The Beauty of a Winterday in the Netherlands

Yes, here I am on January 9th. The Beauty of a winterday in the Netherlands with the sun shining; ice covers the houses’ roofs, meaning temperatures are low. Actually, I would love the arrival of spring, plants flowering, birds singing, and I dressed in a beautiful light dress.

But it is winter with his beautiful cold face smiling at me in his peaceful outfit, letting me sense his very own beautiful light, the winter light of an early January day in the Netherlands. The lights are different, but there are enough similarities in countries of the Northern, western hemisphere. Absolutely beautiful!

It is a Saturday, and I am quite tired; I have been working a lot on my online business, writing blogs. The sun looks at me, saying, you would be better going for a walk while I am shining. She is right, I thought, I can’t stay inside focusing on my blog.

So I decided to call my husband, asking him to go for a walk with me. Fed up with his own business works coming down the stairs, we get dressed in our winter jackets and walking shoes, taking our gloves with us, and drive to the forest.

A Forest in a Beautiful Winter dress

The weather forecast said we would get snow, and watching the lights in the sky this morning; I thought it might be snowing. They said that it would snow in our region the whole week, but it hasn’t come.

We parked our car along a path beside the forest and started to walk. Many people had the same thought enjoying the winter sun while walking in the woods.

Trees covered in a majestic looking black coat watched us peaceful passing them, saying: “Be quiet, don’t disturb our winter rest!”

So, while they were sleeping, I sensed this quiet, calming atmosphere filling me with great peace. My mind began to meditate as I observed the sunlight covering the sleeping presence of these majestic trees.

It would add to the forest’s greatness if snow were coating everything with a white blanket. The sunlight felt like a gift, a beautiful God-given gift.

I love this forest; even I had so many difficulties arriving in the Netherlands mentally, feeling like my body has lived here for many years, but my mind still has lived in Ireland and Germany.

It felt like a huge loss to have left Dublin and Bonn in Germany, blocking my trials to root in the Netherlands.

This country was such a controversial to Ireland, crowded with cities, houses, and people. I couldn’t get my peace back for a long time, well, for years.

And my desire to move back to Germany, where I come from originally, grew very strong. In Ireland and Germany, I left my house walking, and within minutes I have been in nature, felt the tension of daily life disappear in a second.

Here I have to drive ten minutes to get to the forest. Otherwise, I am surrounded by houses and people that don’t match my inner being seeking nature’s quietness, letting my inner artist flow. That has always been my “I am.” I don’t know if you understand what I mean, but I know you can follow this feeling if you are the same. I felt imprisoned!

Now I am walking through this forest, being glad I can see the dutch forest’s beauty being the same as the forest in Germany,  matching my heart and spirit. Without this adaption, I would have withered away. Do you understand what I mean?

I am able now to witness the beauty of this forest. Thank God!

The Beauty of the Netherlands

I have lived in Bonn in Germany, and every time I drove on the motorway to my home, my heart jumped seeing and sensing this beautiful area of Germany.

I have lived close to the river called “Rhein,” first in Bad Honnef, then Koenigswinter, and then moving to Bonn, all in the same region.

When I drove home, I was surrounded by the Siebengebirge, which is so beautiful to behold.  If you could see it, you would understand.

I never had this feeling in the Netherlands. It has been more an arrangement between this country and myself.

An arranged marriage? These set feelings can kill you at the bottom of your heart, leaving you back dead inside, taking away your creativity.

We have lived in a recreational park here in the Netherlands, where I felt like being home some years ago. Surrounded by a beautiful forest, I can say the outer world matched the inner world, so my creativity had enough development space. Have been able to listen to birds I have never seen before has given me a happy feeling.

Now I can see many beautiful things in the Netherland. We are surrounded by beautiful Hanseatic cities like Deventer, Zutphen, Zwolle, and Doesburg. You would love to see them. Their houses are ancient, and the atmosphere is breathtaking.

The Veluwe is such an amazing forest you should see in autumn when the erica is flowering pink/purple, and the light has an amazing expression of warmth.

You will be impressed, for sure! And that is only one area in the east of the Netherlands. I am so thankful I finally can sense and see the Netherlands’ beauty, especially today, the beauty of a winter day in the Netherlands.

A Beautiful Winter day- Coffee to Go

In these times of Corona, we are not allowed to visit a coffee or restaurant. Everything is closed! But it is not a problem for us. We pack our backpack and put a bottle of coffee in it and other goodies, and walk. This country is mostly flat, so it is not very difficult to walk through the forest or along a river and have a backpack carrying on our back.

That is something that I have missed dearly, the hills and mountains of Germany and Ireland. To stand high on a little mountain will open your mind in such a way that your mind will express itself in riches you have never experienced before.

I love a hilly area; even I am born in a city close to the sea. Sea and mountains give me that free feeling; looking far to the horizon, I feel closer to God. You might understand what I am saying.

Walking through the forest, watching the trees dressed in black or green, sensing their enormous strength, enlarges my mind.

We can walk for ages, finding a beautiful place to sit and having our coffee, completely embedded in this peaceful scenery, listening to the sound of nature. How enlightened is that? For me, it means everything.

We love to sit and have our coffee, hearing the forest saying come to me and be quiet. That is God’s nature!

Finally Feeling Home

Wherever you live, it is important to feel at home. Sometimes it takes a lot of time, years, to feel you have arrived. Especially the country doesn’t match your inner feelings, and you always feel like a foreigner being in a time of transition, unable to root.

I know many of us cannot feel the country of our choice is really their home, longing for another country that they might only have experienced in their holidays.

For me, it was important to try to get to know the Netherlands. Working there has made me more feeling like a dutch person.

Even though I consider myself a cosmopolitan, the Netherlands is my home now for a while.

I am still working on getting my business running to decide where I want to live.

Nature here made me feel at home, especially my little fairy garden, and the beautiful forest in its seasonal dresses, and my little friends, the animals in my garden,  I try to support. 🙂

Conclusion

The Netherlands is a great country to live in and to feel at home. Finally, I can root and see the beauty this country has to offer. If you would love to travel to the Netherlands, there is so much more than Amsterdam, which is really a Beauty.

Absolutely! But there is more. This country has a rich history of what you can see in the old houses and the castles.

But there is also a rich nature where you can go hiking or cycling. Try it! It is worth it!

Experience the beauty of a winter day in the Netherlands!

Please let me know if you have the same experiences, maybe in another country. I would love to know what you have experienced.

Please feel free to comment.

All the best,

Sylvia