Eastern Adventures

Although I was and am disappointed about not being at home for the Holidays, sticking around this part of the world has its advantages as well. We don't have to deal with airports, lots of jet lag in a short amount of time, and expensive plane tickets. Instead, we have traveled Eastward to visit Naomi's mom (Alies) and a couple of our German friends in Essen. Tomorrow we will head back to Rotterdam to finish a few projects, start a few new ones, and get some much needed relaxation before the teaching begins again.

Our journey started out nicely. We stopped in Utrecht for a Christmas service at the church were Naomi used to go. The building is about 800 years old and has a lot of character. The people seem quite nice and down to earth. The minister was even wearing a piece of history - a robe from the Middle Ages. In the end, the shocking price of 15 Euros to keep our things in a locker at the train station, was worth it.

Christmas service at the Geertekerk in Utrecht.

We arrived in Almelo and Alies took us to a Christmas concert in the town's big church. The choir was travelling all around the country. After driving circles around the center of town, we eventually found a place to park and made it just before the show started. After this we spent a few relaxing days in Goor. We really enjoyed breathing in the clean, fresh air during our many walks that exists outside the smoggy region where we live. It was also fun to give Alies a massaging chair. Hopefully it helps with some of her back pain.

Christmas service at the Grote Kerk in Almelo.

Trying out the new massage chair.

Preparing for Christmas Dinner.

The train connections to Essen were a bit rough. The trip would take an hour and a half by car, but it took 4.5 hours by train. We had to take six different trains! The long trip, along with the fact that we were having such a nice time with our friends, persuaded us to stay for an extra day. It was well worth it, because we were able to see Cologne...and Essen doesn't have too much to offer.

Cologne is a little more than an hour away by train. The ride consisted mostly of industrial buildings, but as soon as we crossed the Rhine we found ourselves in the city center. Upon walking out of the station, our beings were dominated by a massive Gothic Cathedral. It was started in 1248 but wasn't finished until 1880. The spire stretches for nearly 160 meters (515 feet) above the ground. It is Germany's most popular landmark and attracts on average 20,000 visitors per day. We wanted to climb it but ended up arriving just as they were locking the doors for the day. Bummer. We also saw an old Roman city gateway next to the Cathedral along with a replica of one of the spire-tops whose size was quite hard to believe.

Cologne Cathedral.

This monument is a replica of the top of the spires - the size is hard to imagine - find the real thing on the previous picture.

Roman archway from the ancient city wall.

Inside was no less impressive - the windows were beautiful, but after 70 bombs hit the Cathedral during WWII, not all were original. Amazing that the structure withstood such a beating.

After spending some time inside this impressive structure, we found a nice little German restaurant that offered some great food. Oven dishes were their specialty for good reason. I also tried to local beer which gets made fun of for its bland flavor and effeminate glasses. After teaching our German friends the German game of Euchre, we did a small bit of shopping and went down to inspect the Rhine. It was quite a few meters above normal. We had previously seen plenty flooding from the train.

The local brew.

The sight was impressive. If the river rose one extra meter, they were going to shut down the old city along the banks. Some flood walls were already in place. Tour boats were stuck in place because they could not get under the bridges. It will be interesting to see if it gets much worse in the coming days...but the persistant clouds and rain don't seem to be diminishing any time soon.

Steps down to the original waterfront.

Only one meter to go...

Trapped by the bridges.

After another nice dinner and a movie, we got some rest and spent our last morning with our German friends. Then, after nearly 5 hours of travelling, we arrived back in Goor. After a quick snack we hopped in the car to go buy the video recorder that Alies needed our help setting up. We had done all the research already, but were quite disappointed to find out that the store was out of stock. Strange, as this was the only such machine they sold, and as such, it didn't seem to be very popular.

The next morning (this morning) we took Alies to a nearby Church. She has been having a rough time with her health lately and we figured a Church community could do a lot of good. She enjoyed it at we hope she will continue to go. The rest of the day was relaxing, albiet quite stormy, and tomorrow we are really looking forward to coming home.

