The Netherlands Update #6

Geachte vrienden and familie:

We had a pretty incredible October in many ways, and a difficult one in other ways. We took two wonderful trips this month but the enjoyment of both was slightly stunted by illnesses, injuries, and carrying around more than the usual stress.

Our first trip this month was to Bruges (Brugge), Belgium. Bruges is beautiful (see the photos). We had a lovely weekend touring the city by foot and by boat, visiting museums, eating good food (including amazing Belgian chocolate), and drinking great Belgian beer. We arrived in Bruges later than we planned on a Friday night because of late trains and missed connections, but we did eventually get there. We also left just in time on Sunday afternoon; the Belgian train workers scheduled a strike that started at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday and halted all train traffic in Belgium through the next day. When we first moved here, the locals told us we were crazy for taking the train. They complained that it was unreliable. We thought they were exaggerating, but now we are beginning to understand the disenchantment with the train system. When the trains run smoothly (and they usually do), it is a fantastic way to travel, but as soon as one glitch happens, your whole itinerary gets out of whack and it is difficult if not impossible to get back on schedule. For the most part, we still think the train is the best way to go to most places and we much prefer it to sitting in traffic. And, the car traffic here is unbearably bad. It is the worse we have ever seen. The long and convoluted train ride to Bruges was made even more interesting by the "The Gospel Singers vs. The Brazen American Tourist" incident. A group of three women sitting in the row in front of us were singing gospel songs, chatting, and laughing at the top of their voices. Usually trains in The Netherlands are very quiet; conversations are whispered to neighbors or people keep to themselves, so this was very unusual. For most of the journey (about an hour and half), people in the train tried to shut the noise out and pretend they were invisible. Aside from the occasional raised eyebrow, nobody complained; it was clear nobody wanted to be the one to ask these women to be quiet. Until... the tired American tourist sitting two rows behind us decided she had had enough and asked them (in English) to "keep it down." For about two seconds, a stunned silence settled over the train car, then the women who were singing began to yell at the tourist and tell her off (in Dutch). Things got pretty tense for a minute or so, and Steve and I were sitting right in the middle of it all - angry Dutch and English words flying over our heads like rocks. Luckily for all of us, the Dutch women were getting off the train at the next stop, so things settled down quickly, and finally did get quiet. Interestingly, when we first boarded the train, Steve overheard one of the singers complaining to her friends about people who demanded that she speak English at her job...so I guess the American who didn't understand any Dutch was prime for her to unleash her frustration.

Our second trip was to Torremolinos, Spain! This was our attempt to squeeze in one last week of summer before the cold, rainy winter set in over Den Haag. It worked! We had a great week basking in the sun and being too hot to do anything except lay on the beach in the breeze and eat fresh seafood tapas. We did have one rainy day, which we spent in Malaga viewing the Alcazaba, the Gibralfaro Castle, and the Picasso Museum. The Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle are breathtaking. It is challenging to do them justice in photographs, nevertheless, I took many, many pictures. One of the strange things about this trip is that we practically had the place to ourselves. It was definitely "off season." There were still tourists - surprisingly, many of them were Dutch so we still heard Dutch being spoken everywhere we went! But, the beaches in the Costa Del Sol are packed with hotels and condos and they have an enormous capacity. Since most hotels and condo complexes are not booked to overflowing this time of year, it didn't feel crowded at all. The only downside to this trip was that both of us got sick and we were distracted by thoughts of work and world events. I got a sore throat and a cold, which destroyed my appetite (can you believe I didn't want to eat?!), and I injured my leg in the middle of the week so I couldn't walk much for a couple of days (good thing the beach chairs were only a few steps from our hotel!). Steve had tummy trouble and unfortunately he couldn't fully enjoy the amazing food either. Before we went to Spain, Steve had an unprecedented stressful couple of weeks at work, which continued to nag at him during the week. Also, as with many of you, we are closely watching the economic situation in US and concerned about how it will affect us. This trip was a much needed escape and chance to relax and recharge our batteries. We avoided tv and newspapers and had very limited internet access, so it was easy to "tune out." Despite our ailments and distractions, we enjoyed ourselves and appreciated where we were. We discovered a couple of great tapas bars, had some good local sherry and excellent fresh seafood, challenged each other to air hockey matches every evening at the local arcade (Steve is the reigning champ, but it was close!), and soaked up the Mediterranean sunshine.

On the local front, we recently discovered a beautiful park in Den Haag called Clingendael. Twice a year, the Japanese garden in the park is open to the public; once for a few weeks in the spring, and once for one weekend in the autumn. A couple of weeks ago, we rode our bikes to the park and viewed the beautiful fall colors in the Japanese garden. As we walked around the rest of the park, we came across some very photogenic mushrooms.

