Our activities are getting mundane now: go to work, buy groceries, make dinner, watch Baywatch, repeat. I am going to have to get more creative with my posts. To that end, I will try to share some important cultural tidbits.
Today’s lesson is on the proper way to consume chocolate sprinkles. Yes, I am talking about those little brown mouse-poop shaped treats that we normally see decorating donuts and sugar cookies. Here in the Netherlands, you will find small boxes of chocolate sprinkles at the hotel breakfast buffet and in the office cafeteria. At the grocery store, you will find large boxes of sprinkles – enough to cover several dozen donuts. Like you, I wondered what the Dutch people could possibly be doing with all these sprinkles.
Dennis tried adding them to his coffee to make a nice mocha drink. But that generated surprised looks and shaking heads. Putting sprinkles in your coffee marks you as a tourist as quickly as wearing sneakers around town (something I still do, by the way).
My office mate is the queen of the chocolate sprinkles. Instead of buying the small boxes at the cafeteria, she brings her own monster box from home. How does she eat them? She sprinkles them on her bread and then eats the bread with a knife and fork. You might think that buttering the bread would be a requirement for making the sprinkles stick, but you would be wrong. Through some finely honed skill (or magic) those little brown things stay on the bread without falling off through the entire knife and fork maneuvering. And she doesn’t put just a few sprinkles on her bread either – she piles them on about ¼ inch thick. This is truly an amazing skill.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Going Shopping
Shopping is a challenge, but we’ve been pretty successful at finding what we need. The grocery stores are open later then the other stores, so I usually have time to shop after work. Everything is closed on Sunday. Planning ahead is essential. But since everyone is shopping Saturday it can get pretty hectic.
The stores are much more compact than in the US. When they are crowded, it’s nearly impossible to walk through. You have to look hard for what you want because it’s crammed into such a small space. The stores are generally well organized, though.
On Saturdays, there’s a lot of pressure to grab your item and move out of people’s way. If you don’t move fast enough, they will elbow you out. Now imagine not being able to recognize the brands and you can’t tell if you are buying dishwashing soap or laundry detergent. It can take some time to examine the label and figure out what it is. And sometimes they just don’t have what you are looking for. Oatmeal is called havermout and comes in a small box rather than the round tubs we’re used to. The picture on the front makes it looks like cream of wheat. The only give-away was the very small Quaker Oats logo on the corner of the box. And baking soda in the familiar yellow Arm and Hammer box? Not here! You get that stuff in the drugstore behind the counter. I was lucky to have found that tip on an expat website because I never would have found it otherwise!
We found a store close to our house that’s like a miniature Home Depot. We’ve already been there a lot for things like batteries, light fixtures, shower curtain rods, and floor wax. A bit further away is a more traditional hardware store. This is the store that sells Weber Grills and all the accessories, too. It’s more like an Ace Hardware store. The guys working there were very helpful. They helped us find some odds and ends like the small bits of wire that we needed to install the light fixtures and conversion kit for our American grill.
Another good find was the cheese store. At the grocery store, you can buy gouda cheese. Your choices are young, old, and very old, but it’s all gouda. I like gouda cheese just fine, but it gets boring after a while. But when we went into the cheese store, all the names were unfamiliar. Fortunately, they were not super busy and the guy at the counter was willing to help us. We asked for something a bit stronger flavored than gouda, but not as strong as limburger. We gave us several samples and we bought a couple of pieces. Too bad I can’t remember the names of the cheeses that we bought because they were pretty good!
To finish out the Saturday rounds, there is the banketbakerij to get apple turnovers and other pastries fresh from the over, the chocolate shop where you can buy a pound of chocolates for 9 euros, and the wine shop. Phew! I’m tired already!
The stores are much more compact than in the US. When they are crowded, it’s nearly impossible to walk through. You have to look hard for what you want because it’s crammed into such a small space. The stores are generally well organized, though.
On Saturdays, there’s a lot of pressure to grab your item and move out of people’s way. If you don’t move fast enough, they will elbow you out. Now imagine not being able to recognize the brands and you can’t tell if you are buying dishwashing soap or laundry detergent. It can take some time to examine the label and figure out what it is. And sometimes they just don’t have what you are looking for. Oatmeal is called havermout and comes in a small box rather than the round tubs we’re used to. The picture on the front makes it looks like cream of wheat. The only give-away was the very small Quaker Oats logo on the corner of the box. And baking soda in the familiar yellow Arm and Hammer box? Not here! You get that stuff in the drugstore behind the counter. I was lucky to have found that tip on an expat website because I never would have found it otherwise!
We found a store close to our house that’s like a miniature Home Depot. We’ve already been there a lot for things like batteries, light fixtures, shower curtain rods, and floor wax. A bit further away is a more traditional hardware store. This is the store that sells Weber Grills and all the accessories, too. It’s more like an Ace Hardware store. The guys working there were very helpful. They helped us find some odds and ends like the small bits of wire that we needed to install the light fixtures and conversion kit for our American grill.
