Dennis and I are going through another stretch of boringness as we prepare for the holidays. We are both spending far too much time at work. It’s easy to get caught up in work when you don’t really want to spend time outside. The weather has turned a bit colder – right around freezing – and the days are so very short. Remind me never to move any further north!
In the mornings, I find myself procrastinating about getting to work. I hate the idea of riding my bike to work in the pitch blackness. By about 8:15, it’s just light enough to go. I seem to have no trouble riding home in the dark, though. It gets really dark around 5:00. A quick check on the internet indicates that the shortest day here is one full hour shorter than in Minnesota. Of course, we get the long days in the spring and summer that help to make up for this horrible darkness.
For Christmas, I am going to Salt Lake City to visit my sister and her family. Our parents are going to be there as well. Dennis is still too new with his job to have any vacation time, so he has to stay home. Feeling bad for him, I arranged to be back in the Netherlands so we can celebrate the New Year together. A one week trip to the US is going to be tiring, but I’m still pretty excited to go.
I’m now trying to figure out what to take along and what I need to buy while I’m back. I’m planning to take the Christmas cards with me. I can address envelopes on the plane. I’m making Dennis write the Christmas letter this year too, so you’ll hear his perspective for a change. Of course, this means that all the cards will be a bit late – sorry for that! I’m also carrying the Christmas gifts that need to be shipped. Shipping from Salt Lake will be much easier than from the Netherlands. You have no idea how complicated the Homeland Security department has made it to ship things to the US. And I better not even start about import duties and taxes! As it turns out, it’s really difficult to find things here in the Netherlands that you can’t get in the US anyway. Next year, I’m going back to my usual internet shopping for Christmas!
For the return trip, I have a long and strange list of things that are difficult to get in the Netherlands. Mostly, I have a hard time finding good cold medicine here. But I also desperately want to go to Eddie Bauer.
Other things that have kept us busy are house projects and Dutch lessons. The house here was fitted with very minimal light fixtures. We installed a couple new fixtures when we moved in, but it was hard in the spring to judge how much light we would need in the winter. It also is a bit of a pain to buy light fixtures for a house you don’t own. Oh well, I’d rather have the lights! With our new lights, it’s much easier to study our Dutch lessons at the dining room table. We’ve been reading and watching Dutch TV programs. Our vocabulary is getting bigger, but we still struggle to speak. It’s going to take a while!
So that’s our boring life: work, groceries, laundry, study etc. We moved halfway around the world to get a taste of a foreign lifestyle and so much of life still boils down to work, groceries, and laundry!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
German Swine
Christmas stuff for sale at the Dusseldorf Christmas Market.
A booth with crepes and other sweet treats.
Dusseldorf from the observation tower. This is the Rhine River.
You can see the tower behind the bridge. Fortunately, it was sunny when we went up.
Dennis and I went to the Christmas Market in Dusseldorf Germany for the weekend. Dusseldorf is only two hours away by train, just across the border. While this trip can be done in one day, we decided to spend the night and make it a bit of a vacation.
The first part of the adventure is getting there, of course. Dennis bought our train tickets earlier in the week directly at the train station. The train left at 11:00 am so we even had time to sleep in! Everything was going well on the train. We had our assigned seats and I packed sandwiches. When they announced that the next stop would be Dusseldorf, we got ready to get off. As we slowed into the station, we thought something was wrong because the sign said Duisburg. Knowing the city names can be quite different depending on the language (example being Cologne Germany, which appears is Koln in German), I decided to ask one of the other passengers getting off the train. “Is this Dusselfdorf?” I asked. “Yes, this is Dusselfdorf,” was the answer. So, we got off and the train zipped away. WE headed into the station in search of the tourist information office. We waited in line for a few minutes only to find out that we were at the ticketing office, not tourist information. But, still thinking there was something amiss, I asked the lady at the counter, “Is this Dusseldorf?” “No, this is Duisburg,” she answered. “Oh shit, we just got off the train at the wrong station,” I said. Rather than telling us we are stupid idiots who cannot even handle riding a train, she simply looked up the next train to Dusseldorf and told us which track to go to. We didn’t even have to buy another ticket because we had already paid to go to Dusseldorf! With true German efficiency, we arrived in Dusseldorf only 10 minutes behind schedule!
In the real city of Dusseldorf, the tourist information office gave us a map and marked the location of our hotel and the Christmas markets. Everything was within walking distance – although it was A LOT of walking! So, we headed off the hotel, dropped our luggage and went to the market.
The Christmas Market on Saturday afternoon is a very popular place. The food and drink booths were especially crowded. The traditional drink is Gluwein, spiced wine which is served hot to ward off the winter chill. I could only tolerate a few sips – it was very strong and very sweet. I don’t like sweet wine, but Dennis thought it was pretty good. Another local treat is pork roasted on a spit. Rather than wait in line and eat standing up, we found a near-by restaurant that specialized in roasted pork. The pork came on a plate with French Fries. No bread, no vegetable, not even some parsley. But the pork was divine! It was tender and succulent, with a lovely pork flavor not masked by anything but a bit of salt. Along with the fries, this was a meal to clog every artery in the body. So long heart – pass the pork! By the way, in German, they refer to pork as schwein, or swine, hence the title of the blog.
With full tummies, we walked around the rest of the market. It was easy to get in the Christmas spirit with all the booths selling Christmas decorations, gifts, and holiday treats. I’m not sure how much of the stuff was hand-made, or even German-made, and how much was from China, but it was cool nonetheless. We found a few cute things for us and a few for gifts.
The next morning, we were able to sleep late again. Without the cat, who wakes us up at 6:00 am or before every morning, we were able to sleep in peace. The hotel served breakfast until 11:00, so we didn’t even have to hurry for breakfast. When we did make it down for breakfast, we were pleasantly surprised. Not just bread and cheese, this was a full spread including fresh fruit and make-your-own waffles. It’s nice to be in a country where food is appreciated. The highlight of breakfast was the bacon, which was beyond delicious. These people really know their pork products!
As we had already seen most of the Christmas markets, we decided to go up to the observation deck of the tower (see picture). The day ended up being sunny so we had really good views of the city and the Rhine River. We made a note that the Rhine River is probably nice to see in the summer, too.
After the tower, we spent the rest of our time at the Christmas market tasting more of the treats. We tried the egg nog, but we were surprised at how much alcohol they managed to get into it. It was also served hot, which seems wrong for egg nog. The crepes were really good, though. And we got some sugar-roasted almonds to eat on the train back home.
By the time we got to the train station, we had been walking for four hours and I was seriously looking forward to sitting down for two hours. The train was super-crowded, but Dennis had paid a little bit extra to get assigned seats. It was worth the extra six euros especially since we were hauling all the stuff we bought! Needless to say, we managed to get back home without further mishaps and we deemed it a very successful trip.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sinter Klaas in Naarden
A Zwarte Piet band in the parade.
Another Zwarte Piet band. Disturbing, isn't it?
The kids on this float think it's OK.
Here's the big deal - Sinter Klaas himself riding a white horse.
Wow, I can’t believe another week has already flow by! I meant to write a blog entry on Sunday, but it didn’t happen. Let’s catch up!
Saturday was the Sinter Klaas festival for Naarden. Naarden is a really cool city just a bit north of Bussum. The city is surrounded by canals making it like a small island, about five blocks long and three blocks wide. When they have a party, it’s like a huge street party. It’s much cooler than Bussum. Saturday night, Dennis and I bundled up against the cold and walked about 30 minutes to get to the center of Naarden. The streets were closed to car traffic and all lit up with Christmas lights. Kids were playing in the streets and parents were drinking mulled wine. We wandered around until we heard the parade starting up. Finding a nice spot on the sidewalk, we stood by to watch.
The parade was short like in most small towns. There were a couple of bands, a fire truck, about 5 floats with tons of kids on them, a group of Zwarte Piets throwing candy, and finally Sinter Klaas on his white horse.
Here’s another confusing Sinter Klaas fact: Sinter Klaas and Santa Klaus are two different people. Sinter Klass is a saint who was a real person. Santa Klaus is a fictitious character who represents the commercial side of Christmas. It seems that the Dutch and German immigrants to the US brought their Sinter Klaas traditions with them. Over the years, the traditions changed to become what we know today as American Christmas. More recently, the shops in the Netherlands have tried to get people to buy more stuff at Christmas and started using Santa Klaus in their advertising. So, Santa Klaus represents the commercial, American style Christmas. The whole thing is a bit like a dog chasing its tail!
Dennis and I spent much of this week in our Dutch language class. It was a three day immersion course for people with some knowledge of Dutch. There were four students total, so we got a lot of individualized attention, especially when the other guys were late! The class held in the teacher’s house in Bussum, so we were able to walk over. We sat at the kitchen table for the lessons and she even made lunch for us! We had to speak Dutch the whole time, which was very hard for me. The other two guys seemed to be able to say exactly what they wanted while I struggled for every word. Whenever we did exercises on paper, I seemed to do OK. From the Teach Yourself Dutch book, I had learned a lot of the grammar and spelling rules. And, since I took a lot of Spanish classes in high school, I have a basic understanding of how foreign languages work. One guy in the class was shocked to find out that you can’t just take an English sentence and translate every word. You actually have to start thinking in Dutch to get the right word order and idioms.
I got a lot of practice on speaking and the teacher gave us lots of things to do at home to keep learning. But the best part of the class was the teacher’s pets (as in cats and dog, not “teacher’s pets”). While we worked the little black cat, named Minnie, would sit on my lap and purr. The dog, a big black Labrador, would stick his graying nose in between me and Dennis to try to get some attention. I have been missing Lady recently, so it was nice to have a dog around. On the last day, the teacher took us out for a walk in the woods to get some fresh air while we working on verb conjugations. The dog was so excited to go along that he barked in the car the whole way to the woods.
Now that the Dutch classes are over, I need to start speaking Dutch at work. It’s been kind of nice to have a few days away from the office, but everyone knows I was at a Dutch class. I hope they don’t expect too much!
