A Week at a Time: July 23-29, 2011

Last week started with our weekend trip to Maastricht, which you can read about here.

July 23 - Maastricht

On Sunday, I took this picture, before heading back to Utrecht.

July 24 - Grasshopper

Monday, I didn't venture out too far, but I did go for a jog and made homemade enchiladas for dinner.

July 25 - Enchiladas

Tuesday, I felt super lazy, but I forced myself to venture downtown in the afternoon. On the way, I took a slightly different route than normal and passed by Sint Willibrordkerk. I'd been wanting to go in the church for a while after hearing how beautiful it was inside, but I'd never caught it open. I ducked in for an unplanned visit.

July 26 - Sint Willibrordkerk

Wednesday, I baked a cake for Mr. Traveler to take to work for his birthday. Later in the day, I headed over to Leidsche Rijn and squeezed in a bit of disc golf. I took this picture of the ducks on my way to the disc golf course.

July 27 - In a Row

On Thursday, I wondered around town trying to pick a gift for Mr. Traveler's birthday. I ended up with some silly books and stickers. It probably wasn't the most exciting gift, but it was at least something to open. While I was out, I took this picture of a woman I've seen several times around Utrecht (now that I'm writing that, I realize it sounds a little creepy... I promise I'm not a stalker).

July 28 - Kinki

Finally, we ended the week with Mr. Traveler's birthday. He worked from home during the day, and we walked over to the wine shop so he could pick out a special birthday wine. I made reservations for the restaurant in Wilhelmina Park, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with wonderful service. Later in the evening, Mr. Traveler opened his cards and presents while we enjoyed his birthday wine. I hung these balloons up as a birthday decoration.

July 29 - Hoera!

A Week at a Time: July 16-22, 2011

On Saturday, we took the train into Tilburg to meet up with Mr. Traveler's friend and her husband. They picked us up at the train station and brought us back to their house, where we chatted over delicious cheese and wine. Later in the evening, we took the bus back into town and had an amazing dinner at their favorite restaurant in Tilburg.

July 19 - Tilburg

Sunday, we ventured out for lunch and found that a huge market was set up on the main street by our place (Nachtegaalstraat or Burgemeester Reigerstraat... most streets here seem to have two, three, or more names; this one actually has several.) In the picture below, you can see one of the book vendors. Notice the tarp at the top of the picture, ready to cover the books in case of rain.

Later, Mr. Traveler and I saw The Hangover, Part II, which was actually quite a bit better than I thought it was going to be.

July 17 - Boeken

Monday was a stay inside and read kind of day, cloudy with rain. One of our neighbors cats took refuge on our windowsill and patiently sat as I snapped a few pictures.

July 18 - Whiskers

On Tuesday, I ventured over to the Museum Maluku, which I wrote about here.

July 19 - Museum Maluku

Wednesday, I tried to check some items off of my to-do list, which called for a trip to the mailbox to drop off a few letters.

July 20 - TNT Post

Thursday, I made a chicken and caramelized onion pizza for dinner. It seems like my default end of the day picture always consists of some sort of food or cooking.

July 21 - Carmelizing

On Friday, I ran out to grab some duct tape and came home with some pretty delicious arugula pasta with capers, onions, olives, and cheese from one of the many delicatessen's near us (Tutti a Tavola). I took the following picture on my short walk, and considered whether the storm clouds would bring rain before I could get back home.

July 22 - Storm on the Tracks

(Note: This post is part of my year long "A Week at a Time" series, where I document my participation in the 365 Project.)

A Week at a Time: July 9-15, 2011

Mr. Traveler had to work a little from home on Saturday, so I pretty much spent the day lazing around the house. In the middle of the day, I snapped the following photo of one of the damp chairs outside, thinking I'd probably take another photo later in the day. I never got around to it, however, so I was left with a not-so-exciting Saturday photo.

July 9 - Damp

Sunday, Mr. Traveler spent the majority of the day traveling to/from and playing in a baseball game, so I had the house to myself. I took advantage of the time to clean the house and get ready for our company. I was feeling a little cooped up, so I stretched my trip to the recycling bins into a longer walk, wandering through Wilhelmina Park. I brought along my camera and took a few pictures, including the one below of a bicycle path sign.

July 10 - Path

By Monday the place was completely ready for company, and I made mental plans to head over to the Maluku museum in the afternoon. Luckily I checked the hours before leaving because I had forgotten most of the museums are not open on Mondays. I have yet to visit the museum, but will probably try again later this week.