Folks around here are gearing up for the fall and winter holidays. As I understand it, Halloween isn't celebrated here like it is in the US (i.e. no costumes or trick or treating). Some people have mentioned that the "American ways" of Halloween are becoming more common here (they sort of rolled their eyes when they said this..). I have noticed some Halloween decorations on houses and in stores, but I have not seen any big bags of candy or costumes for sale. Of course, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here either. But that is OK, we will be in Oregon for Thanksgiving! The big events here in the winter are the arrival of Sint Nicolaas (he usually arrives sometime in November by boat and there is a big parade) and Sint Nicolaas Eve/Day, which is December 5/6. St. Nicolaas Day is mostly for children, who receive candy and gifts. Other St. Nicolaas traditions involve hiding gifts and writing poems that "lovingly" make fun of people. If you want to know more about it, here is a Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas. Also, David Sedaris wrote a humorous short story about the first time he learned about Sint Nicolaas Day, it is titled, "Six to Eight Black Men." December 25 is generally more of a religious event, involving church and spending time with family but it is becoming more commercialized and focused on gift giving. There are tons of x-mas decorations and goodies being peddled in the stores and several Kerstmarkten (Christmas Markets) will open soon throughout The Netherlands.

The last couple of pictures in the October 2008 batch are from the day I spent with my friend Patricia at the Royal Delft Pottery Factory. We toured the factory and museum and painted our own vases. I think mine looks kind of pathetic, but it is definitely an original work of art (despite having used a stencil for the design)... priceless.

As of October 30, we finally have Dutch license plates for the Subaru!!! The car passed the second inspection and Steve was able to complete the import and registration process. It is a big relief to be done with that.

Happy Halloween! Be well!

Warm Regards,
Steve and Candi
http://steveandcandi.blogspot.com/

The Netherlands Update #5

Hi Everyone!

We had a visit from some friends in the beginning of September, and we continue to ride the seemingly endless wave of bureaucracy of moving to another country. Here is what we have been up to...

Steve took some time off from work in early September and we went exploring with our friends Andy and Bronson. Unfortunately, the weather was not very pleasant the first week, but we still got out and about and were lucky to dodge some heavy rain most days. The second week brought great weather just in time for us to begin our stay at the beach. (Note: I realize I frequently mention rain in these updates... that is because it rains a lot here, maybe more than in WA, which I didn't think was possible.)

One of the places we went was Kinderdijk. Kinderdijk is a rare place where there are 19 windmills within close proximity to each other. The site became a Unesco World Heritage site in 1998. The day we visited it was heavily overcast so it wasn't the best weather for taking pictures, but I hope you can get a sense of how unique this place is from the photos (click here to see them). People live in several of these windmills and one is open as a museum for tours.

The same day we also went to Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland. Dordrecht has many sites of historical interest, it is best known for its strategic role in trade (mainly wine) and shipping. It is also the site of the meeting of Dutch city leaders when they declared independence from Spain in 1572. Dordrecht also has a stunning "Grote Kerk," that originated in the 1100s. We arrived after the church closed for the day, so we didn't get to see the inside this time.

We spent one day in Delft. We took our chances with the weather and rode our bikes - amazingly we managed to stay mostly dry. We enjoyed the the open-air market, had a lunch of fresh lekkerbeck (big, fried fish filets), yummy handmade goat cheese, and fruit from the market, and visited the Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk. This time we walked ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP of the Nieuwe Kerk tower. It was really, really, really high and a very long climb up skinny, winding stairs. It was a blast! However, I am used to balconies on towers being enclosed to prevent things or people from falling, but this balcony was not enclosed. I was actually really nervous being up that high with nothing but a low stone wall between me and the ground.... but the view was incredible as you can see from the photos.

One of the highlights of our vacation was a trip to the Hoge Veluwe National Park and the Kroller-Muller museum. Free bicycles are available for use within the park. At the entrance, we hopped on bikes and rode about 2 km to the museum, which has a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures, including an amazing Van Gogh collection. We took a different route back to the car after touring the museum so we could see the hunting lodge and enjoy the landscape of the park. It occurred to me as we were riding around that there weren't any canals in this park.... I think it is the first place I have been in The Netherlands that wasn't crisscrossed with canals.

Another highlight was a naturalist-lead canoe trip through polders and an old Dutch village near Amsterdam. We learned a lot about the natural history of The Netherlands and how land is reclaimed from the water or maintained. Midway through the trip we stopped and got to walk around on a polder that is essentially water-soaked peat moss, which makes it very spongy and bouncy. Jumping up and down on it makes the ground move in waves and the people standing near you wobble. It was neat. We got very lucky with the weather that day and didn't get rained on, but it was incredibly windy and difficult to paddle the canoes at times. There were moments when I thought we might be blown out to the North Sea, but thanks to Steve's excellent captain skills we didn't get blown away. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, so no pictures of this experience.

After the canoe trip, we found a wonderful little bar in Amsterdam that serves jenever (pronounced kind of like "yanafer"). It is the Dutch version of gin, but really tastes nothing like gin. It comes in an overwhelming assortment of flavors (liqueurs) and various ages (like scotch). The bar tender was very entertaining and friendly; he spoke four languages fluently (Dutch, German, French, and English). We listened to him speak all four languages to different groups of people while we were there. He was also a master of his craft - mixing flavors of jenever to make amazing drinks. He made us some wonderful concoctions such as "chocolate covered cherry" and "creme brulee." There is even a jenever that tastes like a cinnamon-clove spiced Dutch cookie. It would have been very easy to get to the point where one couldn't walk out of there... but we had a reasonable amount of restraint.

