Prefer using just one wheel but don’t have a unicycle? That’s OK! Just lean back on your bicycle and pedal away.
The kid I saw doing this gets bonus points because he was going uphill along a curvy, not-so-well-paved path, carrying a handful of mail and letters. I can’t even imagine how he was steering, but he sure made it all look easy-peasy. In fact he was going too fast for me to grab my phone and take a photo in time. Otherwise I could show you just how amazing it was.
It seems we have started a Sunday day-trip tradition with some of the other expats here. First was Luxembourg, then we did another bicycle ride to Eijsden last weekend, and today we went for a ride across the Belgian border to the village of Kanne. We had lunch at a cafe and then bought some pastries for dessert from a cute little bakery. It is still pretty cold and windy here but at least it was sunny today.
Hendrik, Zhiyi, and Erica at the Chateau Neercanne (top left), Nancy at the Bischopsmolen in Maastricht (top right), and a view from the Chateau of the Jeker valley near Kanne (bottom).
While at the training program, I went for a walk to the nearby town of Vaals where I discovered a fascinating contraption: a fruitautomaat! It is a fruit vending machine (pronounced something like fr-out-auto-mott). This one was selling apples, pears, fresh eggs, and local honey. I bought some honey to test it out!
Another intriguing part of the week was playing a version of the prisoner’s dilemma in the castle! My team lost but I didn’t even care because the room we were in was so cool!
I just spent the last week at a management training program at a remotely located castle!
Kasteel Vaalsbroek
There were employees there from many different DSM locations so I got to hang out with French, Swiss, German, Spanish, British, Turkish, and Chinese people, which was quite refreshing after spending so much time amongst the Dutch. It also made me realize how lucky I am that everyone speaks English so I can learn and communicate in my native language.
The Castle Lake
It was also amusing that no one else was quite so excited about being in a castle as I was. I guess not-so-old, mediocre castles are way more interesting for Americans than for Europeans.
Recently, I had a conversation with a stranger entirely in Dutch! I am a superstar!
At the risk of making you realize how entirely unimpressive it actually was, I will give you a play-by-play translated account of the conversation.
Scene: waiting on a train platform on a cold Dutch evening. A Dutch woman approaches.
Woman: What time does the train arrive?
Me (startled): Uh, seven. Uh, seven. Seven. Uh. Um. Um. Sorry my Dutch is not so good. Seven…
Woman: Seven after?
Me: Yes! Seven after. Seven after six. Seven after six. Yes!
Woman (smiles, pauses): It is very cold today. Brrr.
Me: Yes! (Train arrives.)
I am so proud of this conversation, not because I did a particularly good job speaking Dutch but because I understood everything and didn’t have to switch to English!
Problem: It is too cold to hold the handle bars while cycling to work and I forgot my gloves!
Solution: No problem. Having your hands on the handlebars is actually totally optional. Just ride without hands and put them in your pockets to keep them warm.
Seriously, he was riding along hands free (well, in his jacket pockets) as cool as a (nearly frozen) cucumber. I do not think I will attempt this level of Dutch cycling skillz!
I am pleased to announce that last week, both Hendrik and Amy had job interviews! Hendrik interviewed for a risk model validation position at a bank and Amy interviewed for two software developer positions at small companies. Here is an adorable selfie of Hendrik in his suit to make your day! Just ignore the laundry, half-packed suitcase from Christmas, and stray pillows on the floor in the background. 
Valentine’s Day isn’t a big thing here like it is in the US (at least not yet). We opted for a low key day too, which mostly involved doing laundry. However, we did take the excuse to have delicious Italian food for dinner!
Dinner date with 4 pastas and tiramisu!
The weather has turned colder and there is snow on the ground. It is just above freezing now but still snowing, which makes my commute feel extra cold because my face provides the energy to melt the snow flakes. Curse you hydrogen bonded crystalline water and your abnormally high enthalpy of fusion!
After saying we would go nearly a dozen times in the last year, we finally made it to the Drielandenpunt (three-countries-point), the place where the borders of The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium meet. It is also the highest point in the Netherlands (322.7 meters). It was a cold, rainy day so we did a little bit of hiking along muddy trails and then enjoyed a lovely time in a cafe with warm drinks and quiche. I managed to place my entire order in Dutch! Later we learned the hiking trails were actually old smuggler trails where they used to smuggle coffee, tea, cigarettes, and cocoa between countries to avoid paying customs duties. Of course now that they have the EU, there are no more smugglers there. We also ran in circles around the Drielandenpunt a few times to make sure we visited all three countries.
Nancy in front of the Drielandenpunt hiding from the rain (top left), The German, Dutch, and Belgian Flags (bottom left), Hendrik and Zhiyi at the highest point in the Netherlands (right).
Today was fabulously windy and also a bit rainy. At work, they kept making safety announcements warning us that the wind could have gusts up to 21 meters per second. After some googling, I discovered that this oddly specific value corresponds to a 9 on the Beaufort wind scale (near gale). It is times like this that I realize why the Dutch are famous for windmills. When I got back to Maastricht, I saw that the city was littered with corpses of abandoned umbrellas that did not stand up to the wind. Good thing Hendrik bought us sturdy storm umbrellas!
See Senz storm umbrellas in a wind tunnel:
EisenOrem Adventures 