Europe Through Pictures

Hakuna Matata – hers

It means no worries, for the rest of your days.  And for eight glorious days, we lived these words of The Lion King himself.

You have already seen quite a few of our photos and heard a number of our side stories while on our trip. In summary, here are the things I absolutely loved about our experience:

1. We experienced an African baby boom – baby elephants, baby zebras, baby giraffes, baby impalas, baby baboons, baby rhinos, baby warthogs, baby lions – most of whom we saw drinking milk from their mamas.

2. We watched and chased as a leopard attempted an impala kill. As I said in an earlier post – hands down the most exhilarating experience I have ever had.

3. We sat absolutely still in our vehicle to convince a perfectly lined up herd of nine hissing, glaring, ready to stampede elephants that we weren’t there to harm them.

4. We saw a giraffe carcass. The stories differed. Some say this old guy likely died in a giraffe fight about five days before we arrived, others said it tripped and fell during a lion attack. Either way, just hearing about and watching the way animals eat it in food chain order, was remarkable.

5. We got to meet other families and hear about their safari sightings and their lives in the places they live. The boy and girl made fast friends with three children from Windsor, a town just outside London.  

6. We got to know our amazing guide, Michael, and hear about his experiences as a ranger in the bush. He taught us so much about the ecology of the area and about the animals themselves.

7. Barry and I did not fight while he navigated driving on the opposite side of the road in a manual car, on hilly roads. Nor did we fight when we realized on our last day in Cape Town that I had unplugged our room’s router (on the first day there) to blow dry my hair and that was the reason our room had such poor Wi-Fi signal. Oops.

The people of South Africa are amazingly gracious. We heard so many stories. The country is full of hope and of communities focused on making the world a better place. I have dubbed this vacation “the trip of a lifetime”…and it was. The joy we felt, and the joy we saw in the eyes of the boy and girl, at each experience was like no other.  

As we prepare to move our lives back to the USA, I am overwhelmed with the gift we have been given the past two years to experience new parts of the world as a family.

West End Girls (and Boys) - him

So many places and not a lot of time, that is our mantra these days as our journey shortly comes to an end.  Gone are the days of traveling every six weeks to somewhere new and exotic. Now we are just trying to fill in the remaining weeks.

I know we visited London once before and had a great time, but then it was winter, mixed with Christmas, so there was not a lot open.  We wanted to make sure he hit our closest English speaking country again with a bang, and show the kids what’s it all about – besides filling dad’s craving for fish and chips.

We hit the West End, and we hit it hard.  We crushed the M&M store near Covent Garden; we were bedazzled by the children in Matilda; we rocked the Tate (which I am not sure is the West End, but who’s to know any better); we trained in and out London (throw in a bus for good measure) as we meandered the Harry Potter Studios with fellow Muggles (jury still out on the boy as he wished for magic powers while in Turkey last month), and met up with some fellow Amsterdam expats as well as some new friends we met in Dubai who walked us through their fantastic ‘hood, with a stop at some amazing food carts.

We Conquered Istanbul, that's nobody's business but the Turks... - her

Highly recommended by many friends as a city not to miss, the four of us embarked on a quick jaunt to Istanbul, Turkey this week.  It did not disappoint...

Over 2600 years old, Byzantinium, turned Constantinople, turned Istanbul is home to many religions and cultures and boasts itself as one of the world's most populous cities. From the stunning scenery, to the delicious food, to the awesome sites, to the brilliant linens, and to the warm people, it was a delight of the senses at every turn.

The boy and girl were troopers on their feet all over the colorful and diverse city, sometimes even in the pouring rain. Their occasional complaints were easily quashed with Turkish delights or linty purse mints; my complaints easily drowned with Turkish wine. And Barry's?  He doesn't complain (it's annoying but I won't complain about that too).

Just one short block from the Galata Tower, in the neighborhood of Beyoglu, the artistic center of Istanbul, our hotel proved to be in the perfect location with wonderful boutiques and restaurants all around us.  Apparently, it’s also the guitar district as every other store was a music shop, which left Barry drooling at each window -- and offered a lot of opportunity for the children to pick out the instruments they want to learn.