Cologne's waterfront at night.

One last look on the way back to the train.

Happy End of the World

I am guessing culture is a bit similar in the States, but here there are Axe commercials on TV about building another Noah's ark and their 2012 body spray, jokes about weather forecasts, and lots of talk about whether or not the World will End. Yesterday has come and gone; we are still here. Not sure what the future holds as this does seem to be the end of the age: exponential population growth, climate change, information explosion, technological growth, a declining West, democracy changing from a political vote to a dollar vote, struggling educational systems, the list goes on. There have been plenty of interesting conversations floating around about these topics lately.

The last one we had last night at our staff end of the year party. We went to SnowWorld - an indoor ski hill. Strange. I guess this is what you do when you live in a country without hills or more than a dusting of snow - full of people who like to ski and snowboard. Trips to France and Austria are long and expensive.

The slopes themselves were, of course, small and crowded. Strange snowboarding indoors. I thought our one-hour time limit would be far too short, but then it turned out to be quite enough. I am used to spending a whole day exploring the different runs a real ski hill has to offer. There isn't much exploring to be done at this place, but it was quite enjoyable to ride for awhile. Afterwards we had drinks and Fondue. It was a bad impersonation of the Swiss tradition - everyone smelled like oil afterward.

Earlier this week I made my first trip to a Dutch dentist. I guess we are spoiled in Escanaba. Here they were quite quick and rough. They scraped away the plaque and then spent about 30 seconds polishing most of my teeth, and instead of the standard mouth rinse, I had a cup with a tiny bit of water inside it that I used, to my shock, for spitting out all the bloody chunks left in my mouth. I guess that showed why it hurt so much. At least I didn't have any cavities.

My conversation with the school director also took place this week. We talked (mostly I listened) for about and hour and a half. The outcome was positive: I do need to change a few things about my teaching, but they are not trying to get rid of me. If there is a job available at a different school in the school group, they would support my transfer. Nice to have potential options.

Amazing to finally be on Christmas vacation! We will head to Naomi's mom's house for about a week, and also spend a couple days with friends in Essen, Germany. Maybe after this, if we have energy, we will spend a few days in Paris. The break is much needed - for just about everyone at school.

Moving On?

I had an unsettling conversation with my team leader this week. I expected the meeting to be about some low grades in a few of the classes I am teaching, which it was, but she went on further to say that it looks like I am struggling too much and should start looking for a new job. This I found very strange. I am struggling with 3 out of 10 of my classes - the same three that many other colleagues struggle with. Everything else seems to go pretty well, and this is quite impressive given that this is my second year of teaching at the most difficult level in the Dutch education system, in English, with very little support. In my mind, I am doing pretty well - hopefully I can convince the school director of this in the next few days, as I would like to leave on my terms without winding up jobless.

On the upside, we had a sports day on Friday for the first year students (the six classes I do well with - the second years are the problem) and they played basketball for the whole day. I was impressed. I shot around a bit and apparently I am a super-star. They were cheering for me and rather blown away by my skills. This was fun to experience. Some day I might like to coach a basketball team...

On Friday night we had our monthly movie night. Arjen and I got soaked on the ride home from school. He didn't bring any rain gear so he punched a couple holes in plastic bags. This helped a little, but mostly was just funny to watch. A couple other colleagues joined us and we watched Intouchables, a very good French movie that came out recently. Yesterday was a recovery day, and today we are getting a bit of relaxation in before the final push - one week to go!

Depressing Days

It is almost 11 in the morning, all the curtains are open, and we need to turn on the lamps. Low, dark clouds race by obscuring a lighter grey sky. The cheery dusting of snow was washed away by last night's rain. The wind pushes the plastic that covers our windows in and out as if they are giant, breathing soap bubbles. A pent up melange of energy and exhaustion will soon find a release as we push ourselves to the gym. After warming our muscles with some exercise the sun lamps should return a small bit of healthy glow to our complexions. Today is just the day to plan a Mediterranean Holiday.

