De Kempen is an area in the south of the Netherlands, near the Belgian border. It is a collection of the most pleasantly quaint and beautifully created villages, such as Resuel, Eersel, Bladel, Steensel, and Duizel. This part of the country holds so much importance to me. Firstly, it is where Rob and his family come from, Reusel and Eersel to be exact. Secondly, upon my move to the Netherlands, I first needed to register with the gemeente Eindhoven and the IND (Dutch Immigration) in order to obtain residency and be able to legally work in the country. And in comparison to many other countries, their process is really fast, but it still did require around a two month wait period. Without a job, a had a good bit of time on my hands. Though I did a fair bit of cleaning, cooking, organizing, getting to know Eindhoven, I always jumped at the chance to go to Reusel and spend time with my second family (Rob’s family).

Therefore, I spent many days traveling from Eindhoven to Reusel by bus, seeing the country’s lowland views. Between cottages, farms, horses, flowers, cows, sheep and the greeness that brightens my soul; these rides to Reusel inspire every part of my heart to become even lighter.

And though my blog is more often about the places I explore, I cannot write without mentioning how wonderful my second family is and how lucky I am to have them in my life. Not only did they, along with Rob, make my transition from Switzerland to the Netherlands smoothe, they helped me to do it all with a titter in my belly and a free heart; and for that and loving me along the way, I am also forever thankful.