The Lazy women of my life

Every morning it's the same story. I get up, then Sage joins Beth in bed for more lounging. Notice the cup of hot coffee that was delivered to her bedside. She won't even wake up enough to grab the remote control until that coffee is delivered. It's a rough life! And look how pleased she is that I'm taking the picture...can't wait to see her face when she see's that I've posted this!

Naarden

Hey wait a minute! Haven't we seen this picture before?

After hearing that a German Shorthaired Pointer won the Westminster Dog Show and was named "Best Breed in America", Sage just couldn't resist putting on a pose for the camera.

We did a little day trip over to Naarden last weekend. It's a very cool village about 30 minutes from us. It's ancient double moated, fortifications have now been converted into walking and biking paths. The town itself is very pleasant....a bit "touristy", but it does have a nice medieval feel to it. We'd like to go back with our Kayaks in the summer time because the village sits on the edge of the Ijsselmeer and is surrounded by large swaths of nature reserves.

Beth says that I am now a full blown Euro-snob because I commented that the word "ancient" wasn't really appropriate. Having been built in the 15th century, the town really isn't that old. I guess that I still have Rome on the brain. It has spoiled me. Maybe we'll have to go to Greece next for it to feel old to me again ;-)

I've also included some photos from the web site www.naarden.nl It gives you a perspective of how large the moats and fortifications are that surround the town. And of course we had to walk the entire circuit. Our champion bred dog would tolerate no less.

Cheers!

Ijsbaan

A favorite winter passtime in Holland. They take their skating very seriously. Nearly every city of any size has an Ijsbaan like this one (which is only about 1/2 kilometer from our house). The heart of the sport is further north in Friesland where they have indoor arenas that seat 30,000 people.

Roma!

As we descended into Leonardo Di Vinci Airport, seeing the Tiber River and ruins of the Colosseum framed by snow capped mountains in the distance on one side of the plane and the glistening Mediterranean with its broad sandy beaches on the other, we knew this would be a trip of a lifetime. I am still dumbfounded as I sit and try to capture our visit to Rome in writing. The city, its history, and culture are simply gargantuan.

I won’t try to explain all of the fantastic things that we saw or regurgitate the specifics of a particular place that is well documented in thousands of guidebooks. There were so many sites, ruins, and churches that spanned millenniums of use and reuse as contradictory functions that we didn’t even know what we were looking at half the time. Artifacts and ruins were literally strewn about the city. Intricately carved marble pillars that would make the A-list of most museums were seen overgrown with weeds on the median strip of a large road. Historic buildings were “restored” at the turn of the 14th century and ancient sacred sites were reconsecrated and renamed under Christianity. It was mind boggling to try and keep track of everything.

So, I’ll focus this little description toward a few key highlights of our adventure, and let the rest to the reader’s imagination.

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It didn’t take long to orient ourselves to the layout of the old city center. Our hotel location was perfect; even though the room itself was little more than a closet. We only paid 90 Euro/night…a bargain in high priced Rome. Two blocks to the west of the hotel was Piazza Navona – a large baroque oval plaza built on the foundation of a 1st century Roman arena. It is now adorned by 3 large Bernini fountains and a host of restaurants. Two blocks to the east was The Pantheon- the world famous temple of all gods. If I had to pick a favorite building in Rome, it would be this one. The setting of the temple was sublime, nestled into a small piazza surrounded by more modern buildings (15th and 16th century). The narrow cobbled streets just give you a teasing glimpse of the imposing, yet simple structure. I always made sure that our evening walks home from the local restaurant or pub somehow managed to pass through here. I couldn’t get enough of it.

The historic center of Rome is a tangled maze of narrow cobble stoned streets lined with colorful stucco buildings. At 75% of the intersections of these winding streets is a piazza. Some piazzas are little more than a wider spot in the street that is taken over by parked cars. Others are huge public gathering spots with grandiose fountains and statues surrounded by restaurants and vendors. Most are somewhere in between these two extremes, but all were fun to explore. I was a bit surprised how much we enjoyed all of the fountains. Even the huge, “bus tour route” Trevi Fountain with its throngs of tourists was worth a visit. Bernini also designed this one. The sunken viewing pit with the ancient building as a backdrop made you feel like you were alone with the charging horses and rushing waves. I guess that the water pressure generated from the aqueducts made such fountains possible.
The manipulation of water by the Romans was astounding. We also visited the Baths of Caracalla – built in 246 AD. This was a complete entertainment complex with hot baths, swimming pools, gymnasiums, cool misting rooms and an opera theater. The entire complex was designed to handle 8000 people per day. Huge water tanks built into the walls allowed for the water to be completely controlled on any of the 4 levels of the main building. At 30 meters high (90 feet) they could also get quit a bit of localized pressure to flush the entire baths. We were amazed that they let you walk on the intricate tile work, which was still in place in many of the rooms. The sheer size of this complex, along with the imagined social interactions that must have taken place here over the course of the 300 years it operated, made this one of our favorite ruins to explore.

