A Practical Day

I can really tell that I’m older than the last time I traveled because it has taken me far longer to get past the jet lag.  Today was the first day that I kinda led a normal life and didn’t need naps to get through the morning.  We’re six hours ahead of EDT here so getting up at 8:00AM has been feeling as if I’m rising at 2:00AM.  Going to bed at midnight has been going to bed at 6:00 PM.  My body hated it.

Today I was awake before the alarm and hungry for breakfast.  Wrote straight through the morning until 2:00 when I decided it was time to handle practical matters such as getting more hangers for the closet, unpacking and rearranging the bags, sending the laundry out and handwashing the underwear.  The balcony is great – I can drape underwear over the chairs for drying and there’s nobody to be offended by my brightly striped underdrawers.  Perfect unless of course it rains – as it did today – and everything gets dripping wet all over again.

At the end of this month there is a huge all European dog show here in Leeuwarden and my hotel has been fully booked for months.  They told me about the problem when I was discussing a long term arrangement with them and they assured me they would make another hotel reservation for me.  Later I was thinking that I should have taken that time to travel around the countryside, taking photos of the villages where my ancestors lived and staying in Drachten or Dokkum for the 2-3 days I would be without my usual hotel.  So I wasn’t at all upset when the hotel apologetically told me that the best they could do was book me into a hotel about 20 miles from here – in Drachten where my DeHaan ancestors lived in the mid-1800s.  I think I’ll rent a car for that time and really visit the villages in the area.  I miss my car, by the way, and am finding it difficult to get around by public transportation, although that may be just another symptom of my general jet lag fatigue.

I can’t believe how much I love writing the novel.  The characters are just insisting on going their own way and I think they are just so much fun.  I find myself hoping the novel is never completed cuz I’ll miss my new friends.

A Writing Day

The plan was to research constantly during these first weeks and then settle in to write about what I had learned.  But I had so much fun yesterday at the Fries Museum that I ended up spending the entire day writing the first chapter of my novel.  The Museum is not that big and not that extensive for the period I have in mind -- mid 1800s -- but they had on exhibit a lovely selection of women's clothing for the time period and it allowed me to let my heroine Antje get dressed for her wedding.  I could do a lot of plot set up while she was putting on those undergarments and gold helmet. 

I had a great time finding out more about my characters as I wrote about them.   They are pretty well fleshed out in my mind but as I'm writing, they take off and do the most unexpectd things.   For instance, I found out I really like Antje's mother and I had always thought she was a rather weak character.  Imagine my surprise when she said and did things today that were really rather admirable.  Good for her!!

I was also surprised to find out that Antje loved to sew on the machine her father had given her for Christmas --  I didn't know until yesterday that she could even have access to one so it was only while I was writing that I discovered her talent.  It explains why her dress is so intricate even though she lives in a tiny country village.  This is the sewing machine I found in the museum:

It's exactly like Antje's sewing machine!  And looks a lot like an antique machine I once owned.

Here's what the fashionable women of the day were wearing:

The headress is my favorite part.  There were two muslin and lace caps worn close to the head to keep the hair covered.  Those were held in place with a gold helmet.  The gold was very fine and very thin and sat close to the head.  Over the gold helmet the woman would place a finely-meshed hood, intricately trimmed with lace and embroidery.  It was held to the gold helmet with two gold or silver clips.  The only other jewelry was a brooch worn at the neck.  I saw dozens of drawings and paintings and even photos of Frysk women from 1850-1900 and they all looked pretty much like this, unless they were royalty.  The royals felt confident with clothes cut down to here and cut up to there and they had no need for gold helmets.  None of my ancestors were royal and neither are the characters in my book so black dresses and golden helmets it is.

The  women wore a "filler" to pouf out the bottom of their skirts and a corset to pouf up their tops.  Made me think of Scarlett O'Hara.  "Tighter!  tighter!"

Sorry about the quality of these photos.  The items are all in cases and have lights shining on them and lights shining in from the windows everywhere.  I also had to be a little surreptitious about taking the photos.  Although there was no outright ban on photos and even though there were no guards around, I kept expecting a curator to pop out and scold me so I wasn't as careful as I might have been about setting up the photos.

Boerenjongens

My family in Indiana will appreciate this.  

The photo was taken in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden and shows a series of silver punch bowls used throughout Friesland in the 19^th century.  These particular bowls are very rare and very ornate and belonged to the few remaining estate holders, a group of wealthy Fryslanders that moved from Fryslan to the Haag or whose families simply died out in the mid and late 1800’s.  Every Frysk family, no matter how rich or poor, had a silver punch bowl, however, that came out for special occasions.  I couldn’t understand why the punch bowls were so small; they couldn’t have held more than 2-3 cups of punch.  Then I read a little further and giggled with awe.  The punch bowls had been filled with raisins and the raisins had been covered in brandy and soaked for weeks before the party.  Guests used tiny spoons to scoop up the potent raisins during the celebration.  This is exactly what happened in my famiy’s homes in Indiana some 100 or so years later when the boerenjongens were brought out for Christmas celebrations.  I still prepare them sometimes.  So yummy.

