This year every month has passed in a record time. It was the year where I started to again pick up my online activity. I wrote entries in my blog every month and published an iPhone app. Slowly things are returning to normal, and I think this is mainly because the kids are growing up. Suddenly I have more and more moments where I find myself with some spare time, a situation that I missed for years.

The coming year with be a milestone for me. I will reach 50 years! My desire is to continue with my hobbies and to slowly make more time for them. I also want to put in use the new word I learned in 2024, ‘Maridaje‘. Ever since Alex went with his godfather to a restaurant with a Michelin star, and Alex later told me about the experience, it has turned into something I simply need to experience. I’m lucky because we have a restaurant with a star quite close to where we live, so there is really nothing stopping me.

It seems the end of the year is a perfect time to reconnect to the past. I like these last weeks of the year, where the upcoming end/beginning allows for a review of a fixed period. One year where we did lots of things, we experienced lots of now things, and we have all grown. Recalling the best parts of the year is uplifting. Even the sad parts add value trough the experiences and personal growth they made possible.
Looking back to the last years events is fun, but looking back over much more years is even more fun. Memories of nearly 48 years, most of which are good memories fill me with happiness. Seeing my sons grow up so fast is like helping them build their own memories, which hopefully will turn out to be good memories.

The year is almost over. 2023 went by like an arrow. Still a lot took place and we all learned a lot and we did a lot. Disneyland!, Paris, Torrevieja, Headball, Noordwijkerhout, Walking the wad, Avifauna, Smoked eel, Bitterballs, Soccer (Alan plays with ‘Fomento’), Soccer GC – Getafe: 2 – 0 win, La Laja, Burrito, Roque Nublo, Alex visited Barcelona with his godfather Miguel, Routes across the island, Climbing, Visit Miguel, Visit Nel, Visit Bert Sally Annabel Jack, Visit family Ana. We closed the year with rasca’s, lego, new bikes, and a visit to an all-in hotel in the south.

The kids have grown tremendously, their school results are near perfect, thanks to quite a bit of support from their mother. I lost a few kilos, and I try to run twice a week, when I can. We wish everyone a great 2024!

The new year 2021 started quietly. We did not celebrate this new yaer like the previous ones. No party, no fireworks, no get togethers. Still caught in a worldwide pandemic things were really low key. There seems to be a vaccin but that will probably take a while for everyone to get it. Lets hope that next year we can once again celebrate the new year in a more festive manner.

Last year was not very good for Alex. He broke both of arm. First one and a couple of months later the other. He spend almost half a year healing. Alex is a very physical child. Always running and jumping and almost never sitting still. He was already walking on his hands, and one of his favorite youtubers is a guy explaining how to correctly do parcour. It is hard to be so physical and still need to tend two broken arms. For us as parents it is very scary at times. When Alex is standing on his hands, just after removing the cast, is hard to see. Clearly he is confident and that is good, but still it scares me because you never know what might happen.

Alex’ school results continue to be very good. In addition he takes keyboard classes where he is also in the top of his class, and he goes to English classes where he is also in the top. The only thing that is difficult for Alex is concentrating on his homework. Reserving time for his homework and then concentrating and doing a good job is a frequent source of discussion.

Alan is doing very well also. He is just starting reading and writing and has to practice every day. This is still a bit hard, because Alan needs to get used to to doing some work at home, and not only play. Still, he is very young so there is lots of time for him to pick up some good studying habits. Alan also started music classes where he is one of the best students.

As a family we are doing okay, but sometimes things get very hectic. Alex likes to invest loads of energy in his play time. He will run and jump. Over the couch, across the tables, over and under the furniture. Sometimes things break and usually someone end up hurt (normally Alan is the one that will end up crying). It generates difficult situations to deal with. Once one of the kids is crying normally if will also affect the other. If Alex is in pain Alan will also cry and sometimes even more then Alex. The other way around is the same. If Alan is in pain Alex will also cry.

We are still in the process of moving to our new place. I am already living in our new appartment, and Ana and the kids are expected to move this week.

Another year has passed, and even if the years are all quite similar every year still comes with surprises. This year I returned to Spain for most of the time. Working three weeks from home and one in Holland works out much better.

This year Alex turned three. He is getting to be a big boy, and we can already talk about lots of topics. I speak Dutch with him and he replies in Spanish and sometimes with a little Dutch. He does like to be the center of attention, but we presume this is normal for all little kids. At school he is doing very well.

Ana had a quiet year. Still working at the hospital and being a great mother.

We wish everyone a very good 2015!

Once again it is time for the Berg-kroniek, a brief recap of the past year. It was a strange year for us because in April I left my family in Spain and I started a new job in Leiden at Naturalis. It was a very difficult choice, but it was necessary because we were confronted with a situation where I was unemployed and Ana had contracts that lasted a month. A situation with a lot of insecurity that we solved by splitting up our family.

In Holland I could stay with my parents for a couple of months. Working at Naturalis was nice and I helped create a lot of websites and a mobile app, the dierenzoeker. Still it was hard being away from my family. I worked from home a couple of weeks, and spend all my holidays there, but saying goodbye every time was hard on Alex and even more difficult for his father.

