Fall mountains

Sage and I picked Beth up at Schiphol airport on her way back from New York last Friday and headed down to the Ardennes Mountains in Belgium for a long weekend. The trip started out a little rough when we got stuck in massive traffic jam in Maastricht and then took a wrong turn in Luik and ended up downtown at the height of rush hour - what a nightmare! Luik (or Liege for you French speakers) is a rats nest of poorly signed tunnels and bridges and traffic circles. When I finally stopped and asked for directions, it took a French truck driver and a Belgium college student to figure out how to get where we needed to go. I spoke Dutch with her, she translated to French for the truck driver, then gave me his response back in Dutch. Yikes! But we made it…

It is amazing how quickly the congestion of civilization dissolves once you get outside of Luik. By the time that we were pulling into our holiday rental on the outskirts of the microscopic village of Harre, we were both smiling again. Here are some pictures from the trip.






We stayed in this old water mill that has been converted to a guesthouse. It’s right on the edge of a large forest and we could hike right out the back door.































A beautiful open hearth fireplace added to the ambiance. Dogs are allowed…but probably not up on the leather couch.



















The medieval village of Durbuy. A bit touristic, but worth a visit. You can see the float trip going down the river. Maybe we’ll bring the kayaks next time.





















The town of Stavelot is famous for some funky parade that they have every year where people dress up in white sheets and hoods and put on these gross long red noses. If you ask me, it looks a little creepy. The town is also the site of some of the worst Nazi atrocities during the Battle of the Buldge. The war memorial near the demolished monastery says that the US forces that fought here were from Fort Meade, Maryland. My uncle Joe was from Maryland and fought in the Battle of the Buldge. Does anyone from my family know if this is where he was stationed?






On the trail.















Wild Boars!










We had a pretty incredible experience out on the mountain one evening. We were walking off-trail along a small creek bed through a thick pine woods. It was getting a bit dark under the canopy when we heard a low rumble in the woods behind us. Sage went on full alert and Beth and I craned our necks expecting to see some deer.

It took me a minute to figure out what was ripping through the woods toward us. At first I thought that it was a pack of dogs, but as they got closer I recognized them. A herd of wild boar! Big, black, ugly fuckers. I don’t know much about these things, but I’ve heard stories of them killing dogs, so I grabbed Sage and we all stood as still and quietly as possible.

They must have caught wind of us because the main herd veered up the hill about 40 yards away from us. But a huge male, maybe a couple of hundred pounds, with big freaking tusks dropped below the rest of the herd and made what felt like a warning pass at us. He swung within 20 yards before bolting up the hill with the rest of them.

It was one of the coolest things that I have ever experienced out in the woods. Sage was completely freaked out and jumped at even the slightest sounds for the next three days.

We didn’t see them again for the rest of the trip, but we heard them every night out in the fields on the edge of the woods. It’s breeding season in the Ardennes and these things are horny little suckers. I had to wear earplugs one night it got so loud.




















We stumbled across this mud hole the next day. You can see the mud caked onto the sides of the trees where the boar rub after rolling in it.

Maybe next year I’ll come down when it’s open season…

Harvest

It seems like we’ve been doing a lot of celebrating the past few weeks. We spent a great evening over in the garden to celebrate the fall harvest. We’ve been loading up on berries, pears, and apples. We’ve got so much fruit that I’m thinking of bringing the apple-press over from the states for next year. There are still a few straggling zucchini’s, but we’ll have to wait another few weeks for the last of the veggies - the beets and Brussel sprouts.

























Beth was late (as usual) for the picnic and got locked out of the volkstuin by this medieval fashioned gate. I guess that they really, really don’t want people coming in to steal the vegetables.




















Hip young Dutch girl tries to teach old bald white guy how to rap….technically challenged wife tries to take picture.

Beth and I also celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary - nothing so exotic as last year in Singapore - and her 41st birthday with a quiet evening at home on Saturday night. Sorry, those pictures are posted only on the site for paying members.

September Summer and Grape Pie

Talk about extremes - this past July was the driest and hottest on record here in North Holland and August was one of the coolest and wettest. Now that September has rolled around the weather has settled into the “perfect” category with warm sunny days and crisp cool nights to usher in our favorite season. It’s a time for candles and wine, uncrowded beaches, fire pots on the terrace, and long walks in crunchy woods.