Settling In

For the past eight weeks, I have been contacting leasing agencies and individuals, networking on linkdin and expatriate sites, and combing the internet for possible rooms or apartments to rent while I'm here in the Netherlands for book research.  It originally looked so easy as there were so many options to choose among.  As I narrowed the search, however, it turned out there were always problems -- I didn't meet age requrements (no one over 30 -- heh, I remember those days) was the most common problem.  I also got caught in a couple of scams -- just send the money by western union and then I'll save the apartment for you.  Hah.  I think not.

As a Plan B I decided to book a room in the most likely hotel I could find for five days, use that time to look for apartments, and then talk to the hotel about staying there for the duration at a reasonable rate.  I loved the Eden Oranje Hotel for its features and its convenience.  It has a nice restaurant with a lovely outdoor space although it's all a little too pricey for everyday use.  There are lots of comfortable couches in the lobby where people sit and chat and there are even toys for children carefully arranged around the room.  Lots of computers and lots of newspapers.  I decided quickly to talk to the manager about a longer term rental rate.  We worked out an arrangement today that took $50 off the daily room price and gave me free wi-fi and free breakfast.  That fits in my budget and means that I have easy access to all transportation since I am directly across the street from the train station that is the hub of all bus, taxi, train, and bicycle traffic in Leeuwarden and the outlying areas.  The train station also has a couple of restaurants and a couple of convenience stores, as well as a kiosk for changing currency.

My room is perfectly adequate with a kingsize bed, mini bar and fridge.

There is a desk, open storage unit, and a flat screen TV.  And the bathroom is huge by European standards and really quite large even by US standards with a full bathtub and shower, sink and toilet.  The room also has a small balcony (not much of a view unfortunately) perfect for coffee and even for the laptop.

So I've solved the immediate problems and I'm very happy and relieved to have a home here.

Adventure!

It has been coming on for some time – waking up in the middle of the night and needing an adventure.  Stuck in traffic trying to get to work and needing an adventure.  Sitting in front of my computer or TV and needing an adventure.

So it was a matter of selling and giving away the extraneous material possessions, packing up enough to get me through 3 months of travel, buying the tickets, making the reservations, and leaving.

LEAVING

Leaving was a bit of a problem.  As I was waiting for the big day, my son James was diagnosed with colon cancer and needed immediate surgery.  To compound the problem, my grandson Jimmy was scheduled for surgery to repair a chest cavity problem  at the same time and that surgery to take place in Norfolk could not be postponed.  Since Elaine could not be in both places at once and there were two little boys to consider, I opted to delay my flight by a couple of weeks and take care of James and Jack and Justin while Elaine handled Jimmy’s surgery in Norfolk.  Fortunately, James’ condition was detected early on, his cancer was confined to the tumor, and the tumor was successfully excised in the surgery.  He will probably need no additional treatment although that final decision will be in the hands of his oncologist.  Jimmy came through his surgery with flying colors and both guys were recuperating nicely by the time I left.  Elaine’s sister came in the day before I left so there was additional help for the family and I could leave -- comfortable in the knowledge that everyone was getting healthy and Elaine had some support as well.

ICELANDAIR

I decided to start my adventure with an unusual airline, and opted for Icelandair with a stop in Reykjavik.  The airline has a class called economy comfort with larger seats and additional leg space.  It’s more expensive than economy but is substantially less expensive than business class.  It allows for 2 free checked bags and 2 carry-on bags and gives free food, free drinks, free movies, and a pillow and blanket, all of which costs dearly in economy.  It also allows for early boarding and deplaning as well as access to the Icelandair lounges in each airport.  Because a flight earlier this year on another airline had left me feeling cramped, claustrophobic, and mightily uncomfortable, I opted for comfort and loved it.  Then I realized that comfort class was simply flying the way it used to be before the austerity measures moved in and airlines opted for profit over passenger comfort.

ICELAND.

There was a lot of cloud cover so I didn’t see much from the plane coming in nor did I see much at the airport itself. There was some clearing during the layover so I was able to get a small sense of the area as we departed.  It was a mysterious and fascinating blend of glaciers and turf and volcanoes and modern buildings and made me vow to change my ticket coming home so I can spend some time in the country before the final leg back to the states.  Oh, and when I arrived at the Reykjavik airport we had to go through security and customs again and I got my passport stamped!  In all my travels this is my first stamp.  None from France, Italy, Switzerland, or Belgium.  But I have a stamp now from Iceland!

