"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world"

(In case you are wondering, the quote is by Earnest Hemingway.)

Saturday, after spending time at the zoo and sightseeing around Amsterdam, Mr. Traveler and I switched gears attended our first wine tasting event at the Nina Quax Creative Studio. (I apologize for the lack of pictures, but we were having so much fun, I forgot to get the camera back out.)

The theme of the night was Old World vs. New World, which meant we would be trying and comparing wines from both locations (Old World meaning Europe and New World meaning the Americas, Africa, or Australia).

We started the tasting a little bit late to give some of the attendants, who had run into a problem with the trams, a chance to arrive. During this time, we visited with some of the other members of the group, including people from France, Poland, the U.S., India, and Holland. Soon, though, everyone had arrived, and it was time to begin.


We started with a selection of white wines and then moved to reds, observing the color, smell, and taste of each sample. Each pairing included two wines from the same grape. Between wines, snacks including pieces of pork, duck, bread, and cheese were provided. I won't bore you with details of each of the wines, but overall we learned that the Old World wines tended to have more of an acidic taste, while the New World wines tended to be more fruity. We also observed that the Old World wines offered more consistency than the New World wines. Our favorite and least favorite both came from the New World selection. The one we liked the least stood out the most. It smelled like a skunk or burned rubber. Supposedly the smell is a common trait of Rieslings.


After the tasting ended, we walked back to the train station since the bus wasn't scheduled for another 15 minutes. When we got back to Utrecht, it was past 1am and the buses there were no longer running. We hailed a taxi to take us back home, where we quickly fell asleep after a very full day.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

All week, I'd been waiting for Saturday when we had plans not only to reschedule our canceled zoo visit from the previous week, but also to attend a wine tasting. I was a little surprised, then, when I woke up in a bad mood on Saturday morning.

Even though the forecast had said it was supposed to be sunny, the clouds that had brought Friday showers were still hanging around in the sky. When I opened the forecast Web site, the forecasted temperature had dropped 2 degrees celsius, and we were now supposed to have a mixture of clouds and sun. I worried that the outfit I planned would not be warm enough, and I debated what combination of clothes would work for both the zoo and the wine tasting. Then, I went into the "I don't have anything to wear" panic with which most women are familiar. I felt overwhelmed and angry at the meteorologists. How hard can it be to get the weather right?

Eventually, though, I snapped myself out of the downward pity party spiral, got dressed with an extra layer (after Mr. Traveler promised he would carry it if I got too hot), and gathered up our Amsterdam guide book and the directions I had printed for the zoo and tasting.

After my bout of grumpiness in the morning, the rest of the day went so smoothly. The weather even cooperated, turning sunny and staying that way for the entire day. I did get a little warm at one point, but Mr. Traveler was true to his word and toted around my coat until I got chilled again.

Artis Zoo is a pretty good size zoo smack in the middle of the city, which meant on one side the zoo was bored by a canal.

View from the Zoo

The zoo first opened in 1838 and therefore houses several historical buildings, which added another aspect to the visit. However, we were definitely most focused on the animals. I think my favorite was a baby Mandrill. He ran back and forth between the adult monkeys, jumping over logs, and playing the whole time.

Baby Mandrill

I also got a kick out of the spastic sea lion who dove in and out of the water, jumped up on the scale, and then stared at us like he was expecting a treat. (It was especially funny because the rest of the sea lions just wanted to lay around.)

Where are my fish?

One thing that I noticed throughout the exhibits was the lack of over protection of visitors that we are so accustomed to in the States. For example, as we wondered through the ring-tailed lemur exhibit, there was nothing separating us from the animals. We also crossed slippery and wobbly rocks walking through the enclosure. Then, the red lemurs were not caged at all, which made me wonder how the zookeepers kept them in their area. Nothing but common sense prevented you from putting your fingers into the wild dog or vulture cases, although seeing the animals consume large raw hunks of meat seemed to provide enough incentive.

Too Close to the Lemur?