Friday evening we went over to our good friends Frank and Natasja for Tapas and catching up after their extended August holidays down in Spain. Frank and I also finally got to see the famous “Naked Cowboy”. The girls had made such a fuss about it when they saw him on Times Square in New York, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I saw him in the movie. I always knew that Beth had a thing for Western PA machine shop kind of guys, but Natasja?

Saturday was a Renaissance Festival in central Haarlem. It was interesting to see this type of festival in a setting that was really here during the Renaissance. We had fun, but it just wasn’t what we’re used to for a Ren-Fest. I know that this will sound terrible - the real ugly American, but I like the Festivals back in the states better. The self contained villages that they’ve set up in PA or MD, the roasted turkey legs and beer, the jousting, and the shows are all much more festive than the real thing over here. Maybe we’ll try one of the bigger ones in France or Germany next year.

On Sunday we biked to the beach under perfect skies to soak up some sun. People were already disassembling their beach huts and covering them with tarps until the trucks come around to haul them back into storage. The beach bars will remain until early October, then they’ll be cleared out as well leaving the empty beaches for us locals and our dogs.

And Sunday evening was grilled salmon and grape pie on the back terrace with our good friend Esther. I made the salmon….Esther made the pie. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? When we all dug in, Beth and I looked up from our bowls, making subtle eye contact across the table and trying very hard to keep straight faces. Lucky for us, it was Esther who let out the first hardy “Oh my god!” with puckered lips and twisted neck. None of us have laughed that hard for a very, very, long time. Thanks Esther!

Hell-week in Holland

Damn! 16+ million is a lot of people for this little corner of Europe!

This week is tweener week, when most Dutch are back from their sunny holidays in Spain, France, and the Greek Isles but have not yet returned to work and school and their normal scheduled lives. It is the absolute worst time of the year to be in Holland.

Beth and I have been working (or not) remote for four years now and have gotten a bit spoiled by not having to participate in the daily 9-5 grind. The “not driving” part was a no brainer for us to quickly appreciate. Boise’s traffic hadn’t been all that bad, I actually used to bike to work , but after two years in Washington DC’s car oriented drive-me-to-the-next-strip-mall culture, we were more than happy to leave the suburban commuter lifestyle as far behind as possible.

But this week in Holland makes me appreciate the other beneficial aspects of working (or not) at home. Most days I almost enjoy grocery shopping or running an errand downtown to pick something up. I certainly enjoy the way that I have the bike paths through the dunes to myself or can walk in the dog parks knowing that only the ‘regulars’ will be there. I usually do all of these things before 5:00 PM because I know that once everyone gets off of work, it can be too much of a hassle or too crowded.

Welcome to hell-week. It’s a free-for-all out there and it ain’t a pretty sight. Screaming, hopped-up kids savoring their last week of freedom, stressed (although tanned) parents trying to cram a summer’s worth of shopping and home-improvement projects into five days, and woefully understaffed shops (hey, they get vacation too!) all combine to make life miserable here this week.

I can’t wait until everyone returns to work and I can finally relax.

Hammerdrills and Jazz

The past two weeks have found us busy with the new house and local summertime festivals. Most of the work on the house has been very enjoyable and it is great to finally be able to put our own tastes and personalities into a place again. The two years of renting certainly had it’s advantages and it didn’t bother me at all like I first might have imagined, but it is very nice to be getting back into ownership mode. In a way, working on this place is easy compared to the one back in Maryland. I’m sure that some of that is sheer volume…this house is less than half the size. But the simple, square rooms and the consistent 220V electric wiring are also much easier than back in the states. The hardest adjustment has been adapting to the stone and concrete construction. Other than the staircase and trim, there is virtually no wood in the place. This has allowed me to introduce a new skill into my handyman regimen - Hammerdrilling. Need to put a cable through the wall? Hammerdrill. Hang a picture? Hammerdrill. Put up the new toiletpaper holder? Hammerdrill. Anything that goes deeper than the quarter inch of plaster is going to need an industrial style machine that can blast its way through the solid rock….pretty cool!

We’ve also had time for some other types of fun. Joe came over from the states for a week and we did a lot of biking, spent a day in Amsterdam and hit the local food fair. But once again, the best by far has been Haarlem Jazz. This event has been going on for the past week and even though Beth and I are not big jazz fans, this festival has turned into one of our local favorites. The streets become one giant party scene where you can eat and drink as you wander between the 8 different bandstands set up in the old quarter of the city. We tend to gravitate to the Blues stage or even the Big Band music, but the best part is always just sitting with beer or glass of wine and watching the world go by.

