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Copyright Anno-1908, All Rights Reserved | Site by: Hilynx
It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching can help.
Copyright Anno-1908, All Rights Reserved | Site by: Hilynx
“Hi! We are Esther & Camille van Gestel. We moved to Workum in the summer of 2019 to open up a Bed & Breakfast. We love the incredibly beautiful surroundings, the friendly neighbors and the relaxed pace of life here. We look forward to welcoming you.”
The B&B was a long cherished dream of Esther that has now become a reality. You will find Esther to be an amazing host (as we were told by our guests 😉 ) who loves making (and drinking) coffee. Her cappuccino is one of the best in Workum and if you like, she’ll make you one for breakfast. Apart from running the B&B, Esther is also a registered mediator. Her husband Camille also helps out of course. He is one of the founders of WakaWaka, a social enterprise on a mission to light up the lives of people living in darkness with solar powered lights & chargers. You will find one next to your bed.
WakaWaka is a social enterprise on a mission to provide 100% renewable energy to all. Worldwide more than a billion people still live in darkness, not connected to the electricity grid. They depend on dangerous, toxic kerosene lamps & candles. WakaWaka is changing this, one solar power light at a time. For every reservation we donate an amount to the WakaWaka Foundation which allows them to provide light to a person living in darkness. Next to your bed you will find a WakaWaka Power+ which you can use to read or charge your phone. WakaWaka was co-founded by Camille van Gestel.
Another social enterprise. They address the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and rivers. Instead of using single use plastic water bottles, better to use a cool Dopper bottle! Refill it endlessly and save a plastic bottle with every refill. Dopper supports water projects in Nepal as well as the OceanCleanup.org from Boyan Slat. They deploy so-called “Interceptors” in key rivers around the world who intercept the plastic before it reaches the ocean. Read more about Dopper and the OceanCleanup.
Did you know that most chocolate in the world involves child labor? Well at Tony’s they are doing something about this. They make it their mission to know precisely where their beans are coming from and are helping to create a slave free chocolate world. Tony’s is setting an example for the chocolate industry and they do so with really delicious chocolates which come in oh so many delicious flavors. Check out your flavor on your pillow and help contribute to making chocolate slave free world wide. Read more about Tony’s.
Once you know the facts about meat consumption, we hope you will appreciate that we prefer not to serve meat during breakfast. After watching the documentary Cowspiracy, we were convinced. If we want to solve our climate crisis, we need to lower our meat consumption. Meat is way too cheap and too easy to get. So we over-consume it. The consequences are devastating. Two of our children turned vegetarian already. We ourselves limit eating meat to once or twice a week at most. And we have come to appreciate it. Does all of humanity need to be meat-free? Not in our humble opinion, but it is all about balance and currently meat consumption is causing way too much harm to our environment. First step: learn about it. If you want to watch the documentary during your stay, you can, online.
We do serve dairy products at our breakfast, but we get them locally, around the corner from Nylander Cheesefarm. It’s always best to get your products locally to save carbon emissions from complex and polluting supply chains. It is also more fun to shop locally and Nylander is also worth a visit.
We finally got our permit to place solar panels on our historic rooftop. Workum has a strict policy when it comes to protecting its historic street views and we respect this of course. Anno 1908 is located in a “protected scenery” area. Though the front of the street is indeed incredibly pittoresque and we fully agree this street view should be preserved, we were surprised to know that the view from the backside of the property was also protected. This significantly limits the possibilities to further solarize the church and the old rectory. We hope that local government will further review the guidelines in the near future and let the importance of preservation of our planet & society prevail over the ‘back-side-view-policy’ … We’d love to hear your opinion over breakfast if you’re interested. We thank Sungevity for their help in creating our solar-rooftop!
Isolating old building like ours is not always easy and comes at a price. But saving energy consumption starts with isolation before anything else. Windows are the most vulnerable and responsible for letting the cold come in, in winter time. Most of our windows are well isolated, including the historic façade at the front. The thick walls of the church provide for a natural isolation, but more can be done here. We will take further measures in the future.
