First, let me welcome our newest reader...Clara Elise Armstrong who joined us late last Tuesday evening! She's beautiful, can't wait to meet her in person in December! Congrats Amy, Grant, and Lily!!
Last week was fairly slow in terms of new experiences, just a few trips to the park and zoo. I have been reading The Diary of Anne Frank, and one of her entries describes a typical day in the Annex. I realize her situation was very different than ours, but I thought it might be interesting (or boring, you decide) to show you some more detailed pictures of our place and shed some light on what has become "normal" for us. Please note that these times are all approximates - nothing is ever really "scheduled" when you have a 1 year old, right? :)
6:30 a.m. - Ben wakes up to start our day. Steph jumps in the shower, Greg is on DaDa duty - diaper, breakfast, etc.
8:00 a.m. - Greg leaves for work. This in itself is a huge change for our family as Greg used to leave home around 5:55 a.m. in Streamwood to take the train downtown Chicago. We love spending so much morning time together.
9:00 a.m. - Stephanie and Ben run errands. Grocery shopping is an every day occurence - because we have no freezer, our fridge is small, and it's easier to carry the basket (they have carts, but since Ben is in a stroller, that doesn't work). By the way, it seems that most things here are smaller than in the States. Fridge, oven, waste basket, washer and dryer. Also, most of the packaging is smaller - we finally found 2 liter containers of milk, and I feel like I am going through bottles of shampoo and conditioner about once every couple of weeks. Sounds like they do have a "Costco" called Hanos, but you need a car to get there. One of the AWCA women mentioned it, so I may have to hitch a ride one of these days to check it out. (Although, she mentioned paying $12 for a big box of raisin bran...yikes!)
10:00 a.m. - Snack time and get ready for playgroup or outdoor fun - park, zoo, whatever strikes our fancy for the day.
12 p.m. - Lunch, inside or on the patio if the weather is too beautiful!
13:00 p.m. (this is the way we see it, so you have to use your noodle and convert the time too!) - Ben nap time. Steph has some devotional quiet time and catches up on emails, blogs, cleans, balances the checkbook, etc. (whatever I can squeeze into 2 hours!)
15:00 p.m. - Ben's awake! Snack time, play time, coloring/painting, maybe another trip to the park? Start dinner around 17:00 p.m.
18:00 - 18:30 p.m. - Greg gets home, dinner time! Play time and books to follow.
20:00 p.m. - Pick up the toys, it's bath and bed time for Ben!
21:00 p.m. - Greg and Steph settle in with a book, a TV program, or do some travel research online. Bedtime around 22:30 p.m.
Here are some things we see every day:-Coffee shops. This one is their version of Starbucks, called Coffee Company. Also included is a picture of the only Starbucks in Amsterdam, located in Schipol Airport.
-The above coffee shops are not to be confused with the below coffee shops. We don't have a version of these in the States...these are the places where it is tolerated (not legal) to sell marijuana. There are actually quite a few that we see (and smell) on our way to Central Station, but the one below is my favorite (from looks, not from personal experience!). The place is called Popeye's, and there is a sign in the window that says "Happy Breakfast?" Just makes me laugh...
-Jordino's. A yummy looking chocolate shop, and yes, those are chocolate high heels. :) (These heels wouldn't look too painful to indulge in though, right ladies?) This shop is also quite famous for it's gelato. We have yet to stop in, but someday soon...
-Flowers, beautiful canals, and urinals? Because this is the city and we have no backyards, people have "gardens" growing from their windows and up the buildings. The canals below are Brouwersgracht (the one we live on) and the Prinsengracht (the one very nearby that we see a lot). And yes, this last picture is a urinal alongside Brouwersgracht. Haven't seen anyone use it, although we did catch a man just peeing straight into the Prinsengracht the other day. Yuck! Lucky for you, I didn't catch this on film!
-Crooked houses. The lowest point in Amsterdam is 22 feet below sea level, so there is a lot of settling that has happened over the years... safe??
We'll leave you with a couple more funny photos...enjoy!Looks like moving day in Amsterdam! (Yep, this is a couch being moved up to the 3rd floor via the window.)
This is a party bus we saw "drive" by. Yes, these guys are all drinking, but yes, they are also the ones doing the pedaling. :)
Tot ziens!
No comments:
Post a Comment