Saturday was the Sinter Klaas festival for Naarden. Naarden is a really cool city just a bit north of Bussum. The city is surrounded by canals making it like a small island, about five blocks long and three blocks wide. When they have a party, it’s like a huge street party. It’s much cooler than Bussum. Saturday night, Dennis and I bundled up against the cold and walked about 30 minutes to get to the center of Naarden. The streets were closed to car traffic and all lit up with Christmas lights. Kids were playing in the streets and parents were drinking mulled wine. We wandered around until we heard the parade starting up. Finding a nice spot on the sidewalk, we stood by to watch.
The parade was short like in most small towns. There were a couple of bands, a fire truck, about 5 floats with tons of kids on them, a group of Zwarte Piets throwing candy, and finally Sinter Klaas on his white horse.
Here’s another confusing Sinter Klaas fact: Sinter Klaas and Santa Klaus are two different people. Sinter Klass is a saint who was a real person. Santa Klaus is a fictitious character who represents the commercial side of Christmas. It seems that the Dutch and German immigrants to the US brought their Sinter Klaas traditions with them. Over the years, the traditions changed to become what we know today as American Christmas. More recently, the shops in the Netherlands have tried to get people to buy more stuff at Christmas and started using Santa Klaus in their advertising. So, Santa Klaus represents the commercial, American style Christmas. The whole thing is a bit like a dog chasing its tail!
Dennis and I spent much of this week in our Dutch language class. It was a three day immersion course for people with some knowledge of Dutch. There were four students total, so we got a lot of individualized attention, especially when the other guys were late! The class held in the teacher’s house in Bussum, so we were able to walk over. We sat at the kitchen table for the lessons and she even made lunch for us! We had to speak Dutch the whole time, which was very hard for me. The other two guys seemed to be able to say exactly what they wanted while I struggled for every word. Whenever we did exercises on paper, I seemed to do OK. From the Teach Yourself Dutch book, I had learned a lot of the grammar and spelling rules. And, since I took a lot of Spanish classes in high school, I have a basic understanding of how foreign languages work. One guy in the class was shocked to find out that you can’t just take an English sentence and translate every word. You actually have to start thinking in Dutch to get the right word order and idioms.
I got a lot of practice on speaking and the teacher gave us lots of things to do at home to keep learning. But the best part of the class was the teacher’s pets (as in cats and dog, not “teacher’s pets”). While we worked the little black cat, named Minnie, would sit on my lap and purr. The dog, a big black Labrador, would stick his graying nose in between me and Dennis to try to get some attention. I have been missing Lady recently, so it was nice to have a dog around. On the last day, the teacher took us out for a walk in the woods to get some fresh air while we working on verb conjugations. The dog was so excited to go along that he barked in the car the whole way to the woods.
Now that the Dutch classes are over, I need to start speaking Dutch at work. It’s been kind of nice to have a few days away from the office, but everyone knows I was at a Dutch class. I hope they don’t expect too much!
With the Thanksgiving holiday this week, it was a nice quiet week to be out of the office. We didn’t do anything special for Thanksgiving day, but I will cook some turkey drumsticks this weekend. I found out that I can order a whole turkey at the grocery store, but they normally don’t carry them until Christmas. It’s hard to get in the Thanksgiving mood when nobody else celebrates it. Even though the British people speak English, they don’t have Thanksgiving.
PS - I'm writing my blog while the repairman fixes the water heater. He was surprised that it held out for us and didn't quit working. But right now the heat is off and he's been going in and out so it's getting really COLD in here! I'm going to shut this off and put on my coat!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Odds and Ends
I'm taking a vacation day today to take care of some odds and ends. One of them is to answer some of the questions that have popped up on the blog's comments.
Running with compression socks - I'm running up to a mile at a time now. My legs are feeling OK, but not great. I don't know if I'm feeling better because of the compression socks or because I took a year off from running. I haven't tried running without the socks, so I can't tell. But, I'm happy to be able to get out for a quick run in the evening when it's too dark and cold to go biking. I'm trying to run every other day and I'm building my distance one block at a time. So far so good!
Driver's Licences - You are only allowed to drive on a foreign driver's licence for 6 months after moving to the Netherlands. To get the Dutch licence, I had to turn in the Illinois licence. Apparently, the Dutch government sends the licences back to the US, where I'm sure someone simply throws them away. I did send an email to the Illinois Secretary of State to ask about getting a duplicate licence in my situation. I haven't heard back yet. The same person probably throws away all email inquiries as well! Anyway, I can rent a car in the US using my Dutch licence. And I'll just have to use my passport to get on airplanes in the US. If I can't get my Illinois licence back, I'll just end up having to take the driver's test again when we move back. Thats still a whole lot easier than taking the driver's test here!
Weather - It snowed today here! Yes, I saw real snow flakes falling from the sky for about 2 minutes. It started as sleet, but it switched over. We've been having an icky, blustery day today. It's changed from rain, to sun, to sleet, and to snow at least twice today. The wind is pretty nasty too. I think the last of the leaves have been ripped from the trees along with most of the twigs. But even with that, it's still above freezing. The days are really short now. I am using my bike lights going to and from work. The sun comes up at about 8:00 and it's dark by 5:30.
Language update - Dennis and I are going to a three-day Dutch immersion course next week. We've been studying almost every night and our vocabulary is finally getting big enough that we should be able to express ourselves. But knowing the words and being able to speak are two very different things. I'm hoping that the class will build our confidence with speaking and give us some good practice. Some of our Dutch studying is funny. We have a children's book called "Dikkie Dik" with cartoons about a cat. Dik translates to thick, which the adjective they use to describe fat people, or cats in this case. Dikkie Dik is naughty, like our cat, so we have fun with it. We also got a CD with a children's movie called "Het Paard van Sinter Klaas." Paard means horse and it's good word to know so you can avoid buying horsemeat at the grocery store! The movie is about a little girl who moves here from China. Her dad runs chinese restaurant and she has to learn Dutch just by going to school. She falls in love with a pony that lives in pasture near her house. When the pony dies from old age, she decides to ask Sinter Klaas for a horse. And when Sinter Klaas comes to visit her school riding a white horse, she thinks that he's bringing the horse for her. While Santa is with the other kids, she highjacks the horse and takes him home. It's really a cute movie. It's all in Dutch so we really have to pay attention. We've already watched it twice. Now I know why kids want to watch the same movie or have the same book read to them over and over and over again. They are learning the language.
Water heater - I stayed home today mostly so I could have the water heater repair guy come over to look at our leaking water heater. I figured it's better to schedule the guy while it's only a small leak and I can plan a day off rather than having an emergency repair when it's really not convenient. And since the water heater is in the attic, there is a good potential for significant damage if the leak becomes major. Like the US, they give you a 4 hour time window when the guy might show up. I was lucky today that he was early! But, of course, he has to order a new part so I get to take another day off to deal with this problem. But I'm really glad I called. He said the water heater will shut off completely if the water level drops too low. And he told me this heater runs the hot water for showers and for the radiators. So if it goes out, the house will have no heat. Now, I just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best until the part comes in!
Cleaning lady - Now that Dennis is working, I found a lady to clean our house. I got her name from a co-worker who got her name from a friend. When I called and told her where I live she laughed and said she lives on the next street over! She cleaned for the first time on Wednesday and I think I have a new best friend. She did a really nice job and we're going to have her clean once a week. The house here is smaller than in the US, so the dirt is more concentrated. Now that I don't have to clean on the weekends, Dennis and I can plan to spend more time traveling around.
There's another Sinter Klaas festival on Saturday night in Naarden (the town just north of us). It's supposed to be a really nice party, and we're planning to go. I think the weather is going to be very bad, though so I don't know how long we'll stay. I'll try to take some better pictures!
Running with compression socks - I'm running up to a mile at a time now. My legs are feeling OK, but not great. I don't know if I'm feeling better because of the compression socks or because I took a year off from running. I haven't tried running without the socks, so I can't tell. But, I'm happy to be able to get out for a quick run in the evening when it's too dark and cold to go biking. I'm trying to run every other day and I'm building my distance one block at a time. So far so good!
Driver's Licences - You are only allowed to drive on a foreign driver's licence for 6 months after moving to the Netherlands. To get the Dutch licence, I had to turn in the Illinois licence. Apparently, the Dutch government sends the licences back to the US, where I'm sure someone simply throws them away. I did send an email to the Illinois Secretary of State to ask about getting a duplicate licence in my situation. I haven't heard back yet. The same person probably throws away all email inquiries as well! Anyway, I can rent a car in the US using my Dutch licence. And I'll just have to use my passport to get on airplanes in the US. If I can't get my Illinois licence back, I'll just end up having to take the driver's test again when we move back. Thats still a whole lot easier than taking the driver's test here!
Weather - It snowed today here! Yes, I saw real snow flakes falling from the sky for about 2 minutes. It started as sleet, but it switched over. We've been having an icky, blustery day today. It's changed from rain, to sun, to sleet, and to snow at least twice today. The wind is pretty nasty too. I think the last of the leaves have been ripped from the trees along with most of the twigs. But even with that, it's still above freezing. The days are really short now. I am using my bike lights going to and from work. The sun comes up at about 8:00 and it's dark by 5:30.
Language update - Dennis and I are going to a three-day Dutch immersion course next week. We've been studying almost every night and our vocabulary is finally getting big enough that we should be able to express ourselves. But knowing the words and being able to speak are two very different things. I'm hoping that the class will build our confidence with speaking and give us some good practice. Some of our Dutch studying is funny. We have a children's book called "Dikkie Dik" with cartoons about a cat. Dik translates to thick, which the adjective they use to describe fat people, or cats in this case. Dikkie Dik is naughty, like our cat, so we have fun with it. We also got a CD with a children's movie called "Het Paard van Sinter Klaas." Paard means horse and it's good word to know so you can avoid buying horsemeat at the grocery store! The movie is about a little girl who moves here from China. Her dad runs chinese restaurant and she has to learn Dutch just by going to school. She falls in love with a pony that lives in pasture near her house. When the pony dies from old age, she decides to ask Sinter Klaas for a horse. And when Sinter Klaas comes to visit her school riding a white horse, she thinks that he's bringing the horse for her. While Santa is with the other kids, she highjacks the horse and takes him home. It's really a cute movie. It's all in Dutch so we really have to pay attention. We've already watched it twice. Now I know why kids want to watch the same movie or have the same book read to them over and over and over again. They are learning the language.
