More on Amsterdam

Amsterdam Centraal please!



If you are concerned that you might lose your child, just adopt this idea and write you phone number directly on their body like a tatoo! What a concept?!
Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles galore! You really cannot tell how many bikes are in this picture because it is too small. In the background there is a ramp on the right side and the WHOLE thing is covered in bikes. All along that bridge has bikes locked up too.

TAXI!

A not-so-crowded street in late morning/midday.

Sparkly jellies for Jen. :)

A crowded street in late afternoon...

Yes, the crazy sex shops that are everywhere. They are almost Amsterdams equivalent of Michigan's cheesy sweatshirt/coffee mug/jun-store shops we have in every tourist spot.

Look at the many colored waffles...what a display case, huh? "Nah?" as Elia says.

A "coffee shop"...as you can see.

Daniel said they had pot flavored lolly pops in this shop. I never saw them.

It was such a sunny, warm, wanna-be-outside kind of a day.

Another beautiful bridge.

Oooooo the "Red Light District" where all the prostitutes can be found. It really didnt seem like such a big deal. They were girls wearing bathing suits hanging out where you could see them inside what looked like a store. Of course, it is a big deal. I read that Holland believes prostitution happens whether you make it legal or not so they dont turn their back on it. Instead they created a system where all the girls go for regular health checkups and are set up in contact with many social organizations that find them other opportunities besides this one.

Acutally, you are not supposed to take pictures in the Red Light District. When I took this picture I was taking it of the pretty flowers and the colorful sign because I thought it made a nice photo. As we walked more we realized we were in the RLD but I wondered the whole time why they called it that. I didnt notice until I came home and looked at my pictures that I had, in fact, taken a picture in the RLD and found out why they called it that...check out the lamps. :)

An old old building that looks like a castle is used as a city office now.

The Asian coridor.

The bio/organic market. Flowers, flowers, flowers! :)

Fresh bread of the day.

Beautiful nuts, beans, and spices! Mmmmm...

The cheese stand.

Amsterdam

Here starts part one of our 5 days in Holland. We visited Amsterdam and we have a ton of beautiful pictures to show you. I will upload them in sections. I also took photos of our flat/apartment and the surrounding city. Two of the days we went to the beach at the North Sea, which was very very lovely. The smell, and surrounding dunes felt like Lake Michigan. Altogether, Holland was not what we thought it would be. It was absolutely better in every way. We could totally live there. The architecture was amazing, the lifestyle was fun, and the activies available (no - i am not referring to the red light district or the coffee shops!) were so varied and entertaining! Amsterdam had its quirks but they were not so prominent. We cant wait to share all of our experiences with you!




These nuns were so funny. They had their little rosaries (sp?) and their tourguide. We are leaving the Red Light District (aka - the place where the prostitutes stand in glass store fronts and advertise in their bathingsuits or underware) and walking past a "coffee shop" where they sell/smoke legal weed and these nuns were right in front of us looking ever so interested as their tourguide explained to them about about the big leaf on the stores window. I wonder what they think?

The central train station.

Gross. A long day in the sun exploring the city.

The infamous dutch wooden shoes. Apparently, Crocs couldnt get a patent on their shoe because the dutch said they have been making them for centuries. No, they dont run around in these things. In fact, these were the only ones I saw. The rest of the women had pretty shoes.

Beautiful old houseboats.

These pictures are for those of you who are curious about the crazier side of Holland. Honestly, it wasnt a big deal. Yes, the "coffee shops" were many and the scent of pot wafted throught the air in some corners of Amsterdam, but alltogether, it was not such a freakshow like I imagined it. This was a funny store though. In the center poster it says, "How much money do you spend on weed? Grow your own! I heart coffee shops."

That says, "Homegrown Fantaseeds".

The giant scientology headquarters. Daniel says Kerk is church in dutch. Thats what you get in a very left/liberal country.

Look how beautiful that bridge is!


So many people take their boats out in the evening to tour the canals with a bottle of wine, an baguette and some cheese. It was quite romantic. :)

P.S. Today Bea & I went to the hospital to see Bea's sister Miriam (Bea is my au pair host mom) and to give her some support while in labor. Just after Bea & I left the hospital to come home baby Levi/3,850 grams was born :) Happy Birthday to baby Levi!

Grammy's Hello

Nothing in particular.....

