Independence Day Weekend

Hello again!

Well, once again we lapsed in our posting, for the same reason as usual -- too much work! June was a very busy month with the ending of classes and the start of exams, which Farrell will finally conclude on Monday (not the best way to celebrate the 4th). We have yet to decide how we will actually spend Independence Day, after Farrell's exams of course, so we're open to suggestions! In other news we have officially bought our plane tickets home and we will be arriving back on American soil on August 1, and will be officially home on August 2. However, we will be leaving the Netherlands on July 13 for a fun trip in Italy with Farrell's family, which we are really looking forward to. In between then and now, aside from all the packing that needs to be done (eeek!), we hope to squeeze in a few more day trips in the Netherlands as well as visit all our favorite spots in Nijmegen one last time. With at least one more friets speciaal, yum...

We'll try and keep you posted on our final week and upcoming travels, as well as catch up on all the photo sorting and posting that got pushed aside during this hectic month. Wish us luck!

Until next time,

Jessica (and Farrell)

A Tour and a Tasting

Greetings!

Last Wednesday we were given the opportunity to tour a dairy farm and their cheese-making facilities and, as two avid cheese lovers, it was an offer we couldn't refuse. Located in Nijmegen, De Diervoort was only a short bike ride away and a pretty one at that. Once there, the cheese-making process was explained to us before touring the factory (though much smaller than the term usually indicates) and the farm. Naturally, the tour ended with a cheese tasting. Of course, the farm produces more than its own milk and cheese also making yogurts, ice creams, vla (pudding of sorts), and chocolate milk. It was a really interesting (and tasty) experience and some place we will definitely be biking to again. Plus, in addition to everything else, the farm has several public trails that we are looking forward to exploring. View the photos from this fun outing here and take a glance at the cheese-making process.

Until next time,

Jessica

Potluck Dinner

Hello there!

A few weeks back, in part to celebrate the beginning of May break, we had a potluck dinner with a few friends that turned out to be quite the cultural experience. Our friend Maria made pelmeni, a Russian dumpling dish, while Carlota prepared some authentic Argentine empanadas and (being from Spain) some typical sangria as well. Expectedly, we brought a big, taste-packed salad and Olivier baked his usual chocolate tart, which was a perfectly delicious compliment. View the photo set here for a glimpse of our tasty experience!

Until next time,

Jessica

Amsterdam III: Farrell's Belated Birthday Trip

Greetings all!

Farrell's birthday was back in April and, as mentioned in the "Fast Forward" post, we took another trip to Amsterdam. We walked around our favorite parts of the city (along the canals) and explored Vondelpark, but we spent the majority of the day visiting the Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum. Unfortunately, neither of these museums allowed photography, so we do not have quite as many photos as usual. Nonetheless, feel free to take a tour of the sites on the way from the Central Station to the museum and back again. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Jessica

Saturday Travels Part II: Haarlem

Hello there!

We have finished sorting and Farrell has now finished labeling our pictures from Haarlem, Saturday's second trip following our visit to the Keukenhof Gardens, the largest flower gardens in the world. Described by locals as "a village in a city," Haarlem is a beautiful city filled with gorgeous old buildings, canals, looming cathedrals, windmills, and a rich history to accompany it all. Needless to say we had a great time, so we encourage you to take a look for yourself! Begin viewing the complete photo set here and see what it is like to walk the streets of Haarlem!

Until next time,

Jessica and Farrell

The Keukenhof Gardens

Hello there,

As mentioned in the last post, we took a trip to the famous Keukenhof Gardens, the largest flower garden in the world. Certainly, the gardens did not disappoint. Take a tour of "the Gardens of Europe," by looking at the finished photo set. Posted only two days after, consider this a belated Mother's Day post. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Jessica and Farrell

The Groninger in Groningen

Greetings!

We have been doing some traveling the past two days: Friday we went to Groningen, followed by a trip to the famous Keukenhof Gardens and Haarlem. Both days were a lot of fun, but very tiring, involving several solid hours of traveling each day. Take a look at the first set of pictures from our recent travels, here. This set focuses on our first day of traveling in Groningen, which began with a visit to the Groninger Museum (of art) and a walk all around this city, the capital of the province of Groningen. Look for pictures from Keukenhof and Haarlem in the coming days.

