Photo of the week: the ant hunt

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Breakfast.

In the summer our daughter Eryn and I were staying in an excellent B&B in Apeldoorn, the former Cantonal Court. I wrote about it in a previous story on our blog. My favorite moment of the day was breakfast time. As soon as we finished our daily ritual of showering and getting dressed, we climbed down the stairs of this interesting building. In one hand I was carrying Eryn’s vitamins and our room keys, with my other one I made sure Eryn would not fall down the stairs in her hurry. Eryn herself was carrying her cereal and in the meantime singing and chatting to whoever she encountered.

The breakfast was served in a small room, bordering a quiet garden. On the walls we saw many photos of the people working here. The longer we stayed, the more faces we recognized. It felt like getting to know a family. Every day the hosts brought us warm milk for Eryn’s cereal. They also gave me a cappuccino and a high tea platter with cheese, bread rolls, jam, eggs and gingerbread (which the Dutch eat for breakfast or in-between as ‘ontbijtkoek’). Eryn and I usually shared the eggs and cheese as she really loves those.

The kitchen.

On the other side of the garden was the kitchen. Here the cooks prepared the dishes for the Brasserie as well as our breakfast. It did not take long for Eryn to find out where the kitchen was. Luckily the main cook had a daughter Eryn’s age, so he didn’t mind showing her the ways in the kitchen.

As a mother it sometimes is hard to find some time to sit down and relax. This was one of those moments and I cherished it. While Eryn was learning how to make a mushroom soup, I was able to sit back and zip on my cappuccino without having to answer her questions or worry about her wellbeing. We were both having a great time and I always had to drag her out of the kitchen since she loved it so much.

The other room.

Apart from the kitchen there was another room that fascinated Eryn: the guest room opposite ours. The first few nights of our stay this room was inhabited by a father and his son. The son was about Eryn’s age and soon the two of them got along really well.

Eryn loved looking out of his bedroom window as it was slightly different than ours. It was a few meters difference, but to her that seemed a lot. The father had just given his son a present. It was one of the planes from the Superwings and the two of them liked playing with it. He also had a puzzle from an entertainment park nearby, called the Julianatoren. It was a very simple puzzle, but it was fun making it together in the breakfast room.

The ant hunt.

Just like me the hosts had served the boy’s father a platter with a delicious breakfast. He had chocolate sprinkles to put on the bun. One of the kids then discovered an ant in the breakfast room and the two of them decided to hunt for more ants in the garden. Once they had found one, they brought it to the table and put it on the father’s plate. He had left some sprinkles on his plate and they figured the ants needed to eat as well. They were sure the ants loved the chocolate.

The father and I noticed one thing the kids didn’t: when they grabbed the ants, they squeezed them so badly that they died. So the kids counted the dead ants they have found and put them near the sprinkles in order to eat. We didn’t have the heart to crush their dream, so we played along and made them believe the ants were enjoying themselves.

More about the former Cantonal Court in Apeldoorn.


On our blog we have an entire story about our stay at the former Cantonal Court in Apeldoorn. To read it, click here.

The former Cantonal Court in Apeldoorn has been transformed into a B&B and Brasserie. It’s an excellent choice for a short holiday in this city.

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