Back in the city center, we were starting to get comfortable with the odd interaction between motorized vehicle and pedestrian. The traffic in Rome is atrocious. There are plenty of cars and busses clogging up the broader avenues, blatantly disregarding any concept of traffic rules. But scooters are the true rulers of the streets here, much the same way that bicycles rule the streets of Amsterdam. The advantage of a scooter is that you can zip around the very narrow side streets and also weave your way to the head of the pack on the larger main roads. As a pedestrian, they are your sworn enemy. On the back streets they constantly bob and weave through crowds of pedestrians. It took us a while to figure out that in order to cross a street, you simple have to step out into traffic. If you wait for the cars to stop, you will be there all day. When you step into the road, some vehicles actually race their motor in a threatening manner, but if you have a determined composure they will give way. They will come close. Very, very close, but they will stop and let you cross. Once we got the hang of it, it stopped feeling like you were a 10-point target for some maniacal driver every time you stepped off the curb.

At one spot, we think we saw the Italian president…or maybe the pope. Not that we would know either of them if they were seated beside us eating cabernari and drinking red wine. But it must have been someone important. As we walked toward the Roman Forum, we tried to cross a large piazza to ascend the capital steps. Traffic was hopelessly snarled and we had to shimmy our way through the stuck cars. When we reached the source of the clog, armed guards with Uzi’s stopped us from proceeding with a very stern look. Sirens wailed in the distance and a procession of speeding Mercedes with Italian flags raced by. It felt like a motocross when the 20 or 30 scooters that had managed to squeeze to the front of the traffic jam, buzzed out across the circle after the armed guards gave the “all clear” sign.

Free from the chaos of the streets, we climbed the steps to capital hill and admired the view of the city sprawled out in front of us. In the distance we could see the dome of St. Peters Basilica. We milled around the museums on the top of the hill, but the weather was so nice that we decided to cross the piazza and head for the larger ruins on the other side of Capital hill. As we rounded the hill to a viewing point where we hoped to get a glimpse of the colosseum in the distance, both of our jaws dropped in awe.

“Oh my god”, Beth said. I could barely reply and only mustered a faint “Holy shit” at the view that greeted us.

There before us lay the Forum…the heart of political and social life of ancient Rome. It stretched for 2 kilometers in front of us, a mass of buildings, arches, pillars and ruins. To the right and covering the original of the 7 Roman hills were the sprawling ruined palaces of the Palentine – where Remus and Romulus were raised by the she-wolf. And towering over it all in the distance was the colosseum. A massive archeological site that encompassed an area 3 times the size of the capital mall in Washington D.C. All protected from modern intrusion….all available for us to wander through. This view is the picture that I have included in the posting. You have to pick out the people down on the sacred road to get a full appreciation of the scale. It was enormous. We spent the entire day here.

Elsewhere on our sojourns around the city we encountered a huge colony of feral cats that had taken up residence in a small, but remarkably well-preserved set of temple ruins. We stopped counting at 50 the number of cats that we saw prowling the site. The Rome humane society seemed to be caring for them. There were several signs stating that they were well fed and if you wanted to help to please donate to the society for sterilization programs.

We also really enjoyed Castel St. Angelo. It started out as Hadrian’s mausoleum, but a castle and fortifications where built over top of it during the rise of Christianity. It was the only place to withstand the many sackings of Rome during the fall of the empire. The views from the very top of the tower were the best in the city.

Piazza del Popolo, with it’s massive stolen Egyptian Obelisk (when the Romans sacked Egypt) was another favorite.

