Switzerland

Switzerland

A quick trip to beautiful Switzerland, a drive in a gorgeous sports car, the Alps, Rhinefalls and more. 

Queen's Day 2011

Tulips on the Beemster

These tuilps are about 7 minutes from my house. They are stunning in their vividness, particularly the red. The pictures do NOT do it justice. Zo mooi!!
The white strip in front of the tulip rows have the name of the purchaser and a barcode. I think all of the rows were sold already, but if someone knows more about how the tulip business works, please enlighten me.
The farm house is that of the tulip farmer, and not only has a hedge maze, but also a thatched roof!
After the tulip fun, we went to the city center of Purmerend, and enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather by sitting out on the terrace and enjoying the last rays of sun with a beer and a mint tea.

Sailing on the Gouzee

Today we went to check out some sailing/maritime event in the town of Monnickendam, a very cute lake side village.

There were lots of boats out in the harbor, just docked with people sitting all over and enjoying the sun.

 There was a choir singing sea shanties and dressed in sailor outfits, complete with accordian. Honestly, if you didn't notice the clothes, today's scene could have played out anytime over the last 100 years.  I spotted some 'Klompen' (wooden shoes), and there was even a Punch and Judy Show!

We randomly jumped on a boat that was getting ready to leave, called the Albatross.  It was about 30 meters, and was built in 1890. It looked appropriately traditional, although I wonder if a stick of 1890 ship is left after all that time. We sailed across the Gouzee, which is a man made freshwater lake, created by a dike. It was nice to be out on the water, and listen to the snap of the canvas and creak of ropes.

We sailed from Monnickendam to Marken and back. About half way out, Guido tried his hand at the rudder, and ended up helming it all the way back to port, and even helped to parallel parked the ship! The owners were super nice and friendly, and probably do an awesome job for their charters.




We have been talking about taking a sailing class, and we got some info from the captain of this ship about a place to check out. Maybe there will be more sailing stories soon. Today was a completely unplanned adventure and ended up being a nice day outdoors.

Our TV debut!

Update! We were spotted on the commercial for Hello Goodbye! When I arrived at Schipol Airport, not only G was waiting for me, but also a full TV film crew! Well, five months later, that show is starting a new season, and our friend N saw us on the commercial for the show.
 I have no idea when or if we will actually be on the show, but if anyone is interested, het vanaf 30 maart elke woensdag, om 20.30 uur op NL 1 (every Wednesday, starting 30 March, at 8:30 on NL1). Look for the exhausted girl with red hair (I hope I don't look too awful after 18 hours of travel), a super cute Nederlander with a beard, and a shiba inu in a crate!
Here is a teaser episode from the website. I think we might not be on the first episode because the description doesn't have anything referencing us...

I started my dutch lessons this week. FINALLY!!!! You have no idea the hoops we have had to jump to get me into some state-required language courses. But at least now they have begun.

I only get six months of classes to learn what I can, but it is 4 days a week, and I intend to work very hard. Everyone seems very surprised that I have only been here 5 months, and yet taking the inburgeringcurses. They are only about 20% language and 80% civic and integration, but the more I am exposed to vocabulary and forced to speak with others, the more I learn. It is nice to have a place to babble like an idiot without judgement.

The majority of the people in the class with me have been in the Netherlands for many years(and speak much better Dutch than me!!). I think many are being forced to take the courses by the Government, as there is a big push for any ethnic 'buitenlanders' to integrate, learn the language, and become at least a bit Dutch. I don't disagree, but then I come from a western country and am living with a Nederlander, so my view of it is a little different. I WANT to integrate, desperately, and find a job in the zoo field, so I am happy to learn and am very motivated.

I am enjoying the classes and the homework, but I have little patience for my own brain's slowness. I just want to download it directly like the Matrix. Does anyone know how to install a flash drive into grey matter?

Considering I met my sweet Nederlander on Chatroulette, I had to share this. <3

Vintage Netherlands on Bikes

Check out the clogs! I love this more than I can say. I have a thing for vintage anything, and other than the clothes, you could see these scenes today in Holland. Maybe that is why I am falling in love with this place. It is timeless.

Neckermolen and Dog in a Basket

The weather has been gorgeous the last  few days, and I finally took advantage of it by biking out to the Neckermolen. This 17th century windmill is the closest one to my home in Purmerend, and a very nice one at that. I biked along the dike, little ducks and coots, and huge honking geese floating along. This was also the first time out on the bike for a long ride with Atlas in the dog basket. He had been arguing with me about sitting down, and finally decided to try and dive off of it, and I think he learned his lesson, as the basket went with him, and he had a fun moment hanging upside down from the bike. I will say, he sat very nicely on the ride back.
The Neckermolen was built in 1632, has a thatched roof, and still works. It is owned and operated by the Water Authority. When I went by, the garden was being tended by an older couple.
It was a great ride, and the sky was an unbelievable blue. Atlas was also a hit when we went into town, many people pointed him out and said "vos!".

Vastelaovend Maastricht

Maastricht is the capital of the province Limburg, in the very south of Holland. It has a very old and picturesque city center, and has been inhabited since before the time of the Romans, including an ancient settlement of Celts.

It is known for its quiet squares, fine shopping and cafe culture.
You would never know this on Sunday.