Water heater - I stayed home today mostly so I could have the water heater repair guy come over to look at our leaking water heater. I figured it's better to schedule the guy while it's only a small leak and I can plan a day off rather than having an emergency repair when it's really not convenient. And since the water heater is in the attic, there is a good potential for significant damage if the leak becomes major. Like the US, they give you a 4 hour time window when the guy might show up. I was lucky today that he was early! But, of course, he has to order a new part so I get to take another day off to deal with this problem. But I'm really glad I called. He said the water heater will shut off completely if the water level drops too low. And he told me this heater runs the hot water for showers and for the radiators. So if it goes out, the house will have no heat. Now, I just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best until the part comes in!
Cleaning lady - Now that Dennis is working, I found a lady to clean our house. I got her name from a co-worker who got her name from a friend. When I called and told her where I live she laughed and said she lives on the next street over! She cleaned for the first time on Wednesday and I think I have a new best friend. She did a really nice job and we're going to have her clean once a week. The house here is smaller than in the US, so the dirt is more concentrated. Now that I don't have to clean on the weekends, Dennis and I can plan to spend more time traveling around.
There's another Sinter Klaas festival on Saturday night in Naarden (the town just north of us). It's supposed to be a really nice party, and we're planning to go. I think the weather is going to be very bad, though so I don't know how long we'll stay. I'll try to take some better pictures!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sinter Klaas Comes to Bussum
People posing for pictures with 2 Zwarte Piets.
Zwarte Piet giving candy to a kid.
A store-front display featuring Zwarte Piet.
Sinter Klaas day is December 6, but Sinter Klaas comes to town on November 15th so he has lots of time to whip the kids into frenzy. Sinter Klaas lives in Spain. I don’t know why Spain, but it makes as much sense as the North Pole, I suppose. He arrives by boat, and once he’s in the Netherlands, he travels by train or by horse depending on where you live. Instead of elves he has a helper named Zwarte Piet.
Zwarte Piet has lately become a controversial character in the Sinter Klaas tradition. In the past, Zwarte Piet was Sinter Klaas’ Moroccan slave. Zwarte Piet was in charge of the Naughty Book and would kidnap bad children and take them back to Spain. You can see that with 21st century sensibilities, this wouldn’t go over big. He has now morphed into a Santa’s helper, like the elves, and he helps deliver the candy and gifts for Sinter Klaas.
But, you’ve probably already realized that zwarte means black. And being Moroccan, Zwarte Piet is black. Since they don’t have many black people here in the Netherlands, the pale-skinned Dutch people wear black make-up to play the part of Zwarte Piet. This is where the real controversy comes in. People from America with their ideas about political correctness really don’t like white people putting shoe polish on their faces to portray Santa’s slave. The Dutch people are downplaying the slave part, but see no problem with the black make-up. It’s their tradition and it’s not meant to offend. In all reality, Santa’s elves are probably degrading to all the midgets in the US.
Controversy aside, Dennis and I went into town on Saturday evening to see the festival for the arrival of Sinter Klaas. All day on Saturday, you could feel the excitement in the air. The kids were pretty wound up! They had some special booths set up down town selling oliebollen (literally oil-balls, but really just donuts), and poffertjes which are mini pancakes served with powdered sugar and butter. They also had a blow-up jumping thing (does anyone know the proper name for these things?) and a carousel swing. Near the town hall, they were setting up the main stage where they would perform all the Sinter Klaas songs.
At 5:00, everyone gathered around the stage. The children had hats that they made in school. Some had tall red Sinter Klaas hats (like the red hats that cardinals wear), and other kids had beret style Zwarte Piet hats. Some of the kids even had on the black face make-up to look like Zwarte Piet. There was a fleet of Zwarte Piets distributing bags of candy to the kids. The kids would yell to get Piet’s attention. So, you can imagine a group of kids all hopped up on candy yelling, “Piet, Piet, Piet!” All the while, the children’s choir on stage blasted what we can only assume are Christmas tunes. It was complete bedlam!
I tried to get a few pictures (without being creepy), but it was dark and starting to rain. Hopefully I can get some better pictures over the next few weeks. Since it was raining, Dennis and left before Sinter Klaas actually showed up. So, I don't have any pictures of Sinter Klaas, either. He is normally dressed in a red robe and tall hat like a Catholic cardinal. If we wanted to, we could visit the place where Sinter Klaas lives while he's in the Netherlands. He stays at the museum in Naarden vesting so it's really close! But I'm not sure I want to pay 4 euros to see his bed.
Zwarte Piet has lately become a controversial character in the Sinter Klaas tradition. In the past, Zwarte Piet was Sinter Klaas’ Moroccan slave. Zwarte Piet was in charge of the Naughty Book and would kidnap bad children and take them back to Spain. You can see that with 21st century sensibilities, this wouldn’t go over big. He has now morphed into a Santa’s helper, like the elves, and he helps deliver the candy and gifts for Sinter Klaas.
But, you’ve probably already realized that zwarte means black. And being Moroccan, Zwarte Piet is black. Since they don’t have many black people here in the Netherlands, the pale-skinned Dutch people wear black make-up to play the part of Zwarte Piet. This is where the real controversy comes in. People from America with their ideas about political correctness really don’t like white people putting shoe polish on their faces to portray Santa’s slave. The Dutch people are downplaying the slave part, but see no problem with the black make-up. It’s their tradition and it’s not meant to offend. In all reality, Santa’s elves are probably degrading to all the midgets in the US.
Controversy aside, Dennis and I went into town on Saturday evening to see the festival for the arrival of Sinter Klaas. All day on Saturday, you could feel the excitement in the air. The kids were pretty wound up! They had some special booths set up down town selling oliebollen (literally oil-balls, but really just donuts), and poffertjes which are mini pancakes served with powdered sugar and butter. They also had a blow-up jumping thing (does anyone know the proper name for these things?) and a carousel swing. Near the town hall, they were setting up the main stage where they would perform all the Sinter Klaas songs.
At 5:00, everyone gathered around the stage. The children had hats that they made in school. Some had tall red Sinter Klaas hats (like the red hats that cardinals wear), and other kids had beret style Zwarte Piet hats. Some of the kids even had on the black face make-up to look like Zwarte Piet. There was a fleet of Zwarte Piets distributing bags of candy to the kids. The kids would yell to get Piet’s attention. So, you can imagine a group of kids all hopped up on candy yelling, “Piet, Piet, Piet!” All the while, the children’s choir on stage blasted what we can only assume are Christmas tunes. It was complete bedlam!
I tried to get a few pictures (without being creepy), but it was dark and starting to rain. Hopefully I can get some better pictures over the next few weeks. Since it was raining, Dennis and left before Sinter Klaas actually showed up. So, I don't have any pictures of Sinter Klaas, either. He is normally dressed in a red robe and tall hat like a Catholic cardinal. If we wanted to, we could visit the place where Sinter Klaas lives while he's in the Netherlands. He stays at the museum in Naarden vesting so it's really close! But I'm not sure I want to pay 4 euros to see his bed.
From the people at work, I learned a little more about Sinter Klaas and how things work. A lot of the tradition depends on your family, a lot like Christmas traditions in the US. The basic deal is that kids can put out their shoes near the chimney on December 6th and Sinter Klaas delivers a gift. Many kids will put a carrot in their shoe for Sinter Klaas’ horse. So, why does Sinter Klaas come to town several weeks before Sinter Klaas day? As the holiday has become more commercialized, it gives the kids more opportunities to get gifts. Some lucky, spoiled kids leave their shoes out EVERY night from Nov. 15th until Dec. 6th! Other kids are only allowed to put their shoes out on SATURDAY nights until Sinter Klaas day. The kids also get loads of gifts from grandparents and other family members. Some families also give gifts again on Christmas. So, like the US families can get really carried away, or they can keep it a bit more low-key. But it sounds like the gift-giving is generally more low-key than what we’re used to seeing in the US.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Saint Martin's Day
November 11 is Saint Martin's day in the Netherlands. In the US, Nov. 11 is Veteran's day and in England it's Armistice Day, both really celebrating the end of World War I. But, in the Netherlands, they celebrate Saint Martin, the patron saint of children. I'm still not clear on why a country that has such a strong Protestant history celebrates a Catholic saint's day, but we'll let that pass.
Saint Martin's day is the equivalent of Halloween with the kids going door to door collecting candy. Instead of saying, "Trick or treat," they have to sing a song. After the song, they are given candy. They don't wear costumes, but they carry paper lanterns lit with tiny light bulbs.
In the days leading up to Nov. 11, there were advertisements on TV showing kids singing at a man's house and he tries to give them pickles because he forgot to buy candy. I didn't want to be like that guy, so I bought several bags of candy last Saturday. I was a little worried when the people at work said that not all the neighborhoods really do St. Martin's day. But I know that my neighborhood has tons of kids, and I figured they would not pass up the opportunity for candy!
On Tuesday afternoon, I actually left work on time and I gave Dennis directions to get home at a reasonable time to see the kids. At about 6:30, just as our dinner was coming out of the microwave, the first kids came by. The kids came by in rather large groups, probably because it's easier to sing in a group. It was cool to see the kids walking around with their colorful lanterns. By about 7:30, all the kids headed home, unlike in the US where the kids keep bugging you until 10:00.
The next big holiday is SinterKlaas Day. SinterKlaas is coming to town this weekend, so hopefully I'll have more fun information to share then.
