Another round of Firsts

I had a few new experiences today. The first was the laundry-mat. We do not have a washing machine in our apt(yet) so we had to take our bundle of clothes and bedding down to the ole laundry-mat. Lucky for us, it is only a little ways down our street. I conned Dan into helping me take the bag there and help me figure out how to work the washing machines. We stood around dumbly for several minutes, trying to interpret the directions until a lady finally asked us(and she did have some laughter in her voice) if we needed help. She said that she has never washed here and proceeded to help us read the instructions. None of the three of us could find a price anywhere. Well, that's not entirely true. We did see a price of 3.50 euro(which converts into about $5.00) but it was under the label of soap. We continued looking for about 10 minutes until we finally figured out that we had to put  money in to get our token AND soap. We didn't want soap, as we had brought our own but it didn't matter. It did indeed cost 3.50 e for ONE LOAD OF LAUNDRY. This does not include the drying. Then they gave us half a tub full of soap, which we had to figure out how to dispense in the washer. I ended up putting it in the wrong slot and had to use my hands to scoop it out and scoop it into the other slot. While I was doing that, Dan forgot that he needed the tub but had already put the money in so the soap is spewing out onto the floor and he's trying to catch it in his hands. We were a mess. But after that, things went pretty normal. I did manage to burn the edge of Dan's towel...but he ate a whole bag of cool american doritos last night and didn't save any for me so we're even:)

After lugging all my dried laundry home (Dan had gone on to work after we got things working) it was time for my first solo bike riding experience. I was pretty nervous as bikes are treated like cars here, without the external protection that cars offer! But I managed to make it to the secondhand shop and back with only one minor mishap of nearly getting ran over. But it was so much fun! On the way back though, i was riding against the wind and that is tough. So my legs are recovering tonight. Can't wait for this weekend to get my own bike and I will definitely post pictures.

Sick Day

So, not much excitement today. I was sick the whole day and mostly in bed. And no moms, NOT pregnant!!!! Dan didn't go in until late and stayed home and took care of me. When you don't have a toaster to make toast and nothing to cook soup in, you get real creative. He roasted some bread over our gas stove for me:) It was sweet. Speaking of getting creative... one other weird thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post is that they don't put their eggs in the fridge here. Yes, you read that right. Eggs=not refrigerated. So for that reason (and because we have nothing to cook with yet) we have not eaten eggs. People swear they're safe but really??

Hmm, Dan also brought me a present home because he forgot to pick up my 7-up and crackers(which he did later go back and get). He brought me home a cast-iron flat skillet, this one to be exact.

So we did have our first, hot, homecooked meal tonight. Unfortunately I am not familiar with a gas stove and nearly set myself and our house on fire. Seriously, it just WHOOSHED out fire when I turned it on...and pushed the little button to ignite. Anyway, we still had sandwich's but HOT sandwich's! With Cool American Doritos (translate, cool ranch doritos). Neither of us really liked doritos prior to coming here, but now they give us just a little taste of back home.

Also, no bike till Saturday due to my being sick:(

The good and the bad

Since it is a rather rainy day and Dan took the umbrella to work so I'm stuck inside and tired of cleaning, I thought i'd write a list of odd or frustrating things about the Netherlands. And since you should always follow up negatives with positives, I will write some positive things too:)

1. Did you know that it is very difficult to find a comforter here? From what I have found so far, they seem to really like their duvet covers. So  you're either stuck with a white comforter or you have to give in and buy a duvet cover...which I don't like because they get all bunched up. Dan's mom gave us some clips that are supposed to hold it in place. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

2. So we've been without light fixtures since we got here because it is common practice for tenants to have to purchase their own light fixtures. When you leave, you take them with you and leave bare, exposed live wires for your next victim. When questioning a Dutch person about this, their response is "Well, don't you want to buy your own light fixtures??"..hmm, no, i don't particularly want to spend $100 on light fixtures for a rental home!! But we consider ourselves lucky because in most rental places, they take the floor when they leave. Yep, the floor. Because it's sooo likely that their next home will have the EXACT SAME DIMENSIONS as the apt they are living in now. riiiiiiight.

3. You have to walk EVERYWHERE! or ride a bike.  This is cool sometimes when it's nice and you don't have far to go but on days like today when my husband comes home soaked through to the bone, with water running in sheets down his face, not so cool. But don't worry, we will be investing in ponchos and rain pants. That's how cool we are.

