Cycling to Abtshof

I've been trying to write a post about our travel to the Abtshof, but life here is so full of activities that I either spend my free time talking with everyone or just relaxing or sleeping. I've been writing this post bit by bit, but I think I'm ready! It was supposed to be written on Wednesday 9 of October, the day we arrived here.

The rainy Abtshof courtyard, our home
 for (probably) one week

My first impression of our three days of cycling together with Nicolaas, was the incredible luck with the weather. We only had rain on our night camping at the border of the Meerdaalwoud (which was ok, because the tent held out!) and the rest of the full days of cycling were dry and pleasant. It was just on the last day to Borlo, that we had rain. It was a very short day, 10 km, as can be seen on the map (for phone users: use the "show internet version" button; I will change the template of the blog to make it more smartphone friendly soon). We have arrived at our new home, called the Abtshof. For now, we plan on staying there for a week. Abtshof is a cooperative housing project, on a beautiful farm in Borlo. It is now inhabited by 15-20 people, from very different ages and with even more diverse occupations. Everyone is shareholder of the cooperative, who is the sole owner of the buildings and the land. The inhabitants try to actively maintain a sense of community (while also having lots of private time) and discuss different things in meetings, or work together on a collective working day.

We are mostly interested in the ongoing renovation project, led by the (still) young Jakob, who is a carpenter from West-Flanders, but sort of the general craftsman of the inhabitants. We hope to help him preparing two housing units. We immediately started out by working on the unit that is still in the demolition phase and stripped a wall of its plaster layer. It was nice work and I felt it earned us a place here. We discussed the coming days and it seems like we could be of much help! What makes us so enthusiastic is that we will clearly learn a lot about renovating and woodworking as well. 

Our sleeping place is also amazing: a folding caravan at the end of the garden. What a luxury compared to our little trekking tent with the week of expected bad weather! In any case, since we left Zellik three days ago, we really enjoyed travelling together. Nicolaas is honest, constructive and a fine conversation partner. We talked about political issues like the role of the West in backing Israel, the illusion of neutral news media and it's huge influence over the public opinion, or simply about his field of study, which is forest maintenance. He has some impressive knowledge! I like the intuitive balance that we seek, with efforts to listen and to share.  Nicolaas is also gifted (as I mentioned before) in enjoying the landscape and nature that we encounter. While traversing the Sonian and Meerdaal forests, we often stopped for checking out mushrooms (what an abundance in autunm!), collecting chest-, beechnuts or herbs.

Nicolaas stopping to check out mushrooms; careful!; the beautiful hilly landscape after the Sonian forest

He cycled and walked barefooted during that part which convinced me to also give my feet a forestal walk. Amazing, 10/10 experience, only having to be careful for the sharp needles of chestnut burs. The feeling of humid leaves and twigs under my feet with the view of this green cathedral of a forest was kind of powerful. I can also really recommend visiting the area between Sonian and Meerdaal, with beautiful hills and far views of forested hills, with surprisingly little inhabited space. 

It might also be the well-picked route of the Cycling Net (Fietsnet), a node-organised network of cycling routes, where the numbers of every node create a route that is simple to follow and well-indicated. We have been using it continuously, which can explain the zigzaginess of our route sometimes. Cycling the next day to Velm, quickly made us leave the beautiful Meerdaalwoud, where I often came as a child. It brought a lot of good memories back. The landscape around Tienen and Landen is often a biodiversity desert, with only sugar beets, grass and cornfields, but the hills and views made up for it and brought enough variation.

It definitely made the garden of the house of Velm seem like a oasis, full of green, wildness and beauty. That evening we also cooked with almost exclusively foraged foods: potatoes from a cleared field, chestnut, herbs from the road and the garden. We also collected some tomatoes and salad from the greenhouse that is also present there. Only a pumpkin we bought from a farm on the first day complemented these gifts from mother nature. What a delicious meal! We were also really impressed by how silent Velm was, the whole place radiated a calmness that especially Nicolaas appreciated. The next morning we enjoyed taking our time for breakfast, accompanied by the curious chickens that came looking through the windows.

I think i've written a pretty good portrait of what happened on those three days. We have been working on the Absthof for another three days now, and I feel so welcomed in the community. We feel useful by all the work that is available, and we eat and sleep well. A more detailed blog post will soon follow...