Bike and Barge

My second summer holiday was planned by Tim and a friend from America - a "Bike and Barge" trip from Amsterdam to Brussels.

The fearsome foursome in 's Hertogenbosch

Our friends arrived in Brussels on July 4th from North America after 10 days in London and Wimbledon. After a quick stop in Leuven (Belgium) we welcomed them to our new-to-us home in Venlo. We enjoyed a few fun-filled, yet relaxing days visiting the Floriade and Nuenen (the "Van Gogh Village") before setting off for Amsterdam.

Our hotel for the week

The trip was a great way to reconnect with old friends and make new ones! The daily cycling distance was about 25 miles (40 km), so the trip was not strenuous. We had time and energy for a guided city walk nearly every evening after dinner on the boat. Because I was "in training" for a big walking event, I did a little extra walking each evening, usually to a geocache to two (by the end of our trip, everyone knew what a geocache was, and one of the other passengers was hooked). Sometimes there was a special treat, such as a carillon concert in Mechelen.

Mechelen, Belgium by night

Staying on the boat was an option for those who needed a rest day or just wanted to avoid the rain. But because the wind is always blowing in the Netherlands, the rain tends to come in showers. So when it wasn't raining, the skyscapes were lovely.

Willemstad, Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands)

Despite less-than-perfect weather, the trip was a blast. The boat was crewed by the owners, including their two sons, about 6 and 9 years old. From sailing the boat to serving dinner, everything was done with a smile, making us feel like welcomed family guests. The other passengers came from Australia, Italy, South Africa and the US and were excellent company, which made the close quarters cozy and congenial even though we spent a lot of time indoors.

The passengers on our cruise
saying "tot ziens" at Brussels Station

Even though we had met only a week before, it was hard to say goodbye to our tour companions, our guide Ingrid, and the boat's crew. Our rainy week was brightened by the warmth of the people around us!

A Moving Experience

My second summer adventure was moving. Literally. Since we moved to the Netherlands we had been renting a house near Tim's work, close to the center of town, and not too far from school. We had begun to make friends in the neighborhood (as we had been warned, this was slow to happen). We felt comfortable in the house, and enjoyed the easy-to-maintain garden and feeling of greater space with a park immediately behind the house.

So it was a bit of a bombshell when the owner of the house informed us in May that her relationship of five years had ended, and that she needed to move back into the house. Our contract required four months notice in this situation, meaning that we had until September to find a place and move in. We knew from our initial search that there is not much rental inventory (or rather, not much of the type we are interested in). In town, as we prefer, is especially slim pickings. While the outlying villages are charming, living there would mean giving up our bicycle friendly lifestyle, something we are unwilling to do.

After a week of mourning, we started our search. As expected, there was very little to choose from. We looked at four homes in Venlo that met our specifications (three bedrooms being our only important criteria). One turned out to be for sale but not for rent. Another was an 80 square meter  apartment in the centrum, with lovely light and big windows but also tiny bedrooms and no room for bikes. Another was a stylish new house, fully furnished (we were moving from a furnished house so this was a good thing), on the outskirts of town in a new, seemingly car-dependent neighborhood. The remaining option, in the same area as our current rental, had a rather strange floor plan and needed some work - apparently painting and light fixtures are tenant responsibilities here. I ended up leaving for the States without making a decision.

On one of the last days of my trip Tim forwarded a message from the agent about the fourth rental option. He was about to show the house to another incoming expat. Were we still interested? I had a full summer planned, and the only time I would have to move would be immediately after returning from the US. I took a deep breath and we agreed to sign the lease the day after my return.

That was the beginning of a whirlwind of activity. We spent the next day shopping for furniture (thank goodness for IKEA), and I spent much of the day after finalizing our order and arranging for delivery. I met with the movers who were fortunately available at short notice (possibly because we had very little to move). I cleaned the new house and started moving things over by carload. I painted. In the middle of these preparations we hosted a couple of very gracious cyclists who took delivery of moving boxes while I was busy at the new house!

After ten fairly frantic days, with the calm assistance of our very kind friends from the Sint Joris Kerk who generously helped with painting and furniture assembly, we were moved into the new house. I cleaned the old house, and our landlady moved in the following day, for which she was very grateful. And although still missing one piece of furniture (a couch scheduled for later delivery) I was able to sleep one night in our new home before starting the next adventure!

