A Week at a Time: Jan 15-21, 2011

Last Saturday, we made our way down to the honkbal (i.e. baseball) fields so that Mr. Traveler could get fitted for his uniform. Before we even walked into the clubhouse/snackbar, I noticed the familiar Texas Rangers logo through the window. Of course, they also had pennants from many other MLB teams, but the Texas pennant stood out to me. 

Jan 15 - Texas Representing in Utrecht

Sunday, the weather was beautiful, and relatively warm, and Mr. Traveler and I took a long walk (with the camera) through a new area (for us). I love how Utrecht looks when the sun is shining.

Jan 16 - Abbey Railroad

On Monday, I ran a few errands. In the evening, I met Mr. Traveler at the train station to buy tickets for our Tuesday day trip.

Jan 17 - Utrecht Centraal

Tuesday, we headed to Wuppertal, Germany. You can read all about the trip in my blog entry Wuppertal Wanderings.

Jan 18 - German Shepherd in Germany

By the time that Wednesday came, I felt like it was Monday again, since we had a nice mid-week break (or at least I did, while Mr. Traveler was in his meeting in Wuppertal). I headed to the gym, and snapped this picture of the storm clouds which were causing a bit of unpredictable weather.

Jan 19 - Surprising Storm Clouds

On Thursday, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and I walked to the center of town to do a little shopping.

Jan 20 - A Colorful Street

Finally, today, while I was jogging in the park, I spotted this sculpture in Wilhelmina Park that I hadn't noticed before.

Jan 21 - Triangles

Wuppertal Wanderings

Last week, Mr. Traveler informed me that he needed to make a day trip for work to Wuppertal, Germany the coming Tuesday. I quickly said yes when he asked if I wanted to tag along. I decided, just like in Maidstone and Sion, it would be easy for me to find something to do during the day. Plus, I'd never been to Germany before, and while we are over here, I feel that it is important to take advantage of as many travel opportunities as come our way (and are reasonable in terms of budgeting and planning, of course).

We woke up a little before our alarm went off to the sound of heavy rain against our bedroom window. I hoped that the storm would pass before it was time to leave, but no such luck was in store for us. I pulled on my running pants over my slacks in the hope that they would keep me relatively dry on our bicycle ride to the train station. This seemed to do the trick, and I'm pretty sure Mr. Traveler was wishing he had done the same when he arrived at the train station, completely soaked from hip to knee on the front and with a nice bicycle seat print on the back of his slacks. Luckily the pants dried about halfway through our train ride there, so he wasn't forced to show up for work looking like he was unable to make it to the toilet on time. (By the way, if it seems like the descriptions of my adventures are all characterized by the mention of rain, you might be getting an idea of what it is like to live in the Netherlands. While we do have beautiful, sunny days, it's hard to remember those in the middle of a gray week full of drizzle and sometimes it really does feel like it rains every day.)

The train ride out of the Netherlands and into Germany was interesting in itself. The extremely flat landscape of the Netherlands gave way to cascading hills in the German countryside. (On the way back, even though it was dark outside, there was still a marked change as we crossed the border, and taller, more attractive Dutch people began to board the train again.)


As we pulled into Wuppertal, I spotted the suspended monorail and knew we had arrived. When I found out where we were going, I did a Google photo search and found a bunch of photos of the monorail, including one of an elephant falling out of it.

Tuffi the Elephant (source)

From what I can gather from various sources, someone at the circus thought it would be a great promotional bit to have an elephant on the monorail to celebrate the opening of the monorail route to the zoo (or just because the circus was in town -- there are some discrepancies between the stories in different sources). The elephant (whose name is Tuffi), on the other hand, did not share the same excitement for the idea and instead decided to bail midway through the ride. Amazingly someone captured it on film, and now we can all enjoy the giant failure (or maybe success, as now Wuppertal celebrates this event in the form of souvenirs and artwork) of the promotion. For any of you who are concerned, as I was, the elephant had only minor injuries and lived for another 39 years.

