Cloudy days on a beautiful beach...

This is Zandvoort, the beachside city on the North Sea in Holland.

These are tiny little popup beach houses that line the edge of the beach. They were actually quite nice and, I can imagine, quite cheap.
Elia is very very fond of his "laufrrad" (baby bike) and at this moment he didnt have it. He could literally survive on his own if he had just himself and his laufrrad. I saw this discussion with this little girl and had to take a picture because of the looks she was giving him. Apparently, she really loves her own kiddy bike. :) Hands off Elia!

Daniel & Elia digging for tiny crabs!

Check out this super creative and funky way of making a fence! How fun to grab some cheap old, fun colored records, tapes, cds, whatever, and to make a gate/fence! Not my style but these people get an A+ for being so original and bold!

A Roadtrip to Hoofddorp

Last Wednesday we left for the flat in Hoofddorp, Holland. It was a 4.5 hour drive straight west from our home here. I almost couldn't believe we all managed to survive in the Mercedes Vito with three small kids, four adults, a "laufrad" (small kids bike), a scooter, appropriate luggage, and two mattresses. Woah. I made the kids some lunch from sandwiches of fresh homemade hummus, vollkorn (whole wheat) bread and sprouts, and a few pieces of fruit. This bought us some time when things got a little uncomfortable. And, when those ran out, we were lucky Cords computer had a decent battery and the kids could watch this German childrens cartoon Tomte Tummetott - a Gnome.
The foyer of the apartment in Holland.

After you walk in there is a small bathroom to your right in the hallway. It is the only toilet in the apartment. Not the only bathroom. There is another bathroom upstairs but this one is only for showering. Look how little this sink is. In case you cannot tell is is not any deeper than from your wrist to the tip of your middle finger.

Once you walk through the hallway you come to the spiral staircase (Daniel loved this as he has always told me he wants one in our house someday) on your right and another door leading to the kitchen/living room space on your left.

This was a really nice kitchen with beautiful stone countertops and a gas range. I loved cooking in it.

More of the livingroom and a view of the balcony.

A nice fireplace and tv for roudy-kid entertainment.

Once you are upstairs there were three bedrooms, all quite large, and a bathroom. This is our view of the neighbors gardens below us.

Our view from our bedroom window. Looking left...

looking center...

looking right. In the far corner is part of the small canal that runs along the apartments and directly behind us is a long path for sports activities or a quick walk to the local bus station.

After going up the spiral staircase...

Directly accross the stairs is the main bathroom with the shower, and washer/dryer units.

Most of the buildings in Haarlem/Hoofddorp/Amsterdam have this style of achitecture. It is so beautiful.

Lots of greenery.

Beautiful architecture. Great balconies.

A small street on our way to Zandvoort - the seaside city on the North Sea.

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!