Summer Vibes
- Viv & Rob Kleinjan
- Aug 5
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 18
I’m scrolling through my phone to see what we’ve done in June and July…….it’ it’s two things that pops out mostly, golf and holidays and more golf.
I don’t know if I’ve told you how expensive it is to pay the hairdresser a visit in Scotland.
Very expensive, how about 250 pounds the first time I went, this includes a bit of hair dying, cutting and blow drying at the end.
Then I found another hairdresser nearer our house, 195 pounds…..Therefore Rob came up with a brilliant idea to fly to the Netherlands with Easy Jet to go to my hairdresser who I love the most and combine it with my necessary stop at the ENT doctor and last but certainly not least to see some friends too. Excellent deal!!
I flew on the 4th of June and took the first flight back on the 6th of June because Ard and Louise came over to see us in Edinburgh. They had a golf holiday in Ireland and drove back via us and then to Newcastle to catch the ferry to IJmuiden.
We had a lovely time together as always! We didn’t do so much other than chatting and enjoying each other’s company. We walked through our beautiful park at the back of our house and sat down at Carlton Café on top of Carlton Hill this has a magnificent view over Edinburgh.
When they left, we played 12 holes at our golf club later that day.
Early June Rob had his yearly Finance Conference with all his team joining in Edinburgh. Since his team is pretty big (approx. 150 people) he always wants to focus on teambuilding and everybody getting to know people from other parts of Finance. This year they had as team activity making a painting together from small parts (like puzzle pieces of 20x30cm) that were painted individually by small groups. At the end it was all joined together. Total size is probably 9m x 2.5m and will be hang on the wall in the London and Edinburgh office. In the evening they had a live band and they also did a ceilidh and the whole Finance Leadership Team was dressed in Tartan.
On June 14th we made a trip to St Andrews via the coast, we first visited Elie, where our Scottish friends the Zuill family always go for holidays. Angus sayd once to me, the best holidays are there! We were very lucky with the weather; the sun was out. We loved Elie, it’s small, beautiful and so many flowers everywhere.
In June Rob went to see an ENT doctor, and he sent us to House of Hearing. Rob had a hearing test there and it was very obvious that his hearing is declining age related…..
Just before we went to Malta, he got hearing aids, not the ones behind your ears but in it.
He had to get used to it in the beginning everything is so loud, but I think now after a few weeks he’s getting used to it and it’s helpful.
It’s funny when we go to bed, we need sign language now!
On June 20th we dropped Ayo off at Karen's who was going to take care of him for a week.
We had a taxi booked for 03:15 in the morning to bring us to the airport, insanely early.
We flew to Amsterdam had to wait a couple of hours for the next flight with KM Malta Airlines A different flight than the usual KLM flights and it won’t be a surprise that tall Rob didn’t fit at all……
At the airport in Valletta Noa landed half an hour earlier so we could jump in one taxi/uber to go to the hotel. There we arrived around 3pm, we decided to chill a bit at the pool side and had an early dinner near the hotel before we went to bed really tired.
Malta is cute, it’s a compact Mediterranean island nation with a mix of ancient history dramatic coastlines clear water and lively towns.
Malta’s UNESCO-listed capital is on of Europe’s smallest capitals, but it’s packed with history.
· The St John’s Co-Cathedral is stunning, famous for its lavish Baroque interior and masterpieces by Caravaggio.
· The waterfront and historic fortifications
· Narrow streets lined with cafés, shops and traditional wooden balconies.
· The upper Barrakka Gardens offering panoramic views over the Grand Harbour.
Mdina
Known as the Silent City, this former capital is beautifully preserved medieval walled town. We wandered through these quiet alleys and admired the architecture and the view from the city walls. We had dinner at a rooftop restaurant with fabulous views.
Mdina is also to be seen in the series Game of Thrones in season one.
The Three Cities
The historic harbour towns of Vittoiosa, Senglea and Cospicua offer a quieter alternative to Valletta, with charming streets, waterfront promenades and a rich connection the Knights of Malta. We went twice to the Three Cities, just because it was so lovely. It’s just a little boat ride for 3 euros per person and they bring you to the middle of the Three Cities.
Popeye Village
We also visited Popeye Village, just because we were curious. This is a tiny village, built in 1979 as the set for the 1980 Popeye movie starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, the colourful wooden village was left standing after filming and has since become a popular family attraction.
We arrived at the end of the day, we had less than half an hour to look around, but it was more than enough.
Mellieha Bay
This is the island’s longest sandy beach, when we arrived we were bit disappointed, it was packed with people and it wasn’t as special as we thought. We sat down at a tiny beach restaurant, but we couldn’t order any of the tempting cocktails as they had a power cut. Rob checked a few restaurants nearby, we decided to walk over the beach to this restaurant, I forgot the name but it was the best Asian fuse restaurants we’ve ever been to. So yummy!!!!
We explored quite a bit of Malta, but there’s still much more to see. We enjoyed it a lot!
After a week we went back home, Noa flew directly to Vienna, and we had a stopover in Amsterdam again. There we bumped into our sister-in-law Sanneke! She works at Schiphol airport and was at the same terminal where we were. So funny! We had to run for our connecting flight, it was just one big long hug unfortunately.
Back in Edinburgh I had to get ready for my trip to Austria. I had a golf lesson on Monday and brought Ayo to the groomer. She groomed him a bit too short, but it’ll grow back again. It’s just that I like him more with long hair.
