Hi folks,
We moved to Holland a month ago on a 2 year job assignment. We’re finally pretty much settled into our place. So I thought I’d use the Photo Gallery as a sort of blog on our experiences here if you all don’t mind.
Here’s a picture of our new home in Wassenaar, Netherlands. It’s the end unit of four attached row houses. It’s about 1200 sq ft and has three floors. The third floor is really a converted attic with a small guest room, shower and laundry. Very tight but livable.
Here’s a picture of our street. Lots of row houses in town.
“Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?” bumper sticker
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Here's a picture of "adverse conditions" in Wassenaar. They live in pretty tight spaces. The average homes are small and so are the streets and parking spaces.
I'm told that Shell Oil has offices in the area and a lot of their executives live in Wassenaar. There are also people from different countries who work in their embassies in The Hague who live here. So there are some pretty houses on my morning walking route with the dogs.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Looks beautiful Crash. Might I ask what kind of assignment you are on?
Hey, pino. I expected everyone in the US to be asleep!
I'm the US rep on a NATO project. There's a NATO office for R&D in The Hague. I've been coming here for about 5 years on business trips so I'm familiar with the area. We decided to take the site assignment when it became available.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Wassenaar has a main canal thru town and some smaller canals that feed off it.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
I took these pictures on the morning walk with the dogs. They are making the transition from country dogs to city dogs pretty well. Instead of pooping in the woods they get to poop in front of meticulously groomed Dutch homes.
There's a movement afoot (so to speak) in Wassenaar to get people to pick up after their dogs. They actually have special containers for dog poop bags.
There are two days for garbage pick up. Tuesday is the green day. Everyone has a green can they put by the road that contains compostable stuff like grass clippings and coffee grounds. Thursday is gray day for everything else.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
keep 'em comming.....
our own little dutch boyMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Yea, I'm the little Dutchboy... but my wife wouldn't let stick my finger in the dyke... er, I mean dike... ;-)
Mike, lots of interesting brickwork here. Probably your idea of heaven!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Hey Roger, nice digs. Please continue posting for some international flavor.
Been to the beach yet?A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Hey Roger, cool...have you been fishing yet? I need a dump truck, baby, to unload my head
Snort, haven't been fishing yet but I brought my stuff. My fishing buddy who's lived here about 4 years now just got back from vacation. So hopefully soon.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Hey, Calvin. We went to the beach a little over a week ago on a really hot Sunday. It was packed but, unfortunately, so was the camera still. Lots of Eastern Europeans are here on holiday. Lots of strange clothes.
Maybe we can get to the beach sometime this week. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
"We went to the beach a little over a week ago on a really hot Sunday. Lots of Eastern Europeans are here on holiday. Lots of strange clothes."don't be tempted by peer pressurenobody, absolutely nobody, looks good in a speedo
he he... I think Calvin was thinking more along the lines of topless in a thong!!! Of course that can be a bad this as well...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
One of the photo showing the across walk that has a little post...does that have a light? or is it from your camera's flash?
No light - just relective tape on the post. A lot of the cross walks are raised to act like speed bumps and have posts so that you'll recognize them. They seem to have rules for everything here and everything is very well marked.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Beautiful Aussies, Crash. Of course, they all are.
Mine is 10 this year, and she's just beginning to act mature. Never had another dog as smart and loyal as this one.
Holland looks beautiful. Of all the places my father saw in Europe in WW2, Holland was his favorite. Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
Yea, I don't think we'll ever own another breed. They are amazing dogs. Daisy turns 7 tomorrow and Harley is about 4.5 years old. We've become good friends with the breeder we got Harley.
Holland is really beautiful. The people are great too. Most speak a little English and they're very helpful.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Looks like a great assignment. Maybe I should look for a job with NATO. That would be neat to spend a year or two in various parts of Europe.
Hmm.. Australian shepherds?
By the by, do you have larger version of your canal and 'house on pond' pics? They would make nice additions to my wallpaper folder.
And keep the pics coming!jt8
"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." -- Saint Basil
Bingo! Australian Shepards! The one on the left is Harley and Daisy is on the right.
Yea, the site assignment in Europe is going to be a lot of fun. The people here are really friendly and most of them speak English pretty well so that makes it easy. We hope to travel a lot.
If you are interested in NATO work send me an email and I'll find out what kind of openings they have.
We had to give up our passports for a couple of weeks so we can get Dutch IDs, which we need to get plates on our car. So travel is on hold for a little while.
Here are larger versions of those two pics.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
PLEASE!!enough flower pictures!how about some of the local women we hear about and the nightlife in the country? that would be better than pictures of trees.
What you said!
Forrest
OK... When I was told that you guys were into T&A I thought it meant tulips and astors... ;-)
There's a kite competition on the beach this weekend so I'll try to get some babe pictures then. Unfortunately, the summer is pretty short here and the forcast is for partly sunny and a high of around 72 on Sunday. Not exactly nudie weather...
In the meantime, I have some more flower pictures...
Went on business trip to Ramstein Air Base last week. That's where they haul a lot of stuff across the Atlantic. I didn't take any pictures of the base but I did take some of the lovely little hamlet of Ramstein.
Our hotel, the Ramsteiner-hof was built in 1761. But it had very modern rooms and free high speed wireless, not to mention pretty flowers. The other pictures are places in the neighborhood. Pretty old stuff.
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"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
On the way back from Ramstein we drove along part of the Mosel River in Germany. That is German wine country and it's very old and pretty. It comes complete with castles on hills. We had to hurry back to Holland to pick up our dogs at the kennel so we didn't do the whole river drive. But we plan to go back.
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Looks like I attached a couple of full size pics by mistake so be careful...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Be a b1tch driving a tractor up those fields!
Pretty cool. How about full-sized on number 7 & 10. I need to get that canal pic off my wallpaper ;)
jt8
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success." --Albert Schweitzer
Be a b1tch driving a tractor up those fields!
That's why they make migrants... ;-)
Here ya go on the pics!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Thanks. Got 107 on the wallpaper now.
Seems like the people in that area must be in good shape. Just walking down to the grocer for a gallon of milk would be a workout.
jt8
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success." --Albert Schweitzer
I've been following your travelogue......Beautiful.....I envy you....
Thanks, Carole. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity so we're going to try to see as much as we can. The best part is meeting the people and seeing how much more we have in common than is different. Like living in a neighborhood and hearing kids play and giggle, only I can't understand a word they're sayng... ;-)
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Sorry, missed this one....Yeah, you can just walk around and gawk!!
As for nightlife in the country... when i used to travel here on business I was with a bunch of ex Army Rangers. Needless to say, the waitresses at Crazy Pianos knew us by name.
http://www.crazypianos.com/
But now I'm living here with my wife. Just not the same...
But my sister's X is coming to visit so he and I might do the nightlife here and in Amsterdam. But they don't let you take ictures in the red light district...
http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/redlights.html
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Went on a business trip to the UK last week. The meetings were at a conference facility about 5 miles from the town of Cheltenham. The DW came along so we decided to stay in town and cover the extra cost of the hotel (above per diem).
Here are some pictures of the hotel (built in 1838) and St Mary's Church (oldest part built in the 1200's). The Queen's Hotel is supposed to be the first purpose built hotel in Europe (at least that's what the tourist stuff says).
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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More church pictures... St Mary's has some really beautiful stained glass windows. We liked it more than the Gloucester Cathedral because it's a lot more intimate.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Here are some pictures of assorted places about town, including the local pub and town center. The church isn this series is the Gloucester Cathedral. DW got to see it with the other DWs while I worked... :-(
Apparently some scenes from the Harry Potter films were recorded there.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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That is spectacular......How lucky you are to see all of that.....#20 is awesome....
Carole, if you look way in tha back of #20 you can see a bunch school kids getting a class touor. I suspect they were using Harry Potter to hook kids on history."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Those are some cool pictures, brings back some college day memories of the time spent looking at slides in art history.
Thanks for sharring them.
Doug
Doug, I was hoping more for National Geographic but art history will work too... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Ho folks,
Had to go to Paris this week for meetings on Monday and Tuesday so we went early and spent the weekend. Got there Friday night after dark. Our room had a very partial view of the Eiffell Tower.
The weather was great on Saturday so we walked around the Latin Quarter. We got there early so there weren't many people around at first. But it was hopping by afternoon.
Here are various pictures of the cafes and markets in the Latin Quarter, and Notre Dame from along the Seine.
In the afternoon we stopped and had some wine in a cafe and protest against psychiatry went by. Very peaceful and orderly though...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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hey, did you get Tom Cruise's autograph ?
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
he he... i didn't see him there but I'm sure he was there in spirit if not in person. I should have looked for the short guy with the tall babe/wife!
BTW, happy birthday, Mike!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Our room had a very partial view of the Eiffell Tower.
Yeah, that's one Hell of a chimney pot sprouting out of the building ;)
jt8
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yea, that damned thing spoils the view of a lot of nice places. I haven't downloaded all of the pictures from the camera yet but I have a picture of the top of the tower looking like it's sticking out of the head of a statue. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Oh, you poor baby, had to go to Paris!Lovely......
Yea, it's funny... all of the US people want to meet in Europe and the Euros want to have the meetings in New York, DC, San Francisco, Montreal... A lot of the Euros have seen more of the US than I have. And I've seen more of Europe since we've been here than I've seen of the US in 50+ years of living there. Crazy world!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Here are some pictures from the various outdoor markets. The markets seem to be in different parts of the city on different days.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 11/10/2006 6:24 am ET by Crash
Oooh, sardines and octopus! A dream of mine has been to wander around the markets and Paris and Provance.....Those pics are lucious....<G>Have you been to any of the patisseries?
IIRC, 2.2lbs per kg? And a euro is only a bit more than a dollar, in which case those prices don't look too bad.
What's the story on the bowls of veggies? Are they selling the bowl of vegs for a price, or are you buying each item separately? Makes me think of suggestive selling. Showing you what you can stir fry (or whatever) together.
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"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was thinking color more than anything....Broccoli with avacados is not too appealing, if those are avacados...
IIRC, 2.2lbs per kg? And a euro is only a bit more than a dollar, in which case those prices don't look too bad.
What's the story on the bowls of veggies?
Yea, the prices in the markets are pretty reasonable. The restaurants are expensive because they have a 19.6% value added tax. I don't think that applies to things you buy to cook at home.
The wine is a great value (of course). We spent more on a single beer in a restaurant than for a bottle of wine in a store.
I think Carole is right about the color thing of the veggies. I guess it's a way to stand out from the other vendors."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Great pics! Really fantastic thread. Thanks!
As Tim Holt told Walter Huston in The Treasure of Sierra Madre, "the worst ain't so bad when it finally happens."
Hey Roger, I remember waking up in the late 60s under a bridge that had a similarly suspicious view of Notre Dame<G>...one of the greatest cities ever...get thee to the Louvre...I hear they've got a shingle sculpture of the Mona Lisa<G>Doode, you got any stripers over there? Won't be long here.Happy trails. "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
Hey Roger, I remember waking up in the late 60s under a bridge that had a similarly suspicious view of Notre Dame<G>...one of the greatest cities ever...get thee to the Louvre...I hear they've got a shingle sculpture of the Mona Lisa<G>
Doode, you got any stripers over there? Won't be long here.
You crack me up. Does this bridge look familiar? We came across some people with waterfront property in that area on the Seine. I think they were your old buddies because we could hear them going "Snort! Snort!"
We didn't make it to the Louvre on this trip. However, had I known about the shingle sculptures...
One thing I do miss about the states is the striper season. I brought my gear here with me but haven't tried it yet. I'm told they have a sea bass that's a lot like a striper but with no stripes, and not as big.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 11/11/2006 1:30 am ET by Crash
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Due to popular demand, here are more market pictures. Most of these were taken by Sue (while I was working!).
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 11/11/2006 1:47 am ET by Crash
Last set of market pictures!
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Thanks for the pics, and the memories! DW used to work the San Jose-Paris flight before they cancelled it post 9/11 and I went with her a couple of times - only an 18 hour layover, but still tons of fun. One of the times I came across that market under the elevated Metro tracks. Those open markets are one of my favorite things about Paris. What a great city!
By the way, Musee d'Orsy is an absolute must. The furniture exhibit is unreal; the art isn't bad either <grin>.
wrudiger,
The market under the tracks was just outside our hotel. For the neighborhood, it was like the supermarket coming to them. Sue lamented that we didn't have a kitchen in the hotel room. But we had some great wine and cheese.
People rag on the French sometimes but they have such a nice sense of style and culture. I can understand why they want to preserve it. Plus I think French is a beautiful language - more pleasant to the ear than the throaty Dutch.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 11/12/2006 12:41 am ET by Crash
A foodie's paradise! Thanks....
Roger
I was at the Louvre way back in the high school days, many moon ago!
As soon as I saw the pic of Notre Dame with those flying butresses it brought back found memories, thanks
Doug
I imagine that Paris must have been a great experience in high school, Doug. We figured we'd save the museums for when we get visitors from the states. My sister, the teacher, has her list. It was nice to learn the layout of the city. And the train ride from Holland isn't bad at all. Europe is actually a relatively small country (just kidding)."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Here's the tourist set of pictures: Eiffel Tower, Ecole Militaire (where the meetings were), a natural history museum in a park, statue of some guy with a seagull on his head, statue outside the Paris chapter of the Man-Boy Love Society (kidding), Hotel De Invallides (spell?), pictures from the Roden Museum (including the Gates of Heck and the Crapper; last Crapper shot has the Eiffel Tower sticking out of his head) and the back side of the Ecole Militaire with the gates, dome, and Eiffle Tower all lined up.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Ha, camping by the Seine seems so much classier, now...if you look around, and see a petrified piece of the sandwiche jambon that I used as a pillow,you've found my bridge.And, I agree with you about the French...I razz on 'em, but Mrs 'Snort is half French, so I am fully entitled...LOLHave you taken a night time ride on a tour boat?...City of Lights is right.
A friend of ours has done some beautiful photographs and stories of Paris...she inscribed her last one "In a Paris Moment,"..."here's to the creative spirit and moments of magic." She'd liKe the way you think<G> (http://meredithmullins.artspan.com/)Now, boogie down to the Riviera...oh la la "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003 edited to add a pronoun...as opposed to an "agin" one<G>
Edited 11/13/2006 12:41 pm ET by Snort
Snort,
Meridith has a great eye. She really captures the character of the city, rather than postcard-type pictures. The performers on the metro are can be good or terrible!
We are (well, at least I am) looking forward to the Riviera! Need to save that for some very warm days!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
We are (well, at least I am) looking forward to the Riviera! Need to save that for some very warm days!A little chill in the air could add some visual interest(s)<G> "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
Back in Holland, it's time for the holiday season. They apparently celebrate Christmas a bit differently. I don't fully understand it but their equivalent to Santa Claus is Sinterklaas. And I don't think he's directly connected to Christmas like in the States.
As the story goes, Sinterklaas arrives from Spain by boat every year around this time (he came in yesterday) and stays around until December 5th when he leaves presents for the good little boys and girls. Here are some pictures of Sinterklaas arriving in our town harbor (Wassenaar) off the canal.
Sinterklaas has a sidekick named Zwarte Piet (translates to "Black Pete"). Piet wears brightly colored clothes with a feather in his cap. There are different stories as to how Zwarte Piet became his sidekick but he is loved by all and I think he's more popular than Sinterklaas.
The tradition is to have a bunch of Piet's (Dutch women in black face) and a band at the harbor dancing and singing songs to welcome Sinterklaas. A lot of the kids get dressed up in little Zwarte Piet outfits. The Zwarte Piets work the croud and give nuts and cookies to the kids.
Very cute, family-oriented day for the young and young at heart!
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Crash - you have ABSOLUTELY got to find or Google a copy of humorist David Sedaris reading his essay "Six to Eight Black Men", dealing with those particular traditions of Christmas. Funniest thing we've heard!
Please please please listen to it - you above all are in a position to appreciate it.
Forrest - "I'm sorry, that's just WRONG - Santa didn't USED to do anything!"
McD, that is really funny! I'm going to forward that to a bunch of people. Thanks a lot!!!
"This is the reward for living in Holland. As a child you get to hear this story, and as an adult you get to turn around and repeatit. As an added bonus, the government has thrown in legalized drugsand prostitution-so what's not to love about being Dutch?"http://people.cornell.edu/pages/bs16/Christmas/6_to_8_black_men.txt"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Over here I don't get US holidays off but took today as vacation to celebrate Thanksgiving. We live about 5 miles from the city of Leiden where the Pilgrims lived for 12 years before heading to the New World. Every year the US citizens in Holland have a non-denominational service at the church in Leiden where the Pilgrims worshiped with the Dutch.
It was pretty touching. The band from the American School of The Hague played. There were speeches from various people, including the mayor of Leiden, a Dutch lady who is a decendant of one of the "Pilgrim fathers" who signed the Mayflower Compact, and the Depty Ambassador from the US (ambassador couldn't make it because of an illness in the family). There were rabbis, priests, and ministers... and cookies and coffee after.
The buildings around the church were there 400 years ago when the Pilgrims left. Rembrant grew up in Leiden and was 14 when the Pilgrims left. It was pretty inspiring hearing about and seeing how they lived.
Sorry that the pictures are fuzzy but we couldn't use a flash...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 11/23/2006 11:02 am ET by Crash
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Again, thank you.....It must be wonderful to be experiencing such history....Happy Thanksgiving!
My pleasure, Carole. When we moved here we didn't know anything about Leiden or the Pilgrim connection. Back in the US we lived about half a mile from where the pilgrims first encountered the Indians (First Encounter Beach in Eastham, MA). So it was interesting to see where they left from in Europe. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thanks intrepidcat. I made the mistake of buying a larger memory card for the camera. Now we can take 220 hi res pictures. So there are a lot to sort thru!!!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
We enjoy all of them. Have a great time and thanks for letting us enjoy it too.
As Tim Holt told Walter Huston in The Treasure of Sierra Madre, "the worst ain't so bad when it finally happens."
I guess it's that old "grass is greener" thing.......One of our neighbors here in Tucson is moving back to Ohio....His reason? There's nothing to do here in Arizona!!
Arizona, eh? Our Army teammates from Ft Huachuca hosted one of our meetings. For the traditional social dinner event they staged a mild west show with audience participation complete with cowboys, show girls, and a lynching. The Euros loved it. They were facinated with the desert too. There's lots of variety on the planet (at least for now... ;-)
I lived in Ohio for 4 years and had a great time (Columbus) but I could definitely live in Arizona. I'm not sure what your friend was thinking about... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
We were in Sierra Vista(Ft. Huachuca) a couple of weekends ago....Not one of my favorite places here, but the area is pretty.....Tombstone always puts on a show every year depicting the Shootout at OK Corral....Quite a show.....He is tired of the desert and longs for trees and winter! He also loves the fact that driving some place in Ohio is a lot faster than driving to some places out here, so he says.....There are tons of things to do here in Arizona, but it does take some driving! We're only about 6 hours from the Grand Canyon....I grew up in southern Ohio and Columbus was one of my favorite cities....