Note: I spent most of today sorting, describing, researching and tagging this photo-set and the two yet-to-be-launched sets of Keukenhof and Haarlem. However, as it takes quite a bit of time to write researched and externally linked descriptions for all of my photos, I haven't quite finished with this set. If you want to go ahead and take a look, go for it - I will post again when I've finished adding descriptions, tags and geotags to this set, for everyone else who wants the fully connected experience. 

Until next time,

Jessica and Farrell

Queen's Day

Hello again!

Last Saturday was Queen's Day, which is a big holiday for the Netherlands, though some of its festivities seem a bit odd to outsiders. Everyone dresses in orange (an homage to the William of Orange family dynasty), participates in the open air market (the one day where anyone is allowed to sell anything), and enjoys classic Dutch food (oliebollen), all mixed in with concerts and the occasional samba band -- at least, that's what Nijmegen's celebrations were like. The biggest celebrations occur in the larger cities, which includes Amsterdam, of course. To read more about Queen's Day and its associated celebrations, you can read the Wikipedia page by clicking here. For images from our day in Nijmegen, take a look at the photoset here, or start a slideshow of large images here.

Until next time,

Jessica and Farrell

Spring Walks and Fresh Cuts

Hello all!

Take a look at our new haircuts, which I did myself, and at some scenes from our walk to Goffertpark on a beautiful spring day.

You can find the set of photos here, or start a slideshow of large images (recommended) here.

Warm wishes until next time,

Jessica

Fast Forward

In case you had not guessed, March and April have been exceptionally busy months, hence the complete (pitiful) dearth of blog posts over the past month or so. Hopefully, we can start to change that, but no promises, since we will likely begin travelling more, even if only in small doses. In order to encourage more posting, we will try and do smaller posts more often, as opposed to larger, less frequent updates. Regardless, let me briefly catch everyone up on what has happened since our last post way back in February.

March was a difficult month as we had a great deal of work, with exams beginning at the end of the month, including a massive research paper I had for my Europe: A Political Profile class (a comparative analysis of recent political developments in Switzerland and Czechia -- no, they do not have much in common). Also this month we had a some-what surprise visit from some friends from the US who stayed with us for about a week (photos here). It was a lot of fun visitng and site-seeing some with them. Especially since it was during Carnival, which is more or less a family-friendly Dutch version of Mardi Gras. Take a look at the picture set to see for yourself!

After our friends left, we went into work mode, which lasted into the first week in April. Then we had a little bit of a break, but not really. Two of our classes were on break, and some had ended (though half of mine continue), but Farrell had several new classes start up (so he did not get a real break). Plus, we both are in American Foreign Policy and have rough draft versions of our reserch papers for that class due next Wednesday. On top of all this, we have had to say goodbye (though not permanently, of course) to several of our friends here -- all masters students that had to go off to the Phillipines or Brussels or Germany (though soon to be in Kenya) for their graduate research -- so, understandably we had been trying to fit in extra time with our friends since they will not be back until July (hopefully before we leave). Oh, and I almost forgot! Farrell's birthday was April 14th, so we also took a few days to celebrate that with our time divided between a trip to Amsterdam (visiting parks, two more museums, and other sites we had not visited) and time simply relaxing, watching movies, and trying new Dutch foods like kebab and Turkish pizza (Lahmacun), which is actually a wrap, not pizza.

So, that's the past two months in brief. Now to finish this American Foreign Policy paper and, hopefully, enjoy this beautiful Dutch spring day!

Until Next Time,
Jessica

Football, or Something Like That

It was rainy and cold, nevertheless, yesterday we attended our first European soccer game, which coincidentally was also our first ever. Naturally we were cheering for N.E.C. (the home team) as we sat in a semi-covered (seating is covered, but the field is open) 12,500-seat stadium watching them do battle against the visiting team F.C. Utrecht. Lasting 90 minutes, it was a solid game that ended with a tie.