When we got to Wuppertal, Mr. Traveler called his coworker, who came to meet us at the train station. Since it wasn't quite time for their meeting, we had lunch together in a sandwich shop before the two headed off to the client site. As they left, I headed outside with no definite plan in mind. As we had pulled into the station, the rain was coming down pretty hard, and I wasn't certain how much walking around I wanted to do. I was pretty surprised, then, to see blue skies when I walked out of the station. I took advantage of the break in the clouds and walked around the city for a couple of hours, snapping pictures and getting acquainted with the city. I'm not sure the name of the buildings, so I haven't captioned them below (notice, though, the tiny dog with an outfit and matching muzzle in the front of the first picture):

About 30 minutes before I returned to the center of town, it started to rain again. (You might notice the increase in clouds through the pictures.) Not near any overhangs or shops, I tucked my camera under my jacket and hurried along, looking for a dry place to put the camera away in my bag. I eventually got back to a bridge under the train tracks and was able to get the camera safely in my backpack. When I got back to the center, I decided that the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon, so I thought I'd check out the shopping in the area. I headed to a store that looked pretty familiar, TK Maxx. The logo was just like TJ Maxx, except for the obvious 1 letter difference. I could immediately tell when I entered that the stores were pretty much the same, with aisles and aisles of discounted merchandise. (I did some research online when I got back, and it turns out that TK Maxx is owned by the same company as TJ Maxx. Supposedly, when the company first decided to open stores in Europe in 1994, they decided to use the TK instead of TJ to avoid confusion with the existing but separate discount chain TJ Hughes. They did try, unsuccessfully to open a chain in the Netherlands in 1999, but I believe right now the stores are only located in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Poland.) Anyway, I spent a little while walking around the store and eventually purchased a pair of boots for 13 euros. Afterward, I decided I would wonder around the mall until Mr. Traveler called to let me know he was done with his meeting. The rain at this point had only increased in intensity, and I was much happier being inside and dry. I only walked around the mall for about 15 minutes, but I was especially excited to find a gummi store. The entire store was filled only with Baren Company chewy, gummi candy (gummi bears, gummi hearts, etc). I bought a bag of mini gummi bears, but it is probably good that I don't live any closer. I would likely become a regular pretty quickly. (By the way, in case you are up for some trivia, gummi bears originated in Germany in 1920, when Haribo was founded.)

Just as I was thinking the mall had lost its appeal, Mr. Traveler called me and we arranged to meet back at the train station. His coworker helped us buy our train tickets, and by the time we had finished standing in line and making the purchase, our train had arrived. It was time to say our goodbyes to Germany and head home to Holland.

A Week at a Time: Jan 8-14, 2011

This week of pictures starts on Saturday, January 8, in Rotterdam. I snapped the shot of the Euromast during one of the few moments the blue sky was visible all day. On Sunday and Monday, we were blessed with sunny days, and I took the opportunity to shoot the always inspiring Domtoren and a fountain in the garden of the Domkerk. The rest of the week has been filled with rain showers, but I managed to get a few good close ups of a plant, my bike, and a neighborhood cat. Finally, today I captured the ironically bright lights of a nearby funeral home.

Jan 8 - Euromast in Rotterdam

Jan 9 - Domtoren

Jan 10 - Monk Writing - Domkerk

Jan 11 - Another Rainy Day

Jan 12 - My Bicycle

Jan 13 - Kitty Cat

Jan 14 - Neon Sign on a Funeral Home

It's About the Journey, Not the Destination?

Even before our move, I searched through the PDGA Web site for courses and tournaments around the Netherlands. I might have mentioned in an earlier blog entry, that I was a little disappointed to find out that the course in Utrecht is a little on the small side. I was pleasantly surprised then, this weekend, to find an awesome 12-hole temporary course in Euromast Park in Rotterdam.

Muddy Course and the Euromast

Although the experience of playing in the tournament, meeting new disc golfers, and seeing a brand new course (for me) was phenomenal, getting there was a little more interesting.

Early Saturday morning, I woke up to Mr. Traveler moving about. "I really don't feel good," he complained. "I  think I'm getting sick." He told me that he was having trouble sleeping and that his throat hurt pretty bad. Although he had planned to travel with me to Rotterdam for the tournament, I knew at that point that he would probably be staying in bed instead. That meant I would be navigating the train system with my bike for the first time by myself. I took a deep breath, tried not to think about it too much, and went back to sleep. I knew I would need all the sleep I could get.