Saint Martin's day is the equivalent of Halloween with the kids going door to door collecting candy. Instead of saying, "Trick or treat," they have to sing a song. After the song, they are given candy. They don't wear costumes, but they carry paper lanterns lit with tiny light bulbs.
In the days leading up to Nov. 11, there were advertisements on TV showing kids singing at a man's house and he tries to give them pickles because he forgot to buy candy. I didn't want to be like that guy, so I bought several bags of candy last Saturday. I was a little worried when the people at work said that not all the neighborhoods really do St. Martin's day. But I know that my neighborhood has tons of kids, and I figured they would not pass up the opportunity for candy!
On Tuesday afternoon, I actually left work on time and I gave Dennis directions to get home at a reasonable time to see the kids. At about 6:30, just as our dinner was coming out of the microwave, the first kids came by. The kids came by in rather large groups, probably because it's easier to sing in a group. It was cool to see the kids walking around with their colorful lanterns. By about 7:30, all the kids headed home, unlike in the US where the kids keep bugging you until 10:00.
The next big holiday is SinterKlaas Day. SinterKlaas is coming to town this weekend, so hopefully I'll have more fun information to share then.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Visit to Muiderslot Castle
Last Sunday, Dennis and I rode our town-bikes over to Muiderslot Castle. It's about a 20 minute ride, so it's pretty close. The castle is located in the town of Muiden, where the rver Vecht meets the big lake. You may remember from earlier blogs that the big lake used to be the Zuiderzee, in other words, part of the ocean. The Dutch were going crazy fighting the high tides, so they built a huge dam across the opening of the Zuiderzee. The sea became a lake and over time the water even became fresh. So, back when this castle was built, it was in a pretty strategic location to keep invaders from entering the country by going down the river. After the dam was built, the castle was no longer needed. But it's still pretty cool to see the old castle and the scenic river Vecht.
We took the guided tour of the castle even though we were told the tour would be in Dutch. The advantage of the tour is that you get to see some of the rooms that are otherwise off-limits. Fortunatley for us, the tour guide had English translation cards for us. So we could read along as he talked in Dutch. We are working really hard to learn Dutch, but we are far from being fluent! One of the highlights of the tour for us was an old painting featuring the local celebrities. One of them was Roemer Visscher. So, now we know who our street was named after.
Other than the trip to the castle, we've just been doing the normal workaday thing. I had to travel last week to Switzerland for a couple days and it always seems to take a while to catch up from that sort of thing. Between packing, unpacking, doing laundry, and going grocery shopping, you can really get lost in the day to day activities. We did manage to get out for a nice bike ride yesterday when the sun was shining. It was about 50 degrees and sunny which was good enough for a 20 mile ride. I really love riding along the farms and seeing the cows, sheep, goats, and horses.
The final bit of big news is that I got my Dutch driver's licence this week. It's been in the works for several weeks now and I'm glad it's done. It's always strange to learn the rules of a different country. To get the Dutch licence, I had to fill out a medical questionaire. To get the questionaire, you have to go to the town hall and pay 20 euros for it. Then, you mail it to the bureau and wait for them to send you a letter saying you are medically fit to drive. Once I got the letter back, I took it along with several other documents back to the town hall. Again, I had to pay some money. At this point, they took my US licence from me. The town hall guy was very helpful and gave me copies of all the application forms in case I got stopped by the police while I was waiting for my official licence to arrive. It took about 2 weeks to get a letter stating that my licence was ready to be picked up at the town hall. Since the town hall is only open from 8:30 until noon, it took me another week to schedule a time to go get it. So, all in all, it took three trips to the town hall during working hours and about 6 weeks to get my licence. Phew! Now, I just need to figure out how to get my US licence back!
Now that I have my official licence, I am hoping to do more road trips. The car is getting lonely in the driveway because the weather has been pretty nice lately!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Ghent and compressions socks
Ghent Belgium - late in the afternoon.
I recently attended a seminar in Ghent, Belgium. A coworker and I drove together which made the trip more fun. It’s only about 2 ½ hours from here. In the northern half of Belgium, they speak Dutch. In southern Belgium, they speak French and I think the French have had a far greater influence culturally than the Dutch.
Here’s a French joke (don’t worry, it’s clean): What’s the difference between a Dutch breakfast and a Dutch lunch? Answer: 4 hours. Yes, bread and cheese with a glass of milk for both meals.
For the seminar, I was surprised that they served us a full, three-course meal for lunch on the first day. There was wine on the tables, possibly to give us a good excuse for nodding off during the afternoon sessions, but I had to ask for a Diet Coke. The second day, we had a Dutch lunch – cold sandwiches eaten standing up. But they still served wine!
Ghent is a beautiful city with several old cathedrals in the town center – all with working bell towers that ring all night long! There are restaurants and bars along the canals serving typical Belgian fare like mussels, French Fries, and local beer. It was too bad we didn’t have more time to see the city. Dennis and I definitely have to get back here!
So, it’s the weekend and we’re at home. Dennis is on-call and has to be available within 15 minutes to reset the website if it should crash. Fortunately, they take turns being on-call and he gets paid for it, too.
On Saturday, we managed to run out to the farm that we visited last weekend to buy some beef. During the week, we had gone through the price list and translated the cuts of meat into English. I made a list of the cuts that I wanted and how much. Since we have the huge freezer in the garage, I figured we could stock up. The farmer, who doesn’t speak English, was there when we pulled up. He recognized us and seemed very relieved when I handed him the list! He pulled all the meat from the freezer and weighed each type. When he was done tallying the total, he just showed me the slip. We paid with exact change and were happily on our way. I think the farmer was happy, too!
We also went for a long walk on Saturday afternoon. The sun was out and it was mid-50’s so it was nice for walking. We’ve really had a quite a stretch of sunny days. Fall seems to be a nicer time of year than summer here. Summer was rainy and muggy. Yuck! Today, it’s raining again…
I managed to get out for a short run today despite the rain. As some of you know, I stopped running completely last summer. It’s been over a year since I’ve run at all. I was having serious pain in my lower legs. I went to several doctors and made sure that it was nothing serious, but stopped short when they wanted to stick a large needle into my shin muscle while I was exercising to measure the pressure inside. Running is not THAT important to me.
But I recently read MJ’s blog about her compression socks. I was intrigued and read more on-line about how they work and what they are supposed to do. One of my co-workers here also runs with compression socks. So, I asked her where she got them. She gave me the name of a store in Utrecht, the city where Dennis works. So, on Thursday evening, I went to Utrecht and Dennis and I went to the running store. The lady at work had warned me that you have to get measured to determine what size socks you wear so I had even shaved my legs that morning. I wasn’t exactly prepared for the high price of the socks, but I figured I already spent more than that at the doctor’s office. I figure the socks are worth a try!
For my first run in over a year, I went around the block. And I had to walk some of it. I couldn’t tell if the socks were helping or not. I think I was breathing too hard to notice! Since I’m totally not a natural runner, I really have to start slow. This was how I started running in the first place. So, this is how I’m going to start this time. For my second run, I went around the block and was able to keep running the whole way. Maybe by next week I’ll be able to go around twice! I’m still not convinced that the socks are helping, but I’ll keep trying until I know. Wish me luck – this is my last chance to get back into running.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Back to Normal Life
I managed to take a couple of pictures with my cell phone camera. They are not the best quality, but you can still see how pretty it was!
I only have one more post to do to finish the Spain and Portugal vacation series, but I just can’t force myself to do it. If I’m bored with it, I imagine that you guys are too. Here’s the condensed version: We went from Algarve to Lisbon. We saw really cool cork tree plantations. We tried port wine which Dennis likes, but I don’t. There was yet another big church and then we came home.
So, now I’m back to normal life. As you know from the news flash, Dennis started his new job. He seems to like it so far, but he had to work last weekend. Adding salt to the wound, it was a beautiful weekend. We managed to get for a bike ride on Saturday afternoon. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day. I chose the route but unfortunately, most of the trails were unpaved. We actually ran into one of my co-workers on the path. He’s big into mountain biking (that’s some kind of Dutch joke because there are NO mountains in the Netherlands). Anyway, we stopped and chatted for a while. It reminded me of going running at Waterfall Glenn and seeing people from the tri club or the bike club. I really miss everyone!
This weekend, we got super-lucky and the weather was pretty nice again. It’s in the 50’s and a bit cloudy, but the sun comes out every now and then. The trees are really turning colors and there are leaves on the ground that crunch under foot. We went biking yesterday and had a good ride. We stopped by a farm that advertised “rundervlees voor koop” or beef for sale. The farmer didn’t speak enough English to understand our questions, so he called his wife over. She showed us the cuts of meat they do and the price list. But she said they were pretty much out of meat, but another cow just went away to the… (Here she made the throat cutting gesture indicating slaughterhouse). So, next weekend they will have some more beef. That gives us some time to translate the cuts of beef into English and decide what we want. Cool!
Today, Dennis and I drove over to Groenveld Castle for a walk in the park. Groenveld means green field in Dutch. We biked past it yesterday, but the garden looked more suited to walking than biking. The term castle is used pretty loosely in this case. The building was the summer home for a rich family from Amsterdam. It was built in 1710 and includes an English-style garden. We paid 4 euros each to see the main house, but it was very disappointing. They mainly use the building for exhibits – like for school kids. So, it was boring. But the gardens were very pretty. Mostly it was like walking through the woods with a river in the middle. There were cow and horse pastures nearby as well. Tons of people were out enjoying the fall colors with their kids and dogs. Wandering around the park-lands is a pretty typical Sunday activity especially on such a nice day!
So, now I’m back to normal life. As you know from the news flash, Dennis started his new job. He seems to like it so far, but he had to work last weekend. Adding salt to the wound, it was a beautiful weekend. We managed to get for a bike ride on Saturday afternoon. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day. I chose the route but unfortunately, most of the trails were unpaved. We actually ran into one of my co-workers on the path. He’s big into mountain biking (that’s some kind of Dutch joke because there are NO mountains in the Netherlands). Anyway, we stopped and chatted for a while. It reminded me of going running at Waterfall Glenn and seeing people from the tri club or the bike club. I really miss everyone!
