| Author | Message | ||
     jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1482 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations, but it sounds as if things are (over all) going reasonably well. I'm glad to have this way of keeping up with you and your adventures. Hope K. arrives without too much stress. Merry Christmas to all of you. Joy | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 464 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thank you jem. I really don't have much in terms of frustration. We didn't/don't have to deal with so much of the rigamarole that other people coming here do. The job exempts us from a number of things and HR processed a lot of the paperwork for us. We're really lucky to be settled so quickly and appreciate that. We had a Dutch lesson last night. We were all so tired that we hardly did anything. I can see how it might be possible to learn this language though. I am now understanding a few things on the TV. Usually just the start of a sentence like understanding "I have..." or "I can..." and maybe another word later in the sentence like niet (not). I can pick words out of the subtitles on non-Dutch channels pretty well. I'm really a visual person. P is doing very well, I talk like I ride my bike. Nervous and hesitant. I mostly walk, smile and don't talk. r | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 6391 Registered: 5-2001  |
Rebecca, I just want you to know how much I enjoy your Blog. I love The Netherlands & miss going there. BTW - I think your BBQ story is pretty funny. It confirms what I've always thought about "meat" in Holland. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 465 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've been reading some of the threads about issues in Maplewood and a couple of things stand out. Racism at the Christmas tree stand. Pulease. Too many customers and not enough help. PC in the US used to irritate me in some cases, but living where there is no PC concerning racism is really irritating and I'm white. Dog Poo: Maybe you've heard about the problem in Amsterdam caused by all the poo? Well it's the same here. It's obviously not accepted practice to pick up. People complain about the Dutch being rather closed and a little unfriendly, well they're just keeping their eyes on the ground looking out for the piles. In neighborhoods, not so much shopping areas it's mostly a problem, but we are not talking once in awhile. We're talking three or four in a block and not on the edge necessarily. They could be right in the middle of the sidewalk. Then it gets worse, because the next day it will have been smashed and the next day smeared and you can't tell exactly where not to step. Because of this problem, some people don't wear shoes into their houses that they've worn outside. We try to be super careful and I have several rugs for wiping before you get into the house. I see this as a social issue and until society sees it as socially acceptable to pick up and take the poo away, it will continue. did I tell you how clean the Dutch are? seems a contradiction to my previous paragraph, but it's true. They are fastidious. I like that. I've tuned up quite a bit since being here, but I couldn't compare to them. I also cook a lot which makes it harder to keep things really neat all the time. I just talked to K and she's packing! Yeah. I can hardly wait for her to arrive. We have a really nice room for her all set up and we've planned a bunch of things to do while she's here. She's also going to work at OPCW for three weeks as a girl friday/intern. It's after 11 here, 'night. r | ||
| SoOrLady Citizen Username: Soorlady Post Number: 2832 Registered: 9-2003 |
Becky - sounds like you're settling in just fine.. have you joined a choir yet? Glad to hear Ms K will be joining you for Christmas plus a nice visit. She's such a great kid.. young woman.. person.... Merry, Merry Christmas! | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 5416 Registered: 12-2001  |
HAPPY NEW YEAR | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 466 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thank you Duncan. We've had a pretty eventful two weeks. We spent most of the week before New Year's in Brussels, eating out, enjoying the markets and museums there. It was very cold. Brrr. I should have had warmer shoes/boots I only had my regular ones that don't fit two pairs of socks. When we arrived back in Den Haag it had snowed several inches the day before! Really unusual weather for December and to snow so much and it was in the twenties for a day or two also. Saturday we just bummed around a bit, watching movies, doing laundry, and a little food shopping to get us through the weekend. All day the kids were out with their fireworks, popping and booming every little bit. Then in the evening the big stuff started going off constantly climaxing in an hour long barrage of fireworks from 12-1 am. We could not get over this. It seemed as though every family spent hundreds of euros on these fireworks! It's a really important ritual. They blocked the street in a lot of places with theie make-shift stands and people on bikes an in cars have to carefully negotiate the maze. They shoot them up into the trees all around, mostly in the street, but some across our little back garden. It was really insane, like being in a war zone. Sunday morning it looked like a war zone with all the burnt places in the road and paper bits and other refuse covering the streets and sidewalks. Sunday morning we anxiously awaited the return of the trams so we could go to the polar bear dipping (I don't know the official name). P was determined to enjoy this particular ritual. K and I were determined to stay out of it. They had 7 thousand! people pay 2 Euros to stand in the cold in swimsuits and then run screaming into the ocean at the stroke of 12 noon. P got his hat and picture taken. You can see him at niewjaarsduik.nl in the photo gallery A. Bye for now. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 467 Registered: 10-2003 |