We spent the last few days of our vacation on the beach. I think our timing was perfect - we got to enjoy the last four days of summer weather lounging on the beach. We also did a lot of bike riding on trails along the beach and the dunes and through the city to visit the Haagse Markt. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have my "American" bike. It is like a dream after riding the circus bike.

Of course, I can't write an update and not talk about food... We had some interesting and amazing food while Andy and Bronson were here. We made them try several different Dutch delicacies including harring (the raw fish), drop (a variety of different types of licorice-like gummy bits...), hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles for toast), bitterballen (basically deep fried balls of gravy with small bits of meat in them), pannenkoeken (crepe-like wraps served savory or sweet), and various tasty pastries. We enjoyed a wonderful Indonesian rijstafel dinner and incredible Arabic food served to us "family-style" on large platters as we sat and lounged on huge pillows.

The dreamy vacation eventually ended and we had to get back to reality. This month our reality has included getting the car inspected and registered in The Netherlands so that we can get it insured and eventually drive it...although given the high price of gas (around $9.20/gallon), it is likely just to sit in the parking garage. We expected that the inspection and registration process would be a formality and not be a big deal. Afterall, we have a modern car that meets all of the American safety and emissions standards. Well, as with many things, Europe has its own standards for cars. It turns out that we have the wrong lights on the car. The wrong headlights, the wrong taillights, and the wrong indicator lights. So, we have to get these changed before we can register the car. That should be easy enough. No. In order to legally drive a car on the road in The Netherlands, it must be insured. In order to get insurance, you must have a Dutch license plate. In order to get a Dutch license plate, you must pass the inspection. Do you see where this going? You can get a "one day permit" to drive the car to an inspection station and an insurance company will insure you for that day.... but the agency that issues one day permits will not issue a permit to drive anywhere except to an inspection station. So, if you fail the inspection, you cannot get another permit, therefore you cannot get insurance, to drive the car to a garage to get it fixed. As a former government employee, I must say, this is stupid - why make it so difficult for people to comply with the rules? So, after spending an hour and a half on the phone going in circles with both the insurance company and the RDW (the government's car inspection and registration agency), I finally just called a mechanic. It turns out that some garages will tow the car; some charge for this service, some don't. OK, well that problem was "solved." But then I started to get cost estimates for the work. The cost was outrageous! Extremely frustrated, I asked one of my neighbors for advice. It turns out that her husband is (distantly) related to a retired mechanic that owns a garage around the corner from our apartment. He now restores old cars for a hobby. My neighbors very kindly asked him if he had any advice or knew anyone that could do the work on our car. He said he would be willing to do the work and he would do it for less than the cost estimates I was receiving from other garages. What a relief...I think, but this ordeal isn't over yet. I hope it turns out well.

As you know from the last update, we received our shipment of stuff from the US at the end of August. I unpacked a few essentials right away, but several boxes are still sitting in the dining room unpacked. After Andy and Bronson left, I finally got around to moving a few things down to our now clean storage unit that had been dry and sewage free for a couple of months now. Wouldn't you know it, the very same day I put boxes in the storage unit, water began to leak out of the ceiling in the parking garage (I was told it was because of some leak in the shops above the garage). The water seeped through and under the concrete walls into the storage units - ack!!! Luckily, only a very small amount of water seeped into one corner of our storage unit, and I had arranged the cardboard boxes so they would not get wet if less than three inches of water accumulated on the floor. I could not believe the timing. It had to happen on the same day I put stuff in the storage area.... geesh. I am glad that the water didn't come from the ceiling the storage area - then things would have been a mess. Needless to say, we are not thrilled with the construction of this building. It is barely a year old and there have been numerous problems. However, finding another place to live is proving to be challenging.

To keep our sanity, we have "hit the trails" on the weekends. Most recently we rode our bikes to Hoek van Holland and Wassenar. In Hoek van Holland, we had a picnic along the canal where the big ships enter to go port. It was mesmerizing to watch the tugboats pilot a massive ship through the canal as we had our lunch. I think this round trip was about 30km. Wassenar is a beach town just north of The Hague. It was a gorgeous ride through woods and sand dunes. This trip was about 50km roundtrip and there were actually some hills (little ones, but they were hills!!!!).

I had my first Dutch language class on September 30. There are about 12 people in the class. Surprisingly, I am the only American and only one of three people whose first language is English. The other students are from Poland, Czeck Republic, Thailand, China, Japan, England, Spain, Peru, and Germany. Everyone seems to speak or understand some English in addition to their native language and, in some cases, one or two other languages. Despite having learned some Dutch so far, I had a very hard time understanding the instructor and the instructions in the book. I think I have a steep learning curve ahead of me over the next 12 weeks.

We have really appreciated the notes and emails from some of you sharing your own fun adventures or frustrations with bureaucracy. It is nice to be reminded that bureaucratic snafus happen in every country, and can even happen when you think you know your way around a system. Thanks for sharing.. keep the emails coming.

Once again, you can see all of our updates on the blog - http://steveandcandi.blogspot.com/.