The staff at the twelve room hotel were kind and attentive. Even as we loaded our bags in the taxi to head back to the airport, one of them went racing out to buy us fresh bread as one last treat.

Speaking of treats. We had many. Maybe too many. The Baklava and famous Turkish delights were, in fact, delightful. The doner kabob was amazing everywhere we went...believe me, we ordered it many times. Additionally, every restaurant we dined at for dinner offered chocolate soufflé on the menu. And for some reason we let our kids share one every night. Suckers.

We Went to the Desert and We Tanned - him

This past week we had the amazing opportunity to leave the cold, rainy Amsterdam weather for something slightly nicer.  For this go-around, we chose Dubai.  We never imagined this destination would make our list, as our time in Europe is relatively short, and places we want to visit still vast. But that being said, warm weather prevails.  We also knew that Dubai was in such a dubious location that we would never travel there from the west coast of the USA.

Now some have compared Dubai to that of Las Vegas, an oasis of luxury smack dab in the middle of the desert. A playground for the rich and the rich to shop their Christian Louboutin , eat their NOBU, sail their gigantic yachts and drive their Rolls Royces…. It was practically that., but Dubai was certainly no Vegas as it lacked the debauchery that Vegas bleeds.

Dubai was interesting for its own reasons — vast skylines, big malls and lots of hotels.  The skyline was always hazy due to the desert that surrounds it.  To me it seemed prefabricated and I’m not just saying that because our hotel was built on a palm tree island or that an island was built for our hotel… The city is being built up as if trying to forget about the desert sand it sits on.

It’s a place well-traveled by Europeans and Asians alike for business and recreation, but the interesting thing is that only 12 percent of the population are native. We had Pakistani taxi drivers, Egyptian tour guides, and South African kids’ club teachers.  

With all the immigrants, where are the locals?  Well from what we understood, the native Emiratis have the good government jobs, while everyone else does the not so good jobs.  The government does take care of its legal citizens as there are no taxes, free health care, subsidized gas, interest-free land loans, free college…etc….  Additionally, to ease marriage costs, the government gives Emirati men 70,000 dirhams ($19,000) when they marry an Emirati woman. Dubai is a very oil-rich country, and they certainly have no qualms about spending and having a good time.

While most of our time was spent by the pool soaking up some much needed vitamin D, we did venture one day to the Dubai Mall, one of the largest malls in the world.  Certainly not stores we haven’t seen before, but every luxury brand was represented… and many brands had dedicated children stores… Prada Kids, Louis Vuitton Kids…  What made the shopping interesting were the many women we saw wearing a Nijab carrying Hermes-type bags, wearing expensive shoes, and shopping for evening dresses…. I don’t know when they’d wear them, if not just under their gowns.

HAZY SHADE OF WINTER - hers

It’s been months since we have posted on the blog. A few friends have reminded me that it’s time for some new material. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write. It’s just that for some reason I feel my posts have to be extremely positive or totally negative and that nothing in between is interesting enough to write, and read, about. I guess it’s true that the majority of our experiences overseas are of the extreme positive kind. But I also wonder just how many of our trip summaries you can read before you are bored anyway.

And once the newness of the living in Europe experience wore off I began to feel that my negative or difficult interactions with others, while warranting a good story write up, only perpetuates and allows me to be ignorant to other cultures and means of self expression. Because while many of the cultures we encounter over here can come across as rude and standoffish, Barry frequently reminds me that the individuals likely weren’t intending to make me feel like a bad person as many times as I feel like one.  And the reality of it all is that there are just as many “seeming assholes” in America, if not more.

But then in America there’s Target and even the biggest jerk can’t ruin a good 9:30 pm stroll past the aisle end caps looking for a great deal or two or thirty - because I needed a four pack of deodorant and it was there.

Conversely, Amsterdam with its very few options of getting anything done past 5pm anyday, provides us the opportunity to stop running every which way to cross things off the list and simply enjoy each other and the city’s magic. Because it has a lot of magic, and beer….and other things.

