It is Officially...

... Winter Time 

Daylight savings time ended today so we are officially in winter time =( This means Europe is now one hour behind SA and the UK is now two hours behind SA but still one hour behind Europe. It felt very weird turning all our clocks back by one hour this morning! But it was quite nice waking up, looking at the time and thinking that we had one extra hour to spare today. A period of adjustment is definitely needed though. We were hungry much earlier than dinner time and because it is dark so early we feel like going to bed at 8:30 because it has been dark for so long already! Hoping we adjust soon!

To celebrate the start of winter we both have a bit of a cold this weekend. It is like having two code green Sheldon Cooper’s in the house! i.e. not pleasant. lol. Fortunately we are both feeling a bit better today. Hoping being sick will not be a regular occurrence this winter…

This week also saw our third wedding anniversary =) Despite being a Monday we had a really nice day. Funny story though, we bought each other the same card (there are not that many English options here…) and the same make of crystal wine glasses without knowing! lol. Kirsty was still with us and she made us a very special dinner for two. Thanks Kirsty!

It was really nice having Kirsty to stay with us for a week. She was with us until Thursday during which time she did some more sight-seeing and general chillaxing. Thanks for coming to stay with us! It was great having you =)

In other news, I fetched my residence permit card a few weeks ago now. So glad to finally have it!! It is valid for 5 years after which time I can apply for citizenship if we are still here. So now we get to do more fun things like sort out medical aid for Bron. It is illegal not to have medical aid here. Up until now I have had short term travel insurance but now I will go onto the same medical as Justin. Fun times ahead doing all the forms etc in Dutch! At least I don’t have to do the residence permit thing every year…  

Bron also finally succumbed to peer pressure and joined facebook! If we are not already ‘friends’ send me an invite!

Not too much to say this week. Just doing the normal 5 day work thing and trying to adjust to the changing weather. Soon to come: an overview of our first few months living in the Netherlands =)

A special shout out to Shell & Graham on their epic adventure through South America! We love the email updates and pics! Keep them coming!

x

Bron's Dutch Residence Permit

No comments on the police-mugshot quality photo!! 

A is for...

...Anne Frank or Amsterdam or Almost (in the case of France vs NZ).

This week we have our friend Kirsty visiting us. She lives in CT but is spending some time in London doing supply teaching. This week is school holidays in the UK and so she has some time off (it is great to have you here Kirst).

Being a tourist in the Netherlands (or having one to visit) almost always involves a trip to Amsterdam, and so that is what we did yesterday. We got out our winter coats (the temperature was due to stay in single figures all day) jumped on the train and headed for Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is always vibey and it is a great place to just walk around and take in the atmosphere. One of the 'attractions' this time round included the "Occupy" protesters camping out in the city center. For those that aren't familiar with the protests, "Occupy" is an anti-capitalism protest that has spread from Wall Street to London to Amsterdam to Melbourne. It has even resulted in St Paul's Cathedral in London closing for the first time since WWII (the protesters are camping on the cathedral doorstep and there are now health and safety concerns).

We continued with our stroll around Amsterdam and headed in the direction of the Anne Frank museum - it is located in the building that the family actually hid from the Germans in. Bron had been into the museum some time back, but it was a first for Justin and Kirsty. The museum is very well set out and full of interesting information, such as the fact that the diary of Anne Frank has been added to the UNESCO register of significant world heritage documents. 

This perfect Amsterdam car for those narrow streets

Kirsty and Bron in Amsterdam

A reason to visit Amsterdam

Kirsty trying out the local cheeses

Hanging out with Anne

"Come and join the party dude, like, for real!"

"No seriously, it's not just about smoking weed. This is a revolution!"

It is best not to bring your BMW to these kinds of gatherings...

Today (Sunday) was spent in Rotterdam. It started with the rugby world cup final (which was watched at a packed local Irish pub), lunch at a local Turkish restaurant (and the decision that Turkey will definitely feature in one of our future holidays), and just generally strolling around and enjoying the sights.

The KijkKubus (cube houses) in Rotterdam

The old harbour (Rotterdam)

The week ahead is looking to be a busy one (and to be honest we are both feeling a bit 'gat-vol' with work) and I am sure a lot of you are feeling the same way. So I thought I would leave you with this little extract from an email that we received from Bron's uncle. He is talking about his pet sausage dog and finds a great way to put a positive spin on what most would consider a little bit annoying.