4.Cobblestone streets=uneven ground and difficult to walk on=a disaster for the graceful person that I am.

5.They only work 36 hour work weeks. Which means, Monday mornings most places don't open until 1pm, if they open at all. Most places close at 5pm each night except for Thursday's where they stay open until a whopping 8pm!!! I'm sure this will turn into a pro when I have a job:)

6. Tiny fridges. TINY fridges. see pic below.

IF you look into the kitchen and look at the 3rd cupboard over, to the left of the sink, on the bottom...that is our fridge. Yep, it fits into a small cabinet. Awesome. Oh, and no oven. Just a countertop stove.

7. Did I mention no oven??? I think this is where the term "Dutch oven" was coined from.

8. Bike riders. These people are crazy. They will run you over if you are walking in a bike area. How am I supposed to know I'm in a bike area? I'm new here and all the signs are in Dutch! I can't wait until I'm a bike rider...

9. No option for water at a restaurant. Wait, let me rephrase that. No option for FREE water at a restaurant. Water costs more than a beer. You cannot get just tap water at most places. and then when they do bring you water, it's in a tiny glass. I'm not sure we even have glasses as small as that in the US. It's kind of like 2 1/2 shot glasses on top of each other, made into one glass...to give you an idea. about that width too.

10. No familiar faces. None.:(

Positive
1. Amazing history! Some of the buildings around here date back to as early as the 12th century! In America, we can't even fathom something being that old!

2. The canals are beautiful. There are always people riding boats down them, people are lined up on the sides having lunch, it's a picturesque sight.

3. cobblestone streets:) While they can be a con, they really do make the city look beautiful and leave their piece of history.

4. Adorable apartments where you have no choice but to get to know your neighbors because you share a door and a mailslot with them. They have been so kind, leaving us flowers, inviting us to dinner, loaning us dishes, etc.

5. Walking everywhere. You get to see so many things that we miss when we hop in our car and drive straight to our destination. I have found so many cute shops tucked away that I would've otherwise missed.

6. DELICIOUS pastries and goodies! There is no denying that Europe has us beat in this department!! Beautiful displays in store fronts and the aroma of fresh baked goodies wafting out of the store.

7. Speaking of fresh baked, bread  has to go on the list. They bake their bread fresh daily and you go and all the loaves are on a table and you can pick out your own and they will slice it and bag it for you! No  more processed bread for me!

8. The  laidback lifestyle of the Dutch is still something that intrigues me (see 36 hour work week). In addition to their shortened work week, they get 4-6 weeks vacation a year, just starting out. I haven't figured out if they don't like working much or if they have caught on that working yourself to death is not a desirable option.

9. The 6 weeks vacation that Dan gets=lots of travel time for us!!! Our neighbors downstairs have been here for 3-4 years and have traveled to 30 of the 49 capitals in Europe!!! Our first trip is coming up in October but unfortunately, Dan is still keeping it a secret so I can't tell you where we are going.

10. Having an adventure to look back on when we are older and some funny stories to tell our children!!! 

Ikea!

This weekend we took our first adventure out of Leiden. We were supposed to go with a couple from church to Ikea but they were unable to go at the last minute so we decided to chance public transportation and take the trip to Delft(which is another city). Before we left, we walked to a secondhand shop to look and see if we could find anything there (we do not want to buy everything new since we will be gone in a few years). This included us getting lost a bit and walking all over. We then had to walk to Centraal station to catch our train and by this time, my feet were already hurting. Dan doesn't like it when I wear my tennis shoes because he thinks they look dorky, no matter that my feet hurt! So we had been walking for probably an hour and a half that morning by the time we reached the train station. When I was on the platform waiting for our train to arrive, all the hurt in my feet went away because I was so excited!

So we hopped on the train and made it to Delft. We then had to find out which bus would take us to Ikea. Traveling, or doing much of anything really, can be difficult because we don't speak Dutch. Most people will speak English to you if you ask but it's still hard to be dependent on someone else! Anyways, after asking a bus driver and looking at the bus maps, we noticed the large sign that said "IKEA" at one of the stations. Smart Americans.

Finally we made it to Ikea. Has anyone ever been to an Ikea before? We do have them in the States. It is a massive, warehouse looking building that spans several acres, with thousands (well it seemed like thousands) of people milling around in it. It is smartly arranged so that you have to basically walk through every section to get to where you want to go. By this time, our feet are hurting worse and we're tired. But we want a bed frame and some furniture so we plug on.