We hope you are all well. Take care.

Best Regards,
Candi and Steve


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Netherlands Update #3

Goedemorgen/middag/navond! (depending on when you are reading this...),

Time again to share some of the adventures and mishaps we have experienced in the past couple of weeks.

Since the last message, we have had the opportunity to see some of the sites nearby. The photo invitation you will get soon includes pictures from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag (Scheveningen), Wateringen, and Antwerp, Belgium.

Last Sunday (12 July), we went to Amsterdam for the day. Steve had to endure a 6 hour Dutch lesson; I got to wander around the city on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Who do you think had more fun? Actually, Steve said he really enjoyed the Dutch lesson and got a lot out of it. I enjoyed my day too. I walked around Dam Square, and went to the Bloemenmarkt, the Begijnhof, and the Amsterdam History Museum (great museum! - 700 years of history about one city!). The weather was gorgeous and the city was packed with tourists. However, I had most of the places I visited almost all to myself. I either arrived very early or got lucky and escaped the crowds. Steve has a couple more marathon Sunday Dutch lessons scheduled in July and August, so I will tag along and see different things on each visit. So, more to come about Amsterdam.

This past Thursday (17 July), I went along with Steve on his morning commute, this included riding our bikes to the train station. We took the train to Rotterdam. I went along for two reasons. First, Steve had to take a certification exam for a software development tool in the morning before going to work. Since he wasn't allowed to bring anything in to the testing room, I went along so I could keep an eye on his laptop and cell phone while he was taking the test. I spent the time in a cafe having a cappuccino and reading a book (poor me!). Of course, Steve passed the exam with flying colors and then he was off to work. The other reason I went along was because it as a good chance to see the sites of Rotterdam, so I headed for the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. It is a (relatively) small museum but it has a wonderful collection of art spanning from the 14th to the 21st century. Before going home, I took a brief walk near the Erasmusbrug (the big white bridge) and around the outside of the Maritime Museum. I had yummy Senegalese food for lunch. Steve and I went back to Rotterdam this past Sunday (20 July) to see the Red Bull Air Races with a group of Steve's friends from work. This air race tours around world; it was recently in San Diego and Detroit. Pilots compete to see who can complete a course the fastest and with the fewest penalties. The course includes "gates" (inflated pylons) and loops. It is pretty amazing to watch the maneuvers.

This weekend, we put the dogs in a kennel and took an overnight trip to Antwerp, Belgium. It is incredible how much we fit in to this weekend....and to think we did it all using mass transit (trams and trains) and our own feet! At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (19 July) we caught the fast train to Antwerp. We arrived at 4:00 p.m. and checked in to our hotel, just before a massive downpour. The rain didn't last long, then we headed out to walk around town and get a snack. We essentially walked, ate, and drank our way around Antwerp for a few hours. We had beer and appetizers in the main square of the Grote Markt looking at the tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady and the Antwerp City Hall building. When another downpour began, the waiter rushed us inside, but we still had a great view from the window. We walked around "Het Steen" - a castle on the River Schelde and walked through the streets of the city center before settling on a place for dinner. Saturday just happened to be 2 days after the start of the mussel season, so for dinner I had a huge pot of fresh mussels (yum!). The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and did some more walking around town before catching our train. We will make more time on the next visit to see the sites in detail and learn more about the city. On the way back, we got off the train in Rotterdam to see the air races.

After the air races, the weather became absolutely gorgeous, so we headed to the beach for dinner. Scheveningen is a beach in Den Haag with lots of restaurants and tourist attractions. (No, Pat, I still can't pronounce it!) We had dinner at a restaurant on the beach sitting on a couch around a table with a fire pit in the center. You have to see the pictures of this place to believe it.

Then, we headed home where the relaxation ended abruptly when the alarm in the shops downstairs went off in the middle of the night...ugh. The last time the alarm went off it was the middle of the afternoon and it took the security company almost 2 hours to come turn it off. I don't know how long it took on Sunday night because we closed the windows, put in earplugs, and went back to sleep. Then, on Monday afternoon I went down to the parking garage to find the foyer and the storage units flooded with sewage....apparently a sewer pipe was broken by workers who were installing a gas line last week. No one noticed any damage until it began leaking through the foundation of the building. I spent the afternoon watching as the plumbers came and determined there was nothing they could do about it, then the fire department and police came and determined there was nothing they could about it, and then the utility company came and said, "Yes, this is our problem, and we will make it a priority, we will come fix it tomorrow." We were lucky not to have much in our storage unit, but I wonder if they will ever be able to clean it enough for us to be able to use the unit once our things arrive??? On Tuesday I heard from my neighbors that the utility workers found the leak and will fix it on Wednesday. One good thing coming out of this horrendous incident is that I have met some very nice neighbors and we have been invited to visit with them or take walks with the the dogs.

We finally got word from the company who is managing our move (I use the word "managing" very loosely...). We were told our shipping container will arrive on 27 July. We need to work with the local movers to ensure all the customs paperwork, etc. is complete and begin jumping through the hoops to get customs clearance, the car inspected, insured, and registered. The movers said this process could take about two weeks, then they will schedule delivery of our stuff. So, the next few weeks might be busy. Send us good vibes.