I’m off to America next week and am trying to get into a two week update pattern for the blog. Enjoy the remnants of summer…damn, it went quick!

Here are a few more pics from the house.



Living Room



Kitchen and Dining Rooms

The Board Room (Beth's office)

Verhuizen

Wij zijn verhuizd!

It’s been a tough couple of weeks, but the move into the new house is finally complete. Well, “complete” might be a bit of a strong word. It’s still a bit of a mess and the trim is not yet back up in the living room and the hallways are not yet painted and some of the lights are not yet up and the pictures are not yet hung and you get the idea. But the beds are in and the kitchen is functional so we are now sleeping and eating meals here.

We have already done quite a bit of work to the place. The biggest job was ripping out the old hardwood flooring. The old owner had added on to the house in the back and had not done a very good job of matching up the old flooring inside. The new stuff came out pretty easily, but the old stuff that was probably laid back in the 1930’s was a complete bitch. I had to borrow a saw from a friend and start cutting grid patterns into the wood to get it to even consider budging in small chunks. There is still a large pile of scrap in the back yard. But the new hardwood turned out really good and we are happy that we put in the effort.

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress.

















The kitchen/dining area with the old floor and before any painting.


















Removing the old wood-burner. Damn! That stove pipe wasn’t attached!

















The living room. You can see the line in the old floor where he added on. Yes, we know that the awning is kind of ugly, but it is electric and can go in and out as needed. On a hot summer day with this sunny south-facing garden, it is a blessing…so we’re going to keep it.

















The newer hardwood came out in huge chunks (leaning against the wall), the older hardwood had to be cut out and stacked in the back garden.

















Lovely red walls with white trim and blue carpet. We couldn’t change the bedrooms fast enough.

















New hardwood floor and a fresh coat of paint can do wonders. The new kitchen goes in this fall.

Wallibi World

We dropped Sage off at the Dierenpension on Saturday so that we could devote all of our time in the next two weeks to the new house. But we didn’t get the keys until Monday, so we took advantage of our free day and did a trip over to an amusement park on Sunday with friends. We went to Wallibi World because it is known for its roller coasters. And after 6 hours of riding, we weren’t disappointed. Some of these things are starting to get a little bit crazy. We rode one that had an 80 degree drop from over 75 meters before slinging you into centrifugal funnel that whipped you onto your side. Another one spun you 6 times into brain-jarring corkscrews. On another, you rode in an open chair with your feet dangling through the loops and turns. But the absolute scariest of all was called Express. It started out with a bone-crushing launch that propelled you to nearly 50 miles per hour in under three seconds. It was an incredible feeling!
But that wasn’t the scary part. That didn’t come until the coaster rolled to a stop just before the station. We sat there. And sat there. And sat there. Did I mention that in order to survive the speed and upside down parts of the track on Express, you have a steel harness ratcheted tightly down across your shoulders and into a lock at your groin. It was like a straight jacket. And we were stuck that way for nearly 20 minutes. I can take just about any twist and turn that you throw at me, but I will admit that I’m a bit claustrophobic. It was not a pleasant experience for me, just sitting there locked into that seat. Breath in. Breath out.

But….in the end the trip was a huge success and we all came home with dizzy headaches to have a BBQ and drink beer in the back garden. Gezellig!

Sorry for the poor picture quality. I didn’t carry my camera with me (for obvious reasons) and only took a picture on the way out. Express is the Blue coaster and the green hill that you can see is the 80 degree drop that I mentioned. The coasters are in the distance…trust me…they are very high.

Hooglanders

Just one of the many wild beasts of the dunes, I see these Scottish Highlanders often when I’m out running or biking. The government releases them into the dunes (and other parks) to help keep down some of the underbrush and also to provide an easily visible attraction for the kiddies. It’s pretty funny to watch the city folk from Amsterdam when they come across these beasts out here in the ‘wild’.

Just the other day, I had to tell an older couple that these critters were pretty lazy and wouldn’t suddenly spring up with gnashing teeth and razor sharp horns, viciously attacking and mauling people who pass by them on the foot paths. But the couple was not completely convinced of their safety, and made me go first past a group of these sloth-like cows that had congregated in front of us on a path. I looked back and laughed as the couple worked up the courage and finally scurried quickly past them. The cows never even looked up.

