A new beginning

So many impressions are constantly coming at me that what happened last week already seems to have almost faded from my memory. I want to write about the move now but it already seems so far away. The Netherlands itself seems simultaneously very far away and very close. I have left there but not quite landed here yet. So much gratitude I feel for our wonderful years in Zuidbuurt. Really enjoyed the most beautiful spot in the Randstad. Grateful also for all the people, for all the friends. So much help we received, so many wonderful conversations we had. It does show how much I am leaving behind. Do I really dare, this leap of faith? A country without friends, a language I don't yet master very well, a culture that is foreign to me, work I still have to learn and uncertainty about whether we will be able to set up a successful business that will generate enough income for this very expensive country.

So much comes at you, but so much we have also achieved. The first boats are in the water and the first fishing trip has been made. No fish may have been caught yet, but at the time of writing Den is making the second attempt. It will surely come. The house is slowly starting to turn into our home, with our stuff and our atmosphere. The big truck is yet to come, but the foundations have been laid. The kitties are cautiously starting to get used to it, although my tough cat does not dare to go outside yet. He also has to learn to watch out for the big danger from above; the bald eagle. They even grab kids, so my big red tomcat is not safe.

We need urgent action on advertising. May and June are still far too empty. I can already see that it will be really beautiful at that time; Norway in spring splendour. The weather is also such a crazy experience. Just celebrated Easter with our new neighbours, also with the previous owners. Sweating in the sunshine, with snow-capped mountains and meadows all around you. Beautiful people and stunning views. Got the offer for a big load of goat dung for my vegetable garden-to-be and a piglet for our own meat. Difficult I find. The hypocrite in me prefers to buy meat from the supermarket. This offers an animal a better (though still short) life than factory farming. It is more real, more pure but also harsher. I don't yet know if I have this in me. My neighbour says about it that if it wouldn't do anything to you there is something wrong with you. And yet she does it. She wants to be largely self-sufficient. She teaches at agricultural school and tries to teach young people the importance of healthy soil, and the power of nature itself in a healthy growing process. They mostly find it a boring subject according to my new neighbour. But in many, she plants a seed that will hopefully mature with time when the soil is ripe.

Yes, getting back to the move. Without help, we would never have succeeded. What an undertaking and what choices. It was a process of months of saying goodbye. Of sorting out stuff and selling or giving it away. And still there was so much that couldn't all go with us. And there is so much here too. All this while we are looking for a simpler life with less stuff.

I have been called a horder, which I find quite irritating to be honest. Hans, the old owner, also had a lot of stuff, which we therefore now own. The way I mostly look at stuff, he is much better at it. He doesn't see junk, he sees possibilities. Possibilities that he knows how to shape creatively. He is originally a furniture maker and can teach us a lot. His way of looking and thinking are truly inspiring. He reuses so much in ways I had never thought of. Most people buy everything ready-made from shops. I love making things myself, growing things myself and inventing things myself. And you can use a lot of things for that that other people see as rubbish or unnecessary. For me, it represents another way of life that I find wonderfully inspiring and energising. Although it also scares me and can be at my throat, because do we possess all the knowledge and skills to make this a success? Can we create order in the stuff around us? The neighbour is building his own stable. We have two dilapidated houses here that offer opportunities. It is hugely exciting and challenging.

Moving house is a lot of saying goodbye. Saying goodbye to Yvonne was very difficult for me. We can still speak to each other, but nothing like a real conversation. Driving away from my beloved house and garden (and chickens) at five in the morning was no piece of cake. The first hours with meowing cats, an angry Thijs and a cramped stomach were not easy. Slowly, the sense of adventure returned. The journey was not easy, but it was a special experience. Just across the border with Germany, the Politzei pulled over again. I swear, they have something against white vans. We were overloaded again, but fortunately not so much so that we could continue. What luck, because I had already had to get rid of a lot of stuff that wouldn't have fit in the van, so only the most valuable things were in the van. On the way, we nervously checked for police, traffic jams or strange rattles in the bus. Nevertheless, the journey continued smoothly to Hirtshals at the tip of Denmark. Eaten and fussed in the queue for the boat. Crossing to Norway in the middle of the night. Under the 'no sleeping' sign, we took a nap anyway. Even Thijs, who certainly didn't intend to, caught a hazy nap. Marijn, on the other hand, napped quietly. After having a look around the shop, of course.

Off the boat at three and through customs. Fortunately, the pets were no problem at all. To register the caravan, I stood alone among 30 truck drivers. I did feel like the odd duck.

After four on the road through snowy and frosted Norway. Miles of frozen waterfalls. The most beautiful sunrise and icicles on the tap. A caravan so full you can't actually do anything in it. Where the cats are let out to pee and I try to make something to eat while I can't reach anything, no water comes out of the tap (because it's frozen) and my fingers are stiffened. Quite a transition after spring in the Netherlands, which is my favourite season. Clearly not a good idea to compare, but to be open to the splendour around me.

Big admiration for Den, who drove the whole stretch without any serious sleep or break. Just before we turned onto the road into the mountains, it started snowing. This while with serious snowfall we cannot take the caravan through the mountains. The heavily loaded van is not strong enough for that. And it wasn't really a nice idea to leave it somewhere to be picked up later. Fortunately, the snow soon stopped and the journey over the pass went smoothly. We did chat nonsense to Den to help him stay awake. I couldn't close my eyes briefly to the bright, white snow as I would immediately fall asleep. Until we almost reached Åndalsnes. There it is so beautiful that it does wake you up. After Åndalsnes the final stretch along the fjord to Rekdal. Where we were met with signs saying 'Welcome home pa Rekdal'. So incredibly sweet. And so incredibly happy to be there. It may not feel like home yet, but it feels incredibly good here. It is so beautiful and so different here. I wonder what this trip will bring us next, but I'm looking forward to it!