Our task for today was to find bicycles for both of us. This is the most common method of transportation around the streets of Amsterdam, and having bikes will keep us from getting so tired as we explore the city! A friend from the Ernst & Young office recommended a bike shop at the end of Bethoveenstraat, so we set out for our adventure at about 10:30 this morning. In order to purchase our bikes, we needed money, which we have found is somewhat difficult to obtain without a PIN card. We set up our bank accounts about a week ago, and it apparently takes 10 days to receive the card in the mail. This card basically functions like an ATM and debit card does in the U.S. So, being without a PIN card this week, we took out money the old-fashioned way by physically going to the bank. There is only one bank in town where this is possible, which just happens to be across from the Blomenmarket (Flower Market). You'll see some interesting pictures from this place when we upload our pictures to our photo album (should be this weekend).
After arriving at the bike store, we found a bike for John almost immediately. It is a secondhand bike with new tires, wheels, pedals, and seat. It also has a bell and front and rear lights (these are required by law here). A bike for Erin is going to be harder to find, since she needs a smaller frame. We hope to find one soon, but may end up getting a brand new one that is her size. We hope to have something for her by the end of the week.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Delft
We're at an internet cafe right now in Delft. We won't have a computer until John starts work on Thursday, and this is the first time we've had to sit down in an internet cafe. The internet computers at the hotel are soooo expensive--about 2 euros for 10 minutes! We found an apartment, but can't move in until September. 9. It seems to be a really nice place in a great location - 2 bedrooms, one of which opens onto the living room so we can use it as an office when we don't have company. We looked at 11 apartments last Tuesday and although we took pictures, we're sure there will be surprises when we move in and discover things we hadn't noticed or forgot about!It's kind of just like vacation right now since John's not working and we're living in a hotel.
We've both realized that it's probably a good idea for us to learn some Dutch. Everyone speaks English, but when there's more than one Dutch person together, they'll speak Dutch and we have no idea what's going on. Also, a lot of things (like menus!) are written in Dutch. We're slowly learning some words - very few! We've been told it'll be like we're on vacation for about 3 months before the negative aspects of culture shock really sets in. We applied for our residence permit last week, and visited the windmills in Kinderdijk--that's a story for a future entry (or see www.kinderdijk.nl if you really can't wait, but we promise our story will be more entertaining).
Today we're in Delft. The weather is sooooo nice...kind of like spring temperatures. Apparently the weather this summer has been a lot of clouds and rain. It seems that we brought the sunny weather with us from Texas--they've been telling us this is the best weather they have had since early June.
We arrived in Delft by train this morning at about 10:00 a.m. (that's 3:00 a.m. for you Texans out there). We were a bit nervous about our Zomertour train passes--when we bought them we were under the impression that this was a 10-day pass, with unlimited travel throughout the country by bus, tram, or train for any three days during the 10-day window. The first of these days was Saturday, when we went to Kinderdijk (more about this later). Today when we arrived at the station, when we were trying to figure out how to use our tickets for a second day, we realized that the tickets were only good for 2 days. We got a little nervous when the conductor came by to check our tickets because John couldn't quite figure out how to stamp the tickets correctly. Everything turned out okay, and we didn't get slapped with a 35 euro fine.
After walking around for only a few minutes in Delft, we found a 13th century church called Oude Kerk (meaning Old Church--an appropriate name we think). The Delft physicist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek is buried here--he's the guy who invented the microscope. The most notable feature of this church is the leaning tower--we've been told this might be the result of the church being built on top of a canal. We also visited Nieuwe Kerk. This one was built in the 14th century, so it is considered "new". The mausoleum of Prince William of Orange is inside. Erin knows all about this, but John has only limited knowledge because he got tired of reading all the signs.