One last thing, when you view the pictures you will see some of Wateringen. I took the pictures of Wateringen one afternoon when I was walking the dogs. Wateringen is a town just 1km from where we live. We often walk the loop through the center of town and back home.

We hope you are well - we think of you often and look forward to hearing from you.

-Candi and Steve

First Week in Den Haag

Hi Everyone,

I keep waffling between thinking, "it's already been a week!" and "I can't believe it has only been a week!" It feels like both a long time and no time at all since we left Washington. Our trip here was good overall. I think the pets might have a different opinion about that, but my experience was pretty good. The Northwest/KLM Airlines staff in Seattle were wonderful with the pets and very helpful and reassuring, so I got on the plane feeling more relaxed than I expected. The flight was "short;" our time in flight was almost an hour less than the scheduled time. Because of this, we actually had to sit on the ground in Seattle for about 45 minutes before take off because we couldn't arrive in Amsterdam "too early." Apparently there is a noise abatement ordinance that prohibits big jets from landing at Schiphol airport before 7:00 a.m. I think that is pretty funny. Thus, my first personal encounter with strange Dutch laws. After arriving, the KLM staff at Schiphol were much less than helpful and I had to fend for myself in baggage claim with 2 very large dog kennels, a cat kennel, one very heavy humongous suitcase, one regular size suitcase, and my carryon bag (the scene would probably make a very funny video). They wouldn't give me a cart big enough to carry both dog kennels, so I ended up having to leave one behind as I headed out past customs to meet Steve in the waiting area. Returning to baggage claim to get the second kennel meant being interrogated by a surly, apparently very bored, security officer. He eventually let me through and then Chloe and I were on our way to join everyone else. Then the very stressful experience of loading up the car began (you pay for parking as you walk out of the terminal and then you have a limited amount of time to actually drive your car out of the parking garage before the paid ticket expires - so we were feeling rushed). The minivan was barely big enough even after folding down the back seats and disassembling the kennels. But we managed to fit everyone in and finally headed home.

We spent the first couple of days recovering from jet lag; even Steve had a bit of jet lag because he had just arrived back in NL two days before we got here. Despite how tired we were, sleeping at night was difficult at first for several reasons. First, Europe's football (soccer) championship matches are happening right now and the whole country is going crazy over football. The games end pretty late at night (e.g. 11:00 pm. or 12:00 a.m.), then the screaming, air horns, car horns, and firecrackers begin for the next couple of hours. It was especially intense when Holland was still in the running, but the team lost last weekend, so some of the enthusiasm is gone. Second, since it is near the solstice, it stays light here until a bit after 11:00 p.m. and then it is light again around 4:00 a.m. - a short night. Third, the dogs had jet lag too and we think they were convinced that 3:00 a.m. was dinner time for the first couple of nights. Also, the strange new noises from the busy street set them on edge and they were very agitated for the first few days/nights. But they have mellowed out and I think we are developing a routine. I try to walk the dogs 3 or 4 times a day; at least one walk is about an hour long. This is supposed to tire them out so they sleep soundly at night. It barely works - they still need more exercise. As I get more familiar with the area I will check out some of the off leash dog parks in the city. The beach also has an off leash area for dogs that I plan to investigate soon. There are several canals in our neighborhood and we have some resident ducks, geese, coots, herons, and swans. Of course the dogs find them fascinating. I think walking with dogs really makes a person look like a local; several people have pulled up along side me and asked me for directions. The first time was just a few hours after I arrived.... and I didn't know anything, I was feeling lucky if I could get back to the apartment. However, I could actually advise the last two people who have asked me for directions! Of course I don't think they believed me and I am sure they moved on asked someone else.

It seems like my days have been consumed with getting the dogs adjusted to living here.... the cat has adjusted just fine. But Steve and I have also been doing some things to get ourselves a bit more settled too. We have put together furniture, shopped at Ikea and a megamall for house stuff, gone for walks around the neighborhood, taken the tram to the "centrum" (downtown Den Haag) and walked around and had lunch, and joined the football frenzy by watching the games. I've been doing the daily shopping at the grocery, bakery, cheese shop, butcher, and pet shops in our building. It is both a dream and a nightmare of mine to live within reach of a bakery and a shop that sells ice cream. The little shop with the ice cream has the best chocolate ice cream I can ever remember having. Danger! So far I have exercised a great deal of self control. Very soon an "international" restaurant will open up in our building. The sign advertises Greek, Turkish, and a few other kinds of foods. I hope it is good. One of the best things we have eaten so far is a ready to eat Thai curry sold in the grocery store. It is really good! We may never have to cook again. The only quintessential Dutch thing I've eaten so far is the herring sold by the sidewalk vendors. Not my favorite thing, but anyone that comes to visit should try it.