Another good find was the cheese store. At the grocery store, you can buy gouda cheese. Your choices are young, old, and very old, but it’s all gouda. I like gouda cheese just fine, but it gets boring after a while. But when we went into the cheese store, all the names were unfamiliar. Fortunately, they were not super busy and the guy at the counter was willing to help us. We asked for something a bit stronger flavored than gouda, but not as strong as limburger. We gave us several samples and we bought a couple of pieces. Too bad I can’t remember the names of the cheeses that we bought because they were pretty good!
To finish out the Saturday rounds, there is the banketbakerij to get apple turnovers and other pastries fresh from the over, the chocolate shop where you can buy a pound of chocolates for 9 euros, and the wine shop. Phew! I’m tired already!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
I'm a bike commuter now
I have commited myself to biking to work for the next two weeks. We returned the rental car today and we can't get the car from my friend until June 2. I decided that would force me to ride to work and I wouldn't have to worry about the rental car any more. The car had to be returned at the airport and so we rode the train back to Bussum. We were happy to find the trip was very easy and only took 40 minutes.
To get ready for being carless, we spent Saturday getting the bikes "road legal." That means we bought front and back lights and bells to warn pedestrians to get the heck out our way. We also got pannier bags so we can do our shopping. We found the bike locks in our miscellaneous biking gear, so I should be ready to ride to work tomorrow. This will also make our errands a little more efficient.
Before we took the car back, we went for a road bike ride. While the weather was cooler and rainier than the previous couple weeks, we still managed to get 25 dry miles of riding. We started out going through Naarden Vesting and then went northwest along the shore of the Gooimeer. The Gooimeer used to be part of the Zuiderzee, but the ocean tides were too damaging. They dammed off the sea and turned it into a lake. The lake is now fresh water and has several names depending on which part you are on. From the bike path, we could see people sailing and windsurfing.
Our plan was to ride across the bridge to Almere, turn east and ride along the shore to the next bridge and cross back to our side of the lake. But the first bridge was under construction. We weren't sure exactly where to go, but the bike path signs kept pointing us away from the bridge. With no other options, we followed the signs. As we got closer to the lake, we met up with a large group of road bikers. One of them called to us in Dutch, of course, so we didn't know what he was telling us. As we rode up to the pier, we figured out that he was telling us to hurry because the ferry was leaving soon. We debated for a minute before getting on. There was nobody taking money or anything, but also no indication of where the ferry was going. Fortunately there was a couple of bikers on the ferry so we asked - yes, it was free since the bridge was under construction, this was the alternate route.
We got to the other side and found the path along the beach. It was a nice fast straight away with super smooth asphalt. The first section was a bit protected from the breeze. Apparently the breeze helps to clear the gnats. Because in this section, the gnats were so thick it was hard to breathe. Gnats pelted us like rain. We were glad to have sun glasses on, but it was kind of gross to be covered in so many bugs. We finally got out of the gnat swarm and continued our ride. But the bugs were still with us. When we got home and undressed, the floor ended up littered with gnat corpses. Eww!
The other big achievement for the weekend was getting the grill working. We had to teach our American grill to speak to the Dutch propane tank, but we got it going and grilled some chicken for dinner. I haven't really felt at home since January when I started living in a hotel in Cincinnati. Now that I have my husband, my kittycat, the kitchen stuff and the grill, I feel like I'm home.
To get ready for being carless, we spent Saturday getting the bikes "road legal." That means we bought front and back lights and bells to warn pedestrians to get the heck out our way. We also got pannier bags so we can do our shopping. We found the bike locks in our miscellaneous biking gear, so I should be ready to ride to work tomorrow. This will also make our errands a little more efficient.
Before we took the car back, we went for a road bike ride. While the weather was cooler and rainier than the previous couple weeks, we still managed to get 25 dry miles of riding. We started out going through Naarden Vesting and then went northwest along the shore of the Gooimeer. The Gooimeer used to be part of the Zuiderzee, but the ocean tides were too damaging. They dammed off the sea and turned it into a lake. The lake is now fresh water and has several names depending on which part you are on. From the bike path, we could see people sailing and windsurfing.
Our plan was to ride across the bridge to Almere, turn east and ride along the shore to the next bridge and cross back to our side of the lake. But the first bridge was under construction. We weren't sure exactly where to go, but the bike path signs kept pointing us away from the bridge. With no other options, we followed the signs. As we got closer to the lake, we met up with a large group of road bikers. One of them called to us in Dutch, of course, so we didn't know what he was telling us. As we rode up to the pier, we figured out that he was telling us to hurry because the ferry was leaving soon. We debated for a minute before getting on. There was nobody taking money or anything, but also no indication of where the ferry was going. Fortunately there was a couple of bikers on the ferry so we asked - yes, it was free since the bridge was under construction, this was the alternate route.
