Visit to the last relatives and to a castle

The drive to just beyond Groningen in the north of The Netherlands was our last stop to visit Andrew's relatives.  On the way, we stopped at Wapserveen, where the grandson of Klaas  lives with his parents on a beef cattle farm.  Only Nick was able to meet us as his parents, Angelique and Jan, are away in Sweden.

The farm house they live in but rent used kit materials from Germany and was erected in two weeks.  It is a handsome, sturdy wooden dwelling.

The extensive interior is a very rustic Scandinavian look.  It is a very interesting structure.

Nick is a well-travelled young man of 21.  He is very keen to visit us in Australia when time within his study commitments allow.






We then drove on to the castle at Fraeylemborg at Slochteren to meet up with Nick's grandparents.  Klaas is one of Andrew's cousins on his father's side, and he and his wife Hilda had us staying at their farm near Groningen on our last visit and we had our famous smoked eel party.  That wonderfully tasty meal had made a deep and lasting impression on all of us, including the third cousin Sieska. 

Unfortunately, this week Klaas is very involved with his work at the castle so we could not repeat that experience😊. Klaas is in charge of the general land management at the castle and this week there is a special festival on which involved him.   We had to meet there for lunch only.  We had visited the castle with Klaas and Hilda on our previous visit but it was good to see it again and to see the exhibits I mention below.

Fraeylemaborg Castle dates back more than seven centuries.  It received its current appearance at the end of the eighteenth century but it was built in the middle ages as a 'stone house' defensive dwelling and it grew into an impressive building housing influential residents.  The castle is located on an estate of more than 23 acres. 

It is now a museum and the rooms and furnishings reflect the character of the age in which the house was last privately occupied.

For the festival, Klaas had prepared an interesting "barefoot path" 3km long through the woods with lots of entertainment along the way.  Here are a couple musical instruments he had fashioned.