Here one can take a look at some pictures – some taken by us, some by our guests- of the surroundings as well as ,written in italics, snippets of text sent in by some of our previous tenants.

We’ve pledged ourselves to display here; both texts of really contented tenants as well as texts of people drawing our attention to things that are still in need of some improvement .

We think it only polite to first ask people’s permission to include these comments.

Above each text you’ll find the name of the family or person who sent it in, along with the date at which they stayed in one of our two cottages.

Due to its location, near to the lovely Ardennes towns of La Roche-en-Ardenne and

The main street, right outside the Beffe village boundary line, often serves as a parking space for arriving guests, in particular during or right after heavy snowfall .

As it is, it is not recommended to drive from the main street down the rather steep winding bend that leads you to the cottages when your car has not been supplied with snow chains..

More often than not during the months of December until early March these little winding roads are covered in a fluffy white snow blanket some 8 or more inches thick.

The main road however is constantly being gritted and cleared of snow and ice by maintenance vehicles hence, driving upon it never offers any difficulty at all.

The road leading to ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’; here children can play to their hearts content.

During wintertime and heavy snowfall however cars, as explained earlier, are best left in the garage or on the parking lot when not supplied with snow chains.

The Bois d’Arlogne is a classy and peaceful holiday village where the detached holiday homes are situated alongside narrow, winding forest roads.

An abundance of green landscape makes that privacy and ‘R&R’ are the order of the day in this tranquil surrounding.

Playing in the river Ourthe was great fun, the best however was the super night game we had together with family and friends. It was pitch-dark in those woods at night as we went ghost hunting with flashlights.

Going down hill on our bikes on those bendy, hilly roads went really fast, going up however…..

Afterwards one can enjoy a drink and a snack or meal in one of the restaurants, taverns or even ‘patisseries’, nestled in the charming town centre.

The town’s local ‘ war museum’ offers an interesting way of reliving the (more recent) past.

- It was our family’s first holiday in Belgium, the surroundings were beautiful and the weather was really kind on us.

I found la Roche-en-Ardenne to be a wonderful town, I’m hoping to come back on holiday here.

La Roche-en-Ardenne again, this time seen from the viewpoint which you pass coming from Beffe.

Once unpacked, the week seemed to just fly by. We had a whale of a good time and will certainly be returning in the future.

- I found your holiday home to be very cosy with really comfy beds. The back garden was great fun, making the most of the good weather we played there with the dog.

- The beds were so very comfortable but best part of the house was the back garden. Sometimes I slipped. Funniest of the board games was this game called ‘ Hugo’ .

The river Ourthe running through the town of Hotton. A few km further along the road to Rendeux you find a kayak & canoe hire business.

Hotton, although somewhat smaller than La Roche, is a lively little town nonetheless and shops are open on Sundays and holidays as well.

-Super cosy it was in front of the open wood fire whilst the wind howled across the cottage.

The kids had lots of fun playing ping-pong ( table tennis) matches and watching DVD’s.

Petit-Suisse, situated in the grand Duchy of Luxemburg, meaning’ Little Switzerland’ .

To anyone staying in our cottages we recommend this day trip wholeheartedly, especially since we’re very close to the Grand Duchy border and the road leading to the town of Vianen really is breathtakingly beautiful.

Driving from Vianen to the town of Echternach you need to take the exit right ( at about 3 km from Echternach town) to reach Petit-Suisse.

- It is both cosy and comfy here. What we found to be missing however were fireplace thongs. A tube of ‘ Flamazine’ to treat burns would have come in handy too as I burned my hand on the open fireplace J

The rock formations in Petit-Suisse; by way of narrow ladders and caves one can reach the top of the rocks.

This cleft, also know as the ‘ Müllertal’ is one of the awesomest sites in the whole of the Grand Duchy.

- I find the cottage to be really beautiful, we’ve not been bored for as much as one single minute!

One of the many caves in Petit-Suisse where one can stroll through the many tunnels.

-What a lovely week it has become. We undertook many enjoyable day trips, went to the nearby safari park and visited the ‘smallest city’ in the world ( Durbuy ).