We'll I had a rather irritable weekend, but it's over now and I seem to have recovered. It started with a visit to the radiologist on Friday. The visit itself was fine, normal, normal. However, I ran into a typical Dutch situation that I'm still irritated about. You have to have stickers made at the front desk to give for each dept/exam/test, etc. They're labels so the results will get back to your doctor. Well, they wouldn't put my name on them. They seemed to think I had been there before and kept asking me what my maiden name was. I saw no harm in telling them, but when I got the stickers, they all had my maiden name and not my married name. They absolutely refused to change it, "That's they only way." I just wanted to get on with things and moved away, but I've been bugged by this all weekend. It really colored my look at things. Anyway, on a more positive note, we went to Delft on Saturday and K really enjoyed it. She seemed to like all the shops and the little streets. We went in the Old and New Churches. The new one is about 450 years old. We also saw Harry Potter 4 Sunday. Both K and the spouse liked it better than the other three. I enjoyed it, but noticed a few things they had to leave out. It was such a long book. It was fun to got to a movie though. That's the first we've seen here. It's nice that most movies are in English. Well, actually, they're in whatever language they start out in and subtitled. Except kids/cartoon ones, they're dubbed. Another good thing: the weather lifted and it's a beautiful sunny day. Trash day and they're picking up Christmas trees too. Noisy. I'm off to the market for a little fresh food. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 468 Registered: 10-2003 |
K and I went to another movie on Tuesday. In Her Shoes. It was pretty good, I enjoyed it. They did this strange thing at both movies we've seen: had the sound on the preview so loud you can't stand it. I'm not kidding. I was really annoyed at the HP movie the sound quality was extremely poor and too loud. In Her Shoes was at a different theatre and the sound was so loud on the previews that K and I both agreed that if the movie itself was like that we'd have to leave. We kept jumping every time the pitch went up, you couldn't help it, it was a physical pain. Fortunately the movie was fine. I don't know what they are thinking or maybe just not thinking? We went to our pub for dinner last night. It's always good food there. P had hare and it was so lean and tender. Did I tell you we fixed venison for Christmas dinner? It was delicious. I found a recipe which included apples in the sauce and I added some apple to the roast veggies at the last minute. It really made the dish. I had a good AWC meeting yesterday. The speaker was related to the International Criminal Court. Do you know why the US refused to sign that treaty? I also meet another new woman who seems a bit floundering. I gave her my phone number, but who knows if she'll call. We had planned to go to Maastricht tomorrow, but I checked the guide book and it looks like most museums, etc are closed. We may postpone that, but will need an alternate plan. Back to the guidebook. R | ||
| BGS Citizen Username: Bgs Post Number: 505 Registered: 10-2003 |
Becky- hve been following your trip...how exciting for you and your family to have this opportunity!!! You are missed here at home...will PL you with local news! Barbara Savino | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 469 Registered: 10-2003 |
Spent the day in Utrecht instead of Maastricht. It's a big college town so has lots of shopping and wide range of places to eat. We visited the museum of mechanical musical instruments and took in a free Mozart concert at the Dom. His 200th birthday, I think. Something funny about those mechanical instruments. You may have seen them at fairs, etc. Large mechanical organs that are decorated with lots of curliques and painted with animals and ladies. They are common here in the city shopping districts. One usually moves around in a fairly large area playing a variety of pop turned peppy music. It's hard not to be peppy when you're being played by a street organ. Anyway, there are usually a couple of scruffy looking people shaking change cans in time to the music and P always puts in some change. It's a living for them. Okay to the funny thing: One shopping district in another town was having trouble with a big gang of teenagers blocking a particular area. It had become a real hangout and the shopkeepers didn't like it. The town fathers decided to issue a license to a street organ for that area and low and behold....no more teenagers hanging around. When the organ venders found out about the way they were being used, they were offended by the idea that their music ran anyone off. The shopkeepers didn't like the solution, they said the organ kept away not just the kids, but actual customers too. You just can't please anyone in this scenario. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 470 Registered: 10-2003 |
Our Dutch is coming along slowly. We're trying to learn some grammar at the same time so we'll be able to speak properly, but it's making the whole process so slow. I can understand a lot of words if I can see them and some words I hear. I can say a few small sentences, mostly things that would only be useful if you had a fairly long conversation with someone. Ik heb een dochter. (I have one daughter.) We took a little dictation this week and I realized that I'm not taking the pronunciation of the g seriosly enough. It really is more like an h with some phlegm than a g at all. We're finally signed up with Skype so I can call my family. Calling them on their phone through my computer using Skype is less than 3 cents a minute. P has used it to call his parents and the reception seems clear. My Mom will be so glad to hear from me in person. K and I have been stuck doing number puzzles the last couple of weeks. I usually like word and logic puzzles, but can't find English ones here. K started doing the Sudoku puzzles in Australia and we've now taken up all the number ones we can find. They are fun and a little addictive, but I usually do a big jigsaw puzzle over the holidays and seem to have substituted numbers this year. K is much better at working them out than I am. They are new to me, but she's also younger and has a little more number brain power than I do, like her dad. She seems to enjoy unraveling my messed up ones. R | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1488 Registered: 5-2001 |
Speaking of puzzles, we recently put together one of the puzzles that I bought at your yard sale. It was a lot of fun, since it had lots of interesting shapes among the puzzle pieces. The Norman Rockwell puzzle has been going slowly - mostly since I don't have alot of time to work on it, and even though D. started it, he hasn't been home much over break, and he's leaving in a couple of days. I'm a big crossword addict - I've taken to buying books of puzzles and doing at least one a day, in addition to the Times' puzzle. You know, if you subscribe to the NY Times online you have access to all their puzzles, so that might solve your puzzlelessness.  How much longer is K's visit? | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 471 Registered: 10-2003 |
