Weekend in Delft

Last weekend we went to the birthplace (and lifelong home) of Johannes Vermeer, Delft, The Netherlands.  Delft is a neat little town that is less than an hour from Amsterdam.  Highlights included my (Phil) first attempt at canal-side parallel parking, great coffee/food at a place called Kek and touring the Nieuww Kerk ("New Church") which has the second highest church tower in the Netherlands and the tomb containing the Orange family.

*Update to blog 21:36 CEST: Phil forgot to mention his heroic act of saving a little girl/s bicycle that got blown over into a canal (while we were enjoying brunch at the previously mentioned Kek).

Natalie's Birthday Weekend

July 14 - 16

  1. Friday night we had our First Dutch lesson: we started with the alphabet and most of the letters are very simple...but some are virtually impossible for Phil to pronounce (specifically the letter R).
  2. Saturday: awesome birthday brunch at Bakers & Roasters with DIY mimosas and a multi-course dinner at Guts & Glory.
  3. Sunday: boat ride with friends.
  4. Natalie got a bike!

The Tour de France in Dusseldorf

Natalie and I went to Dusseldorf to meet some friends from Minnesota/Canada who currently live in Munich (Jackie & Clint) and to see the start of the Tour de France!  It was a great, quick and slightly wet weekend.

Last day in Colorado

We had a few beautiful days in Aspen to relax after a wonderful wedding weekend in Beaver Creek! Thanks much to everyone who celebrated with us! 

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One was a gift from friends and one was a gift from the hotel. Equally delicious. 

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We hiked along the Maroon Bells today.  

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Heading to Beaver Creek tomorrow!

I took a long bike ride, Northeast out of the city, to an island called Marken and took a few pictures along the way.

Phil's work outing / new apartment / Haarlem

It's been a busy week: we moved out of the busy central district into our permanent apartment which is located in Oude Pijp ("old Pipe" see this Star Tribune article).  Phil also had a team outing and we visited some American friends in the nearby town of Haarlem.

Chio not Cheeto

I (Phil) got these at the grocery store last week but somehow forgot about them.  The flavor intensity definitely is XXL ("inspired by the XXL taste of the USA".

A low key week.

It was abnormally hot in Amsterdam so we didn't do much: Friday night we had dinner at a restaurant that serves bottomless french fries (!!), some furniture shopping, cafe time and Sunday afternoon in Vondelpark.  

Backup Weekend Plans

After spending the weekend laying low in Amsterdam (including dinner delicious restaurant, Mazzo and a digestif at Cafe George - a Sam/Mo Rufer favorite) we rented a canal boat on Sunday night. We were planning on getting a photo of both of us on the boat, but we ran out of time because I got us slightly lost in the canals.  We had a awesome time picnicking and boating that we will definitely do it again!  

Keukenhof Gardens

The Keukenhof Gardens is the largest bulb-garden in the world and is open for 8 weeks every spring near the town of Lisse, the Netherlands.  Natalie, Phil and about 20 million other tourists spent the afternoon there.  

View from Adidas

With rain rolling in from the Southwest (left side of picture).  Ajax stadium in the distance (right side).  

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Update for Barb's birthday!

Happy Birthday Mother-in-Law Barb! Tonight Natalie is at the American Women's Club of Amsterdam so I'm uploading a few pictures I have taken over the past couple of (busy) days.  We went to a Liberation Day celebration/concert on the Amstel River on May 5th, discovered a cool spot on the water for an outdoor beer and snack (Hannekes Boom), and I received some mail from the bank that explains our insurance in Dutch (we were told all "civilized" people get liability insurance); it contains the longest word I've come across yet: aansprakelijkheidsverzekering - 29 letters that translates to "liability insurance".

First day at work

After stoping at the official Expat Center at the World Trade Center, I went into the office for the first time today.  The pictures below are from the bike ride...including the massive bike parking garage at the WTC.

5th Night at the Holiday Inn*

Tonight is our 5th and final night at the hotel, which is technically located in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, and is technically our second night in the Holiday Inn Express (*after spending 3 nights in the Holiday Inn - my employer wanted to save a few bucks/quid/Euro).  We have spent the last few days exploring the city on foot trying to avoid all the cyclists and tourists.  Here are a few pictures.

First day in Amsterdam

We spent most of the day (Kings Day) walking through the Westerpark and Noord neighborhoods.  I took a handful of pictures before realizing that I didn't have an SD card in my camera. Also, almost all of the airport taxis were Tesla Model S's.