What it all comes down to is that life is a series of experiences and your story can’t write itself before it is written. So ultimately the place you live is simply the vehicle for the experiences.

And with this outlook and 20 months of expat living in the Netherlands behind us, we have added a shit load of experiences and are living life to its fullest not knowing when it will come to an end. Not judging how positive or negative each one is.

Is it as perfect as the Facebook posts make it look?  Almost. But it’s challenging too. The inevitable wonder about what’s next for us and the pressure I put on myself to make it a good professional move that aligns with our family goals and needs is sometimes difficult to handle. Balancing work and work travel against being the wife and mom I want to be is a constant battle.   But these aren’t unique problems. And they aren’t actually problems.  I’m clear that we have been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Lucky beyond lucky is the only appropriate summary I can give it.

As 2014 comes to a close, we have just completed an amazing series of family trips. Over the course of the past two weeks we hit five countries (Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria) for some history, city touring, Christmas markets, and meeting up with new and old friends for fun in the snow. All mixed with great food and drink.  Believe me when I say I had my share of “encounters” over this time. The ski school stories alone could be an entire blog post. But this is life and  my cup is full and ready for whatever 2015 throws at us.

Visitor Blog, The Bubbe’s Back

Bubbe’s back—with my musings—having just culminated a glorious 13 days with my family on a Baltic cruise.   Our last family cruise was ten years ago—in 2004, to celebrate their wedding anniversary as well as Bubbe’s and Auntie’s achievements of receiving their Master’s degrees.  Now, 10 years having passed, we came together to simply be with and celebrate family!   

But, before my thoughts drift to the cruise experience, I’d like to comment on my now “Amsterdam family.”  This trip marks a year since Bubbe and Poppie first came to Amsterdam, shortly after the kids moved there. A year ago, July, they were all just working/struggling to adapt and settle into their new culture and surroundings.  That, in my opinion, is no easy task!  We all tend to be somewhat ethnocentric, I believe, when it comes to “bumping into” a culture different from our own.  Differences we encounter (whether it be about food, social cues, holiday customs or the language barrier) can be unsettling to the point of placing us in a state of “disequilibrium.” But, as I trusted would happen— the mom, dad, the boy and the girl have, over this past year, settled in comfortably to their new “home,” –into new work, school, activities, friendships and into appreciation of a new culture.

 To witness the boy and girl in their school uniforms, sharing animatedly about their new friends and teachers was delightful.  Apparently, they’ve learned some Dutch in school, as well.  While in Amsterdam with the boy and girl at a park concert, the lead band singer talked to the audience in Dutch.  The girl proceeded to translate for me: “He said he plays in Amsterdam but he lives in a different province.”  Who knew I’d have my own personal translator?!  Also gratifying to watch is our daughter, realizing her dream of combining fashion (okay…her shoe fetish!) with business—moving full speed ahead toward achieving her professional goals.  And, certainly paramount to their success in settling in this past year—is thanks to our son-in-law’s perseverance and skill—-from deciphering a government letter written in Dutch to navigating transportation modes and the grocery store, to capturing their experience so beautifully in photos— to caring lovingly for the boy and girl, even when dispositions unraveled and patience ran thin! I’m proud of all of them!

Now, for the cruise…. We stopped in six ports and took guided tours in most places.  Poppie and I spent a full day in Berlin, Germany; then the ship docked for two days in St Petersburg, Russia; to Estonia, then Helsinki, Finland where Auntie went Nordic walking on a tour; then to Stockholm, Sweden; and last, to Copenhagen, Denmark where our Danish nephew-in-law treated all of us to a traditional Danish meal, and then gave us a private tour of Copenhagen.   In between taking in all of the historic sights, we also had a blast on the ship!  Lots of entertainment—the evening shows, the various bands playing, a Karaoke night, sun bathing, the boy and girl slumbering in the top bunk in our stateroom and much, much more!  The best was just being with family, and all the laughter we collectively produced—and, oh yes, an acappela choir I performed with on the ship.  That was a close second!

