Home 'Mellón' 60m from the IJssel

Artistic large openplan living room with character furniture, artworks & books (Arts, sailing & diving). New fully-equipped & nautical-styled galley kitchen. New bathroom with generous bath and shower, and separate toilet. Sailing & diving friendly. The house is close to the Ijssel river and Kampen harbour (literally at the end of the street). The house is more than a hundred years old, in an historic terrace built for skilled workers of Kampen. The house was recently fully refurbished throughout by the owner, daughter of Dutch sculptor and stone mason, Hendricus (Henk) Arnoldus Bakkeren (he did the stone sculptures of Amsterdam Central Station). It has some beautiful pieces of furniture and an eclectic collection of artworks. The house is self contained and has a large sunny open plan living room with windows either end, dining table, large sofa (also can be used as a single bed), arm chair, tv and excellent sound system, and many books and interesting artworks. The living room opens to a newly refurbished well equipped nautically styled galley kitchen with breakfast bar overlooking the sunny garden/yard. Beyond that is the new bathroom with large bath and shower. The toilet is separate from the bathroom and located at the foot of the stairs. Upstairs the main bedroom is generously sized (20 sq m) with queen-sized bed, chair and cupboards. Guests get independent (not shared) use of the livingroom, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, toilet and garden/outside sitting space. Access to the washing machine and drier is via Mrs Boorsma who has the key to the workshop. This house is called ‘Mellón’ which in Dutch means ‘Friend’. You will be a 'local' right next to the harbour and only five minutes walk from the centre of old Kampen, which has been and is a major trading city of the Netherlands, with the longest historical shopping street (and its wonderful coffee houses to buy coffee, cake and chocolates). Some of the buildings date back to 1642. In the centre of the city there is a museum, many great cafes and restaurants with outside eating, speciality shops (e.g. art, craft, wonderful cheese including my favourite goat cheese with coriander and fenugreek), all enhanced by the natural friendliness of the people of Kampen. The house is 60 metres from the river Ijssel with its huge amount of sailing and boat freight. Kampen is the home to many active historical sailing ships with several masts that are a regular sight under full sail from the house and the nearby harbour. These old sailing ships, and the many other ships and boats, reflect Kampen’s role as an important historic trading centre with a position at the head of the Ijssel river as it flows out of the Ijsselmere lake and connects Amsterdam, the Netherlands and other countries. Kampen is a city for over 900 years of boats, rivers, harbours and waterways. It is easy and delightful to explore by bicycle, walking or car. You will find cycling, walking and driving maps in the kitchen. There is good public transport in Kampen, like everywhere in the Netherlands. Train: The NS station Kampen Central is 10 minutes’ walk from the house. The other station, NS-station Kampen Zuid, is on a direct line to Amsterdam and Schiphol airport. Bus: The bus stop 'Oranjesingel' is around 500 meter away. You can catch the city bus (stadsbus) number 11. It is three stops to NS-station Kampen Zuid. This city bus 11 goes between NS-station Kampen Zuid and NS-station Kampen. Car: There is free street parking in front of the house and at the end of the street. The drive into Amsterdam is around an hour as is Leeuwarden. Walking: The nearest harbour with its historical ships, cafes and restaurants is 60 metres from the house at the end of the street. The old city with its wonderful buildings is a 10 minutes walk - try the wonderful coffee and chocolate shop!