Last weekend we had quite a nice time in Delft. The war museum there is closing, so they were offering free entry. They had quite the collection of ancient instruments of Death. Everything from ornately carved cannons to quad-barreled pistols to gas masks. Interesting to see European history from this perspective. We could have spent quite some more time there, but we had a dinner engagement at a Tapas restaurant. Very tasty.

Naomi didn't work too much this week as the Mono has been keeping her down. I will get my blood test results on Monday. Two weeks left and it will be Christmas Break! We are planning a few local trips - to the East Side of the NL and to Essen, Germany. Maybe even to Paris. We shall see how much energy is left...

The central square...finally with sunshine!

Typical street in the old city.

Dusk...around 5.

A smallish cannon.

The gun room.

Tapas.

Finally Home

It really feels like we are finally settling in. Naomi cleaned out the guest room and that was pretty much the last room that really needed some work. We set up the tanning light in there in hopes that it might combat some seasonal mood swings. We are finally able to start some projects that are more for fun, like putting together pictures in frames, Naomi with her sewing, and a secret project we just started. The house just feels bigger now. Next weekend we will get some cleaning done and things will really be in shape.

The freezer is full again! Last night we put together a whole pile of Enchiladas, and wow, are they tasty! It was a bit of a project, but the result was well worth the effort. Now we have about 7 tasty meals just waiting to be heated up. Someday we will need a bigger freezer...

School continues to be quite rough. They say November is the most difficult month of the year, and I sure hope that is true. Most teachers are running on survival mode, and Naomi is down for the count. She has Mono and is not continuing with her full schedule. She should resume after the Christmas holiday, but we are not sure what changes she will make until then. I have many of the symptoms, so I should probably get tested too.

On Friday the students put together a nice market at school to raise money to fight AIDS. They did a good job with it and it is fun to see them shine in a different atmosphere. After that we went out to dinner with a total of 8 colleagues. It was a Turkish place downtown and we had a really enjoyable time. Didn't get home until after midnight though - and this made Saturday quite difficult for Naomi in particular. Today we will meet a couple colleagues in Delft for a day at the museum. Hopefully things will stabilize further this coming week...

Sick Week

We were finally able to go to the gym today for the first time in two weeks. Last weekend we were too sick to make it. Monday I only had two lesson so I struggled though it. Tuesday I didn't have any lessons, but a conference in Utrecht and a dinner with friends. On Wednesday and Thursday things caught up with me and I stayed home from school. Naomi stayed home on Thursday as well, and she was worse off then me: not the cough and runny nose that I had, but pure exhaustion.

Friday we went back to school and I made it through 8 lessons. The first year students are getting busier and less manageable. This is a bummer. Friday night we had three colleagues over for dinner and the burritos were delicious  We had a great time. A couple more joined us for a movie - we watched Colombiana. We schedule one of these 'Movie Club' nights every month and this one was a great success.

This weekend was much more relaxed because we were able to take care of a few things on Wednesday and Thursday. The rest of the afternoon holds a rehabilitation of our guest room and the cooking of a tasty stew. Perhaps we will write down our recipie and kick off the cookbook we will make some day with it. Our American friend Tyson will join us for dinner. Should be an enjoyable remainder of the weekend.

Birthday Week

On Wednesday I turned 27. People at work were a bit surprised that I was under 30...I guess I make them feel old. Tuesday was a long day. We had a prospective parent workshop so I had to help out with that. This meant a 14 hour day of work. The day after I was feeling a bit sick. Naomi was a little disappointed about this because she had reserved for dinner at a fancy place. As it turns out, the lady phoned to say that she had no more reservations for the evening and didn't want us to feel uncomfortable being the only ones eating. We postponed for the weekend (yesterday) and she set us up with a deal where four of us could eat for the same price as two. This worked out quite nicely as Naomi's Dad and significant other were planning to visit.