K is here until a week from Wed. She's working one more week at OPCW, one weekend free and Tuesday we're going to Amsterdam for the day then spend the night in a hotel at the airport. This seemed the easiest and most fun way as her flight leaves at 8 am on Wed and it takes an hour or so by train from here to there. I may have mentioned that we have no car. We originally thought of getting one, but feel there's no need. I mentioned Skype in my last post. I should clarify. It's FREE internet phone service if you are connecting computer to computer. The two parts of my family I talk to the most don't have computers so I'll call on their regular phones. This connection service is about 3 cents a minute. It's still really cheap for anyone you need to call over seas. It's a slow day here. Beautiful, but cold and we have no obligations so I may take a walk. There's a nice, woody park nearby or I might go as far as the dunes. So pretty, hilly with lots of scrub brush. I always thought dunes were empty sand. I originally came from a world of lakes, not oceans. Oh and there's always laundry. Bye, R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 472 Registered: 10-2003 |
Someone reminded me that I haven't posted here in awhile. I've been busy. And probably disconnecting a bit. It's natural, I guess. I try reading through the MOL threads for bits of what's going on in town, but it mostly seems unimportant now. We hardly get any snow here, no shovelling required and we don't have to pay taxes, although those who do think they are too high. The only similar issue is the dog poo and I think I covered that already. You don't know how lucky you are. So what's up with us anyway. We spent a day in Antwerp about a week ago. It's a quick trip on the train. Good food at an Italian restaurant (this is shocking for me to say as I don't really like most Italian food). We figured out their tram system, wandered the shopping streets and took in a museum. The Rijksmuseum is still not renovated and has farmed out most of their collection. Antwerp is one of many locations you can see fantastic pieces. Went to see "Walk the Line" Saturday and quite enjoyed it. Of course P is from TN and I like Reese in almost anything she does. The sound was much better in the theatre this time, yeah! Stopped by the Media Mart to buy a printer on our way home. It didn't include a cable. What?! Have to go buy it separately. Sunday we rode our bikes to Kijkduin, had a toastie and rode back. Laundry all afternoon. It's been a yucky weather week so far. The sun hasn't dared to shine and it's quite cold...about 3 degrees C. It know that's nothing to you, but it seems bitter to us. Tuesday we went on a tour of city hall and the historical museum (brief) with a bunch of other expats. The city is trying to improve their relations with expats and they have a new department implementing tours/transition help, etc. They had quite a blow when a survey was published in the fall listing all the compaints expats had about the city and how they would leave if they had the chance. It was a poorly worded survey, in my opinion and some of the things ranked as the most influential were impossible to adjust: the weather for one. Anywy, it was very nice, but we had to peel off and get dinner before we got an info packet. I'm hoping someone picked one up for us and brought it back to P's work. I would like to have the city guide that was included. Ordered delivery from a Turkish place tonight and am waiting where I can see the street. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 473 Registered: 10-2003 |
Phone rang and had to go away a bit. The delivery is still not here. I hope they got the right address. I'm taking over running the gift shop for the American Women's Club. It's a tiny, unmanned space (self-serve) which has mostly Dutch souviniers and belgian tapestry and some really expensive glassware. I'm hoping to expand a bit and include scarves, purses, baby gifts and cadeaujes (other small gift items). It's traditional here that you bring a cadeauje when you go to someone's house. It's a hostess gift like flowers, candy or a small present. It's really important so I'm going to try to cater to that market. Most people take the easy route with flowers so you need lots of vases ready when you have a party. Once a guest brought a huge clear glass vase as a gift and I thought, "I'll never use that. It's way too big for any bunch of flowers." The next time we had a party a guest brought a giant bunch of flowers, about four times the normal bouquet, and it just fit that huge vase. It's kind of fun really. You get to enjoy rooms full of flowers for the next week. We've also been busy with a wine tasting we hosted for Paul's coworkers. We did the World Cup of Wine. Representatives from eight different countries competing for the cup. It was a lot of work for Paul and I, but the guests had a great time. Argentina won. Paul played their national anthems each time a country won a round and people got a kick out of that. We also gave away door prizes. Food's here, gotta go. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 474 Registered: 10-2003 |
Went bowling this weekend and my leg is so sore I can hardly walk. I 'land' on my left leg when I bowl and haven't been in more than a year. I did terrible, but P got in the zone and did quite well. It was very expensive 21 Euros for an hour on a lane. We even bring our own shoes and balls. I'm not sure whether it's the same regardless of people, but the more people, the less bowling you get per hour per person. It just seemed expensive to me. In the evening we went to 'It Rains Fishes' for dinner. It was quite good. We had sea bream for two. It's coated in a thick layer of salt and baked. They break off the salt with a chisle and fillet it at the table. Not at all salty and quite good. We've had four days of sunshine and cold. Almost makes up for the three horrible days at the first of last week when the sun didn't shine a moment. I have no reason to leave the house today, but I need some sunshine and fresh air so may take a walk for a bit. It time for a hair cut and I thought I might mention hair here. It's interesting about hair styles, cuts and coloring. I don't know how it happens, but you can kind of tell where groups of people live based on their hair. (I'm generalizing.) I noticed in Canada that it's not uncommon for older ladies to have blue or pink tints in their grey hair. I don't see that other places. Here the dye tends to be streaky, not really natural looking. The hair cuts are either natural and tied in a knot on their head or short and choppy with the ends all different lengths. It seems to me that most people on the tram could use a good brushing, but that's just me. There's a commercial for a product here that says "Just out of bed hair without going to bed." They show a person with really messy hair and we're supposed to envy that. Hmmmmm. I don't really like the choppy look and have a hard time getting them to cut my hair neatly. They keep snipping little bits out and it tends to end up uneven. So I'm wondering if the people in a country want their hair to look a certain way or does it start with the hair dressers and their training, or is it TV everyone gets the idea from? I've tried two hair dressers and have decided that's just the way they cut. I'm going to have to stick with one and keep working on her to get what I like. Making little suggestions and adjustment each time. I'll let you know how it goes this week. R | ||