Last Friday I had two appointments at two different offices to register as a resident. This involved someone from Steve's office escorting me to these various appointments. So, Steve had to take me to his company's main office in Den Haag before he went to work in Rotterdam. Obviously, we were on a tight schedule that morning. The day started off inauspiciously when we went to the parking garage and tried to start to the car. The battery was dead. And of course our jumper cables are in a shipping container somewhere between NL and WA. Fortunately, one of his coworkers lives in our building and we were able to catch him right after he left for work and he was willing to come back and pick us up. Luckily, we made it to the office on time because, as is the Dutch practice, the folks in the office bought Steve a birthday cake and we were able to celebrate his birthday with his coworkers. I really enjoyed seeing this since Steve usually likes to keep his birthday quiet and not make a fuss about it. I think Steve enjoyed it too. After eating cake, I was off to my appointments. The first one was with the IND; the national agency. It actually went very smoothly - we were in and out in about 10 minutes. I think it set a record. I was also reassured that I will be able to work in the Netherlands; because of Steve's status I do not need a separate work permit, I am eligible to work already. That was great news! The second "appointment" with the local agency wasn't as efficient. It was one of those places where you take a number and wait your turn. I think we waited almost an hour. Then, they almost didn't process my application because the copy of the rental agreement I had with me wasn't signed. The person who was with me managed to convince the bureaucrat to accept a signed letter from Steve, which he had to fax to the office along with a copy of his passport and residency card. All of this had to be done immediately or we would have to leave and come back again. Several frantic phone calls and about 20 minutes later it was all sorted out and I was assured I would get a letter in the mail within 2 weeks. After speaking to others, it seems like the letter is an enigma.... some people get one, some don't. We shall see.

Steve's new project is in Rotterdam, and he has been taking the train to work. The train station is 4km away from our apartment, so we drive to the train station in the morning and then I pick him up in the evening. Once his bike is fixed, he will probably ride his bike. In the meantime, it has been a good way for me to practice driving here. Bikes are everywhere! And in the morning it is really sweet to see parents taking their children to school on their bikes. The bigger kids ride along side their parents and smaller ones ride in seats mounted on the front or rear of the bike or in trailers. Often, one adult has two or three kids in tow. It is really quite amazing.

I've been fighting a cold for the past couple of days, so my activity has been kind of limited, but I hope to be over it soon and get out and explore more this weekend and next week. We also have a few procedures ahead of us, such as meeting our "house doctor" and converting our drivers' licenses, so I am sure there will be some stories to tell about those adventures.

Take care,
Candi and Steve

Netherlands Update #2

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Of course, the Fourth isn't celebrated here... but that is OK we relaxed and had some fun this weekend and celebrated in our own way with a very American dinner of pizza and margaritas! Since the last update, I have been doing basically the same activities: walking the dogs, domestic chores, and exploring new shops and food. We discovered some great walks in our area. I am impressed at how well the city is laid out in terms of open green spaces, sidewalks, and bike paths all woven throughout residential and commercial areas. Steve and I have ridden bikes a couple of times. We took the dogs with us on one ride and made them run alongside us. It was great fun and we will be doing it again soon.

However, one irritation I have is that while private, individual houses and apartments seem to be clean and meticulously taken care of, public areas are not. There is a lot of litter and generally people seem to have little respect for shared spaces (I have seen people throw trash on the ground just a few steps from a trash can and adults tell children to throw trash on the ground - urgh!!!). I am not sure why it is this way or whether it is true for other parts of the country as well. I am surprised and disappointed by it.

On a more positive note, one of the great things about this city, especially compared to Olympia, is the cultural diversity. Food from many different cultures is readily available in restaurants and at the markets. We recently joined Steve's colleagues for dinner a couple of times and tried different foods as we were out and about. It was all very good... Indian, Japanese, Turkish, and even a few Dutch foods. I am looking forward to having Malaysian, Lebanese, and Ethiopian food soon. Of course, McDonalds, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken are available as well (there is also a place called Miami Fried Chicken???). And then there are the ubiquitous Dutch french fry stands. I have never seen more people walking down the street eating french fries and dipping them in gobs of mayonnaise. Another dipping option is ketchup curry... it is not ketchup. It is strange. A few days ago for breakfast we tried another common Dutch food – chocolate sprinkles on toast. The sprinkles made it taste like eating a crunchy whole wheat cupcake. The cheese here is wonderful. Dairy products in general just taste better here. One thing I do miss is good chips and salsa.

Saturday we rode our bikes to the Haagse Markt; it is only 15 minutes away via bike. It is one of the biggest open air markets in Europe. It seems you can buy everything at this market... produce, meat, fish, cheese, flowers and plants, clothes, small appliances, bikes, toys, fabric, etc. It is wonderful! I will send an invitation to view pictures soon, some of them will be of the market. Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures; I will go back soon and take more. On Sunday, we took an 11k walk with the dogs. We walked to a beautiful park that has off leash areas for dogs and great walking and bike paths through wooded areas and wetlands.

In my last message I mentioned that we planned to meet our "housedoctor" and convert our drivers' licenses. We successfully arranged an appointment to meet the house doctor, but the driver's license thing is mired in bureaucracy. We are waiting for some forms to be processed before we can even apply to get Dutch licenses. Some of you asked what a house doctor is. A house doctor is somewhat like a primary care doctor. Everyone must first visit a house doctor for any health care issues. If the house doctor cannot treat the problem, he or she will make other arrangements for your care. And, yes, there are times when the doctor will come to your house.

