Horse riding at Christmas

It was a very mild Christmas this year, and this provided the opportunity to ride Beau outside. On Boxing Day he went riding on the beach with 5 friends from the Madurodam stable, and the next day Dorien did some jumps with him. As always he enjoys the attention and a bit physical exercise. Beau is with us 4 years already, and like always time is flying!

 Dorien is leading the Madurodam horses

In the dunes

Beau is leading on the beach

Paula and Beau

Riding towards Scheveningen

Dorien and Beau jumping high

Instructions from the coaches

Rowing

Paula has been training hard at her rowing club Proteus, and has been selected for the ladies-8 boat. This means 6 training sessions a week, no alcohol from January onwards and a regular sports biorhythm (in bed before midnight!). The racing season culminates in June, and Paula's boat had their first start at an informal race on the Schie, the canal running from Delft to Rotterdam.

Piet and Mary went to watch, and cycled along the Schie with many other students. The weather was quite good for mid-December, and the race ended in chaos as the slowest boats started first and there was not enough room to overtake. But that was on purpose apparently....

This was followed by Christmas dinner at Proteus, Paula and her team had to cook for 150 hungry students till late. Now she has 2 weeks to recover, and give moral support to Dorien, who has to study for her moc-exams early January.

View of the Schie towards Rotterdam

Mary is watching the start of the race

Paula's boat racing towards Delft

Cycling along the Schie to support your boat

At the end of the race all the boats are returning to Proteus

Paula is happy after her race

Cape Town and Windhoek

Piet made another trip to southern Africa, for a number of meetings with several government bodies in South Africa and Namibia. He flew with his boss to Cape Town for several external engagements, and to meet up with Shell colleagues in the office. In the evening they went to Camps Bay to enjoy the beautiful weather and a nice meal. 

Punishment was handed out next morning with a 4 AM alarm and an early flight to Windhoek. There the routine continued with 3 days of meetings. There were also opportunities to visit the Geoscience department at the University and a Child Development Centre in Katatura, the poorest part of town. This is all part of Shell's social investment programme in Namibia, and one of the fun parts of Piet's job.  

On the way back to the airport they saw many baboons and some warthogs along the road, getting a taste of African wildlife for free. This was followed by a short flight to Cape Town, a 4 hour transfer and an overnight flight back to Amsterdam, ready to start the weekend.

Camps Bay beach

Camps Bay

Sunset at Camps Bay

Windhoek, Christus Kirche

Windhoek, view from the hotel

Katatura, the large township in Windhoek

Katatura

25

Piet had his 25 year anniversary with Shell in February this year, and was invited for a celebration dinner at the Kurhaus. This was quite a formal affair, with several Board members present. Luckily they were sharing a table with some old friends, making it a a pleasant evening. Below is the state portret that was made prior to the dinner, and a few November photos.

 Shell anniversary dinner at the Kurhaus

 Our house in the November sunshine

Wapendal: the pony's are back for the winter season

Autumn break in France

For our mid-term autumn break we had a quiet week in our house in France. Paula stayed behind in Delft, as her schedule didn’t allow a week off. The weather was dry and cold and we spend our time cycling, rock climbing, gardening and studying (Dorien is trying to cope with her staggering Year 13 workload!). The highlight of the week was a short trip to the Mediterranean, where we visited the coastal towns of Bandol and Cassis. On the first day we did some tourist stops along the Route des Cretes, visited the Chateau de Pibarnon winery (and bought some bottles for Piet’s wine tasting club), drove around the vineyards and ended up in Bandol. We walked around the harbour in the evening; it was still amazingly busy with tourists, and many, many boats.

The next morning we drove back to Cassis and we did a long walk along the Calanques, a rough coast with limestone cliffs and steep-walled inlets. Again this area was crowded with other holiday makers, and there were many boats ferrying tourists around as well. The scenery was stunning, but this is definitely an area to avoid in the height of the summer holiday season. After an afternoon stroll around Cassis we drove back to our quiet corner in Bassey for our last few relaxing days, before driving back to The Hague for school and office, and Beau of course.

