The HIVE Tour - Episode 54 - Taking care of chickens

Just like the same time last year at this place South of Eindhoven in Netherlands, I am taking care of 3 sweet ladies which generously provide me their fresher than fresh eggs on a daily basis. Ladies and gents, put your hands together please for Tina, Truitje and Roosje:

This picture is a little rough cause it's hard to find them all together. Usually it's the two younger brown ones together,

The HIVE Tour - Episode 53 - Silence is priceless (Dutch version)

Mainly cause it gives you the chance to live the way you audibly want while if you live in noise that's it - you have no choice. Democratic as I am, I love peaceful neighbourhoods cause they give you choices contrary to the fascistic noisy ones. Now go explain this to the wanker with a loud bike...

Here at Heeze in Netherlands peace 'n quiet is far from rare so imagine how a Sunday morning feels like. Do you want me to walk you around these empty streets?

Come follow me:

 

The HIVE Tour - Episode 52 - My longest trip ever brought me to my most Northern place I've been on a bike

And that place is Heeze, South of Eindhoven. Those who follow me might remember that I was here last year same time, looking after the house of my (now good) friends and here I am for the same reason again (here's a link in case you're interested).

The star of the place is what I call "the mischievous King of Heeze" AKA Arie, the diabetic old cat:

First post COVID trip abroad (part 2)

What you see above is the entrance of my nest where I already had some of the best sleeps ever as the area is most of the times literally as quiet as it gets.

Let me show you around the garden:

Cute bird feeder

One more bird feeder

Heatwave killer AKA pool

Rather generous trampoline

Tallest tree of the garden

As you can see this place is a kids heaven.

And the house itself matches that:

As an aged kid I already love it and so (I guess) do the non human residents of the place.

Let me introduce you to those lovely ladies generously offering me fresh eggs on a daily basis:

Starring in alphabetical order, above you see Annie (the white one), Mijntje (the grey brownish one) and Tina (the black one). The order is alphabetical but also because Annie seems to be the most aggressive of the gang focusing exclusively against Mijntje. Don't ask me why, my Chicken are even worse than my Dutch are so I have no clue. Owners suspect hormones.

It's also interesting to mention other differences among those (lovely when not fighting) ladies: Annie changes feathers and doesn't lay eggs yet. She might be jealous of the yummy bright green ones Mijntje produces (almost) daily hence she hates her. Tina is notorious as an escape artist but since I am around hasn't tried anything like that so far.

Last but not least, ladies and gents here's Arie, the 13 year old diabetic cat:

Yes, he so loves it when I pet him. Not that much when I inject him though and I have to do that twice per day. During the last one he didn't yelled "ouch" so I think I've found the smoothest way to do it already. Despite his age he still catches mice. And also is a great poser:

See him in action here:

Hats off to the owners of the place for saving him from euthanasia. And for the whole place of course.

Now the lives of all the above (especially his) are in my hands. So far all good. My calendar is full of such commitments for the next days. I will manage to show you around the area in my free time. Stay tuned - it's really nice around here!

First post COVID trip abroad (part 1)

 

I had two choices: Continue the renovations of my penthouse in Athens under a melting heatwave or make me and a Dutch family happy as I would sit their house and pets giving them the chance to leave for vacations.

You guess my choice...

I initially thought about riding the whole way on my bike (yeah, surprise surprise eh?). The thing is that ferry prices to Italy are like 50% higher this year due to an asshole pretending to be human in Kremlin and riding the whole way through Balkans queuing at numerous borders on the way isn't exactly my kind of party so... plane it is. However, the situation at the airport of Athens almost made me rethink about that. Not its fault, what can you do when the whole planet wants to travel at the same time but I've never seen it more crowded ever and this is too much humanity for me already. And I hate queues...

I do like the idea of displays playing videos of people praising Greece out of their own experience as I get closer to my gate:

I don't like as much the fact that few people are wearing masks inside the airport on these long queues and the same happens inside the plane. Trying to convince people about the obvious brings you to the conclusion that common sense is not that common anymore.

Plane taxis and I am about to leave Hellenic soil after...

I don't want to remember how long:

A burning hot runaway is now the way to "up up and away":

Bye Athens, see you later:

Flying over the East Adriatic coast:

Austria and Germany:

And finally close to my destination over Dutch soil:

Eindhoven, here I come:

I land for my second time ever in the Netherlands and I get the same feeling of effortless beauty like the previous one when I spent my birthday years ago around Amsterdam and Utrecht. Back then I was lucky to experience the warmest November they ever had around and now I am lucky to leave Athens at the beginning of a heatwave while the Netherlands have just finished with theirs.

Public transportation is lovely around here but I have a bit of a hard time trying to figure out which train to take to my destination. Everyone's willing to help me and English speaking but a couple I ask first admit it's a bit of a mess with the train system and can't really help me. Second attempt is another guy, super kind, points me at a train but looks a bit unsure. At the first sight of a guy who works in trains I rush to ask him and after thinking for a couple of seconds points me the same train with the previous one. Feeling as if I had cross checked things I enter it and I am all alone in the wagon while it still stays idle in the station for a while so I decide to step out and cross check things again. I see the same train employee and he looks rather unsure so I re approach and this time he goes "Actually you have to take the next train". Funny how asking 3 guys including one who works here could send me kms away from my destination. 

Train (the right one) is nice and neat:

"Nice and neat" goes all the way as I walk towards the house where a lovely Dutch Italian family waits for me. Any place would be nice with such people but theirs is really nice like admittedly most of the properties around here. Perfect place to relax after many hard working days I had.

I'll be showing you around on the next ones - stay tuned!