Maastricht is also home to probably the largest Carnival celebration in the Netherlands. Everyone and I mean everyone dressed up in wild and fanciful costumes, many create floats and wagons (with built in taps for kegs) , everyone has noisemakers and bags of confetti and there is a parade that winds through the narrow stone streets and lasts many hours.

I was mostly surprised at the number of costumes! Halloween can get pretty crazy in the US, but that is mostly confined to parties, with the exception of a few larger parades. But in Maastricht, someone not in some kind of costume stood out like a sore thumb. There were tons of "crews" all in matching outfits. Most looked either rented, or lovingly hand made. They were quite elaborate.

There were lots of huge dresses, people in costumes from different cultures (many geishas, arabs, French royalty, but the only "Americans" I saw were badly dressed native Americans.), and lots and lots of marching bands, most of whom sounded like they met the day before for practice. 

The thing that struck me the most was how 'local' it seemed. Not a single "sponsored by Corporation A" or business oriented costume in sight. Apparently you can just sign up, and it is free. There were lots of elaborate sets, but they were all obviously lovingly hand made by people who just want to be involved. It was just to have fun, and show off you awesome costume, and maybe pull out that old french horn from 'middelbareschool'. Tons of kids being pushed in wildly decorated strollers, happy and laughing families. It just felt authentic. I loved it. 

It was also fun to see more of my new home. We drove through parts of the Netherlands that I haven't seen. It was also fun to hear the accents change as we drove south. Limburgians have a very distinct dialect, that even G has trouble understanding. 

It was an awesome day with two handsome gentleman. I really want to come back to Maastricht and enjoy the beautiful and ancient architecture without blaring horns and accordion "oompah" music. But no matter what,  I am seriously considering joining the parade next time!

by Bjorn Janssen

CeBit in Hannover, Germany

If you don't know, G is an IT guy. So we decided to go to the largest tech conference in Europe, CeBit. It was HUGE, so many companies, so many pieces of tech. I just wanted to push buttons, and I got to play with lots of new technology. I was blown away by the amount of money these companies spend on displays. Microsoft had a huge touchscreen stage thing that was probably 12 x 12 feet, and a constantly updating and moving display of their keynote speakers. IBM took over almost a whole room.

We got to play with Xbox Kinect (G kicked my butt in Boxing), a sweet netbook that has a touch screen monitor that breaks off the physical keyboard to be a tablet (me want), cool new phones, 3D tv's, holographic displays, telepresence robots, enough ipad clones to choke you, Nintendo 3DS and huge rooms of blue glowing servers with pretty wire bundles. And a very cool water fountain. It was lots of fun for a couple of geeks like ourselves.

From Cebit 2011

~Just Klomp it~

Fiets

Today I am practicing my bike riding skills. The Dutch are crazy for bikes, learning to ride practically as they learn to walk. The Netherlands roads are very bike friendly, with separated bike lanes and special bike crossings. The narrow streets of Amsterdam are MUCH better suited for a biker than a driver. Rush hour looks like a Critical Mass convention.




The thing that amazes me the most are the women that strap their kids onto the bikes and head off. Probably because I am an unsure rider and a little unsteady, but I can't imagine having even one kid on a bike, let alone three! This photo is a very common sight!

by Bala Nallama

There are these great cargo bikes, which seem to be used very often in Amsterdam for actual cargo,  but also for more kids!

Here is the super fancy "fiets" that I am rocking at the moment. We are probably going to try to sell it and get a cheaper one (every euro counts when you have an unemployed slacker like me at home), but for now it is working. Notice the tulips in the basket. 

I was a regular bike rider in my early days, exploring my neighborhood and the streets around Colleyville, Texas, until the drivers license came along. The muscles one uses for riding are completely withered, so I am working on that. I intend to bike a few miles over to the one windmill in Purmerend and take photos soon, so that is my goal at the moment.

View Larger Map

Next, I will figure out if Atlas will behave himself enough to run along side the bike, but I am not holding my breath on that one. Maybe I will get a cargo bike just for him!
Tot ziens and happy riding!

A few candid snaps from Waterlooplein, Amsterdam. Those are honest-to-goodness wild swans!

This is a bruin cafe which are famous in Amsterdam for their dark interiors, and close, gezellig  atmosphere. It was two level, and I looked out over the bar, where two older gentleman were holding court and opinionating loudly with ales in their hand, while their wives sat on a bench behind them, drinkless, and looking rather bored.

The little shops that are all over Amsterdam remind me so much of those mysterious and intriguing closed shop doors on Main Street at Magic Kingdom. They hint of fascinating objects and hidden back rooms, but the door is always closed, never to slake your curiosity. 

Looking out the bus window onto a pastel sunset and farmland thick with geese. 

Today we visited Artis Zoo, located in the heart of Amsterdam. It is a zoo that was founded in the 1800s, and is full of old and beautiful architecture. The animals looked healthy and were well enriched, many of them actively playing or interacting with toys, and most of the exhibita were biocentric and very nice. There were even young gorillas in a great dayroom. Lots of biodiversity too, including an insectarium and a gorgeous aquarium that i only saw à sliver of. There is lots to see, and I am eager to go back and hopefully, find à job! (If anyone from Artis reads this, I have eight years of dierenverzorger experience with diverse taxa, and a focus on behavioral husbandry and conservation education. Hire me!)

iv class="pp_items">