| ril Citizen Username: Ril Post Number: 490 Registered: 6-2001 |
I got the best haircut of my life in Haarlem a couple of years ago--can't recall the name, but it's a very modern looking place right on the main square. And if you haven't been to Haarlem yet, it's a lovely town, with a very nice market in the square, on Saturdays I think. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 475 Registered: 10-2003 |
I haven't been there yet. There are so many interesting places to go. We split our weekends between entertaining, going on day trips and doing things locally. I still haven't seen all the museums here in The Hague. Anyway, thanks ril, Haarlem is on our list. R | ||
| AntoninaKC Citizen Username: Antoninakc Post Number: 185 Registered: 5-2005  |
Rebecca, I just discovered your blog today and spent the last half hour or so reading the whole thing! Its so interesting to read through your daily activities.. Its like reading a post card! The story about the cats in the bathtub and your "mall" made me laugh. If you are still looking for english crossword puzzles or word finds, I have a bunch that my grandmother gave me (I will never use them) and would be willing to send you. PL me if your interested. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 476 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thank you Antonina. I sent you a PL. I'm trying to do some word searches in Dutch now. I'm hoping it will help with my spelling and vocabulary although I can't say I know any of the words so far. It would be really slow going to look them up in the dictionary, but that may be my only solution. The Dutch language is difficult to learn. I've said that before, but it's becoming more clear to me. I have some words to use, but not enough to cover any situation. People are forever phrasing something in a new way (to me) and I don't know what they're saying. It's really difficult for a person like me to cope with. Language is probably my strongest assest. It's difficult not to feel really stupid. On a more positive note Antonina, the cats are doing really well and have recovered from the bathtub incident. Oliver loves to go outside. He sits on the little shed in back and can see into several small yards. Lily has been out a few times now. Being black, she prefers the night time for her explorations and only stays out 5-10 minutes at a time. She's getting a little pudgey from reduced exercise. I hope she'll be more interested when it warms up. I'm working on laundry today and packing my bag for Basle. We're going for their carnival which is next week instead of this. They wanted to be different from the Catholics, I believe. It should be fun, if colder than here. I'm taking pants and boots, a wool jacket, etc. thinking we'll be outside at night watching the bands. Looking forward to it. I think the train ride is 5-6 hours and we're staying close to the station there. Public transport is great. Speaking of public transport: We were in a tram accident last night. Well, we were in the tram and a car hit the side of it. We heard the driver dinging his bell and then 'screeech' as the car scraped and was drug a bit. Fortunately no one was hurt, but we could see the incident was going to take awhile to resolve. We disembarked and walked a block to the bus stop. We were probably home before the trams were moving again. Public transport is great and you never have to look for parking. Bye now. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 477 Registered: 10-2003 |
We've just returned from a short trip to Switzerland. We spent four nights in Basel so we could enjoy Fasnacht. Their version of carnival has been going on since the 16th century and has some similarity to ones you're familiar with, but many differences. I'll give you an overview of what we did. Bear in mind that they had a foot of snow (unusual) the 24 hours just prior to the start of this. Between the snow and inches of confetti and thousands of people, the ground became slippery light purple mud over the course of three days. I wore boots and long underwear the whole time. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 478 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fasnacht in Basel Part I: We got up at 3 am Monday morning and made our way to one of several squares in Basel to participate in Morgenstraicht (I think I spelled that right). Fasnacht officially begins at 4 AM when all the city lights are turned off and a parade begins. The cliques are all dressed in costumes with giant masks and many of them have lights on top. The have groups of drummers and piccolo players and most have a type of float rolling or being carried along with them. This sujet is made of canvas and stretchers, usually shaped like a big box and is lit from the inside. It's painted with a scene, people, etc and has to do with a subject they are mocking or making fun of. Each clique's sujet is different and could be anything. We saw lots about the new pope, tamiflu/bird flue, etc, but many are about local politics. More on that later. The groups play rather discordant tunes, traditional tunes repeated by several groups. There are thousands of people crowded in the squares to see and a couple of thousand in the cliques, as many as 200 in one. There are so many they make two giant separate parades through the town, one inner loop and one outer. It takes hours for them to make their loop and at 6 am they all stop at bars and eat traditional onion pie and flour soup. We went back to bed by 6. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 479 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fasnacht in Basel Part II: In the afternoon there's another parade, this one includes even more people and wagons carrying people who toss out oranges, candy and sprigs of flowers and lots of confetti. During this parade, the cliques pass out long strips of colored paper which have a poem printed on it. The poem is their version of a traditional song, but its purpose is to make fun of their sujet. In the evening, small groups of traditional singer's/performers dressed in their crazy masks, etc. stop in the restaurants and perform the poem/song for people. Some sing it, some kind of speak it, but they seem quite funny as the audience laughs at the end of each verse. Word play, etc. We watched that on local TV and went to bed early. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 480 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fasnacht in Basel Part III: Tuesday is the day for children. They come dressed like Halloween and costumed parents pull them in carts, hundreds of them. There isn’t exactly a big parade, it’s more like random acts of parading. Cliques go around playing band music (not so much their traditional music as marching band music). People just mix in among them and march along. That goes on all day and there’s lots of confetti and candy involved. In the evening there are band concerts at band stands set up in three squares. Not all the cliques are bands, but the ones that are take a turn performing popular tunes. Other small groups roam the back streets. We also took time to visit the square where all the sujets were being displayed. We saw about 50, but I’m not sure how many there were. It was crowded with people and we just moved slowly with the flow up and down as many rows as we could. I liked the one with Moses and the ten commandments and falling away from the tablet are all these “no” signs. You know, the red circles with a line across that says no smoking, no dogs, no etc. They’ve had a rash of new “no”s lately and feel like it’s too much. Every sujet is different and most of them are beautifully done art. One was shaped like a pig, one was a metal worked globe with candles inside (like the Amnesty International symbol). This close-up viewing is important because there are scripts written all over them in small lettering. More jokes, etc. written in the Basel dialect, a form of German. They also speak a lot of French, but I didn't see much of that written down. | ||
| kmk Supporter Username: Kmk Post Number: 1061 Registered: 5-2001  |
I want to see this! Do you have pictures? (BTW: My sixth grader is studying "Barbarian Tribes" and she has been researching the Frisians...All she talks about are the laws they had about keeping their dykes intact etc. She also told me that the laws were written in a nursery rhyme type of language so that they would be repeated often. Anyway, these barbarians morph into the modern day Dutch! She was thrilled when whe found that out.) | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 481 Registered: 10-2003 |
Interesting. I've not been Friesland yet. It's a separate part of the Netherlands that has it's own dialect also....Not part of Holland, not the Dutch language. I think there are 13 provinces in The Netherlands all together and Friesland is one of them that has it's own language. I have enough trouble speaking Dutch. I don't know much about dykes yet, except that they keep the water back and the water in the canals everywhere has always been controlled by windmills. I was really surprised when I realized that. I guess I thought they were for grinding grain or something. Some did that too, but their primary job was to pump water out to the sea. I'm learning new things everyday. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 482 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fasnacht in Basel Part IV: Wednesday is the final day and it’s quiet until afternoon when they have one last parade. Because we were leaving that day we just saw a bit of it and it was more of the same marching bands, etc. only it was actually raining and miserable during this one. It’s interesting how the whole festival is very fun and thousands of people participate, but it’s not wild. Lots of beer and traditional foods, but public drunkenness or rowdy displays are frowned upon. Have fun, be silly, but not crazy wild. Overall we had a wonderful time and managed to squeeze in visits to four museums during our four and a half days. Our favorite was the Haus zum Kirstgarten which has a wonderful collection of pocket watches/clocks, porcelain and children’s toys and more things displayed in a house setting. The best part is that their written guide has an English version and you can go from room to room reading about the furniture and panelling, etc. Generally the food was good: lots of sausages were being sold on the street and Paul even enjoyed the onion pie. We also had great food in several restaurants, fish, spaetzle, wine, etc. Enough of that, looking forward to London next. Bye for now. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 483 Registered: 10-2003 |
If you would like more information on Basel's Fasnacht celebration, please visit their website fasnacht.comite.ch It even has the piccolos and drums playing in the background and some pretty good photos. We had guests for dinner last night and I'm exhausted today. I cooked most of Saturday and then we all stayed up talking until 11:30. I was so tired I forgot I was supposed to call my mom last night, just fell into bed. I'm spending the day resting and washing laundry for the busy week. I have a International Women's meeting Monday, P is off to London Tuesday, I'm going to Maastricht with the American Women Wed and Thursday for the antique fair, Friday I fly to London for the weekend. K will have already joined P for our mini-break and we all fly home (to our respective places) on Sunday. Things need to go just right for this to all come together. I'm looking forward to seeing K and enjoying London. I haven't been there for more than a year. We plan to do two shows: Whistle Down the Wind (Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest musical) and Embers with Jeremy Irons. I only have one day to sightsee so I'm thinking Victoria and Alber Museum. I've never been there and it seem rather eclectic in it's collections. We'll probably hit the London Eye, if it's not too cloudy and there are a couple of small museums near there that we might visit. Hopefully we'll get some good fish and chips and bangers and mash. You can't really count on the fancy food, but I do love their Indian. Oh rats. I just noticed that when P bought the show tickets he accidentally got them for the 17th and 25th of March not the 17th and 18th. Ugh. We'll have to exchange for the correct day. I hope they don't charge a fee, it was only about an hour ago. We need to fix this now. Talk to you later. R PS I heard a rumor that it's 60 degrees there today. I hope you are enjoying the sun. It's beautiful, sunny here, but only about 2 (Celsius). Brrr. