Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones...

Rule #1
Never, and I mean never stand in the middle of a Dutch bike path.

Rule #2
If accidentally stepping in said bike path, never gaze off into the distance and forget where you are standing.

Rule #3
If accidentally gazing off, forgetting the fact that you are in said Dutch bike path, never wave at the people and say loudly "Sorry!" It's better to pretend you are deaf and blind.

They are out to kill and will stop for no one...

And if your new Dutch friend offers you some candy and it looks like stick off of a tree. Do not, under any circumstances accept. It really is a stick. I was not given instructions on how to eat the candy, so I spent an hour trying to suck the "wooden juices?" from the center. Then I came to find out that you are supposed to CHEW the wood, so that when it's pulled from your mouth it looks like something belonging to Fido. Yeah....

To My Music Lovers

Just a few things that I am about to see:

The Netherlands Chamber Choir performs different concerts twice a month
The Netherlands Radio Choir performs every month
The Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Bach Choir)
Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Ensemble (Koopman)

Heading to the music festival in Utrecht in late August to see:
The Huelgas Ensemble
L'armonia Sonora and Peter Kooij
Cappella Amsterdam (Reuss) performing Jephta
Heading to Bonn, Germany the beginning of September to see:
The Choir of King's College
The Hilliard Ensemble
RIAS Kammerchor
Academy of St. Martins
and Rilling conduct Britten's War Requiem

Oh yeah, also:
The Sixteen in December
Academy of Ancient Music in December
The Monteverdi Choir in October
Rene Jacobs conducting Julius Cesare with Sandrine Piau as Cleopatra in February

I can't wait!

Getting Lost #6

I shall call this more of a blogett, rather than a blog. Let's keep it short and sweet. Okay - so I am in Enschede on the weekends (my country home) and today my sister and I walked to the beautiful park. It's full of tall trees, ponds, animals, and many different trails. It was so beautiful, that I decided to go back there on my bike an hour later. I was mesmerized by how peaceful it was, so I stopped to watch the little ducklings and pet the pony, etc. I could hear that morning song they always play in cartoons when the sun is rising and everything is jolly. Yeah, you know the one. I kept riding and riding for about an hour, taking different trails until I reached a highway - wait, what? Yeah, I was lost with no map. I asked a girl where we were, and it turned out that somehow I ended up in the next city, so I rode on the bike path next to the highway for a LONG time trying to get back to Enschede (Paul B., you would have been proud...) Needless to say, I will be investing in some padded shorts. Yeeowzah!

Vondelpark

Seeing, Touching, Tasting, Smelling, and....Herring?

Ah yes....the Dutch tradition of grabbing a raw herring by the tail and sliding it straight down your throat followed by some yummy raw onions and pickles. Mmmm, mmm good. The market place in Amsterdam is open every day. A fantastic row of tents filled with clothes, shoes, nuts, candies, sunglasses, purses, fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish. The party I was with that day included JG, P, and a friend of JG's named R. We were feeling like trying many Dutch things that day including Dutch apple pie and herring. We ate the herring with a fork instead of the traditional "slide down the throat", and it was probably the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. You know that smell when you drive by a sewage plant that caught on fire next to a field filled with manure and dead birds rotting in the sun? That's what raw herring tastes like.

The City That Sort Of/Not Really Sleeps

The City

You would be proud! I only got lost five times in a week! Twice on my bike, once on the wrong train, wrong tram, and then in a taxi where the man did not speak English and I had no idea what my address was (yeah, I know - you live and you learn). People, people everywhere. I love it! It's bustling and crazy and there are so many places to just sit, drink a coffee, and people watch. My sister and I went out last week and found Leidseplein Square full of people salsa dancing with a live band in the background. The next day that area had a hip-hop group performing. There is always something fun and free to do.

Brood

Okay, I have to add this because P thought it was HI-larious. It turns out that there are many types of broodjes that must be cooked in the oven first. I, however, not being a native speaker did not know this, and I thought I was just eating some really nasty tasting bread at dinner. Raw bread. Ewwww!

Biking

So I have figured out the Dutch way to ride a bike! First, you put a look on your face that you are bored because OF COURSE you know where you are going. Second, you lightly place the right hand on the handlebars whilst riding, and your left hand is used to feed you, hold up your cell phone, put on make-up, anything goes. When signaling to turn right or left, you must put your hand down low to indicate which way you are going. That is to say, you don't do what I did for a long time which was throw my arm up almost to my head and look like a big dorky bird about to take flight. In one of these pictures, you will see a giant bike of about ten guys who are enjoying their bachelor party while pedaling the movable bar down the street.

Wet Bottoms & Caffeine Highs

Hallo!

Okay - finally the first official blog! I know many of you have been asking what is going on over here on the other side of ocean, so here you go. I will break this first blog up into categories so that you may skip over anything that doesn't interest you. This is the perfect sized car for me - too bad I can't drive here.

