Witnessing Unique Moments in Aachen....

I’m clearly not a professional photographer, but
occasionally I do happen upon a unique moment and try to capture it. The statues above were on the edge of a small fountain along with a few statues that the girls posed with. The photos of the girls were cute, but this one was more interesting to me since this gentleman was actually having a conversation with this “lady.” It was if the statues were begging and he was giving the woman some coins. This other moment happened just after a bridal party emerged from the city hall. For some strange reason, the groom and one of his buddies were sharing a wiener. At least they picked the right stall to stand in front of considering the sign. Best of luck to the bride!

Sightseeing in Aachen...

When I registered for the Aachen trip, I'd obviously forgotten that I’d sworn off bus tours. I figured we’d have much of the day there. Silly me! By the time that slow bus made its way down there, we had just four hours in town. We had just enough time to zoom through the 14th century city hall and the 8th century cathedral before grabbing a quick lunch. This Palantine Chapel, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, is truly beautiful with the most amazing mosaic ceilings unlike any we’ve ever seen in a Catholic church. While it was obvious that all the stained glass in the churches throughout Aachen were modern due to the Allied bombings during WWII, it’s great that these historic buildings still stand.

Christmas Markets...

We were excited when Darlene invited us to join her and Mike at a Country Christmas Fair at a castle outside of Utrecht. Of course, there wouldn’t be room in the car for all of us, so Jimmy cycled the 37 miles (just one way, though, as he took the train back). Unfortunately, there weren’t any English tours of the castle, so we'll have to go back to see the inside. However, the setting was lovely and there were lots of nice booths to look through. One of the shopkeepers got a laugh when the girls each bought a rather sophisticated satin pillow for their beds.
For years, we’ve heard about the fabulous Christmas Markets in Germany, but hadn’t managed to get to one. We were able to get last minute spots on a bus trip down to Aachen, just across the border. We enjoyed eating hot latkes and buying some traditional German decorations, but didn’t think it lived up to all the hype.

Our Mixed-Up Holidays...

Despite not being Dutch, Sinterklaas is nice enough to visit our house as part of his birthday celebration on December 5th. Technically, it’s actually his Zwarte Piets that come down the chimney, toss kruidnoten about, and leave a chocolate letter and a small gift in the girls’ wooden clogs.
This year we got a little creative with interpreting the calendar; that is, we ignored the fact that Hanukkah doesn’t start until December 21st and moved it up two weeks (you know we’ve never been very good at following schedules). Here we are about to dig into a giant plate of latkes (potato pancakes) that Jimmy made using a recipe from Irregardless, his favorite restaurant in Raleigh. The Lizano and ketchup were for the chicken; we stuck with applesauce and sour cream for the latkes. Here’s hoping you enjoy whatever holidays you might celebrate and have a wonderful New Year!

Our Christmas Tree...

The girls were very excited about having their daddy home to help decorate the Christmas tree. Putting the top on was definitely more fun for Ashlynn this year. It also helped cheer everyone up after we found out that due to a date mix-up, we missed the company Sinterklaas party where Jimmy and Veronica were supposed to dress up as Zwarte Piets. I didn’t feel as guilty this year about our fake tree since it made the girls so happy.

Thanksgiving in Holland...

No surprise, but Thanksgiving isn’t a Dutch holiday. It’s just another school and work day here, but there’s one special event, a Thanksgiving service at the Pieterskerk in Leiden. The multi-denomiational service featured some great gospel singers, a surprisingly liberal priest, a Protestant minister, an evangelical preacher and a rabbi. This church has a tie to the pilgrims since John Robinson, the pastor for the pilgrims while they lived in Leiden from 1609-1620, is buried there. That evening we had falafels for dinner, but did get to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast over the weekend at our British friend’s who had lived in the US for two years.

Typical Ending to a Nontypical Day...

Jimmy had fun taking photos of how we travel around Holland and in particular how we got home from the Sinterklaas Parade in Amsterdam. Above you see us waiting for the train to head out. We like these nice intercity trains because they have comfortable seats and a table.
After a 50-minute journey, it was time to hop on our bikes for a 15-minute cycle home. You might notice that we don’t make Veronica wear a helmet. Yes, it is irresponsible, but it’s the norm when commuting on protected bike paths. Although Dutch kids Ashlynn’s age also don't wear helmets, until her judgment improves, she’ll continue to protect her noggin.

A Parade of Zwarte Piets...

