Catch-up in Leeuwarden

A week ago, around six pm, I walked over to Notiz, the training hotel of Polytechnic Stenden. I was very excited to meet up with my cousins Jo, Jacqui and Jacqui’s husband Neil.  I hadn’t seen Jacqui and Neil since we moved from New Zealand to the Netherlands in 2016. A few years ago we had visited Jo who lives in London. Now, the three of them were coming to visit us in Leeuwarden.

We love our house in the Netherlands, but it does not have guest rooms; instead Wim and I each have a small office. Luckily, Notiz provided great rooms for our family. They were very spacious, had good beds, and a Nespresso machine. The bathroom also looked clean and luxurious.

Reconnecting

Most of my cousins were born in Auckland, New Zealand, but as children, left with their parents to various parts of the world. We were the last to leave Jo and her brother Andrew. I was nine at the time, we left for the Netherlands. Jacqui and her family had sailed to Liverpool a few years before. For years now, Jo has settled in the UK, so has Andrew, while Jacqui and her family have long been firmly based in New Zealand. Can you still follow? To us, it doesn’t matter, the rare times that we get the chance to meet, it’s like we saw each other only yesterday.

There’s nothing better than digging into a good meal when you reconnect. That Sunday, I had made zuurvlees, sour meat, a traditional Limburg dish made from beef that you marinate in vinegar, bay leaf and spices overnight, then simmer for hours and serve with fries. I used a recipe my partner Wim had sent me, it was from a chef called Erik van Loo, I highly recommend his recipe!

Cycle path!

The next day the family met at ours for breakfast. We treated them to a typical Dutch meal with different kinds of wholegrain bread, lots of cold meat cuts and cheese. As it was a Monday, most places in town were closed, but the sun was shining, so we did a self-guided walk. My guiding capacity mainly consisted of yelling “Cycle!” or “Cycle path!” — like everywhere else in the Netherlands bikes are abundant.

Wim made saté for another relaxed dinner when we arrived back home with 15,000 steps on our smart watches. And after dinner everyone was happy to return to their separate chambers well before 11 pm. The next day after breakfast, we walked into town again, this time to visit The Fries Museum. No not a museum of French fries, Fries means Frisian, from Friesland where Leeuwarden is located. Besides the fabulous exhibition about Friesland, the paintings of Wybrand de Geest starred in the hall on the second floor. I couldn’t believe the details of the fabrics he painted.

In the afternoon we took a boat tour, always an excellent idea if you visit any city, and in the evening we visited the superb restaurant Wannee adjacent to Notiz Hotel. The meals are amazing, surprising and cooked to the 80/20 standard, in which 80 percent is local veggies that are prepared in ways that blow your socks off.

Until we meet again!

On Wednesday, after our shared breakfast, everyone went their own way. Jo back to London; Jacqui and Neil to their next stop Salzburg and Vienna. I already look forward to our next meeting! Leeuwarden did us proud, the weather was gorgeous, the food delicious and the company exquisite. Travelling is the inspiration for my books, especially to places that sit under the radar, like Luxembourg, like Leeuwarden.

Leeuwarden is often called Little Amsterdam, because of the canals, and old centre. It is also the place where my sleuths Jill & Jim live. Their first adventure takes place in Luxembourg, I am all but done with the first edit. My next book will focus on Leeuwarden and give you a bit more insight into the vibrant, cosy and interesting city that I call home. I can’t wait.