Het was fijn dat we onze ruilpartners in Doesburg mochten verwelkomen en leren kennen. In Mechelen aangekomen voelden we ons direct thuis. Het stadcentrum van Mechelen is binnen 15 min met de fiets bereikbaar. Het is een mooie stad met een rijke historie, musea, St. Janskerk met de Aanbidding der Wijzen van Rubens, de St.Romboutskathedraal met zijn 97 meter hoge toren. En niet te vergeten de liefdevol verlichte Grote Markt na zonsondergang. Ook waren we onder de indruk van de vele fietsroutes door en rondom Mechelen. De verschillende routes, op basis van fietsknooppunten, lieten een hele andere kant van het anders zo stedelijk gebied zien, namelijk afwisselende fauna en flora in een waterrijk buitengebied. Het nabijgelegen stadje Lier heeft ons zeer verrast en is zeker de moeite waard met o.a. het mooie marktplein en de Zimmertoren met de Jubelklok. Aan Saskia en Johan onze hartelijke dank voor het vertrouwen en de mooie week in Mechelen.

We loved our stay in the house of Johan and Saskia! Such a spacious, beautiful, comfortable home of very kind and warm people. We enjoyed to discover Mechelen and everything it has to offer for children.

We had a very beautiful and relaxing stay at Johan and Saskia's place. The house is very comfortable, with a large living room and open kitchen with view on the lovely garden. We loved the calm neighborhood. In the morning we woke up with just the sound of birds singing and had breakfast with the eggs from the chicken! We cycled to the city centre alongside the Dijle and through the nature reserve Mechels Broek, which made the trip very pleasant. Almost everyday we passed by the cemetery of Muizen where there was an impressive stork's nest! Mechelen is a very beautiful, newly renovated city with many interesting old buildings and sustainable projects, that makes it a perfect place to live and also for tourism. You have everything you need for a relaxing holiday: museums (Kazerne Dossin and Hof van Busleyden are very interesting), beautiful squares, parks and nature reserves, the 'Dijlepad' (path alongside the river Dijle in the city centre), very nice bars and restaurants with terraces that were unfortunately closed (but we could have a coffee to go). There are still things to discover so we hope for another exchange in a warmer period ;-) Thanks a lot Nina, Margot, Saskia and Johan! Greetings from Stijn, Els, Maurits, Kai and Anton

Het hoeft niet altijd ver of lang te zijn om er toch even helemaal tussenuit te zijn. Johan en Saskia wonen in een gezellige en lichte woning vlak bij de stad en toch in het groen. Mechelen is een mooie stad en in de omgeving kan je mooie fietstochten en wandelingen doen. Het huis ademt creativiteit en warmte. We hebben ervan genoten!

In this strange year 2020-2021, amidst the Covid19 pandemic, we were lucky to be able to have a home exchange with Johan, Saskia, Nina and Margot in their lovely house in Muizen. The house is spacious, with all comfort you can wish, and warmly decorated. A tipi tent was set up in the garden for corona-proof moments outside in wintertime. It is situated close to nature as well as very nearby to the cities Mechelen, Brussels, Antwerp. We enjoyed reading and looking series and movies on the home-cinema; and we could go for walks, bike rides, and excursions... Thanks a lot for this wonderful week between X-mas and New Year.

Visitin Mechelen and staying in this house for a week was great for our little family of four. Everything was well prepared upon our arrival, and we felt safe and well taken care of by the Sakia and Johan - always available on phone. House was large and easy to keep tidy. When at home we stayed mosty in the large and beautiful garden. The hightligt of the day for our 5 year old son was to collected the eggs - which turned into pancakes for breakfast every morning. We enjoyed using the family's bikes which made it easy to explore the town, the zoo and the two nearby beaches. Mechelen is a cute smaller city with nice shoppingstreets, we also explored Ghent, Atomium in Brussel and the Chocolate Nation (museum) in Antwerpen (lots of fun). Very convenient to borrow the car into the largers cities. When we returned to our home in Norway, everything was superclean and well maintained. This was our first house swap - not the last one for sure! Thank you !!

We had a wonderful week in Mechelen. The children loved the big garden and even spent a night in the tent, which Saskia and Johan had kindly set up especially for them. The house is wonderfully large and was very well maintained. We were able to make many trips in the direct surroundings, because Saskia and Johan had organized bicycles not only for us, but also for our small children. 5 minutes by bike is a great zoo, 15 minutes is a swimming lake. Mechelen itself can also be easily reached by bike, a beautiful, quiet city with a lot of charm. Brussels is half an hour by car and definitely worth a day trip. The handing over of the keys was perfectly organized and super nice friend of the two guided us through the house and showed us everything. For smaller queries Saskia could always be reached by mobile phone. Our first home exchange was a complete success and makes us want more. Many thanks to Johan and Saskia!!