Dear Intervac friends,
 
Some information about us, our house, our town and our surroundings.
 
Since 1992 we do home exchange and we have had perfect holidays all over Europe and once in Canada.
Kees  is teaching theology and philosophy  at a grammar school.
Joke, works as  a city guide in Gouda.
Our house is at the outside of Gouda
.
Downstairs we have the living room(40 square meter.) ,the toilet and the kitchen with all conveniences . On the first floor we have the parents' bedroom, with a king-size, very comfortable, bed, a bedroom with a single bed, the study of  Kees and the bathroom.
On the second floor we have 2 small bedrooms  with  single beds.
 Around our house we have a very flowery garden, with enough room for children to play. When the weather is nice we always use our dinner outside.
We have 7 grandchildren and have everything needed for baby-care
 
Gouda is an old historic town, best known for its cheese market and the idyllic marketplace with the famous town hall. There is a lot to do and the center is full of restaurants etc. .The favorite attraction for most of our guests is the cheese market in the center of Gouda on Thursdays with the cheese making, national costumes, clogs, street organ etc.
 
Gouda is quite central situated to the most important tourist attractions like: windmills of Kinderdijk (40 min),harbors of Rotterdam(30min), Amsterdam (60 min.),Utrecht(35min).etc.
Holland is a country where cycling is the main way of transport and everywhere are special cycle routes, so it is very safe.
 
A few minutes from our house is a lovely area with lakes and our guests always mention cycling in our countryside as very nice and typically Dutch.
We have several bikes, incl. seats for little children, but we have no bikes for children so you have to rent them or take them with you.
Gouda is 37 km from the seaside so you can go to many of our beaches.
 
For children there are more possibilities than you can possibly visit during  a holiday: from smaller playgrounds, children’s farms, swimming pools till real big things like Duinrel, Efteling or Six Flags.
Two minutes from our house is a playground with swings etc.
We have plenty of Lego, Play Mobil and all sort of family games.

 
revieuw 2011 : 
Our stay in Joke and Kees's home was amongst one of our best swaps. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children under 5. Their home is very comfortable and they arranged everything we needed (car seats, bikes, etc). The local community is beautiful, with lots of ponds, playgrounds and cycle/walkways. If you like to walk and cycle this would be a great swap for you. Gouda has lots to offer and you are a very short trip by train or car to both Rotterdam and Utrecht. As for communication and negotiation with Joke and Kees it was always great and they could not have been more helpful. The weather in Holland can be changeable, but we found it a great climate for a swap with young children. They have done more house swaps than we have had vacations, so you can rest assured your home will be well respected and they have some great knowledge to share. 5* Swap with some great memories for us of Holland. 
 
 
Kenneth and Denise

IE4017