I appologize that I do not update the blog every day anymore. Sometimes I am not sure I have enough to tell you all. We are settling in much more now. Sort of have a flow to our days I guess. Occasionally I snap a picture of something I find funny or interesting to show you. Thats why this is just a blog of nothing in particular. Daniel and I are doing well. The weather here is beautiful lately. On the cooler side of our summer days in Michigan. Only slighlty humid. The people here thinks its crazy hot. We enjoy it though because we know how warm it can get back home. Last night was really nice because Daniel and I ended our evening after being with Markus & Simone by lighting candles on our bistro table outside and enjoying a cup of tea in the darkness. We played a few songs from the ceremony at our wedding and then just listened to the sounds of nature. It was so peaceful. Actually, it was the first time I've noticed the sounds here since we arrived. Most of the time there is a lot of noise from children. I really enjoyed the silence. This morning we went for a long walk through the woods and farm fields to a small creek. We did a few exercises and came home again. It was a great start to our day. I really miss my 6 am walks around the neighborhood in the dark during the winter at Grandpas old house back home. Its not really possible here because the darkness ends at 3:30-4 am. Too early for me! Not much else to tell right now. We leave for Holland tomorrow. I will not blog for at least 5 days. Kitties are being cared for by a friend. I will update with photos when we come home. We love you all and think of you a lot!

Apparently this is how a Gaenze/Goose rests. Cute, huh?

Some pretty flowers Cord bought Bea.

The last of the blooms on that giant rose bush I showed you before.

Two days ago Bea showed me this hazelnut tree she has behind the house. I was so excited because I had never seen hazelnuts before they were neatly packaged in a plastic bag for me on the grocery shelf. I just had to take a picture of what the fruit looks like before its ripe in the fall to share with you all back home. They do not celebrate Thanksgiving here but Bea & Cord have asked me to cook traditional American Thanksgiving food. I will definitely be making them a pumpkin pie. As is typical of me, I will be changing it to make it a little unusual. How about a hazelnut crust? Lecker! :)

Yesterday I was bored in the middle of the day when Bea was gone with Noah to finish his swim courses. He was so proud when he came home with his Seepferdchen (spelling?) award which means seahorse :) Anyway, Bea mentioned wanting to fix up the baby's room because it was absolutely crazy in there. He didnt sleep in his bed because there were things everywhere. None of the furniture made sense in the rooms layout and he had no place to play in his room. Bea also used it for all of her teaching materials so it had become a giant wearhouse for things. Amazing. I wish I had taken pictures before hand. Daniel helped me to hang the pictures after I tried make sense of them. Originally they were in a clump on the dresser and shelf. And, the baby's clothes were in the giant armoire, the toys were scattered in drawers and nothing was in the changing table. So I consolidated all clothes in the changing table, toys in small dresser, Bea's teaching materials in the armoire and made a space for his drawing table. Its not the best I think it could be, but with what Bea has, it actually works now. And, for the first time the baby wanted to sleep in his room :). Cool huh?

Another one of Daniels towers. If he is not working on a project outside, swimming in the lake, or playing the piano, he is building something with the blocks. :)

Daniel and the baby constructed this lovely parking garage! They were so proud :)

On another 15 mile bike ride to the village of Mellendorf on Tuesday I found a tiny Naturkost which has all bio/organic foods. I was super excited to find sprouting seeds and so I bought a package for 99 cents and I started to sprout them :)

My sprouts after 2 days :)

Playing with the kids after dinner on Tuesday :) Simi and Noah thought it was funny to pull their pants up over their shoulders. Kids are creative arent they?

During midday yesterday Bea and I took the kids into the forest to go blueberry and strawberry picking. Then I made these muffins for the kids.

Heidi on Sunday or Monday night after her bath. Spunky cat.

I love this website http://www.closetcooking.blogspot.com/ because the pictures are so beautiful and colorful! I found this recipe for Balsamic Roasted Strawberry & Asparagus Quinoa Salad and I wanted to try it. Of course, I had to change it a little because thats what I always do! We really only have white asparagus here so I decided not to use it, and I omitted the feta cheese, and changed the pecans (which I cannot get here), for toasted hazelnuts! Oh, and I added kiwi too! It was absolutely delicious. Roasted strawberries are wonderful :)

Yesterday I made these Meyer Lemon Tarts for Bea to take to a birthday party in the evening. They were very nice too. But these were not vegan. :(