Here are two of my favorite quotes from the trip:  The boy and girl were slated to go with parents to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. (note:  no place in the crowded museum to sit down, get A/C or have a private temper tantrum.)  The day before that tour, the dad was overheard saying to the boy and girl, “If you don’t start behaving, you won’t be able to go to the Hermitage tomorrow!”  To which the girl replied, “Good!” J  The second quote is a keeper!  Auntie said to the boy, “I love you!  You’re my special nephew!”  To which the boy lovingly replied, “’I’m never gonna lose you!”  Then, after a slight pause, the boy asked, “What’s a ‘nephew?’ ’”

Our Journey to a Moroccan Village - him

Photo Safari - Him

Cousins' Guest Blog – Blood is thicker than Nutella... (written by the Aunt)

Our adventures in Ams began with our family showing us their favorite haunts. A bike trip to an outdoor market for delicious crepes and fresh squeezed juice was followed by playtime in Vondelpark— the kids got to play on the elaborate play structures and we witnessed first hand the well-behaved Dutch dogs. Thank you to JR, BR, SR, KR for the loan of their bikes while they were in Turkey– we got to enjoy Ams as it’s meant to be. There’s always room for more and “her” HS friend S joined us at a charming Italian restaurant for dinner. After dinner, the kinder got to accompany the owner into the kitchen to pick out their ice cream and returned with stems of currants in their ears. The next day (Sun) we headed into the city on bikes– a little more hairy for me! Later we enjoyed a lovely boat ride down the canal. The boy and his boy-cousin chatted away on deck with “him” while the rest of us sat inside and enjoyed the audio history of Ams and “her” won the big save of the day using the boy’s hat to prevent a tourist from getting a lap full of red wine. At night the cousins played hide & seek until they were all hiding and no one was seeking. Monday started off slow with the enormous line at the Anne Frank Huis, and when I made the mistake of saying, “at least it isn’t raining,” we were treated to the only bad weather on our trip— a torrential downpour of rain and hail!  The visit to the house was incredibly sobering.  We actually saw where the families spent two years in hiding, the bookcase that opened up to the hidden stairwell, and Anne’s bedroom walls decorated with movie stars.  We didn’t even realize the bashert[1] timing of our visit until later that day where we celebrated freedom at our Seder. The kids remembered to be grateful for their freedom to “dance,” “ride bikes,” and “whistle” (from Anne Frank’s diary).

On Tuesday we were off to Paris.  A bus, a train, and a few subway rides later we arrived at our picturesque Parisian hotel equipped with a bidet (which the kids called a “butt washer”) and flimsy European shower.  Him and Her navigated the metro so smoothly (at times we were packed in like sardines) and Her is very comfortable conversing in French.  We lucked into a great brasserie for lunch– enjoying crepes, steak frites, and poached ouefs (eggs). This was the first (but not the last) time the Parisians handed the kids pop rocks. We took in some of the famous sites while we were there: the Arc de Triumph (250 steps), the Tour d’Eiffel, Sacre Coeur (300 steps – the girl’s favorite), the Louvre pyramid and saw some more during our boat ride down the Seine (“his” favorite). The girl and the boy-cousin came up with their own version of Frozen’s “Let It Go” to sing on the streets of Paris! We gathered ingredients from three shopes on the same corner for a picnic lunch— baguettes, cheese (comte, brie & manchego), charcuterie, olives, artichokes and bubbly— and hopped on a bus to the Luxembourg Gardens. It was a beautiful day and the garden was full of people and lovers (yuck, but the adults were envious at the apparent length of their lunch “hour”). After lunch the kids sailed mini boats with sticks in the water and we ran into friends from home— it’s a small world.  As we walked along the Seine on our final day, we got to see how the French live; we saw people enjoying the sunshine while eating their brown bag lunches on tables with game boards, bikers and joggers (and one who was jog-walking, or was it walk-jogging?— we couldn’t quite agree), and children playing on playgrounds that were every few meters. That evening, near tragedy and starvation were averted when the girl and the boy were rescued from the elevator after being stuck inside for about 45 minutes— I forgot to mention the antique elevator! After an incident at the first restaurant where we had planned to have dinner (see “her” tripadvisor review for more details), we ended up dining at La Petit Canard for onion soup (perhaps the only thing on the menu that did not contain duck!), cassoulet, and duck confit— yum! 

