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No, not a zoo. And not an amusement park, either. Well, okay, playgrounds—we’ve done those. Because there are plenty of them in this city. But this week, I decided to try the alternative kids’ route.

And it takes you past shops and cafés—places where both parents and kids can relax. No screaming, no whining, no restless running back and forth, and no tugging on skirts or pants. That route really does exist!

Continue reading “Kiezkind”

There’s always something new. A little sand dune gone—a new building gone up. Or one that’s disappeared.
That’s Berlin.

My friend J. is already staring out the window as soon as we arrive, amazed. “This wasn’t here before, was it? And when did they put that up?”

Continue reading “New (a photo report)”

No, I haven’t found my boots yet.
But on another note.

I’m already used to everything in the Netherlands. The hot dinner, birthday streamers, satay sauce, bread that’s dry after three days—it’s all familiar and has become part of my German blood.

But with a little Dutch child at home, there are suddenly some awkward moments. Like children’s birthday parties, for example.

Continue reading “The Wondrous World of…”

So I did it. I can hang an NL Award above my bed.

Completely against all expectations (since there are so many other great stories out there), my colleague Eva M. and I won the award for best regional TV and radio production last night. When it was submitted, I was on vacation, and when I got back, I thought: Oh yeah, that really was a pretty cool series.

Continue reading “A prize, a prize!”

If spring just isn’t going to happen—then I’d rather it be like this. We went outside to feed the ducks (that’s what you do with a toddler who’s almost 3), but they turned out to have flown away.

Instead—this. We didn’t have our skates with us, but it worked out just fine. Beautifully smooth, dark, and thick. Just the way it should be.

Continue reading “Berlin Ice”

Two weeks of the new routine are already behind me. On my first day as editor-in-chief, the first colleague was already standing at my desk. He had bad news: he asked if I could lend him my camera and case for a bit.

That stung a little.

Continue reading “Space”

A week ago, we got off the train from Germany.

Within nanoseconds, not only was I back on Dutch soil, but I also immediately started thinking about tomorrow. My job, the babysitter, the sandwiches I’m going to make. I checked Teletext to see if anything interesting had happened while we were away (nope) and reset my brain to my old, familiar surroundings.

Continue reading “Back and forth”

It’s fifteen degrees below zero, and I’m standing with my camera at the
Bahnhofsmission am Zoo. A small hatch opens, and the homeless come to pick up a packet of sandwiches, a banana, and hot tea or coffee.

They don’t get much more help here, so to find a place to sleep, they’ll have to keep moving through the city. Inside, I talk to the volunteers and ask if there’s anyone I can accompany on their way to an emergency shelter. And film them.

Continue reading “Homeless in Berlin”

So that wasn’t quite how we had planned it.

Road trips in the winter aren’t ideal for two-year-olds, so we decided to take the train.

Continue reading “I get to go again!”