Hi Carole,
We finally made it to Provence. Had a business trip to Marseille and Sue came with me so we were able to do a little sight seeing. But we weren't able to get out the city and away from the coast which is supposed to be the best part of Provence. We'll have to save that for a vacation.
According to the guidebook, Marseille is the oldest city in France. I don't know when it was established but there are some ruins in a park that date back to the 3rd century BC.
Marseille is a bit run down. Apparently if you get away from the downtown area it's even considered dangerous. So apartments (condos) are relatively inexpensive for the Mediterean, even with a water view.
The last two pictures are of a WWI memorial.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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These pictures are of a small fishing village just south of the main harbor. Very cute. According to teh guidebook, boulliabasse was invented in Marseille. The boulliabasse there doesn't have any shellfish. We had some at a restaurant in the village.
The way they serve it is interesting. They fill your bowl with hot broth and give you a plate of cooked fish. You put the fish in the broth along with pieces of toasted bread. I thought it was Ok but not the best food we had there.
Interestingly, they named one of the main roads near the village after JFK. Rumor has it that they plan to name one of the major dead-ends after W... ;-)
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Here are some pictures from around the harbor. The harbor has a real mix of boats ranging from tiny fishing boats to 50' sailboats. Some of the boats are pretty old. They don't seem to throw anything away.
The last picture is a fort built in the 1600's. The harbor area was so rowdy they actually built the fort to contain the riff-raff. The cannon in the fort faced the city. We had our meeting in the part of the fort that's near the water in the picture.
The city was hit by the bubonic plague in the middle ages. We saw a few rats when walked around at night and could see some in the old fort from our hotel window.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
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Been following your thread awhile, and I think it is great you are seeing so much over there. Thanks for the great photos. Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
Thanks, Mike. I'm glad that you're enjoying the pics. We've been here for 6 months now. That's a quarter of the assignment already. It seems like it's going by really fast. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
We’ve been here in <!----><!---->Europe<!----> for 6 months now and finally took our first real vacation last week. We renting a small two-bedroom, dog-friendly apartment in <!----><!---->Bayeux<!---->, <!---->France<!----><!---->. It doesn’t have a TV or internet so I have lots of time to read and write my “memoirs.†We can get three French radio stations and I don’t speak French well enough to keep up. So the world could be coming to an end and we’d have no clue. It’s actually kind of nice to get away from the news for a while. <!----><!----><!---->
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<!---->Bayeux<!----> is in <!----><!---->Normandy<!----><!----> and has the distinction of being the first town liberated in the Battle of Normandy during WWII. It is also the location of the appropriately named Bayeux Tapestry, which dates back to 1066 and was created to chronicle the victory of William the Conqueror over <!----><!---->England<!----><!---->.<!----><!---->
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<!----><!---->Bayeux<!----><!----> is a pretty town. Because it was liberated so quickly during WWII it wasn’t as severely damaged as some of the other towns where the Germans dug in. In contrast within about 30 miles, the town of <!---->St Lo<!----> was completely destroyed and the large city of <!----><!---->Caen<!----><!----> was 80% destroyed. <!----><!---->Bayeux<!----><!----> has a huge cathedral that seems out of proportion. It also has river that runs through it. A lot of the buildings in town date back to the Middle Ages. <!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/25/2006 5:47 am ET by Crash
More pics of Bayeux...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/25/2006 5:54 am ET by Crash
When we decided to vacation in <!----><!----><!---->Normandy<!----><!----> we didn’t think we’d spend as much time as we have visiting WWII sites but you just can’t get away from them. We like to drive back roads to see how the locals live and driving along narrow country roads we’d come across memorials and, most poignantly, cemeteries. Because it’s the off-season the sites were pretty empty so we didn’t have to fight any crowds. A couple of the larger museums are open year-round. There’s an excellent museum in <!----><!---->Bayeux<!----><!----> and another at Arromanches.<!----><!----><!---->
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The apartment had an excellent book titled “Ten Days to D-day†by a Brit history professor named David Stafford. It’s based in large part on the diaries of real people on both sides of the conflict. It includes the heavy players, like Eisenhower, Church, de Galle, Hitler, etc. but also some of the average people who were pulled into the war, such as a girl working as a code breaker in England, American paratrooper, Canadian soldier, German soldier, French underground, political prisoner, etc. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this kind of thing.<!----><!---->
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The Allied invasion, code named Overlord, happened on June 6th, 1944. The Germans were expecting an invasion and had built defenses along the coast called the Atlantic Wall. However, the Germans expected that the invasion would occur during high tide so that the troops could get as far up the beach as possible. So they had put all kinds of defensive stuff in the water below high tide. They had big guns and machine gun pill boxes overlooking the beaches. But Eisenhower fooled them by attacking during low tide so they could see and eliminate the defenses. <!----><!---->
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The Allies had also spent a lot of effort fooling the Germans into thinking that they would invade further north, around <!---->Calais<!---->, which is the closest point between <!---->France<!----> and <!---->England<!---->, and also up in <!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->. The Germans also thought that the Allies would attack a major port city. So the Germans were completely taken by surprise when the Allies invaded the beaches of <!----><!---->Normandy<!----><!---->. <!----><!---->
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On the morning of June 6th the Allies attacked on five beachfronts that were code named so that the troops rehearsing the attacks didn’t know the real locations. <!---->US<!----> forces attacked on the western side at <!---->Utah<!----> and <!----><!---->Omaha<!----><!----> beaches and the Brits and Canadians attacked at Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. Between 6:30 and 7:30 am on June 6th, 135,000 troops and 20,000 vehicles came ashore. Thousands of paratroopers had been dropped the night before to capture and secure strategic locations, like key bridges. A lot of soldiers died in Normandy.
Here are some pictures from the American cemetery at Omaha Beach. The American cemetery at <!----><!----><!---->Omaha<!----> <!---->Beach<!----><!----> has 9,387 graves. When you see the headstones of 9,387 soldiers and read their names and see where they’re from they become a lot more real than just reading about them in a history book. You can’t help but get choked up by the sacrifice they made to help other people on another continent be liberated from an evil empire.
It was also a good place for the dogs to have lunch...
There’s another American cemetery in Colleville that has 4,410 graves. The guy at the <!----><!---->Omaha<!----> <!---->Beach<!----> visitor center said that the families of the dead soldiers had a choice of having them shipped back to the <!----><!---->US<!----><!----> or having them buried where they died. He said that about 60% chose to ship them back home. So in all about 35,000 Americans died in the Battle of Normandy. <!----><!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/25/2006 6:09 am ET by Crash
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Edited 12/25/2006 10:12 am ET by Crash
We also visited a Canadian cemetery in Beny Sur Mer that has 2,048 graves and a British cemetery in <!----><!----><!---->Bayeux<!----><!----> that has 4,868 graves. Equally poignant, we visited two German cemeteries, one at La Cambe with 21,300 graves and another at Huisnes Sur Mer with 11,956 graves. <!----><!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/25/2006 10:08 am ET by Crash
Edited 12/25/2006 10:09 am ET by Crash
The battle plan was really ingenious. The Germans expected the Allies to try to take a major port so they could bring in more troops and equipment. Instead, the Allies captured the beachhead and built an artificial port at Arromanches, near <!----><!----><!---->Bayeux<!----><!---->. They built the pieces in England and towed them over and sunk them in place. The scuttled 15 old ships to form part of the breakwater. The breakwater on the outside of the port stretched for 4 miles. They build four floating ramps to the deepwater docks that were each a mile long. At its peak, they were moving 18,000 tons of equipment a day. By the end of the battle of <!----><!---->Normandy<!----><!----> the Allies had moved 200,000 soldiers and 50,000 pieces of equipment in through Arromanches. Parts of the artificial port are still visible today.<!----><!----><!---->
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The Battle of Normandy ended on the 18th of August. US and French forces coming up from the west and south, and British and Canadian forces coming from the north, were able to surround the rest of the German 7th Army before they could retreat back to <!----><!---->Germany<!----><!---->. In the end, 400,000 German soldiers were killed or captured.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/25/2006 10:24 am ET by Crash
Beautiful! I saw this and just knew that there would be some wonderful pics...As I said, you are soooo lucky to be over there and be able to travel and experience these places first hand...Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Carole. I think you would like Bayeux. It was very different from the large cities in France in that the people were more down to earth and in less of a hurry it seemed. But the food was great and there were a lot of little specialty shops like in Paris.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Roger
Great pictures, as usual.
Why is it that the pics of the food always looks so damned inviting!
Doug
Yea, the food in France is great. The Dutch, on the other hand, view food as "fuel for the body." Our worst meal in France was better than the best in Holland (so far at least). We had a "fisherman's pot" stew in Bayeux that was amazing. Yesterday, back in Holland, I had a Mexican pancake at one of the pancake houses that was pretty mediocre.
When our friends and relatives ask us why we moved to Holland my wife answers, "Because it's as close as we could get to France!""War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
< back in Holland, I had a Mexican pancake at one of the pancake houses >
Nice to see you eating local - what the he!! did you expect?
Forrest
McD, there actually isn't a unique Dutch cuisine. The pancake houses are probably the closest to a unique Dutch dining experience, but basically they just put a bunch of food on a thin pancake. I've tried everything from chicken livers to a Russian seafood pancake. The Mexican was an attempt to find something that actually has some flavor and spice.
The best food I've had here in Holland was at an Argentine steakhouse. They import their steaks from Argentina and have an excellent peppercorn sauce. There's a decent Italian restaurant in town too. But other than that, bland, bland, bland.... "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
It's interesting that the Ducth food is so bland, what with their heavy trade to the Orient for spices and such. Guess they didn't want to eat their profits - maybe they sold it all to the French.
We did find a decent Indonesian restaurant in the middle of Amsterdam but we were totally jet-lagged at the time so just about anything would have tasted good.
Rodger... great pics...
France is a great place... lemme axe ya..
have you been to Ireland ?
also.. looking at this pic
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lot's Christian crosses.. occasional Star of David..
are there any other symbols, like Muslim, or Buddist,.. did you see any ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey, Mike. Merry Christmas!
Yea, we spent a week in Ireland about 4 years ago. We really enjoyed it there. The driving was kinda nuts there though. Have you been there?
Good question about the markers. We didn't see anything but crosses and the stars of David. Didn't think to look for anything else. It would have been a good question for the guy in the visitor center.
One thing that really struck me was how meticulously maintained it is. Same at the Canadian cemetery. It was the beginning of winter and there was about a ten man crew cutting grass, racking leaves, and washing the markers. It was really touching. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
One of the cable history channels ran an exhaustive (4-5 hours total) documentary just the other day, devoted entirely to the the 101st Airborne. It followed their actions from the initial drop (behind Utah beach) through the capture of Caen, about a week later. The producers combined archival film/photos with reenactments and animation, with interviews of Germans and American survivors and French civilians. It was a house-by-house, fight-by fight chronicle of the entire week as seen by each of the four regiments.I've read all the Ambrose books (and much more), but seeing this documentary helped me better understand not only the heroism of their actions, but how great the challenge really was, and the role that individual initiative played in the outcome. Seeing your pics of Normandy brought all this back.And I would also like to thank you for starting this thread; sitting here in the dreary Midwest, it is fascinating to see and hear about your time in Europe. ********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
that was good
"One of the cable history channels ran an exhaustive (4-5 hours total) documentary just the other day..."
Wow, I'd love to see that. The museums have movies that last about 20 minutes that really drive home how tough it was. I'd love to see that documentary and that kind of detail. Hope it comes around here, or maybe I can get it from Netflix."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
The best I can do is to give you a link to the channel on which the two programs were aired:http://www.historyinternational.com/about.jspThere were actually 2 separate programs (2 hours each), and I have copy/pasted the descriptions here.Maybe this info will help you track them down. D-Day: The Lost Evidence On June 6, 1944, Allied aerial photo reconnaissance flew 25 sorties along the Normandy beaches to record hour-by-hour progress of D-Day. Recently rediscovered and included in our 2-hour special, the photographs had only been seen by a handful of people. Now, for the first time in 60 years, the images reveal history in the making. Using revolutionary computer software to bring the aerial photos alive, we fly along the D-Day beaches. Features firsthand accounts from US, UK, and German veterans. ccBrothers in Arms: The Untold Story of The 502
D-Day. Regarded as the turning point of WWII, the daybreak invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 actually began the night before. Shrouded in darkness, 18,000 Allied paratroopers jumped into the fog and flak-filled skies, landing behind enemy lines before the full invasion. Among them, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the famed 101st Airborne Division. Although they became one of the most decorated units in the D-Day operation, their story has never been fully told. We illustrate how the 502nd earned distinction by achieving vital objectives through acts of great personal bravery and strong tactical leadership. The story travels from their final staging in England to the massive confusion of that perilous night--when most troops, under heavy enemy fire, missed their intended drop zones--to their setting upon the intended targets. cc********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Thanks, nikkiwood. I'll see if I can run them down.
In Ten Days to D-day he mentioned the paratroopers being blown off target. Some of the results were pretty ugly but I won't describe them here. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hey Roger, NC Museum of Art is currently showing an exhibit of Monet in Normandy...a whole different perspective. Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Yea, we had originally planned to seek out Monet's garden and such but never got around to it. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston had a good Moent exhibit about 10 years ago that was really nice. We'll have to save it for another trip. It was about an 8 hour drive from here, which wasn't too bad. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Good thing you didn't try for Monet's garden - it's closed late Oct to spring sometime. Definately worth a visit, though, especially if you can get there in the off-season. I'm told in summer there are solid lines everywhere. We were lucky to be there in early Oct and it was pretty light - got pics of the Japanese Bridge with no one on it.
A nice double bill is to go to Musee Marmottan in Paris after you see the garden. It has everything that was at the gardens when Monet passed. It's really interesting to see paintings of the same subject (such as the Japanese Bridge) done over several decades, especially as his eyesight started to go and the pictures became much more abstract.
We really enjoyed Bayeaux as well. DW was teaching French at the time, and this was one of her lessons (she did have to tape over parts of the border for those Jr. High kids though - LOL!).
Ah, thanks for the tips! It makes sense that the garden would be closed this time of year. Something to look forward to.
We thought the same thing about the spices - why don't they use some? There are some Indonesian restaurants around but we haven't been to any in our area yet. DW says they are famous for their "rice table" or Rijsttafel (sp?). So maybe there is hope!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
That is some really fine photography! You have an excellent eye for capturing great shots. Thanks, again!
"Being a cowboy aint all ridin and shootin" - Tim Mooney
Thanks for the compliment, intrepidcat! Some of the pics are by DW. Plus it helps to be able to take 200+ pics and pick out the best ones. Gotta love the digital camera... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
That's an example of why these docs were interesting. It's always been well known that the 101st had lots of problems because they missed their drop targets (heavy fog), and were widely scattered over the area. But it turns out this worked in their favor, since there was so much confusion and chaos on the German side. The Allies seemed to be everywhere, and being good Germans, they basically stayed put for the first 24 hours, and waited for "orders." On the other hand, the Americans pretty much had to scuttle their original battle strategy, and regroup on the fly. But they were still able to accomplish their basic objectives. And that meant the Utah beach operation ran smoothly with only 200 casulties (compared to 10,000 on Omaha beach). Still, the cost for the 101st was staggering: 6000 were dropped, only 2000 lived through the week. But Allied planners had told Ike the casualty rate would be 80%, so in a macabre way, you could say the division did better than expected.********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I would have to look it up to be sure, but I seriously doubt that 4000 out of 6000 DIED in the first week. Injuried maybe, but not killed.The fatality rate for Americans in WWII as whole was extremely low. Nearly as many Russians were killed in the battle for Berlin as America lost during the war.
I looked it up, and you're right.The actual numbers were:665 - Captured2303 - wounded868 - killed3836 - TOTAL number of casualtieshttp://www.ww2-airborne.us/18corps/101abn/101_statistics.html********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Look up the British airborne casualties for operation Market Garden. Not pretty.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
That would include captured. Not nice, but they lived to talk about it.
We stayed in Bayeux for a few days last summer. The tapestry is just astonishing. Did you notice the men on the border with the giant erections?
Yea, the tapestry was really facinating. I missed the erections though. I'll have to ask my wife if she noticed them... ;-)
For others who might be interested, here are my notes about the tapestry visit. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures in there...
We went to see the Bayeux Tapestry on Thursday last week. The tapestry is actually embroidered. It’s about 30 inches tall and 70 meters (about 210 feet or so) long. It was made around 1066 to chronicle William the Conqueror’s conquest of <!----><!----><!---->England<!----><!---->. Once a year the locals would bring out the tapestry to retell the story. Since most of the people were illiterate, the story was told using pictures. <!----><!----><!---->
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The basic story is that some guy named Harold from <!---->England<!----> came over to <!----><!---->Normandy<!----><!----> to visit William before he was the conqueror and ended up in the wrong place and was captured by some other dude. William ended up ransoming Harold. Then William made Harold swear allegiance to him, which Harold did grudgingly. Harold went back to <!----><!---->England<!----><!---->. Then the King of England died and William was suppose to get the throne (not sure why). Well, Harold decided to take the crown himself and break his pledge to William. William didn’t like that so he put together an army, built a fleet of ships, and went to <!----><!---->England<!----><!----> to kick Harold’s butt. <!----><!---->
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The tapestry describes all this in embroidered pictures. Even though you’d have to call it “folk art†at best, it’s actually one of the few sources of information about the dress and social structures of the time. Some of the scenes are pretty violent with heads cut off and such. At the end of the battle it even shows the dead being stripped naked and left on the battlefield.
I Googled the Bayeux Tapestry and found a site with images of each of the scenes. I haven't gone thru them all but I noticed in image 7 there's a naked guy and gal on the bottom ready to get it on in the woods... ;-)
http://hastings1066.com/ "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
BTW, it is cousin Harold. And before he was William the Conqueror he was William the Bastard.The borders were added after the tapestry was finished. Can't remember why.You can buy a picture book of the entire tapestry. We gave out a few as gifts. Pretty cool.
