Who are we?
Who is Aad? I am and do a variety of things. Father of three daughters, partner, son and brother, friend, endurance athlete, managing director of a consultancy firm, PhD in quantum physics. I love being there for people, with a positive attitude and a lot of energy. So many paths in my life, all worthwhile, and many of them have been successful. But on so many of them, I have never truly felt at home. That place where I feel belonging, where my heart and mind are at peace and my body comes into motion, I find in the mountains. Hiking, cycling, rock climbing, ski touring, mountain biking, alpine touring. All over the world, I escape the cities and seek out the mountains. But the Central Alps feel like the true home of my soul.
Who is Jeanette? I thrive on helping people and learning who you are and what moves you. I bring peace and give people the space to be themselves, while I also need that peace to recharge. I love ideas that arise unexpectedly and that I can explore together or alone. I feel at home in nature - hiking, camping in the wild, climbing, or ski touring. Put me in the city, and I'm quickly looking for the exit. Alone, or with a small group of people, I thrive - that's where my strength lies.
Aad’s dream
From the moment I could stand upright, I was in the mountains. I inherited that love from my parents: eight weeks of summer vacation each year, camping in the Alps. The older I got, the happier I became with these trips: they couldn't be long, far, or high enough for me. I wanted to carry everything in my backpack, and I devoured books about mountaineering and nature. When I was about 10, as a member of the World Wildlife Fund, I read an article in the Ranger magazine about the introduction of wolves from the Caucasus into the French Alps. And it was someone's job to live in a cabin in the middle of that area and monitor the development of the wolf pack. That's when I knew for sure: that's what I want to be when I grow up! During all subsequent visits to the mountains, the feeling grew that the exact profession wasn't so important, as long as it was in nature and I could live peacefully high on a mountain, far from the hustle and bustle of the cities.
Jeanette’s dream
As a child, I hated to go skiing in the mountains with my parents. I didn't understand what people found so appealing and preferred to stay home with the horses. That is, until I learned to snowboard. I fell in love with the sport and learned to see the mountains in a different light. In New Zealand, I discovered the joy of living in the mountains and hiking endlessly. It was there that I knew for sure that I wanted to settle abroad someday. The conviction to live in the mountains came later, when Aad and I started a relationship. We went to the mountains as often as we could, and my desire to live abroad gradually took shape. Together with Aad, in a small mountain cabin, surrounded by nature with views of the peaks.
Casa Longhede: house mountain and mountain house
The mountain you see in the photo behind our house, our 'house' mountain, is called Cima Longhede. Many mountain peaks have names that describe the landscape. Cima means summit (point), and Longhede describes the long, undulating mountain ridge of which the peak is a part. Casa means house. That's how we made the mountain house beneath our 'house' mountain Casa Longhede :)