When I work in the garden she watches me closely and every now and then comes to see what I am doing. I can almost hear her say “boss, what are you doing? Something for me? That clivia is planted skew, I’ll pull it out for you and you can then plant it correctly”. And she does!

I hope you manage to find your positive spin this week!

Squeezed between Belgium and Germany: Maastricht

This weekend we decided to get out of Rotterdam and spend a night in Maastricht.

Some quick info about Maastricht:

• It is just over 2 hours by train from Rotterdam;
• It is situated at the same latitude as Brussels and Cologne and is approximately midway between these two cities;
• Andre Rieu (the guy who brought back the waltz) comes from Maastricht;
• Settled in approximately 500 BC;
• The first dutch city to be liberated by allied forces during WWII. 

After an uneventful train trip to Maastricht (the uneventful kind are the best kind), it was a short 50m walk to our hotel. Once booked in, it was time to explore. Maastricht is located in a very religious part of the Netherlands and so there are lots of old churches to visit. We visited Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek, St Servaasbasiliek and a church with a red tower. The reason for the red tower is apparently because the tower is built from limestone and the limestone naturally turns black when exposed to the elements. Since the residents didn’t fancy the idea of a black church, they painted it with ox blood (somehow that seemed less sinister?). Today the ox blood is spared, but the church is still painted red (ox blood red to be precise).

Other sights around Maastricht included the St Servaas bridge (the oldest bridge in the Netherlands), the old town walls and gates, the old city centre, the market square, St-Pietersberg fort, and the local limestone quarry (St-Pietersberg Grotten).

The St-Pietersberg Grotten were created during centuries of limestone quarrying. There are over 20,000 passageways and the real attraction is the drawings and inscriptions left behind by miners and people that used the caves to hide in during times of war. The guided tour is a definite must do if you find yourself in Maastricht.

And then it was time for the trip home, which unfortunately was not uneventful. Shortly after leaving Maastricht the train we were travelling in hit a car. The loud bang followed by screeching brakes and a shaking carriage is definitely not an experience we want to repeat. Although we are not sure what happened to the driver (or passengers?) of the car, luckily no one in the train was injured.  

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek

View from the top of the 'ox-blood red church tower'

Treasury in the St-Servaasbasiliek

Tiled floor in the St-Servaasbasiliek

Old and new alongside the river Maas

St-Servaas bridge on the river Maas

One of the town gates (Helpoort)

Stadhuis at the market square

The Vrijthof (the main town square) with St-Servaasbasiliek in the centre

A statue of D'Artagnon!!

A friend

Inside the St-Pietersberg Grotten

St-Pietersberg Fort

A canon on top of the old city walls

A Glimpse of Tel Aviv

I was sitting and thinking about the best way to write this blog when suddenly it hit me. I will do it in an interview style! The reason will be obvious later…

‘Mr Cross, can you tell us when you arrived in Tel Aviv?’

I arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday the 1^st of October at 2am after a 5 hour flight from Amsterdam. From the airport it was straight to the hotel to get a few hours sleep before the exploring started.

‘And what exploring did you do?’

I had initially intended to spend the day in Jerusalem, but with it being Shabbat there was no public transport and that option fell away. I had heard that Tel Aviv is famous for its beaches and so headed down to the coastline.

‘And what can you tell us about the beaches?’

The beach was buzzing. There were people swimming, walking, cycling, roller-blading, playing beach bats, playing volley ball, surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, wind surfing, tanning, picnicking, reading, people gazing, ice-cream eating and cocktail sipping. But the beach activity that caught my attention was the foot volley tournament. It is exactly the same as regular volley ball, except the players cannot use their hands or arms. By the time I arrived the tournament was down to the final four teams. All I can say is that they have skill!

This clip will give you an idea of what it is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39xH-ImUb4Q

‘That is all very interesting Mr Cross, but what is your reason for being in Israel?’

Work. Israel has three ports (Ashdod, Haifa and Eilat) and I was attending the kick-off meetings for a new project that is being undertaken for the Port Authority. Unfortunately Saturday was the only bit of free time that I had to see Tel Aviv (the Israeli weekend is Friday and Saturday).