Wild Dog Food

After the zoo, we had a few hours until the wine tasting began. We opened up the guidebook and tried to come up with a plan. We decided to head towards the Scheepvaartmuseum (maritime museum), which the guide book indicated had started a 2 year renovation in 2007. I was skeptical about whether the museum would be open, since projects seem to always take longer than expected, but it was within walking distance, so off we went. However, as we neared the building, it was pretty obvious that the museum was still closed. The building was fenced off and construction crews surrounded it. Behind the windows, sat empty rooms instead of display cases.

Scheepvaartmuseum

We switched gears and headed toward the NEMO, the science museum. We noticed stairs leading up to the stop of a museum and people hanging out on a multilevel terrace. At the bottom of the stairs, we saw a sign for a cafe and so we made our way up to the top to grab a snack and a view. The sun was beating down and we took off our coats and soaked up the rays as we enjoyed some ice cream.

Stairs to the Cafe

After a little while in the sun with full bellies, we started to feel groggy, so we headed back down and in to the museum. I would have loved the NEMO museum as a child; everything was interactive, which eliminated the monotony that accompanies some museum exhibits. In addition, the variety of exhibits appealed to different ages and experience levels. With our Museumkaarts, the museum was free, so I didn't feel too bad that we only got to spend about 30 minutes inside before the announcement that the museum was closing. Before we left, however, we got the opportunity to see what our future child may look like:

Future Child?

After the museum closed, we still had some time to kill, but we knew that the other museums would be closed as well. We wondered through the red light district and towards the wine tasting event space. It seemed to take forever to get past the sex shops, coffee shops, and windows of women, not because we were walking particularly slow, but because the area expands well past the borders of "the red light district" on the tour guides. Finally, we found a place where we could get actual coffee (or koffie), and we sipped our drinks while we waited for time to pass. Soon enough, however, the cafe was closing as well, so we figured out the location of the studio where the wine tasting was held and then wondered around that area for a little while longer.
Next up, a detailed account of our first experience with a wine tasting event.

(By the way, there were lions, there were bears, but there were no tigers to be seen.)

A Week at a Time: Mar 12 - Mar 18, 2011

At the 5 month mark of our 10 month stay in Utrecht, I've found myself feeling more settled and quite a bit busier. I'm starting to pick up on phrases at the grocery store and even understand a bit of Dutch in overheard conversations. Although I'm not brave enough to try holding a conversation, I don't feel as lost as I once did. I've attended several events with the women's group and am enjoying meeting new people in various settings. I'm more comfortable navigating and using the trains and buses. Although sometimes I grow tired of visiting the local grocery store, it no longer seems as overwhelming as it once did. My next step is to be a little more adventurous in visiting local shops, like the butcher and produce store.

In the next few months, we have several guests visiting, a cruise planned, weekly baseball games, disc golf tournaments, and many other one or two day events marked on our calendar. I'm sure this last half of our stay will fly by even faster than the first half.

One of the things I'm looking forward to over the next few months is the increase of day light hours. During the middle of winter, the sun went down before 4:30; however, now the sun sets closer to 7:30. After daylight savings time this weekend, we'll gain another hour of sunlight in the evening. And by mid summer, the sun will stay up until almost 10pm. I'm hoping the increase in daylight hours will allow us to make the most of our visit before it is time to go back home.

Anyway, on to the past week. Saturday, Mr. Traveler woke up with a pretty strong head cold. We had made plans to go to the zoo, but with the arrival of sinus pressure, we postponed the trip for a week. Instead, we caught up on our rest and took a short walk through the park. The weather was beautiful and it seemed a shame to waste it spending the entire day inside. In the park, I took quite a few pictures of the flowers, which seem to be popping up everywhere.

Mar 12 - Bloemen

On Sunday, even though Mr. Traveler still felt yucky, he had his first baseball game of the season. I went out to (silently) cheer on the team and take pictures.

Mar 13 - Honkball

On Monday, Mr. Traveler worked from home (Wasn't it nice of him not to spread the germs at his office?), and I went to meet up with the women's group for coffee at the restaurant in the V&D department store. I met some new ladies and enjoyed hearing about everyone's travel plans and experiences. The view from the top of the V&D is pretty nice, and I kind of regret not taking a picture from there. However, I figure it just gives me an excuse to go back. Instead, I took this picture of an ice cream vendor; along with the flowers, the truck just seems to scream ,"It's spring!"