At 6:15, the alarm went off signaling that it was time for me to get out of bed. I gathered up my things, got ready, and scarfed down a single piece of toast with peanut butter. I walked outside with my disc golf bag on my back and my umbrella in hand. I tried to close the door, but it stuck about 2 inches from shutting. I tugged and tugged, but could not get it to shut. Finally, I pushed the door all the way open and pulled as hard as I could. As the door slammed shut, the vibrations echoed through the air, I'm sure waking all the neighbors. As I went to get on my bike, I realized that Mr. Traveler's bike was tied to it. I then had to go back inside, grab his keys, unlock his bike, put it to the side, unlock my bike, put his back next to the pole, lock his bike back in place, and put his keys back inside. Luckily on this try, the door shut with less trouble.

I was finally on my way to the train station and then the tournament, or so I thought. I stopped by the ATM nearest to our house to grab some cash for the day. I knew that there wasn't a lot of money left in our Dutch account. (Mr. Traveler gets paid into our account back in the States. We then pay our home bills out of that account and transfer some money to the account over here for rent, daily living expenses, and spending money. However, this process takes about a week. And, I'm sure this is more information than you ever wanted to know about our banking situation.) When the money wasn't there to pull out, I rode my bike back home, grabbed our debit card from our U.S. account, went back to the ATM and pulled out money, and was finally really on my way to the train station.

I pedaled quickly, hoping to catch the 7:17 train to Rotterdam. If I caught that train, I could be in Rotterdam by 7:55 and would have a whole hour to get to the park, leaving plenty of time for wrong turns and any other delays. I just missed the train, though, arriving on the platform at 7:20. The next train was supposed to leave at 7:35. If I caught that train, I would be in Rotterdam at 8:10, and would still have 50 minutes before sign ups ended. Pretty soon, though, an announcement came over the intercom indicating that my train was delayed 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes had passed, the train information was erased from the sign, indicating that the train was canceled. Not planning on having to take a later train, I had to check the schedule on the platform for the next train. In the meantime, a guy I had been talking to about the tournament through the disc golf message board (I'll call him M) sent me a text message and offered to meet Mr. Traveler and I in Rotterdam to show us the way to the park. I messaged back that I was running late, Mr. Traveler was sick, but if he was still around when I arrived I would definitely appreciate the help. I think I ended up getting on the 7:55 train. This meant I would be at the station closer to 8:30. M said he would be happy to wait and that he would rent a bike to ride with me. At this point, I was getting pretty nervous, but I was pretty confident that if I was riding with someone who knew where they were going, that I would still get there on time.

Then, I got a call from M. He told me that he had left his OV-fiets card at home. Without that, he would have to leave a large deposit in cash, so he didn't think he was going to be able to get a bike. He would wait for me at the station, point me in the right direction, and then take the Metro himself. At this point, I was really doubting my ability to navigate to the course and arrive on time. However, I was already on the train, so I knew I had to give it a try.

About 5 minutes before the train arrived in Rotterdam Centraal, I got another text message from M. He told me that he had secured a bike (I think he borrowed an OV-fiets card from a friend in the area) and he would meet me at the station. When I got to the station, I was still kind of anxious about getting to the tournament, but I was relieved to once again have someone navigating who knew the way. M and I had a nice ride, chatting about disc golf and getting to know each other, until about half way there I noticed that my bicycle was rattling a little more than normal on the brick path. I didn't want to look, and tried to convince myself that my bike always sounded that way, but I eventually gave in and glanced to the back tire. It was flat. Could one more thing go wrong? Maybe I wasn't meant to play this tournament after all. At this point, I was feeling a little sorry for myself, but I also felt guilty because I knew that if M hadn't waited for me, he would already be at the course and wouldn't have to worry about being late. He tried to get me to ride on the back of his bicycle, sitting sideways, while he also pulled mine along beside us. Dutch people do this all the time. However, after just a minute I knew that it was not going to work. I could not get my balance and he was pretty wobbly, too. He reorganized his stuff, I started walking, and he met me at the top of the hill. Almost to the park by now, we both walked our bikes the rest of the way there.