This weekend, we got super-lucky and the weather was pretty nice again. It’s in the 50’s and a bit cloudy, but the sun comes out every now and then. The trees are really turning colors and there are leaves on the ground that crunch under foot. We went biking yesterday and had a good ride. We stopped by a farm that advertised “rundervlees voor koop” or beef for sale. The farmer didn’t speak enough English to understand our questions, so he called his wife over. She showed us the cuts of meat they do and the price list. But she said they were pretty much out of meat, but another cow just went away to the… (Here she made the throat cutting gesture indicating slaughterhouse). So, next weekend they will have some more beef. That gives us some time to translate the cuts of beef into English and decide what we want. Cool!
Today, Dennis and I drove over to Groenveld Castle for a walk in the park. Groenveld means green field in Dutch. We biked past it yesterday, but the garden looked more suited to walking than biking. The term castle is used pretty loosely in this case. The building was the summer home for a rich family from Amsterdam. It was built in 1710 and includes an English-style garden. We paid 4 euros each to see the main house, but it was very disappointing. They mainly use the building for exhibits – like for school kids. So, it was boring. But the gardens were very pretty. Mostly it was like walking through the woods with a river in the middle. There were cow and horse pastures nearby as well. Tons of people were out enjoying the fall colors with their kids and dogs. Wandering around the park-lands is a pretty typical Sunday activity especially on such a nice day!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Algarve, Portugal
The cliffs on the coast of Portugal.
The beach in Salema. In the winter, the sand washes out to sea. It comes back in the spring just in time for the tourists.
The view from the boat of the waves crashing on the cliffs. There were also people fishing from the tops of the cliffs!
From Arcos de la Frontera, we moved on to Portugal. For a bit of a breather, we went to the Algarve, which is the resort area on the southern edge of the country that is popular with the German and British tourists. Before you start picturing sun-drenched beaches with topless women frolicking in the surf – let me remind you about the Germans and the British. In England, they don’t buy beach umbrellas to block the sun; they buy wind blocks to keep warm. And the Germans appear to care more about inexpensive beer than smooth sand. For a beach vacation, you might want to follow a more discerning crowd.
With that said, the area was strikingly beautiful. We stopped at one place that used to be considered the end of the world. Beyond this, it was though that you would sail right off the edge. Indeed, you could stand on the cliff overlooking the ocean and believe that it’s true. It was our good friend Christopher Columbus sailing from Spain who finally proved there was something else out there. It would have been cool to post this blog on Oct. 13 in celebration of Columbus Day, but I don’t think you guys want to wait that long. You’re probably tired of this vacation by now and just want to go home!
We actually stayed in the little town of Salema for two nights to give us a little break from all the city tours. It felt nice to relax a little without the sound of motorbikes and jackhammers. Salema is so small that it only has one very small grocery store and no other real shops. There are a few restaurants and some hotels serving the little stretch of beach. The water here was terribly cold and never gets warm. The weather was very cool in the evening and only seemed to warm up after about 2 in the afternoon. We spent the first afternoon just appreciating the ocean and beach. For dinner we ate as a group at the beach-front restaurant. The seafood was pretty fresh. In the morning, we watching the fishing boats being pulled up the beach by a large tractor.
The next day, a lot of us went on a boat tour. Dennis who tends to get sea-sick decided not to go. The boat tour took us out to see the cliffs from the water. It was pretty windy and a bit cold. The ride was not terribly rough, but Dennis would not have appreciated it. The cliffs were stunning. You could see how the cliffs are eroding away in places. One cathedral is now closed to the public because one corner has fallen away. The guides also told us about the fishing industry and how they catch the fish. For the big fish, they string a bunch of hooks on one line and put it in the water with a buoy. Each fisherman has his own color of buoy. The guys who catch octopus use clay pots that they drop to the bottom. The octopi hide in the pots thinking they found a safe spot. The fishermen just pull in the pots and collect the octopi.
With that said, the area was strikingly beautiful. We stopped at one place that used to be considered the end of the world. Beyond this, it was though that you would sail right off the edge. Indeed, you could stand on the cliff overlooking the ocean and believe that it’s true. It was our good friend Christopher Columbus sailing from Spain who finally proved there was something else out there. It would have been cool to post this blog on Oct. 13 in celebration of Columbus Day, but I don’t think you guys want to wait that long. You’re probably tired of this vacation by now and just want to go home!
We actually stayed in the little town of Salema for two nights to give us a little break from all the city tours. It felt nice to relax a little without the sound of motorbikes and jackhammers. Salema is so small that it only has one very small grocery store and no other real shops. There are a few restaurants and some hotels serving the little stretch of beach. The water here was terribly cold and never gets warm. The weather was very cool in the evening and only seemed to warm up after about 2 in the afternoon. We spent the first afternoon just appreciating the ocean and beach. For dinner we ate as a group at the beach-front restaurant. The seafood was pretty fresh. In the morning, we watching the fishing boats being pulled up the beach by a large tractor.
The next day, a lot of us went on a boat tour. Dennis who tends to get sea-sick decided not to go. The boat tour took us out to see the cliffs from the water. It was pretty windy and a bit cold. The ride was not terribly rough, but Dennis would not have appreciated it. The cliffs were stunning. You could see how the cliffs are eroding away in places. One cathedral is now closed to the public because one corner has fallen away. The guides also told us about the fishing industry and how they catch the fish. For the big fish, they string a bunch of hooks on one line and put it in the water with a buoy. Each fisherman has his own color of buoy. The guys who catch octopus use clay pots that they drop to the bottom. The octopi hide in the pots thinking they found a safe spot. The fishermen just pull in the pots and collect the octopi.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sevilla
One of the cute little squares in the historic quarter of Sevilla.
Our tour guide Amanda with the Alcazar palace in the background. You can also see the palm trees and bright blue sky that helped to create a lovely ambiance.
Part of the cathedral. For those of you who are not familiar with all the old architectural styles, this is a fine example of Gothic.
This is the huge golden alter inside the cathedral. This is apparently the largest alterpiece ever made. The picture is good, but it doesn't do it justice!
The paella that we had for our group dinner. You can see the regular sized dinner plates in the background to give you an idea of how big this pan is!
From Arcos de la Frontera, we got back on our bus to Sevilla. Sevilla is another big city, but after Granada, it seemed very clean and safe. One of the big attractions here are the orange trees all over the city. In the spring when they bloom, the air smells is fragrant with orange blossoms. Unfortunately these oranges are no good for eating. They are very bitter. There is only one use for them – in British orange marmalade. The people of Sevilla shake their heads that anyone would bother with such bitter oranges even as they sell them all to the crazy British people!
Sevilla has a very small historic center, about 1 km square. The streets are impossibly narrow and curvy making maps difficult. As in some of the other cities, the cute little open squares were actually not original. In Sevilla, they were built in 1929 for the Exposition. This ended up being a really bad year for an Exposition with the stock market crash and all. But they tried again in 1992 and the city ended up with some nice infrastructure and a lot of pedestrian-only streets. It all makes for a really pretty and charming city.
The two main sites in Sevilla are the cathedral and the Alcazar palace. The cathedral is the 3rd largest in Europe and it’s impressive. We had a fantastic, local tour guide who told us all the cool details about it. There is a tomb for Christopher Columbus here, but the city of Santo Domingo also claims to have his body. She explained that they ran several DNA tests before they were finally able to conclude that the remains in Sevilla are really Christopher Columbus. But Santo Domingo still claims that they have at least part of his body! The main alter of this cathedral was huge and all gold. I put the picture in, but you have to imagine it 10 times cooler. After we toured the inside of the cathedral, we climbed the bell tower. From the top, we were able to see lots of details on the church itself as well as the whole city. The bells were huge and when one of them rang, we nearly jumped out of our skin it was so loud!
Later that evening, we walked to dinner with the group. This was our paella dinner and they brought us one huge paella for the whole group. Again, I included a picture of the dish as they started to serve it. It was pretty good, but the stuff we ate in Madrid was better. After the meal, our tour guide had a surprise for us. She had arranged horse and carriage rides for the whole group. This was totally cool! We rode around the Cathedral and the palace and stopped for some pictures (sorry, none of mine were very good) before heading back to our hotel.
The next day, Dennis and I went to the Alcazar palace, which was very similar to the Alhambra but not quite as cool. Still it was nice to stroll around the gardens and enjoy the beautiful day. We walked around town quite a bit also and managed to find lunch in a little tapas restaurant. Later, we tried to find dinner, but as usual we struggled to find food before 8:30 pm. Thank goodness for tapas. We would have waited until later, but we had a Flamenco performance to go to at 8:30. The Flamenco was done in a really small theater, about 60 chairs around the center stage. There were only two dancers and the costumes were quite understated – not the huge ruffled dresses that we normally think of. After the performance, one woman asked if the Catholic Church had ever censored Flamenco because it’s so sexy. We were surprised to find out that they had not.
Sevilla has a very small historic center, about 1 km square. The streets are impossibly narrow and curvy making maps difficult. As in some of the other cities, the cute little open squares were actually not original. In Sevilla, they were built in 1929 for the Exposition. This ended up being a really bad year for an Exposition with the stock market crash and all. But they tried again in 1992 and the city ended up with some nice infrastructure and a lot of pedestrian-only streets. It all makes for a really pretty and charming city.
The two main sites in Sevilla are the cathedral and the Alcazar palace. The cathedral is the 3rd largest in Europe and it’s impressive. We had a fantastic, local tour guide who told us all the cool details about it. There is a tomb for Christopher Columbus here, but the city of Santo Domingo also claims to have his body. She explained that they ran several DNA tests before they were finally able to conclude that the remains in Sevilla are really Christopher Columbus. But Santo Domingo still claims that they have at least part of his body! The main alter of this cathedral was huge and all gold. I put the picture in, but you have to imagine it 10 times cooler. After we toured the inside of the cathedral, we climbed the bell tower. From the top, we were able to see lots of details on the church itself as well as the whole city. The bells were huge and when one of them rang, we nearly jumped out of our skin it was so loud!
