Alkmaar, Netherlands
Bronze
Member since
2019| Exchange dates | Duration |
|---|---|
| July 25, 2022 - August 14, 2022 | 3 weeks |
|
Min 2-3 weeks. We'd prefer to exchange with an open minded and welcoming family in the Netherlands or in a country where there is no 2G (no forced vaccine passport). It has to be reachable by car from the Netherlands. |
|
Cosy familyhome where everybody is welcome
Our home in a row is a nice and comfortable familyhome with a small front and backgarden (2 swings in the frontgarden), close to the pittoresque city centre of Alkmaar (10 minutes cycling), the trainstation (also on 10 minutes cycling) and 10 kms cycling from the nearest beach (Bergen). Trains to Amsterdam leave often and it takes about 45 minutes to get to Amsterdam by train. You don 't necessarily need a car here, you can easily get here by bus, train or bike too. But if you want to travel by car, no problem, there is a big free parking place behind the house.
The house has 5 bedrooms. The bedroom on the second floor and the master bedroom on the first floor were just renovated. Our house is not super luxurious, we are renovating it bit by bit, but it is a cosy familyhome with everything you need.There are 4 single bedrooms, 2 beds are high beds, 2 are low from which 1 bed can turn into a double bed (on the attic).
On the first floor we have a bathroom with washingmachine, toilet, sink and shower. It is just renovated (2020).
There is a little bikeshed in the front. If we'll exchange houses you are free to borrow our bikes. We have 1 bike for a 7-10 yo, 1 for a 13-15 yo and 4 adult bikes. We also have a bikeseat for a child 10 months-2 years old.
The kitchen is equiped with gas stove, electric oven, fridge and freezer combi, a tap for filtered drinkwater and a dishwasher.
There is 1 toilet downstairs and 1 upstairs in the bathroom.
In summertime the garden is very green. If you are lucky there will be strawberries and berries to pick.
There are lots of toys (lego, playmobile for example), (board)games and books available. TV with chromecast, netflix. The kids have playstation 4 and Wii you can use. On the attick there is a computercorner, but you can also use the playstation or Wii downstairs and connect it to the TV.
Our Family
- 2 Adults
- 4 Children
- 2 Exchanges made
Occupation
- Nurses
Our Home
- House Type: House
- Floor: 3
- Environment: In the suburbs
- Bedrooms: 5
- Bathrooms: 1
- Sleeping Capacity: 7
References
In my house
- Pets - Not allowed
- Small children - Allowed
Exchange Types
- Hospitality wanted
- Non-simultaneous exchange
- Home exchange
- Hospitality exchange
Indoor
- Free internet access
- Computer available
- Central heating
- Toys and games
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Television
- Guitar
- Other musical instruments
Outdoor
- Garden
- Park / playground
- Bicycles: 6
Facilities
- No smoking
- Pet care wanted
Our Destination Wish List
- Open for all offers
- Croatia
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Netherlands
Spoken Languages
- English
- Français
- Deutsch
- Dutch
Our Neighbourhood
Nearest Airport: Schiphol - 50
Our neighbourhood with mostly houses in a row and appartments is reasonably quiet.
There is a park with multiple playgrounds on 5 minutes walking, which is very nice for kids and adults of all ages.
Shoppingcentre 'de Mare' is on 10-15 minutes walkingdistance.
Parking is free behind our house and in shoppingcentre de Mare. In the citycentre of Alkmaar it is paid parking, we recommend to cycle, walk or take the bus.
Our neighbourhood is like a suburb. If you follow the canal south you will cycle to the old citycentre of Alkmaar which is very nice to visit. It is about 10 minutes cycling and halfway there is a nice cinema. Alkmaar city centre is like a little Amsterdam, with canals, pitoresque canalhouses, canalboats and lots of cafes, restaurants and shops. It is definitely worth a visit. Especially when there is a market. (often on Fridaymornings and Saturdays). And on Wednesdays there is a market in shoppingcentre ' de Mare'.
If you follow the canal north you'll get to our favourite mill where they sell very good home-made bread. For a small fee you can look around in the mill, it's a little museum and the Miller and his family are very nice. Next to the mill is a café where they sell delicious home-made icecream.
If you want to go swimming, there is a big lake Geestmerambacht about 7 kms away (nice cyclingtrip!), a swimmingpool 'de Hoornse Vaart' nearby (15 mins cycling) and the nearest beach in Bergen 10 kms away. There are also 2 open air swimmingpools nearby in Sint Pancras and in Heiloo.
Recommended: the traditional Alkmaar cheesemarket in the citycentre on Waagplein and the cheesemuseum is very nice with kids. Little affordable zoo (about 10 euros pp) in Anna Paulowna 'Hoenderdaell', where you can feed the monkeys at set times. It is half an hour by car. Buitencentrum de Schoorlse duinen is absolutely beautiful and worth a visit: for walks in the forest and dunes. Also a great water and sand-playground for kids (about 14 kms from here).
A bit further: a trip to Amsterdam by train. It is about 30-45 minutes to Amsterdam central station by train, make sure you'll visit the Scheepvaartmuseum, Nemo, Holland experience (a 4d adventure, very nice) and the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum if you like art. The first 3 museums are great for a visit with children, they can touch and try everything. If you want to visit the Anne Frankhouse make sure to make a reservation at least 2 months ahead. Don't go to Amsterdam by car, that saves a lot of stress and parking fees! The train will bring you right into the heart of Amsterdam very relaxed. Info on travelling by public transport: www.9292ov.nl, you can also set it to English.
The Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen is also great and the Zaanse Schans also. Both open air museums with the rich history of the Netherlands. Closer by is Museum Broekerveiling, which is also very nice with kids. 'Huis van Hilde' in Castricum is also nice to visit with children, it's an archeology museum about this area of the Netherlands.
www.vvvhartvannoordholland.nl/en/surroundings/cities-villages/Alkmaar
https://www.hollandbovenamsterdam.com/en
www.9292ov.nl for public transport
Occupation
- Nurses
Children
- Girl - Age: 10
- Boy - Age: 14
- Boy - Age: 18
- Girl - Age: 21
Pets
- Cat 'Lucky'
- Cat 'Zwartpoot'
- Cat 'Yato'
References
This member has completed 2 successful exchanges. Here are some members that he exchanged with in the past:
Leuth,
Netherlands
NL0926
