On the Dutch roads (tulips, wooden shoes and polders)

So that was a weekend full of very Dutch photo content.
We are finding more and more exchange and match trips.
By that I mean we take the van out to see friends, help family, be a freelance campground host, do Workaways, have a paid job on the road. Finding a free place to stay or nice meal. And meeting lots and lots of fun people.

In the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh,

In the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh in Nuenen
Or may be I should say, bike with Vincent.
Last time we stayed for work on the camper place in Oirschot (Netherlands) and had some time left to bike. We crossed the van Gogh bike road. But we had to go back to the van. I was too cold and my husband had to go back to work.

Meanwhile it is March. And we could combine working  and a party in this area, with enough time to go back to the Vincent van Gogh bike-road.

We were lucky. It was the first real sunny day of this year.
The van can be parked at the carpool place Wolvendijk Eindhoven and we took our bikes to go on our little van Gogh tour. 
We first passed the Van Gogh Roosegaarde bike-road. But you can only see this when it is dark.
So first to the Opwettense Water mill in Nuenen. Vincent has painted this place and we couldn't have picked a better day.
There is beautiful light, it is sunny and there are not too many people around.
From there we biked into the direction of the Vincentre in Nuenen http://www.vangoghvillagenuenen.nl/english.aspx
Some how we lost the signs but with the help of our phone we found the right direction.

In the Vincentre in Nuenen a warm welcome was waiting for us. They took all the time to inform us what we could see.
Vincent painted the potato eaters here, the church, the water mill and made many sketches of the people in the area.
Our bike ride was a very good introduction into the expo about Vincent and his life in Nuenen.
Passing the other Mill in Eindhoven we returned to the van. Having time to read a bit and eat dinner while we were waiting for the dark to come.
Yes you can hear all the cars around you very well but it was fine for us.
 
 
When it looked dark enough we picked up our bikes again and went back to the van Gogh / Roosegaarde bike road
http://www.vangoghvillagenuenen.nl/openairmuseum/van-gogh-roosegaarde-cycle-path-.aspx
What a wonderful place it was biking and walking over van Goghs starry night.

Filled with a lot of beautiful stories and images in our head, we returned to the van and drove to http://www.campercontact.com/nl/nederland/noord-brabant/riel/26706/camperplaats-koeienbedrijf-de-regte-heijden.aspx
I love this eco farm and it is from there easy to bike to our party appointment the next day.

All those ugly camper interiors,

After a few weeks,  looking for an other van I am not too excited about what I see. But lets start with my own van a 23 year old VW T4 with a very open and grey smooth interior.It is functional, it has nice shapes and smart designed solutions.With a few own colorful detail you can make it your own home.

But…………… when we think of traveling for a year. And belief me, we have the wildest ideas where to go. We need a younger van. And a little bit more space. But ooh boy most bus campers have interiors that are so out of date. All those wooden cupboards. Or sooo shiny kind of over the top Italian design. It doesn't feel like home at all to us. And that is what it is it is : Our car,our home, office and atelier.

Why have most campers these days a bed you can not change into seats.
I get it that older people want that because it is too much work.
But for  people who are fit enough I think more space to sit, work on your laptop or what ever you like to do is very welcome. Now it looks like most of your space is filled with something you can only use for sleeping.

Then the construction of the little sofa, most campers have these days. It is so upwards you can't sit comfortable on it. I tried it. So dear camper designers I guess there is a whole new generation camper users on the way. With other wishes. Who combine traveling and working.

We use are van all year in sun and while it is freezing. We like a dinner you can transform in a bed, a small closet where we can hang cloth because we also have to bring work outfits. We like a nice basic design that is easy to clean and clever designed.
Solar panels on the roof and being as self supporting as possible is a must.

I am curious if we will find where we are looking for and other wise we might start the process of designing our own. What also sounds good.

                     Even lunch and a work meeting with4 people at the same time fits in a T4

It is not that I bring flowers with me on the road. They are a gift.

nature + art, (2017 plans)

The title represents in a nutshell the best travel combination I can think of. Although if I look at my last 2 weeks in the van crossing Netherlands, Belgium, France and England I will say electricity, wifi that works, and a camper-place that is open. Now it is going to be colder and our vintage vans stove doesn't work. We use little electric stoves and that works if it is not too cold. But you start to feel like an electricity junkie. Also because we don't have solar panels.

Our first good plan on our way to Oostende was stopping in Antwerpen to visit http://www.middelheimmuseum.be/en
The combination park and art are very attempting to me. It was cold but sunny and there was also a good free parking place for the van.

  artist entrance by John Kormeling
 
When we where too cold, we went inside the lovely cafe to get some hot chocolate.
They also had working wifi : ) cause photo's are still more my thing then writing blogs. You can find me here https://www.instagram.com/lisetvandommelen/. But this year I will try if I can write on a more regular basis.

This year funny enough we are not going to use the van for our big trip. It is back to backpacking.
We are going to do a Workaway in Hanoi and from there we will slowly travel to China in the direction of Dali and the Jade Dragon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Dragon_Snow_Mountain.
In April I will go to London and in May to Stockholm. Inbetween are lots of mini van trips for work and other visits in the Netherlands.

In Rotterdam I will present my project Mirror Me at Sencity and later I will work present Swan Silence. A project about a fairy tale, and a command to create something magic in silence.
 