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 484 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've got a busy week and want to jot a few things down before I forget. I'm in between trips this morning. Wed/Thursday I went withe the AWC to Maastricht for the Antique and Art show. I've never been to anything like this before. There was a Rembrandt for sale, several Kandinsky's etc. There were also antiques from all periods, perfect condition, and antiquities worth tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Euros and Pounds. Apparently a well-known show that brings vendors from all over Europe. Some of the ladies tried on rings offered at 150,000 Pounds! All the best jewelers were there. I wasn't that interested in trying on, but enjoyed looking at everything. I saw very few things I would want anyway, too showy. We stayed at a little inn in Margraten and stopped at the nearby American cemetary Thursday morning. It's a beautiful place and nicely maintained. There are over 8000 American soldiers buried there from WWII. The people in the area have great respect for them and some have adopted graves. May 4 the Dutch fill the cemetary leaving flowers and having speaches, etc. May 5 the Americans come and have speaches, etc. It's quite touching. It's the only American cemetary in The Netherlands. They don't have tours or anything, but it's not a group thing anyway, more individual. They also have some wonderful illustrations painted that show the different battles, etc. We also spent a little time wandering around the old part of Maastricht. The old church there has a nice little museum displaying what was excavated from underneath it. I have never seen so many religious relics in one place. You know, pieces of bone, cloth, etc. preserved in various holders. Gotta go. I am catching a plane to London for the weekend. P is there, conference, K was supposed to go yesterday, but there was a problem in Newark about the planes (?). Went back to MHC for the night and should be there by now. It will be a short weekend. Bye now, R. | ||
| kmk Supporter Username: Kmk Post Number: 1087 Registered: 5-2001 |
Rebecca, I have been foloowing the show in Maastricht through one of my favorite indulgences...www.newyorksocialdiary.com It looks fabulous and the local hotels look divine as well! I enjoyed my little (virtual)architectural tour on the Monday, March 13th through Wednesday, March 15th posts in that blog. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 485 Registered: 10-2003 |
kmk, That's an interesting website and I enjoyed the postings on Maastricht. Not quite my experience  , but you certainly get the feel for the fair and the town of Maastricht. I disagree about the pronunciation of the airport. I think it sounds more like skiple than zippel, but whatever. They know what you're talking about when you say it. I was at dinner with an elderly Dutch couple the night we stayed for the Fair and they're from Delft. They told me that it originated in Delft, but outgrew their little town after only a few years. I wonder if that's true. It doesn't quite jive with what was in the blog. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading about their experiences. What fantastic places to eat! I also agree about there not being really fat people. I think generally the Dutch are taller, leaner people than Americans. It's the way their genes make them. They don't tend to snack like we do, they eat lots of fried foods, but made at home, not out. Overall the portions here are more normal, not supersized at all and there is less sugar and very little high fructose corn syrup in foods. There are also very few food commercials on TV. I know that sounds strange, but I believe we Americans are more influenced than we'd like to think by those pictures of food during every commercial break. I'm not sure about whether the Dutch actually have a less sedentary lifestyle or not. The average Dutch person bikes because they need to, but those who can afford it, have a car and no one walks anywhere if they can help it. Gyms are not popular at all, so how much exercise does the average person get? We had a great time in London over the weekend. K and I both got there Friday. She had some plane problems in Newark and Continental switched her to Thursday night instead of Wed night and she had to go all the way back to the dorm. It cost one of her four vacation days and a second round trip on the shuttle bus and they gave her nothing. They could have given her a discount or paid for the shuttle. It's not cheap for a college student. Anyway, we had Indian food for dinner and saw Whistle Down the Wind Friday night. It's the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. It's not actually open, only in previews. It needs some work. The costumes look like the thirties not the fifties, everyone was so dowdy. And there were some extraneous characters that didn't seem to contribute to the plot. It was fun for us, but not really memorable as a musical. Saturday we spent time at the Victoria and Albert Museum. None of us had ever been there for some reason. Quite interesting. I will need to go again to really see things. It is so huge we got an overview tour, then spent an hour on our own exploring before meeting up and heading out for a pub lunch. Sausage and mash, fish and chips, Guinness. Sat night we say Jeremy Irons in Embers. I need to get the book. It was nicely done, although most of it was a monologue. Only three performers anyway. We liked the lighting effects. Paul is convinced it's all symbolic, but I didn't get that out of any reviews, etc. I'll have to take a look at the book. We all returned home Sunday. Short flight for us, 45 minutes. Spent more time in any one of the other travel stages (train ride, airport, train ride) than we did on the plane. Quiet week ahead, but I have a ton of laundry to do. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 486 Registered: 10-2003 |
