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.