The cottage is really comfortable and very snug, getting the open fireplace to burn properly was the one thing we struggled with in the beginning this due to lack of previous experience!

Hence a tip; a manual to get the open hearth wood stove going ( note from owner; has been taken care of in the meantime )

The many board games in the cottage are fantastic, the children had a blast playing them as well as playing on the Nintendo console.

Babbling brooks in the Müllertal; terrain that calls for walking shoes and a survey map in one’s backpack.

- Nice stretch of time (3-8 November 2002) to relax , highly commended to those out there wanting to find some peace and quiet.

Another Durbuy view, this time seen from its main road. This most charming little medieval town attracts an overwhelming number of tourists each year during summer.

Attractions on the spot; adventure sports, mountain biking, kayaking, crazy golf, survival trips.

We were so very fortunate to have welcomed – and afterwards seen off again as they contentedly drove off- 37 families during this first year of renting out our cottage.

Several of these families have already booked anew for the coming year 2003 and/or recommended and praised us to relatives and friends, which we are very grateful for.

Therefore, let me repeat myself in saying; it has been both a pleasure and an honour for us too to have had you nice people stay at our place J

One Dutch family was so unfortunate to have clay residue emerge in the tap water during their stay.

After notification, the municipality of Rendeux tackled this innocent, be it annoying, problem immediately ánd successfully.

In the meantime by way of compensation, we’ve invited this family to come and stay with us again during the Spring of 2003, costs all on us, and we’re happy to say that they’ve meanwhile accepted our offer J J J

The towns of La Roche and Hotton become flood-stricken disaster areas as the river Ourthe continues to rise. Town streets become impassable as the river overflows.

A blow to tourism but also and mainly, lots of human suffering and a very gloomy end of the year atmosphere throughout the Walloon provinces.

Our tenants however were settled in our cottage, high & dry above the Ourthe valley. Nevertheless they were a bit grumpy as they’d expected to see snow and none was falling …… alas, the weather is the one thing we have no say over, it unfortunately enough is in the hands of the fickle weather gods! ;)

End of the year 2002 will go down in history as a black page in the Walloon provinces’ diary

Luckily for us, the weather gods favoured us again in the months of January and February and when welcoming/seeing off tenants, they were happy people we said ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to !

( January 14^th 2003, Aloïs and Maritta with dogs Radjah & Sultan from Essen /Belgium)

Late arrival, nonetheless very friendly welcome in a cosy cottage with roaring open fireplace . Radjah and Sultan clearly felt more than fine, nestled in front of the burning fire.

-Maritta, age 38; “ Slept like a log, great was my astonishment when that morning, after waking up, we beheld the splendour of the area.

I had visited the Ardennes before already but never had I seen such grand vistas anywhere in our little country !

View from the ‘ Col de Dochamps’ at 498 m above sea level ( 1 km from ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ cottage)

We’ve enjoyed our stay at the cottage. It is in a really good location. We’ve been so fortunate that we could go skiing a couple of days in a row. The layout of the cottage is very good.

Splendid area for hiking and ‘ langlaufen’, this hamlet always enjoys the snow for a long time. When wintry conditions are extreme however, it is not exactly what you would call ‘easily accessible’, hence the necessity to use snow chains.

Starting from the cottage you reach Dochamps in a mere couple of minutes when driving a car, on foot it ‘ll take you some 30 to 40 minutes to get there.

The summer of 2003 made it into the history books; record temperatures broken - a heat wave like no other- scorching temperatures for months on end.

Only setback, the continuously decreasing water level of the Walloon rivers due to the constant heat. As a result, the Walloon district prohibited kayaking & canoeing on the local rivers Ourthe and Lesse for the remainder of August..

The river Ourthe in La Roche-en-Ardenne. Tourists seeking refreshment in the water and hiding from the sun under parasols.

Midday temperatures flirting with 40°C (104 Fahrenheit) , a summer to remember!

October 2003 A special occasion for us as well; a young couple that just got married spends their honeymoon in our cottage!