Dorien and Mary above Cassis on the Route des Cretes

Mary and Piet after tasting wine at Chateau de Pibarnon

Bandol harbour at dusk

 Bandol

 Cassis, Calanque de Port Miou

Calanque de Port Miou, a beautiful natural harbour

The Calanques near Cassis

Port Miou

Cassis harbour

Dorien above Vaujany

Ahr and Eifel

Piet and two of his friends went on a boys-only short weekend to Germany, taking advantage of the last bit of summer and free agendas. They started in the Ahr valley, just south of Bonn, which is Germany’s main red wine producing area. This is a narrow valley with steep sides, which has created a micro-climate which is perfect for growing Spatburgunder (or Pinot Noir) grapes. They visited 2 wineries to stock up on a modest quantity of bottles, assisted with true German efficiency. This was followed by a pleasant walk along the Rotweinwanderweg, a hiking trail along the slope of this valley. The views were great, and the grapes were juicy, ready to be harvested. At the end of the afternoon they drove to Bad Munstereifel to a small hotel run by Russian ladies. The town turned out to have a pretty, walled medieval city centre, again frequented by the elderly, just like the Ahr valley. But good for dinner and a few beers…. 

The next morning they drove out to Vogelsang for a walk in the Eifel hills. Vogelsang turned out to be a massive, former Nazi training site, now being renovated by the EU into a conference centre, and a starting point for outdoor activities. The buildings are overlooking the Urfttalsperre, a reservoir created some 100 years ago. After a long morning hike around this lake and a steep climb back to Vogelsang the weekend was rounded off with a game lunch, and a drive home, listening to the football on the radio.

Spatburgunder grapes ready for harvest 

Dernau, in the Ahr valley 

Along the Rotweinwanderweg 

Every hillside in the Ahr valley is used to grow grapes 

The Eifel, view of the Urfttalsperre, with tourist boat

Summer holiday (II)

Once Paula completed her summer job at the La Romanche restaurant the activity level shot up. The girls visited their old horse riding instructor (and ex-summer mom) Cecile in the Ardeche, did a 2 day hike 'off the beaten track', crossing a high pass, and reaching a real summit. They also did some real rock climbing, supervised by Mary.

The last week Paula's best friend Carmen turned up for an outdoor camp as well. The girls crammed the week with a large variety of activities: horse riding, cycling, rock climbing, via ferreta, and a 2 day hike to the Sept Laux, an area with 7 lakes, partly created for hydro-electricity, in the Belledonne mountain range. We stayed overnight in a refuge, and the next day we crossed the high Col de la Vache, with magnificent views towards Grenoble.

Like every year Beau's horse shoes were worn out after several weeks, and Mary managed to track down the long-retired, 80 year old local blacksmith to help. He managed a quick fix, which only lasted a few days, and Beau had a leisurely final part of the holidays, enjoying our garden without any physical exercise.

At the end of the week it was time to organise the house and the garden, get Beau ready for transport and drive back home to a life or normality at school, university, the stable and the office.

Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez: Valverde and Quintana 

Sam cycling up Alpe d'Huez

Max, Sam and the girls on a hike towards Taillefer

 Sept Laux: Lac de la Corne

 Sept Laux: Lac de la Sagne

 Sept Laux: Dorien at Lac Cottepens

Paula arriving on Col de la Vache 

Descending from Col de la Vache

 Dorien cycling towards Auris

Summer holiday (I)

For the summer holidays we moved the whole household to France again. Beau met up with his little friend Image, Paula started working in the local restaurant, and the others got into the routine of cycling, gardening, hiking and some maintenance around the house. We were also lucky with the Tour de France this year. After seeing the prologue in Utrecht, we were cheering the cyclist on Col du Glandon, and two days later on Alpe d'Huez.

Initially it was very hot (35+ degrees) and physical activities, and horse riding, were limited to the mornings. The afternoons were spend reading, doing games and some schoolwork (Dorien!). Two nephews came over for a few days of outdoor activities, before being picked up by Piet's sister for another 2 weeks of holiday.

Piet and Dorien participated in the Duathlon of Alpe d'Huez, something they wanted to do for some years. This comprised a 6.5 km hilly run in Bourg d'Oisans, cycling up Alpe d'Huez, and another 2.5 km run. All went well (helped by cool, rainy weather) and Dorien won her category. During the ceremony it became clear that she was the only junior lady, but she kept many participants behind her.

 Image (with Mary) and Beau (with Dorien) leaving for a cooling-down in the Sarenne river

In the Sarenne

 Dorien at Lac des Querlies

The Tour de France on Col du Glandon, with Thibault Pinot

Lunch next to the Veneon

Dorien in the Via Ferrata of St. Christophe en Oisans

Sam on the same climb

Dorien on the podium of the Duathlon, with the Junior Men winners