We got to the other side and found the path along the beach. It was a nice fast straight away with super smooth asphalt. The first section was a bit protected from the breeze. Apparently the breeze helps to clear the gnats. Because in this section, the gnats were so thick it was hard to breathe. Gnats pelted us like rain. We were glad to have sun glasses on, but it was kind of gross to be covered in so many bugs. We finally got out of the gnat swarm and continued our ride. But the bugs were still with us. When we got home and undressed, the floor ended up littered with gnat corpses. Eww!
The other big achievement for the weekend was getting the grill working. We had to teach our American grill to speak to the Dutch propane tank, but we got it going and grilled some chicken for dinner. I haven't really felt at home since January when I started living in a hotel in Cincinnati. Now that I have my husband, my kittycat, the kitchen stuff and the grill, I feel like I'm home.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Our Stuff is Here!
After 6 weeks in transit, our stuff was finally delivered on Friday. What took a day and half to pack, took only half a day to unpack. The moving guys were done by lunch time. Now comes the hard part of finding where everything is going to go.
Since we had to leave our big furniture in Chicago, we don’t have as many places to put things. We don’t have the armoire or the dresser, the china cabinet or the entertainment center. And the kitchen here is very small compared to our old one. Our dishes have to be stored in one of the closets in the dining room. The pantry is also a closet in the dining room. There are only two small drawers for kitchen utensils. Since I love to cook, I have a LOT of kitchen utensils. The problems became obvious very quickly.
So we did what the Dutch do – we went to Ikea. We found a couple of very inexpensive shelving units to go in the kitchen. There are plastic tubs that slide like drawers giving me enough space for all my utensils. These fit right next to the stove so I now have a bit more working counter space too. We also found a dresser that would easily fit in the bedroom. After reconfiguring all the stuff, it looks like we found room for most things. Now that everything is put away, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to find it again!
On Saturday, we went to Wassenaar to visit one of my coworkers from my previous job. She and her husband have been in the Netherlands for several years and are heading back to the US. That makes for great timing because they are selling their Dutch appliances just as we are trying to buy some. Since the electricity is different in Europe, the motorized appliances don’t work very well even with a conversion plug. Computer equipment is generally OK – the ones that have the huge blocky plugs self-convert. Also, TVs work on a different system here, so a US TV wouldn’t get a signal here. We left our TV and most of our kitchen appliances at home and now we need to find Dutch replacements for them.
We picked up a TV, a fan (there’s no air conditioning here), a mixer, and a boatload of books for learning Dutch and traveling in Europe. We also have our name on a microwave, a vacuum, a crock pot, and a toaster that they don’t want to give up for a few more weeks. We took their car for a test drive and we are hoping to buy it, too. Buying second-hand is saving us a ton of money!
Finally, on Sunday we were finally able to go biking. The weather is still holding and the bike paths are everywhere. For the most part, if there’s a road, there’s a bike path. At major intersections, the bike paths have their own traffic lights. Of course you have to push the button to activate the signal. But they put the button where you can reach it from the bike, unlike the US, where they put the buttons in some really goofy places!
It was a pleasure to be out exploring by bike, but I can tell that it’s been almost 8 months since I’ve ridden. We went less than 20 miles and my butt was pretty sore! The only thing to do about that is to keep riding to get toughened up.
Since we had to leave our big furniture in Chicago, we don’t have as many places to put things. We don’t have the armoire or the dresser, the china cabinet or the entertainment center. And the kitchen here is very small compared to our old one. Our dishes have to be stored in one of the closets in the dining room. The pantry is also a closet in the dining room. There are only two small drawers for kitchen utensils. Since I love to cook, I have a LOT of kitchen utensils. The problems became obvious very quickly.
So we did what the Dutch do – we went to Ikea. We found a couple of very inexpensive shelving units to go in the kitchen. There are plastic tubs that slide like drawers giving me enough space for all my utensils. These fit right next to the stove so I now have a bit more working counter space too. We also found a dresser that would easily fit in the bedroom. After reconfiguring all the stuff, it looks like we found room for most things. Now that everything is put away, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to find it again!
On Saturday, we went to Wassenaar to visit one of my coworkers from my previous job. She and her husband have been in the Netherlands for several years and are heading back to the US. That makes for great timing because they are selling their Dutch appliances just as we are trying to buy some. Since the electricity is different in Europe, the motorized appliances don’t work very well even with a conversion plug. Computer equipment is generally OK – the ones that have the huge blocky plugs self-convert. Also, TVs work on a different system here, so a US TV wouldn’t get a signal here. We left our TV and most of our kitchen appliances at home and now we need to find Dutch replacements for them.