Later that evening, we walked to dinner with the group. This was our paella dinner and they brought us one huge paella for the whole group. Again, I included a picture of the dish as they started to serve it. It was pretty good, but the stuff we ate in Madrid was better. After the meal, our tour guide had a surprise for us. She had arranged horse and carriage rides for the whole group. This was totally cool! We rode around the Cathedral and the palace and stopped for some pictures (sorry, none of mine were very good) before heading back to our hotel.
The next day, Dennis and I went to the Alcazar palace, which was very similar to the Alhambra but not quite as cool. Still it was nice to stroll around the gardens and enjoy the beautiful day. We walked around town quite a bit also and managed to find lunch in a little tapas restaurant. Later, we tried to find dinner, but as usual we struggled to find food before 8:30 pm. Thank goodness for tapas. We would have waited until later, but we had a Flamenco performance to go to at 8:30. The Flamenco was done in a really small theater, about 60 chairs around the center stage. There were only two dancers and the costumes were quite understated – not the huge ruffled dresses that we normally think of. After the performance, one woman asked if the Catholic Church had ever censored Flamenco because it’s so sexy. We were surprised to find out that they had not.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Arcos de la Frontera
This is the city of Ronda, built over the river gorge. It was really hard to choose which picture to put in my blog, because Ronda was so beautiful.
Another view from Ronda. The farm land below is full of orange trees.
This is from Arcos de le Frontera. It's not quite as spectacular as Ronda, but still pretty cool.
In tribute to my brother, I am including this picture taken from the bathroom of our hotel room.
The narrow lanes with the white-washed buildings in Arcos.
From Granada, we rode the bus to Arcos de la Frontera, one of the beautiful white hill-towns. This is the southern part of Spain, the state of Andalucia, and is pretty much what we have in mind when we think of Spain. This is the home of bull-fighting, gazpacho, and flamenco.
As we left Granada, our tour guide warned us to have a very light breakfast because we would be stopping for brunch. As a source of revenue, some of the senoras in one of the small towns started a business serving tourists meals in their homes. We arrived in the small town, broke out into groups of seven, and followed the senoras home. The senoras only speak Spanish, but are very good at pantomiming. It was very good practice for me. I was able to understand most of her rudimentary commands and questions.
She served us a lot of different dishes, but all pretty basic. We had fresh bread, cheese, and some sausages and a meat spread that was like chorizo. The main part of the meal was Spanish tortilla, an egg and potato dish. There was a simple tomato and olive oil salsa to go with it. She tried to get us to drink wine with the meal, but we all thought it was too early. After the meal, she passed around a plate of grapes –these are the local wine grapes and tasted very fragrant. Then we had coffee and cookies (no wonder we were told to eat a light breakfast!). Finally, she started pulling out the brandy and other liquors. She encouraged us to drink some by indicating that we could sleep on the bus. The apple brandy was quite nice and not very strong. It was more like a wine than liquor. After our huge meal, she took us on a house tour. It was a nice house, although not very big. The kitchen and bathrooms were about what we would expect. The bedrooms were fairly small but again, looked pretty normal. The dining room was crammed into a small family room and had all of the important family pictures of Christenings and graduations.
We slept for a while on the bus until we reached our next stop, the city of Ronda. Ronda is built on a huge river gorge and is quite spectacular. We visited a bull-fighting ring, complete with blood still visible on the dirt. We did not actually see any bulls, but we did see some of the beautiful horses. Remember the famous Lipizzaner Stallions in Austria are actually from Spain (the Spanish Riding School). Anyway, we had some time to walk around the city and enjoy the views before we had to go.
Our final destination for the day was Arcos de la Frontera. The Frontera was the front line of the war against the Moors. The hill-tops were strategic locations and the towns were pretty well protected. One feature of all these hill-towns is the white-washed houses. I think white is the only color of paint that they sell. But the sun is so intense that the white probably helps to keep the interiors cool. In Arcos, there are not many sights other than the city itself. We did go into the small cathedral to see the dead dudes. One of them is “the incorruptible body” or St. Felix who miraculously never rots. He really looks like a skeleton dressed in clothes. I couldn’t figure out who the other guy was, but he looked the same. Fortunately they were both behind glass so we couldn’t smell them.
One really cool thing in this city was watching the cars trying to navigate the narrow roads. Virtually all the cars in town had long scratches on both sides and a lot of them had broken outside mirrors dangling off. These were compact cars, too. We stood and watched at one section where the buildings squeezed the road so the cars barely fit through. The drivers had to approach the narrow section and then back up a little bit to make sure that they were exactly straight. At this point, they opened the window and tilted the side mirror in. Then, ever so slowly, they would proceed. Once clear they reached out and pushed the mirror back out. There were tons of motorbikes here, too. Motorbikes would be much more practical than a car. The steep hills would make bicycles nearly impossible. Even walking up some of the hills was difficult!
As we left Granada, our tour guide warned us to have a very light breakfast because we would be stopping for brunch. As a source of revenue, some of the senoras in one of the small towns started a business serving tourists meals in their homes. We arrived in the small town, broke out into groups of seven, and followed the senoras home. The senoras only speak Spanish, but are very good at pantomiming. It was very good practice for me. I was able to understand most of her rudimentary commands and questions.
She served us a lot of different dishes, but all pretty basic. We had fresh bread, cheese, and some sausages and a meat spread that was like chorizo. The main part of the meal was Spanish tortilla, an egg and potato dish. There was a simple tomato and olive oil salsa to go with it. She tried to get us to drink wine with the meal, but we all thought it was too early. After the meal, she passed around a plate of grapes –these are the local wine grapes and tasted very fragrant. Then we had coffee and cookies (no wonder we were told to eat a light breakfast!). Finally, she started pulling out the brandy and other liquors. She encouraged us to drink some by indicating that we could sleep on the bus. The apple brandy was quite nice and not very strong. It was more like a wine than liquor. After our huge meal, she took us on a house tour. It was a nice house, although not very big. The kitchen and bathrooms were about what we would expect. The bedrooms were fairly small but again, looked pretty normal. The dining room was crammed into a small family room and had all of the important family pictures of Christenings and graduations.
We slept for a while on the bus until we reached our next stop, the city of Ronda. Ronda is built on a huge river gorge and is quite spectacular. We visited a bull-fighting ring, complete with blood still visible on the dirt. We did not actually see any bulls, but we did see some of the beautiful horses. Remember the famous Lipizzaner Stallions in Austria are actually from Spain (the Spanish Riding School). Anyway, we had some time to walk around the city and enjoy the views before we had to go.
Our final destination for the day was Arcos de la Frontera. The Frontera was the front line of the war against the Moors. The hill-tops were strategic locations and the towns were pretty well protected. One feature of all these hill-towns is the white-washed houses. I think white is the only color of paint that they sell. But the sun is so intense that the white probably helps to keep the interiors cool. In Arcos, there are not many sights other than the city itself. We did go into the small cathedral to see the dead dudes. One of them is “the incorruptible body” or St. Felix who miraculously never rots. He really looks like a skeleton dressed in clothes. I couldn’t figure out who the other guy was, but he looked the same. Fortunately they were both behind glass so we couldn’t smell them.
One really cool thing in this city was watching the cars trying to navigate the narrow roads. Virtually all the cars in town had long scratches on both sides and a lot of them had broken outside mirrors dangling off. These were compact cars, too. We stood and watched at one section where the buildings squeezed the road so the cars barely fit through. The drivers had to approach the narrow section and then back up a little bit to make sure that they were exactly straight. At this point, they opened the window and tilted the side mirror in. Then, ever so slowly, they would proceed. Once clear they reached out and pushed the mirror back out. There were tons of motorbikes here, too. Motorbikes would be much more practical than a car. The steep hills would make bicycles nearly impossible. Even walking up some of the hills was difficult!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Granada
The La Mancha countryside with olive groves and vineyards.
The Don Quixote windmills.
The Alhambra as seen from our restaurant.
The gardens at the Alhambra.
The Moorish stucco - see the color?
Every door and room was decorated with the beautiful stucco.
From Toledo, we drove south towards Granada. On the way, we stopped at the Don Quixote windmills in La Mancha. The windmills were up on a hill (where there is a lot of wind) with a view of the surrounding farmland. The local crops are olives and wine grapes. Most of the olive oil in the world comes from Spain – they actually sell olives to the Italians. They are working on switching over from wine grapes to olives. The wine from this region tends to be crappy and the olive oil sells for more money. The windmills were actually used for milling wheat although they don’t grow as much wheat here as they used to.
We arrived in Granada in time for a walking tour and dinner. Granada, in the south of Spain, is the gateway to Morocco. The Moroccan influence was obvious in the restaurants and souvenir stores. The smell of incense poured out of all the little souvenir stores. The streets were narrow and dirty. There were lots of homeless people and weird looking hippies. Lots of them had scraggy-looking dogs. I really did not like this city. But it did have some redeeming factors.
For dinner, Dennis and I went to a wine bar. Granada is one of the last cities to serve tapas free with your drinks. Our tour guide advised us to keep an eye on what other people were getting and make sure you get the same. At our wine bar, we sat right at the bar so we could ask the bar tender about the wines. We ordered a glass each and we got our tapa – a toothpick with a grape and a square of cheese. OK, that’s a bit underwhelming. But we saw the chef deliver a platter with a gorgeous seafood salad (mussels, carrots, red peppers in vinaigrette). With my great high-school Spanish, I asked the bartender, “Que es esto?” With that, he gave us each a small serving of the salad. We ordered a few other tapas off the menu, too. The menu for once was understandable and the prices were listed clearly as well. Another glass of wine got us an even larger portion of the mussels! Yum. The tapas that we ordered were also wonderful. Finally tapas the way we thought they should be!