Instead, I spent much of the day reading and took a few pictures of our clean-ish house since I still need to finish the Inside Our Dutch House series I started in January. With less than a month before we return home, I should be wrapping up the series soon.

July 11 - Simple Living

Tuesday, as I've already mentioned, I went to pick up my friends E and B from Eindhoven Airport. On our walk through Utrecht, I took the following picture in the Domkerk courtyard.

July 12 - Summer in the Courtyard

Wednesday, I snapped a picture of our waffle lunch, as E, B, and I explored Amsterdam.

July 13 - Delicious

Thursday brought a second straight day of non-stop rain. After dropping off E and B at the train station, I returned home for a nap. I didn't wake up until around 11, which left me a little groggy for the rest of the day. Besides taking a picture of my rain boots, I did venture out to grab ingredients to make a Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe. Yum.

July 14 - Rainy Day Attire

On Friday, the sun was shining and I took advantage by walking down to the Maliebaanfestival, a carnival happening just around the corner from our place. (We could actually hear the music from the bands from our house.) I snapped the picture below using a fish eye lens, which I thought gave a nice carnival atmosphere to the shot. Afterward, I walked back through the park, sitting on a park bench for a while to watch the dogs pass by.

July 15 - Maliebaan Festival

Visitors, Take Six

This past week, we welcomed our sixth and final round of company to our home in Utrecht. Our friends E and B arrived at Eindhoven Airport on Tuesday morning at 8:00AM. Since I planned to pick them up, I checked train schedules a week before but decided to confirm the schedule on Monday evening. To my surprise, I found out the train I was planning on taking wasn't running due to construction on the tracks. An alternate route was available using the NS (train company) bus to reach a connecting station, but it meant the trip would take almost an hour longer than normal.

Construction in Utrecht (not the cause of delays... this time)

Once I saw my friends, however, the trip, including the extra time and transfers seemed worth it. On the way back (we didn't have to take the NS bus, but the train did run an alternate -- i.e. longer -- route), E and I chatted while B caught up on his sleep. Whenever he'd open an eye mid-nap, he'd find us giggling. It's amazing how easily friends fall back into their old patterns when reunited.

Back in Utrecht, E decided that she too could benefit from a quick nap, and she and B lay down, while I ran back up to the center of town to pick up my bicycle, which I had left at the train station early in the morning.

About an hour later, our guests were rested enough to continue with their day. We started with lunch at Broodnodig, where E and B learned that the locals eat sandwiches (broodjes) with a fork and knife. This is a harder task to master than you might imagine, as the bread often has a tough crust and slides back and forth with each slice of the knife. Soon, B gave up and picked up his sandwich like a proper American.

After we finished eating, Mr. Traveler (who worked from home so he could tag along for lunch and spend more time with our company) wanted to swing by the wine shop. Since the shop is past Wilhelmina Park (one of my favorite sunny day spots), we tagged along so E and B could see more of the area.

Afterward, Mr. Traveler went home and the rest of us walked to the Domkerk, Utrecht's claim to fame. Although I've been to the Domkerk several times, I find that walking through the old church and its courtyard never gets old. I always notice something new, whether in the form of artwork temporarily displayed in the church or a small detail in the church itself. This time, it was the change in the garden that caught my eye.

Winter (Empty Branches, Short Plants)

Spring (Leaves, Tall Plants)

When we left the church, it was almost 5pm, so we didn't have enough time to climb the tower. Instead, we walked towards the Oudegracht, so B could get a better picture of the Domtoren, which is just about impossible to photograph up close.

On the way back home, we stopped in a few stores and grabbed a cup of coffee to keep us going. When we got home, we found that Mr. Traveler had stopped by the cheese shop and picked up a pre-dinner snack to enjoy with our wine. He'd also made a dinner reservation at Buurten (our neighborhood restaurant) for a little later that evening.

Over dinner, we filled each other in on our latest news and plans. It was so nice just to sit down to dinner with friends. Each time we've had company, I've felt like they brought with them a little piece of home, making the distance seem a little less far.

As we returned from dinner, rain started to fall lightly from the sky. Mr. Traveler and I commented that we often get steady, but light rain and hardly ever downpours. The sky must have overheard us and wanted to prove what it was capable of, because later that night we had some of the heaviest rain since we arrived, and it didn't stop completely for days.