THE TRAIN

Once I had collected my luggage and groaned that it was so bulky and unwieldy, I located the train station within Schiphol airport.  I used a kiosk, inserted my credit card, and received a ticket.  I couldn’t tell which of the six lines the train was on so I went to the seller of warm cokes and asked for help.  She looked at me as if I were a tragic case of not very bright and told me that the “ticket” was actually explaining that my credit card had been rejected.  She suggested going to the live ticket sellers across the way.  There the grumpy ticket seller impatiently rejected card after card insisting that he could only use one “with a chip”.  He also rejected my dollars and told me to go to the bank around the corner and get euros.  I had hoped to avoid getting euros in the states and at the airport because I remember getting a better exchange rate at ATMs outside the US and outside travel centers but the train ticket seller was pretty insistent so now I had to hope my credit cards without chips were going to work in that ATM.  Got the cash, got the ticket, was told to get on Train 3 in 10 minutes.  So I did.

NICE PEOPLE

The comforting thing was the sign at Schiphol told me the train was going to Leeuwarden and the announcer on the train speaking Dutch also mentioned Leeuwarden in every announcement.  The uncomfortable thing was that the list of stations at which we were to stop didn’t mention Leeuwarden.

The couple behind me took me in hand and explained that although I was on the correct train, I was  on the wrong portion of the train and this train was about to split in half with one section going to Groningen and one to Leeuwarden.  I was on the Groningen section.  They had watched me struggle in with my cumbersome luggage so they each grabbed a big bag and walked me through the rain and got me situated in a correct car.  It was a long wet walk and when I turned around to thank them, they were gone.  When I got to Leeuwarden, I was again struggling with the bags and a nice woman grabbed the 2 big bags and got them down the train steps and onto the platform for me.  She too disappeared into the crowd before I could get organized and thank her properly.

GOOD THOUGHTS

So for the three lovely people of the Netherlands who unselfishly helped a struggling stranger, please join me in thinking good thoughts for an unexpected and very happy event to occur in their lives.

THE HOTEL

The Eden Oranje Hotel is directly across the street from the train station, a stately old hotel with a pleasant outdoor café and rather nice rooms.  I’m going to try to work with the manager on a rate I can afford  throughout my visit here.  The room has a US style bathroom (yay), a flat screen TV, internet access, a good bed, and a balcony with table and chairs.  Not much of a view unfortunately but still a good place to drink coffee in the morning.

 Notice the white lines on the street (far left of the picture).  Those lines give absolute authority to pedestrians to step out on the street and walk across.  All cars will absolutely stop.  Not true for bicycles, however.  Bikes are the kings of the road and they will run you down.

FOOD

On my first night in the Netherlands, I pampered myself and went to the rather pricey hotel dining room.  I know better than to expect much of Dutch “cuisine” so I wasn’t disappointed, only amused, to find that the entrée selections were:  Fried hake, fried calves liver, pasta with deep fried cambazola (?) and roast pig.  I opted instead for a Caesar salad with a breast of chicken served with chips (French fries for dipping into mayonnaise) and hearty dark bread.  I was really hungry since I had only a croissant during a day of travel so the salad and chicken tasted especially good.

This morning I went downstairs for the breakfast buffet and was surprised to find scrambled eggs and bacon as well as a wonderful selection of breads and specialty croissants (including my favorite raisin croissants exactly the same as they sell at Whole foods), ham, cheese, roast beef and crusty rolls.  Lots of specialty coffees.  Loved my breakfast.

FIRST DAY

I’m going to stay quiet this morning.  I’m jet lagged and weary and my body needs some recuperation.   

I also stayed quiet for the afternoon.  And for the evening. I ventured out quickly for dinner in a new spot – menu full of fried fish with strange names and pasta with unknown ingredients.  Opted for an oriental salad with lots of good veggies and a nice stir-fried beef on top.  Then more sleep.

SECOND DAY

Started negotiations with my hotel for a long term stay.  Housing is very very tight here and my quick contacts with agencies did not go well.  The hotel on the other hand is eager to keep me here for the full term and I’m meeting with the manager and the sales manager tomorrow to see what we can work out.  In the meantime they’ve given me free internet and a complimentary breakfast.  The location is quite perfect.  All transportation units are directly across the street at the train station – intercity buses and local buses and taxis and trains and rental bicycles.  The hotel is in the heart of the city and there are dozens of restaurants and cafes and shops within walking distance.  The train station also has a couple of convenience shops for toothpaste and shampoo and cokes.  We’ll see what happens at the meeting tomorrow but I’m hopeful this will work out.

They are everywhere!!  This is the view at the train station.  The view is the same on all three sides.  Hundreds of bikes parked and awaiting their owners.
BICYCLES