When we arrived, one of the first people that I talked to was a girl I had been emailing back and forth with about the tournament. She let me know that they were running late setting up the course, so we weren't late after all. It was about this time, that M realized that he didn't have his disc golf bag. He rode back in search of it, and once again I felt a little guilty, knowing that he probably wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't offered to help me out. (Later he told me that he found the bag beside a post office box, with only one disc missing. Either it fell off of his bike or he set it down when we were rearranging from the flat tire incident.)

After all of the morning's events, it was still only a little after 9. I practiced putting for a little while and chatted with some of the other players. By the time the players meeting started, M had come back with his bag and the nerves were gone from my system. I was just excited to be playing a disc golf tournament.

Basket Behind Statue on One of Many Island Holes

We played 3 rounds of 12 holes. After the first round, the cards were sorted by score and groups were reassigned. We played the second 2 rounds straight through without a break. The course was a little muddy, there was a lot of wind, and it rained on and off throughout the day, but it was great to play a new course with new people. Everyone I met and played with was extremely nice. They all were willing to change their conversations to English, so that I didn't feel excluded, and I really felt like they were excited to have someone knew playing a tournament. At the end of the three rounds, I was a bit hungry (I didn't realize there wasn't going to be a long break, so I didn't pack a lunch) and quite worn out. After not playing a tournament for a while, I think I forgot how physically draining it can be. I was extremely thankful and relieved, then, when one of the players offered to take me and my bike back to the station in his van.

Back at Rotterdam Centraal, I considered looking around for a bicycle shop to get my tire repaired. I decided, however, that I would rather head home, so that my bike (and I) would at least be in Utrecht, even if it still had a flat. I lugged my bicycle up the stairs and onto the platform, grabbed a much needed snack from the vending machine, and caught the first train headed back to Utrecht Centraal. On the way back, luckily I didn't encounter any more major problems. I had to hand the conductor an extremely soggy ticket when he walked by, which did amuse my fellow passengers. I'm sure they also wondered why my pants were covered in mud up to my knees, but no one was curious enough to ask.

Back in Utrecht, I asked one of the men working at the train station which direction I needed to go to get to the bicycle tunnel. He apparently didn't understand my question or wasn't aware that there was such a place, because he promptly placed me on the elevator, forcing me to walk through the mall with my bicycle. I thought about leaving my bike near a bike store on the way home (they all closed about 30 minutes before my arrival) but decided it would be safer from thieves and vandals in front of our home since the shops wouldn't reopen until Monday. When I got home with my bike, I was relieved to get inside and be able to take a nice warm shower. I was even more excited to finally get to eat dinner after I was clean again. (Mr. Traveler was feeling a little better after getting plenty of rest, and we had a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant.)

I plan on playing another tournament soon and look forward to seeing all of the people I met again (and hopefully remembering a few more of their names). I definitely hope the next trip isn't quite as filled with excitement, though.

A Week at a Time: Jan 1-7, 2011

Recently, I was inspired by a fellow blogger's Project 365 challenge of taking at least one picture a day for a year. (By the way, if you'd like to see some amazing photos of Utrecht, check out her blog.) This year, I'm challenging myself to do the same. I thought sharing these photos would be a good way to keep you updated on the more monotonous daily life of a traveler in Utrecht.

Here are the first 7 photos:

Jan 1st - Remains of New Year's Eve Fireworks

 

 

Jan 2nd - Sunny Skies to Start the New Year

Jan 3rd - Old Water Tower

Jan 4th - Cleverly Edited Bike Signal Light

 

Jan 5th - Immigration

The Kitchen

Leidsche Rijn Disc Golf

Inside Our Dutch House: The Kitchen

After the holidays came and went, I found myself back in a bit of a rut as far as blogging material goes. I've spent a lot of time reading, a little time crafting, and the rest of my time has been spend piddling around the house, running errands, and making trips to the gym. So far, we've been blessed with several sunny days this year, and even though it has rained for the entire day today, somehow the dreaded rainy day gloominess has not set in for me.

