Only a 20-minute drive South of Amsterdam is the popular nature and watersports area the Vinkeveense Plassen. I went kayaking there a few times over the years with friends. We rented kayaks at Vinkeveen Haven (about €20 for 4 hours per kayak). They also have the convenient free map “Vinkeveense Plassen Recreatie- en Plassenkaart”. Here … Continue Reading
TRIP REPORT 7-17 Feb. 2018, I went skiing with Ottoline in Queyras, in the French Alps. We started with two days of warm-up skiing in Abriès and Molines-en-Queyras. Then had two days of off-piste training with a Dutch group from toerskien.org and the local mountain guide Murray Hamilton. We finished with four days of ski … Continue Reading
TRIP REPORT Who said a vacation in rain, wind and cold can’t be fun? Just returned from a 6-day trek (28 July – 2 Aug. 2017) on the Hardangervidda in Norway with my friends Rob Hofman, Jeroen Keultjes and Willem Hofman. It’s the country’s largest national park and located on an 1100 m high plateau, … Continue Reading
Tonight I was a guest at my friend Mark Fonseca Rendeiro’s Realities Podcast to talk about bushcraft. It was live streamed on Facebook (length: 53 minutes). Co-host was Aamna Chaudhry. Audio is ok from 1:36. … Continue Reading
April 7th, 2017, the planet Jupiter, Earth and the sun where in a straight line (astronomers say Jupiter reached opposition then). This is the perfect time to observe Jupiter in the night sky because it’s closest at Earth and in its full phase. I had a look from my apartment in Amsterdam a few days later, … Continue Reading
TRIP REPORT 17-26 Feb. 2017, I was in Kühtai, Austria. There I did a 1-week introductory course in ski touring and backcountry skiing through the Dutch website toerskien.org. Led by the experienced Austrian guide Karl Dung, our group of seven Dutchies did three tours in the area and spent the other days in the Kühtai ski … Continue Reading
Last month I made a mousetrap to catch mice alive. It’s a figure-4 trap using a wooden box with a lid with air holes. (I learned this type of trap on a Dutch survival course 2001). And here’s a little video of me demonstrating the trap in my apartment. The only problem is that I … Continue Reading
My bubble is a kind of echo chamber of peers. It originated from my upbringing, friends, family, work, culture and other environmental factors. It’s a comfortable place but unconsciously it influences all my opinions and dissenting voices are ignored. A painful confrontation with reality lurks, so it’s time for an escape plan. My bubble is … Continue Reading
TRIP REPORT September 9-11, 2016 I did a weekend trek in the North part of the Veluwe with my buddy Jeroen Keultjes. The Veluwe is the largest forested area in The Netherlands and about a 1-hour drive South East of Amsterdam. We hiked in total 50 km and our route consisted mainly of three stages … Continue Reading
TRIP REPORT June 21-26, 2016 I did a 6-day trek in the English Lake District with Leon Reteig and Alessio Sclocco. We hiked about 60 km, climbed many of the classic peaks like Scafell Pike, Bow Fell and Great Gable (about 4000 m in total), wild camped at beautiful locations, and were pretty damn lucky … Continue Reading