Ah, yes, I remember the bastard part now. I'll bet he liked Conqueror a whole lot better. I didn't know that they added the border later. They must have had tme on their hands after finishing the cathedral... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Wonderful pix. Just a couple of comments:* Bastardy did not have a special stigma in William's time. He was still noble-born, and still the Duke of Normandy. Bastardy really had ost impact in the laws of heredity. Still, he doubtless liked the "Conquerer" epithet better. * Except for exceedingly unusual one-off cases here would not have been anyone other than Christians and Jews in the Normandy invasion unless for some reason Indian troops participated -- and I have never heard that was so. In the 1940s, the waves of immigration from the east to Eurpoe and America had not even started. Moslems, Hindus and so on fought in large numbers in the Pacific war, of course, because that is where they lived.
Thanks for the info, Joe. There were some soldiers from the British colonies in the British cemetery (Australia, New Z, South Africa, etc.). Don't recall if they mentioned any from India. But the Brit markers were all the same shape like the Canadians'.
We got a little lost when we were driving to Normandy and ended up on backroads between Brussels and Rouen. We came across a large British cemetery from WWI. There were other smaller cemeteries along the way as well. Here are a few pics from the Brit cemetery. There seem to be some differences among the markers but can't tell the significance.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/29/2006 1:15 am ET by Crash
Well, I can officially tell you that winter in Holland is pretty boring. The sun rose around 8:30 am and set around 3:30 pm. It was mostly cold (just above freezing) and rainy. We had snow only once and the total accumulation was about 1/2 inch.
But now Spring is almost here and the flowers are starting to bloom. I celebrated the arrival of spring by buying some new "wheels" for my commute to work.
It's a Dutch "common" bicycle. It has three speeds, covered chain to keep it clean, drilled disk brakes, headlight, lock and key, battery powered tail light, and a generous trunk. It's supposed to have a bell but mine is missing.
They have different taxes on bikes depending on whether you need it for your job (I think around 5%) or not (19%). Using it to commute doesn't qualify for the discount. There are a lot of delivery people who use bikes here - newspapers, mail, junk mail ads, pizza,...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 4:19 am ET by Crash
Of course, when it's raining like heck here I don't ride the bike. We were only allowed to bring one car with us so we finally decided to buy a second car. We got what we think is the perfect urban Euro car... a Mini Cooper S. It's cheap, fun to drive, small for the narrow streets here, easy to park, and gets 30 mpg on the highway.
We were able to get a "US spec" car so we can take it back to the US with us if we want. The US has stricter emissions requirements and there are some differences in the lights. We had to get a fog light option to be compliant with Euro laws.
Since I'm here for the US, I didn't have to pay Dutch tax. Here's a description of what it takes to buy a car if you are Dutch that I copied from an expat site.
The financial realities of buying and maintaining a car in the Netherlands are also factors in the market. Tax levels are high with a 19 percent value added tax (VAT) levied on cars at the time of purchase and a luxury tax (B.P.M.) of 45.2 percent on the net purchase price. This is over and above the 70 percent inflationary increase in the average price of a new car over the last 10 years. Maintenance and fuel costs are also comparatively high. Many Dutch have no alternative but to spend a relatively large portion of their income, an average of 10 percent, on automobile related expenses. This results in the dominance of smaller more energy efficient vehicles in the Dutch automotive market. It also means that consumers are price- and quality-conscious in their automotive repair and maintenance decisions.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 4:51 am ET by Crash
I wanted to break in the Mini gently for 500 miles before I start driving it like they did in the Italian Job so I took a Sunday drive to the eastern part of Holland where I hadn't been before. I ended up in the sleepy little town of Winterswijk.
Winterswick is famous for it's annual Mikie Fest. Mikie Fest honors the town's favorite son who is the most famous carpenter on the Internet and is the son of one of the town's daughters who moved to the US.
Every year Dutch carpenters and carpenter wannabees gather in the Winterswijk town center to drink beer and tell lies. Some of the Festers are mortal enemies on the other days of the year as they argue politics online and trade insults like, "Oh, yeah, well I think Queen Beatrice is a moron with a speech impediment!" "Oh yea, well I think we should double our troop strength in Afghanisatan to 200!" "Why do you hate Holland?"
But once a year they put aside their differences, get drunk, and hug each other for pictures that are posted in the official Mikie Fest thread. Such is the power of Mikie Fest!
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 5:49 am ET by Crash
It was a beautiful day yesterday, sunny, high of 57 F, so we went for a drive into tulip country. It's too early for tulips but there were some fields in bloom (daffodils, hyacinths, crocus…). What you don't get from the pictures is the incredible fragrance.
There's some famous garden place that we located but it doesn't open until next weekend. I'll post more pictures after we go back.
We also came across a house getting a new roof. I wonder if they call themselves "roofahs" over here like they do in Massachusetts...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 6:16 am ET by Crash
Wow!! Love your new wheels and I've always wanted a MiniCooper! Of course, with all of the monster trucks out here in Tucson, I would be road fodder!Your photographs are beautiful...I really miss the spring flowers, crocus, daffodils, etc...Keep those pictures coming...Edit: Just read the rest of the thread...Love, love the colors...
Edited 4/2/2007 1:01 pm ET by Carole4
Carole,
Here are somemore flower pics for you. We took a short drive on Saturday. Tulips should start blooming over the next few weeks.
I wish I had a gyrocopter like Stan.... ;-)
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 4/3/2007 7:37 am ET by Crash
Oh, the hyacinths are gorgeous...They would last out here for a few days!!
Roger, thanks for the Norwegian tour....
looked almost as cold and uninviting as Rhode Island this weekMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey Mike,
Yea, I heard it was pretty cold back there. We were listening to WMVY (Martha's Vineyard) over the internet and they were saying that the low on Thursday was around 24 degrees. Brrrr... "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
More Keukenhof pics...
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 4/15/2007 4:20 am ET by Crash
Edited 4/15/2007 4:23 am ET by Crash
The bulbpark is spectacular, thanks...our tulips are passing...do they still have bulb wars, spys, subtrefuge and whatnot over there...used to be a pretty big deal<G> Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin',
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
Hmmm... I haven't heard of any bulb wars but I can believe it. There seems to be some pretty intense competition. I wonder if there's a bulb war museum around here. Sort of like the War of the Roses, only different. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Nice pictures.I spent a summer in Sweden when I was a kid.Think I've mentioned it before, but Ottawa has a tulip festival courtesy of Holland.
roger.. you do know that the world's first economic "bubble " was speculation in Dutch bulbs , right ?
in today's dollars it made the dot.com level easy
hey!.. spectacular views of the tulip gardens !... bravo Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Yea, we read about the bubble in the Keukenhof program. Tulips suddenly became fashionable among Europe's wealthy and some farmers were making 30,000 Euro a month. So people went nuts selling their homes and planting tulips. Then the market collapsed. I wonder if I'll be still be around for the next bubble. It must take a generation or two for investors to forget the lessons. Next time I'll know exactly when to get out... yea, right! ;-) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Just finished reading Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. One of the subjects of the book was the history of the tulip. Interesting . . . the version that really caused the economic frenzy was the multi-colored type. Now they're genetically modified, but then it was an aberration (which was what made it so rare and expensive). Apparently every tulip has at least a pair of colors in it, but they overlay each other. The aberration made the colors separate, so two showed instead of one. To further muck things up, the aberration was a defect so it made the flower more fragile than the single color variety. Don't remember the exact amount, but at its height someone paid over a million dollars for one bulb (in today's dollars).And then some kid knocked a baseball into it, crushed it, and ran off in his wooden shoes and stuck his finger in a leaking dike and saved the town and they called everything even and he went on to invent the Dutch rub, or wet willie, or titty twister, or maybe now i'm just wordifying . . . .And now, back to the show . . . . nice photos btw :)
That's facinating, draftguy. But after the titty twister I don't know if I can believe the rest... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Roger, there's a guy from Yarmouth (has a summer place there) that's looking for someone to build him a porch on his place. You have a referral for him?
You can contact George HERE
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 5/14/2007 5:21 pm ET by calvin
Hi Calvin,
Unfortunately I don't really know any builders around Yarmouth. My place is in Eastham. There are some builders whose signs I see but they seem to work on large projects: Cape Associates (Eastham), Von Thaden Builders (Orleans). Von Thaden built our place in 1990 but he has since moved on to build primarily high end, mansion type places. Cape Associates might take on something like that but they'd probably be pricey...
Sorry that I can't help you.
Roger"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Crash??
You know where Huckleberry (used to be Higgins) Lane is??? Off of Campground road just down from THe Landing.
My parents built a house there in '73ish before buying some land in Wellfleet.
http://www.grosshillrentals.com
Recko,
Sure do. Campground used to be part of my morning drive with the dogs. We'd start off with coffee and donut holes (for the dogs) at the Hole in One then head to Nauset Light Beach, over to Coast Guard Beach, then Campground Beach. The little house I remodelled a few years ago is on the corner of Campground and Herring Brook.
I miss Cape Cod this time of year. The herring must be heading back out and the stripers must be arriving about now.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hi folks,
We finally had a chance to go on our second vacation since we've been here. It's amazing that we've been here almost a year already.
We drove down to the Basque coast of France and stayed in the French town of Hendaye, which is the last French town on the border of Spain. It was off-season so we had a really relaxing time, except for all of the driving of course.
That part of France is on the open Atlantic and is a major surfing area. There were lots of surfer dudes around when we got there because of a storm off the coast kicking up some pretty big waves.
We made our arrangements at the last minute but ended up lucking out on a nice three-bedroom rental with a view of the beach. In the first picture, our apartment included the three sets of windows/doors on the right side on the second floor. In the second pic you can see the huge waves and surfer dudes that were there when we arrived.
The beach part of town where we were is called Hendaye Plage. The other pictures are of the area, including the marina and the ocean drive into/out of town. The drive reminded us of the Pacific coast highway in the US.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:00 am ET by Crash
Edited 6/5/2007 1:01 am ET by Crash
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Edited 6/5/2007 1:03 am ET by Crash
We were originally going to stay in St Jean de Luz but were happy that we ended up in Hendaye because it was a good jumping off point for side trips. Here are some pictures of a trip into the Pyrenees Mts in Basque country. The Basques live partly in France and partly in Spain. The Basques in France apparently aren't as militant about having their own nation as the ones in Spain.
We got a few pictures of the rolling hills in the Pyrenees but the cloud cover was so low that we didn't get any of the larger mountains. We drove from France through the Pyrenees to Pamplona in Spain but most of the time we were up into clouds and couldn't see a thing. We were crawling along in thick fog through hairpin turns - white knuckle driving!
There were some really lovely Basque towns in France. A lot of the buildings date back to the 1640s.
The trip back through Spain was interesting. There were lots of tunnels through mountains and even a road-block checkpoint with police carrying machine guns and wearing black ski masks...
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:06 am ET by Crash
St Jean de Luz is a very picturesque beach town a few miles north of Hendaye. Lots of nice shops and places to eat. The last picture shows what a long day of sightseeing can do to you (or me)...
P.S. I did not spill a drop!
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:08 am ET by Crash
We took a a day trip to Bordeaux, which is about a 2 hour drive from Hendaye (without traffic). Bordeaux is larger than we expected and it was pretty hot out that day. So we walked around for a while and then headed back to Hendaye. At the end of the trip we concluded that the Bordeaux wine country deserves its own vacation so we considered this a scouting mission.
The first picture is of the theater in Bordeaux. The other pics are of a really beautiful fountain (that was being repaired unfortunately) and various other French looking buildings.
I was also able to score a nice Cuban Cohiba cigar in Bordeaux!
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:12 am ET by Crash
We ventured in Spain to the city of San Sebastian. We were expecting a cute little Spanish town but instead found a huge, elegant city. We ended up just driving through the city and landed at the southern end of the crescent beach.
We drove up a winding road to the top of a hill and got some good coastline pictures. If you look at the third picture it looks like there are three seagulls flying along the cliff, but one of them is actually a kayaker in the water.
Lots of interesting geological formations along the cliffs...
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:15 am ET by Crash
Last set of pictures... We planned to drive back through Bordeaux wine country but the weather was terrible so we didn't get many pictures. We've never experienced a six-hour downpour like that before. We plan to go back there for another vacation if we have time. The medieval town of St Emelion was particularly impressive, but it was raining too hard to get out and walk around.
We did come across an old castle in the middle of nowhere during a break in the downpour... and we scored a nice bottle of Sauternes in Sauternes!
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 6/5/2007 1:17 am ET by Crash
About time you gave us an update! My wallpaper folder has been needing fresh pics. If you get a chance, could you upload larger versions of these:
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Was the bread in the doorway shot yours or dw?
The reason I'm suffering from lack of wallpaper pics, here's MY local view:
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It doesn't really change much, just gets taller.jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Hi, John. I'm on the road this week and I have a weak connection in my hotel room. So I'll post the larger versions of those pics on the weekend.
Yea, the bread pic belongs to dw, but the other two were mine... ;-)
Where are you located? The corn shot reminds me of my days in Ohio. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I'm on the road this week and I have a weak connection in my hotel room. So I'll post the larger versions of those pics on the weekend.
Well if you're on the road, keep taking those pics. Just about anything over there is interesting to folks on this side of the pond.
Where are you located? The corn shot reminds me of my days in Ohio.
IL. don't have to go far to find corn. Right up there on the scale of boring you have 'watching paint dry' or 'watching corn grow'.jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
If you get a chance, could you upload larger versions of these:
Here ya go. I used the Paint accessory to reduce them to 95% but it must use some pretty good compression because it reduced the file sizes from 2MB to 300K...
I was in Ramstein, Germany this past week. I stayed in same hotel as last summer when I posted a few pictures. We brought the camera but didn't take any pics - everything looked much the same. We were pretty boring on this trip - had breakfast and dinner in the hotel and didn't venture out at all. That's the down side to having to work on these trips.
Someone said that they saw Air Force 1 on base (W was here for the G8) but we couldn't find it. That would have been an interesting pic, unless of course I was shot while trying to take it... ;-) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thanks again for your donation to the wallpaper folder.
jt8
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -- Douglas Adams
My pleasure, John. If you look closely at the beach picture you can barely make out the girls with..."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I noticed that too ;-)You mentioned the red light district in Amsterdam, a friend of mine reported back his recent tour of that area, though he claims he was just window shopping.
Yea, it is definitely forbidden to take pictures in the red light district. And watch your wallet - lots of pick pockets. A young guy I work with went to one of the "shows" in the district with a bunch of drunk Canadians. They volunteered him for an audience participation act and he has since retained the nickname of "the unicorn." "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Are they getting invaded by Legos over there? I'm not sure what his message is.
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jt8
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
That can't be Holland... The woman is too chubby. Although she could be visiting from Germany...
They do have some funny sayings on tee shirts in English though. I saw one kid with a shirt that said, "Go hard big d!ck." I wonder if his mother can read English. Then again she may have thought it was about Dick Cheney."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hard to saw how tall it is based on that pic. The lady in the pic is obviously some distance behind it, so that makes it look larger than it really is.
And speaking of pics.... Did you and dw break your camera? We haven't had our European pic fix lately.
;)
jt8
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner, liberty is a well armed lamb protesting the vote." -- Benjamin Franklin
Hey, John,
Thank you very much for asking! Actually I have a bunch of pictures from our July vacation waiting to get posted. But right after we got back we had a death in the family so we had to go back to the US and that kept us pretty busy. I'm still catching up on the to do list. But I'll post some pics pretty soon. And I have what should be a pretty interesting trip in September. More later. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Is this a yr. yet?A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hey, Calvin. Yes, in fact it's been 1 year and 2 months. We're planning to move back next June. We're enjoying it but it's expensive. We had the cost figured out when we planned to move here but then the feds went and changed the Foreign Earned Income Tax laws in 2006. Plus I have to go home and actually finish the addition to our house that I started in 1999.
The people here say that they can tell when someone is going to move back to the States because they start traveling like crazy. We shall see!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hi folks,<!----><!----><!---->
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I’m on another business trip to <!----><!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->. This time, though, it’s for three weeks. So Sue and I decided to drive the Mini and take some vacation time on both ends of the trip. The business part is near <!----><!---->Trondheim<!---->, <!---->Norway<!----><!----> (same place as last March). As of this writing I’m two weeks into it with one more week to go. <!----><!---->
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Google Map says that the trip from <!---->The Hague<!----> to <!----><!---->Trondheim<!----><!----> is about 1200 miles if we drove the most direct route. But we wanted to see the fjords and mountains, which are in western <!----><!---->Norway<!----><!----> along the coast. So I consulted a Norwegian colleague of mine and followed his recommendations. <!----><!---->
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On the first day of our trip we drove to <!----><!---->Hirtshals<!---->, <!---->Denmark<!----><!----> and stayed there overnight. The next morning we caught an overnight ferry to <!----><!---->Bergen<!---->, <!---->Norway<!----><!---->. <!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!----> is a hub for fjord cruise ships. <!----><!---->
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As an aside, we discovered that the Mini’s tire pressure sensor malfunctioned at 110 mph on the Autobahn in <!----><!---->Germany<!----><!----> and said that we had a flat. I almost soiled my pants. <!----><!---->
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Here’s a picture of our cruise ship as it approached Hirtshals. We’ve never been on a cruise ship so I have nothing to compare this to. But we had a decent room for the night and very good food in the restaurant. It also had a duty free shop. Vices, like drinking, are very, very expensive in <!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->.
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Hirtshals is a small town that’s dominated by the cruise lines and cargo ships. But it also has a colorful fishing fleet.
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And, of course, there’s Danish beer.
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I woke up just before sunrise the next morning on the cruise ship and went up on the deck to take some pictures just as we turned into the fjord that leads to <!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!---->. It’s very difficult to describe the rock outcroppings, that I suppose are technically islands, that dot the entrance to the fjord. Here’s a shot of some cloaked in patches of fog. <!---->
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<!---->There was a tall ship in the distance. I had to zoom in to get it and it’s fuzzy but I still like the result.<!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/10/2007 10:00 am ET by Crash
I particularly liked the Carlsberg picture. I posted similar ones from Prague awhile back. You might enjoy Bill Bryson's book: I'm a Stranger Here Myself upon your return to the States. I might be inclined to trade residences with you ;-)
"You might enjoy Bill Bryson's book: I'm a Stranger Here Myself "
Let me guess... is it about an expat who returns to the US and finds it different than when he left? "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
dang, I was gonna say 'ghost ship', but you already had the thought (based on the file name).
View Imagejt8
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly.
I said 'I don't know.'"
-- Mark Twain
I have really bad access to thte internet. I'm on a Norwegian Air Base and they have wireless in the Canteen. I meant topost more pics but lost connectivity. Let's see how long it lasts this time...
