From the hustle and bustle of The Hague to the mud of Drenthe (and why I thought Emy had gone crazy)

Let me introduce: The Hagenezen

For those just getting to know us at Alpaca's Enzo: we are Patrick and Emy. If you had told us a few years ago that we would now be standing among the alpacas and donkeys in Wittelte, we probably would have thought you were crazy. After all, our lives looked completely different. Patrick worked at the HTM and Emy was running herself ragged as a branch manager at Kruidvat. Our lives consisted of trams, shops, packed schedules, and the constant hustle and bustle of The Hague. It was fun, but we were always 'on'. “Something is wrong with that one”

The crazy idea that changed everything

Until one day, Emy suggested we completely change course. Her idea? Leave the city, move to Drenthe, and… start something with alpacas. I will never forget that moment. I looked at her and honestly thought: There’s something wrong with her. She’s gone completely mad. Does she really mean this? Two true natives of The Hague trading tram tracks for meadows and mud? The love for Drenthe But to be perfectly honest: it didn't come entirely out of the blue. Amidst all that hustle and bustle, we had one great escape: our camper. As soon as we got the chance, we headed out. Drenthe had always been our favorite destination. The peace, the space, the nature… we always breathed a sigh of relief there. If there was one place where we wanted to start something new, it was there.

The leap of faith and the beginning of Alpaca's Enzo

So after the initial shock, I started to get the itch too. We decided to take the plunge. Naive? Absolutely. We knew it would be hard work, but we were also delightfully naive. Of course, we had no idea what really awaited us. Setting up Alpaca's Enzo was an absolute rollercoaster. A ride with amazing successes that we are incredibly proud of, but just as much with blunders, pure misery, and moments when we asked ourselves: what on earth have we gotten ourselves into? The TBT series: The honest story. Because guests so often ask us “How did you end up here?”, we will be taking you back in time every Thursday for the coming weeks. With the honest story behind the cute alpaca photos. Next week: The search. How do you find a dream place when you know what you are going to do? Thanks for reading along with our adventure! Best regards, Patrick & Emy