayo, sate and onions). The Pan Forest in Bosch en Duin in Zeist, Utrecht is a nature reserve. Spring has yet to come to the Netherlands but I can already hear the birds happily chirping early in the morning. They actually wake me up before my alarm clock does. Panbos as locally called is quite popular by joggers. We seem to encounter them at every turn. On the left foto are gorgeous looking fungi. The forest has many horse trails and we've come across a devil's fork tree! More fotos of Panbos here and a green clearing. The Pan Forest has a large network of horse trails...

It’s snowed again last weekend and its going to be -9C tonight in Utrecht (-12C up north). Early this month the Netherlands and Europe was plague with a snowstorm, one after the other, snow was 30 centimeters deep and I heard—while I was in Mexico, that Amsterdam Schiphol Airport was shut down because of very bad weather. I hope that’s not going to happen again although I’ll be a hypocrite if I say I don’t love snow. It is lovely to go out when the grounds are covered with snow (and not snowing anymore), so Dutchman and I had a nice walk yesterday in Austerlitz in Utrechtse Heuvelrug forest. The Utrechtse Heuvelrug is H-U-G-E, this wooded area stretches from Zeist all the way down to Rhenen near Wageningen snaking along the path of the River Lek bordering Utrecht and Gelderland provinces. Austerlitz is located near Driebergen, Zeist and Maarn, a place where I would love to relocate if we find the right house there. A sign board from the forest management -- Welkom in Austerlitz! We s...

The synonym of “slot” is “kasteel” , which means castle. And, a castle is most often called a slot when it is a small one. In the Netherlands one can find many slots . During winter, most of these little castles are closed. Some though, the popular ones, are open on weekends, while a few are currently (shall I say, always?) under restoration. Come April, many of the castles in the country will be open for visitors. Het Slot Zeist (The Castle Zeist) in Utrecht from a slanting angle showing its little bridge. Most castles in the Netherlands are protected by a surrounding body of water, which is called a moat. And if you look closely at the first foto, I was trying to get near to a duck! Click the second foto with the -Het Slot Zeist. On the right side text is a summarized English version of its history. If you have good eyes, you can easily read it. The Zeist Castle in my opinion is one of those not-so-romantic and not-so-fairytale-like castles in Holland. The structure and design is ...