Our house breathes a very light and transparant atmosphere. It catches a lot of daylight both in summer and winter. The garden faces south, so it is very pleasant to sit outside and catch the sunrays. Even early in spring and in late autumn it can still be nice and comfortable to be outside.
The kitchen is fully equiped with dishwasher, oven & microwave, refrigerator and deepfreezer. The livingroom has a built-in woodstove/fireplace and you 'll find lots of CD's -both Bach and Beach Boys-, DVD's, and books in english and dutch. We also have a large bookcollection on tribal (oceanic) art, one of the owners passions.
The house has four bedrooms: one on the groundfloor with a single bed and a private washbasin, two rooms upstairs with single bed, and the master's bedroom with a large double-sleeper. The masterbedroom has slidingdoors to a southfacing balcony.
There's a toilet on the groundfloor, and the big bathroom with a 2nd toilet is upstairs too. It has a walk-in showerplace, and double washbasin as well.
The washingmachine & dryer are to be found in trhe former garage, together with our bicycles.

The house is heated with a hot air system, so it gets warm very quickly when turning the heat on...
We live at the last stretch of a deadend lane, so it is very quiet and safe, and even small children can play outside without running into dangerous situations.
We live at the northern part of the village: close enough to walk to the centre, and right on the edge of the dunes. Within minutes you 'll find yourself surrounded by beautiful forest and lovely dune-landscape. Even the beach is fairly closeby: you can get there on bicycle within 20 minutes.
With the house we will also offer you our bicycles to use.




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Bergen

Bergen is at about 50 kilometers (half an hour by train, 45 minutes by car) northwest of Amsterdam. The village has attracted visitors for centuries due to its location on the edge of dunes and nature. Bergen aan Zee was founded around the turn of the 19th Century and lies in the heart of the natural beauty of the Schoorl Forestry Area and the North-Holland Dune Reserve. The two villages are separated by dunes criss-crossed by an extensive network of cycle paths and walking routes. To the north of Bergen lies woody Schoorl and to the east a bird-sanctuary.
Bergen is well over 1000 years old and built around the Ruined Church, which dates from the 15th century. For many years, Bergen has been a hiding place for artists who regard the peace and space as a source of inspiration; broad avenues with plenty of greenery and large residences hard up against nature. Works of the "Bergen School", the artistic movement named after the village, can be seen, among other things, in the Kranenburg Museum. There are still a great many artists in residence, exhibiting their work in the galleries and the artists' centre, where you can buy modern art, too. The Holland Music Sessions take place during the summer, with many evening concerts by talented young international musicians. During the summer there are art and craft markets and in October there is an event known as the Ten Days of Art. The centre of Bergen is teeming with terraces, cafes and restaurants - and, most importantly for the shopping enthusiast, small shops boutiques.
Bergen aan Zee is primarily a bathing resort with a freely accessible beach with a variety of facilities and a naturist area to the north. The village is recommended not only for bathing, but also for surfing and catamaran sailing. It also boasts a marine aquarium, which presents a picture of the denizens of the sea throughout the world.
The beach between Bergen aan Zee and Schoorl is suited for nude recreation.

North-Holland

This province surrounded by water on three sides, has so much to offer for a varied short or long holiday. In fact, North Holland is Holland in a nutshell. All those elements that are so typical of the Netherlands you 'll find here. Beautiful beaches, dunes, polder landscapes, historic towns (Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Medemblik, Alkmaar) and villages with exciting museums and cosy restaurants, water everywhere, miles and miles of foot and cycling paths, blooming bulb-fields each spring and much, much more.
Den Helder, at the tip of North Holland, is the Netherlands most important naval base and home to its Royal Naval College. During the summer months, you can take a pleasant, 30-minute car-ferry trip from Den Helder to Texel, a quiet, family-oriented resort island in the Waddenzee.
The town centre of Schagen dates from the 15th century, when the dwelling was ten centuries old.

The contrasts in local flora and fauna are startling. The best places to study them are Schoorl, Groet and Camperduin. The villages lie like a ribbon along the edge of the Schoorlse Duinen National Park.
Bergen and Bergen aan Zee are at about 50 kilometres northwest of Amsterdam. Bergen has attracted visitors for centuries due to its location on the edge of dunes and nature. Bergen aan Zee was founded around the turn of the 19th Century and lies in the heart of the natural beauty of the Schoorl Forestry Area and the North-Holland Dune Reserve.
The borough of Egmond consists of a trio of villages. Egmond Binnen is the furthest inland, surrounded in spring by colourful fields of bulbs in bloom. Egmond aan Zee is the best known of the three Egmonds. It was originally a fishing village but since the beginning of the last century it has been a popular holiday hotspot. About 5 kilometres to the south you will find Castricum. It offers tourist attractions such as the beach, the Alkmaar-Uitgeest lake and, of course, the dunes. The lake, which connects Alkmaar and Uitgeest, offers visitors a whole host of water-based activities.
About 20 kilometres to the south lies Zandvoort, one of the Netherlands major beach resorts. Like on all dutch beaches, it's golden sand stretches as far as the eye can see to both the north and the south. It is also the site of the country's most important racing circuit, Circuit Zandvoort.

As I mentioned, you can ride our bicycles during your stay. We can also discuss the use of our car (Volkswagen Bora Station). We have fantastic neighbours that can help you and answer all your questions...
If you are into long-distance running, I can introduce you to my running support group, so you can join them into the dunes and along the beach and shape up for your next Marathon !
Last but not least: we will treat your house with respect, as we know very well how 'vulnerable' it can be to have others stay in one's own place !

For many years we were limited to schoolholidays, but since we're almost 'empty nesters' we have far less limitations for the periods of exchange. However, exchanges 'out of season' would be super: less people, lower prices, better weather (?)....

Open to any dates

We would love to further explore the more remote parts of Scandinavia as we recently fell in love with the Nordic countries, including Iceland and the Baltics.
We 've never been properly to Italy, so Tuscany and Umbria are high on the list. And we ALWAYS like New York. Yes, please.
And Asia, yes, Asia no doubt...Burma, Sri Lanka & the Maldives, Taiwan, Bhutan, or Tasmania or New Zealand.
There's sooo much to see and experience.
Well, just surprise us, and we will seriously consider the possibilities. And I promise to reply to all emails and requests.
Since the summer of 2013 is already planned (Iceland ) we 're mainly interested in exchanges in the fall and Xmasperiod of 2013, and of course 2014...

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We are a family of five. Klaas works with juvenile delinquents, Lilian is a manager in (children's) Mental Health Care, daughter Zinzi (almost 23) studies and lives in Amsterdam, daughter Linde (close to 20) is a student as well and switches between home and Amsterdam and Wisse (18) is training to become a nurse.

We love sports a lot: tennis, ice(speed-)skating, gymnastics, long-distance running, horseriding.
And we all love to travel too: before the birth of the children Klaas & Lilian have done a lot of backpacking in Africa, Asia and the Americas, and as a family we went to a.o. France, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Austria, England, Scotland & Outer Hebrides, Latvia, Turkey and Sweden and further away to the (eastern) US and Canada (Nova Scotia, Vancouver Island), to Tanzania, India, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. The summer of 2013 will take us to Iceland.

We love to listen to music, and Zinzi plays the cello, Linde plays piano and Wisse masters the violin.
Klaas has a passion for modern and tribal art, and we love good 'design' furniture.

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