The whole event was a great deal of fun and is something we will surely repeat. Afterall, tickets are affordable, the park is just a short bike ride away, and, as this was only the first game of the season, there will be plenty of other opportunities. Plus, as a point of comparison, stadium food or sport food at (least at) Goffertstadion (Gofferts stadium), is extremely reasonable, with prices ranging from 1-3 euros on a variety of drinks, sides, and an assortment of sandwiches, some of which looked extremely appetizing. Furthermore, now that we know the stadium has covered seating, Farrell will be sure and take a few pictures at the next game. Let us know if there is anything else you would like to know. If you would like some general information on our local footbal club, browse the wikipedia page here.

Until Next Time,
Jessica

Photos -- Arnhem and the Water Museum

Greetings!

We thought we would take a break from processing the holiday pictures to allow for something a bit more recent (or, in this case, much more recent). Anyway, as mentioned last week, these are pictures from our trip to Arnhem last Friday (February 18th) in which we visited a local museum and outdoor park. Enjoy!

You can find the full set here, or start viewing a slideshow of large photos here.

Until Next Time,

Jessica and Farrell

The Ides of...February?

As the title suggests, February has turned out to be a particularly busy (annoying) month, with perhaps too many unexpected complications. Oh, don't worry! It's nothing too serious, but rather all the little annoying things that could go wrong did.

Aside from having to finish up exams while our new classes were starting, Farrell's bike broke. So, we shared my bike, and if we had anywhere to go together then Farrell had to hop on the back and I biked the two of us. However, soon after someone accidentally injured my tire in the bike parking lot (apparently someone dominoed the bikes and my tire was scraped with a kickstand), but it still worked! That is until the next time Farrell hoped on the back, which prompted the tire to blowout (explode). At that point we were down to zero bikes, and it is also around this point that Farrell's laptop died.

It was expected. His laptop was old and had been thoroughly (continuously?) used over the years, especially if you consider that he is a computer science major and likely uses his laptop even more than the average 20-something individual. So, we have been sharing my laptop, which would not be such a problem if we did not have all of our class readings on the computer. Fortunately he'll have a new laptop soon...hopefully. :)

Now, as for more fun things, we visited our Latvian friend Sandra in Ede (the Netherlands) and had dinner with her family. Ede was a small, but interesting little town near the "Heather fields," which as their name suggests are huge open fields filled with heather. It was pretty in the cold grey, but it is supposed to be just beautiful in the spring/summer. Interestingly, the fields are near a Dutch military base and they use the fields for practice. Needless to say we cannot wait to go back when it's warmer.

For more recent fun, yesterday we went to Arnhem and, using our museum cards Frank got us (they allow us free entrance to some 400 museums in the Netherlands), we visited the Water Museum there. It's kind of hard to describe, but it was a lot of fun. Plus, it was situated in this large park/woods, so of course we walked around on the trails for a few hours. It was pretty cold though and is now turning colder, despite the comparatively mild weather we have had over the past few weeks. There is even supposed to be some snow Sunday, though not much. Hopefully it will warm up by next Sunday though -- that's when we are going to our first "football" game. It's Nijmegen vs. FC Utrecht and we are excited! We will try and take pictures of course, assuming it is allowed and not raining.

Anyway, we will continue to keep you posted. And as for the photos, we ask for your patience once more, since that has been permanently put on hold. (Farrell does not have a laptop, remember?) Still, we will do what we can. :)

Until Next Time,
Jessica

Greetings from Edinburgh

Hello all!

Well, we are now right in the midst of our holiday travels, with only one more day, one more night, and one more very early morning left in Edinburgh, Scotland. By mid-morning Wednesday we will be in Dublin, Ireland to tour around for a few days, assuming all goes to plan, which in our case is assuming too much given previous events. Before going any further allow me to recap the events of the past few days.

December 27, The Hague: A day spent looking at the city that boasts the Netherlands seat of Government and all that goes with it.

December 28, Amsterdam: Basically a day of walking...followed by more walking, but a fun day nonetheless, filled with interesting sites that included the Anne Frank House, among others.

December 29, Amsterdam to Manchester: The original plan -- get up early, breakfast at the hostel at 6:30, short walk to train station, catch the 7:22 trains to Schiphol Airport (get there by 8:00 am), have plenty of time to go through airport and catch our 10:00 flight to Manchester -- needless to say, things did not go accordingly.

