Meeting online friends in real life
I was on a two-week vacation that took me to the Netherlands and Belgium. I focus on the days I met online friends and write more about the trip some other time. This is a small thank you to them.
Planning the trip
If anybody had told me three years ago that I’d be making a lot of friends online and would then travel to meet them in real life, I’d have said “you’re nuts”. As it is, I met six online friends for a snack, a hike, a bike ride around town, a fun day out and there was food - loads of food. I met most of them through Twitter (then on Zoom, YouTube) and a couple of them on Instagram – thanks IG algorithm!
The only thing I planned was who to meet when – depending on people’s availability. The rest I made up as I went along. I had a list of places I wanted to see, but that was about it. Also, the weather forecast was not great. So, I needed to stay flexible.
Sand sculptures in Garderen
That was one thing to tick off my bucket list and well worth it. Then I went on to meet my friends Chita and Angelique in Garderen. I had never heard of Garderen before, but they have sand sculptures – what’s not to like? I love that I have friends who know what I would like and plan a day like that. So grateful! If you’re in the Netherlands and are looking for something fun to do, try this! I loved the sculptures and how much I learned about Dutch culture and history. There was a quiz (nerd alert!) – it was in Dutch, but I managed well with a little help from my friends. I mean how am I supposed to know Dutch sayings? The food was lovely too and during lunch was when it rained. Perfect timing. There was a small ride. I don’t even know how to describe it, but Angelique and I went on it – soooo much fun. You sit in a little cabin, and you need to pedal to move forward, and we pedaled hard. We might have laughed even harder. The video is *our eyes only* so I’m not sharing that. It’s hilarious though. After a walk in the forest we were looking for something small for dinner and somehow ended up with ice cream that was not so small. What a fun day! And what great friends to meet in person. Thank you, Angelique and Chita! I’m planning another newsletter on how I met the two of them – stay tuned.
A fun day out in Den Haag
I know it’s The Hague in English, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s Den Haag in my mother tongue as well – so please just go with it! It all started with me asking a Twitter friend if he wanted to have coffee with me. Ricardo said yes right away, and it later turned into a fun day out in Den Haag on a bike. Ricardo knows Den Haag so well and he could totally get a job as a tour guide. I saw all the government buildings; I now know where the PM works; I rode a bike through the Haagse Bos (a forest within city limits); we passed some of the embassies; I took a picture of the Swiss one (or possibly the residence); outside the British one there were flowers as the Queen had just passed away; since it was open monuments weekend I even got to go into the Kneuterdijk Palace (Council of State) – that was really interesting; the Peace Palace with the eternal peace flame also stood out; as did the small alley with cats drawn onto the facades of the houses - Ricardo remembered that I love cats; or the hats hanging from the ceiling of the “De Passage” shopping mall; the bike ride out to the sea was also special! What a list of things we did! It was amazing. I’m sure I’m forgetting things. I got so much information from Ricardo. I absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for a fantastic day out, Ricardo! So glad I met you.
And I can’t leave Den Haag without mentioning where we had lunch. It was at Scallywags (Haagse Bluf 18) and the food was to die for. I got to meet Richard, the owner and a friend of Ricardo’s. Such a nice person. The food was so good and Richard so lovely that I went back the next day for some pie. I think Scallywags is on Facebook and Instagram (@scallywags1994). If you’re in Den Haag, you have to go there. Trust me! You won’t regret it.
Spontaneous drive to Groningen – epic eierbal
The weather forecast was not great and when a friend suggested going to the planetarium in Franeker, I just went for it. I had met Tamara on IG just a few weeks before my trip and we talked about food. I mentioned a typically Swiss dish (Hörnli & Ghackets with apple sauce) and she told me to try chicken nuggets and apple sauce. And that’s when I first heard about the famous “eierbal”. Those who know me also know that I will travel for food. This is how the spontaneous meet up with Tamara and her dog Maeve in Groningen happened. I think we set it up just a couple of days before.
Tamara didn’t exaggerate, those eierbals were most definitely worth the drive up to Groningen and I’ve had chicken nuggets with apple sauce for lunch at work a few times already. It’s a winner! Lucky my colleagues already knew I’m a little crazy. We went for a lovely walk through a local park on the way back to my car. Two thumbs up for the eierbal and for spontaneously meeting IG friends. Thanks for a lovely time, Tamara and Maeve! Tamara is on IG @wandelmaara and she also has a hiking blog (in Dutch).