We picked up a TV, a fan (there’s no air conditioning here), a mixer, and a boatload of books for learning Dutch and traveling in Europe. We also have our name on a microwave, a vacuum, a crock pot, and a toaster that they don’t want to give up for a few more weeks. We took their car for a test drive and we are hoping to buy it, too. Buying second-hand is saving us a ton of money!
Finally, on Sunday we were finally able to go biking. The weather is still holding and the bike paths are everywhere. For the most part, if there’s a road, there’s a bike path. At major intersections, the bike paths have their own traffic lights. Of course you have to push the button to activate the signal. But they put the button where you can reach it from the bike, unlike the US, where they put the buttons in some really goofy places!
It was a pleasure to be out exploring by bike, but I can tell that it’s been almost 8 months since I’ve ridden. We went less than 20 miles and my butt was pretty sore! The only thing to do about that is to keep riding to get toughened up.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thuis - means home
My husband and my cat arrived last Friday morning as scheduled (May 2). Their flight was uneventful, which is the way you want a flight to be. Nova, our big black cat howled a bit as we carried his kennel to the car. As expected, he was a bit put out by being locked in the kennel for 12 hours. As we got him to our new home, we closed him into room with his litter box and gave him some food and water. It turned out that he was more interested in exploring the house than eating or drinking. It was late that night before he finally ate some food and used his box. I guess cats get jet-lagged, too! The next day, he was pretty much on schedule, but it took a week for him to get used to the treacherous stairs.
My husband, Dennis, also settled in quickly. Despite the jet-lag, I dragged him all around town to shop for necessities. Sunshine and exercise are supposed to be good cures for jet-lag. Unfortunately, sharing a twin-bed mattress is not good for jet-lag or a marriage. The next day, our top priority was to buy something better to sleep on. We ended up at the sporting goods store buying a self-inflating queen-sized air mattress. It was on sale for 50 euros, so we considered it a good investment. We plugged it into the wall outlet and in 5 minutes, we had a bed. It was actually pretty comfortable, too. Having this mattress also means that we have more guest capacity - hint, hint.
On Monday, it was back to work for both of us. Dennis got the computer and the internet telephone all connected so he could work remotely. Too bad he was sitting in a lawn chair using an overturned box as a table! Fortunately, he works from a laptop. But it was still pretty uncomfortable.
It's obvious that we were anxiously awaiting the delivery of our worldly goods. But May 5 is ANOTHER holiday for banks and government. Not Cinco de Mayo, but a day celebrating the end of German occupation. The moving company had told us our stuff arrived in the Netherlands, but they had to wait until after all the holidays for it to be released by customs. Fortunately, on Tuesday morning we were informed that our stuff would be delivered to us on Friday, May 9. Dennis only had to work from the lawn chair for 4 days. He may never want to see those lawn chairs again!
While we wait for our delivery, the weather turned even nicer. It got up to 25C, which is about 75-80F. The humidity is just at the nice point where it's neither sticky nor dry. The sun shines from 5:30 AM until 9:30 PM right now. We really want our bikes so we can take advantage of this fantastic weather. The locals are telling us this is a very unusual stretch of lovely weather. We hope it keeps up!
My husband, Dennis, also settled in quickly. Despite the jet-lag, I dragged him all around town to shop for necessities. Sunshine and exercise are supposed to be good cures for jet-lag. Unfortunately, sharing a twin-bed mattress is not good for jet-lag or a marriage. The next day, our top priority was to buy something better to sleep on. We ended up at the sporting goods store buying a self-inflating queen-sized air mattress. It was on sale for 50 euros, so we considered it a good investment. We plugged it into the wall outlet and in 5 minutes, we had a bed. It was actually pretty comfortable, too. Having this mattress also means that we have more guest capacity - hint, hint.
On Monday, it was back to work for both of us. Dennis got the computer and the internet telephone all connected so he could work remotely. Too bad he was sitting in a lawn chair using an overturned box as a table! Fortunately, he works from a laptop. But it was still pretty uncomfortable.
It's obvious that we were anxiously awaiting the delivery of our worldly goods. But May 5 is ANOTHER holiday for banks and government. Not Cinco de Mayo, but a day celebrating the end of German occupation. The moving company had told us our stuff arrived in the Netherlands, but they had to wait until after all the holidays for it to be released by customs. Fortunately, on Tuesday morning we were informed that our stuff would be delivered to us on Friday, May 9. Dennis only had to work from the lawn chair for 4 days. He may never want to see those lawn chairs again!
While we wait for our delivery, the weather turned even nicer. It got up to 25C, which is about 75-80F. The humidity is just at the nice point where it's neither sticky nor dry. The sun shines from 5:30 AM until 9:30 PM right now. We really want our bikes so we can take advantage of this fantastic weather. The locals are telling us this is a very unusual stretch of lovely weather. We hope it keeps up!
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