We arrived in <!----><!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!----> around 8:30 am on a Wednesday and went to the outdoor market to find some breakfast. It was a bit touristy but they had lots of local products, things that we definitely don’t get back home. Lots of fish of course but I wasn’t expecting smoked whale or seal skins. I wonder how my F150 back home would look with seal skin seat covers? Hmmmm….
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We thought this one was pretty funny…<!----><!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:23 am ET by Crash
We didn’t spend much time in <!----><!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!---->. We’ll be back there on our return trip. <!----><!----><!---->
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We had about a 5 hour drive from <!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!----> to our first stop. Along the way we passed lakes and mountains. Here are a village and waterfall along the way.
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We also passed though the Laerdals Tunnel, the longest car tunnel in the world. The tunnel is a little over 19 miles long. It’s pretty strange inside. It’s dimly lit and there are three or four large caverns along the way that are lit with weird blue or purple lights so you can tell when you’re approaching them. The caverns might be for maintenance equipment to get out of the way or turn around. We should have stopped and taken a picture inside but we were a bit intimidated by it.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:29 am ET by Crash
Our first stop was at the <!----><!---->Walaker Hotell<!----> in Solvorn. Solvorn sits on the Sognefjord, which is the longest fjord in the world. The end of it is 120 miles from the ocean. The Walaker was built in the 1600s and the same family still runs it. The “historic†rooms were really expensive so we stayed in the “annex†– a real bargain at $250 a night. Actually, it was very nice and the breakfast was excellent.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:32 am ET by Crash
We stayed at the Walaker for two nights and spent the full day that we were there visiting a glacier park and driving around the end of the fjord. I suppose that you get one view of the fjords from cruise ships but you can see a lot of other things when you drive around them. Have you driven a fjord lately?<!----><!----><!---->
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The Jostedal Glacier is the largest in northern <!----><!---->Europe<!----> but you have to hike a long way to see it at most of the access points. So we went to the part of the park where the parking lot is the closest to one of the glacier’s fingers. The glacial ice was blue and the glacial water in the lake and river was also an interesting blue color. You can get a sense for the size of the glacier finger from the size of the boat.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:39 am ET by Crash
Here’s a picture of a very typical tunnel in <!----><!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->. It’s narrow and rough inside. Most of them are short but some of them are 1 to 3 miles long. We spent more time underground than above ground on some parts of the trip.
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<!----><!---->We drove around the end of the fjord and came across this picturesque little country church. <!---->
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We ended up at this 12th century wooden “stave church.†It’s the oldest stave church in <!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->, maybe the world. Most of it is original, including the massive columns and pews inside. But they wouldn’t let us take pictures inside. That’s too bad – the interior was fascinating. It was small, wooden and simple but they tried to mimic some of the features of <!---->Europe<!---->’s stone cathedrals.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:46 am ET by Crash
We left the Walaker on a Friday morning and headed into the mountains. The mountains aren’t that tall by <!----><!----><!---->Rocky<!----> <!---->Mountain<!----><!----> standards (7800 feet) but the difference between the peaks and valleys is pretty significant.
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"War is God's way of teaching Amer
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icans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 6:52 am ET by Crash
The locals told us that we really lucked out on the weather. Apparently it’s more common for the mountains to be in clouds or fog than clear. We did end up in the clouds when we traversed a famous mountain pass that was built over 100 years ago. The “guardrails†are original. Maybe it’s best that we were in the fog so we couldn’t see the drop off if I made a mistake with the Mini.
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We finally came out of the clouds and could see that we still had some good curves ahead of us. It was a beautiful road.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 7:00 am ET by Crash
We continued down the valley and came over a rise where we were greeted by this view.
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At the bottom is the town of … This is one of the most visited fjords in <!----><!----><!---->Norway<!----><!----> because of the extreme slope of the mountains and the many waterfalls. If you look across the fjord to the right you can see a road zigzagging up the hill. That was our next destination. <!----><!----><!---->
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Here are some pictures of the cruise ship from near the town and from the top of the zigzag road.<!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 9/11/2007 7:07 am ET by Crash
I hope the locals make up for what the scenery lacks.
: )
Good to hear from ya man.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Thanks, JD. After driving thru the mountains I'm in the "flat" part of Norway. The Germans built an air base here in WWII and the Norwegians use it as one of their main air bases. But it's really, really boring here. I'm looking forward to the drive back this weekend."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Those are absolutely gorgeous pix, Rog. Thanks for posting them. It makes me wanna go back....
If it's not too late and you're in--or on the way to--Trondheim, check out the knot collection in the maritime museum there. When I visited in the early 80s, the director spotted the lanyard I had my keys on, and asked to see the knot. Turned out I'd tied an original variation on Ashley's standard lanyard knot, and she wanted to photograph it for the musuem's collection. I just gave it to her and tied me another one, so maybe it's still there. Oughta look like this:
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Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Hey Dino,
That's pretty cool that you might have a knot in the maritime museum. I tried getting a hotel room in Trondheim for Friday night but they are sold out. It's probably because of the 1500 people leaving the base here on Friday and going to Trondheim for Saturday flights. Sue's flight comes in around 1:30 pm on Friday so we're going to drive to Molde and stay there a couple of nights. There's a drive called the Atlantic Road (or something like that) that's supposed to be impressive.
So I won't be able to go to the museum. It's amazing that you've been in these parts. I wouldn't think that there's a high percentage of North Americans who can say that. How far north did you go? I was tempted to drive up to the Arctic Circle just to say I've been there."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
It's amazing that you've been in these parts. I wouldn't think that there's a high percentage of North Americans who can say that. How far north did you go?
Before I lived here full-time, I 'commuted' on alternate weekends from NYC to MTL and racked up a whack of frequent flier miles on Air Canada each year. That's how I got to take a couple of off-season walkabouts through Europe in the early 80s.
But I only got the airfare for free; couldn't afford hotels and rental cars and all that jazz so I bought a three-week Eurail Pass and basically slept on trains every night by the simple expedient of going to the train station at the end of each day and taking the first overnight train to anywhere that came in. Got to see a lot of interesting places nobody ever heard of that way....
But Scandinavia in general and Trondheim in particular was more or less planned. I visited the Wasa, and the Thor Heyerdahl Museum and saw the original Kon Tiki raft and a bunch of other stuff and wandered all over Sweden and Norway for a week or so. I guess I've got a Nordic soul or something, LOL. Always wanted to see that part of the world.
I remember early in the morning the train up from Oslo stopped in a little village named "Hell" just east of Trondheim, so I can truthfully say I've woken up in Hell at least once in my life...but Trondheim was as far north as I got. Ran outta time on my rail pass and had to get to Geneva for my flight back to Canada.
Now your pics make me wanna go back and ski some of those mountains....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
I spent a summer in Sweden in the 70's, visited the Wasa too.IIRC flew out of the now defunk white elephant, Mirabel the year that it opened.
in the 70's, visited the Wasa too
IIRC I was there in 85 or 86, possibly 87. I'd be curious to swap photos with you sometime to see how the preservation process progressed between our separate visits. I've got a hundred or two Ektachrome slides I shot while I was there, but no slide scanner so it'll have to wait till you can get yer butt up here on a visit.
now defunk white elephant, Mirabel the year that it opened
Okay, that would make it '75. They rushed that job so it would be ready for the '76 Olympics.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
That sounds like a great trip. I've been to Hell too. In fact I'll be in Hell on Friday when I pick up dear wife at the airport. I was there in February of 2002 for another NATO exercise that was based at the airport, which at the time also served as a Norwegian airbase. So I've seen Hell frozen over. I was sure that the Red Sox would win the series that year but it was not to be... "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
So I've seen Hell frozen over. I was sure that the Red Sox would win the series that year but...
ROFLMAO!!
Google says it was the 'Anaheim Angels'. (Who da flock are the Anaheim Angels???? Nevah hoid o' dem....)
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
You should work for the Travel Channel!!Again, those are gorgeous. We watched a couple of episodes on TV about Norway and Sweden. That's a part of the world that is overlooked, IMO. So, how was the smoked whale?
Hi Carole,
I haven't tried the smoked whale (yet). It'a a bit pricey. The pieces in the picture would cost about $70 at the current exchange rate. I'm told that it's pretty tasty though."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
That is expensive. I imagine it is tasty, but I can't wrap my mind around eating a piece of a whale!Enjoy your week.
<about $70 at the current exchange rate>
Yeah, but just try and get it back home!
Forrest - glad we finally got sushi in this one-horse town
Yeah, but just try and get it back home!
Yea, the black market smoked whale back home on Cape Cod costs at least twice that!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
who u shiddin ?
you're just recycling postcards , huh ?
either that or livin large !
keep up the gud werkMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey, Mike. I'm not living large - I'm living Mini! I keep thinking about all of the work I left to do on the house when I get back next summer... :-("War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I wonder how my F150 back home would look with seal skin seat covers?
What does it feel like? Seals are neat to watch on nature shows, but some of 'em breed like rats, so I wouldn't have any problem with sealskin seat covers. Hmm, does that mean you could spill your coffee and it would just run off the skin?
Doesn't appear that they've adopted the Euro. Hmm, so that's somewhere around $100 for a small, holy, rug-sized bit of seal skin? Maybe I'll stick with cowhide. I like the little glimpse of the town you get in the upper left corner of that pic.
We thought this one was pretty funny…
So what was in the Putnin nesting doll? the salmon looks tasty. Think I'll skip the whale. Did you test their language claims?
Have you driven a fjord lately?
BOOOO! ;)<!----><!----><!---->
That green water reminds me of pics of Alaskian cruises.
Some amazing shots in there. If you happen to have a larger version of the 'village', 'blue river', 'fog 3' pictures, feel free to post 'em when you get a chance (actually there were more good ones, but I dont' want to overwhelm yer connection).
jt8
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly.
I said 'I don't know.'"
-- Mark Twain
What does it feel like? Seals are neat to watch on nature shows, but some of 'em breed like rats, so I wouldn't have any problem with sealskin seat covers. Hmm, does that mean you could spill your coffee and it would just run off the skin?
The seal skin was pretty silky. The wolf fur was pretty neat but the one I liked the best was the reindeer fur. We''l be back there next Tuesday. I'll try pouring coffee on teh seal skin and let you know how it turns out (could be a $100 experiment... ;-)
Doesn't appear that they've adopted the Euro. Hmm, so that's somewhere around $100 for a small, holy, rug-sized bit of seal skin? Maybe I'll stick with cowhide. I like the little glimpse of the town you get in the upper left corner of that pic.
No Euros for them. Norway is a very wealthy country. They want no part of the Euro.
Good eye. It looks like a neat city with steep hills sloping down to the harbor. We were only there for about an hour when we arrived. We plan to spend the whole day there next Tuesday.
So what was in the Putnin nesting doll? the salmon looks tasty. Think I'll skip the whale. Did you test their language claims?
Don't know what's in the Putin doll - if it was a Bush nesting doll I know exactly what would be in it without even looking. But I won't say here because I don't want to turn this into a political thread... ;-)
The salmon is great. I've pretty much had it for breakfast every day. The herring is also excellent.
Didn't test the language skills but there were all kinds of tourists from around the world there. Lots of orientals.
Here are some larger versions of the three pics. I tried to guess which ones you'd ask for. :-) I guessed right on Blue River and Mountain Fog 3. My favorite is Glacier 1 so I'll throw that in as well. Enjoy!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I tried to guess which ones you'd ask for. :-) I guessed right on Blue River and Mountain Fog 3. My favorite is Glacier 1 so I'll throw that in as well.
Cool. Those are all good shots. I've got the 'village' shot as my wallpaper now. Would make a challenging jigsaw puzzle. On the glacier shot, I didn't really register the scale of it until the pic with the boat. River, fog, glacier look like your shots. I can't remember any that really stood out as looking like one that your DW took. But street market shots are tough for me to guess.
I agree with ya on the doll, can't figure out why everyone else hasn't figured it out.
The seal skin was pretty silky.
Bar stool seat covers. Could really lend themselves to a bar theme. ;)
Good eye.
Actually, some of your pics like the street market ones lend themselves to a close look. There is just so much STUFF to see in them. And some of that stuff is new and/or unusual to this midwestern boy.
The salmon is great. I've pretty much had it for breakfast every day. The herring is also excellent.
How is it served at breakfast? Typically I like salmon best either grilled or baked with either no seasoning or just a very light seasoning.
Keep the camera clicking and the narratives coming.
jt8
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly.
I said 'I don't know.'"
-- Mark Twain
Yea, you're right. River, fog and glacier are mine. DW takes most of the close up shots like in the market. But I took the fur shot because she thought they were gross...
The salmon at breakfast is lightly smoked but it's almost raw in consistency. Very nice flavor.
OK, I'll keep clincking if you keep responding!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Yea, I wasn't sure how that one would turn out. I took about 20 pictures that morning and only got a couple that were half way decent."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hello again,<!----><!----><!---->
I got back from <!----><!----><!---->Norway<!----><!----> about a month ago but have been busy while I battled a flu bug. Unfortunately I picked up the bug at the end of the three weeks of work and just when DW arrived back in <!----><!---->Trondheim<!----><!----> to drive home with me. So I was in bad shape on the way back and she got it about three days later.<!----><!---->
So we weren't as active tourists on the way back down as we had planned. But we did take a few pictures. <!----><!---->
Here are a few pictures related to work during the three weeks I was on the job in <!----><!---->Norway<!----><!---->. The first is the view from my hotel room looking out at the fjord. We stayed at the only hotel in town while about 1500 military guys stayed on the base. It rained off and on pretty much every day.
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Here’s a picture of what I suppose is a replica of an old Viking boat. I think it was some kind of Outward Bound Norwegian style. The boat had sailed across the fjord but was rowed into harbor. A bunch of teenagers got off with a couple of adults.<!----><!---->
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They spent the night under the sails.
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<!----><!---->The hotel’s claim to fame was that Boris Yeltsin stayed there some time back in the ‘90s. Apparently a very drunk Boris caused some controversy when he pinched the Norwegian prime minister’s butt. She was not amused.<!----><!---->
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Here are a few pictures if you like fighter aircraft. This is Spanish F-18. I think the second is a Romanian MIG-23. I think the last one is French.<!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 10/28/2007 3:17 am ET by Crash
We had Sunday’s off so some of us chartered a boat and went fishing. We caught a lot of fish but it was too easy and got a little boring after a while. Basically the captain found a large school of fish using his fish finder and we’d drop our lines through the school. The lines were set up with a large metal lure on the bottom and teasers above every foot or so. We usually caught 2 to 4 fish at a time. We kept some fish and the captain kept the rest for his crab traps. The hotel did a nice job of cooking the fish for us. I have no idea what kind of fish they are though.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 10/28/2007 3:32 am ET by Crash
As I mentioned, DW and I had the flu on the way back home so we didn’t do as much as we planned. I picked DW up at the airport on Friday and we drove down to the city of <!----><!----><!---->Molde<!----><!---->. Molde is a nice city but pretty much nondescript. It hosts a jazz festival every year that I’m told is pretty famous (any jazz people in here?).
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The primary reason we stayed in Molde was to drive along the famous <!----><!---->Atlantic Road<!----><!---->, which was finished a few years back. The Road runs right along the edge of the ocean and connects a bunch of little islands. One of the tour books called it the most scenic road in the world but I don’t buy. It was ok but not that impressive. Apparently it is pretty impressive when there’s a storm on the ocean and the waves crash over the highway. But I really didn’t want to give my Mini a saltwater bath.
The last picture is a typical building in the area. For some reason they grown grass on their roofs. Maybe it has something to do with all of the snow they get. I'd be curious if anyone knows why they do that.<!----><!----><!---->
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 10/28/2007 4:19 am ET by Crash
Our next stop was the lovely city of <!----><!----><!---->Alesund<!----><!---->. If I recall correctly through the flu induced haze, the city, which originally consisted of all wooden buildings like the other Norwegian cities, suffered a major fire at the beginning of the 1900s. The king at the time directed that it be rebuilt in a Victorian style using materials that would be more fire resistant. <!----><!----><!---->
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Alesund was also a disembarking point for Norwegians fleeing the German advance. They traveled across to the <!----><!---->UK<!----><!----> in mostly fishing boats and then fought with the allies. Number 9 has more of the story if you are interested. I really wished I had felt better because it was a lovely town.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 10/28/2007 4:43 am ET by Crash
Here’s the last batch of pictures from the <!----><!----><!---->Norway<!----><!----> trip. We ended up back in <!---->Bergen<!----> on a Wednesday and took the ferry back to <!----><!---->Denmark<!----><!----> on Thursday. It was almost 5 weeks after we had first arrived in <!----><!---->Bergen<!----><!----> and the tourist season was over. So the fish market was a lot smaller.
We spent two nights there and I finally had some reindeer for dinner. But I stayed away from the whale. For lunch, though, I did have a nice baby seal club – just kidding.
The use of the English language in these countries can be pretty amusing. Check out the toddler outfit in Bergen Stores 2 but be forewarned that it is R rated.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 10/28/2007 5:04 am ET by Crash
Edited 10/28/2007 5:06 am ET by Crash
Great pics. Thanks.
Bummer getting the flu bug tho'. Seems to always happen at the right time.
Thanks, rez. Yea, we still have some congestion from it. It's one of those lingering things."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
As usual, some great pics.
If you get a chance, how about larger versions of: Hotel1, Alesun1, Bergen6, AtlanticRd9. I've had your "Blue River" pic as my pc wallpaper for 2 or 3 weeks now. BR and "village_large" have received a lot of comments from folks walking by my desk. Everyone wants to know where they're located. The Keukenhof ones had the same reaction a few months back when I had them up.
Seems like I remember Bergen used to be part of the NATO submarine net or some such. Can't really remember. Maybe part of the GIUK gap.
jt8
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." --Voltaire
Sure, John. I'll post them later today or tonight (for me). I'm glad that you enjoy the pics!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
John,
Here you go. A couple of those surprised me. I think that Norway might be the rainbow capital of the world. It rained pretty much every day but they were mostly showers rolling in from the ocean. With the low sun up there there were lots of rainbow opportunities. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Cool, thanks. I've got the sod roof as my wallpaper now.
Fields have been harvested hereabouts, so the only view we have is miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. And the Walmarts and strip malls that are cropping up like some bizarre cancer aren't as picturesque as the shops in your shots.
