Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
14 Jun 2025
Reply rate
83.3 %
Usually responds within 6 days
Feedback
14
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Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are Willem and Anneke, and we live in Ried, a village in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands.
We live here with one cat and two Jack Russells.
We are 61 years young, and our children have left home. We have two beautiful granddaughters, and we are very proud of them.
Willem is a podiatrist with his own practices in Schagen and Ried. Like Willem, I, Anneke, also have my own practice at home. I am an energetic therapist and guide people on their spiritual paths.
Willem and I have busy practices. Keeping the house and garden in good condition is quite a lot, so we could use some help. We have lived in Ried for almost eight years and have a very large garden.
There is regularly lots to do both inside and outside our house.
Currently, the garden is our main focus, so if you enjoy nature, our garden might be a good fit for you.
At the end of the day, a nice meal is ready for us to enjoy together. There are two rooms: one with a double bed and a sofa bed, and another with a double bed and a desk. You can retreat to this room to relax. We share the bathroom, but privacy is guaranteed.
Sometimes we won't be home because we're working. You are a guest, but we want you to feel at home, even when you're alone.
We want to make sure you have an enjoyable time that you can look back on with pleasure. If you would like to take advantage of our expertise, we will make time for that.
We hope to see you soon!
Anneke & Willem
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Sustainability
Charity work
Culture
Pets
Self development
DIY & crafts
Plant care
Gardening
Carpentry
Animals
Cycling
Nature
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The environment in which we live has an ancient history.
We are 20 minutes away from the capital of Friesland, Leeuwarden.
Leeuwarden has a rich history, our royal family has its roots there.
In Franeker, one of the Friesche 11 cities is the Eise Eisinga museum and planetarium. Franeker was long ago a university city where many famous scholars have studied. The most famous student was René Descartes (1596-1650). But the later director-general of New Netherland Pieter Stuyvesant (1611-1672) also studied in Franeker.
A little further in the small town of Wieuwerd you can visit the church, where several mummies are located in the cellar. A special phenomenon because the mummies are mummified in a natural way.
For those not interested in history, there is of course the water sports for which Friesland is famous. The many lakes offer many activities. We ourselves enjoy visiting small markets in the area and taking a nice walk in the woods, usually we walk in Drenthe which is a 45-minute drive.
Ried is located 10 minutes from the Wadden sea. You can easily get there by bike. There also are several cycle paths along which you can enjoy nature.
The Frisians are sports people, so you will find various sports associations in almost every village, including a Kaatsvereniging. Kaatsen is an old Dutch sport that is only played fanatically in Friesland.
Heerenveen is also fun to visit, especially the skating rink Thialf known from the TV world championship speedskating
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
It is important to us that you can also help out independently. We can use strong hands and insight for the garden.
Languages
Languages spoken
Dutch: Fluent
German: Intermediate
English: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
Your accommodation is a spacious room on the first floor of the house. There is a double bed and a sofa bed where you can chill. The other room has an double room and a desk. Both rooms are nice rooms where you can relax after a day's work.
The bathroom is located downstairs and we share it with each other. Toilet is both upstairs and downstairs.
We have dinner together, usually between 6.30 pm and 7.00 pm. We have breakfast together on the weekends, just like lunch.
Food is generally not a problem, the freezer and refrigerator are full and there is always something at home. I try to get vegetables from local farmers, just like meat.
What else ...
We like to relax after our busy day. We enjoy dinner and like to talk about the things of the day.
We also like to watch a movie via netflix or the like.
A nice book also is great for relaxing.
In the summer there is still plenty to do in the garden, especially when it is very hot during the day, it is nice to be busy in the evening.
As mentioned earlier, we enjoy walking in the forest and visiting markets in the area. (as it is posible)
Willem makes arch supports/ inlays, which is part of his profession as a podopostural therapist. If there are a lot of inlays to make, I help him in the evening after dinner and we often have the best conversations.
I also enjoy painting and reading. I regularly leave for my practice room to do my spiritual exercises and I also accompany sound journeys in which you can participate.
There are several nice theaters and cinemas in the area.
The city center of Leeuwarden is great for shopping, as is Franeker and Sneek.
In short, the old 11 cities each offer their own fun peculiarities.The station is in Franeker and is 8 minutes by car and 25 minutes by bike. In consultation we can always bring you and / or collect you from the train.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a good WiFi connection.
Space for parking camper vans
The large backyard has enough space for a motorhome or camper. Electricity is also available
Can possibly accept pets
We do not mind a dog as long as it is well trained and well under appeal and does not go after the stray chickens and our cats. It is recommended that the dog is also social with other dogs. And very importantly, he or she must have great resilience. Our dogs are Jack Russells and still very young (June 2021)
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (6)
They have a beautiful house and a huge garden full of lovely creatures, from their… read more
Anneke is a really good cooker , she's really kind and peacefull , she is really open mind and she help me to discover the culinary culture of the country , we have visited shops , towns and so much things… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.8)
They have a beautiful house and a huge garden full of lovely creatures, from their… read more
Anneke is a really good cooker , she's really kind and peacefull , she is really open mind and she help me to discover the culinary culture of the country , we have visited shops , towns and so much things… read more
She works hard and has helped us a lot with the garden.
She also has insight into what she can do and came up with really nice ideas.
At the time that Caroline was with us there were no other workaway people but luckily that was no problem for her.
Caroline is a nice and friendly woman who we can… read more
We agreed to meet again. It was also easy for us to be able to simply speak Dutch with each other.
It was a nice time
Alex, helped me enormously in mapping out my project, the Garden!
In addition, Alex is a wonderfully enthusiastic lady with a lot of humor.
Thank you Alex for all your great tips
Annek and Willem are kind, loving and enjoy their own life. They taught me a lot of things. For example, the lifestyle and mind of Netherlands, beautiful Friesland's nature, how to tell a joke, the true that… read more
We wish them a nice journey and great experiences at the upcoming workaway addresses.
Thanks a lot for all the good things
Willem and Anneke
We loved the freedom in the way we wanted to work. Working outside was really appreciable
They help us a lot. Thank you for everything.
Even on weekends when he was off, he was still willing to help.
Odai is always in a good mood… read more
He helped us very well with the work we had. Ciro is always motivated without complaining.
He is very pleasant to deal with with a lot of humor, we laughed a lot together. We therefore hope that he will come back to us again to drink a delicious wine and to spend a nice time together again.
We wish Ciro more nice addresses… read more
My experience was very interesting, we did some gardening and painting work.
W & A, Success and prosperity!
Thanks for the exchange.
