Balancing Act

For such a small country The Netherlands packs quite an economic punch. Its pretty amazing to see how they balance the needs of industry with their love of open space and nature - you are never far from either.

To date, none of our visitors have taken me up on the offer to drive to the beach at Wijk aan Zee. They see the large factories, powerplants, and aluminum smelters on the horizon and kind of turn up their nose a bit. In reality, the industry is very well integrated into a quant little beach resort town - strange, but true. A drive past the smelter even reveals an outdoor industrial mondern art garden. Very cool! I'll hit it on the bike one of these days with the camera and post some pics - along with the WWII Nazi submarine base that still exists in the channel harbor.

Three country chicks

We had a little vacation back in the US in July and met up with Katie and Jody on the property in Western Maryland. A good 'ol country time was had by all - 4-wheelin', Kabota'n, Schmoorin' by the fire, and swimming in the river. Yeeeeehaaawww!

Special thanks to Wynona for the pictures ;-)

They all drive like this

Jody and Beth

Katie and Beth

Weeds on the randweg

"Why don't they ever cut those weeds on the side of the road?"

The Randweg is Haarlem's little bypass road that runs along a canal not too far from our house. This spring, the median strip of the randweg and the banks of the canal were filled with tulips and daffodils. It was a beautiful route that we went out of our way to see anytime that we found ourselves in the car. But as the summer heat and sun wilted those flowers, they were slowly overgrown with towering thistles and thickets of tangled "weeds". The once scenic roadway started looking more than a little shabby.

It seems there was a slight change while we were on holiday in the states because this was the scene that greeted us on our bike ride yesterday. We should have known better than to question the Dutch on anything to do with flowers. The "weeds" are now bursting with color and the randweg is again one of the most scenic drives in Haarlem.

Tough Day

A rare moment of relaxation after a busy day in Holland.

Now that the mid-summer heat is in full swing and it's been 3 months since I semi-retired, some of you have asked what a typical day in "The Summer of Dan" looks like. So I put together this little journal. Remember, these are "typical" activities. They vary pretty wildly and no two days seem to be the same.

07:00 AM – Wake-up at first alarm. Make coffee. Let animals out. Do exercises. Read email.
07:30 AM – Take coffee up to wake up Beth. Do dishes, clean kitchen.
08:00 AM – Eat breakfast with Beth.
08:15 AM – Walk to Zannenpark with Sage. Play with Nikos, Roxie, Max, etc.
Talk politics, work (theirs, not mine), etc. with friends in park.
09:00 AM Return to house. Write the great American/Dutch novel.
11:00 AM Get on the “cruiser bike” and do some grocery shopping. If it’s Monday or Thursday, go to open air market in the city center.
11:45 AM Lunch.
12:15 PM Drive to Caprera and do the rounds with Sage in the doggy park….rain or shine.
01:00 PM Stretch, put water, towel, and book into the backpack, load the MP3 Player and head to the dunes on the mountain bike for some hard riding.
02:00 PM Spread towel on the beach at Bloemendale. Catch some rays. Watch people. Read book. Listen to surf or MP3.
03:30 PM Hard bike ride home. This time on the bikelanes of the zeeweg….a faster route.
04:00 PM Check email. Do homework for Dutch lessons. Lessons are Monday and Wednesday, so schedule changes on those days.
05:00 PM Clean the house and backyard for a BBQ that we are having with friends tomorrow evening. We entertain, or are entertained at least twice a week. Adjust schedule accordingly.
05:45 PM Check in on Beth. Start dinner.
06:30 PM Eat dinner with Beth.
07:15 PM Beth and I walk with Sage to Zannenpark. Play with Diesel, Herda, Jolie. Talk with friends.
08:30 PM Drive to Bloemendale and run on the trails through the dunes with Beth. Sage isn't allowed in dunes...she stays home.
09:45 PM Back home. Have a beer in the back yard on the patio. (Remember, it’s still light out in Holland at 9:45 in July!)
10:00 PM Shower, put on jammies.
10:30 PM Open bottle of wine. Sit and talk.
11:15 PM Walk Sage.
11:30 PM Pet treats and Bedtime.

Repeat until April 1, 2007.