Sunrise in the National Park Veluwezoom
I think the Instagram algorithm helped me find Mascha (IG: wandeldingen.nl) sometime in July this year. Meeting for a coffee turned into a lot more time spent together, and I don’t think I’d talked that much and laughed that much with somebody in a long time. We met a bit before sunrise and walked around the Veluwezoom National Park for a few hours together. Mascha had mapped out a route for us that took us by all her favorite spots and also a part that was entirely new to her. I was really touched by how much thought had gone into that walk. Thank you for that, Mascha!
We saw ponies, deer, wild boar, a black woodpecker and the most stunning and diverse countryside. It went from a forest with a clearing that was ideal for wildlife watching to sandy heather fields back to a forest with fern that was almost as tall as me. It was a lot hillier than I expected and I made a few jokes about that. I had to – it’s in my genes. Mascha knows a lot about the area and the park itself, so I got a professional tour. Lucky me! The weather was near perfect. There was a bit of rain at the beginning of our walk then we got some sunshine and about 30 seconds after we walked into the visitor’s center the skies opened up. We could not believe it! This time I could not skip the gift shop. They had a book on forest bathing that I just had to get.
The next day it only really rained once so we spent it in the car and in cafés. We drove around Hoge Veluwe. Another stunning National Park. I’d heard about it before and people told me to go walk there. Too bad the weather was just a bit too miserable that day. Nothing against just sitting and talking all day, though. Again, I learned so much about the park and the history of it. This is definitely a place I want to go back to. Thanks for the tours and the chats Mascha I had a really great time. I will happily return the favor when you come to Switzerland – there will be train rides and mountains 😉
Mascha’s Blog and Website are in Dutch so all Dutch speakers – give her a follow. As for her pictures/stories on IG, they speak for themselves.
In Zeeland and Mechelen with Brigitte and Billi
I can’t believe I got to meet Brigitte and Billi (her dog). I think I first noticed her on Twitter when she commented on somebody else’s tweet with a picture of the church tower in Mechelen to which I replied Mechelen goes on my list. Brigitte then started listening to my podcast and we started hanging out on Zoom after the podcasts (with my other listeners). When I mentioned that I was planning a trip to the Netherlands and possibly Belgium Brigitte didn’t hesitate to invite me to stay with her. I arrived on a Monday around lunch time and we drove to Zeeland (in the Netherlands) together. We wanted to have some pancakes at the Pannekoekenmolen in Burgh-Haamstede. I can highly recommend it! We then stopped at Plompe Toren quickly – there was a beautiful rainbow. Because it was overcast, it was already getting dark at around 6 PM so we drove to Veere. I really wanted to go to there as I’d seen so many pictures of it. It didn’t disappoint! What a picturesque little town. Just stunning. Too bad all the cafés were closed for the season or for the day.
The next day we went on a morning walk in the forest in Bonheiden. There was a castle (Kasteel van Zellaer) and a film crew. We don’t know what they shot, but it looked like a pretty big production. After we dropped Billi off we went on to Mechelen and Brigitte gave me a tour of the town. I didn’t expect there to be this many historic monuments. All you history buffs really need to stop in Mechelen at some point. The church tower is obviously a big deal, but there is so much more to explore – like the fish market. There were no fish (a confusing name - historically it makes sense of course) but stunning old buildings. We had loads of coffees and lunch at a little café Brigitte’s friend Vicky runs (it’s called “Bokes & Co”). Great food and such a lovely day!
On Wednesday I had to drive back home – I wanted to give myself enough time before I had to take my rental back. So, in the morning we went to a local bakery and Brigitte made sure I had enough food for the drive home. I think I could have driven much further. I had such a great time; I don’t even have words. Brigitte is one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. And Billi, what can I say. He’s such a cutie! Thank you for everything, Brigitte!
I will write more about this trip. Possibly something about food/drink (there is more than one Rivella story), my solo walks, museums, traveling alone in general, visiting places you read about etc. In this newsletter I focused on the days I met friends. So many memories. My brain is a bit overwhelmed by it all.
Love your travel stories with great food!