Weather

I like clothes....cute summery dresses, bright sunshine colors, fun beachy jewelry. Yeah - um, my wardrobe here consists of sweatshirts, long jeans, my rainproof trenchcoat and a plethra of other cold weather clothes. It rains every day and gets really cool at night. Oh, and since I walk/bike everywhere, my high heels and wedge shoes plan on gathering dust in the closet. I have finally succumbed to the wonderful world of flats - height deficiency be damned! We open the windows and doors in our apartment to let the cool air in, but close them at night because I learned the hard way that if you don't, you become a nice supper for mosquitos! I have three bites on my face alone!

Language

When I said, "Oh everyone speaks English in Amsterdam" I think I spoke a little too soon. Almost everything is in Dutch which led me to take the wrong train at one point. Thank god for JG (my sister) and cell phones! I am working really hard trying to get words down - so far I know the basic words (please, thank you, etc.) and the most important word to me - "brood" meaning bread. Which leads me to the next subject - this place is a breadaholics's dream! They eat bread for breakfast, for snack, for lunch, for snack, for dinner, for snack, with tea, with coffee, and so on. Thank goodness I bike everywhere and joined the gym! By the way....it's a 40 minute bike ride just to get to the gym. While trying to speak the language, JG thinks I sound really German.

Coffee

When I was told - the Dutch drink a lot of strong coffee, I thought to myself, "Self? No caffeine after noon" but it is so hard. The coffee is excellent and it is offered throughout the entire day, including after dinner. Now those of you who know me well, know that I can only have so much caffeine in one day (ahem, McDonald and your damn espresso machine!), so I have to be the nerdy one who asks for decaf and receives that"LOOK" from the Dutch folk.

Food

This is just the beginning of my food discussion. In Amsterdam, there are so many different cultures living together, that every type of food is available. Tapas are very popular as well as Indonesian rice tables. JG and I made a delicious dish of frozen spinach, lentils, thick bacon, and curry sauce. In the words of the much loved/hated Rachel Ray "Yumm-o!" Oh yeah, cheese is a big deal. A BIG deal! The Dutch are known for their amazing cheeses. And sometimes it's hidden within a dish (oops!).....JG are you reading this? Did I mention how lucky I am to have you as a sister :) Of course I have already learned "niet melk" (no milk). Before eating a meal, one says "eet smakelijk" wishing the rest of your companions to eat well. I am very excited to try erwtensoep "thick pea soup" and appelgebak "traditional Dutch apple pie."

Kingsley

That's my bike! I named him Kingsley because it just fits. Since everyone rides bikes, you want your bike to look a little beat-up so it doesn't get stolen. There are bike paths EVERYWHERE - and you can see all types of people from four-year-olds to little old ladies truckin' it down the ole' path. The only scary part is that someone can open their car door on the side of the road and BAM - talk about pain! My sister and I saw a terrible movie the other night, and the people in the movie theater talked through the entire movie, rustled their candy wrappers, and answered their cell phones in the theater! Later that night, I read in one of my Dutch guides that this behavior was not unusual. After the movie, it was about 12:30 AM and pouring rain, and what was our form of transportation???!!?? That's right! Wet bottoms all around. Riding in the pouring rain with a jean jacket taught me the importance of preparation for any kind of weather here!

The Dam

This is the big city square in Amsterdam with tons of cafes, coffee shops, bookstores, clothing boutiques, you name it! JG and I spent an entire afternoon just in two of the tiny side streets. Oh, OH!! And the pastry shops! We found a cute little French pastry shop and shared a delicious almond cookie that I had attempted to make from the Martha Stewart Handbook, but this one was so much better. It takes me much longer to shop in the grocery store or drug store because the items are in Dutch, and I want to be quite sure that I am not purchasing pig asses or something like that.

Enschede

This is where we go on the weekends - it's where JG actually lives. P (JG's hubby) picked us up from the train station late Friday night. Did I mention how long it takes to get there? 2 1/2 hours plus hauling our luggage and changing trains 3 to 4 times. Yeeeeaahh.......P met us at the station and brought me a bouquet of beautiful pink flowers to welcome me here. I tried to memorize an entire phrase to say to him since I would be living with him and my sister for a while. The phrase was "Ik wil graag ontbijt op mijn kamer" (I'd like breakfast in my room). Enschede is a great little town and this is where my sister's friends live. I went to my first book club meeting yesterday - the book was "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. If you like reading about the fall of mankind, utter chaos, and lots of fecal matter - this book comes highly recommended ;) JG's friends are awesome - one is from Brazil, one from Venzuela, one other American, and a lovely Dutch flight attendant who hosted the party. I thought that the book club was a very serious matter, so I stayed up late the night before finishing the book. Turns out Book Club = great food, Sangria, lots of gossip, and about ten minutes talking about the book in the span of five hours.

Many more pictures and stories to come.
Tot naast klokken,

Cait