Midweek by camper in the Heart of Limburg
As digital nomads looking for a farm in Spain or France, Jolien and Lukas are regularly on the road in their colorful camper 'Dolly'. In their search for a self-sufficient life, Limburg was still undiscovered territory. How did a midweek of online work and small adventures in the Heart of Limburg region turn out?
Day 1: Small adventure on the Roer
Through long avenues, past green fields, we drive our camper Dolly to Sint Odiliënberg. Here Ramon awaits us next to a brightly colored canoe. He gives us instructions and tells us that catfish up to 1.5 meters long can be found in the Roer and that we might see kingfishers and perhaps even the rare bee-eater along the way. The current propels us forward on the eight kilometers to Roermond. We enjoy the beautiful nature reserve. The route is open to the public four months a year. We are at the tail end of the season and are lucky with beautiful September weather. An hour and a half later, Ramon is waiting for us at the finish line, just before Roermond. We drive Dolly to Landwinkel Schurenhof in Vlodrop, run by Ramon's family. We enjoy the well-deserved coffee with vlaai on the cozy farm terrace on the Roer.
Day 2: Tasting cheese in Nederweert
Have you ever tasted beer cheese, or coffee cheese and cheese with Mexican herbs? We 'feast' our taste buds at Kaasmakerij Mildershoof in Nederweert. This dairy farm makes its own cheeses that you can taste and buy in the cheese and delicatessen shop on the farm or in the heart of Roermond. Farmer Anton takes us on a fascinating tour through the cheese factory and ripening room. He works together with local entrepreneurs such as brewers, coffee makers and delicatessen shops. We are fans of the truffle cheese, how many kilos would fit in Dolly?
Half an hour's drive from Germany, Belgium and Brabant, we find Camperplaats Kreijelhof in Ospel. On former asparagus fields there are 17 paved pitches and a field where you can stand on the grass. The Kreijelhof is open all year round. The facilities are excellent with nice sanitary facilities, a wheelchair-accessible bathroom, a washing and drying machine and good WiFi.
Day 3: An experience tour through the Groote Peel
In the early morning sun, we drive Dolly from the camper pitch towards National Park de Groote Peel. At Buitencentrum de Pelen we meet guide Ine, who has been working here as a volunteer for years. The 'experience tour' through the former peat excavation area, also fun with children, takes about an hour and a half and leads through a landscape of water, swamp and peat. Ine tells us how to bandage wounds with narrow-leaf plantain, cure coughs with pine tree buds and collect a jar of scents. From observation posts we see the large grazers with which the area is managed, a buzzard, dancing dragonflies and even a smooth snake along the path. We almost forget the time, but we have to catch the ferry from Kessel to Beesel to discover the other side of the Meuse.
The ferry takes us for €3.70 in less than a minute from Kessel to Beesel and we get a lot of attention with Dolly. On the other side we visit Molen de Grauwe Beer. This old sawmill stands on a hill to catch extra wind. It's like a small museum. They have the tastiest tea and cake and on Saturdays there is always a volunteer miller ready for a tour. We found it very interesting.
Tip: Take a stroll through the Ouddorp neighborhood with its old houses, white facades, and colorful gardens. Settle down for pie and coffee (a cold beer in our case) in Drakendorp Beesel on one of the terraces on the cozy square. The dragons are everywhere – a bronze statue on the square, in the mosaic artwork near the church, on signs on front doors, and even on the lampposts.
Day 4: Work and enjoy
Despite all the fun adventures, we have to work. We do this (partially) online, with Dolly serving as our office. We are happy with the perfect Wi-Fi at Camping van Kempenhof, which has a total of about 38 spacious pitches. Owner Janine runs the campsite with her mother Corrie, and her brother Rick has a pizzeria with a covered terrace on the premises, where we eat a delicious pizza in the evening.
Day 5: In the footsteps of the Vikings
The Noormannenroute, a walk of about five kilometers, starts in Asselt at B&B Het Rozenhofje. The information boards with audio stories take us back to the time of savages, battles, and old crafts. We walk through the picturesque village center, past the Dionysus Church and Cultuurhistorisch museum Asselt and the harbor Ascloa. Behind the fields full of pear trees, sugar beets, and corn, we see a beautiful farm emerging. The Genaenhof, a municipal monument near Swalmen, used to be a dairy farm. Now, nature, small-scale agriculture, and social functions play an important role in this multifunctional farm. We pet the sheep, stroll through the vegetable garden, and buy two delicious apple juices in the farm shop. What an inspiration for our own farm dream.
We park Dolly on the field of the hospitable campsite Maasterras, directly on the Maasplassen. Time to do some work. In the evening, we watch the sailboats on the water and enjoy a delicious dinner at Restaurant Boei.
As avid campers, we wholeheartedly recommend the Hart van Limburg region. Here you have all the comforts of a homeland where it feels like you are abroad. The Maas, the farmland, the national parks, the cultural heritage – and everything is easily accessible by camper.
Bio: Lukas (36) and Jolien (38) live in Amsterdam with their cat Pablo. Jolien works as a freelance illustrator at Studio Stunner and Lukas is flexible in his job as a risk manager. A year and a half ago, they bought a cheerful rainbow camper (Hymer B544 from 1988) and named the vehicle Dolly. You can follow their adventures on Instagram https://instagram.nl/@drivingdolly.