You're back 'home' in Holland now?
jt8
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." --Voltaire
Yeah, now that I see the larger shot, my vote is going to be that the sod is there to regulate the rain runoff. The rain filters through the grass (weeds) and sod and then runs down the chains on the corners. To me that implies that there aren't any gushers coming off that roof, so the sod must work (in theory)
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"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." --Voltaire
Hmm, maybe I can create some kind of robotic roof mower and market to the folks in Norway. Maybe make it look like a mountain goat or some such.
jt8
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." --Voltaire
Edited 11/1/2007 11:27 am by JohnT8
Yea, I think you figured it out. It rains every day there and sometimes it comes down in buckets. Having sod up there would prevent nasty water falls coming off the roof. I wonder how much weight is on the roof when the sod gets saturated.
Doesn't someone make a robotic lawn mower (iRobot?)? I think it can sense dropoffs. Hmmm... "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
After looking at those pictures I feel like I just took a trip.Thanks for the posting.ASReduce, Recycle, Reuse, Renovate.
Hello again,
It's been a while but I haven't posted for a couple of reasons. One, I've been really busy at work, and second, we haven't been to anyplace interesting in a while. So we decided to take a weekend trip to Bruges, Belgium. We went by train and took a cab from the station to the"hotel."
Bruges is a lovely city and is the most polpular tourist attraction in Belgium. The first settlement dates back to around 2000 years ago. It was a major port for a long time and the two oldest churches date back to the ninth century. It is circled by a lovely canal that connects it to the sea and is called the Venice of northern Europe.
Bruges was one of the richest cities int he world through the middle ages. It was a major trading port, banking center, gem capital (especially cut diamonds), and hand made lace.
But by the end of the 19th century most of the industries moved away and it became a very poor city for most of the 20th century. But Bruges wasn't destroyed in WWI or WWII. They finally decided to restore it and promote it as a tourist attraction. And Imust say they have done a wonderful job. It's a great place to stroll around adn the restaurants are excellent. There are quite a few nice art galleries with some of the best original art we've seen anywhere. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/1/2008 4:25 am ET by Crash
Bruges is in the Flemish part of Belgium. The language is close to Dutch, although the Dutch say that they speak an old version of Dutch (similar to what the French say about Canadian French).
The Flemish really don't like the French in Belgium and there's talk about the country splitting up. But personally I think they're too lazy to do it. The country doesn't have a functioning central government and the infrastructure isn't up to the standards of the other countries around it. You really need a GPS to find your way around, which we don't have.
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This church is one of the oldest. It supposedly has a vial of the blood of Christ. Every year they take it out and prance it around town (or something).
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/1/2008 4:30 am ET by Crash
The people of Belgium really pride themselves on their food and their beer. They claim to have the best restaurants and breweries in the world. The rest of Europe agrees about the beer but the French and Italians disagree about the restaurants. The French say that the food is French quality with Dutch portions (small).
The Belgium separatists say that they are a country that is only united by beer. But I agree with the rest of Europe - Belgium does have the best beer.
I've heard that there's a movie coming out called "In Bruges" that's about a couple of hit men from England that hide out in Bruges. One gets bored and the other immerses himself in the culture. If you see it, remember that you heard all about Bruges right here.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/1/2008 4:34 am ET by Crash
For some reason there's a statue of Joe Paterno in Bruges. Don't know why.
Finally, we ended up buying a painting at one of the galleries. We had it shipped to my sister in Connecticut and unfortunately it arrived with a damaged frame. So we're sorting that out...
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/1/2008 4:35 am ET by Crash
Roger
Great pictures...... looks like your enjoying yourself more then is allowed!
Doug
roger... thanks for the tour
but you ain't gonna get away that easy
what is this all about ?
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and... have you booked a room at the Wabash Inn yet ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey, Mike... it's called art! It's a tribute to all the naked tourists getting carriage tours all over the city. Pretty cool!
What's happening at the Wabash Inn? Is that where the fest is this year?
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
David Doud's & Rich Beckman's
PeachFest 2008... August 7,8,9,10
we booked into the Wabash for Thurs, Fri & Sat nite
be there or be squareMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
so - is that a E15 lunch I spot? - what is that, about $25? +beer, I'll bet - - nice looking spot tho - thanks for posting - hope you can make it to the real center of civilization this august - "there's enough for everyone"
Yea, we generally go out to lunch once a week over here instead of dinner. Lunch for two with a beer runs about 30 to 40 Euro. The current exchange rate is $1.52 = 1 Euro. So lunch is between $45 to $60. My allowances get adjusted monthly but it's still really expensive.
Thanks for the fest invite. I really enjoyed Calvin's River Fest a few years ago. But I'll have to say "maybe" for now. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hmmm... maybe on the PeachFest. We'll be getting home around 1 July and then our stuff shows up a few weeks later. And there's two years of neglect around the house to deal with... DW might not be too happy with that...
I'll check out the fest folder to see exactly where the fest will be. I canoed on the Wabash River about 25 years ago when my friend lived in New Harmony, Indiana..."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thanks, Doug. It has been fun. But we'll be heading back to the US in June/July so we have to get a few more little trips in. Who knows if we'll ever get back here."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I wanted to add one from my trip. Notice the way the deciduous trees along the canal are cropped.
nice shot ... who's the red head ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Wife, now ex.
"Notice the way the deciduous trees along the canal are cropped"it is called 'pollarding' - - done annually - - keeps things under control - "there's enough for everyone"
Thanks for the info. Never had heard of it or seen it before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding
Yea, they trim trees like that in the Netherlands too. The boats weren't running while we were there. Nice picture. I'll bet the water tour was nice.
I didn't know the name of it either. Thanks for the info, David.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/2/2008 1:30 am ET by Crash
Edited 3/2/2008 1:32 am ET by Crash
Crash, cool update as usual. Hope they're paying you in Euros right now, cuz the exchange rate isn't all that appealing.
If you get a spare minute, could we get larger versions of: Bruges3, Bruges991, Bruges992, painting5.
I would imagine you and dw will be happy to get home this summer, but can't imagine there is going to be NEAR as many interesting places to go once you're home!
jt8
"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy" --Leo F. Buscaglia
Hey, John. Excellent choices! Here you go.
The painting picture was emailed to us by the gallery so I don't have a larger versin.
Yea, we'll be glad to be home. It's been a great two years but now we've pretty much exhausted sightseeing in Holland. I'll have more to do on weekends on Cape Cod.
The project I'm working on ends in March 09 but they're talking about a possible extension. So if I stay on it I'll be able to travel back to Europe. But I've been doing this for 8 years now and the travel gets old after a while. We typically put in 60 hour weeks on those trips so I only get to spend evenings adn usually one day off taking in the sights. Plus I give up two weekends to travel and jet lag. The year before we moved here I travelled on 25 weekends. That's giving up half my weekends to the project. That's nuts...
The exchange rate is much worse than we ever expected. I get paid in dollars but I have some allowances that float with the exchange rate. But at $1.52 to a Euro our rent is over $5000/month now. I break even but it's too expensive for the project to keep me over here.
Enough whining. Time to enjoy Sunday.
DW is in Columbus, OH visitng her mom. CNN said they got 18 inches of snow. One of the things we miss here is snow, but I don't miss 18 inches of it... ;-)
P.S. I like the quote in your tag line."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Roger,
Columbus with 18'' of snow is.
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white.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 3/9/2008 8:16 am ET by calvin
He he... Looks like they're freezing their little Buckeyes off.
I was at OSU during the winter of 1978 when Columbus got clobbered. After spending a few years in Worcester, Mass it seemed pretty normal to me. Real purty!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Purty it is.
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A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
But I can't see the owl... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Me neither.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Cool, I've got 991 set as my wallpaper now (can't imagine those folks have dry basements).
Just a few more months and you can do your Dorothy impression ;)
jt8
"A single rose can be my garden...a single friend, my world." --Leo Buscaglia
so crash..... where are you... back stateside yet ?gonna make it to Doud's ?Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey, Mike. We got back last week and we're trying to get the house back in shape after two years of being empty. The inside wasn't too bad but the outside has been eaten by the jungle. Finally got our high-speed internet connection yesterday.
It doesn't look good for me getting to Peach Fest. Our household possessions and cars aren't here yet and we don't have a delivery date yet. DW would kill me if I took off for the midwest and she was left to deal with movers.
We took a final two-week vacation before we flew back (Alps, Tuscany, Provence, Loire River, Bruges). So I'll post some more pictures when I can come up for air.
Have fun and eat a peach for me!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Welcome home ...
look forward to your picsMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Welcome home...Our dream is to go to Provence. Can't wait to see your pictures. I can only imagine what it must be like getting back home after two years.
Thanks, Carole. It was nice to spend two years there but it's nice to be home! It was interesting to come back and see the neighborhood with fresh eyes.
Provence was really diverse ranging from the Mediterranean beach scene to vineyards and farms, midieval villages, and mountains at the base of the Alps. But there are also some very modern and industrial parts as well. We would definitely like to go back now that we know the pay of the land. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hey man, glad you're glad to be back... get the dust off your striper plugs yet? Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
Thanks, Snort! My fishing gear is in a container somewhere near Boston Harbor. But I am looking forward to spending a few nights on Nauset Beach hunting stripers. Got my claming permit though."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Youse need a permit to sift through the mud?<G> Got to go out on a 25' World Cat with a real grouper fisherman (the guy had a note book with all his way points, no fish in 15min, move), wow. 20oz lead, electric reels... 20 grouper in the box...Hey, though, can't wait to see the rest of your pics, so settle in<G> Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
Hi folks,
I'm finally getting around to sorting through the pictures from our final tour. The last couple of weeks in Wassenaar felt very strange as we prepared for the move back. We shipped the dogs ahead of us. Here they are on their last morning walk to the park. They had no idea what was in store for them.
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I do miss the morning walks. We'd usually get out around 6 or 6:30 and walk to the park.
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Harley and Daisy knew the routine and usually led the way.
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The Dutch are very much into their gardens, which makes for a nice walk.
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All packed up and ready to be loaded into the container that was shipped across the Atlantic, whcih you can see out the front window. It took about 4 weeks for it to get to here.
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Bye, bye Santhorstlaan 31, 2242-BD Wassenaar, Netherlands!!!
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Edited 8/5/2008 1:28 pm ET by Crash
Glad to hear you made it back safe and sound.....
looking forward to the pics!
"Never pick a fight with an old man. If he can't beat you he will just kill you." Steinbeck
Thanks for the warm welcome, Intrepid. We took hundreds of pictures so it'll take a while to sort though them all. Maybe I'll have some time while I'm pretending to work next week... ;-) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Absolutely beautiful as were the pics of Alesund! Thanks so much for sharing your travels with us.
Thanks, Pino. It's really nice to have a place like the Gallery to post the pics. It adds another dimension to the tourism."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
OK, under the category of cranking things up a notch...
Here is one of your shots from Norway:
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And here are a couple Ma emailed me from a WI restaurant (lots of Norwegians/Swedes in the area) :
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jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
Dang , and I thought no one would ever look up on the roof ! ;-)
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Don't think it's Santa and his reindeer.
jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
one of my grandfathers was a country doctor in South Dakota... he thought it was great keeping goats
when they were having work done on the house the workers left a plank to the roof..
and of course, the goats all walked up the plank and walked around on the roof
did a lot of damage to the roof too
thye also loved to climb all over the cars .. including the convertibles...
lots of damage to the roofs there tooMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
So I assume they're smart enough not to walk off the edge of the roof? I think sheep would fall.
jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
what's the difference between a goat & a mountain goat ?
apparently domestic goats love to climb too Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I wonder what the warranty is on a roof like that. Do you think they get them off the roof at night?"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
IIRC, she said they bring them back down each day, but she didnt' go around back to see what the arrangement was. I believe she also mentioned that they don't put them up there if the weather is forecasted to be bad. And the box on the roof isn't a chimney or cupola, it is a bucket of water. If that picture shows only what the goats are doing (and no one is getting up there with a mower or trimmer), then they seem to do a nice job.
I'd still be curious to see how much run off you get from a roof like that. I realize the grass and dirt absorbs some, but what if you get a real gully washer?jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
We left The Hague on a Saturday morning. We weren't sure what time we'd get on the road so we picked a place to stay in Metz, France, about a 5 hour drive away. We didn't know anything about Metz but it turned out to be a rather lovely city. That was a bonus because we were just looking for a bed for that night.
Metz was an hour south of Luxembourg so we decided to stop in to get a Harley-Davidson T shirt for Sue's brother. I doubt that he's ever heard of Luxembourg but I figured I could find another country sticker for the Mini... ;-)
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now some pics of Metz...
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Of course every city has its big azzed cathedral...
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Another neat looking church.
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The bridge looks pretty good for 700 years old.
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And the swans knew how to pose for pictures.
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Edited 8/5/2008 1:49 pm ET by Crash
Lovely pictures! That is DH's dream to travel all over Europe and see the cathedrals.
It's funny but after 5 weeks of being back, it all seems like it was just a dream. But the pictures are great memory joggers.
We stayed in Switzerland on Lake Luzern for three nights. We picked the lake because it was pretty much in the middle of Switzerland and some friends of ours had stayed there before. We had a lot of trouble finding a hotel because Switzerland was hosting Euro Cup 2008 while we were there. So we found a place in a small town away from the big cities.
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We got to the hotel in mid-afternoon and so we took one of the commuter ferries that serve the towns on the lake.
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The ferries were built in the 1920s or so and are similar to an old Lake Champlain ferry that I seem to recall being at a folk museum in Vermont somewhere???
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The engines were in full view and you coudl see the paddlewheels splashing on the windows.
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The ferry went from town to town picking up commuters and tourists.
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Unfortunately it was cloudy while we were there but it was still pretty.
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Someone's nice digs, complete with boathouse...
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And a fun time was had by all...
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And a proud mamma...
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Edited 8/5/2008 2:36 pm ET by Crash
I have saved many of your pictures. Whenever I want a tour, I just open them up! Thank you so much for posting these...As I said, you have a boatload, no pun intended, of memories...
Thanks, Carole. I'm glad that you've enjoyed the tour. That's what's so nice about the digital cameras - you can take so many pictures that you can capture a lot of the experience. We just have to make sure we back it all up and don't lose any. "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Yes, be sure you do back it up. Good friends of ours had their house broken into a couple of weeks ago. He is a psychologist and had all of his patient's info on his laptop and it was stolen. Of course, he had it backed up and they had to know his password. They caught the people, meth heads and most of their things were recovered. They used several stash houses. They even stole his Harley!
Ouch - that's too bad about your friend. There are some ways to get around the password protection. He might want to consider encrypting his drive. The Harley, now that's just mean.
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Knowing Ed, he probably encrypted it, but I'm not sure. He got his Harley back, but several things on it were broken. In the shop as we speak.
More fun roads for the Mini. It's a lot more fun being the driver than the passenger.
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We finally reached the highest point along the way at Klausen Pass and the elegant Klausen Passhohe Hotel.
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Klausen pass was at 1952 meters, which is about 6000 feet. We have no idea how toall the mountains were around us because we couldn't see them. But the snow was still pretty deep there - at the end of June!
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But even in this really remote place they had their cute little church.
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Had to get a picture of the Mini with a Klausen hot-dog sign...
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Then we gradually descended below the clouds.
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I can't imagine what these people do in winter.
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Almost back to civilization.
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Now this is civilized!
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Edited 8/8/2008 1:57 pm ET by Crash
With the exception of the last shot, I think I would have felt like I was in a fairy tale or had stepped into a post card.
I can't imagine what these people do in winter.
Find creative ways to stay warm. Just takes a good frau. :)jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
Fantastic! Thanks for posting them!
"Never pick a fight with an old man. If he can't beat you he will just kill you." Steinbeck
I've enjoyed the last year or two worth of virtual tours. Few months at home and you might want to go back.
jt8
"A little 'enthusiasm' and all problems seems small!"
Yea, my wife keeps asking me if there's any way I can work for someone in Paris... ;-)"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
thought of this thread yesterday---saw a picture and an article in the paper---- this winter for the first time in about 10 years the canals froze over in southern holland( but not the north)--and the dutch are out scating on the canals in full forcelooked like a Brueggel painting
Stephen
its global warming thing
It's funny but I'm back in The Hague this week for meetings. There's no snow now and the canals I saw between the airport and here weren't frozen. But I had read of the same cold snap and the skating. When the canals freeze in the north they hold a long race through a bunch of towns - some of the ones we went through on our canal boat tour in 2007.
The last time they had the race was about a dozen years ago. The prince back then raced under a fake name so he could be annoymous. He has married since and has a couple of little girls. We took pictures of his daughters the first year we went to the Sinterclaus arrival because they were cute in their Swarta Pete costumes. We found out later they were the princeses - turns out the prince wants them to be like normal kids.
It's a really, really nice country.
I meant to post more pictures of our final trip before we moved back to the US but we've had some major family crises since we got back. We're looking forward to having things back to normal soon...
Peace, health and happiness to everyone!
Mr. Dumas, wishing you the best in the New Year!
Show me some cape cod snow.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hey, Cal. Happy New Year to you as well! Sounds like you've had some cooooold weather over there.
I haven't taken many pictures of the snow. But I thought this one was kind of funny in a Little-Orphan-Annie sort of way... ;-)
Edited 1/18/2009 7:15 pm ET by Crash
Haunting pupsters.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Thought I'd post a few pictures to keep this thread alive. Love is in the air for some turkeys near Nauset Light Beach.
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Heminway Landing in Eastham in the snow. This pic is about a month old but I think it's purdy...
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Finally found a boat to replace the one I had before we moved to Holland. It's a 2002 Grady White Fisherman with a 2007 Yamaha four-stroke. Got a good deal on it because of the economy. I really missed being on the water while we were abroad. The canal trip in 2007 was fun but it more like driving a motor home than cruising in a power boat.
Edited 3/18/2009 2:44 pm ET by Crash
just starting to worry about you...
got any plans for Crazy Legs Fest ?Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hi Mike,
I'm flattered that you noticed my absence! Things have been crazy since we got back from Holland: sister passed away and I'm the executor of the estate, took "early retirement" and incorporated as a consultant on Gov't contracts (Yikes! I must be nuts!), close friend came down with cancer and needs rides to doctors, surgery, chemo, therapy... Oh yeah, and I've had to work on top of that and make sure the customer is happy. Before I became a consultant I could just pi$$ people off ... ;-)
Anyway, I haven't had much down time lately. I'll check out the fest thread and see what's up.
Close up of the struttin' dudes.
Edited 3/18/2009 3:07 pm ET by Crash
those guys look like picts.... man that is some kinda blueMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Well, yours would be pretty blue too if it had been a year since you last got any...
Roger, you are missed when you don't show up. Nobody gives a #### when you are around. So goes Breaktime.
Thanks for the gobblers, didn't need the snow pics though. The memory isn't that far off. February had like 50 days in it this yr. January wasn't much better.