Yesterday I toured the MC Escher museum. I will share some of the photos. It is a small but lovely museum. I have gained a new appreciation for Escher's art. I like the idea of a museum being dedicated to just one artist.

We are continuing to adjust and learn how things are done here. I have a growing respect for people who move away from their native countries, especially if they don't speak the language or have well established friends and family in the new place. I think it is very helpful to be a native English speaker, but it is almost too easy to not speak Dutch. Everyone (from the cashier at the pet store to the customer service person for the cable company!) speaks English, and most people speak English better than I will ever speak Dutch. Sometimes I forget I am not in a country where the primary language is English. Steve is learning Dutch pretty quickly; he has to – the folks in the office where he is working generally conduct all their business, including emails to and meetings with Steve, in Dutch. Since March, he has had one week-long immersion course, weekly lessons at work, and is now taking intensive lessons three times a week for the next month. I just enrolled in a course that starts September 30... until then I am relying on Steve, Google translator, and my guidebooks and dictionaries. And of course I rely on the fact that everyone I encounter will speak some English.

The language barrier isn't the only thing we grapple with. Behaviors and expectations are different too. For example: Steve's friend James gave him a ride home from a company dinner a few nights ago. The dinner was in Den Haag about 15 minutes from where we live, and James lives in Amsterdam. Keep in mind that Amsterdam is almost an hour from Den Haag and it was late on a Monday night, both Steve and James work in Rotterdam, which is also about an hour from Den Haag in the other direction and they had been working all day before attending this event. James parked in our parking garage to come up to the apartment and say hello to me because I had not seen him since I go there (we knew James in Seattle). When they arrived the parking garage was still open, and they pulled right in and parked. The gates close at 11:00 p.m. When they are closed, a person needs a coded remote to open the gate to enter. Leaving the garage, the gate is triggered by a motion sensor, no remote is required. When James left, the gate was closed and would not open. The motion sensor was broken. The remote didn't work either. Steve called the after hours emergency number the property manager gave him. The paging service operator took his information and said she would call back in a few minutes. She did call back, but she reported that there was no one available to send to fix the gate and she suggested that we wait until morning. Obviously, this was not an acceptable option. You can imagine how upset we were. She didn't seem to think it was unreasonable. About an hour passed and the number of people who were "trapped" in the parking garage grew. It took five calls before one of the other people who was trapped called the security company directly and got someone to come open the gate. Eeergh. Of course the number for the security company is posted on the outside of the garage... not on the inside where it might have been useful in this case. So, I would like to think that back home, the property manager on call after hours would have called the security company the first time a person called and said he was unable to leave the garage. I hope it would not have taken multiple phone calls from different people and then someone having to call the security company directly. But, who knows, maybe it would have. (Note, we are not yet at the point where this story is funny to us...it might be someday.)

We hope you all are doing well and thanks for the emails - we love hearing from you. More to come soon.

Take care,

Candi and Steve

Netherlands Update #4

Hereby I send this message to our friends and family.....

That is just an example of how many of the letters and emails sent to us by Dutch companies and agencies start.... they love this word "hereby." To us, it sounds so formal. The letters often conclude with "I trust you have been well enough informed" (usually we are not well enough informed - just more confused). It is one of the many cultural and linguistic quirks to which we are slowly adjusting.

We have had a few adventures since our last update. I'll quickly explain the last set of pictures I sent out a couple of weeks ago. (See them here)

The one on the beach was taken near Monster, Holland. We went there just because we love the name. Turns out "monster" translates in English to "sample" - not a very interesting word afterall. That day we rode our bikes along the bike paths that meander through the dunes and along the coast. It was a beautiful ride, but I had to ride the little folding bicycle because we (STILL) didn't have our stuff and my bike is in our shipment. I call the little folding bike "the circus bike" because it has tiny wheels. It is torture to ride for long distances. On the way home that afternoon, it started to pour down rain and the circus bike became a paddle boat.... We were soaked to the bone when we got home.



I took the Gouda cheese market photos the day I went to Gouda with my friend Patricia. Again, we got stuck in the pouring rain. As soon as we got off the train, the clouds opened up and a monsoon hit. The thunder was louder than any I have heard before and the lighting was frighteningly close to us. Fortunately, the storm passed in about an hour and we had a couple of rain-free hours to enjoy the cheese market and the shops in Gouda. On the way home, it rained hard again and the streets of Den Haag had several inches of water in them. The tram created a bow wave as it moved down the street. I thought maybe the tram might have to turn in to a submarine.

Steve and I spent a beautiful (rain-free) afternoon in Delft one Saturday. We rode our bikes to Delft - Steve on his super Dutch bike cruising along with little effort, and me on the little circus bike pedaling furiously to keep up - it had to be hilarious to see. Anyway, Delft is a gorgeous little town. The main attractions are the two churches (Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk) and the Delftware pottery. Steve and I didn't see the pottery factory that day, but I have plans to go back soon with my friend Patricia and do the painting workshop and paint my own Delftware tile.