In addition to these hooglanders and some wild horses that have also been released, there is quite a bit of ‘real’ wildlife in the dunes. I see it mostly during the week, before the crowds come out from the cities. I’ve come across deer, red fox, grouse, ground squirrels, woodcocks, hawks, and these incredibly huge rabbits (with big, sharp teeth). I hear that there are also wild boars out there, but I haven’t seen any yet.

Graduation time

I still don’t fully understand the education system over here. There are so many different levels of study that it is nearly impossible to follow it beyond the age of 12. But now must be a common graduation time because you see a lot of backpacks hanging out on flagpoles. According to our friends, that means that a kid has passed their final exams and graduated on to the next level of study. I wonder what gets hung out on the line when they fail?

Helaas! Nederland is uit!

It seems that all of Holland has gone mad for football over the past couple of weeks - from “wuppies” in the grocery store to just about anything you can imagine in the color orange. It’s a major let down over here that the national team lost in a world cup match to Portugal last evening. They have been eliminated from the tournament.

It certainly wasn’t from lack of enthusiasm by the fans. The streets were eerily quiet when we walked down to Frank and Natasja’s to watch the game. It seemed that the city had been abandoned. But you could see in the windows of the houses. The living rooms were full of partiers and every TV was tuned to the match.

I know absolutely nothing about soccer, but even I had a good time and thought that it was a pretty exciting game. Holland played hard, but it seemed to me that they lacked the ‘fire in the belly’, balls-out gusto that would get them to the next round. I was very surprised when the last six minutes was posted to the clock; the coach stood calmly on the sidelines; the team passed the ball around the field like there was at least another half to go. Like I said, I don’t know much about the game, but I’d have expected an all out blitz or a few hail-mary’s to try and even things up. It just wasn’t going to happen.

Today the mood is definitely subdued. I missed the best opportunities to get pictures, but here are a few of the pre-game hype.

Ruigoord

There is a large park, some 3000 hectares (7500 Acres), that lies between Haarlem, Velsen, and Amsterdam. Beth and I use the park extensively for biking, hiking, running, and kayaking. I know the area well enough that if you were to drop me on any of the hundreds of kilometers of paths that crisscross the park, I’d be able to quickly get my bearings and tell you were I was at - even with the nondescript pancake-flat landscape.

Of course it helps that I’m a bit of a map junkie. Sometimes I’ll sit and study a map before I head out for a ride to look for new routes or other highlights that I might not have seen before. It was during one of these study sessions, more than a year ago, that I spotted a tiny village named Ruigoord. The map shows it as nothing more than two short streets with an old historic church at their intersection. Technically it wasn’t even in the park, but it was close enough that it still showed up on the map. Instead of green, the village was surrounded by the grey shaded blocks that indicate an industrial area. But those two orange roads with a little cross at their center always looked interesting to me, a little remnant of hope holding out against the insidious encroachment of development. Over the last year I have specifically set out on two occasions to find it - both times without success.

This past Friday I thought that I’d give it another try. And this time, I ignored the map. The landscape outside the park has changed dramatically since it was printed. Old roads and paths no longer exist. New, bigger roads have been laid. Gigantic warehouses with “Starbucks” printed on the side have blossomed like fungus from landscape. This time I found it.

Ruigoord still is. And though I no longer belong there, I am glad that such a place as this exists. To me, it represents what I thought was good in the world. Back when I was young.

www.ruigoord.nl

Port entry to Ruigoord

The old church of Ruigoord. Now a theater, a dance hall, a gathering place

Pilgrims of the Summer Solstice

Setting up for Solstice

Puppet and ball dancer - very cool!

The Thunderbolt

When I finally rolled back under the Randweg tunnel into Haarlem, the sun had dropped behind the dunes and the city was basking in cool, quiet dusk. I coasted through the northern neighborhoods, only pedaling enough to keep my bike moving slowly toward home. My heart rate was dropping, but the endorphins still coursing through my blood gave the streets a hazy, almost purple glow. Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America’ started playing on my I-pod. Perfect.

It had been a hard ride. A 35 kilometer, balls-out, leg-burning lung-buster through the dunes. In case you haven’t already guessed, that means hard in a good way.

On a day like today, when the sun is shining and the sea is blue, there is no place that I would rather be than on my bike in North Holland.