Back in Ams for our last day we took it easy.  We headed into the heart of the shopping district and the girl-cousin finally got her Zara on.  The kids loved making their own Magnum bars at the fancy department store and we all sampled fries with Hellman’s (yes, the mayonnaise).  The adults enjoyed a final hurrah that night at a local watering hole, followed by dinner out.  The cocktails– pitchers of Pimm’s cup & This is No Dr. Pepper among them– were fantastic and the food was also really good.  We truly appreciated the European dining style, never a worry about turning over a table; I think we were at ours for about 3 hours.

The charming boy gave us lots of hugs, and especially enjoyed horsing around with his boy-cousin; the girl was so full of information, quick to laugh and never got tired! Her and Him were amazing hosts.  Her is so devoted to her family while managing the huge demands of her job – and we are so lucky that we got to enjoy her company for a whole week! And Him manages the household on a day-to-day basis with such aplomb, planning all of the family travel, and finding friends and activities to enjoy while doing so.  In the end we are just so grateful to have spent a week with the four of you! Thank you for sharing your European adventure with us! I’ll leave you with some of our favorite quotes from the trip: "Sometimes I drop my bike (carrying it out the door down the steps) but once I didn't." "What happened to my skin?" "She’s got a hazelnut in her eye." "I want to go to H&M." "I don't know what a baby barf is." "I don't understand how he gets 100 likes from a picture of an Auntie Anne's bag!" "Salade!"

"Oh Ron!"

Roll With It - him

Who knew Amsterdam would have so many bikes!  Just kidding, we knew going into this journey that Amsterdam was the Mecca for getting around on two, and sometimes three wheels.  We needed to fit in.

We are a family of four, and yes we have seven bicycles.

When it was time to move, we ditched our ‘America’ mountain bikes for those of the upright variety.  Our American bikes just would not have survived the outdoor elements.  The wheels did not have fenders, so we'd be muddied up in the rain; the chains were not sealed, so they'd be rusting almost immediately; and they, the bikes would probably be stolen.

It took a couple of months to figure out what bikes we’d buy, but I was settled on not buying a Bakfiet.  They are expensive and are stolen frequently.  They are too big to bring inside, so this $2500 investment would call the front of our apartment home.  Plus the fact they are ugly, heavy…I did not want to be seen riding it.

That is until something changed.  We learned of a horrific accident in which a seven-year-old girl was hit and killed by a garbage truck.  Though we did not know this family, their story was similar to ours. That is, they moved to Amsterdam from a foreign land to share new experiences as a unit.  For them, they had to go through the grief of having a child taken away from them too soon.

So we started thinking.  Were we going to let the cost of a Bakfiet stop us from transporting our children around town safely?  Up to this point, the girl (also seven) would ride, while the boy (though he doesn't need training wheels) would we carried in a standard bike seat behind Jordie, because no way was he going to ride with me.  When the girl rode, it was stressful.  She'd roll through stop signs, she'd weave into traffic, she just wasn’t always paying attention.  So the decision was made….

A good friend of ours here had a different kind a Bakfiet.  This was one was sportier, lighter, fast – more of what I was looking for.  This bike was Danish-designed and had a cool model name – the Milk Plus (a reference from a Clockwork Orange)… even the brand was cool – Larry vs. Harry.

We purchased this bike in January and could not be happier.  The kids love riding in it and I love pedaling this thing through the city.  It is smaller than the other Bakfiets you see, so it’s not for every family, but it is small enough to fit in the house (with three other bikes). We even used the bike once for date night, when the wifey got her own personal driver for the evening, while she relaxed in the front box.

Now that spring is upon us, I am looking forward to taking it out more (still don't like getting it wet though) and exploring the city with the kids.  Also, if I should happen to find something big, I can just throw it in and pedal home, while not having to figure out if they deliver or use the car, blah blah, blah.