What really happened? Well, we did wake up early -- packed and ready in record time -- however, upon reaching the lobby at a little after 6:15 am we were shocked to find out breakfast (unlike every other hostel and despite what was listed on the website) was not until 7:00. As I had the times and platforms written down for four following trains, we decided to wait for breakfast, since it was "free" (or rather included in the price of our stay). Fortunately, since we were not the only guests "mistaken" about what time breakfast was served, the hostel allowed for breakfast to be served at 6:50, so 10 mintues early. We ate a quick breakfast and hurried out the door and down the street in plenty of time to catch the 7:33 train. Of course, on the way we took one wrong turn and missed that train by a few minutes. But, the next train would be along at 7:45, only about 25 minutes later than we originally wanted, but still alloting us plenty of time since it is less than a twenty minute train ride to Schiphol. Unfortunately, skipping over the details of our dreadful realization, the train we were on was not stopping at Schiphol on this trip. Yes, it was the correct train and time, and every other day it does stop at Schiphol, except that one trip -- yet, the train station had not changed the sign; although, we were later informed that the train station had made an announcement, but we never heard any announcements (not that we would have understood an announcement in Dutch). To our misfortune, and that of a few other Schiphol travellers and even employees, we were on our way to Leiden. But, with a little luck and some help from a very kind lady, we made it onto a train back to Amsterdam Schiphol within minutes of getting off the first train. Then, arriving at Schiphol just after 9:00, we made it from the train station airport to the boarding line in 22 minutes flat -- even including my trouble with security. It was the fastest I had ever run. We made our plane. It took off a little after 10:00 and an hour or so later we were in Manchester, England, which we spent the day exploring and visitng museums.

December 30: On this day we took a train from Manchester to Edinburugh, perhaps, the most beautiful city I've seen.

December 31: We celebrated New Year's Eve by touring and participating in Hogmanay, Edinburgh's huge street party festival, along with 80,000 other people.

January 1: Touring in Edinburgh.

January 2: A train/bus ride to St. Andrews, which turns the Old Course into a public park on Sundays for the locals to walk on as they choose.

January 3: More of Edinburgh, specifically the Castles and a few museums.

As for Dublin, I'm just excited. Plus, even if things do not go as planned, I am willing to bet we will make our plane.

Until Next Time,
Jessica

Edit from Farrell:
I have been photo-documenting our travels even more rigorusly than normal, and will upload those photos as soon as I have enough bandwith to do so. Right now, we are on a slow 3G connection.

Fun in the Snow

Jessica, Dad and I walked to a local park in Nijmegen, which was wonderfully transformed by the snow. We saw zebra walking in the snow, found a football (soccer) stadium, watched hundreds of kids and kids-at-heart sled and make snowmen, had snowball fights, helped move stuck cars, and met a cross-country skier.

Fortunately, I brought my DSLR and both my long and walk-around lenses, so all of the above were photographed.

Find the set here or the slideshow here.

Farrell

Christmas Morning Photos

I think the title says it all in this case. I have uploaded photos of Dad, Jessica and I opening the presents Dad brought with him from the US. We each have also been given gifts from others that either have already been opened or are of a kind that is not opened, as in ripped out of wrapping paper A Christmas Story style. Those are not pictured here.

Find the set here, or the slideshow here.

Farrell

Utrecht Photos

Dad, Jessica and I traveled to the beautiful Dutch city of Utrecht. Utrecht is one of the more prominent cities in the Netherlands, and is especially known for its beautiful old city center. Canals rivaling the beauty of Amsterdam's seem to never be out of site, and the bells of the famous Dom tower are a regular reminder of the city's history.

You can start viewing our photos as a slideshow here, or find the set here.

These photos were taken with my pocket HD video camera instead of my nice DSLR because of the very cold weather. The quality of well lit pictures is fine, but indoor photos of the dark Dom church are not as nice as I normally post.

Farrell

Snow Photos

As Jessica mentioned in the 's-Hertogenboscht post, we have been fortunate enough to have quite a bit of beautiful snowfall in the last few weeks. Especially with respect to the typical three to four light snow events eastern North Carolina experiences each winter, Dutch snow is noteworthy for two primary reasons.