Well, I'm happy to report that Lente (Spring) has finally poked it's head out here in the land of bulbs. Crocuses are blooming everywhere and we had a day of about 50 degrees the end of the week. This is great news as we'd been suffering under 35 degree temps all month. The only bad thing is the alternating wind and rainy periods. It's like the worst windy day you might have there, but concentrated in a few hours and then gushing rain with no wind and then bright sun for a few hours. It's confusing, actually. The time changed yesterday and here I am sitting in the window at 8:20 and the sun just went down! Can you believe it? I'm really looking forward to those long summer evenings in the garden (if it ever gets above 60 degrees). P is taking his first session French test tonight. He has to pass it to go on to session 2. I think he's doing quite well and hope he'll be able to practice some when we vacation in France in two weeks. That's the last trip we have planned before we return to the US in May for K's graduation. Looking forward to seeing family and witnessing the end of an era for her. May need to come through Maplewood to deal with the house/storage items so I'll wave as we pass through. I'm sure it's beautiful now. The magnolia in our front yard there always blooms kind of late, but everything else should be budding out good now. That house is always beautiful in the spring. Funny thing here is: for the land of tulips, there are strangely few of them. They are only in the fields or in flower shops, not in people's gardens. ? I'll need to take a trip out of the city to see them. Biking is the best, supposedly, but it's an all day ride. My posterior can't take that many hours on a bike. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 487 Registered: 10-2003 |
I just got back from 10 days in the south of France. It's a beautiful country, wonderful people. We rented a house in a tiny village and spent our days either sitting in the sun or mostly visiting Roman ruins, medieval castles or museums. We packed a lunch basket everyday and ate in a park or near a trail. P stopped at the local bakery for a loaf of bread, got a paper to read and then I fixed dinner at the house. A nice, relaxing vacation. Normally when we take vacations there is a common theme that runs through it. For example: When we were in Mallorca two years ago the theme was 'mechanical items inexplicable'. We had one problem after another with the car, the stove, the washing machine, the cash machine. It was very frustrating and not a language issue, but a difference in set-up that seemed inexplicable to us. Anyway, there really wasn't a theme for our vacation to France except 'relax and roundabout'. I explained the relax part already. The roundabout part is simply that they don't have many traffic lights, but rely almost exclusively on the roundabout or rotunda in Dutch and I think in French also. One good thing about them is that if you're unsure about which exit, just go around again. No problem. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 488 Registered: 10-2003 |
This has been a busy week so far and doesn't look like it will ease up soon. Spring appears to be a really inconsistent season here. One morning it's 19 degrees and beautiful, by 2:00 the wind has shifted, temp has dropped to 8 and it feels like February again. It's exceptionally hard to decide on clothing, but you just have to count on needing everything on the same day. This weekend is Koninginnedag. That's the Queen's Day. They celebrate by having free music in the town center and everyone goes out and gets really drunk. Well, not exactly. The evening before everyone parties, the day of people put out blankets and card tables and set all their junk on it to sell. It's like a flea market on the main streets. The Queen's birthday is actually in Feb, I think. She just kept Queen's Day on her mother's birthday because the weather is so much nicer by April 30. There's been a lot of confusion about the date this year. It falls on Sunday, but they'll celebrate on Saturday this year (so as not to intefer with people's Sunday routines). It's unheard of to change it and a lot of people got upset about it. (I thought that was ironic, considering it's not on her birthday at all anyway.) Sunday is a very strange day here. It's one of those things left over from their strict Calvinist past. No shops are open, no one works, nothing happens. It's even difficult to do tourist things because lots of museums are closed. You have to call ahead or be really sure the restaurant is open, etc. It's like it's sacred. Hmm. Should be except very few Dutch go to church. It's a very small percentage of the population that are practicing Christians. I really like it though. It feels like when I was a kid and my Mom had a rule against 'bothering the neighbors' on Sunday. Go to church, play in your room or in the yard all afternoon (by ourselves) and then watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and that Disney program in the evening. What was the name of that show? They had all those made for TV Disney movies. I loved that almost as much as Wild Kingdom. I can still sing the tune to that show's sponsor: Mutual of Omaha is people.....you can count on when the going's to-o-ugh. I've taken over running the private gift shop we have at the American Women's Club. For Saturday's event we'll grill burgers and sell them in front of the clubhouse while members sell their junk from card tables and inside I'll be having a clearance of all the old merchandise from the gift shop. We have so much Belgian tapestry, pillows, Christmas stuff, old greeting carts, etc. It's amazing. Our year ends June 1 so this is a last chance to make a little money for the budget. The gift shop was neglected this year and hasn't done well. On the positive side, it hasn't spent any of it's budget either. I'm hoping to get into positive numbers for next year. Another thing I'm doing this week is a tour of the fortress town of Naarden. You may have seen this in tour books. They usually take a picture from above because the fortress is shaped like a star. When we were in France we visited Aigue Morte. It's a fortress town that has been (accidentally) preserved. I say accidentally because the reason it's like it is and always was is that it was built as a port to the sea, but in a really bad location. So it didn't take long for it to just be set aside as a port and be used as a prison. No big city/industry set up around it and grew, etc. It just stabilized and stayed. When you buy a ticket to go in the tower, you can see the rooms where Protestant women were kept for dozens of years and then you can walk the ENTIRE way around the walls looking down into the little town inside or out to the countryside around. It's really strange. We also visited Pont du Gard, part of a Roman aquaduct. That is a beautiful place and also very educational. They have one of the best museums and probably the least used. More later. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 489 Registered: 10-2003 |