Mar 14 - We All Scream for Ice Cream

Tuesday, Mr. Traveler worked from home again, but I drug him out for another walk in the park. This time, I let him man the camera for the majority of the walk, but took a few pictures of the fungus on the trees before handing over the photography duties.

Mar 15 - There's a Fungus Among Us

Even though he was still feeling less than stellar, Mr. Traveler returned to the office on Wednesday. The weather was beautiful, so I decided to go for a run. It was the first time I've run in shorts and a t-shirt since arriving in the Netherlands. On my jog, I spotted these Texas registration and inspection stickers and made myself go back later to take a picture.

Mar 16 - From Texas

Thursday, I had lunch at Rechtbank with a girl I met a few weeks ago at an International Meetup event. Since she's Dutch, I enjoyed learning more about Dutch daily life and culture from the perspective of an insider. She also pointed out a couple interesting places to visit and things to do around Utrecht. On the way home, I ran by the grocery store, where I spotted this generic beer on the shelves:

Mar 17 - Beer

Finally, on Friday, I decided to take some time to sit down and write. I headed to the library, set up my computer, and indulged with a chai latte and brownie as I tried to come up with something creative to say. I left just before it started to rain and took this picture of a canal boat making a delivery at one of the restaurants along the water.

Mar 18 - Delivery

Silly Little Moments

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful, the sun shining, with no cloud in sight. In the 50s (F), it was warm enough for just a light jacket over a short sleeved shirt. When I went for a jog, I even wore shorts and a t-shirt! From the start of my run, I felt amazing. Something about great weather just lightens my step and makes me feel like anything is possible. In fact, if my hip hadn't started hurting again when I neared our place, I probably would have ran for even longer.

Besides the mood changing effects of pleasant weather, I wanted to share two little moments on my run that made me smile. The first happened before I even left our small neighborhood. Two boys (probably about 8 or 9) were playing in the street. As I neared them, they began to whisper and then one of them made direct eye contact with me. The disc golf course in Leidsche Rijn is right by a school, and I'd seen the same look from kids of a similar age before they yelled out taunts. I felt pretty sure this kid was going to say something to me, but I didn't know what; besides, whatever it was, I knew I wouldn't understand. 

However, a moment later, instead of hearing a taunt, I saw this:

You've Been Mooned

Well, not exactly that. Instead it was a little boy's behind, but I think the picture is a little more blog-appropriate. It made me laugh for a few reasons. First, I was just completely caught off guard. You just never know what you are going to see. Second, I mused at what must have been going through the boy's mind. Was he trying to intimidate me, someone 3 times his age? Was he trying to impress his friend? Finally, I thought about what a ridiculous sense of humor little boys have and how amazing that it is the same all over the world.

The second thing that I saw on my walk that made me smile was affixed to a vehicle that I had noticed before. In fact, I'd even taken pictures of the car in the past:

Rusty Car with a Cover

This time, passing by the car, I got a little closer to try and figure out what type of car it is. (I went back and took the next two pictures since I didn't bring a camera on my jog.)

The Cover is Off Here

I believe it is a Packard Panama Clipper. Anyway, when I got closer to examine the hood ornament, I saw something familiar out of the corner of my eye. In fact, it was so familiar, it almost didn't register that it was unusual in this context. Then, as I started to jog away, I realized what I had seen:

Texas Stickers

The car had an inspection sticker and registration from Texas! It's funny to think that someone living a few blocks away from me here may have lived near me back home as well. Of course, the Lone Star State is huge and the owner could be from any part of the state, but finding this little connection still made me pretty happy.

Through the rest of my run, I thought about these two moments and how such small things can affect our outlook and our feeling of connectivity with our surroundings.

A Week at a Time: Mar 5 - Mar 11, 2011

Last week seemed quite eventful, and by the end of the week, I found myself behind on responding to emails and with a growing pile of laundry. Sometimes I can't imagine how I actually worked a full time job, taught as an adjunct, and worked on freelance projects all while planning a wedding and still making time for cooking and hanging out with friends. I am very thankful for the break I have this year before starting back to school and teaching in the fall.

