Very successful exchange, highly recommended! Beautiful, bright, modern apartment with a garden near the center of Amsterdam. The city itself offers endless possibilities for art, culture, shopping...! But also the surroundings were interesting, we made beautiful bike rides to Volendam, Marken and Edam! Yvonne and Johannes were very friendly and attentive exchange partners. We had a very pleasant stay and would recommend this exchange without hesitation.

Yvonne was experienced with Home Link, organized, and coached us in making the on-line contract. She flew over to stay with friends and meet us months ahead, which was helpful and made us feel comfortable. The location of the exchange apartment is excellent, about 30 metres from the No. 2 tram which services all the major tourist locations including Central Station, Dam Square, Amsterdam Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum and Stadylyk modern art museum.. Tram cards arranged by Yvonne saved money and can be refilled at their tram stop. We found Croissants, a cheese shop, a wine shop and a whole range of restaurants including several Indonesian take out restaurants on Hoofddorpplein square. The location is within easy riding distance (flat everywhere so easy to bike) of Rembrandt Park and Vondelpark, and we rode regularly, and attended several free concerts at Vondelpark, and grocery stores were nearby. We found we did not need a car there, although we had arranged to exchange cars. The living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and toilet room are on the main floor, and it was so nice to have a back garden off the kitchen. The kitchen was comfortable and everything essential provided; however, one should take a baking pan if that is something required – it doesn’t seem to be a Dutch standard item. Their two marmalade cats spent most of their time outside, and were an added bonus for us. Arrangements were made for a neighbour to look after the cats for short periods, which was not necessary for us. Also, their regular housekeeper came in a couple of times. The 3 bedrooms are all downstairs, reached by traditional Amsterdam style steep, narrow stairs which could be problematic for someone with disability issues. There is definitely some dampness in the basement and it is imperative to keep the dehumidifier running regularly to keep it comfortable. We were disappointed in the lack of drawers or space to hang clothes in the bedrooms. As this was our first house exchange we were so pleased to be in such a great location, to have nice exchangees, with the financial savings that ensue with this arrangement, and that our cat was treated so well. Our house and garden were in good condition when we returned home, and they had watered our garden, appreciated in such hot weather.

We had a very nice time in Amsterdam in your home, we appreciated the kind little gifts you let for us and the children, and we made a great use of your bikes everyday to ride here and there in the avenues, streets, lanes of Amsterdam centre, like in a big village. We appreciated museums as well as vintage clothes or design furniture shops, and we also liked just cycling randomly along the canals, banks, and through the parks so that we even didn't need to use our car, buses or even tram in town!