Fast forward to Saturday - we barely had time to pick up some nice bike bags for Naomi's bike (so I don't have to haul her stuff around anymore) and our guests arrived. We had a nice lunch and afterward Naomi arranged a little excursion for the four of us. We visited the SS Rotterdam, a cruise ship built in 1957 for the Holland-America line that hauled about 2000 tourists or immigrants at a time. Its regular route was from Rotterdam to NYC but it was retired to a dock in the city center about 15 years ago. It needed an estimated few million Euros worth of renovation, and as the city owned the boat, agreed to foot the bill. The project became a bit scandalous as the costs mushroomed toward the 200 million mark and just recently the city sold the boat to a big hotel chain for a mere 20 or 30 million Euros. Quite the loss. The tour was interesting though. Amazing that they could carry enough stuff to keep 2000 people fed and entertained for 80 days at sea.

Our dinner turned out to be quite nice. A five course meal. We spent about 3 hours at our table. After that it didn't take long to find the bed as I was feeling sick still. Today was much worse as far as my cold goes. It is turning into something real now. Luckily I was able to relax for much of the day, so hopefully I will be able to make it to school tomorrow.

The amazing cranberry cheesecake that Naomi made for my Birthday.

The SS Rotterdam from the boarding gangway.

Sinterklaas arrived with his 'Black Piets'...long story.

Downtown Rotterdam in the mist.

From the edge of the bridge.

The steering wheel that lacks all imagination.

Captain's Quarters.

Smoke stacks.

Dessert...mmmmmmm.

 

Breaking Down

This week has been one of things breaking. At school, my adapter that allows me to use my laptop with a projector finally completely broke. It has been showing funny colors for the past month, so a few weeks ago I put in an order for a new one. Several times a week I would check on this order with no progress. The new adapter has still not arrived, so I asked for a whole new computer. I was asked to bring it back at the end of the day, and had a long discussion about how this would not happen because I use it for every lesson. I said I would return it when I got my adapter. This should move the order along - unfortunately this seems to be one of the few ways to make anything happen - collateral of some kind or another. This week I will take a shot at some new tactics for solving problems at school...quite the political dilemma...

At home, we woke up to a cold house. After an hour of troubleshooting in the attic, we finally determined it was our new, expensive thermostat and not the hot water heater that was acting up. At least we found a temporary way to solve the problem.

On the ride home last night, we noticed my bike light has stopped working. This is an essential component of transportation at this time of the year, when we ride to and from school in the dark. The troublesome thing is that the light is an integrated system that generates is energy from inside the hub of my front wheel. Not sure how to fix this one...

Back to the...routine?

It would have been nice to have an easy week to slide back into. On the home front, some painters were replacing window trim and sanding down the house. It was supposed to be done in the spring, but better now than December I suppose. This meant they needed a bit of support and a lot of cleaning up after. Yesterday we cleaned the downstairs and put some plastic on the windows - and found some nice, red plates and bowls from France! I am sure they will make our food taste better. Today we hope to do some more plastic and finish cleaning, along with the grocery shopping, sporting at the gym, and visiting with a friend. Another full weekend.

School was a bit of a mess. The first years had their standardized tests this week. They were much better organized than last year, but the kids were still very busy after 3 hours of testing 3 days of the week. Glad we shifted the 4th day to Monday. Grades were also due, and there was one class I was not able to finish due to the tests. The others turned out well. I asked for an extension until 5pm on Friday to put in my grades - and I submitted the last on at 4:59. I was quite proud of myself, due to this beautiful timing, but also because we tried something new. Their latest assignment was done on Google Drive. They were working in partners and could edit the same document at the same time. I could also see it. This way, they also didn't have to submit via email or a hard copy of something. The process was quite streamlined for a first go.

We created quite the Moroccan-style dinner this week.