Since we were near the end of the route for Sinterklaas’ boat, we didn’t have far to go to watch the parade. For 30 minutes we watched Dutch men and women in colorful costumes and blackened faces go by skating, riding unicycles, playing instruments or cycling. All the kids in the crowd especially loved when they handed out candy and kruidnotens (small gingerbread cookies) along the way. The finale was Sinterklaas riding a white horse. And the funniest moment was when this poor Zwarte Piet lost his trousers. Jimmy and Veronica were supposed to be Zwarte Piets at his company Sinterklaas party, but there was a mix-up with the dates and we’re bummed that we missed it.

Sinterklaas’ Arrival...

Since we missed the arrival of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet in Den Haag, we decided to head up to Amsterdam to see what happens in the big city. We arrived in time to see the boat from Spain going down the final canal heading towards the bandstand. As you can see, the canals were fully lined with people; rumors have it that there were 300,000 people along either the canals or the parade route. The girls watched from under this drawbridge for a unique view.

An After-Hours Unaccompanied Tour...

I must admi,t I was a bit skeptical when I found out that the Marine Corps Ball was taking place at the miniatures park Madurodam. I was especially skeptical since the restaurant normally serves mediocre chicken nuggets and fries. I was pleasantly surprised when we stepped through the entrance and the area normally selling postcards and kitsch had been transformed into a ball room. The food and service were also excellent, but the best part was being allowed to wander the miniatures park after dark on our own. Granted, I clearly stepped over the line with the above photo, but I just couldn’t resist.

Our First Marine Corps Ball...

I must confess that I’m drawn to a man in uniform. When Marine Corps Sgt. Justin came in a suit to the American Women’s Club to sell tickets to the upcoming ball, I considering buying some. But when I saw him dressed as Uncle Sam at the Election Breakfast, I just couldn’t resist. The event was to celebrate the Marine’s 233rd birthday and started with cutting the cake with a sword and speeches by the senior Marine present and the U.S. Ambassador. There was a very somber moment as a table set for fallen Marines was described, but otherwise the atmosphere was very light hearted. Dinner was delicious and the wine flowed until after midnight. We had a great time dancing some swing and chatting with a variety of folks.

Our Most Valuable Player...

It’s no secret that I’m very selfish about our weekends and don’t want our schedule dictated by sporting events (other than the hash, of course.) Jimmy and I are also not competitive, so we’ve never pushed the girls to try organized sports. We were happy, though, when Veronica chose a sport that will come in very handy in college, Ultimate Frisbee. Her coach is on the Dutch National Team and took a group of kids to the first Dutch Junior Championships to compete with Dutch, Belgian and other international schools. They lucked out with a beautiful sunny day, and her team, in gray above, came in 2nd in the under 14-year-old division.
We were sad not to be there to see Veronica win the Most Valuable Player award for the under 14’s. Appropriately, her prize was a new Frisbee.

In the Spotlight...

When my friend Susanne asked if we would mind being interviewed for Dutch TV (a reporter had asked her if she knew any Obama fans), I assumed we’d answer a few questions and be on our way. So it came as a surprise when Arbel called and asked if he could meet us in our hotel room at 3:45am and then stayed with us for about 2 hours as we went to the election breakfast to witness Obama’s victory. Thankfully he cut out many of the truly stupid things I said and we were pleased with the finished video. Click here to check it out (warning: it lasts the 1st 5 min of the 9 min shown on the clip, but if you’re patient, we are shown multiple times.)
I had no idea when I asked friends who were visiting D.C. to pick up some Obama shirts for us that they would attract so much attention. In addition to the interview with Arbel of TVWest, we were asked for quotes by several other networks (click here to watch a short clip) and newspapers. Having our 15-minutes of fame will definitely make this historical morning even more memorable for us.

Who’s the President Breakfast...

It felt strange being outside of America for such a historic election. We’d plenty of chances to talk politics over here, but somehow it wasn’t the same. We knew we didn’t just want to watch the election results by ourselves, so we were happy to sign up for an election breakfast at the famous Kurhaus in Scheveningen. Since it started at 5am, we decided to splurge and spend the night at the hotel rather than trek across town so early. That way we could stay up all night and watch the returns in style while the girls spent the night with friends. There was something quite magical about watching McCain’s concession and Obama’s acceptance speeches on a giant screen in a ballroom built in 1885 decorated with US flags. Many of the 1,200 other people attending (the majority of which were Dutch) actually missed the big announcement since it was made at 5am, but it was clear throughout the morning that most were very happy that Obama won.