First, snow events seem to 'stick around' much more gracefully than NC snow. Eastern NC snows seem to always be struggling against only slightly sub-freezing temperatures, which all two often (from a snow lover's perspective) destroy a beautiful snowfall in a matter of hours. There is also the 'rare-snow paradox' to deal with in NC, or any region that really looks forward to snowfall. If it is unusual to have good snow accumulation in an area, residents are more likely to get out and play in the snow. Playing in the snow, although loads of fun, accelerates the rate of snow destruction. For example, NC State's ~500 person snowball fight in the Court of North Carolina my Sophomore year, although one of my best snow memories, nearly cleared North campus' snow accumulation.

The second strikingly cool thing about Dutch snow is the temporal span over which snow actually falls. For example, it has been snowing here off-and-on for about two days, and our last 'snow event' was actually off-and-on snow over approximatively four days. This comparatively long snow-fall window gives snow lovers like Jessica and myself opportunity after opportunity to get outside and do things, even just routine tasks, in a crystalline water wonderland!

Although I am limited by DSLR camera recommended operating conditions, I have taken a dozen pictures of beautiful things my lenses can frame from the windows of our flat. This set of snow pictures, like some of my other photo sets, will continue expanding as I take additional snow photos. Find the set here, or start viewing a full size slideshow here.

Farrell

The Elfstedentocht

One of my professors is from Friesland, a region in the north of the Netherlands with tons of canals, but not particularly urban and with only eleven official cities. The region even has its own language, Frisian, which I only recently learned is the second official language of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (And, for those who do not know, the country is still a monarchy with Queen Beatrix as the current head of state.) Anyway, Friesland is apparently a very beautiful area of the country of which the people there are very proud as evident by there enthusiasim for giving tours -- by foot, bike, bus, boat, and occasionally by ice! It does not happen often, but at least once every ten years or so the canals freeze over completely and the ice skating tour of the eleven FrieslChristmas, decorations, Dutch, Holland, Netherlands, picturesand cities begins...and the people go nuts! Dr. Slootjes says it has only happened three times in her life (she is probably somewhere in her thirties), but their are rumors it may happen this year. The 'Elfstedentocht' as it is called, is cerca 220 kilometers (about 150 miles) and can be done either as a race or just for fun. Feel free to check out this website to see the route, maps, and other information. 

Also, Prof. Slootjes sent out this video in an email (she thought it was funny and had told the class about it). The music is kind of weird, so just ignore it, but it gives you an idea of what Friesland looks like, the ice skating culture, and what Frisian sounds like. So, all around it is worth a look and/or listen. 



Truly, the 'Elfstedentocht' is a rare experience that seems like so much fun. Needless to say, if the canals freeze up, I will take my professor's advice -- skip class and head for the ice!

Until next time,
Jessica

's-Hertogenbosch

Fortunately, in spite of all the work (or perhaps thanks to), this week has managed to go by fairly quickly. Today is simply a study day for me, but Farrell has an exam later this afternoon and we both have one on Monday. So, my day should be comparatively relaxing: just studying, running a few errrands, and drinking peppermint tea and coffee.

Yesterday we got an unexpected fresh covering of snow. I am not sure what time it started but it was a good hour or so in the morning at least, which led to a beautiful and festive start to the day. No surprise snow today though, not yet anyway. I took a video yesterday of the snowfall because it was such an interesting and pretty snowfall, but we have not had a chance to look at it yet to see how I did or if it is worth putting up on the blog. However, our snow pictures and Christmas decorations will be posted over the weekend.

 For now, I leave you with these pictures from our trip to 'S-Hertogenbosch to pick up our visas. And, no, I cannot pronounce it properly. The few times I have said it, people usually just laugh and say something to the effect of "Oh, that was close!" or "Yes, something like that..." Although, it is always a little hard to tell if they are being sarcastic. And, of course, more than half the time the response is usually just a "No, not at all." (So, I guess that answers the sarcasm question.) Regardless, the Dutch always seem amused about it rather than annoyed, unless of course you happen across some crochety old man that believes everyone should speak Dutch, as does occasionally happen. Perhaps, I will write up that experience and post it this weekend as well. Anyway, enjoy the 'S-Hertogenbosch pictures -- it is a beautiful, old city with tons of canals, winding streets, and interesting canal-side statues.

Until next time,
Jessica