We still didn’t quite “get” the Italians. Our experience here was much better than our trip to Tuscany 10 years ago, although the food and wine don’t even come close to superb quality found near Florence. But the Italians themselves were just as we remembered. I’m sure that the big city population of Rome, overrun with millions of tourists, is a bit more standoffish, but there is still a lingering sense of unfriendliness about Italians for me. We always presented ourselves as Netherlanders and even conversed in Dutch with an Italian waiter, but I don’t think it has anything to do with nationality. It’s more of a machismo thing…like Spain, or Mexico but more pronounced. As I said, maybe we just don’t get them.

There are too many other sites and experiences to mention. Suffice it say that I would highly recommend Rome. It’s big, crowded, dirty, and expensive. But it’s also one of the most fantastic places that I’ve ever been. All it takes is a little attitude.

Scroll down to the next postings for more pictures.

Piazza Navona

The Colosseum 

The Pantheon

Saint Peters Square - this one's for you mom! 

Cold, but happy. 

City View - enough churches for you? 

Antwerpen

Graffiti Art Park - Some of our European friends would be rolling their eyes that after spending two days in Antwerpen these are the photo's that I decided to post. In truth, Antwerpen is a beautiful city with a great blend of old architecture, cobblestoned streets, and ultra modern office buildings. We had a wonderful time exploring. There were so many restaurants to choose from that we decided to "graze around" and just ate appetizers at 5 different places one evening for dinner.

Of course, Beth and I are always trying our best to get off the beaten path and see how the locals really live. We discovered this little park just south of the historic center....not on any tourist map. It's set in a mix of older buildings and looks like it is actually formed over a demolished building site. It did have grass, but there were many brick foundations scattered about. The city must encourage graffiti here, because every square inch was painted. We spent nearly an hour wandering around the murals and trying to figure out each artists message. Some of this work was incredible! I took a particular interest in the bottom painting. Something about the futility of the snowmen trying to cross the water to be with the woman, and her apparent lack of fear or encouragement hit home for me....Beth - can you explain that one for our readers ? ;-)

Bicky Burger - Antwerpen

I don't know why I'm drawn to these bizzare little window advertisements in Belgium. I get the biggest kick out of trying to figure out why anyone would be more apt to eat here just because a chubby old naked lady looking lasciviously at an overtly phalic bundle of fries is painted on the window. Well, ok. We went in for some fries....so I guess it worked - but that still doesn't explain the psychology of it all.

What a Life!

Beth was traveling to Seattle for work this weekend, so I thought that I'd head into Amsterdam for some fun on my own. Did I hit a few coffeeshops and then saunter through the red-light district? I have no recollection of that and to the best of my knowledge no evidence to the contrary exists. However, I do remember exploring some of the islands and ports scattered around the city and I have the pictures to prove it. These cargo barges, which were docked in the inner harbor, fascinated me. They double as a house boat, complete with car and motor boat. You can see the crane that will lift either mode of smaller transportation off the main boat so that the owners can get out and explore their port-of-call. This particular barge looked like it had some very cozy living quarters decked out with plants and cats in the curtained windows. And keep in mind, those are full size, trans-continental shipping containers that he's carrying....it's quite a load. I'd guess it's a lucrative business by the number and quality of these rigs that I saw. And I bet it's one hell of an interesting life hauling stuff around the world in a self contained house, dropping into exotic ports. The bottom picture shows the beautiful inner harbor of Amsterdam, beckoning the owners of the barge to come on in and stay a while!

Herman Renz Circus

A classic traveling circus, this little troupe arrives each year in Haarlem for the holidays. Beth and I had never been to a circus before and we were intrigued by the old-fashion style show, the small, intimate venue, and the local holiday tradition. However, our experiences with the Idaho Stampede Rodeo back in Boise had us a bit nervous about going to see performing animals...not exactly our taste in entertainment. But after talking with some of the locals and doing a little background checking on the internet, we decided to give it a go. So, we borrowed a friend's 11 year old daughter and went to the evening show last Monday.

Once the lights went down and the ringmaster entered the big-top, we were in for a brilliant, fast-paced show that kept a smile on our face for most of the 2 1/2 hours. The performers were outstanding and exhibited some great (and bizarre) talents. Their knack for showmanship belied their well rehearsed routines. A pair of clowns (of course 1 was a midget) kept the action moving as the crew cleaned/setup between each act. Some of the strong-men and gymnast sets were really well done. And only in Holland can one see a Russian babe in a studded leather g-string gyrating on the flying trapeze to entertain the "kiddies".