The rain made our adventure into Amsterdam the following day a little more dreary than I would have liked. (Amsterdam is just such a picturesque city when the sun is shining.) In fact, when we got off the train, it seemed quite a bit cooler and we had to stop at H&M to grab an extra jacket for E before continuing. Luckily, I had on my rain jacket which helped block some of the chilling wind.

Our first planned stop for the day was the Anne Frank House. From both the guide books and experience, I was aware that the lines can get quite long, but I hoped that the rain might keep some of the less resilient tourists in their hotel rooms. Unfortunately, the lines were the longest that I've ever seen them, and E and B quickly decided a look at the front of the house would be enough to satisfy their curiosity.

Next up, we headed to the Van Gogh Museum. I'd already been a couple times (here and here), so I kind of hung back while E and B explored the exhibits. B isn't much of a museum goer, though, so we didn't make it through the entire (very large) museum before everyone decided it was time to eat.

We opted for waffles (with ice cream, cherries, and chocolate) at a stand in the park between the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum after I insisted that they were one of the best things I'd ever eaten. Even after the hype, I don't think anyone felt let down by sugary treat (although B might have hoped for a slightly larger lunch.)

Waffle!!

After lunch (if you can call a waffle and ice cream lunch), we still had one more museum to visit. We found our way across town to the Dutch Resistance Museum, a museum dedicated to the resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. Resistance came from both organized movements and from the actions of private individuals, and the museum addressed the various types of resistance during the war. I found the museum to be very informative and well put together. The displays provided just the right amount of information to keep my attention, and I found myself wanting to know more about resistance efforts. While so many aspects of the Second World War seem to force us to question our faith in humanity, recognizing the acts of resistance helps us realize that there are genuinely good people who are willing to risk their own lives to help others in need. The Resistance Museum praises these efforts and encourages visitors to speak up against injustice so the atrocities of the Holocaust are not repeated.

I expected to feel sad after the Resistance Museum, as I had felt when visiting the Anne Frank House a few months ago. In some ways I did feel a bit melancholy, but more than anything, I found myself inspired by the individuals and groups who were not willing to stand by as their friends and neighbors were taken from their homes to face (at the time) unknown fates. I found, however, that this experience was very personal, and after leaving the museum, I felt as though I had to temporarily distance myself from these feelings and explore them later, so that they didn't become a distraction for the rest of the day.

After the museum, we headed back towards to the train station, with the goal of detouring through the Red Light District, which seems to be on almost every visitor's must see list. Walking through the area, whether with friends, family, or even a significant other, is always an awkward experience. It's interesting to note, however, that besides workers, the area is filled predominately with foreigners. The Dutch, who live in a country where prostitution is legal and soft drug use is tolerated, are much less interested in partaking in these excesses than those who live in countries where prostitution and marijuana are outlawed (i.e. Americans).

Finally, we made one final stop before getting back on the train to order some frites in a cone, a Dutch specialty that E didn't want to miss.

Frites (Don't worry, we shared!)

Back in Utrecht, the rain was still pouring, which gave us the advantage of having Mr. Traveler tag along for dinner (since normally Wednesday nights are reserved for baseball practice). We ate at Havana, a restaurant that passes itself off as Cuban, but has everything from fajitas to salmon to cheese fries.

When we got back to our place, we agreed to go to sleep early since E and B had to catch a train before 6AM. However, it seemed like we kept thinking of things to tell each other, and it was hard to force ourselves to say goodnight.

In the morning, I woke up at 4:30 and pulled on a sweatshirt over the outfit I'd worn the previous day. Since the buses didn't start running for an hour, I walked E and B to the train station. We got there in plenty of time for them to catch the 5:41 train to s'Hertogenbosh (where they needed to make a connection to Eindhoven).

As I walked home from dropping them off, it was raining pretty steadily and by the time I walked through the door, my shoes and sweatshirt were both completely soaked. I hung my wet clothes over the railing by the stairs and crawled back in bed, thankful that I could get an extra few hours of sleep.

It was great to see our friends (and to have a little bit of company outside of the deluge we had earlier in the spring). It seemed like we didn't have near enough time to spend with them, though, as they arrived on Tuesday and left just two days later. However, it was a little easier watching them go, knowing we will see them next month when we return to Texas.

A Week at a Time: July 2-8, 2011

Last week was pretty uneventful. We did make it into Amsterdam for the Sunday Market, but other than that I stuck around Utrecht.

Saturday, I spotted this unusual flower on a walk. If you know what type it is, feel free to let me know.