I arrived with Ayo on the first of July. Noa came to the airport to help me with Ayo, suitcase, and rug sack, and Ayo’s travel bag. We missed the CAT train to Landstrasse, so we took a taxi instead. It was so hot in Vienna. Noa slept an extra day at her friend’s house, because with temperatures of 39C degrees for days in a row, the attic was really hot! She has no AC’s there……..
We opened all the windows and explored the streets around her house. It’s a great location, Alsergrund, 9thdistrict, with lots of restaurants, shops, and a Billa and Spar nearby for groceries, it’ll work out just fine for Noa. Robin was arriving an hour after we did, so we decided to find something to eat. Robin had all Noa's belongings in the car, even if we wanted to cook, we couldn’t because it was all in there. We found a lovely Chinese restaurant, we could take out, and it all worked out perfectly with Robin arriving and me coming in with some food. We ate it from the lids, as we didn’t have plates. Luckily the restaurant gave us chopsticks to eat with. We had fun and it was yummy.
We had to unpack the car, to get everything in the house. This was done by the girls and I unpacked the boxes and started filling the cupboards in the kitchen. More we couldn’t do because she didn’t have wardrobes yet. Noa and Robin were going to Ikea on Friday, the day I left with two dogs to Don Papa in the mountains. Noa, who just got her driver’s license, had to drive a van from Ikea into the city center where she lives. With Robin next to her, all went well.
On Thursday, I went to see Annemiek and Michiel who are still living in Vienna and they probably will stay for a longer time as Michiel took on a new job with an Austrian tennis player. It was wonderful seeing them together. Annemiek prepared a lovely Austrian lunch, schnitzel with Kartoffel salat. In the evening, I had my yearly appointment with my doctor who treated me when I had breast cancer in 2017.
Friday the girls started building the wardrobes and I’m so proud they did it all on their own. Experience is of course the main key in it all. Then everything could hang or put away from the floor and her house looked so much more tidied up. Still some more things to do, but the beginning is there! She’s a happy girl!
When I arrived at Don Papa Armin was already there. Saturday Robin joined us and on Sunday we had a nice walk along and in a river bedding near Ariach. Ariach is, so I learned, the center of Carinthia, the province we are in.
The dogs were happy to be in the water. Armin was doing it bare feet, which can’t be pleasant with all these little pebbles and rocks.
During the week Robin was still there, Armin left on a Tuesday and Robin on Thursday.
My week was either playing golf on my own or having a lesson with my teacher Jim Bray.
On the 18th of July Rob arrived. He bought me flowers but I had to cut them myself.
We played lots of golf together. I thought I learned a lot, but when we played, I messed up everything! It’s such a frustrating game! Grrrrrrr ;-(
Saturday 25th of July Rob and I decided to go to Grossclockner and on the way back to Lienz. It took us 2,5 hours to get there. There we had nice walk with Ayo. It was so beautiful out there! On the way back we stopped in Lienz. This is a cute village, we’ve been before. The only thing we’ve found out, don’t go on a Saturday afternoon, most shops were closed after 13:00!! Weird, apparently, they don’t need the money to stay open. It just give a village a different vibe, I think. Despite this, we had a wonderful day.
On Monday 27th of July our Austrian friends Thomas und Anna from Villach came to play 18 holes with us. This time it was my day! I played brilliantly. It felt so good! 3 pars and 7 bogeys and the rest was two or three above pars, not more. I was so pleased! The very next time Rob and I played again it went lousy again. I need to learn to play more consistently.
On Tuesday Maud and her two youngest sons came from Bad Gastein. She bought a house there last year in spring. She’s renting out 4 apartments, the name is Villa Kraft, check it out! They brought their 1-year-old Australian shepherd dog Karel. He’s one piece of energy! He’s young and clumsy and very adorable but he was all over the place. Ayo wasn’t so amused by this hairy visitor and barked at him until we placed Ayo on a chair in between us, then peace returned. Mats was walking a lot with Karel. Tijl had an ankle surgery recently and was walking with crutches. They stayed for the night. We had of course our Don Papa rum, and the boys loved the huge pipet. The next day we went up to the Falkert See which is at the end of our road. There Karel could swim, release some more energy. Ayo was patiently waiting at the side of the water.
From here we said goodbye, they took the long route back home over Turracherhöhe, not with the car train from Malnitz. It’s a difference of half an hour, I believe.
Thursday, I picked up Noa from Klagenfurt station. She has her driver’s license since the beginning of March, so I let her drive home. One more child to go for a driver’s license: Hugo. He’s doing an intense course, 2 hours every evening, Monday- Friday for the hole month of August. Fingers crossed he’ll manage to pass his test as well. They, the kids with no driver’s license yet, found out that it’s nice that the parents have a house in the mountains, but a car is a super important transportation there.
On Friday 31st of July was Rob’s birthday. We sang him awake and gave his presents.
Rob and I went to Villach to order stones for under the car port. Then we drove to Ossiachersee, a huge lake nearby. We had a lovely lunch together. In the evening, we had barbecue, something Rob really loves. Robin, Armin and Noa had all three home office and sat down together at the dining table.
On Sunday we had nice walk with the dogs in ST Oswald.
This whole week Rob is working from Don Papa. Also, Robin is working here, she leaves on Thursday. We leave on Friday to see Noa in Vienna. We fly home on Sunday from Vienna.
These 5 weeks I’ve been here in Austria has been warm, really warm. Normally the temperature in the mountains is a little bit less warm than for example Vienna or Bad Gleichenberg, that’s what I like, but this year it’s been extremely hot. Yesterday, August 4th was the hottest day ever measured in Vienna, 40,8C degrees. Poor Noa!
This is me writing and editing this blog on our terrace in Austria.
And of course a few flower photos to end the blog.
Stay safe everyone
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