On the Edge of Communism

The past week was not necessarily filled with rest, but it was quite refreshing. While we are not ready to return to school tomorrow (we still have bad dreams about it) we are much more leveled and centered than a week ago. So much happened that it seems best to break things down into one day at a time.


Sunday

We got plenty of odds and ends taken care of on Sunday morning, had a nice lunch, went to the gym, and around four we hopped on our bikes and enjoyed the 10 minute ride along a peaceful, wooded bike path to the airport. We locked up our bikes and stood in fairly short lines to get our boarding passes and head through security. When we got to the other side, it was like we were walking into a fancy Starbucks with comfortable couches and real orchids, not an airport.

The flight to Vienna lasted about an hour and a half. The train ride to our apartment was easy and we were a 5 minute walk from the station. The apartment was a simple studio, adequately furnished by Ikea. For only 55 Euros a night, it was cheaper and much better than a hotel. We ended up walking a few blocks to grab a delicious pizza and Schitznel for a bedtime snack.

Rotterdam's cozy airport.

The amusement park from the train station - this was a short walk from where we stayed and also where we had our dinner out.

Monday

The day started with a bit of grocery shopping and figuring out how to get into town. The weather was cloudy but by the time we set off with our cameras the sun was peeking out. The rest of the day was brilliantly sunny and we took many magnificent pictures.

The buildings of Vienna make Amsterdam look like a ginger-bread city. They are massive and imposing. You can't ignore them and you can't deny their power. Our walk around part of the old city was followed up by one order of tea and apple strudel, setting us back 10 Euros. Ouch - but delicious. All the food we ate their was delicious.

Our apartment building.

St. Stephen's Cathedral - note the 450 foot tower is being restored.

Around the side of the cathedral was a line of horse-drawn carriages. 

Inside the cathedral - an impressively wide center archway.

A 'small' church that wasn't even noted in the guide books or tourist maps.

Holding up a balcony gets boring...

Italianesque sidewalks.

The city hall.

A little mind-bending the differences in angle from left to right...

View from the city hall.

A bit like a fairy tale?

Another palace...one of many.

Roman(?) Ruins.

Tuesday

We walked down the busy street on our way to Europcar. The Audi A3 we reserved was of course downgraded to a VW Jetta. Annoying, but typical. They say it is in the 'same class' but I would tend to disagree. The newer models of the Jetta have gone down in quality - my dad's is a much better car. This one surprised us as it shut off at stop lights though. That was rather interesting. It would start up when you pushed the clutch back in.

Stress levels increased as we tried to push our way out of the city filled with numerous one way streets and far too many vehicles. Eventually we were on the expressway winding through the fog and the foothills of the Alps. Garmin told us to ditch the freeway and make our way down a narrow, winding country road. The speed limit changed about every 45 seconds because there were so many little towns. When it was up to 100 km/hr it was impossible to go over 80 because the corners were so sharp and the fog so thick. The ride was exciting!

The fog cleared as we pulled into our destination - the mountain village of Ramsau. We took a few pictures and searched for the trail head. The plan was to hike a 5 mile loop along some logging trails. After some searching and map comparison, we found it. The trail turned out to be perfect. We didn't see another person for the entire hike through the woods. The fall colors were at their peak, the sun was shining, and the air was crisp. It was the perfect fall day.

The village of Ramsau.

Note the cloud of smog that hangs over Vienna.

We could hear the chainsaws in the background.

A most enjoyable hike in the foothills of the Alps.

Wednesday

The day began with a considerable amount of stress. We gave ourselves 45 minutes to drive the 3 km back to return the car, and to get gas on our way. A gas station proved impossible to find even with Garmin and the traffic was so bad that we spent 35 minutes on those 3 km. We barely made it to the garage in time and they ended up charging us more than double the pump price to put gas in the car. Good thing the Jetta got good gas milage.