I thought it might be interesting to start a series of blog entries on our house. I promised to show you pictures a while back, but it's taken a bit of time to get the place organized in a method that works for us. I think we are at a point that is the best we are going to do. Instead of just showing you pictures, however, I thought I'd focus on a room at a time, sharing some of the experiences I've had adjusting to the room itself and the objects inside. I'm planning on spreading out these posts, so don't worry - I'll still be sharing plenty of other experiences outside of our little abode.

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This first Inside Our Dutch House edition covers a room that both brings me a lot of satisfaction and also a lot of frustration: the kitchen.

Taken from the Living Room

From the picture, you'll notice that our kitchen is slightly narrow, although a decent size for a small house/apartment. On one side of the room, cupboards cover the wall, and there is plenty of storage space for both our items and the ones that came with the house. There is even a difficult to reach cabinet, that we refer to as the "Dutch cabinet". It's the one that you can see in the upper right hand corner of the picture above. We use this space to store things that we will never need (like the coffee pot that doesn't work too well and has been replaced with a much smaller French press). 

Our Garden

The other side of the room features a large glass door leading to the garden. I love that during the day, plenty of natural light floods the kitchen, making it easy to cook or clean. This is enhanced by the bright white cabinets and wall color. Unfortunately, the sun sets around 4:30 p.m. during the winter, so by the time I start dinner, I have to rely on the somewhat-lacking artificial lighting, which is positioned under the cabinets. If we owned this house, I would definitely invest in an overhead light for the kitchen.

Our Counters

The floor in the kitchen is made of a gray marble, which hides dirt fairly well and is not too hard to clean. Moving up to the counters, though, the situation reverses. Metal counter tops might initially seem appealing; however, I have found that they are difficult to clean (notice the nice pattern, which operates as a crumb and grease catcher), they easily scratch if you try too hard to clean them, and in the right light, they always look dirty. It's also impossible to use the counters to roll out anything (like a pie or pizza crust) because of the texture. The counters also have a lip on the outside, which I suppose prevents things from dripping onto the floor, but it also makes it quite difficult to use a cutting board, since both the board and knife have to be far enough back on the counter to make the cutting motion a little uncomfortable.

 So, now on to the appliances. Since we moved in, we have purchased a coffee grinder (Mr. Traveler insisted that it was a necessity) and a toaster. Both of these items work as intended and get used daily. The other appliances in the kitchen include the oven/stove combination, the refrigerator, and the microwave. These also get used daily, but each of them has given me a separate challenge. 

Oven/Stove

The oven/stove combination is interesting because it consists of an electric oven and a gas stove. The stove has to be lit by starting the gas and then using a lighter, since there is no pilot light. This hasn't been a problem so far, especially since we now have a back up lighter and some matches if one runs out of fuel. The gas also has a strong odor (but different than in the States), so it's not hard to tell if you've accidentally turned on the gas on the wrong burner. 

Oven Knobs

The markings on the knobs for the unit are quite worn out, so it is difficult to tell the temperature at which the oven is set. Once I determine the Celsius temperature, I also have to convert it to Fahrenheit in order to cook the recipes that I brought from home. It's not a big deal; it's just one more step to consider. 

Just Right Sized Fridge

The size of the refrigerator and freezer is perfect. I know that a lot of European households have smaller fridges because people tend to shop more often and buy less at a time. When I lived in London during a semester abroad in 2001, my roommates and I had a small mini-fridge. It was a nightmare. Not only could you barely fit anything in it, but the freezer completely iced over. We asked the maintenance person for his advice. He told us to chip the ice out using a screwdriver. Unfortunately, this resulted in a puncture to the fridge and a leaking of an unknown gas into the air. Afterward, he swore that he never told us to do that, and instead that we should have taken the fridge and hung it out the window over the busy London sidewalk below. I definitely think our destruction of the non-working fridge was much less horrible than the possible unintentional manslaughter of an unsuspecting victim. Anyway, the only complaint about our current fridge is that the shelves are a bit unstable. So if you aren't careful, the entire contents of the fridge can end up in a heap at the bottom. After my London experience, however, this seems only like a minor inconvenience.