We walked a lot ( in the sunshine J ), sat cosily in front of the roaring fire and we slept heavenly. Such a great cottage and you’re so very well organized!

We have found it to be both a pleasure and an honour to have you stay here at our place, here’s wishing you prosperity and good fortune throughout your married life.

P.S. We’ve in the meantime replaced the shower rod and at the same time spruced up the entire bathroom.

Water expenditure reached a new record in 2003. As Fall arrives, the weather stabilizes again and the drought-stricken wildlife areas welcome the sporadic showers.

This peaceful, beautiful road runs parallel to the N833 connecting Hotton with La Roche yet is situated 180 m higher, on top of the plateau, and descends rapidly towards the end.

2004 starts with some freezing cold days and thick layers of freshly fallen snow.

The next few weeks the snow carpet disappears and reappears again at regular intervals.

This picture was taken, a mere few minutes in distance away from ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ be it that it almost looks as if it was taken somewhere in Canada.

The 40 year old Dutchman, Raoul Vanderdonck, disappears without a trace during a day out walking the ‘ High Fens’ (= Belgian wildlife area bordering Germany; a plateau of swampy heath, woods and windswept moors )

This magnificent yet very desolate wildlife area covers over 8000 hectares, one can easily walk in it for days on end without ever reaching civilization.

The thick snow carpet remains throughout January and only begins to melt during the first weekend of February.

The family Van der Vloet however arrives just in time to still be able to go sleighing.

Thank you for having allowed us to rent your cottage. We’ve had a lovely time.Too bad though the snow disappeared so quickly.

In hardly three weeks time we’ve experienced a temperature difference of as much as 24°C

Winter comes to an end. It’s been bitterly cold yet utterly beautiful and we’ve enjoyed snowy landscapes for over 12 weeks.

The family Raadschilders( and accompanying friends) rent our cottage during a week marked by heavy snowfall and continuous frost, during the day as well as the night.

Although the record for the coldest day has not been broken ( - 25,6°C, early 1950’s) they nevertheless are our ‘personal’ record holders in terms of having stayed at our cottage during freezing cold winter weeks.

Funny thing though ( well,…it ís.. in hindsight) was, that during their stay our cottage fridge decided to die upon them. Just imagine; freezing cold temperatures outside whilst inside you’re forced to deal with a ‘cooling problem’! L

Luckily however our supplier was so gracious to stay open late for us and a mere couple of hours (and a 330 km drive back and forth) later, we were able to supply our tenants with a brand new refrigerator.

Too bad we, on arrival, discovered this fridge had no freezing compartment (this contrary to what the sales ad said)

Oh well, … that has been taken care of too in the meantime as we now have a separate freezer in the garage! :)

Spring 2004; ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ gets a little brother, ‘ Maison Toeternitoe’, situated at a mere 200 meters distance from the former.

Due to the fact that ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ was let out almost continuously throughout the year and we only very seldom had the opportunity to spend some time there ourselves, the purchase of a second cottage pressed itself forward.

’Toeternitoe’, phonetically spelled in Dutch and meaning ‘ It-doesn’t-matter’…this referring to us desperately trying to come up with a suitable name yet not succeeding in finding one hence we started refer to it as cottage ‘ it-doesn’-matter’ and at the end of the day, the name stuck ! :)

A second cottage offered a solution to our problem and at the same time we now were able to offer accommodation to larger groups of people as well.

Family Koopmans/ The Netherlands/ end of August ’04 in ‘ Maison Toeternitoe’

- We had a really great time. The cottage is comfortable, oozes cozy atmosphere and offered ample space for our family .

We’ve enjoyed our holiday tremendously and we for sure will return sometime in the future.

‘The caves of Hotton’, next to the caves of Han, the most spectacular of ‘Dome’ caves in Belgium.

Unfortunately, the family Jansing, holidaying in our cottage ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ is left with less enjoyable recollections of said caves as Mrs Jansing, she stumbled and fell during her visit, broke her arm and had to be taken to hospital.

- We already left today ( Saturday) therefore we alas are unable to say goodbye to you.