July 2 - Funny Flowers

Sunday, we made the trip into Amsterdam to check out the Sunday Market. I'd been the previous month, but this time I dragged Mr. Traveler along. We enjoyed trying to fresh squeezed orange and apple juice (squeezed right in front of us), tasting the almost-authentic barbecue (I had the pulled pork), and ended up taking home some cherries.

On the way to the market, we passed through Westerpark, where I took the following picture of a dog cooling off in a puddle.

July 3 - Dog in a Puddle on a Path

While our friends back in the States enjoyed cookouts, pool parties, and fireworks in honor of Independence Day, we spent the 4th walking around Utrecht and snapping photos. I took the picture below at the Rosarium across from Wilhelmina Park.

July 4 - Overarching

Tuesday, I can't really remember what I did, so I'm assuming my day consisted mostly of reading and updating photos and blog entries (catching up from our vacation seemed to take forever). I took the following picture in our garden, where our vines have decided to focus their growth upwards. It looks like they are almost ready for another trim.

July 5 - Growing Up

Wednesday, I spent the majority of the day on the computer, but did venture out to buy some ingredients to put together the ratatouille dish below. I thought it turned out pretty nice, both visually and taste wise. I even jotted down my recipe (inspired by various recipes for the same dish) so I can make it again.

July 6 - Ratatouille Knockoff

On Thursday, Mr. Traveler and I took a walk to buy bread at the bakery and pick up a few groceries. I knew I needed to take a photo, so I snapped one of a bin of sale shoes on the sidewalk. Even though the prices on the sales tickets below aren't really an indication, the store carries ridiculously high priced designer shoes for babies and kids.

July 7 - Shoes for Sale

Friday, I spotted the following sight on the edge of Wilhelmina Park. Seeing bikes at the bottom of canals is actually pretty common, as unlocked bikes are frequently thrown into the water by unruly teenagers or other miscreants. It's a good reminder to lock up your bike anytime you leave it unattended, unless of course, you are looking for a convenient way to dispose of the bike. Then, you can leave it unlocked and see what happens.

July 8 - In the Canals

A Week at a Time: June 25 - July 1, 2011

I can't believe it has been almost 3 weeks since we returned from our Eastern Mediterranean vacation. It seems like everything has been on fast forward since we stepped off the airplane. If the next few weeks go by as quickly, we'll be back in Texas in the blink of an eye.

Anyway, on Saturday (the 25th), we spent our last day in Venice, which I've described here. During our relaxing stroll through the city of canals, I took the following picture of a particularly photographic building. I love the effect of the brick showing through where the stucco has worn off. I also love the matching effect of the colorful laundry and the flowers. 

June 25 - Colorful Laundry

Sunday, it was time to leave Venice. As we waited for the bus (which showed up about 20 minutes after its scheduled arrival), I took a picture of the speed limit sign, painted onto the street. Even though we had several waits that day (at the bus stop, at the airport, and at the train station), I couldn't help but feel a little giddy since Mr. Traveler and I were celebrating our one year anniversary.

June 26 - Waiting for the Bus

Monday was our first day home from vacation. Mr. Traveler worked from home and in the afternoon, we went for a short walk to the store. I snapped this picture of an ice cream truck on the way home.

June 27 - Ijs

Tuesday, the temperature almost hit 90 degrees, and I could feel the energy draining from my body. I know, my friends and family in Texas are probably rolling their eyes, but without air-conditioning, the heat was truly debilitating. I stuck close for home until the evening when I had to run to the grocery store. On the way home, I spotted some fans in front of the local hardware store and decided we needed one immediately.

June 28 - Cool Down

For the first few days back, much of my time was focused on sorting through vacation photographs and starting vacation blogs. Since I spent a lot of time around the house, I ended up with some not-so-exciting photos, like the one of a leaf in our garden, which I took on Wednesday.

June 29 - Little Leaf

On Thursday, I decided to run up to the town center and take care of some errands (i.e. returning a camera bag a little too skinny for my over-sized point and shoot). I brought the camera along and snapped a few pictures of some familiar sites, including the one below of "canal bikes" on the Oudegracht.

Canal Bikes

On Friday, I went to an IWCU walk from Muidenberg along the IJmeer. We had some amazing views of Muiden Castle, below, and also got charged by a cow that wasn't particularly happy about a dog (one of the ladies brought along her pet) walking through hrt pasture. Luckily, once we made it out of the field, the rest of our walk wasn't quite as eventful.

Muiden Castle