We finished our tour of the old city. Tuesday was, unfortunately, the last we would see of the sun for the remainder of our trip. Bummer for the pictures. We did see some interesting military equipment (including a Eurofighter) set up on the palace lawn. Interesting contrasts of old and new.

We split for a couple hours as Naomi went to see the exhibition of one of her favorite artists: Gustav Klimt. It was displayed in a palace called the Belvedere. This magnificent structure was built by one of Napoleon's ugly generals who was really good at capturing cities. He got quite rich doing this, but as he had no hier, the palace was deeded over to the city, and the king turned it into a house for the arts.

Dinner was early and delicious. Naomi found a deal on Groupon, and as it turns out, this restaurant was in the middle of an amusement park. Needless to say, expectations were not high, but I was very positively surprised. We had pork that was falling off the bone and nice Austrian beer. For some reason that I cannot understand, Naomi didn't like the meat, so extra for me. I wasn't complaining.

After dinner we hopped on the subway and had a famous Viennese dessert - the Sacher Torte. The hotel of origin, where we sampled, was right next to the Opera house. We had purchased tickets for 7,50 each and found ourselves in a box right next to the stage. The seats were ok, but we had a better view of the crowd and the orchestra than of what was happening on stage. One of the nice things about the State opera is that it is accessible - tickets range from 5 Euros all the way up to almost 300. The story itself was translated, so we could follow it, but there was a strange mix of old an new. It was about an Emperor of Rome, but they used modern clothing and props. Overall, the experience of going to the Opera at a world famous theater was quite impressive, but I don't think I could handle opera on a regular basis.

The palace looks conquered...

Old and new.

Parliament.

The Belvedere.

Dinner!

The State Opera House.

The famous Sacher Torte.

Going up the stairs to the Opera.

Inside the Opera.

Our seats.

Quite the ceiling light.

Thursday

As it turns out, another European capital lies only 50 km from Vienna. We discovered that round trip train tickets only cost 14 Euros, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. As we crossed the border into Slovakia things started to look different. The fact that their average income is half that of an Austrian's became quickly apparent. Bratislava has a charming old center. Some of the buildings are in quite the state of decay, but others are fairly impressive. We did a bit of shopping and sightseeing and made our way back to the train station.

Being in a formerly communist country was interesting for us. Some of the communist statues and such still had prominent positions overlooking the city. The architecture, much from the communist era, situated on the other side of the Danube, was quite depressing. The whole experience gave us a very positive impression and we learned quite a bit about a country that we previously did not even know the name of.

This is where we had to transfer trains on the way to Bratislava.

A mix of old and new.

Strange little market.

The Netherlands are represented in Slovakia.

The top of this bridge is a restaurant. Also note the depressing architecture on the far side.

There used to be wealth here...

Notice the communist monument up on the hill.

Friday

I went to climb the 450 foot St Stephen's Cathedral tower while Naomi relaxed and cleaned up. I did enjoy the view, but the experience was disappointing. We only got to go up to the first level of the tower - the rest was gated off. In Delft, we were able to climb the whole thing, and the builders had the forethought to alternate directions of the spiral staircases - this way you don't end up with one leg longer than the other when you climb up every day. Not so in Vienna.

The subway station next to this cathedral had a fascinating element. When they were digging it out in the 70's they poked their shovels into a massive opening. It was the crypt of a church dating back to the 1200's that had been long since destroyed. This underground cavity was all that remained of the ancient structure. They left an opening so that people can look inside, and are trying to preserve the crumbling murals.

Copyright infringement?

Gargoyles.

Vienna from Above.

Naomi's favorite part of the cathedral - the roof!

Ahh, if only those Austrians knew what they printed on their subway tickets - 1 fart on the wiener line. Naomi kept wondering why I was laughing, but they print 'wiener' all over the city! (In German it means 'Viennese')

View from the subway station.

After the flight home we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and doing a bit of shopping. Being able to settle back into things at home before jumping back into school was a great foresight. We just wish there was a bit more time!