Henk

I have travelled all my life — and I am nowhere near finished. By now I have visited at least half the countries in the world: as a curious tourist, but also for many years through my work as director of international affairs at a ministry in The Hague, and in a United Nations context.

What still moves me everywhere is the encounter with the unfamiliar: a city that turns out to be different from what you expected, a conversation with someone who lives there, a museum that tells you far more than a guidebook does, or simply a quiet place away from the crowds. Travel changes over the years, but that sense of wonder remains.

For me a good journey begins at home. I prepare destinations carefully and look for what makes a visit genuinely worthwhile: culture and history, pleasant public transport, good hotels, local places to eat, and alternatives to the best-known and busiest sights. My ideal trip combines culture and history with time to walk, to swim, to eat well, and to get to know a place unhurriedly. And where it is possible, that includes a theatre, a concert, an opera or some other musical performance.

Avoid Crowds is my son's website. I find it a pleasure to contribute my own travel experience to his idea: that travelling need not mean working through the busiest highlights one after another. Preparing a destination properly, choosing different hours, discovering quieter neighbourhoods and leaving room for the unexpected often makes a journey both richer and more enjoyable.

So on this website I do not share superficial lists, but personal experience, practical information, and inspiration for travelling with more calm, more attention and more pleasure. I write about countries and cities I have visited myself — and about destinations that are still high on my own list.

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In that way I hope to encourage you to look beyond the crowds, and to discover a place at your own pace.