The Heat Wave and The Food Festival

We spent most of the last week hiding indoors away from the great Dutch heat wave of August 2016. This was a less than optimal decision given the lack of AC in our apartment. (Oddly enough the Dutch call AC “airco.” Whatever you want Dutch people…)

We ventured out on Saturday to go to a food festival at the Vrijthof (at the city center) with Zhiyi and Kristin.

We had a good time but we should have waited until Sunday because the hot weather broke Saturday night with an impressive lightning-wind-hail storm. I don’t know how it can hail marbles when it is that hot out! The poor trees lost a lot of leaves and a few branches, but we got much more tolerable temperatures in return. 

Despite all of the sunshine and fun traveling I’m feeling a bit home sick. I can see why the Pilgrims gave up on making a life living among the Dutch and took their chances sailing to America. Hendrik is loving it here though. Hopefully his enjoyment of Europe is contagious. 

Barcelona Anniversary

Last weekend was our fifth anniversary and we celebrated with a long weekend in Barcelona! The highlights include tapas, a tour of Gaudi architecture, paella, Barcelonetta beach, sangria, a flamenco dancing performance in an old palace, more tapas, a sailboat tour of the coastline, more tapas, and my favorite, swimming in the fabulous, clear blue, warm Mediterranean water (and more tapas).

And now since I’m trapped on this commuter train for an indefinite amount of time while they handle the “aanrijding met een persoon,” I will elaborate further.

The lowlights include getting cheated out of €15 by a lying taxi driver, Barcelonetta beach being full of trash from too many disgusting tourists all summer, and some patchy sunburning from improperly applied sunscreen. Also we failed to enjoy the legendary Barcelona night-life by falling asleep every night at 10:30 like little old people who have been married for five years. All in all I’d say it was a good weekend!

Fortunately, the transition from the perfect Mediterranean weather back to the Netherlands was made better by some mild sunshine here. This week I have gone climbing twice and will bicycle home from work today (if I ever make it to work). Hendrik has gone running a few times too. It is much easier to get out and exercise when the weather is nice and the days are long. I wish the summer could last forever, mostly because I don’t know if I can survive the darkness of winter again. For every sunset I see, I am grateful that it isn’t happening at 4pm while I’m still at the office but I am also filled with a sense of dread because I know we are already past the solstice and the days will keep getting shorter from now on. I will strive to make the best of the next week’s leading up to the equinox. You’ll see!

Enjoying Maastricht despite the weather

Gerrit’s last few days in Maastricht were filled with good food, the best quirky Limburg bars, and video games. Despite 6 canceled trains, he made it safely to the airport and home.

Here we are listening to a drunk Dutchman playing blues on an out-of-tune piano and speaking dialect with his friends.

-Hendrik

Hamburg and back again

Last weekend, Gerrit and I visited our grandmother in Hamburg. We had a very relaxing weekend, including a walk on the Elbe across from the harbor:

and an evening hanging out with a cousin Gerrit had not seen in 13 years. We also enjoyed our traditional lunch at the Fischereihafen restaurant watching ships go in and out of the harbor:

-Hendrik

 

Giethoorn

Hendrik and Gerrit are visiting their grandmother in Germany for the weekend so I’ve been left alone to make trouble by myself. Fortunately I found a harmless way to entertain myself yesterday: a day trip up North to Giethoorn, the cutest little Dutch town ever, with Zhiyi and Kristin.

Giethoorn means “goat horn” and the symbol of the town is a goat skull with a plus sign between the horns. The village is full of little old houses with thatched roofs, tiny canals filled with boats full of tourists, wooden foot bridges, a lake that is only 1 meter deep, and even some goats! We took a boat tour and lots of photos.

Gerrit in Maastricht

After a few busy days in the big city we brought Gerrit back to our quiet provincial town of Maastricht where we showed him all of our favorite quaint little things like some water mills (we even found a new one!), strawberry rhubarb vlaai, the Roman bridge, the Thai restaurant, and  hanging out on restaurant terraces in oddly shaped city squares. 

Boats, Burritos, and Beer

Actually the title is pretty self-explanatory for what we did on Friday. First, after a relaxed breakfast we rented a four-person pedal boat and went out exploring the canals. We got caught in a fairly hefty rain shower and discovered that pedaling faster does not significantly increase the velocity as we desperately tried to take shelter under a bridge. We were as wet as if we had fallen into the canal but at least we were clean. 

The next stop was supposed to be the tasting room at Brouwerij ‘t IJ but on the way there were happened to walk past a burrito restaurant. I am not sure I have sufficiently belabored this point so here it is again: one of the things I miss most about the US is Mexican food! I walked about ten paces past the restaurant as I processed the information, then promptly turned around and ordered a burrito. It turned out to be Tex Mex rather than California-style Mexican but it was still delicious and burrito-y and also an excellent pre-beer tasting lunch.

Brouwerij ‘t IJ, named for the Ij river, is a small Dutch brewery in Amsterdam next to a windmill and whose logo is an ostrich. Somehow that combination of features and perhaps also the beer and good company made for a fun last evening in A’dam.

Gerrit in Amsterdam

On Thursday, Hendrik’s brother arrived in Amsterdam for a visit. We have perfected our first day jet-lag kicking itinerary, which involves a 3 hour waking tour of the city guided by us and dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant.

This time we also decided to stay in and explore a hip neighborhood called De Pijp, which has a lot of good restaurants and is conveniently located near the US consulate.