We had a lovely week despite the fact that my wife broke her arm when visiting the caves of Hotton.

- Perfect cottage, fitted with all modern conveniences. Wishing you lots of success.

‘Daddy’ Markus and daughter Kate visiting the ruins of La Roche-en-Ardenne castle during their holiday.

Fam.Markus/ Druten /The Netherlands / early September ’04 in ‘ Maison Toeternitoe’

This mail to let you know we’ve enjoyed our stay in ‘ Maison Toeternitoe’ tremendously .

The cottage offered us every comfort and we want to thank you again for having supplied us with a high chair and a cot for our baby daughter Kate ( she made good use of both)

The area is very beautiful, very quiet and peaceful even though shopping facilities are nearby.

We’ve had some really splendid weather which we, needless to say I suppose, enjoyed very much.

We’ve sunbathed on the banks of the river Ourthe, did a lot of walking, visited the castle ruins of La Roche and explored the surrounding villages/towns ( see pictures)

-We’ve had a delightful stay in your holiday home, the cottage is both cosy and practical.

End of October, the television set in ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ breaks down during the stay of

Mr. Van Dooren is so very kind to already take the television to the repair shop to have it fixed again so that the next tenants won’t be without telly set on arrival.

We once again would like to express our gratitude towards Mr. van Dooren and of course, we were more than happy to refund any expenses made.

- We’ve had a super cosy time, the cottage is supplied with all modern conveniences, fantastic surroundings.

Family Hanny and Karin Brink/ The Netherlands/ November 2004 in ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’

Le Herou is just a 20 minute drive from our cottages, a definite ‘must see’ for those planning to visit our Belgian Ardennes.

Hanny talks with praise of the beautiful Ardennes’ landscapes and of cosy evenings in front of the open fireplace.

The following is an account of the service he rendered us, one we had not in the least expected.

- You telling us how pleasantly surprised you were we had left the cottage looking spic& span was a feather in our cap… now it us our turn to put a feather in yoúr cap.

We were baffled to find you had already refunded us our guarantee deposit (minus the expenditure costs ).

Having hired your ‘ Kiekeboe’ cottage turned out to be a very positive experience for us and we certainly hope to return in the future.

During our stay, I’d noticed the roof gutter was clogging up with leaves and since the weather forecast prophesied rain at the time, I took the liberty to already clean it out for you.

In retrospect, we can say we’ve had a most delightful holiday in ‘Chez Kiekeboe’ , thank you once again.

Apart from the magic of snow, winter however offers many more fascinating weather images i.e. ominous coloured, low-riding cloud formations, …thick fogs descending, shrouding the landscape in mystery ,…. mysterious misty fingers creeping up from the woods,….slicing winds with a distinct polar feel to them and the occasional howling storm.

Yet, let’s not forget the azure blue, crystal-clear skies adorned with a bright winter sun neither..and yes, should you be wondering, every now and then we get to ‘enjoy’ common showers as well! :)

We’ve had a delightful, be it short, stay. We found everything to be much more than just okay and we wíll return in the future, this much is certain.

Winter 2004/’05 has been an exceptionally long and cold one, nearly 14 weeks of continuous snowfall. The ‘ Baraque de Fraiture’ hides under a 50 cm ( 20 inches) thick snow carpet and offers excellent skiing facilities.

Our tenants enjoyed many cosy evenings in front of the open fire. Several tons of delivered fuelwood provided for this cheerful crackling.

Spring frees the Ourthe valley slopes from the snow blanket and for the first time in over three months nature warms itself in early sunshine.

- It has been a true delight to stay in cottage ‘ Toeternitoe’. We’ve regularly warmed ourselves in front of the open fire.

- Dear landlord(s), we’ve particularly enjoyed our stay in your snug and cosy cottage. The area is of outstanding beauty . Our children loved the Nintendo !

Ilse & Michael Vossen ( + 3 little ‘Vosjes’ => this family’s surname is ‘ Vossen’ meaning

‘ foxes’ hence the ‘vosjes’ referring to their children or ..’ 3 little foxes’ J )

- I would like to thank you for having allowed us to rent and use your cottage ‘ Maison Toeternitoe’. Your holiday home definitely is worth it, both qua position and furnishing.