We then took a short stroll across the city to the Royal Delft factory. That's where they make those blue-and-white porcelain plates and vases and some other stuff. It was all quite impressive, even more so when we learned that they are all painted by hand. You can't really go to school to learn how to do it, so after the company hires its workers they go through a 5-year training program before they can even begin. Then, they go through more training to earn the title of "Master Painter." We saw some porcelain windmills that we really wanted to purchase for each of our friends back home, but then we noticed the 700 euro pricetag and gently set the windmill back on the shelf. Maybe we'll have to settle for those cute little salt and pepper shakers.
We're paying for our internet by the minute over here, so we must go catch the train. Stay tuned for the story of Kinderdijk and other adventures...
We've both realized that it's probably a good idea for us to learn some Dutch. Everyone speaks English, but when there's more than one Dutch person together, they'll speak Dutch and we have no idea what's going on. Also, a lot of things (like menus!) are written in Dutch. We're slowly learning some words - very few! We've been told it'll be like we're on vacation for about 3 months before the negative aspects of culture shock really sets in. We applied for our residence permit last week, and visited the windmills in Kinderdijk--that's a story for a future entry (or see www.kinderdijk.nl if you really can't wait, but we promise our story will be more entertaining).
Today we're in Delft. The weather is sooooo nice...kind of like spring temperatures. Apparently the weather this summer has been a lot of clouds and rain. It seems that we brought the sunny weather with us from Texas--they've been telling us this is the best weather they have had since early June.
We arrived in Delft by train this morning at about 10:00 a.m. (that's 3:00 a.m. for you Texans out there). We were a bit nervous about our Zomertour train passes--when we bought them we were under the impression that this was a 10-day pass, with unlimited travel throughout the country by bus, tram, or train for any three days during the 10-day window. The first of these days was Saturday, when we went to Kinderdijk (more about this later). Today when we arrived at the station, when we were trying to figure out how to use our tickets for a second day, we realized that the tickets were only good for 2 days. We got a little nervous when the conductor came by to check our tickets because John couldn't quite figure out how to stamp the tickets correctly. Everything turned out okay, and we didn't get slapped with a 35 euro fine.
After walking around for only a few minutes in Delft, we found a 13th century church called Oude Kerk (meaning Old Church--an appropriate name we think). The Delft physicist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek is buried here--he's the guy who invented the microscope. The most notable feature of this church is the leaning tower--we've been told this might be the result of the church being built on top of a canal. We also visited Nieuwe Kerk. This one was built in the 14th century, so it is considered "new". The mausoleum of Prince William of Orange is inside. Erin knows all about this, but John has only limited knowledge because he got tired of reading all the signs.
We then took a short stroll across the city to the Royal Delft factory. That's where they make those blue-and-white porcelain plates and vases and some other stuff. It was all quite impressive, even more so when we learned that they are all painted by hand. You can't really go to school to learn how to do it, so after the company hires its workers they go through a 5-year training program before they can even begin. Then, they go through more training to earn the title of "Master Painter." We saw some porcelain windmills that we really wanted to purchase for each of our friends back home, but then we noticed the 700 euro pricetag and gently set the windmill back on the shelf. Maybe we'll have to settle for those cute little salt and pepper shakers.
We're paying for our internet by the minute over here, so we must go catch the train. Stay tuned for the story of Kinderdijk and other adventures...
We Made It!
We arrived safely in Amsterdam about this time last week--we actually managed to get three or four hours of sleep on the plane, and took a nap after arriving at the hotel, so the jet lag wasn't quite as bad as we thought it might be. We were well taken care of from the moment we arrived at the airport. Gay from Foursquare Relocation was patiently waiting for us just outside of the baggage claim area, even though we were an hour late because they "misplaced" one of our suitcases. John was impressed by her late 90s-model Volvo station wagon, which escorted us to our hotel.
After resting for a while at the hotel, we decided to take a walk outside to enjoy the sunshine. We quickly realized that although we are very close to the Ernst & Young office (we can see it outside our window), there is not much else in the neighborhood. We also realized that we were not actually walking on the sidewalk when several bicycles whizzed by ringing their bells. It turns out that in Amsterdam, and throughout the country, there is one sidewalk for bikes and a different, smaller sidewalk for pedestrians. This is one mistake that we will not likely repeat.