The Inconsistent Microwave

The last appliance in the kitchen is an outdated and inconsistent microwave with a very stubborn latch. Maybe when microwave ovens first came out in the 1950s and 60s, the novelty led people to use them to cook entire meals. However, most of the people I know now use microwaves for things like reheating leftovers, melting cheese on tortilla chips, or heating up a cup of tea. 

Microwave Dial

The thing is, with our microwave, the dial only has minutes which is a bit frustrating if you want to heat something for 15 or 20 seconds. To make it worse, you can't set the microwave for less than 1 minute, which means you have to stand next to it and wait until the amount of time has elapsed for your food to finish. However, it's a little more complicated than that, because the cook times vary every single time that you warm something up in our microwave. The other day, I made hot chocolate. I set the cook time to between 1 and 2 minutes, and it was perfect - not too hot and not too cold. Then, Mr. Traveler wanted a cup. I set the microwave for the same amount of time with the same type of mug and the same amount of water, and guess what? When I pulled the mug out of the microwave, it was so hot that I couldn't even touch it. The water was scalding, and the drink had to cool for quite a bit of time before Mr. Traveler could enjoy it. My final complaint about the microwave is that once you take your food out of it and close the door, the microwave immediately starts up again. This just takes a bit of time to get used to, but can be annoying if you have multiple things going on in the kitchen.

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I've found it an interesting challenge to adapt to each of these appliances and to the kitchen in general. I'm definitely looking forward to having more counter space (with a little less texture) and some more reliable appliances when we return to the States and buy our own place. However, I also have a deep fondness for this kitchen. Since I'm not working and not in school, I have a lot of time to cook. I'm enjoying trying new recipes and inventing a few of my own. It is in the kitchen that I created our Thanksgiving feast and our Christmas cookies. Even though it gives me headaches at times, I really enjoy most of the time I spend in the kitchen.

Ringing in 2011

A few weeks ago, we noticed that fireworks began appearing in various stores, including bike shops and the hardware store. Soon after, the loud blasts, which could not be distinguished from the sound of gun fire, started in the evenings. It didn't take long to connect the two occurrences, and after a little bit of internet research, we figured out that people commonly shoot off fireworks on New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight.

The sounds of explosions became more and more frequent as New Year's approached, and continued with frequent regularity throughout the day on New Year's Eve. We were definitely surprised that people would shoot off so many fireworks during the day light, but there were plenty more to come as the night approached.

Around 9 in the evening, the sounds of the fireworks were so frequent, that we decided that we need to head out to observe them and snap some pictures. We saw a small scattering of people shooting off bottle rockets and other fireworks in the street. There were not as many fireworks as we had hoped for, however, and after walking to the Domplein and back, we played a round of Scrabble and enjoyed the wine and cheese we bought for the occasion.

Firework Seen Through the Domtoren

About 5 minutes before midnight, the blasts increased, filling the sky with a non-stop series of booms. At a minute 'til, we headed outside with the camera and walked around witnessing groups of friends and families shooting off an enormous amount of fireworks. Against the fog and mist, the smoke had an eerie affect, and some of the pictures we captured were frighteningly similar to those of car bomb blasts in a war zone. With all the noise, it did seem like we were in the middle of a battle field.

Carpet Fireworks and a Man Dressed Like an Alligator

Fireworks Near Our House

More Fireworks Near Us

Family Shooting Off Fireworks at Wilhelmina Park

The fireworks continued for well over 2 hours with the frequency and intensity of a 4th of July grand finale. It was amazing and surreal. After an hour, we came inside and finished our Scrabble game. When we finally went to bed, we heard the blasts of fireworks continuing through the night. Less frequently, the sounds also continued through New Year's Day.

I hope that you all have a wonderful 2011. I am looking forward to the days getting longer, the weather getting warmer, and a few more trips around Europe. I look forward to having visitors and showing friends and family around our new (albeit temporary) home. I also look forward to eventually returning to our more permanent home to see my family, friends, and my 2 dogs. There is definitely a lot to look forward to in 2011.