The info on your site is more than accurate. We’ve enjoyed one splendid, relaxed holiday.

The sought-after position of the cottage offered us much needed tranquility and is an excellent operating base to explore the many villages and places of interest in the vicinity.

I want to thank you once again for your trust and I’m sure that, with your permission, we will return in the future!!! Preferably as soon as possible!

Herewith we would like to recall our most enjoyable stay at your cottage’ Chez Kiekeboe’.

We’ve had a splendid week, were very fortunate with the weather and did a lot of activities.

Winter image in the ‘High Ardennes’ ( picture taken at 100 m from ‘ Kiekeboe’ )

Another short while and ‘King Winter’ will reign over nature again. The hunting season has begun and we warn our tenants to stay clear of the forests when they hear gun pellets whiz through the air.

The family Verbeurgt stays in our cottage where they plan long walks with their two big

After their return back home, we find our cottage looking spic & span, needless to say I suppose, we’re already looking forward to have them stay again in our chalet coming December!

Yes, the past weekend has proved to be such a success that we immediately after considered returning once again. The cottage, ideal with the attached garage (place to sleep for our Bernese mountain dogs ), its top-notch position and surroundings, just beautiful !

We live in the Flemish Ardennes but where your house is, those are the real Ardennes!

Therefore, if at all possible, we would like an option on the first weekend of December in

Winter 205/2006 provided us with loads of snow and had us sweat profusely whilst we desperately stocked fuelwood in order for our tenants to be ensured of many cosy evenings in front of the open fireplace.

Loads of fun and pleasure for our guests but often a bit of a problem ‘behind the scenes’.

The steep, narrow forest roads surrounding the cottages constitute a serious challenge to the big truck delivering the usual 2 tons of fuelwood at regular intervals. Our wood supplier however has the proverbial ‘heart of gold’ and when the roads get iced up completely he as yet resorts to his 4x4 pick up truck and sees to it we get enough wood to nevertheless keep us going for a while.

Quite a challenge but as yet we’ve never been left ‘in the cold’ and neither have our tenants.

Time for some comments; the following pictures were sent to us by the family Pellens.

Everything was as we had hoped it would be, we’d asked for snow and …we got snow ( for 12 days in a row ! )

Nature and in particular the panoramic views are breathtaking, we’ve taken loads of pictures which we would love to share with you. Please find them attached to this mail.

Thank you family Pellens, we’ll be saving the other pictures for future usage.

We have enjoyed a wonderful weekend in the Ardennes. Those were lovely walks in the snow.

We’ve enjoyed a fantastic weekend in your cottage’ Maison Toeternitoe’ It was so nice being able to relax after a hard time studying for exams.

The cottage is ideally situated and offers a range of possibilities to those seeking to enjoy the area.

We’ve made good use of the tips you offer on your homepage ( Durbuy and the Sunday market in Bomal )

The family Vos gets stuck in the cottage due to heavy snowfall…. now, let’s be honest, is there a better excuse to have some nice long lie ins ? I think not ! J

We’re back home after a fantastic week in the Ardennes. We realize how fortunate we were to have had snow all week long, it for sure has added to the fun we had.

The snowfall was the cause of us getting stuck in the cottage for a couple of days and even today, on our day of departure, it was a narrow escape, nevertheless we had a most wonderful holiday.

OKTOBER 2006

Familie Buisman/ NL/ Kiekeboe oktober 2006

- Dear Sir, Madame,

The weekend has flown by, it was both a delight and a joy, staying in the Ardennes

(Sam Van Brussel/Toeternitoe/ 12-5 to 14-5)

The family Buisman visits the Ardennes together with their two dogs and chooses to stay in our cottage ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’.

The pictures that we were so fortunate to receive are very artistic and beautiful. It is striking really, all of our guests are true nature lovers and keen hikers and their photography talents seem almost innate.