After becoming hungry and not finding any place to eat in the neighborhood, we wandered back to the hotel restaurant, Cote Jardin. This was largely an uneventful experience. We did learn, however, that you must ask for the check at the end of the meal. Too bad we didn't know this before sitting at the table for about an hour waiting for the server to return to our table.
We've only been here for a week, but we're learning quite a lot.
After resting for a while at the hotel, we decided to take a walk outside to enjoy the sunshine. We quickly realized that although we are very close to the Ernst & Young office (we can see it outside our window), there is not much else in the neighborhood. We also realized that we were not actually walking on the sidewalk when several bicycles whizzed by ringing their bells. It turns out that in Amsterdam, and throughout the country, there is one sidewalk for bikes and a different, smaller sidewalk for pedestrians. This is one mistake that we will not likely repeat.
After becoming hungry and not finding any place to eat in the neighborhood, we wandered back to the hotel restaurant, Cote Jardin. This was largely an uneventful experience. We did learn, however, that you must ask for the check at the end of the meal. Too bad we didn't know this before sitting at the table for about an hour waiting for the server to return to our table.
We've only been here for a week, but we're learning quite a lot.
Friday, August 19, 2005
The Last Haircut
This morning at 9:30, shortly after the movers arrived at the house, I (John) left Kris (Erin’s mom) and Erin and the house, and Dave (Erin’s dad) drove me to On Broadway where Fran Cebell has been cutting my hair for the past 26 years (yes, that’s pretty much my entire life, with the exception of my very first haircut by Uncle Don and those four years when I was living in Waco). It was a momentous occasion. We talked about our upcoming move, the family, life in Garland, and her recent Caribbean cruise. And before I knew it, my hair was shorter and we were saying our goodbyes. I didn’t want to leave, but Fran gave me the comforting reassurance that four weeks from now, when I am again in need of a haircut, she will gladly email the instructions for cutting my hair to my new hairdresser. I guess I won’t have to grow my hair out after all.
Moving Day
The movers came bright and early this morning as we were all finishing up breakfast: McDonalds sausage biscuits on styrofoam plates and lots of coffee. It didn't take us long to realize that after only 3 1/2 years of marriage we've already accumulated way too much stuff.
Even though the house was quite chaotic today, this is the way to move! We had 5 movers come in, pack up all our things, load it all in the truck, and drive away while we sipped lemonade all day. Now all we have to do is wait to see that it all gets where it's suppossed to be! Maybe instead of sipping lemonade all day we should have been monitoring the packing more closely. Apparently 5 packers is more than the two of us can handle. We will end up in Amsterdam with more of the food from our kitchen than we had planned for, none of the tools John thought he would be shipping over, and one less chair in storage. It might be a real surprise to open all our boxes when they arrive and see what's been shipped to us!
Though it’s sad to leave the house, the move to the Netherlands now seems much more real. I think we’re more excited to get going. The plane leaves Sunday afternoon and hopefully this time next week we’ll be apartment renters in Amsterdam. We can’t wait!
Even though the house was quite chaotic today, this is the way to move! We had 5 movers come in, pack up all our things, load it all in the truck, and drive away while we sipped lemonade all day. Now all we have to do is wait to see that it all gets where it's suppossed to be! Maybe instead of sipping lemonade all day we should have been monitoring the packing more closely. Apparently 5 packers is more than the two of us can handle. We will end up in Amsterdam with more of the food from our kitchen than we had planned for, none of the tools John thought he would be shipping over, and one less chair in storage. It might be a real surprise to open all our boxes when they arrive and see what's been shipped to us!
Though it’s sad to leave the house, the move to the Netherlands now seems much more real. I think we’re more excited to get going. The plane leaves Sunday afternoon and hopefully this time next week we’ll be apartment renters in Amsterdam. We can’t wait!
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