As I write this, nearly two months after our move, I am amazed by what we were able to accomplish in such a short time. And very, very glad we didn't have the move casting a cloud over us all summer! My only regret is that we weren't able to move like this:

Photo by Amsterdamized

Visiting my heart

This week students in our town returned to school, so it's perhaps appropriate that I return to my blog with a "what I did on my summer vacation" essay. This summer was the busiest of my life with content for several posts, which I plan to write about chronologically.

Summer 2012 started with a visit in June to my three daughters who live in the American Pacific Northwest - in other words, a visit to my heart. My daughters were great about making time for me, as were a number of friends who made time to hang out, catch up, and hike together (I was in training mode for a walking event later in the summer, more about that later). 

The visit was sparked by the graduation of the youngest from high school and (concurrently) community college. She's a middle child, following two high-achieving older sisters, which is a lot of pressure. But she has figured out a way to make her own path, while continuing to fulfill family expectations. We are proud of her for (1) completing high school mostly on her own; (2) finishing an Associate (two year) college degree at the same time; and (3) finishing high school as a valedictorian. 

With surrogate mom of the year

Equally important, I hadn't seen any of them since Christmas, and six months was starting to feel like a long time. We celebrated being together by hiking in the Chuckanut Mountains, walking Alki Beach, and sampling beer in Vancouver, BC (as well as here, here, here and here). 

Enjoying a brew or two

Although we still call them "the girls", our daughters are now young adults with their own priorities, relationships and busy lives. The trip was a good opportunity to practice our new relationship roles; they as independent young women and I as ... I'm not sure what, but it involves a lot of listening and a certain amount of tongue-biting. Still and all, it feels great to see them opening up their wings and soaring into adulthood. Ahhhhhh ....

photo by Oast House Archive

Geocaching

There are lots of ways to explore new places. We've gone on walking tours (guided and self-guided), seen sights by bus and boat, and ambled from sight to sight, enjoying the journey as much as the destination. Lately we've been finding the hidden places, known only to locals ... and to geocachers.

Logging a cache in Aachen, Germany
(hint: they're on the bench)

Geocaching is a high-tech game of hide and seek. Players use technology (mainly handheld GPS devices) to locate objects (caches) hidden at specific latitude-longitude coordinates, and log their finds online. In existence only since 2000, the hobby has grown rapidly. There are now more than 1.5 million caches in more than 100 countries around the world, on all seven continents including Antarctica.

Some caches are tiny

Variations of the game include Earthcaches (locations that are themselves the hidden treasure), Travel Bugs (uniquely tagged items that travel from cache to cache), Puzzle Caches (with a puzzle to solve in order to find the coordinates of the cache), Multicaches (a type of puzzle cache with multiple locations), and Challenges (where you must complete a task at a specific location). So far we've found caches or completed challenges in America, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.

Some caches are in natural locations, others are near interesting city sites.

There are more than 5 million geocachers around the world, some of whom have logged thousands of caches. Our approach is quality over quantity - to experience new places, and to experience familiar places in a new way.

Geocaching Challenge: enjoy a pint of Guinness at the brewery in Dublin

Even though we rarely meet other cachers, we feel like we are part of a community. We've met and talked with other cachers, including an interesting exchange (through her friend) with a cacher who is deaf. We've also interacted virtually with other cachers. Travel Bugs offer a kind of interaction, as many have a goal such as a specific location they are trying to reach. We picked up a travel bug in Ireland with a goal of visiting Route 66 in the United States. Tim took it along on a recent business trip to Washington D.C. and left it in a cache there, much closer to its goal.

A Travel Bug doubling as a dog tag

There are now applications for smartphones that allow them to be used as handheld GPS devices, making this activity even easier to try ... wherever you are. For more information about Geocaching see Geocaching 101.

Spring is in the air!

The freezing temperatures we were enjoying a few weeks ago seem to be a thing of the past, and it's starting to feel like spring is just around the corner. Without even looking at the weather forecast we decided to pull the tandem out for our first ride of the year. We've been doing some geocaching, so I chose a few caches in the countryside to give our ride a little purpose.

Love our tandem!

We rode through the towns of Tegelen, Maasbrae, Baarlo and Blerick. The first three of these are all in the Middle Limburg farm country, and we were excited to see the fields being prepared for Limburg's famous white aspargus. It is often served with Hollandaise sauce*, ham, boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs, or transformed into a creamy and delicious spring seasonal soup. The asparagus, which has a milder taste than the green variety, is white because it is grown under black plastic sheets, without benefit of sunlight so no green chlorophyll.

