Right!

Time is flying by.

When I speak to young people, I sometimes notice that they often talk very quickly and use words I don’t know. Whereas they probably think, on the other hand, that my generation is slow and uses old-fashioned language (which, of course, I don’t think at all……….). What your own generation does and is familiar with is the norm. Everything before that seems old-fashioned; everything after seems exaggerated and superficial.

The trick, of course, is not to draw that line too rigidly, but to extend it just a little. To preserve the best of the old and embrace the best of the new. Everyone’s happy.

That’s the thought that crossed my mind when I attended the reopening of Stay Okay Apeldoorn last week. Opened in 1962 by Princess Irene as the De Grote Beer youth hostel. And now completely refurbished, fully brought up to date. Yet it retains the atmosphere so characteristic of this sort of place: welcoming, cosy, with a young and energetic vibe. It features a brilliant ‘Apenkamer’ (a nod to the Apenheul, of course) and contemporary tiny houses. But it still has bunk beds and a communal dining room. And the beautiful Veluwe remains the unchanging backdrop.

This isn’t meant to be a sales pitch, of course, but many generations have grown up with the concept of youth hostels. And so it’s really great to see that they’ve simply evolved with the times. With a trendier name – Stay Okay – but with the same ‘spirit’.

Time flies, but fortunately there are quite a few lovely things that manage to keep up with the pace.

Ton Heerts