Saturday, I played a disc golf tournament in Amsterdam. The first round, I got a little frustrated as I missed out on some of the mando and OB rules that were written on the tee signs. I started to let my inexperience with the course and the serious mindset of my fellow card members get to me, and my score suffered as a result. During lunch, however, I shook off the first round, and my second round was much stronger, as well as more enjoyable. I took the following picture from the basket of Hole 9. For an alternate tee pad, we used the top of the hill in the background.

Mar 5 - Disc Golf Tourney

On Sunday, I though I would be content with my normal day of "post tournament rest". However, the sun came out and the sky was beautiful. I couldn't let the day go to waste and insisted that we pick a site in town to visit. We chose the Geldmuseum (money museum), which also houses the mint (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the museum is housed in the mint). I think the museum is mostly intended for children. Although I enjoyed the exhibit of old coins, the rest of the museum consists mostly of interactive exhibits in Dutch. We were given a card with "money" on it, which could be used to play the games in the exhibits. If you win a game, you gain money which can be used in other games. At the end of the visit, you can use this money to buy a souvenir. Way to teach the kiddos gambling early! Maybe it helps to stimulate the economy?

Mar 6 - Geldmuseum

Monday, I did rest. In fact, I can't really remember what I did except for taking a few pictures of Mr. Traveler's bike. He's been riding his foldy bike to the train station, carrying it on the train, and then riding it to work in Houten. However, since we figured out the buses, he decided it would be nicer to take the bus to the station in Utrecht and leave his bike in Houten. Monday was the last day for the bike around our place, so I took this picture as the sun streamed through our window.

Mar 7 - Rust

Tuesday, I set out to run some errands (including a little clothes shopping -- I was pretty excited with my purchase of 3 new undershirts for less than 15 euros total). It was another sunny day, and that, along with the increasing temperature, encouraged many people to spend time outside. Along the Oudegracht, people filled almost every outdoor table, enjoying their lunch or coffee.

Mar 8 - A Springy Day

Wednesday, I went to my first event with a women's group I joined. I loved getting to know the other women, seeing a new town, and spending time with the dog that accompanied our walking group. The sheep in the picture below were quite vocal, almost as if they were trying to get us to pay attention.

Mar 9 - Bah

Thursday, I made plans to play disc golf with my friend M (the guy who helped me get to the first tournament I played here). We met up at the train station and traveled to 3 different parks. At the first one, we talked about potential holes for a course that is in the city plan. We even threw a few discs to try out the holes we had invented. Next, we headed to IJsselstein, but got on the wrong tram and ended up at the Nieuwegein course instead. We played 6 holes of that course and moved on to IJsselstein. None of the courses compare to the ones we have back in the States, but they are all better than the one in Utrecht. I took the picture below from the Albert Heijn (grocery store) across from the course.

Mar 10 - IJsselstein

On Friday, I set out to find a book for the book club I'm attending next week and ice packs (the kind you use to ice down sore muscles). I found the book, The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, at my first stop (Selexyz). Even though their Web site only had the Dutch copy of the book, the English one was on the shelf when I went to the actual store. The ice packs were a little harder to find, but I finally found them at the sporting goods store. I grabbed ingredients to make a pizza and headed home. The following picture was taken near our apartment just before the sun started to set.

Mar 11 - Avond

Walk with the Women

On Wednesday, I went to my first official event with the International Women's Contact Utrecht. The plan was to gather at Theetuin Eemnes and then head out on a walk through the neighboring town of Blaricum. Afterward, we would grab lunch at the theehuis before heading our separate ways.

Since I don't have a car in Europe, I met some of the ladies at the Jarbeursplein in Utrecht, where one member had so graciously offered to pick us up. The car ride went quickly as we swapped stories about how we ended up in Utrecht. While some of us are here temporarily, others have been here for many years with no end date in sight. One of the British ladies came for her Dutch boyfriend who she met in Greece on a vacation while living in America.

On my way to the Jarbeursplein, it had started to sprinkle a little, but we all kept our fingers crossed, hoping the sky would clear. As we approached Eemnes, however, the rain started to come down harder and harder. Since the radar showed only a thin band of rain, we opted to grab a quick cup of coffee in the theehuis and see if the showers would pass. This also allowed time for some of the ladies who were running a little late to arrive.