Photo:  az1172 

Another frequent sight in Limburg are field crosses. All of our caches today were located near crosses. They are all similar in size, but different in design. Limburg is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic provinces in Netherlands. The other Catholic province is Noord Brabant, all other provinces being considered Protestant, although most Dutch people do not hold to any faith.

Crosses are also located at road crossings

The Dutch word for spring is Lente, because spring is associated with the liturgical season of Lent. Today's ride reminded us that spring is in the air and Easter is on the way. So we were happy to find this fun place to buy eggs (that other, more pagan symbol of the season).

Egg vending machine near Maasbrae

*Although Hollandaise sauce is one of the five main sauces of French cuisine, some accounts attribute its creation to Dutch Limburgers, who served it to French Huguenots, who took it to France.

Guinness and Fiddles

I must admit, Dublin wasn't on my "must visit" list when we moved to Europe. But when I found out discount airline Ryan Air is based in Dublin, I decided we had to go. We chose to skip Carnaval in Limburg (a controversial decision) in favor of a long weekend in Dublin, before the summer crowds and prices hit. Did it rain? Yes, a bit. Were there partying students? Yes, they just added to the charm. We'll definitely be back, and it will be a longer visit so we can see more of the country next time.

Five outstanding reasons to visit Dublin:

Photo: Em' Milie

They say that Guinness tastes better in Dublin than anywhere else. More Guinness stout is produced here than anywhere else in the world, including every pint consumed in America. Having enjoyed it on two continents, I can affirm that it tastes good, no matter where you are.

Photo: munksynz

The Book of Kells is neither a book, nor is it from Kells. But it is a cultural gem and Trinity College's Old Library is a lovely setting. Don't forget to go upstairs and check out Ireland's oldest harp.

Photo: Éole 

Speaking of harps, Dublin is a great place to experience traditional Irish music. To learn a bit about it, we joined a musical pub crawl our first night there, and the next night visited a pub recommended by the musicians (it turned out to be right around the corner from our hotel). The music was amazing, probably because the musicians were playing solely for their own enjoyment.

Photo: Fergal of Claddagh

Dublin is crammed with history and the architecture is varied and delightful. We enjoyed old churches (St. Michan's hosts a slightly creepy crypt tour complete with mummies you can touch), parks such as St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, and charming Georgian terrace houses.

Dublin's best treasure is Dubliners. People were very willing to encounter us, and invariably friendly, gracious and welcoming.

Photo: me!

We were standing in front of this pub Monday morning, looking at a plaque. A man came out of the pub and asked if we were James Joyce admirers; we told him we were following the Ulysses walk. He told us the pub didn't open until 11, apologized, and invited us in for a look around. Which we did (we now feel as though we must read Ulysses, but that's another story ...)


Still not sure Dublin is for you? Check out this video:

Skating Weather

Temperatures have been freezing for more than a week and that means it's skating weather!

Because Holland is such a flat country, most naturally occurring water (as well as the human-made polders and canals) is not very deep. So when temperatures drop, lakes and ponds everywhere freeze over. Skating is very popular here, and it's therefore no surprise that many world-class speed skaters are Dutch. Americans like me may be familiar with the sport through children's literature: Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates first made its appearance in 1865. I always assumed it was a Dutch story translated into English but learned today this is not the case. Its author, Mary Mapes Dodge, is an American who only visited Holland after the book was published.

So when I found out this morning that there is a large natural ice area just five minutes by bike from our home, I had to check it out. Unfortunately I have no skates (yet!) but I did have a camera and got some pictures of the action.

Today is a sunny Sunday and the road leading to this area, the Zwart (Black) Water, was jammed with cars trying to find a place to park. Approaching the ice through the trees I saw many skaters and children being towed on sleds, and also many omas and opas (grandmothers and grandfathers) and other spectators.

It's possible to find ice right in town. Wherever there is water, it's an opportunity for skating and sledding. These children were having some frosty fun in a park near the center of Venlo.

We had our own little skating experience yesterday while on a geocaching adventure. One of our destinations was Juliana Park, with a solidly frozen fountain. Hanna and I did a couple of laps, just because we could. Note to self: get some skates soon!