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/