Utrecht

We did a little day trip down to Utrecht last weekend. It’s the fourth largest city in Holland and one of the few that was founded by the Romans back in the first century AD. Our only impressions of the place prior to this visit were from a distance as we sat in the atrocious traffic jams that always seem to plague the area around the city. Unfortunately, Utrecht lies at the apex of four major highways, all of which seem to be under constant construction and must be used if you want to get down to the Ardennes Mountains - a favorite weekend playground of ours.

This time we took the train, which made for a relaxing trip. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with Utrecht. It has a very young and energetic vibe to it. Probably due to the large university that is situated there, but apparently it’s also the hub of the Dutch film industry and we were surprised to see that it was also loaded with theaters and acting schools.

We had a lot of fun exploring the city and after we saw our third Greek restaurant, we figured that it was a local specialty and decided to stop for lunch. A great choice for an outstanding, and authentic Greek meal.

But there are two things that Utrecht is really famous for- the sunken Oudegracht canal, lined with restaurants and shops, and the massive Domtoren. After our experience with the tall tower in Delft, we decided not to climb the Domtoren, but we certainly enjoyed the way that it constantly dominated our views of the city.

Go-Karting

We were happy that the Niederriter family was able to join us last month in Holland for part of their European vacation.

We did some of the regular stuff when they were here…. Anne Frank House, Zaanse Schaans, and of course a drink on a cool day on the Grote Markt. We also had a very memorable night at Frank and Natasja’s house. It started out at 5:30 with a gigantic paella for dinner and ended up eight hours later with karaoke to some unknown 50-Cent rap number. There must have been a few bottles of wine in there somewhere…......I don’t know where else all those f-bombs would have come from ;-)

But the real highlight of their time in Holland was the go-karting. We had been planning this for months in advance and after the Niederitter’s returned to Haarlem from a long haul trip through Belgium and France, the boys were ready for some fun on the speed circuit.

This Go-Kart place was like nothing I’ve ever seen in America. The huge warehouse complex held two serpentine race tracks, complete with bleachers and a large bar and restaurant. There were also plenty of video games and funky 3D reality-rides scattered throughout the place. The closest thing that I can compare it with is a Dave and Busters on steroids….but everything was oriented toward auto racing.

Let me tell you…they take their go-kart racing seriously. When we entered the hall, karts were screaming around the track at speeds that looked more like street racing than a kiddie ride. It was immediately apparent that his was NOT your average karting place found in the beach or mountain resorts in the states.

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After watching one race, the younger riders looked a bit nervous about what they had gotten themselves into.






















Now that the skid suits are on, they are looking a little more confident




















Lined up and ready to roll!



















What? You didn't think that we'd let the kids have ALL the fun, did you?



















This was really a blast! The cars zipped around the track and it was pretty cool skidding into the banked turns. But you know that you are really getting to be an old fart when you start to hope for the ride to end....not because it's scary anymore, but because you are getting motion sick from following the same serpentine course...over and over and over and over and over....

American Holiday

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything. We’ve been traveling for the past two weeks in America with our good friends Frank, Natasja, and Eva. We started in the hustle and bustle of New York, then spent a great evening with Beth's parents in Rehoboth Beach before heading west for the peace and quiet of Mountain Maryland. We finished up with a visit to Pam’s in Washington, DC. It was a great trip by any measure.

New York City – Has it changed? Or did I? This is my third trip to the city and in the past I’ve never felt comfortable there – almost intimidated.


This time was different. Maybe it’s because we’ve been spending more time in places like Paris, Barcelona, and of course Amsterdam, but this time New York almost felt like home. The bright lights and bustle of midtown were exciting....


...but the real pleasure was spending time out in the districts – Greenwich Village, SOHO, Tribeca, Union Square, the Upper West Side and Brooklyn.

West Village – near Beth’s SAP office

West Village bakery. They were lined up around the corner for this one….it must have been good! Reminiscent of the Soup Nazi.

West Village

Doggie playground – Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village

Chess match in Washington Square Park. A bit cliché for a photo, but these guys were definitely for real.

Brooklyn Bridge. I never knew how cool this bridge was. We took a cab over to Brooklyn to visit a boxing school from one of Frank’s friends. The neighborhood was funky, the views gorgeous and the walk back across the bridge outstanding!

Intricate cables on the bridge. It is the Spiderman/Gwen Stacy bridge, right?

We stumbled on to a massive protest around city hall. This dancing troupe was hilarious. It’s not the same in a still photo. You really needed to hear them singing and see them “wagging their missiles”. It was refreshing to see dissent. It made me feel a little bit American for a change.