We're in need of sun and warm ground. Got any of those in that camera?A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hey, Cal. Suuuurrreee, I have some warm weather pictures. Here are some pics from our final Euro Tour last June before moved back to the States. These are from Tuscany.
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Edited 3/20/2009 4:26 pm ET by Crash
Not Calvin, but those are gorgeous! Is that basil in the 4th picture? How is that travel book coming? :)
Roger, you have any hand in emptying those wine jugs? Beautiful pics and subjects, thanks.Hey, have you got that Grady White rigged for bluefin yet?http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
I was thinking he was just waiting for the wine to fill them...<G>
Hi Carole, nice to hear from you! I'll have to ask my wife about the basil. She's the foodie in the family but there certainly was no shortage of fresh produce.
Unfortunately the book is on hold as I try to recover from CRS syndrome. When i look at the pics I can't remember exactly where we were anymore. I'll have to try a Google recreation.
LOL.... You had me scared for a minute. CRS? I suffer from that everyday. I only asked about basil because I can't grow it here in Aridzona like I did in Cleveland. I tried it the first year we were here and one day it was thriving and the next day it was gone! Rabbits, ground squirrels and javelinas! They even eat the aloe plants and agave... I can grow cacti like crazy!
Hey, Snort. The GW is well decked out with electronics. It was the third boat (at tehe same time) for the guy I bought it from and he left all his hot spots on the GPS.
Wine in Tuscany was cheaper than bottled water. We sampled a few... ;-)
thanks for the picts - I've been following the thread, vicarious traveling - DD is headed here http://web.me.com/sujones65/Locanda_del_Gallo/Welcome.html in May - hope to make it myself sometime - right now trying to get up the gumption to buy the tickets to blodgettfest...."there's enough for everyone"
Umbria! She will come back with terrific recipes! Lucky daughter.
That sounds like fun. The food was wonderful in Italy. Some parts of Italy are pretty run down but the ancient villages are really beautiful. We stayed in what turned out to be a busy area in Siena. If we did it again we'd stay in a villa away from the larger cities.
Thanks Roger, that was some color.
Did you get a better shot of the waitress.
See, some dwell on the wine............
and some of us dwell on other things.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hmm... I could only find one waitress shot. This was at a large famous open area in Siena that i can't remember sh*t about... ;-)
Also enclosed is a picture of an advertisement that sort of illustrates their different views on things.
Edited 3/23/2009 8:41 am ET by Crash
focus...focus...
jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
Do you have larger versions of any of these?
I'm guessing DW took these two:
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And that YOU took these two:
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And I'm not sure who to guess on these two:
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jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
John,
Good guesses. #1 is definitely DW. #3 & 4 are definitely me. The others I'm not sure. We each have a camera now so we have double the pictures of the same things now... ;-)
I have some work stuff to do but I'll post larger versions within a day or two. Thanks for asking!
Roger
John, here you go. Larger versions of the pics.
Excellent, thanks! Just set #5 to my wallpaper. Nice and cheery.
Makes me wonder how much work it would take to duplicate that stone arched gateway. hmm.. have to dig down 3-4' to put in concrete footers. Probably need some kind of temporary supports for the arch. Wonder if my tile saw would cut brick wedges.. hmm, its a thought :)
And in the screen saver pics folder, that brings the 'crash' photo count up to 34. jt8
lotsa worse things happen to better people than me every day. --Snort
It's funny but when we moved back from Holland and I visited my old U.S. office there were a bunch of people who had our pics as their wallpaper. Our neighbor said that she passed our pictures around the office and it was the same there. As I said before, if you take a thousand pictures you're bound to have a few good ones. Like the saying about the blind squirrel...
I casually said something to wife about recreating a small Provence-like square out in the back forty (actually back half-acre) and, after enduring 9 years of a yet-unfinished addition, she said, "Don't even think about it..."
Crash,
Did you ever go thru Ouderkirk on the Eisel River ? Nearby to Rotterdam if I remember correctly.
I worked there in the Fall of 1972 for a few months. Worked in a salvage lumber operation there. They waste nothing there. What a difference between that country then and our wasteful habits here.
It shaped my present career in a profound way. Some of the best memories of my life -- except for the deportation !!
Slateman,
All I can say is "probably". I know we drove along the Eisel a few times so we probably passed through it but I can't say that we stopped or had it as a destination.
People mostly think of the Netherlands for Amsterdam and the tulips but there's a lot more to it. And they are definitely "frugal" (aka cheap). But you're right - they don't waste anything. It's a very nice country. While we were there it was rated by some internal org as the best country in the world to raise kids.
Deportation? I imagine that it would be pretty hard to get deported from Holland. Were you working there legally?
The old catch 22 . Need papers to get a job -- need a job to get papers.
Ran out of dough and worked on the black market. If we ever meet I've got some great stories to tell from those 3 months,
Walter
Walter, same thing happened to me in Switzerland, well, except for the deportation thing<G>...No money, no papers for a job, ended up running condoms into France. Hooray for repressive kat licks!http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
Geeze, you and Snort had adventures in Europe. I just took a bunch of pictures... :(
We didn't have cameras<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
And thats a very good thing !!
I would have sold it for a sandwhice jambon!Actually I do wish I'd had a camera, I can't figure out if some of the stuff I remember is real or not... dang Scandinavians and their hashhttp://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
Amsterdam has some of the best ganja the world over
So i take it you guys didn't have security clearances to worry about... ;-)
Did you ever figure out why they call them "coffee shops?"
http://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/
<So i take it you guys didn't have security clearances to worry about... ;-)>Oh yeah, we did. It was like " is there enough clearance in that culvert pipe for me to squeeze through?"http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
It was quite a learning experiece for us. The Hotel where we hung out in Amsterdam was a clearing house for vast quantities of Columbian blue flake -- so I was told !!
I really enjoyed working out in the country with the Dutch people. I learned a lot about recycling from them.
I'd like to think they learned a bit about bull strengh and agility !
Thought I'd post a few pics to give the thread a bounce. I flew down to Orlando about a month ago to pick up my father and fly him back to New England for the summer. I know that's not exactly an exciting topic but it was the first time he's flown since he was the crew chief on a B-17 bomber during WWII.
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Edited 7/2/2009 4:15 pm ET by Crash
When we moved back from Holland we discovered that the people who bought the house next door are a little nuts. They had about an acre with lots of vegetation. But he's been clearing the land down to the dirt and it looks like ####, and we had a great view of it from our living room.
So we decided to put up a "fence", which is more like a wall. We also decided to upgrade the landing in front of the house.
BTW, our other neighbor pointed out to us that we just entered the second decade of our addition. I swear I'm going to finish it his year. But now the trim needs to be repainted...
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Edited 7/2/2009 4:29 pm ET by Crash
Edited 7/2/2009 4:38 pm ET by Crash
My retired builder father drove me nuts telling me how I "should" be building it. But he was much more right than wrong and at 91 he still remembers how to build a good house. So after a while I just did it his way to make him feel good.
Since he was such a good boy I took him fishing on a nice, calm, sunny day. We caught a couple of nice bluefish for the smoker.
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Edited 7/2/2009 4:36 pm ET by Crash
Hey, 91, I should look so good at that age! Bluefish!!!!!!! We can't get that here, no surprise, eh? We love it and am jealous...Say hi to your dad.
Will do. Yeah, the bluefish are fun to catch. They put up one heck of a fight. Our favorite way to eat them is smoked. By the end of the summer we should have a few smoked fillets in the freezer. Bluefish have pretty oily flesh so they don't freeze well unless they're cooked.
Yum....We used to grill them.
Yeah, we grill them sometimes too. It's a good way dry them out and make the flesh less mushy. We have one good baking recipe that involves lots of garlic and laying the fillets on a bed of sliced potatoes. The oil from the fillets drops down into the potatoes and they get pretty crispy. Hmmmmmmmm...
Stop it! I'm sitting here with my coffee and piece of dry toast...:)That sounds very good.
Roger, where was you dad stationed when he was a crew chief? My dad was a B-17 pilot. Flew out of Italy in 1945... weird, he loves the mighty bluefish, too<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
say hi to your dad.....it was nice being introducedMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Thanks, Mike. He's quite the guy. And he still knows his old carpentry tricks. But he does marvel at some of the newer tools, like a laser level.
since he was in China..... you'd enjoy reading Barbara Tuchman's " With General Stillwell in China"
great read and insight to that period
we've got a "China Marine " in town... he was a private then now he's a retired Colonel Bruce Livingston.... China, WW11, Korea, Vietnam
guys' got some stories... and he's a nice guy to bootMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Thanks for the tip, Mike. I'll see if I can find a copy.
Roger, you forgot to stick your finger in the bluefishes' mouth... how big were they?http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
Hmmm... You are right - I totally forgot to stick my finger in its mouth. I'll remember to do that next time.
One was about 28 inches and the other about 25 inches. Good size for eating. The longest one I've caught in my life was 37 inches during the fall run.
One time I had a bunch of friends out catching blues and it was time to head back in (the harbor is only accessible 3 hours either side of high tide). The lure used to catch the last blue had two treble hooks and I managed to get one stuck in my finger when the dambed thing started flopping around when I went to get the hook out. I piloted the boat back to the harbor and drove myself to the hospital with a large popper attached to my finger. They had to cut the hook and push it through. Now I always use a hook remover when dealing with a blue... ;-)
ewwwwwhhh, I hate it when that happens. I got a call when I was Tipi Fest. Same thing happened to my son. Took a while to convince him to cut it and shove it through. Phone doctoring is great, I woulda passed out if I was there<G>http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
Hurricane Bill came by this weekend. It was pretty much a bust for Cape Cod. We could have used the 1 to 3 inches of rain they had predicted. But here are a few pictures of the (non) event. Sufer dudes were thick as fleas this weekend.
Nauset Beach Saturday morning before Bill
Cape Cod Bay Saturday am
Nauset Light Beach as Bill went by Sunday am
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Another view of Nauset Light Beach on Sunday am
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Channel 7 news at the Coast guard station in Chatham. It was funny watching the news and how they tried to make it sound like a major event.
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Fish market in Chatham with Bill's waves in the distance.
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Happy surfer dudes this morning
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Edited 8/24/2009 8:46 am ET by Crash
Pretty wild! I heard our coast got some 15' surf... but we sure can't park on the beach like y'all do LOLhttp://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
Yeah, the national seashore makes it easy to get up close to the beach.
It was a lot quieter this morning.
Edited 8/28/2009 12:47 pm ET by Crash
Had a business trip to Seville, Spain last week. We went a couple of days early so we could do some sightseeing.
Took an afternoon side trip to Portugal for lunch in a small fishing village called Olhoa. Best meal I had on the trip - clams with rice.
I'm pressed for time this morning so i don't have time to post the pictures and add captions. Maybe later. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Roger
Boy,
I want your job,
but no I wanted to be a carpenter,out in the cold or rain or the sun.Maybe choke down a few pounds of saw dust. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Vince,
Don't dwell on the countless bad days.
Think hard on the good ones.
all right, all right.
It is sometimes alot like Ground Hog Day.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
You're right Cal,
Let's see,June 16 2002 the weather was just right.
One of those perfect days.
Oh wait, I think the electrician didn't show up and the lumber we were supposed to get never came.
Other wise perfect. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Oh great.
Now you started me remembering those not so perfect times.....A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Glad I could help,Cal.
It always makes me feel good to help a friend.Oh, and the helper's Grandmother died... again. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Ah, the beauty of working alone.
my demise might be the only one that matters. And then who's there to tell.
Today a stink'n cold rain. The ambition is waning too.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Funny you should mention ambition, The morning fog from the river hasn't lifted yet and it's cold (to these old bones) and damp but I have things to do, so I gots to get started but it's so nice and warm sitting drinking coffee. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Amen Vince. Coffee, the news, and that age old downer-writing checks. Have a day, off we go.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
wednesday was the 2d week of 3 week play-offs...
beautiful day but blowing about 30...
the long ball hitters were in the woods... but ole shorty was hey-diddle-diddle... right up the middle...
what a great day.... shorts sleeves all the way aroundMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
3man continues on.
Has been in the 50's which thins out the course. Greens plugged. But man, grass is green-leaves just starting to turn. Almost enough just to walk around.
Lost any ability to chip. So now I position myself within 125 and have had success from there. Joyce and I go up by Sandusky tomorrow morning and playing. Fish fry follows.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
"Boy,
I want your job,
but no I wanted to be a carpenter,out in the cold or rain or the sun.Maybe choke down a few pounds of saw dust."
Vince, I think it's a case of "the grass is always greener..." I didn't take pictures of the 60 hours of meetings we had that week. When I'm in there I long for being back home working on the house and remember fondly working as a carpenter for my father. There's a lot to be said for working in the fresh air (mostly), getting exercise like our bodies were meant to do, and seeing a tangible product at the end of the day that you can be proud of. I think most Breaktimers would commit suicide after a couple of weeks in our meetings... ;-)
Of course, the topless girls by the pool during the afternoon coffee breaks was a perk that we've never had before.
That said, the travel has its good and bad points. The good is that I do get to go to some pretty interesting places that few jobs can comare with. The bad is that you spend a lot of time away from home and sleeping in hotels. I have to go back to Europe this weekend. That will make it three out of the last four weekends that I'll have travelled.
Anyway, I've tasted both types of work and they both have their goods and their bads. Happiness is the meaning of life, so make sure that you are happy at whatever you're doing.
Edited 10/8/2009 4:28 pm ET by Crash
Do come back and add the info.
Much better travelog that way.
thanks.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Great pictures thanks for sharing.
<Had a business trip to Seville, Spain last week. We went a couple of days early so we could do some sightseeing.>No barber shops?http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
That's funny. I kept my eye out for one so I could take just such a picture but didn't come across any... ;-)
We musta passed each other somewhere aloong the line.
In a day or so, I'll post some of our pictures of Seville and our side trip to San Sebastian.
You pic's of Seville show the old architecture. I'll throw a few in of the simply stunning new things. An incredible city. In fact, whereever we stoped in Spain, their insight into architecture blew me away. They're ahead of the states without question in my book.
That's great! Yeah, we didn't take many pictures of the new stuff but will look forward to your pics. We took a quick drive through San Sebastian a couple of years ago. That's a beautiful city. We wished we could have spent more time there.
Were you on vacation there? They do have some beautiful architecture. They are a very stylish country. Italy has a reputaton for that but Spain is very stylish in my book.
OK, I finally have a little extra time so i'll prorvide some descriptions of things we saw on the trip to Seville.
We arrived in Seville on Friday so that we could do some sightseeing before the meetings started on Monday. We drove to an area about 2 hours south of Seville where they have what are called "pueblo bianco" or "white villages." They were in the mountains at the boundary of frontier where the christians and moors territory.
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They are really beautiful villages. But the streets are really narrow. Good thing I had two years of training driving in Euro land.
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We drove up this street...
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The drive through the mountains between the pueblos was really beautiful. There was terraine like we'd never seen before.
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There was one mountain pass that was up about 4,000 feet. The roads were narrow with a lot os switchbacks. But the view was stunning.
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This is the cathedral in Seville. It's the third largest in Europe behind the Vatican and St Paul's (I think) in London. Columbus sailed from Seville and he supposedly burried in the cathedral.
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We have a lot of pictures of the outside of the cathedral. It was pretty amazing. The cathedral is built on the foundation of a Moorish Mosque. When the christians drove the Moors back to Africa they trashed the mosque and built the cathedral.
There's a section of the old city behind the cathedral that used to be the Jewish neighborhood. The Jews lived in harmony with the christians for a long time but then fundamentalists decided they didn't like the Jews and drove them out. They gave them the choice to convert, leave, or die.
Those that converted were suspected of being closet Jews and so the Spainish Inquisition got started, kind of McCarthyism and communism. Here are a few pics from the old Jewish neighborhood.
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The houses were close to keep the sun out and make it a little cooler in the summer.
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I suppose these are for flamingo dancing.
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The Spanish are really into this cured ham. You eat it in thin slices. Really, really delicious.
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Produce market
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We took a side trip to Portugal while we were overcoming the jetlag. We picked a city called Faro and let the GPS take us there. We stopped in a fighing village called Olhao for lunch.
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There was a Saturday flee market.
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Neat old fishing boat
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Farmers market
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Fish market
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Some yummy looking octopus...
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I had clams with rice for lunch. It was the best meal I had on the trip. The broth was incredible.
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WoW
better than a postcard.
thanks!A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
You be welcomed!
Are you still in Spain? I just saw your post tonight. I live in Northern Spain near Santander in Cantabria? I could show some stuff. Any excuse to quit working on my house.
Hey, Santander. No, we're back in the US now, although I'm leaving for Oslo in about an hour (too much travel on this job). Thank you for the offer. Maybe we'll get back to Spain someday. We lived in Europe for two years and enjoyed a couple of trips into Spain. I'll have to look up Cantabria to see if we were around there.
and you be older.
edit: figuratively speaking.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 10/9/2009 7:38 pm ET by calvin
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=125257.1
Very cool! What a great trip!
roger... my brother was stationed in Cadiz... so we flew into madrid...knocked aoround... went to toledo... then took the train to seville... on to cadiz
side trip into the algarve.... best restaurant was in a little town called Aqueducto....
went back into some of the mountain towns... would definitely go back to portugalMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Sounds like a great trip, Mike. I really want to get back to Portugal too. We just touched the SE tip of it. People I work with say it's really beautiful on the west coast and in the mountains.
Hey, Snort. He saw action for a few years in China fighting the Japanese. After that he was in Ohio at Rickenbacker when the war ended.
He doesn't tell us many war stories. But he did say that when he was in China he tried to order chop suey and they looked at him like he was nuts.
Looks like a cool guy there Roger.
Especially liked the Mike Smith Memorial step outta the crapper shot.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Thanks, Cal. I think the thing that convinced to fly up here was that he typically has to pee every half hour or so. It would have been a hellacious drive up here.
Here are some more. Feeling warmer? It was really hot when we were there.
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Edited 3/20/2009 4:30 pm ET by Crash
Nice Roger,
I always wanted to go to Tuscany, thanks. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Hi, Vince. Nice to hear from you. Tuscany was nice, especially the ancient places. Of course we only took pictures of the nice stuff... ;-)
Roger, I can't believe its been two years already since you moved to Europe.
I'm assuming it was worth the trip. Vince Carbone
Riverside Builders
Franklin,NY
Yeah, it went by really fast. It seems like a blur now. It was definitely worth it. We got to see a lot of Europe. If my wife had her druthers we'd still be there. But it was a 2 year assignment and I'm glad to be back. I like to putter around the house and yard and I had nothing to do on the weekends once we had seen Holland. But we really like Europe.