‘And so you did no other sightseeing?’

Unfortunately not, but I will be back in Israel in November. The plan is to stay a little bit longer (and for Bron to join me) and to see Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

‘And did you take any photos while you were in Israel?’

Does the Pope drive in a Pope-mobile?

A view of the Tel Aviv beaches

This restaurant had a great view of the sea. Seems the name is appropriate. (By the way, Goldstar is the local beer. Definitely worth a try)

Some of the stranger architecture in Tel Aviv

Some of the pre Foot Volley entertainment

One of the things that struck me was how many buildings are in serious need of restoration. This one is alongside a number of 4 and 5 star hotels. 

The only bit of 'art' I saw in Tel Aviv. Quite the opposite of Rotterdam where art is found on every street corner.

The hotel I stayed in.

The view from my hotel balcony.

So if you have made it this far and are still wondering why the interview approach to this blog, you have obviously never tried to leave Israel! Getting into Israel is relatively easy. It is leaving that is tricky. I was interviewed at the airport for over half an hour about the places I had been, the people I had met with, the company I worked for, the reason the company had sent me, the reason the company had sent me now, who my boss is, etc. At one stage I was sure that they were going to run out of questions, but then they started on my trips to Dubai (the passport does not lie). Where did I stay, did I meet anyone there, did anyone try and make contact with me, etc.

To sum up this trip: I think Israel is a fascinating place with an amazing history. It’s just the local paranoia that might get to you.  

One Week of Summer!

It is finally Summer! We have had constant sunshine and about 25ºC for the past 10 days! Totally unexpected but too awesome! Last weekend was really nice and sunny and warm but we really didn’t think the nice weather would last, it never seems to so far. This is only the second week of warm sunny weather we have had the whole year! Too sad! The other was over Easter. Unfortunately the good weather is coming to an end this week =( Tomorrow evening the clouds arrives followed by wind and rain from Tuesday and a huge drop in temperatures by Wednesday/Thursday. Autumn is upon us! At least now we have more warm fuzzy Summer feelings to get us through the winter =)

Justin flew to Israel on Friday night where he will be for meetings for a new project there until Wednesday. Sounds like it is much toastier there than here! But daylight saving time ended there last night/today, something we can look forward to at the end of October, joy. He had the day off yesterday but meetings started today. Weekend time in Israel is Friday Saturday for Shabbat. Although Justin had the day off yesterday he couldn’t do too much as there was no public transport & everything was closed, lol. But he did make it to the beach and enjoyed soaking up the sunshine =) Sounds like the first round of meetings went well today and that he is being fed well! Lol. Have a kewl time & travel safe Boib! I’m sure he will tell us more about his trip when he gets back =)

Yesterday Bron made the most of the weather and cycled to the beach with a new friend from work. I met her in Delft and then we cycled to Kijkduin, about 15-20km away. It was really nice hanging out with her and being outside in the sunshine! I was super keen for a swim but it was a bit late already by the time we got there so next time. And on the way back we stopped for ice creams =)

Bron also braved trying a new hairdresser this week, the first haircut in the Netherlands! Justin goes to the local kapper around the corner but it looks more like a gents hairdresser than a ladies one. I am always nervous when trying out a new hairdresser but I think it went ok! It looks similar to the pics of when we were in Dubai.

In other news our first Amazon package arrived this week! We were super excited! It is impossible to find certain things in the Netherlands so I have a feeling Amazon will be our new BFF! This parcel contained a few DK Eyewitness Travel books and the board game Dominion, all in English! Another thing I have been struggling to find is bath towels larger than 70x140cm. I finally found some today on sale, I was super excited =)

The next item on our travel itinerary is a night in Maastricht mid-October. Really looking forward! Hope the weather will be ok… And we are expecting friends from Cape Town; Kirsty and then Martin and his new wife Kirsten; to visit us soon as well. Really looking forward to having you guys stay with us! 

Last piece of news, my sister Michelle and her husband Graham leave for their epic 3.5 month holiday next Saturday! They are going to South America for ~2 months, Australia for a week and SA for 3 weeks. It will be their first Christmas in SA in 6 years! Enjoy guys! Hope you have a super fantastic time! Travel safe and don't forget the sun block!! Bon voyage!

Sorry no pictures this week! Hope you have had a good week!

x