We also spent a beautiful day in Leiden visiting the Hortus Botanicus, the botanical gardens of Leiden University. We primarily went to see the "Corpse Flower" in bloom, but we were a little early, it had only just sprouted. As I understand it, the plant blooms once after 15 years of life, so it is rare to see it. We went back to Leiden again this past weekend. The plant grew a lot in two weeks, but it still hasn't bloomed. There is a comparison of the flower from our first and second visits in the next batch of pictures. It is commonly called the "corpse flower" because of the smell it puts off to attract pollinating insects. It smells like rotted meat. The Latin name, Amorphophallus titanum, reflects its shape more than its smell.

During the past few weeks I have been apartment hunting (our current place is OK, but we think we would be happier somewhere else). This task has taken me back to Leiden a couple of times and to various neighborhoods in Den Haag. It has been a nice way to get to know the area and the transportation systems. It is time consuming and sometimes very disheartening, but always educational. My friend Patricia went to Leiden with me one day and we took some time to visit the Rijksmuseum van Oudhaden (Rijks Museum of Antiquities). It has a large Egyptian display, including several mummies.

This past Saturday Steve and I returned to Leiden to check on the corpse flower and tour the Molen Museum de Valk (pictures in the next batch of photos). I can't believe I never knew that many windmills actually functioned as grain mills. We also took one of the boat tours around the canals. The boat tour was a big disappointment. We were crammed in to the boat under a glass roof like sardines. It was difficult to see anything of significance and hotter than blazes when the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Now we know what not to recommend to visitors.

On Sunday we woke up early and hopped on the train to Brussels, Belgium. We had a lovely breakfast of Belgian waffles at a cafe in Grand Place then enjoyed a nice walk around town to see the architecture and the Manneken Pis, the mascot of Brussels (he happened to be dressed up for Hungary's independence day). We stopped in at the Belgian Comic Strip Center and perused the book store. I think the comic strip museum is a worth a visit on another trip when we have more time. Then we had a late lunch of mussels and Belgian beer in a really neat restaurant underground and shopped for Belgian chocolates before getting back on the train to be home in time for dinner, which neither of us ate because we were so full from all the great food we had in Brussels.

We have finally obtained our Dutch drivers' licenses (how long ago did I mention that we began that process?). Part of the process involved giving up our Washington State drivers' licenses - permanently, we will not get them back. That was a difficult moment for me. I actually liked the picture on my WA driver's license! Oh well.... the good news is we didn't have to take driving school or take an exam; we were able to "trade-in" our licenses and even Steve's motorcycle license transferred here (he is thrilled about that!). Most expats have to take an expensive intensive driving course and an exam to get a Dutch driver's license. Since Steve is here on a special kind of work visa, this requirement is waived for him, and I get the same benefit.

I think that is the only thing we have been able to complete in the past month. I still do not have my residence card or my health insurance card yet. I am learning I am not a very patient person. I don't see why these things have to take so long. It is especially frustrating when "they" make "you" meet ridiculous deadlines or do outrageous things, but then they are in no hurry to finish the job. I should have picked up meditation as a hobby years ago; it would come in handy now.

I still walk the dogs a couple of times a day. One evening I decided to give Barley a chance to prove that she really is a good dog and that she can be trusted off a leash. There is an area near our apartment where it is OK to let dogs off leash to walk along side you (it is not a "dog park" - just a path). Well, she was doing just fine.... until she decided that the algae on the surface of the canal would be a nice place to walk. One second she was looking at me with a big "smile" on her face, then she took a step off the bank of the canal and was instantly completely submerged under very dark water. She popped up and looked absolutely shocked. The algae really did look like a solid surface - it completely covered the water. But, how dumb is a dog that doesn't know it is stepping in to water?! The bank was quite steep and she couldn't get out on her own, so I had to go help. Of course, Chloe thought going for a swim looked like a lot fun and as I was helping Barley out of the water, Chloe jumped in to it (while I was holding her leash). I managed not to fall in, but it was close. I was laughing so hard I could barely stand up. What a sight we must have been.

Here is a link to another set of photos from our recent trip to Leiden, an afternoon in Amsterdam, and our trip to Brussels. Let me know if the link doesn't work - I am trying to include the link here instead of sending a separate message. (See them here)

And the grand finale... WE GOT OUR STUFF!!!!! Today, August 28, the movers arrived with our boxes and our BED!!!!! I am thrilled, and overwhelmed. We have to go pick up the car on Monday - that involves a whole slough of bureaucracy and I can only hope that we have everything in order. But, that is Monday... today I begin to unpack. So far I have unpacked a few kitchen boxes and I found only six broken items. I expected it to be much worse. I feared that our set of dishes would get pulverized, but they all came out in one piece. (Carmen and Chara - thank you for your stellar packing jobs!) There are many more boxes to unpack, so I don't know if there is any more damage, but so far I am not cursing and screaming and crying - that is unexpected.

We have started to post these updates in a blog... you can view this message and previous ones here: http://steveandcandi.blogspot.com/.

We hope you are all well and we look forward to your updates from home. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

All the best,

Candi and Steve