Are you talking about the Elfstedentocht?I pine to do that race. Must have read about it in the late 80s and thought the entire idea was tremendously cool.Caught the 75k skating marathon on Eurosport last week when I was in Austria. Just fabulous stuff.'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
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Yes, I believe that's it. I had to Google it though to get the name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht
I admire people who have those abilities (200 km?). My week is considered successful if I don't have a gout flareup... ;-)
When we were up in the north on the canal boat tour the waitress at one of the restaurants was on the Dutch speed skating team. I asked how she got into that and she basically said, "Duh, what else are we going to do up here in the winter?"
We didn't reall know anything about Switzerland before we got there so we were pretty much winging it. We decided to take a drive through the Alps so we checked out our map and found some roads that had a lot of squiggles on the map. The first day we drove east.
Before we left the Netherlands we broke down and bought a TomTom navigation thing that was loaded with Western Euope maps. It's one of the best things we've ever bought, especially for Europe. We just entered the destination and let the TomTom direct us. It even has the locations of speed cameras.
We took the highway to the end of Lake Luzern and then hit the squiggly road heading for the mountains. The first town we went through turned out to be where William Tell lived. So they had to have soemthing for the tourists to take pictures of.
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And, of course, the next town also claimed to be where William Tell lived.
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We thought this was a rather interesting church. The churches in Switzerland were much more understated than in France or Italy.
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Then we were in the mountains. The Alps reminded us a lot of the fjord region of Norway.
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Of course, if it was Norway this village would be under water...
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But the roads were winding and narrow, like Norway, with lots of rocks. I didn't want any rocks falling ont he Mini so I sent DW ahead on foot to make sure it was safe. Just kidding...
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It was pretty steep in some places, where we didn't want to look down while driving!
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We kept heading up and up until we entered the clouds. There wasn't much to photo for a while after that.
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We drove for quite a while and found ourselves in a pretty remote area. This was sometime around June 20th and there was still snow on the ground.
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzche
Edited 8/8/2008 1:30 pm ET by Crash
Thanks for sharing your trip and the fine photos. I fell asleep after looking at them and drempt of lving in a small village in Switzerland.
Looks like a local meeting of the 'hair club for men'. ;)
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For some reason they grown grass on their roofs. Maybe it has something to do with all of the snow they get. I'd be curious if anyone knows why they do that.
Hmm... In a hot climate, it would serve as a barrier to the sun. In a cold climate, it doesn't provide much R value. Would probably help control the runoff from rain. Do they get gobs of rain in that area?<!----><!---->
jt8
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." --Voltaire
Edited 10/29/2007 11:47 am by JohnT8
Hair club for men, ouch! But now that you mention it..."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Great pictures! Sorry about the flu; I just got my flu shot this week. Hope it works...Are you keeping these pictures? As I said, you could write a travel book!
Thanks, Carole. I just moved into a new computer and moved all of the Europe pictures to it. I think it was about 2 GB. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Great! When you publish, I want an autographed copy...
OK, you get the first copy off the presses!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
okey, dokey!
Nice pictures and posting.
I'm ready for a trip to Norway! buic
Thanks, BUIC. You read about the fjords and all so our expectations were high but we still kept saying, "wow!" Beautiful place. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thank you, thank you! As usual the pics are wonderful...Were you able to score any good Bordeaux? We are putting away as many Bordeaux as we can, but it would be wonderful to get some from the region...I am so jealous!
A month or so ago, I was getting lots of low airfare offers for London & Paris for travel in the early prime season (now through mid summer). You could check what the current fares are. Maybe jump a plane and sample some of that bordeaux at its source :)
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Sounds like a plan!We would love to go and it is in our plans, just not right now...
"Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays."
:)
How true, how true..
But can you name the movie that the quote came from? :)
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Does it have anything to do with Marian the Librarian?
You a Martin Mull fan? I'm just happy living above my station<G> Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out but when they will I can only guess.
They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy,
She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me.
I can't help it if I'm lucky.
Roger, we're trying to get a trip to Paree rigged for the fall...your pics are helping turn the tide<G> Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out but when they will I can only guess.
They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy,
She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me.
I can't help it if I'm lucky.
Cool! Good for you! Paris is still our favorite place so far. The fall would be a great time to be there. We plan to spend a few more weekends there before we move back to the US. We can get there in about 2.5 hours by train. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Not that familiar with his work, but that fits!!
You are correct. We'll have to send you a Bordeaux soaked milkbone.
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Thanks!!! Right now, I'm having coffee, but just might crack open one of our Bordeaux tonight...
Thanks, Carole. Yes, we did score some Bordeaux in Bordeaux! The wine is pretty cheap in France overall and we had some good wines for $5 - $10. The Spanish Rioja wines are also very good. My french friend crosses over into Spain to buy the rioja because it's really cheap there. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
You are going to be so spoiled when you return!!I would ship some back just to take advantage of the prices...I'll take a case or two...<G>
I would ship some back just to take advantage of the prices...
We're thinking about it. When we moved over here our stuff only filled about 2/3 of the container. So we maybe we could fill the rest with bordeaux, burgundy, and rioja for the return trip. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Awesome!! When we moved to Tucson, we shipped our wine to friends here...Cost a fortune, but it was worth it....
Great pictures. We decided to go to Prague and Vienna this summer, but I still might fly through Amsterdam for a day or two, depending on flights.
Thanks, TGNY. If you get to Prague and Vienna and want to post pictures in this thread please be my guest. I don't know if we'l get over there while we living here.
It's funny but we haven't spent much time in Amsterdam. It's an OK city but not our favorite over here. But we haven't gone to the major museums there yet so we need to do some more exploring. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
I have a few Dutch friends who live in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Utrecht and in the Friesland. It's definitely on the radar map soon. My wife and daughte will be in Russia and the DW will meet me in Prague. She's into classical music, so Vienna is a must see for her.What city are you in? I've got lot's of pictures of Russia from last year, suppose I could post some of those on this thread too if you don't mind.
Edited 6/7/2007 9:08 am ET by TGNY
What city are you in? I've got lot's of pictures of Russia from last year, suppose I could post some of those on this thread too
Why not create a new photo gallery thread?jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
What would I call it?
What would I call it?
=====
My Pictureskis
LIVE from the frozen wastelands of Siberia
A ruble for your thoughts
On the way in Russia
From Russia with Love
From Russia with Fred
I never saw that bag before in my life
=====
jt8
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -- Douglas Adams
LOL.You were quite close,I was thinking of:
From Russia with Lustand if you ever visit, you will know why.
Dang man! I hardly got my finger off the 'post' button before you'd already replied. You gotta stop drinking those 64oz coffees.
jt8
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -- Douglas Adams
Funny thing is I just happened to switch screens and saw your post, Didn't notice how recent it was. I'm really not that lonely that I wait by the computer for a reply, really it ain't so :-)OK, I'm going downstairs across the street to Grand Central to get lunch, I'll check back in later.
I have a few Dutch friends who live in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Utrecht and in the Friesland.
Ah... So you are very well connected in the Netherlands and wouldn't come here just to check out the red light district... ;-)
We're in a suburb of The Hague called Wassenaar. The American School is in town here so there are a fair number of Americans around. We actually just moved into the same townhouse that my predecessor lived in so the choice was made for us.
Have you been to Scheveningen (beach part of The Hague)? It's pretty interesting in the summer. Lots of activity on the beach.
Definitely, please post some pics of Russia. If anyone else has some foreign travel pics that they want to share, be our guest!"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
As usual, spectacular! No tulips for me, except from Trader Joe's...:)
There were at least a couple of companies from the US. Some companies were taking orders for bulbs. But I didn't see Trader Joe's there... ;-) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
hehehe...They probably get theirs from California!I am growing a pot of Desert lilies, but those tulips are gorgeous!
Quite and unusual pattern for lacing up the wheels. 4 spokes grouped then space, repeat. Looks like a great bike tho. I really enjoy your posts, thanks...dan
Hey drapson. I hadn't notced the spoke pattern before you mentioned it. I'll try to remember to look at other bikes to see if it's common around here."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
WOW Roger....where've I been?? Haven't ever even noticed this thread. Its like a good HBO series ya miss...you eventually get to watch the whole thing all at once : )
So here I sit on snowy Sunday morning one week before spring in NY...yes..snowy...was 70* here a week or so ago too...wheewwww...
and I get to drink some of the last Jamaican Blue Mtn coffee we brought back from Negril over Xmas and get to oogle all your photos and descriptions.
Can't think of a better thing to do about now as you bring me through Holland France and Germany...
What great shots!! Thanks dude!! So you returning back to the states? When?
Would you rather stay there if you have the choice? or not? Why? Just curious.
Everything looks so old over there...lol. I see they haven't come into vinyl siding yet...lol. I always thought I could make a quick buck and go finish the Eiffel tower for them...Dbl 4 dutch lap vinyl'd be ideal. Everything looks so accessable for my scaffolding...and think of all the insulation and drywall...great views from the top. We could get seeyou over there to top it in copper : )
Some of those churches too...we could suggest that we blow some furring strips over those stupid rocks and dbl 4 that too ...dutch lap of course : )
But really,,,with everything so old I am curious...is renovation and restoration work over there as big as it is here?
Anyway..thanks mucho for a wonderful morning.Perfect!
Keep em' comin'
BE well bro
Namaste'
andy...
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying,"Damn... that was fun!"
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
hey, dumb azz..... far out !
helen says that's the church my ancestors attended
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and this is the hotel she stayed at....
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i really liked your bike and the Mini-S..... besides the "Italian Job" didn't they use a Mini in "Bourne Identity " ?
anyways... if you go back to Winstersvik.. look up Warnshuis in the book.. i think my cousin owns some kind of machine shop....
thanks for the tour..
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 3/18/2007 10:36 am ET by MikeSmith
Hey Mikie,
I thought you'd get a kick out of it. I think that church has every different type of brick and stone available. Parts are red, parts are gray, etc. They must have had a sale of short lots of brick at the local HD (Huis Depot).
I thought about looking up some Warnhuis people but it was Sunday so nothing was open and the thought of knocking on someone's door and trying to convey that I know you from a chat room and a River Fest was too daunting. Besides there must have been 2000 Warnhuis's in the phone book. The name is as common as Smith in the US (just kidding). "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
the deal is they think Helen is their cousin.. the little blonde girl..
musta been some kind of language problem
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
OK, so I just looked up how to say "I know your cousin Helen Smith in the USA" on Bable Fish.
Ik ken uw neef Helen Smith in de V.S.
So if I say that your cousin might give me a free machine???
Cool.............................."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Hey, Andy. I'm glad that you're enjoying the thread! It's been a lot of fun and I'm glad the travel log is being well received.
I could stay longer than 2 years if I want to but I do miss the US. I know my wife would like to stay longer. She's made some good friends here and there's more for her to do here. But I don't want to leave our house in the US empty for too long. Plus it's costing us a lot to live here even with the allowances that I get. We'll see.
I can't say that I've seen any vinyl siding here, except for the US Ambasssador's residence that is. The ambassador has parties for the expats on major holidays. I keep telling him about the virtues of wooden shingles and that I could do a nice shingle sculpture for him.
There is a lot of remodeling and restoration work here. There are about half a dozen remodels going on somewhere on our block on average. They keep the old bones but redo the finishes. The work is slow and methodical. The Dutch love large windows front and back and they keep their curtains open so you can see through their houses and into their back gardens. I'll try to take some pics of some construction in town to show how they deal with the tight quarters.
Enjoy the snow. I kinda missed the snow this year, well a little bit... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Nice pics. Ottawa has a tulip festival every summer courtesy of Holland's appreciation of wartime assistance. Just visited a Dutch friend yesterday. She imported a bike like that from Holland. Thinking of visiting Amsterdam this summer.
Yea, it's nice bike. The land is mostly flat here and it gives a nice comfortable ride. I'm definitely going to bring it back with me even though some of my US friends call them "dorky" looking.
Let me know if you come to Amsterdam this summer. I'm about a 20 minute train ride away. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thanks, will do. It will most likely be the 3rd week of July.
Ahhh, July... topless babes in Scheveningen...
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 1:58 pm ET by Crash
Don't twist my arm or anything ;-)
I see a day trip in your future. PM me when your plans solidify and we'll work out the details. And be careful with your luggage in Amsterdam. A friend of mine had his laptop stolen from the hotel lobby when he was 5 feet away from it. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Tone...Maybe we'll have to do a trip with the wives one day (yeh right...we can't even get to Hunter...lol) being Katrina is Dutch and yer DW is Ruskie...
I kinda always wanted to check out the daffadils and "coffee" houses <G>
"When you point your finger, you got three long fingers pointing back at you" . Mark Knophler
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Hague Fest... or Mikie Fest... ;-)"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Well being theres a fest in Canada this year if could be called
CanaFest
and if we did it by you it could also be called
CanabFest lol
"When you point your finger, you got three long fingers pointing back at you". Mark Knophler
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Ah, very clever! It took me about half a minute to get it! Sounds much better than HookerFest... "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Yer right but HookahFest might work..lol...OK OK...nite***
"When you point your finger, you got three long fingers pointing back at you". Mark Knophler
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
A buddy of mine was there for a business trip recently and said the 'coffee' was exceptional ;-)
freakin potheads....exhale already...:)(cant figure out how to do a squinty-eyed emoticon)Crash: the Mikie fest sounds like carps are basically the same all over.Wars of nations are fought to change maps.
But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
here we go:¦•| ?Wars of nations are fought to change maps.
But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
Careful, remember what happened to the last thread that drew the ire of the BT DEA.
Good point. No more naughty stuff. Back to flowers and old bricks. Then maybe this summer we can sneak in a topless shot... shhhhhhhh......"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Potheads? Doesn't CoffeShopCrawl sound better than PubCrawl?
And, yes, I do believe that carps are pretty much the same everywhere. After all, Europe is where Finnish carpenters come from!
Good squinty eyes... !-}"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Had a business trip this week to "central" Norway. We went to a tiny little fishing village about 2 hour drive west of Trondheim. We were about 200 miles from the arctic circle, although the weather was actually very mild while we were there.
I had a window seat on the plane and took a few pictures of interior Norway on the way up to Trondheim. Pretty rugged country.
I was surprised to learn that Norway's population is only around 4.5 million. It's a long narrow country to runs all the way up into the Arctic Circle. The largest city is Oslo. Trondheim is one of the largest cities with a population around 200,000.
After flying over the snow in central Norway I eexpected to see a lot in Trondheim but was pleasantly surprised that to see that the snow had melted and the highs were in the 50s during the week.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/31/2007 3:28 am ET by Crash
Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world. They do not participate in the Euro so I had to get some Norwegian Kroners. The exchange rate is about 6 NOK to $1 so the pint of beer that cost NOK 65 was about $11.
The Norwegians are notorious for being heavy drinkers. The government has addressed that by putting very high taxes on alcohol. The amount of tax increases with the percent of alcohol in the beverage. So they tend to drink beer and wine.
Norway also has very strict drunk driving laws. If you have one drink of any kind, you are over the limit. The fine for drunk driving is three weeks in jail and you lose your license for a year. You also pay a fine of (I was told my a Norwegian) three months salary.
So, no beer on the plane for the driver. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Here are picture of the drive to Oerland from Trondheim and pictures of our stay in Oerland. This part of Norway is considered the flat part so the fjord wasn't all that impressive. Still it was a pretty drive and we did take a ferry across the fjord.
We stayed at a hotel in Brekstad the first night and then we stayed on a Norwegian base the rest of the week.
Brekstad is a small fishing village. It has two hotels and one restaurant, which is in one of the hotels. We stayed in the nicer of the two hotels. My room was across the hall from the Boris Yeltsin Room. Apparently he went fishing there once and the hotel still has the newpaper article prominently displayed in the lobby.
So, this wasn't the most exciting place to visit but the people were nice and the salmon and cod were excellent!
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/31/2007 4:12 am ET by Crash
Forgot to mention that the Dutch hold the Canadians in very high regard... and they still dislike the Germans. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Wow thanks for the photos...beautiful. I have to through all the pages. I love looking at buildings and streets in Europe. I am ALWAYS amazed at the amount of beautifully patterned stonework in the driveways, city plazas, etc. Amazing the amount of pride in the workmanship over there still prevails over the quick stuff. I have been studying roof slating lately in prep of fixing mine in the next several months. I imagine that most roofs are slate over there, is that true? Someday I'll take a trip over there.Again thanks for the visual trip.Also how do you post the pix so they automatically show in the message.AS
Edited 3/18/2007 1:03 pm ET by alan sullivan
Thanks, Alan. The brick and stone work here is really exceptional. Some of the brick buildings date back to the 1500s. A lot of places suffered damage in the various wars so some of them have a mix of bricks.
What I do to put pictures in the thread is to attach the pictures to the message in the normal way (use "attach files" at the bottom of a new message -> browse -> upload -> done (after I've attached the pics I want)) and then click post. Then when the message gets posted, I click "edit." Then I open a new window (click file at the top tool bar -> new -> window). When the new window opens I go to the posted message and click on the desired image link, when the image appears I right click "copy" on the image then I go back to the other edit window and click "paste" where I want the image in the text. I keep doing that for the other images that I want in the message and then click post.
Sounds complicated but it isn't. But you have to make sure the images are small (around 100K max) for the dial up crowd. To make small images I use the "Paint" accessory that came with my Dell (start -> programs -> accessories -> paint -> open the desired image (using browse again) -> images -> stretch/skew). I reduce my pictures to 35% by 35%. The best percent for you would depend on how large the original image is.
Most of the roofs here are tile. I don't see that much slate here, but some parts of Europe use slate. They still have a lot of thatched roofs too. The last couple of pics I showed were of a house getting a new thatched roof. Don't know how long they last but some of the real old ones have plants growing on them!
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/18/2007 1:45 pm ET by Crash
Edited 3/18/2007 1:56 pm ET by Crash
We finally got to the famous bulb park place. It's called the Keukenhof.
http://www.keukenhof.nl/
I have to admit it was pretty amazing. They have about 90 contributors from around the world who design and plant the different areas. In all there are about 7 million bulbs. Different areas have different themes.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 4/15/2007 4:17 am ET by Crash
My wallpaper folder needs some new entries. Do you have larger versions of Keuken 1&2?
jt8
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."-- Mother Teresa
John, suuuuuuure, here ya go. I had to reduce them a little bit because I got an error when I tried uploading the full images...."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Thanks much. My 23" and 19" both thank you.
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jt8
"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."-- Mother Teresa
John, that looks great! I've had a few other email requests for the full size versions for wallpaper. Excellent! "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
That's a lot of indulgences.