All of our heaters are fitted with digital temperature controls. This way we don’t need to heat up spaces if there’s no one there. When guests are bound to arrive, a simple app can set the temperature at a comfortable level just before arrival. As a guest, you can easily set the temperature yourself at the level you like. Smart Heating is what it’s called. Want to know more?
We learn new things every day and we would love hear your suggestions on how to further ‘sustainalize’ our Bed & Breakfast. Let us know when we see you, or if you have ideas already, feel free to drop us a mail!
There is so much happening in and around Workum.
Consider planning your trip to match with some of the events that are scheduled.
May 23 – Oldtimer 11-city tour
June 1st – Cycling 11-city tour
July 25th – Skûtsjesilen Stavoren (check all dates)
August 1st – Skûtsjesilen Hindeloopen IFKS (check all dates)
18-19 September – Septemberpop (book tickets)
October 9-16 – Strontweek – classic boat races
Discover Friesland by waterWorkum is the gateway to the Frisian lakes, also known as the Amsterdam Lake District since it’s only an hour away from the capital. To rent a sailing or motor boat you don’t need a license, but it helps if you have at least a little bit of experience. Workum has many places for boat rentals. Here are a few: De Haan Watersport, De Liefde Sloepverhuur, Workum Watersport.
Cycling is for everyone. Young, old, sporty and not so sporty. Within an hour bike ride of Workum there is a whole world to discover. Choose from around 35 (!) different bike routes. Either by fully muscle powered bikes, or a bit more comfortable e-bikes. Best to make a
Workum is Kite-heaven. People travel from afar to enjoy steady winds, the wide sandy beach and the shallow waters. It said to be one of the best kite surf spots in the world even! Who would have thought that… for sure the Kite & Surf school SoalSurf on the beach. Rent your Kite or surf or peddle board gear right on the beach.
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h3>Cultural Friesland
One of the smallest cities in the world probably, but officially one of the eleven Frisian eleven cities, is Hindeloopen. Enjoy the boats coming in and out of the harbor, or help the lockkeeper open and close the lock letting a few boats at a time get onto the river. But also check out Allingawier. This small village is a complete open air museum!
At 2 minutes walking, the Jopie Huisman Museum is dedicated to the life and work of the Frisian self-taught master painter Jopie Huisman.
His love for nature and his compassion are a curring theme. In his multifaceted work,
Jopie gives value to the insignificant and restores everything to human proportions.
During your visit, Jopie ‘himself’ will guide you through his world and shares his compassion with you.
€50.00 – €1,000.00
1 x Elfsteden Keamer €129
2 x Elfsteden Keamer €258
3 x Elfsteden Keamer €387
1 x Skûtsje Keamer €109
2 x Skûtsje Keamer €218
3 x Skûtsje Keamer €327
The foundations of the church are from 1893. The church came into use in 1908 as a reformed protestant church. The members of the church were liberal protestants, free thinkers and believers.
Much of the history still needs to be uncovered. During the late nineties the church served as a society for the local youth of Workum before being transformed into a family home.
As of 2019 Esther & Camille van Gestel can call the church their home and started a Bed & Breakfast in the more than 100 year old house of worship.
Workum
The first records of people living in Workum date back to the 9th Century AD. In the late Middle Ages Workum became an important naval place because of its position and connection between the “Southern Sea” and the Frisian Lakes. The open water is still an important waterway. Workum used to have a whole system of canals, the remnants of which are still visible in the structure of the city and its streets.
In 1399 Workum receives official ‘City Rights’ and is therefor still officially called “a city”. People from Workum are obviously still proud of this and appreciate it if you’re aware of this historic fact.
At the Merk, the central square and officially voted “pretties square in Friesland” you can still see the wealth the city once had as a result of its successful naval industry. Even today some of the most expensive luxury yachts are built not far from Workum in the royal ship wharf of Makkum.
Uffing van Workum – The monk who dated Workum to be 1,000 years old
When Uffing was a little boy, he was intrigued by monks living in the area. He asked them to teach him to read and write. When he was done learning he left to a nearby monastery. This was right at the time people moved more land inwards, away from the dangerous Southern Sea.
It is because of the words of Uffing, we know that people lived in Workum as early as the 9th century, more than 1,000 years ago.
You can see the statue of Uffing at the Merk, at the city center near the big church.