Happy Koninginnedag! Happy Birthday Queen Beatrice! I'm up early because I need to be at the clubhouse early to finish pricing things for the Queen's Day Sale. I (and a couple of volunteers) spent all day yesterday bringing everything from the gift shop and the closets downstairs. Then we arranged things on tables and priced everything really low. We used to carry Spode china and still have about 15 pieces that will go for 10-20 Euros each (their wholesale prices are at least twice that!). We also have a lot of Christmas merchandise that is dirt cheap and tons of tapestry pillow priced at 15 Euros each. Again the prices are less than cost, but we just need to clean out and make room for a whole new range of products. Anything that's more than a year old is off the books anyway. Some of it is several years old and we might as well get something back. The gift shop is almost bare and I hope it stays that way. I have lots of new stuff coming in the next several weeks and I need the display space. I had a difficult time deciding on which products to carry, but I knew things needed to be more moderately priced. No more Spode, now we'll have Portuguese pottery in pitchers, bowls and ovenware; warm colors. We're getting bags, aprons and dish towels from Ulster Weavers. Traditional, handpainted, wood gifts like shoes, shelves, napkin holders and boxes from Hindelopen. A whole range of Dutch gifts from Elcee-Haly and high quality Delft vases and containers from Royal Goedewagen. I really want to carry natural lotions, soaps and scented candles, but I'm having trouble finding a distributor. I'll have to go back to the wholesale trade-mart in Utrecht to look in person. I think in the Fall I'll add ladies scarfs. This is scarf land, if you didn't know. You would be hard pressed to find a woman without some kind of scarf around her neck. Well I need to be off. Still have to dry my hair. It can be warm some days, but usually it's still in the 40s and low 50s and I just can't go out with wet hair. I did switch to a jacket, I'm trying not to wear my winter coat, but geeze it's cold sometimes. Bye | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 490 Registered: 10-2003 |
So our Queen's Day Sale was a huge success. My gift shop clearance items made almost exactly 1000 Euros, plus we had a donated junk sale, bake sale, grilled burgers sale and book sale. All together we brought in 1500 Euros. Yay! I talked so much, I lost my voice when we ended. I can't talk at all today. It was really fun meeting people. Lots of the neighbors came by to see inside our house and ask about the club. There's a big Dutch plaque above the door that says AWC, but most of them had no idea what we were. It was really fun and certainly worth the effort to make a last little bit for the budget and clean out the gift shop some. I still have about half the stuff, but a lot of it is Christmas stuff I'll put back in storage and the other I'll make into a Clearance shelf and keep working on getting it gone. I've been working on finding natural soaps and lotions and I found some that sell on the Internet. They're US made, which I like because we have no US made items in the shop and I think it makes sense to have some. I'm only concerned that the shipping with the import (no distributor here already) that the cost will be too high to be considered reasonable by my 'customers'. I need to get some hot tea to pamper my throat today. It's beautiful here, but we can't ride bikes today. P has a flat. We'll walk to the beach instead. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 492 Registered: 10-2003 |
I was just reading in the Please Help section about a cat in a tree. I can sympathise with this situation. Cats sometimes get scared and go up trees or onto garage roofs to get away from dogs, kids, etc. I do think they eventually come out if left to their own devices, but it's so hard to wait. I suppose a house cat would have more trouble than an indoor/outdoor cat. I know some people have strong feelings about this issue, but I agree with Shanabana. Cats are animals and should be allowed out if at all possible. I have always had indoor/outdoor cats and have a few techniques to keep them safe and healthy in both environments. Make sure they have all their shots. I would never keep and unaltered cat. They are a mess one way or another and get into trouble outside. Try to keep a collar with a bell on it (to warn the birds) and their cat tag. It is important to let them acclimate to their environment slowly, letting them out closely supervised for short periods of time. Later when they roam a bit or get frightened, they'll have an understanding of the geography of their neighborhood and be able to come home. Don't let them out at night. I only feed them dry food in the morning and canned food at dinner. They know to be in for that and I know they're safe inside by dark. I think they are just so much more well-balanced animals if they have time outside. I know it's not possible for all cats, but most have a real need to be/get out and you might as well help them be safe about it. Just my opinion. And since I don't live there anymore, my cats aren't bothering any of your birds or gardens. Here, in Holland, everyone has a small, walled garden that they can be out in. They are actually tiny yards, usually paved over, but ours has a koi pond. Oliver, of course figured out how to walk the fences so he can go in anyone's garden he likes, but he mostly sits on the roof of the shed and watches the birds. Lily doesn't like rain or cold so has hardly stepped foot out for six months. Only now is she starting to go out a bit. She also doesn't fee comfortable around the pond. She has to walk the bridge to get to the yard and that isn't her favorite thing. She prefers to sit in my lap or lay her head on my wrist while I type. I make a lot of typos that way. It's 9:30 and just now getting dark. Feeling the need for a snack and my book to read. Bye for now. R | ||
| BGS Supporter Username: Bgs Post Number: 969 Registered: 10-2003 |
Becky- I am so living vicariously through you!!! I wish that I could shop your sales...I would probably have bought out your Christmas department!!! And Portuguese pottery!!! Love it, love it, love it!!!! Please keep writing all this wonderful stuff to us...I think of you often (like most Sundays when I look in the choir loft) and hope that you are well. Ciao Ciao! B | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1530 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hi, Becky. I just caught up with your blog. Sounds like you're really settling in now and having a wonderful and interesting time. How's the language going? D. graduated this past weekend, and it's on to the next phase! Hard to believe it all went so fast. Will you be coming back for K.'s graduation? Please give our regards to P. |