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Do you by chance have a larger version of pic 9? (the mill pic) My wallpaper folder is crying out for some fresh meat.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
John, here's number 9 supersized for you. [I had to reduce it somewhat because Prospero didn't seem to like the original 1.8 MB image. If you want that one, please send me an email and I'll send it to ya... ]
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 12/27/2006 2:47 am ET by Crash
I'm at 1024, so that 400k one worked just fine. Great shot! Thanks.
You've had several that would make good jigsaw puzzles. The mill shot would be a tough puzzle.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
How exciting! I've heard that Marseille is very diverse....I am so jealous as Provence is the one spot I want to visit especially the south......Lavender, rosemary, I can smell it now!!That is the traditional way of serving bouillabaisse.....I like my way much better....:) Bouillabaisse was also considered poor peasant food for the workers there on the docks...Thanks so much......Nice way to start my day....
Man, jockeying those boats around must be a performance artform<G> Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Yea, it was pretty slow in the harbor at this time of year. I can't imagine how nuts it must be in the summer on a nice day with good sailing winds."War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Yea, we're hoping that maybe we can take a vacation in Provence in the Spring. It would be a long day drive from here. We're hoping to find a dog-friendly B&B. So far France is our favorite country. The food there is great and the French have been a lot nicer than their reputation.
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
When you go, you'd better post those pics!Spring would be a lovely time....
DW came over to look at your pix saying, " Oh, I remember weekends in Paris . . ."
She went to HS in Brussels; the Colonel was with NATO.
We've gone back some, but I guess not enough!
Nice pictures - she read me the protester's placards.
Forrest
I've been to Brussels three time since I've been here. It's about a 2 hour train ride from here in Holland. Ask her if she knows "Batiment Z" at NATO HQ. That's where I've been mostly.
The people who work in Brussels really like it there. I haven't been into the centrum yet (other than the train station). They say that the "Grand Place" (I think) is really beautiful. Please ask her if she has any recommendations for things to see in Belgium or Normandy.
Brussels to Paris is just 1.5 hours by train. So I can imagine she spent a few weekends in Paris. "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Does it take long to get used to wearing them wooden shoes??
Did the dogs have to go through a quarantine period? Was thinking that was the case for most of Europe but it's only hear-say and nothing I've researched myself.
Hey John,
The dogs didn't have to go thru quarantine. A lot of the Euro nations have adopted the same process. The dogs have to have their rabies shots less than a year but more than a month prior (I think). There's a form that you have to have a USDA certified vet fill out that says the shots are current with lot numbers, etc. The dogs have to have a chip or tattoo too. The vet has to fill out the form within 10 days of the trip and you have to have the UDSA office certify it at $24/dog.
You have to have a dog carrier that's designed for airline travel. We flew Northwest Airlines and they had all the info on their web site.
Apparently the UK and Ireland still have the quarantine period (6 months I think). There was a story on the news that a lot of those dogs don't live thru the quarantine. So UK and Ireland are considering adopting the EU process.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
The UK is free of rabies and so adopts/adopted a stricter quarantine policy. I believe that may have been revised now.
I was told that the "inspection shelf" on the toilets was to allow inspection for intestinal parasites. I also had a professor at university claim that it was a triumph of design because there was no splashing of water onto his rear end. Don't know what kind of turds he was pushing out!
Intestinal parasites, eh? They don't mention that in their tourist brochures... ;-)
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Saw one of your posts and thought, "I DIDN'T post that!" Oh wait, that is "john7g" not "johnT8". gotta get my eyes checked.
jt8
"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." -- Saint Basil
Edited 7/24/2006 11:57 am by JohnT8
Minor details.
Just recently signed on since I'm now returning to my original career (houses & contracting) full time after dumping my last career.
Roger, pass this on to those Tulip heads with my regards.
Beats me, maybe they grow these there.
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A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Very nice, Cal! The Dutch have nothing on Toledo!
Here are a few more pictures. Daisy came up lame on the weekend. We think she cut her paw when digging in the back yard. They have sea shells in the dirt here. The "dirt" is actually very sandy. So it's pretty easy to dig.
The second picture is of the Tuin Huis, or garden house. The landlord says that two downed British aviators stayed there for a while during WW II.
The stairs in the house are really steep. Stan Foster could build a set in his closet.
The toilets here are really strange. The stuff does down a pipe at the front of the toilet. They call the surface that you sit over the "inspection shelf." Haven't gotten a good expanation yet n why they have toilets like that. My guess is the first Dutch plumber to install one out it in backwards but wouldn't admit it.
We took a drive up the coast on Sunday and had lunch at a beach. There were hundreds of cottages on the beach. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant on the beach. If you look real close at some of the pictures...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
ZOOM.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Hmm... Kinda looks like some of the folks on the beach have abbreviated swimwear, but is hard to confirm with those low res pics :)
jt8
"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." -- Saint Basil
Yea, it was a compromise between using low res at a distance or having to edit the pics to create some more complete swimwear... ;-)
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
"They call the surface that you sit over the "inspection shelf." Haven't gotten a good expanation yet why they have toilets like that."
Europeans like to look at things before they flush 'em.
If big-chested women work at Hooters, where do one-legged women work?
IHOP
"Europeans like to look at things before they flush 'em."
Yea, the Dutch seem to be a bit anal about things but that goes a little too far. BTW, that's a great line about IHOP...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
"the Dutch seem to be a bit anal about things..."
No pun intended, I hope.
(-:
It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire and many things to fear; and yet that commonly is the case of kings. [Francis Bacon, Essays]
Hi folks,
Went on a nice drive on Sunday in the countryside northeast of Amsterdam. We got off the highway and just wandered around some tiny roads. Here are some pictures of the town of Ransdorp. There's one road that runs through the town. But, of course, they have their canals. There's even a small drawbridge over the canal that runs along main street.
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The sign on the town hall says it was built in 1652.
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Anyone have a guess what this is?
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"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
We wandered into another town called Marken. It's kind of a tiny, old Newport (just kidding). It's a bit of a tourist trap but has a nice little harbor with some very old sailboats. Th Dutch seem to never throw anything away. There are some new boats but they seem to really take pride in keepimg the old ones functioning.
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"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Anyone have a guess what this is?
Dispite the proximity to the canal, a great place to take a leak?
or a semi private spot to zip your fly?A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Yea, that was my guess as well. Of course I had some olfactory evidence to go on as well. It was right outside the church.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
When in Paris a long time ago I utilized one of their open air outdoor recepticals- Le Pisseur or something like that. Good idea, instead of feeling like a criminal sneaking into Macdonalds.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Ah, the Euros are so much more accepting of bodily functions. Did you see the story about cracking down (so to speak) on nudity in Paris along the shores of the River Seine? That's very un-Euro...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Did you see the story about cracking down (so to speak) on nudity in Paris along the shores of the River Seine? That's very un-Euro...
Probably too many fat/ugly people getting neked. Bad for tourism when the fat/ugly people get neked.
jt8
"The old Quaker Meeting house is almost 300 years old and as my sawzall made its way into the pegged ancient wood, a smell emerged that told me about dried, cracked things. The ancient Quakers sitting in the well worn pocket of their silence on the darkened pine benches were whispering something to me across the years. Something about why I was here, why we're here. Lord but it was hot. I reached in to clear anything out of what was the sill, nothing but the hardened mud, lime and sand mortar, dust and shadows." -- Jer
Well, if they were fat and nude in Paris they probably were tourists... ;-)
The people in Holland are really trm and healthy. Bicycles really are an important part of life. The major roads have dedicated bike paths running in parallel. The traffic signals have special signals fro bikes. There are bike routes between cities with their own signs, etc.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
I know as a young lad of 14 when we walked the beaches of the Riviera.............yowsa...........A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Ya, 14's probably not a good time to walking the nuddie beaches!
I don't know, it beat biology by a long shot.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Hmmm... 14 on a nudie beach on the Riviera... every boy's dream. Makes you want to stand up and salute!!!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Went to the nearby town of Leiden for lunch. That's thte town the Pilgrims left from when they came to Massachusetts. I can understand why they left. Massachusetts may be called "Taxachusetts" but the value added tax in Holland is 19%.
Leiden is a pretty funky little town. It's a college town so it has a lot of interesting people. It also has your basic windmills, canals, and canal boats.
Edit: I screwed up the reduction of the bridge picture - be aware that it's a 2 meg file!!!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Edited 8/13/2006 10:08 am ET by Crash
And, of course, they have a lot of old stuff. The dates may not be clear on some of the reduced pictures so I put them in the picture titles.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Soooo, when do you work?<G>We'll hoist some Amstel Light to you at the fest, ha, ha, ha! I need a dump truck, baby, to unload my head
Work? I'm in Europe working with NATO people. They don't do that here.
The NATO folks actually have 20 holidays a year, on top of 4 weeks of vacation. Plus by treaty NATO employees don't pay taxes. But I'm not working for NATO... ;-(
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
If you don't like the Turkish "coffee," see if they've got any baked goods in there<G> I need a dump truck, baby, to unload my head
Hmmmm... I could go for some coffee and brownies. I haven't seen any brownies here. Do you think...?
It's a bummer that I'm missing the Tipi Fest. I guess I'll have to have my own Hague Fest next week with three of my new local friends.
Make sure someone posts pictures from the fest, especially Mike Smith's seminar on shingling a tipi...
BTW, one of the best prizes I got from the River Fest was the tape measure that had both inches and metric. Unfortuately my wife broke it. Wicked bummer...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
so many choices.. so little time
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hey.. if you get to Wintersvik.. look up the Warnshuis family.. that was my Mom's familyMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hey, Mike. Where is Wintersvik? Have you ever been there to look up your roots? I can look up your relatives and invite them to the Hague Fest!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Winterswijk... on the German border, east of Arnhem..
and the family is Warnshuis ( from "warning house" to warn when the huns were comming )
Helen was there 10 years ago.. with her blonde hair , they thought SHE was the cousin..
she just kept smiling and didn't disavow them ( after trying to explain 3 x )
so just say "cousin " Helen says hello
one of my cousins, Abbe Warnshuis, was sent to run Dutch relief for the Truman administration after the war..
lots of Dutch Reform history there and connections to Clymer , NY
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Ahhhh, yes. I found it. It is close to Germany. I'd say about 100 miles from here so definitely within range for a Sunday drive. I'll try to post a link to the Google map...
http://www.google.com/maphp?hl=en&q=netherlands&ie=UTF8&ll=51.973038,6.721144&spn=0.386615,1.373291&om=1
Edit: Looks like the map is just a little off. Need to zoom in one level and move a little northwest to find Winterswijk. It's the loop near the N319 mark.
Sounds like some interesting history there. The Dutch seem to still dislike the Germans because of WWII. We're looking forward to visiting some of the WWII sites in Normandy. I went to Berlin a few years ago (in January! brrrr) and there are still some buildings with bullet holes and bomb damage.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Edited 8/15/2006 1:26 am ET by Crash
Some places try to sound exotic. There are a fair number of places that try to have US sounding names. No, I didn't try the chicken. I didn't eat at the Mayflower Hotel restaurante either.
But I was tempted to try some coffee in the coffeeshop. I wonder why they have a funny looking leaf shape on their door? Maybe they serve tea too? They seem to specialize in some kind of coffee called Turkish hashish. Must be pretty strong because the patrons come out with very red eyes. There seem to be quite a few coffeeshops around.
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
As the summer winds down the Dutch head to the beach whenever it's a nice sunny day. So we went to the beach in Scheveningen on Sunday.
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In the summer they drop bars and restaurants down on the beach. The bars provide lounge chairs and wind breaks to attract people. Some of them are pretty elaborate.
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It was a nice day on Sunday. We had a lunch at one of the many "pancake houses" in town and then had a couple of beers on the beach! The last picture shows a bunch of green parrots in a tree in the back yard. I didn't expect parrots in Holland!
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"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Roger, a little less of you smiling and a little more of the babe next to you.
thanks.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Thank you for the nice shots.
And might you translate the umbrella in #5? The pronunciation I've made doesn't do much to a meal.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Geeze, you'd rather look at hot babes than my sh!t eatin' grin???
Peukie is the name of the place alright... I don't know if they did that on purpose or not. Some of the tortured English is pretty funny around here. One kid had a tee shirt that (no kidding) said "GO HARD BIG D!CK".
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
I love this international education.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Beach full of scantily clad women and we're looking at pics of a guy in sweater & Levis?!?!
;)
jt8
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success." --Albert Schweitzer
OK, I get the message. Less face and more butt cleavage!!!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
I am over in Holland right now, in Eindhoven. I currently travel over here every other month for work. Been coming over here for about 10 years now, off and on. I live on Oregon, so the plane trips can be long...
They are starting to sell more power tools over here. THe best place to ge them right seems to be the UK. I have a number of friends here in NL that have done major remodels as DIY. Everything involves brick and concrete (use to be a bricklayer, so thats fine by me).
As the Dutch say: "Success met de huis" / "good luck with the house"
Yea, that would be a long plane ride. Can you fly non-stop? Must be a good 12 hours in the air.
We drove past Eindhoven a few weeks ago. We were in a traffic jam with a bunch of old classic cars doing a rally from Amsterdam to Beijing. Now that would take some guts. http://www.abr2006.com/
I'm getting itchy to do some carpentry but don't feel like adding a new wing for the landlord. We're just going to be here for two years or so. I'm thinking about building a small boat sowe can join the fun cruising the canals. I ordered plans for a Dory.
http://www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-local/shop.pl?type=item&categ=007&item=932918079&cart_id=6d70718c7cc11dc6336cb5290e839b57
The local hardware store has an interesting DeWalt that's a combination miter and small tablesaw. I don't know if they sell anything like that in the States. I think it would be a good tool for installing sidewall shingles. Too bad the electric is different here...
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
Depending on the month of the year, I can get non-stop Portland to Frankfurt at about 11 hours, then drive for 3 hours. If I come into Amsterdam, its about 14 in the air plus a good 2 hour layover, then a one hour drive.
One of the guys who works for me moved from the UK to the US last year. He had all these tools he left in storage, and was trying to figure out if he was going to buy new or not. He ended up buying a good size transformer so he could run 220 anywhere he wanted. It cost him way less.
I would think you get pull a leg of the 220 here to ground and make a 110 setup. The only thing then is the 50hZ, which typically is fine. I am pretty sure you could get soemthing off the internet to set it up correctly.
Met vriendelijke groeten (best regards).
I'm getting itchy to do some carpentry but don't feel like adding a new wing for the landlord.
Some of that shingle art should go over well there.
I'm thinking about building a small boat sowe can join the fun cruising the canals. I ordered plans for a Dory.
I never could keep my dingies and dories straight ;)
Where does the 350 inboard motor hook up?
jt8
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success." --Albert Schweitzer
Some of that shingle art should go over well there.
Yea, that would be fun but everything seems to be brick here. Maybe I should do an interesting brick patio... hmmmm....
I never could keep my dingies and dories straight ;)
That's easy for me... my wife is a little dingy, the other is a boat... ;-)
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
HEre ya go J
"When you point your finger, you got three long fingers pointing back at you". Mark Knophler
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
We finished up on Thursday so we moved to Trondheim on Thursday night. A few of us opted for the 45 minute "fast ferry" ride instead of the 2 hour car ride. The fast ferry takes only passengers and is pretty fast. It has two water jet engines that got it going at a pretty good clip.
Here are a few pics of the ferry ride, although they aren't that great because the sun was setting and it was pretty windy back there.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/31/2007 6:18 am ET by Crash
I had time to walk around Tronheim on Friday morning before heading to the airport. It's a nice city. The people are very friendly and they all seem to speak English pretty well.
Trondheim has been around since the Viking days and the houses have always been made of wood. Apparently there was a major fire back in the 1600s and the town was pretty much destroyed. So the older homes date back to the 17th century.
The river was the life blood of the city and it winds through the city and forms a harbor where it empties into the fjord.
The city is home to Norway's technical university and the town is very high tech. The hotels all have free high speed wireless, which is nice. Even the barracks where we stayed in Oerland had high speed wireless.
I was in Trondheim four years ago and noted then how beautiful and thin the women were. Well, as you see in the picture near the bottom, McD's and Burger Thing have moved in. I saw two of each in the small downtown area. Burger Thing had a sign out for a double whopper with cheese that said, "Are you man enough?" Should have said, "Are you fat enough yet?" Anyway, the Norwegians I was with lamented that the kids there are starting to get fat.
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"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Edited 3/31/2007 6:38 am ET by Crash
OLAV Trygveson (posthumously [968]-drowned Øresund o. b. Svold, near Rügen 9 Sep [1000]). The Historia Norwegie records that, after the murder of her husband, the widow of "Turgonem" fled to Orkney where she gave birth to their son "Olauum"[188]. Leaving Svithjod with his mother, he was captured by Vikings of Eistland [Estonia], but freed and taken to Holmgard by his maternal uncle Sigurd where he stayed at the court of Prince Vladimir[189]. The Historia Norwegie records that his mother sent him to Sweden to be brought up by "Thorolfo…Lusaskeg", after learning that Jarl Haakon Sigurdsson was planning to kille him, sailed for Russia but was captured by Vikings "in Eistriam" and sold as a slave. He was ransomed by "Olauo suo cognato" who had been sent as ambassador to "rege Ruscie"[190]. He left Garderike for Norway, meeting his first wife in Vindland where he remained for 3 years until she died, after which he adopted a marauding lifestyle[191]. He was one of the leaders of the attacks on England, culminating in the battle of Maldon and the signing of a treaty with Æthelred II King of England, under which 22,000 pounds of gold and silver were paid in return for a promise to help thwart future attacks. The treaty never came into full effect although the money was paid[192]. Olav claimed the throne when Haakon "the Mighty" Ladejarl, Regent of Norway, was murdered in 995. He was first accepted by the people of Trondheim, and gradually imposed himself as OLAV I King of Norway. According to Snorre[193], King Olav proposed to marry Sigrid Storrada, widow of Erik King of Sweden, but they disputed when they met. Saxo Grammaticus[194] recounts a similar story. Adam of Bremen records that "Olaph Trucconis filius" was baptised in Norway by Adaldagus Bishop of Bremen, after accepting Christianity in England following his expulsion from Norway[195]. He succeeded in establishing Christianity in Norway, building the first churches in the country. Olav I King of Norway attempted to invade Denmark but was defeated by King Svend in a naval"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce
Roger
As usual, very nice pictures.
Thanks for sharring your experiences, and making the world a little more accesable to some of us that may never get the chance to see those places.
Doug
My pleasure, Doug. I think that even a simple place like Oerland is interesting because it's so remote. I plan to bring some fishing tackle when I go back in the fall... ;-) "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Ambrose Bierce