The next day, most of the group went to a Moroccan restaurant for lunch. They seated us in the upstairs dining room and we had the room to ourselves. The waiter just brought us an assortment of foods to try. It was a great way to sample a lot of dishes, but it was nearly impossible to know the name of the dish. So, there’s no way to order it again. Oh well, it was all fantastic, so it probably doesn’t matter what it’s called.
Finally, the highlight of Granada and the real reason that people come here was the Alhambra. The Alhambra was the Moorish Palace until the Crusaders conquered Spain. Then it became the Palace for Charles V. It’s a huge complex on a hilltop with gorgeous gardens and fresh cool breezes. The Moorish Palace still has the original stucco work complete with the colorful paint. The gardens were built after the Moors and were like an English garden. It’s really hard to describe such a large complex, so if you ever get to Spain, this is one of the places to see. You have to plan ahead, though. Tickets are all sold in advance.
That evening, we had a group dinner at a restaurant with a view of the Alhambra. After dinner, one of the guys in the group provided some entertainment. As a high school student, he played Don Quixote’s sidekick in The Man of La Mancha and he actually remembered one or two of the songs. The whole time he was singing, our tour guide was panicking that we would be kicked out! But our singer was pretty good and everyone was having fun.
So, the bottom line on Granada is great food and the fabulous Alhambra all in a dirty city with bad atmosphere.
We arrived in Granada in time for a walking tour and dinner. Granada, in the south of Spain, is the gateway to Morocco. The Moroccan influence was obvious in the restaurants and souvenir stores. The smell of incense poured out of all the little souvenir stores. The streets were narrow and dirty. There were lots of homeless people and weird looking hippies. Lots of them had scraggy-looking dogs. I really did not like this city. But it did have some redeeming factors.
For dinner, Dennis and I went to a wine bar. Granada is one of the last cities to serve tapas free with your drinks. Our tour guide advised us to keep an eye on what other people were getting and make sure you get the same. At our wine bar, we sat right at the bar so we could ask the bar tender about the wines. We ordered a glass each and we got our tapa – a toothpick with a grape and a square of cheese. OK, that’s a bit underwhelming. But we saw the chef deliver a platter with a gorgeous seafood salad (mussels, carrots, red peppers in vinaigrette). With my great high-school Spanish, I asked the bartender, “Que es esto?” With that, he gave us each a small serving of the salad. We ordered a few other tapas off the menu, too. The menu for once was understandable and the prices were listed clearly as well. Another glass of wine got us an even larger portion of the mussels! Yum. The tapas that we ordered were also wonderful. Finally tapas the way we thought they should be!
The next day, most of the group went to a Moroccan restaurant for lunch. They seated us in the upstairs dining room and we had the room to ourselves. The waiter just brought us an assortment of foods to try. It was a great way to sample a lot of dishes, but it was nearly impossible to know the name of the dish. So, there’s no way to order it again. Oh well, it was all fantastic, so it probably doesn’t matter what it’s called.
Finally, the highlight of Granada and the real reason that people come here was the Alhambra. The Alhambra was the Moorish Palace until the Crusaders conquered Spain. Then it became the Palace for Charles V. It’s a huge complex on a hilltop with gorgeous gardens and fresh cool breezes. The Moorish Palace still has the original stucco work complete with the colorful paint. The gardens were built after the Moors and were like an English garden. It’s really hard to describe such a large complex, so if you ever get to Spain, this is one of the places to see. You have to plan ahead, though. Tickets are all sold in advance.
That evening, we had a group dinner at a restaurant with a view of the Alhambra. After dinner, one of the guys in the group provided some entertainment. As a high school student, he played Don Quixote’s sidekick in The Man of La Mancha and he actually remembered one or two of the songs. The whole time he was singing, our tour guide was panicking that we would be kicked out! But our singer was pretty good and everyone was having fun.
So, the bottom line on Granada is great food and the fabulous Alhambra all in a dirty city with bad atmosphere.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Toledo
One of the wider streets in Toledo.
A peak at the Cathedral from one of the narrow streets.
See the Basset Hound on the balcony? He barked at everyone walking by. What fun!
This is Toledo from the road. The Tajo river curves around the city in a U shape.
Toledo
From Madrid, we went just a little south to the historic city of Toledo. Toledo used to be the capitol of Spain. It’s a natural fortress with the Tajo river running along three sides. This protection also made it difficult to expand. That’s why they moved the capitol to Madrid. The entire city of Toledo is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s a very cool city made up of a labyrinth of cobble-stoned streets.
Our walking tour of Toledo started with an explanation of the phrase “holy Toledo!” Apparently, Toledo was considered the most holy city in Europe by the Sephardic Jews who lived there. Toledo was also a Roman city, then Visigothic, then Moorish before the Christians recaptured it in 1085. Obviously, there is a lot of history here!
The main Cathedral was truly spectacular. The bright colors on the altar are original. It was recently cleaned and they think the dirt actually preserved the colors. There is one place with a skylight that artistically illuminates the gilded Eucharist scene. This was a late addition to the Cathedral and many people thought the hole in the ceiling would weaken the structure. But it was built with care and caused no damage. The Sacristy is practically and art museum with mostly El Greco paintings.
After the walking tour, we headed out for lunch. The tour guide recommended a place in a small square just a few blocks from the main square. This tucked away little place was serving some local favorites. We had venison stew and a pork stew with lots of bread to soak up the sauces. We also found the local marzipan shop. Marzipan is a local treat and it’s quite different from the overly sweet, sticky stuff you’ve probably had. This was rich and baked so it was tender and moist, but not sticky.
Our group met for drinks on the roof of the hotel that evening. The tour guide had all the things to make Tinto de Verrano, a type of sangria. Here’s the recipe:
½ cup red wine (cheap wine is fine for this!)
¼ cup sparkling water
¼ cup orange or lemon lime soda
Splash of vermouth
Serve over ice with slices of orange and lemon
After the happy hour, we walked over to a restaurant where some people said they had a great lunch. We knew the name and approximately where it was, but we didn’t have the address. Most people find Toledo very confusing, but Dennis and I were pretty successful. We aimed in the direction we thought it should be, walked around a few of the side streets and voila! We had a fabulous dinner with some of the best red wine ever. We ordered the house wine, but when the waiter came and opened the bottle in front of us, we were a little concerned. Not knowing how expensive the wine was, we stuck to a single glass each. When we got the bill and saw that it was only 3 euros, we almost ordered more! Dennis had another typical Toledo dish, the partridge. I ordered the “acorn-fed Iberian pork.” Both dishes were fantastic. As we left, we grabbed a card to give to our tour guide. A good restaurant like this is too good to keep to ourselves!
So, after a rough start with the Spanish tapas, we were finally finding excellent food. Toledo was a lovely city and I could have spent another few days here for sure. Most of the streets are too narrow for cars, so it’s mainly a pedestrian town. And with little shops selling marzipan, knives, and beautiful gold-inlayed damascene it was fun to shop between sights. This was by far my favorite city on this tour!
PS - Per the last comment: The Spanish people are more into walking than biking. There were a few bikes in the big cities, but not like the Netherlands!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Madrid
The Royal Cathedral in Madrid.
The bear and the tree are symbols of the city. This statue was on the corner of the pedestrian street that our hotel was on.
Dennis at the Royal Palace overlooking the rest of the city.
From Barcelona, we took the high-speed train to Madrid. On the train we really saw how wonderful the Spanish people are. The train had assigned seats, but Dennis and I were in a row without windows. Since we wanted to see out, we switched seats with the lady behind us. At the next stop, another person was supposed to sit in our row. The first lady explained the seat switch to him and he gladly sat down in the row with no windows. By and by, the lady got off and ANOTHER person came to our row. The guy explained and again, we were allowed to keep our good seats. That was pretty nice!
Madrid is right in the heart of Spain and is the capital. It’s a nice city with lots of pedestrian-only streets and beautiful squares. The squares and open space are relatively new. Jose Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon) tore down many of the Catholic buildings to create the squares from their courtyards. The Catholics were not happy but it makes for a nice walking city.
The first afternoon, we had time on our own. Dennis and I went to the Royal Palace. It’s a huge and beautiful building modeled after Versailles. It’s actually still in use and is therefore furnished. It’s rare because the furnishings are mostly original. Versailles is no longer original since the French Revolution when the people looted the place.
For a nice afternoon snack, we tried the typical Spanish treat of churros and chocolate. The churros are similar to what you get in the US, but without the sugar. The chocolate is really where the difference is. The Spanish chocolate is thick like a chocolate pudding, but more rich and less sweet. The little place that serves the churros and chocolate is tucked into a small alley. They have lots of outdoor seating and they only serve one thing. What a cool place!
That evening, the group got together for a dinner. The appetizers were good, but everyone agreed that the main courses were pretty bad. We had to choose between the ox-tail stew or cod. Dennis had the ox-tail and I chose the cod. Both dishes were painfully salty. If they weren’t so salty, I think they would have been good. Oh well, another disappointing meal…
Our hotel was on one of the main pedestrian streets. Since it was Saturday night, we sat out on the sidewalk café and drank sangria and watched the Madrilenos on their passeo.
In the morning, we had a walking tour of the city that included the Prada Museum. The guide showed us many of the famous paintings and explained their significance. Dennis and I were astounded that all of the paintings were religious or of royal families. How could there be so many paintings of Jesus and Mary?
For dinner, we got together with another couple who were also struggling with the cuisine. We decided that paella would be a nice change of pace from the tapas. I had checked a bunch of menus that afternoon as Dennis and I walked around. Lots of places advertised paella on large posters. Oddly, most of the posters were the same. Soon we noticed that they all had the same corporate logo on them. We realized these restaurants were serving frozen paella – not what we were after! We started checking the menus at smaller restaurants looking for REAL paella. Finally, right next door to our hotel, we found a menu with a note that you will have to wait 40 minutes for an order of paella. So this is where we went.
