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