The moment you drive up Musenberg, you already experience the peace and quiet. The house stands stately among rolling fields with the forest at its back. Birds of prey circle the fields, a deer visit the garden and mother pheasant is busy raising her 8 babies. All in total harmony. Jan and Kathleen's house has plenty of space, has been very carefully modernised and offers everything you need. It was perfectly clean on arrival and a welcome pack was ready with a delicious pistiche tomato pasta made by Kathleen and a beautiful painting made by Isabel (10 years old). Unfortunately, due to the weather, we were not able to sit outside in the garden much. Georgsmariënhütte is a good base for cities like Münster, Telgte, Tecklenburg and Osnabrück and a vast area for hiking. The highlight of our holiday was visiting the Externsteine and the magical forest behind it! An hour's drive from the Musenberg. Communication with Kathleen and Jan was quick and friendly. Of all the exchanges so far, we have never experienced so much silence as at Musenberg. Thank you Kathleen and Jan for your trust and hospitality!

We had a fantastic 3-week exchange at Kathleen and Jan’s farmhouse at Georgsmarienhütte in the Teutoburg Forest. It has been recently renovated and is very attractive, well-equipped, spacious and comfortable, while retaining its 1700s character. The large garden is ideal for sunset drinks and picnic dinners. We were happy to make friends with both sets of parents, who live nearby and were very helpful. The Teutoburg Forest is huge (4,000 km2 – Wikipedia) with gentle hills and well-marked trails for running, hiking and biking. It has attractive towns and villages, fascinating historical and geological sites and lots of interesting wildlife. 5 minutes away there’s a splendid outdoor swimming pool (the Panoramabad) which was nearly empty in the mornings despite the amazing summer weather. There are plenty of food and drink shops nearby and lots of restaurants in Osnabrück (30 minutes by car or bus). As well as Osnabrück we explored some excellent larger towns including Münster and Bremen (60+ minutes by train), and Essen and Wuppertal (further afield, with spectacular industrial and cultural heritage). Overall we had an exceptionally varied and enjoyable stay. Many thanks to the whole family for a really great holiday! Andrew, Janet, Max, Rosie and Sam (Dartmoor, England)