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
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