The dogs, horses, goats, and chickens (yes, chickens) loved performing. They went into the ring with gusto and really appeared to be enjoying themselves. On the other hand, the lions and elephants seemed a little bored with the whole ordeal. The only animals that outright did not like being there were the house cats. They hissed at the trainer before they would do a trick. Once the trick was over, they jumped back into the carnival cart and seemed to be much more content watching the action from the sidelines.

An excellent light and water shows were the only high-tech additions, but when these were synchronized with the live orchestra it all came together with a lot of old world charm.

We'll adopt this as one of our own new Christmas traditions

Holland Holidays

Our first holiday season in Holland was starting to feel a bit grim. Since moving here in August, we always knew that the fall would be the toughest time of year for us. Back home in the Appalachian mountains of the Eastern United States the crisp fall air, brilliant changing leaf colors and smell of spiced rum in the apple press all portend the start of the holiday season. This is the traditional time of year when Americans gather to celebrate with family and friends.

In Holland, fall is a rather dismal time of year as far as the weather goes. Starting in October the jet stream shifts and brings endless waves of clouds and dampness to Northern Europe. There is nothing “crisp” about the daily fog and drizzle and a steady northerly wind cuts sharply through however many layers of clothes we manage to squeeze into. Worst of all, there are no traditional gatherings to look forward to. No Halloween. No Thanksgiving. No deer hunting.

Little did we know the surprises that our adoptive country had up her sleeves for us. It turns out that the Dutch love their holidays and they seem to be able to pull one out of thin air just when you need it the most.

Here in North Holland the holiday season starts with Saint Martin’s day. We began catching wind of this little gem one day in Mid-October in the dog park across the street. There is a really comical older lady with two pugs (Boris and Snitzel) who doesn’t speak much English. Oddly enough, everyone else at the park also complains about her Dutch….they say her thick Amsterdam accent makes it hard to understand her. Remember, Amsterdam is only 15 kilometers away from Haarlem so we’re not talking about remote linguistic relationships or anything. 15 stinking kilometers. I guess it’s like someone from a “blue state” trying to understand someone from a “red state”…never mind, bad example.

Anyhow, this lady took a quick liking to Beth and I. She is a real hoot to talk with even though we can barely understand a word she says. The only reason that we understand anything at all is because she uses her whole body to talk. And she is a “poker”. Every point that she makes comes with a “Ja”. And every “Ja” comes with a poke…and believe me, she always has a lot of points to make. Well one day, she started singing songs to us, in a very childish character voice, to try to get us to understand that Saint Martin’s day was approaching and that we should “prepare” for the festivities.

So I turned to the Internet for a coherent explanation, because she had Beth and I somewhat worried about going into this holiday “unprepared”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a lot of background information on Saint Martin. Apparently he was a pretty cool dude who lived back in the 10 century. One dark night he found himself almost starving to death with only a loaf of bread and a lantern to his name. Along came a beggar in worse shape than he and good old Martin gave the beggar half his loaf of bread and led him back to a church with his lantern. I think the “church” part is what got him the saint title.

Anyhow, 500 years later this event translated into a holiday in The Netherlands.

The tradition goes something like this: Little kids make plastic and paper lanterns at their schools. On Saint Martin’s evening (November 11) they walk around the neighborhood with candles in their lanterns playing the very appropriate role of “beggars”. As a homeowner, if you want to participate in the evening’s festivities, then you put out your own lantern on the front stoop. Having a lantern at a house gives the kids permission to ring your doorbell. You then open the door and stand there while they sing you some really funky singsong tunes. Naturally, all we could understand was the occasional “Sinta Maartin”, but when they finish singing, everyone claps and you give them a loaf of bread. Of course the modern version of “loaf of bread” is candy….lots of candy. We went through 4 bags.

This was actually a pretty cool holiday. The neighborhood was crawling with kids and families. There were more people out that night than I remember even in the best years back in Greensburg as a beggar kid myself. Laughter and singing filled the streets; and Beth, Sage and I had a great time listening to the same wacky songs over and over and over again late into the evening. The older kids (12) got the additional pleasure of burning their lanterns as they went running through the streets all hopped up on sugar, screaming and throwing molten plastic at each other. Now THAT is good fun.

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The next big holiday of the season is Sinter Claus. It starts almost immediately after Saint Martin’s day. Sometime around November 15th Sinter Claus comes to Holland from Spain (go figure). This being a seafaring nation, naturally he arrives by boat. It’s somewhat reminiscent of George Washington crossing the Delaware when he lands standing on the bow of a long rowboat. The festival starts with a big party at his landing at which time he switches modes of transportation to a horse and starts his journeys throughout The Netherlands. They don’t wind this one down until December 5th.