When we did head out, it was still drizzling enough that I opened my umbrella. Within a couple hundred meters, however, I realized that the rain had stopped completely when the umbrella blew completely inside out and I remained dry.

Slight Detour, Laying Some Water (?) Pipes

We walked for about 2 hours, but the time flew past. I enjoyed getting to know all of the different women and hearing about their adventures both in the Netherlands and around the world. Even in the midst of great conversation, however, I pulled myself away to take a few shots of the cute town of Blaricum. Out in the country, the town features relatively large houses with thatched roofs and nice, spacious yards. On the edges of town, people keep livestock, including sheep and horses.

Cute House

Funny Horses

These Sheep Were Quite Loud

At one point, we walked through a large off leash dog park. One of the ladies in our group brought her Portuguese Water Dog, Bailey, along, so we enjoyed getting to see her play with the other dogs.

Bailey and a Matching Friend

We returned to the theetuin (tea garden) around 1:30 and enjoyed a quick lunch before heading back. I ordered a ham and kaas (cheese) sandwich and pear muffin. Just as we started to get in the car, the blue sky decided to peek out of the clouds. While a sunny walk would have been nice, we were all just thankful that the rain had stopped in time for us to enjoy our jaunt.

Theehuis Eemnes (from the Road)

A week at a Time: Feb 26 - Mar 4, 2011

On Saturday, we had lunch at a bakery/cafe down the street and later attended the midday organ concert at the Domkerk. It was quite chilly, even inside the church; that, coupled with the uncomfortable folding chairs and not so exciting pipe organ music made for a long hour. The organist was extremely talented, but listening to a single instrument for that long is a little bit too much for me. When we got home, I warmed up with a cup of tea.

Feb 26 - Cup of Tea

Sunday, it rained nearly all day. This little (well actually relatively round) kitty kept begging to come inside. As the cat meowed, I took pictures. I don't think he was too happy with this arrangement, as he was soaking wet and cold and I was nice and warm just a few feet away.

Feb 27 - I Want Inside

Monday, the rain stopped, but the clouds hung around. So did our little friend from the day before. As I walked to deliver mail that had been dropped in our box by mistake (the street names start with the same letter and are in the same post code), I passed the kitty sitting on this scooter. I almost felt like he was glaring at me, perhaps holding a grudge from Sunday.

Feb 28 - At Least I Found Somewhere Soft to Sit

Tuesday, I headed to Amsterdam to play the Sloterpark Disc Golf Course. I've already shared this experience in an entry from last week.

Mar 1 - Sloterpark

As I rode the train home from the Amsterdam, I got an invite from a friend to play the local disc golf course the following day. On Wednesday, I trekked across town (this time with no bike problems or rain) to the course. We played a putting game called Ronkonkkoma and then a round of 18, piecing together holes on the Prinses Amalia course. I had a great time and forgot to even get out my camera while we were playing. Instead, I snapped this picture of some wall art on the way home.

Mar 2 - Wall Art

Thursday, I was beginning to feel a sore after 2 straight days of disc golf. I know, it sounds a little pathetic, but I haven't been playing that often, and I don't use the same muscles in my everyday life. I took it easy, but did meander out to run some errands. I liked the lighting as I was coming home, but this building does nothing to show it off. Later in the evening, Mr. Traveler and I joined a Meetup group for a monthly pub night. It was interesting because we got to mingle with English speakers from all over the world (Holland, U.S., Portugal, France, Bulgaria, and Canada just to name a few places from which the attendees hailed).

Mar 3 - Pretty in Pink?

Finally, Friday I got ready for the tournament (laid out my discs, towels, a snack, etc) and did a little bit of cleaning. We also started working on our taxes. I took my camera with me to run to the store, and snapped this shot on the way back. This snowman looks like he may have been forgotten when the Christmas decorations were put away.

Mar 4 - Forgotten Decoration

It's interesting how my interest in taking pictures fluctuates between the weeks. Sometimes I have dozens of photographs from which to choose. Other weeks (like this one), I snap only one or two pictures each day and am stuck with what I have (ex. the sad snowman). Of course, with 365 total pictures, there are bound to be a few less interesting ones.