The past week was filled with firsts. We got our very first real REAL
Christmas tree ever, the first snow of the season fell, we had a cleaning lady
come over for the first time since we moved here, we were invited to the first
Christmas dinner of the year and we made our first pot of homemade soup for the
season!
Our real REAL Christmas tree!
Our local florist lady must think we (read Bron) are crazy. We have been
asking her for about 3 weeks now, when is she getting real trees in? What kind
of tree do we want, she asked, a Nordmann, a Blauwspar or Omorica? (These conversations occur in Dutch by the way) In SA you
can have anything you want as long as it is a Pine Tree! We chose a Nordmann
tree since its needles don’t drop when they turn brown.
The trees were supposed to be available from Dec 1st but finally arrived
on Tuesday Dec 4th. We must have been the first ones to buy a tree when they
arrived on Tuesday! It is a chopped tree but came in a pot with soil, complete with resident spider. Well done
Justin for getting it home and up the stairs by himself! Not sure how he did it
because it is damn heavy! So much for it not losing needles, by the time the
tree was installed they were everywhere! Not to mention muddy soil.
On Saturday we discovered a seasonal Christmas shop with reasonably
priced real glass baubles. We bought red and silver ones in a range of sizes as
well as some real artisan hand painted ones. Sunday was spent wrapping lights
around and decorating the tree with old and new decorations. Our place feels so
cheery and Christmassy now!
Undecorated tree upon arrival
Justin decorating the tree
Some of our tree decorations
This week also saw the first snowfall of the season. The first three
snowfalls actually. It snowed on Monday morning for about 2 hours but it was ‘wet
snow’ and none settled. Wednesday morning there was some snow on the ground but
it didn’t last long. But on Friday morning there was A LOT of snow! And 40 knot
winds to go with it. Nederland Spoor, the train services company, politely
cancelled at least half the trains the whole day so the trip to work was super
fun. Not. Justin was cosily sipping on a seasonal Starbucks Speculaas latte
before meetings in The Hague while Bron was cycling to work in the near
blizzard. Not fun. But she survived to tell the tale and without falling off.
Next time the bus might be an option.
Friday’s snow did settle but didn’t last long. In the city it was almost
all gone by the end of the day. Train services were still slim on Saturday but
we couldn’t understand why since there was no more snow. Not until heading out
to Utrecht in the evening anyway. There was still snow lying on the ground all
the way and a lot more in Utrecht city than in Rotterdam. Because of the wind,
the snow had covered one side of trees but not the other, looked so nice! It was
quite pretty but also very cold, around the zero degree mark, and generally annoying
because of the reduced train schedule. It rained a lot on Sunday and has warmed
up a bit, around 6 degrees, so thankfully no more snow and a normal train
service again.
Saturday evening we were invited to a Christmas dinner with one of Bron’s
colleagues, hence the trip to Utrecht. Dan and Sam are British so it was a very
traditional English Christmas dinner, Jamie style. It was such a lovely evening
full of good food, good wine and laughter. Was a wonderful treat to have a
Christmas dinner how we know it to be. Thanks for an awesome evening Dan and
Sam! Was legend =)
Sunset over a canal in Utrecht with snow on the banks
Christmas Dinner!
Justin lighting the traditional Christmas pudding! On Justin's right is Brent, Dan (with the camera) and Sam
We (read Bron) are tired of cleaning our own place! Living in SA makes
one so lazy when it comes to these things! So we finally decided to get a cleaning
lady. Her first day was on Monday and our place was so clean! Woohoo! Until the
arrival of the Christmas tree on Tuesday that is. Totally a winner having a cleaning
lady, frees up so much of our time. But it is A LOT more expensive than at
home!
This week was also Sinterklaas on Wednesday the 5th. We had a much quieter
Sinterklaas than last year with no planned activities but a nice quiet dinner
at home trying not to let the end of year busy-ness catch up with us too much!
Last week a friend of Bron’s from UCT, Colin, was visiting Amsterdam and
popped in for a visit on Sunday. Was so awesome to see you Col! And thanks for
spoiling us with all the Christmas fruit mince pies!! You rock. They are
keeping us cheery in this bleak weather =)
Today, Sunday, Bron made the first homemade soup for the season: a beeg
pot of potato and leak. Perfect for this grey rainy day. And some leftovers which
will be frozen for emergency mid-week meals. Thanks Mum & Dad Cross for the
Ina Paarman’s Vegetable Stock!
In other news, Justin’s brother Brenainn and his wife Kirsten have
arrived in Europe! They flew into Paris this morning and will be in Rotterdam
on Thursday. So looking forward to seeing you guys, having you stay with us in
our cosy little place and doing fun touristy things together!! We hope you have
an amazing holiday and a restful year end break! Some of the activities planned
include a day trip to Amsterdam, meeting the German family at the Christmas
market in Aachen and cycling around Kinderdijk if it doesn’t rain/snow. More
about that next time!
Hope you are well and enjoying the start of the festive season =)
x
PS: Thanks for the 13 000 + page views!
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