Sinter Claus himself is a saintly looking old guy, all decked out like the pope in a cheap Wal-Mart Santa Clause outfit. Or maybe it’s more like Santa Clause in a cheap Wal-Mart pope outfit. Either way he carries a long staff and brings with him “Zwarte Piet” - Black Pete. Black Pete is sometimes referred to as a Moorish Elf and sometimes, by those few less politically correct Hollanders, as SinterClaus’s slave.

Sinter Claus does all the “judging” stuff that comes standard with a religiously based holiday. You know, the typical naughty and nice routine. The kids put out their shoes each night and if they were good they find a small present or candy in it in the morning. However, if they were bad, they have much more to worry about than a simple lump of coal in their shoe. No, no, no. Their fate is much darker over here. A little kid that is deemed less than cherubic awakens to Zwarte Piet stuffing them into a burlap sack! He loads the nasty little buggers up and hauls them off to Spain! Fate unknown.

You have to reflect on the historical context of Europe to really understand this tradition. Spain brutally occupied large parts of Holland for several hundred years. Being dragged off by Zwarte Piet was a realistic punishment 500 years ago…and one that was not a pleasant thought for the little kids. Of course, over the past 499 years this has all been watered down and now Zwarte Piet is a smiling, overdone black faced minstrel-show character. Seriously. You should see this guy. As an American it’s actually kind of “cliché” to even talk about him. Just do a google search on “Zwarte Piet” and you’ll see what I mean. It’s an endless source of fascination for us foreigners, but it’s a perfectly natural caricature for them here. Zwarte Piet is always a white person, with black face paint, bright red lipstick, and a wild 60’s style afro wig. Even the children dress this way for Sinter Claus. I still laugh when I see it. It would cause “nights-o-fire” if someone walked down the street painted up like this in Detroit (or Dover for that matter).

Anyhow, from Mid-November until December 4, the kids put out their shoes each night and Zwarte Piet comes by and puts treats in them - because just like everywhere else in the world, Dutch children can do no wrong and are always little angels in the eyes of their parents. Finally, after many days of festivities, on December 5th Sinter Claus shows up and every kid gets a bunch of presents. And when I say, “shows up”, I mean literally “shows up”. I saw no fewer then 5 SinterClaus’s walking around various neighborhoods (with Zwarte Piet’s in tow) going house to house to visit with the children. He never carried a sack of presents so I guess it was just reassurance that the kids wouldn’t be sold into a life as a black slave down in Spain. Each neighborhood must pick a person to be Sinter Claus to do the rounds that year. I can just picture a group of nervous adults hovering around in a circle with an old geezer tapping each out-stretched fist as he chants “auka bauka stona crocka auka bauka boo, in goes Sinter Claus and out goes Y-O-U”.


The next holiday is Christmas. The real Christmas. December 25 and this one is for the adults (09061750). I was beginning to wonder if they celebrated this holiday at all since there were very few decorations up and everything seemed geared toward Sinter Claus. When I finally asked someone about it I uncovered a prime example of Dutch culture and how ambidextrous it can be at times. Ok, we all know that The Netherlands is one of the most liberal places on the planet, right? They smoke pot, they allow prostitution, they support gay marriage, and they generally have a very refreshing “live and let live” attitude toward their (and your own) existence on the planet. Then come the “rules”. These are those odd little codifications that just don’t seem to fit in Holland. Get this - It is ILLEGAL to sell Christmas trees or decorate the streets for Christmas until December 6th. They impose this restriction to protect their own unique cultural celebration of Sinter Claus and not water it down with western commercialization of Santa Claus. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think it’s pretty cool to limit the commercialization. But isn’t it kind of bizarre for such a liberal place to legislate the selling and placement of holiday ornaments? ….and not marijuana ?

Hmmmm……

Anyhow, here we are on December 12 and Christmas in Holland is in full gear now. Today was KerstMarktdag in Haarlem – the opening of the Christmas market. The main square was filled with vendors and echoed with the voices of a choir singing in Saint Bavo’s church, which was electronically amplified around the city. For those few nooks and crannies too far from the square for the music to reach, bands of singing carolers decked out in full period-costumes prodded a festive smile out of even the greenest of grinches. Hot mulled wine complimented with a soft puffy tart sold for a single Euro and helped to take the edge off of the chilly afternoon.