Most complicated thing is that we have to say goodbye to our van. We love it dearly. But as our travel plans expand and expand a vintage 22 year old VW that has already issues climbing a hill in Wiltshire. Is not the van you want to take around the globe.
So this year we have to decide what will be next? An other secondhand van, a newer one . Or are we going to by a bus and let someone construct the inside.We think we love to have a campervan that suits our personal prefrences and material use.. Being self supporting is also high on our list.
So a lot of new adventures coming our way in 2017.
Wish you all good plans, ideas, and beautiful safe travels.

                                          Lost the trail with my kids in Wiltshire

In love with an icebreaker

Altough I travel a lot with my VW van. It is not always van-time.
In november I had a family thing in Stockholm and Uppsala and decided to go further north.
I don't know why but I love the north, I love ice, and that it was dark a lot also didn't affect me much.

I signed up for a 2 weeks Workaway in Luleå by an other artist.
For me it was reinventing the whole idea of artist in residence. Or organized places.
And I found a lot of things I liked about it.

I had a few hours a day I did a creative job for an other artist. So I learned a lot about her way of working.
The choices she makes. How things are going in the Swedish art world.
5 days a week I was present in her atelier a part of Kulturakuten the home of a local artist group.
With a big verity of different artists but also writers and journalists.
My host invited me to a museum presentation in Boden with other local artists.
Arranged a presentation about my work at KKV konstnarenas kollectivverkstad graphical department.
Saw several local exhibitions. met other artists and was part of an exhibition opening from one of Kulturakutens artists and the celebration in the atelier house.

                       There was plenty of opportunity to connect with other artists and their work.
While there was also time for me to explore. This time go out with my camera was the best tool.
On my early morning walks to Kulturakuten I was caught by the icebreakers in the harbor.
It became my morning routine to say hello to them and to fantasize how they would sound.
How it will look to have a ballet or graphic score done by them in that harbor.
They became the begin of a story
vinnan som förälskade sig i isbrytarna (the woman that fell in love with the icebraker or icebreakers.
Del 1 : Evigt Mörker
Part 1 eternal darkness

It ended with a long night train trip with the Arctic circle train back to Stockholm.
To me it was the perfect residence experienced organized by myself and the help of Workaway and my fantastic Swedish host.

Where the story with my icebreakers ends I don't know I think from eturnal darkness into midsummer nights sun.

We are not retired and this is not a holiday,

This  spring and summer we notice we are a little bit odd in the holiday crowd these days.
Our camper life started in september 2015 and we travel all year round.
That means that there is a long period we are mostly on our own because most people prefer to travel with sunshine.

For us the weather forecast is not an issue. We go because we have to go.
Most of the time our trips are work or visit family/friends or helping our 90+ mums related. So weather doesn't play an important role.

Camper location is also not the most important thing.
It is only for a few days. And after traveling for so long we know sometimes it is fantastic, mostly fine and sometimes it is terrible but that is not very often the case.
What is more interesting to us is variety. I have been sleeping next to a pub in the UK, on a cricket field, next to a vineyard, on the Edinburgh Fringe festival campground, natural campgrounds, in front of my mums house for Christmas, parking places and I still hope we make it in or close to a theatre stage one day. And other surprising places we are hoping to find.

This year we even noticed that only being on holiday is not what we are looking for any more.
We organised 2 volunteer projects during a longer summer travelling period.

Now is the period to explore our work and volunteer options before we leave for a year.

What do we like to do, what are the options.

Here in the Netherlands we work as an artist mono / screen printing and photography and art teacher working on a graphic score project and a theater marketeer, programmer, and also fanatic photgrapher.

After seeing the movie Demain we ended up volunteering for incredible edible Todmorden on a sunday morning this summer and a week Workaway at an eco project in Scotland.
Helping or working for some one else and having contact with people, learn about their dreams and projects in the community were we stay is far more interesting to us as being a tourist  all the time.It helps us to find places or meet people we would not meet or see otherwise.

So far our trips were very useful for our future a year on the road plan after Spring 2019.
Next step is in September and October our 2 orientation times as camping hosts on a natural campground.
 

The authentic travelers

There are a lot of travelers and wanderers on the planet these days.
But one group has caught my attention.
I don't see them often, and mostly I am to shy to ask if I can photograph them or ask their story. They are so in their own world it feels rude to interfere.
The first of this special travelers I met years and years ago.
So long ago that I made analogue photo's you put in albums.
We had to stay in Belgium for a few days because French truck drivers were blocking the road to the border.
A firm sea wind was blowing our tent nearly away when a neighbor camper installed himself. An older man with a handmade cart parked his vehicle beside our tent. It was an amazing little house. He even could sleep in it.
He had a shelf so he could create a little dinner table. He brought a beautiful porcelain plate and a crystal wine glass for his dinner. He walked around Belgium he said.
His way of traveling made a deep impression.
Last week in was in Denmark. After I set up the tent after quiet a bike trip I went to the campground kitchen.
In Denmark most campgrounds have kitchens and places to eat.
In the corner of the dinning room was a pile of bags. Some were very chic reminding me of old travelers with beautiful leather bags.
There was not a lot of kitchen equipment and the owner of the bags was looking for pots and pans. His English was not so good so conversation was simple.
The next morning I woke up very early and noticed he made a bed for himself in the dinning room.
So he had no tent or other roof over his head. Only a big inflatable mattress and a bike.
Both men were totally at ease with their own company absorbed in their own world.
They also had a lot of attention for details.
A crystal wineglass, a plate of food that looked like coming from a restaurant chef.
I love their way of traveling and their attention to all daily routines. I hope to meet more of these people on the road. May be one day I dare to ask if I can photograph them.