By courtesy of this family we would very much like to share these beautiful photo’s with our website visitors, …alas we’ve been forced to somewhat reduce the resolution to safeguard the accessibility of our site.

The following is my favourite, just click the thumbnails!!

Family Buisman/The Netherlands/Kiekeboe October 2006

- Hi Rita,

Alas, it is over already!!

What a fantastic week we’ve had, one they’ll never be able to taker away from us again. Thank you so very much for your confidence ( both in us and in our two dogs)

I hope we did a good enough job cleaning the cottage as we are hoping you will allow us to rent the cottage sometime next year as well.

Great cottage( luxurious) everything at hand one could possibly wish for, situated in a peaceful location…which we like so very much.

Perfect!

I’m still busy resizing my pictures, once finished I’ll send them to you too.

Once again, thank you so very much, we’ll most probably see you again next year!

X Lies

You’ve left the cottage looking spic & span Lies, please accept our thanks! Your dogs have proved to be worthy of our confidence. Besides,…what is more fun than walking one’s dogsin the hills surrounding the river Ourthe, right ? Our ‘part’ Jack Russell ( the other part we’re not sure of J ) is already chomping at the bit wanting to get out there once more too.

November 2006

November, a month liable to yearly changes, at times mild and friendly, at times cold and ‘white’. Other times misty, shrouding nature in a spooky haze, fading the surroundings to mere blurry contours. No wonder people living here in Medieval times were rather superstitious and feared these dark Fall & winter months. Even the great Julius Caesar

and his legions feared these dark woods and sought refuge within walled wooden fortresses.

The family Mayeur chooses to spend some time in ‘Chez Kiekeboe’ during the month of November and sends us this picture.

Fam. Mayeur/Kiekeboe/ 3^rd of November 2006

- Dear Rita,

A while ago, the four of us, have enjoyed a well-earned weekend in our beautiful Ardennes!

A couple of weeks have passed in the meantime….yet, we’re still reminiscing and talking about our stay in your cottage.

We will recommend ‘Chez Kiekeboe’ to everyone. It’s ideally located to make lovely long forest walks. When hiking toward the highest point in the area, we’ve enjoyed a quite spooky forest walk in the mist( see picture attached) Your cottage calls for cosy evenings spent in front of the open fireplace, preferably after a lovely dinner out. It wasn’t hard for us at all to image how wonderful all of this would look when covered in snow therefore, we would love to return later in winter when snow is forecast. The vicinity offering towns like Hotton, March-en-Famenne, La Roche and Durbuy definitely is a plus! Three days was way too short a time to visit it all.

Already wishing you a happy 2007 and lots of success with both your cottages in Beffe/Rendeux.

With kind regards,

Jell & Sharon, Louis & Stefanie

- Dear Rita,

Herewith a message from the family De Grave-Deruelle from Zelzate/ Belgium//Toeternitoe 22-29 December 2006

First and foremost, we would like to thank you for the lovely week we were able to enjoy in your cottage, it was FANTASTIC! Yours is a top-notch cottage and the location is superb….everything we wanted/needed and more!

With kind regards,

Isabel, Wim

Januari 2007

Eric Kroese and family from Breda/The Netherlands spend a week in ‘ Chez Kiekeboe’ from 16-23 February. They had already spent a previous holiday in the area but it was their first stay in one of our cottages.

We were delighted when the following mail dropped into our mailbox!

-Hello Rita and Danny,

What a lovely cottage!!

Hereby we wish to thank you for your hospitality. Although we were already familiar with the region it still remains a truly fantastic area even though this year, there was no snow to enjoy! The upside of it was that the mild temperatures guaranteed low expenditures.

The wood burning fireplace provided ample warmth to create a cosy atmosphere inside the cottage.

The table tennis table was fun, record after record got broken!

We’ve spotted a fox in the neighbourhood and near the village of Dochamps we had a baffling encounter with 7 deer, all of them sporting impressive antlers!

Next time we hope to spot a wild boar.

We most certainly will share our positive experiences on your online guest book.

See you again soon!

Eric & Annemieke,

Hans & Michy and Charlotte ( the Nintendo was fun! )