I know that several of you reading this are somewhat grinches yourselves. You’ve been tainted by the commercialism of “forced” gift buying. Or you’ve become hostile toward the secular evolution of December 25. The Christmas of “others” no longer carries a meaning or relevancy for you and you don’t like what it has become in the modern world. It’s a holiday celebration that is best enjoyed in your distant past.

For you, I wish that you could experience what Beth and I did today as we walked through the medieval cobble stoned alleys of Haarlem. The streets sang with laughter and the pubs and café’s overflowed with merry makers. The sights and sounds of Christmas were everywhere. And I hope that if you had experienced what we did today that it would have made Christmas yours again. That it would have planted a smile squarely on your face and put fluttering wings to your soul – just like you remembered as a kid.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

The next two postings are also pictures of Sinter Clause (Zwarte Piet) and Christmas in Haarlem.

KerstMarktDag

Christmas Market on the square.

Zwarte Piet

The Moorish elf.

"Castleing"

Can the word "Castle" really be converted to a verb?

Sage and I went to hit a few of the local castles today. The castles in this part of Holland are primarily fortified houses/manors – nothing like what you see in France or Germany. These were simply large private landholders who had the means to build such fortifications and staff them with small private armies. From what we can gather, there was also some protection provided for the local villagers, but it was very limited.

We started out at Broederode Ruins in Santport Noord, just a few minutes drive from Haarlem. It is also strategically located on the way to one of Sages favorite dog parks so we were able to begin with an hour romp in the woods. This particular castle was sacked by the Spanish in the 14th century and it was never rebuilt. They have stabilized the ruins and now allow visitors to walk the grounds, climb the towers and generally explore all the different areas of the fortification. The main hall has been somewhat restored and the locals have evening fires and ghost tales by candlelight. I’ve also been told that they hold an annual Shakespeare event that has the actors and audience throughout the grounds….but we haven’t seen anything official about it yet.

We then drove a bit further north, under the North Sea Canal, and into the town of Heemskerk. This town has a castle from the 15th century, but it has been added onto over the years and is still used today as a venue for weddings and parties. Unfortunately, it was in use today so we couldn’t get onto the grounds for a closer look or historical overview.

The last picture is of Bruge, Belgium. There was room in the photo compilation for one more and thought this was a good one. I can still hear the “clomping” of the horse draw carriage echoing off the wet cobblestone.

Finally - any feedback on the photo compilations? Can you see them or are they too small?

Punctuating the move!

Dutch plates on the car are the final step in our move to the Netherlands. We now have all the trappings of local Dutch folk and can start to explore further afield, including a driving trip to a x-country skiing mecca over in Germany. By the way, the car is intentionally up on the curb. The streets in our neighborhood are pretty narrow and since the sidewalks are wide, most people pull up on to the curb to give enough room for other cars to get by.

Belgium

We spent the weekend in Brussels and did a day trip out to Brugge. Brussels was pretty nice...in my mind it was "just another big city", but there were a few highlights. The new EU parliment building was very impressive and the war museum was the best I've ever seen...although they did not have a Stuka...bummer.

Brugge was outstanding. It's a fully intact medevial town loaded with canals and cool nooks and crannies to explore. It's been a UNESCO world heritage site since 2000. Beth and I have hit a few places on the world heritage list now and have been very impressed. I think we'll start using it as a basis for future travels.

However, rather than just post pictures of monuments, museums and Euro scenery we thought you'd enjoy this little compilation. The first one is the world famous Mannekin Pis statue in Brussels....a bit cliche, but we thought that the Christmas outfit was hilarious. We missed them loading the fountain with beer by a week...a once annual event where the boy pee's beer.

The second picture is again from Brussels. Jesus Paradise Cafe - Peace, Love & Food Cocktail Bar. Now there is a religion I can deal with....only they ought to move it to Amsterdam and convert it to a coffeeshop!

Finally, some serious news upon our return to Haarlem. Mac, the little one year old beagle that was Sage's best friend in Zannenpark was killed by a car on Friday evening. It happened at the same park and at our usual 7:00 pm meeting time. Several dogs were playing in the hedgerow and Mac spotted something across the street. He bolted in front of a car before anyone noticed. Inclusief ga mogen u rust in vrede.