skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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
5 comments:
Caitlin! You look so great! I'm so proud of you for learning how to order breakfast in bed so soon! HeeHee. Enjoy your biking!
Paul rode 50 miles yesterday - much of it in a down pour! So he can empathize with the wet bottom!!!
Have a blast! Miss you already! Terrie
Thanks for all the info, babe. I think you will have to teach me Dutch as you are learning. And you are most certainly correct about that car being just right for you. At least a lot better than that big mamajama that you have been driving (maybe not better than the El Camino, though. Th
Great that you're over there living it! Thanks for sending your stories to me...I appreciate it. All the best!
David Sundquist
mmm save me some erwtensoep!
xoxo
Hmmm... guess the appelgebak I made for X-mas didn't really make an impression :-) Anyway, sounds like a good breakfast (or is it breadfast?) in bed idea.
Post a Comment