A medical error caused Ana to have quite a bit of problems with her eye sight. Hopefully her eyes will get a bit better but it will take months before we know for sure. For Ana there was also good news. After six years of temporal contracts her contract has finally be changed into a fixed contract. Finally the job security she deserves.

Alex is doing very well. He is growing very fast and he is already going to school a few hours every day. His mother thinks that his character resembles his dads character. He is a happy kid who like a little bit of mischief every now and then. If Alex wants something he’ll get it, or he will make life hard for his parents. A typical two year old kid and a typical Berg. Just as you might expect from the lineage holder.

We wish everyone a great 2014!

The year is almost past so once again its time for a review of the past year. We are still living in Las Palmas on the Canary island Gran Canaria. In January we got a nice visit from Kees and Nel which was great fun! Alex was really happy to see his grandparents again, and it was difficult for his to say goodbye. Later in the year we went home to Holland to visit brother Bert, Sally, little Annabel and Jack, grandpa Kees, Grandma Nel and a big part of the family.

In the beginning of this year we had some stressful times. Ana needed to undergo some surgery, and her bladder was removed. After the operation it took some time to get back to her normal self, but eventually she could go on without pain and without a very strict diet.

This year we also moved to a new home. We still live in Las Palmas, but now a little more in the city center and in a little bit bigger apartment. Also we now how our own parking space. 2012 was one more year in which the crisis was noticeable. In Gran Canaria there is an unemployment rate which is more than 30% and this is something you can notice. In July I also lost my job and ever since I’ve been a full time dad and looking for some new job.

Our little angel has gone through some tremendous development this year. He now has teeth and is walking around all the time. He knows Spanish and Dutch words. He learned how to swim. He dances! He likes to play hide and seek with us. He likes painting. In all being a parent has turned out to be a fantastic experience.

We wish everyone a very good 2013!

2011 was again a very busy year. The most impressive was of course Ana’s pregnancy and the birth of our son Alex on the 15th of August. Just like his father he was born in the year of the rabbit. A beautiful baby which fill us with happiness and pride.

Alex is born in Alcala de Henares and weighed 2.500 grams. In a few month he has grown an incredible amount and for us as parents it is a fantastic experience. After his birth grandma Nel and grandpa Kees paid us a visit and a few weeks later we took Alex to Holland to introduce him to our family and friends.

After giving birth to Alex the mother had some issues. Ana recovered quickly from the caesarean, but after a while she was diagnosed with a large amount of rocks in her bile. It was a very painful experience and resulted in a few weeks in the hospital. Eventually she was allowed to return home with a very strict diet. Her bile had been infected and needed to cool down for it to be removed entirely in January or February.

This year we published our first children’s story. The title is ‘Thomas and Valentine‘ and it is a beautiful story about a young farmer, his wife and a strange animal. It is not so difficult to guess the strange animal if you look at the books cover. This children’s book is ideal to read from and was written by Ana and Adrie. The book is available in Dutch and English. We are still working on the Spanish version. There are still some small errors in the texts but we are working on a new and better version. We thank everyone who has pointed us to errors in the stories.

Before Alex’s birth we visited the Canary Island ‘La Gomera‘. A very nice island that is perfectly suited for nice nature walks.

We also had some issues with the richest man in the world, the owner of the IKEA. This is our neighbor and we pointed out to him that he should maintain his property a little better.

A lot of family and friends visited us here on the island. It was a good year. The year of the rabbit proved to be a very fruitful year. We wish everyone a very good 2012!

In Spain we don’t eat ‘oliebollen’ (like donuts, a fried tasty treat) and we don’t light any fireworks. We do eat twelve white grapes and drink champagne.

2011 promises to be a very interesting year. We look forward to it and wish everyone a very good 2011!

It’s December already. It looks like every year passes a bit faster. For us the culmination of this year was of course our wedding in Madrid and the month we spend on holiday afterwards in Greece. Although there were a few flaws we were very happy with our wedding day. The contribution of the family was very nice and added a little Dutch flair to the party. Our Spanish guests were also impressed by the musical performance provided by my family.

In the beginning of 2010 we visited Lanzarote for a few days. A few months later we took a bigger vacation and we went to England and visited London. Afterwards we passed by Holland for a few days visiting the Hague, Amsterdam and of course Noordwijkerhout. It was a good year and we look back with satisfaction.

The crises we ended up in this year can be clearly noticed here in Spain. The unemployment rates are around 30% and all civil servants have had their salaries cut by around 10% this year. The economy clearly has taken a turn for the worse. Added to the crisis is the dependency Gran Canary has of the tourist sector. The there is a crisis people tend to spend less money, and the first place to save is the holiday budget.

On my job people are talking about layoffs, severance pay, reduction in hours (and in pay) and you name it. I still have a positive outlook on things and look with curiosity to the future.

2011 promises to be a year full of surprise and new twists in life. Together we enter the new year positively and wish everyone a very nice Christmas and a very good 2011!!!