We had to wait until 8:00 for the restaurant to start serving dinner. But in the end, it was worth the wait. This was one of the best meals we had on the whole trip. The rice was savory and a little spicy, and caramelized on the bottom of the pan just the way it should be. The restaurant was not beautiful but the owner was very good to us. He didn’t speak much English, but we got by on my high-school Spanish. Again, we were impressed by how friendly and polite the people were.
So, Madrid was cool. They speak regular Spanish, are friendly and welcoming. The food is getting better, too.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
News Flash
Dennis has already found a job! The stats of his job search are pretty remarkable. He interviewed with 6 companies. He got three offers, one rejection, and the other two were still in play. He interviewed 9 times. The whole process took less than 5 weeks and we were on vacation for 2 of them. He is supposed to start work on Wednesday which means his time as a Man of Leisure is seriously limited.
His job is with a company that runs a popular website that compares product features and prices. They are located in Utrecht – just a 25 minute train ride from home. Since we picked a house that’s only 4 blocks from the train station, it should be very convenient. And the company is next door to the train station in Utrecht.
More later….
His job is with a company that runs a popular website that compares product features and prices. They are located in Utrecht – just a 25 minute train ride from home. Since we picked a house that’s only 4 blocks from the train station, it should be very convenient. And the company is next door to the train station in Utrecht.
More later….
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Barcelona
This is the Ramblas were people stroll in the evenings when it's cooler.
Here are the hams hanging in the market.
This is just one small part of the Gaudi Sagrada Familia.
This is one of the historic Roman gates to the city.
The first stop on our tour was Barcelona – a sunny city on the Mediterranean Sea and home to Gaudi and Picasso. We had an easy flight and found our hotel without any problems. Of course, we had the advantage of not being jet-lagged like the rest of our group! The tour group was 24 people from the US and Canada. Our leader, Amanda, is also American but lives and works in Madrid.
The first evening, we went out as a group for our first taste of tapas. Most of the tapas were fried – calamari, fried artichoke hearts, and fried cheese. There was also a small plate of paella, a yummy potato salad, and tortilla, which is potato layered with egg. All in all, the food was pretty boring.
The next day, we started the tour in earnest with a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter and Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. The Gothic Quarter was cool because it was the old Roman city with narrow streets and all the historic buildings. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia was a bit disappointing. Apparently, it’s been under construction constantly since it was started. So, you have to look past the workers and the scaffolds and junk to see what’s going on. Of course Gaudi was known for his “more is more” philosophy so there was a lot going on. Actually, when you looked at each section individually, it was quite beautiful. The whole thing was designed to show his love for God. No public funds have been used in the construction. It’s all funded by entry fees and donations. That’s part of why it’s taking so long.
After our long walking tour, we were set free for the rest of the day. Dennis and I grabbed some sandwiches at a small shop and then went on to the Boqueria Market, a beautiful food market. The fruit sellers make all sorts of fruit juices which is really refreshing on a hot day. The seafood was stunning as well. But what we really noticed were lots of shops selling Serrano ham. The ham legs were just hanging from the awnings. When someone orders, they shave thin slices off the leg. Some of the ham is 150 euros per kilo! We tasted a mid-priced ham and just got a couple euros worth. It was tasty but rather dry and chewy.
For dinner, we tried some more tapas and also had sangria. The tapas were mostly French bread with some toppings like ham, cheese, or seafood. Really, the tapas thing seems to be over-rated. But with the dinner restaurants not opening until 8:30 or 9:00, we didn’t have a lot of options. Since it’s so hot during the day, the Spanish go out very late. In the evenings, they walk outside (called the paseo) to meet their friends and get some food. They eat tapas as a snack before their main meal.
Our other problem with the tapas was that the menus were not in Spanish – they speak Catalonian in Barcelona. So the menus were not helpful. We tried sitting at the bar to get a better view of the tapas on display. That way we could point to what we wanted and not have to know the name. But you also don’t know the price…
The coolest part about Barcelona was the Rambla, a mile-long pedestrian boulevard stretching from the waterfront to the main square. It’s full of little shops and kiosks, street entertainers, tourists, and pick-pockets. The people- watching was fabulous! We chose to spend more time walking the Ramblas rather than seeing the Picasso museum. Neither of us are big Picasso fans.
In a nutshell, Barcelona is beautiful, warm, and sunny, but the language barrier is difficult. It seemed pretty touristy along the Ramblas. The tapas here were not so great.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Home from our Holiday
We arrived home last night from 15 days in Spain and Portugal. We've managed to pick up the cat from the kennel and go grocery shopping and the laundry is started. I haven't downloaded the pictures yet. I have several hundered to go through, so please be patient.
The trip was fabulous. It was warm and sunny almost all the time. Now that we're home, it's definitely feeling like fall. The air is crisp and cool! Spain and Portugal look a lot like the southwest US. Along the coast, it's more humid than I expected, but the land was pretty dry. The food varied from really good to pretty bad depending on what city we were in and what we ordered.
Since we visited so many cities, I think I'll describe them one at a time in the posts. That will give me time to go through the pictures, too! But to give you a bit of background, we took an organized tour through Rick Steves - you know, the guy who does the travel programs on public TV? Anyway, there were 24 people on the tour. We mostly traveled by bus which enabled us to see some of the small towns and the countryside. The tour leader was really good about explaining the food and culture at each stop. We usually had about 1/2 the day to tour as a group and then we had the other 1/2 day to go off on our own. It was nice to have the free time to see what we wanted at our own pace, or just to get some extra rest. Afterall, it is a vacation!
But after 15 days of cities and cathrdrals and palaces, I'm glad to be home. After a while they start to all look alike! And I'm a bit tired of all the city noises, too. It's nice to be back home where it's quiet and everything is green!
The trip was fabulous. It was warm and sunny almost all the time. Now that we're home, it's definitely feeling like fall. The air is crisp and cool! Spain and Portugal look a lot like the southwest US. Along the coast, it's more humid than I expected, but the land was pretty dry. The food varied from really good to pretty bad depending on what city we were in and what we ordered.
Since we visited so many cities, I think I'll describe them one at a time in the posts. That will give me time to go through the pictures, too! But to give you a bit of background, we took an organized tour through Rick Steves - you know, the guy who does the travel programs on public TV? Anyway, there were 24 people on the tour. We mostly traveled by bus which enabled us to see some of the small towns and the countryside. The tour leader was really good about explaining the food and culture at each stop. We usually had about 1/2 the day to tour as a group and then we had the other 1/2 day to go off on our own. It was nice to have the free time to see what we wanted at our own pace, or just to get some extra rest. Afterall, it is a vacation!
But after 15 days of cities and cathrdrals and palaces, I'm glad to be home. After a while they start to all look alike! And I'm a bit tired of all the city noises, too. It's nice to be back home where it's quiet and everything is green!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sick and boring
Sorry for the lack of posts for the last couple of weeks. Dennis got back from the US a couple of weeks ago and he managed to pick up some kind of super-germ on the plane. He flew in on Saturday and got sick on Monday. By Friday, I had it as well. So, we've wasted two weekends just laying around the house sniffling, sneezing, and coughing. Not only is this cold quite severe, it seems to last a long time. Dennis has been sick now for two weeks, but is finally starting to feel better. I'm a few days behind him so I am still miserable.
I'm hoping that we will be healthy by Thursday when our vacation starts. We booked a 15 day tour of Spain and Portugal. It's supposed to be a lot of walking so I really want to be feeling good for it. Of course we had hoped to be out walking every night for the last two weeks to get ready, but the cold-from-hell pretty much wreaked that plan. The most walking we've done has been to buy more kleenex and soup at the store!
Now that Dennis is unemployed (a man of leisure), he's been spending some of his time on the job search. At least this seems to be going well. He posted his resume on Monster.com ona Friday. On Monday, the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Every headhunter in the Netherlands was calling. Dennis is working with a couple of the recruiters who called and he's already had two job interviews. This week, he has two more interviews lined up. It's too early to have any job offers, but we are excited about the number of opportunities out there. I suspect Dennis will not be a man of leisure for very long!
Today is one of those rare summer days in Holland where the sun is shining and it's warm. After several weeks of clouds and rain, this is like a miracle. We are planning to ride our bikes over the little beach and try to cook the cold germs out in the sun. Wish us luck!
I'm hoping that we will be healthy by Thursday when our vacation starts. We booked a 15 day tour of Spain and Portugal. It's supposed to be a lot of walking so I really want to be feeling good for it. Of course we had hoped to be out walking every night for the last two weeks to get ready, but the cold-from-hell pretty much wreaked that plan. The most walking we've done has been to buy more kleenex and soup at the store!
Now that Dennis is unemployed (a man of leisure), he's been spending some of his time on the job search. At least this seems to be going well. He posted his resume on Monster.com ona Friday. On Monday, the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Every headhunter in the Netherlands was calling. Dennis is working with a couple of the recruiters who called and he's already had two job interviews. This week, he has two more interviews lined up. It's too early to have any job offers, but we are excited about the number of opportunities out there. I suspect Dennis will not be a man of leisure for very long!
Today is one of those rare summer days in Holland where the sun is shining and it's warm. After several weeks of clouds and rain, this is like a miracle. We are planning to ride our bikes over the little beach and try to cook the cold germs out in the sun. Wish us luck!
Friday, August 8, 2008
In the canals around the Naarden vesting, rowing is quite popular. If you look closely at the first picture, you can see a row of ducks on the other side of the scull boat. What copy-cats! The second picture is a swan on one of the canals. Swans are pretty common here. The third picture is the little bridge that I bike over to get to work. The last picture was taken from the same bridge. There are homes on one side of the canal and cows on the other. This canal connects to the larger canal around the Naarden vesting. The people in the boat had to duck to get under the bridge although it's technically a drawbridge. There are some serious rusted padlocks indicating that it doesn't "draw" very often.
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