After 3 HOURS at Ikea, we were about done. Did you know that you have to pull out your own items? Yes, you write down the article number and then at the end of the winding maze(remember, you have to go through each section) there is a giant warehouse where you find the section your items are in and go pull the boxes off the shelf! Come on people! A little customer service please! We did not get everything we needed as we were both so tired and spent that we just wanted to go home. We did get an amazing bed frame, a bookshelf, and most of the lighting for our house.

And for those wondering, we did not attempt to drag it all home on the train. They delivered. For a mere 80euro...the extra 30 because they had to bring it up one flight up steps.Ikea jerks.

1st days

Life in Leiden

(Again, a delayed post from last week)Everything is like out of a book or a movie. The streets are mostly cobblestone or brick, the buildings are hundreds of years old (the building we live in is around 1650's!!) , and the bikes...oh the bikes. People are crazy here. Bikes are just like cars and have the same rights. They just whip right past you, whether in car or on foot. I can't even really begin to describe what it's like but I can't wait to get my bike!!!

I love our apartment! It's the perfect first home. It's a one bedroom, one bath(kind of...the shower and a sink and mirror are in one small room and the toilet and another small sink are right across the hall. Very interesting). We have 3 big windows in the front that over look the street below and 2 big windows in our bedroom that overlook a small, inner courtyard between a bunch of our apts.

We met 2 of our neighbors who are super nice. They are older and one used to be in film making(logistics coordinator) and the other appeared to be a retired stewardess. They brought us chairs to sit on, a small table, a lamp, some kitchen ware to get by on and helped connect us with another man who is getting rid of a full household of items!!!

We spent most of yesterday walking around and exploring the city. We bought a bed! After one night of sleeping on this horrible air mattress, it was our first priority! It's being delivered on Monday. Hopefully this week I will make it up to Ikea in Delft to get some other items for our apt. Did you know that when someone leaves an apt, they take the light fixtures?? That's right, we have no light fixtures in our house. So come 8pm. It's pretty dark. That worked out ok the first night because we went to bed at 7pm and slept until 11am:) and then last night we had the lamp from our neighbors that we moved around from room to room. We also lit candles and called it romance:)

It's been quite an adventure so far. Sometimes all the differences are overwhelming and I see how it can get lonely when everyone is speaking Dutch. Most people do speak English if you ask but just walking down the road, all you hear is Dutch. Tomorrow Dan goes back to work and I am going to try and organize all of the stuff in our suitcases and wait for our beautiful new mattress to be delivered! Then I'm going to venture out on my own and hopefully find a wifi area to post all this and then on to the store to begin the shopping process. Hopefully we will have internet this week at home.

 (our street)

We Made it!!!

(These blog posts are a little delayed as we have been without internet access since we got here but I did write things down to put on the blog at this time!)

Today we left America. After tearful goodbye's at the KC airport, we boarded a plane to Chicago. The flight was short and uneventful and when we got to O'Hare, we had to walk a million miles to get to the international flights terminal. There we had our last “real” American meal. A philly cheesesteak sandwich and a large coke. We had to go through security again and were faced with the full body scanners for the first time. Dan went first and as I was unpacking my laptop I heard a TSA lady say “that's ridiculous!! He's not going to have a choice here pretty soon!!”. I assumed she was talking about Dan since he had just gone through the scanner and after I got violated by the body scanner, Dan informed me that he had refused the scan and that the TSA lady was not happy about it. Wish I would have known you could do that!

So our flight from Chicago to Ireland was uneventful, just how I like it., We caught some good winds and it only took us 6.5 hours to get there. Dan slept the majority of the way and I, of course, did not. We were actually not seated right next to each other but across the aisle. I did finish Hunger Games (thanks Meg!) and watched The Bounty Hunter and a few other tv shows. OH and I maybe listened to the best of Michael Jackson on the music channel:) Coming into Ireland was as beautiful as you can imagine. Rolling green countryside, fog in the lowlying areas and the sun coming up over the horizon.

We had a short layover in Dublin and then we boarded our plane to Amsterdam. That flight was just at an hour, so total our flights were less than 9 hours!! A friend I had met picked us up from the airport and I have some funny pictures of Dan smashed in the backseat of this tiny car with all 7 pieces of our luggage. We went and picked up our apt key and headed to our new home!!