And so it begins...the travel season is upon us. We knew that once Mother's Day had come and gone that we had some personal travel planned and that Greg's mom was coming to visit in early June. Well, add in some work travel, and we are one busy family! It really will feel like no time before we are traveling to the States for summer weddings!
On Monday, May 4th, Greg called me during Ben's nap time and said "hey, what if I travel to Oslo, Norway on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week?" Um, ok. Really, it was fine, but what a whirlwind of prep for him. The work part of his trip went well, and he even got a couple hours of evening sunlight now (as opposed to his trip in January), so he enjoyed walking around. He also enjoyed his dinners with co-worker, Scott. (I think it's always nice to have a meal buddy.) Here's pictures of his hotel, Parliament, and the seen-everywhere Norwegian viking/troll guy. He's kind of cute, yes?
Greg arrived home safely that Friday evening. On Sunday, May 10th, I felt very cherished for Mother's Day. Ben and Greg surprised me with flowers, a necklace from my fave little shop here, and some beautiful Dutch silver earrings. You can never go wrong with flowers and jewelry, I say. A note about the flowers...I have a feeling now that my hubby knows how cheap they are here (20 Gerber daisies seen below for 2 euro - about $3), I may not see flowers again in the States for a long time. :)
An update for all those wondering where our renewed residency status was at...good news! Ben's 3rd photo had been accepted, so he and I went to the Justice Department on May 13th to pick up our new cards. Hurray, we are legal again! Except, I hated (and I mean really hated!) to give up our old cards. The photos were so good...and the new cards are very "mugshot". Oh well, that will be a laugh for years to come when I recall the story about getting Ben's photo (remember the fall-off-the-chair incident?) One other note, it brought back memories for me when I went to pick up the cards. We did that together as a family back in April last year, and it felt so overwhelming - getting on the train, trying to find the place, figuring out how to get the train back to Central Station, etc. I never would have dreamed last year of doing it on my own and feeling comfortable - this year it was like a normal, everyday kind of errand. How times have changed!!
Last Friday, Greg won the award for best husband ever! Here's how his evening went: He had graciously agreed to pick up pizzas on the way home from work. He called around 5:30 to say that he was on his way. About 6 p.m., it started pouring rain, right about the time that he was probably getting to Central Station and hopping on his bike. Normally, a rain shower here lasts 5 minutes tops. Well, this rainstorm was not stopping...still going strong at 6:15, then 6:30. I was feeling slightly guilty, snuggled up warm and dry on the couch watching Finding Nemo with Ben. About 6:45 the phone rings, it was Greg. I figured he was calling to say that he waited out the rain a bit and was now at the pizza place waiting on the food. Nope! He says "I'm in the elevator." "OK", I say, "do you need help?" He says, "I'm stuck in the elevator, come outside and see." Yep, I opened our door, and he is stuck in the elevator about a foot from our floor. Poor guy! He is mad, he is wet, and he is a hungry man stuck in an elevator with pizza. Ugh! He had already called the service man, who was on his way. They had been working on the elevator that day, and there was a sign on our floor saying not to use it. But, no sign on the bottom level, so how was Greg supposed to know? Ben and I gave him moral support for a while in the hallway (and told him to eat some pizza if he wanted). Ben was very confused why Daddy was not coming out of the elevator. :) Not much we could do, so we eventually went back inside. At 7:45, Greg finally walks in the door. So glad he was safe, and he had had plenty of time to cool off. Not mad anymore, just hungry! We all devoured the pizza - Ben ate 4 pieces! I wish I had some good pictures of man on bike balancing pizzas in pouring rain - or angry wet man stuck in elevator about as close to home as possible - but no such luck. Hope the story made you chuckle though, and at least now we have all been stuck in that silly elevator! (Last spring for me and Ben.)
On Saturday, we spent a relaxing morning together. We went to the Melkhuis at Vondelpark to swing, play, and kiss the "White Thomas Train". Just kisses though, as Thomas had a huge puddle of water in his seat from rain the night before. I don't even think Ben cared he couldn't ride it, he was just happy to look and touch his new friend. Also, here are some pix of our little man on his new bike. Just trying to figure out...do we teach him how to steer or pedal first?
On Sunday, the 17th, we went to Liliane's 3rd birthday party - at a puppet theater! How fun! The show was in English and Dutch and lasted about 30 minutes. I was surprised at how well Ben paid attention...that's a long time for a 2 year old to sit still! But, he had made a pig friend that he gave love to as he watched. :) The theater had puppets, dress-up, and face painting - and of course, Ben's favorite, cake! 
It was just Ben and I enjoying the puppet show, because that morning Greg flew to Oslo again. He wanted to be there on Sunday to see the Norwegian Independence Day celebration. As he arrived, his hotel was all decked out in flags and banners. There was a sea of people - the photos remind me a bit of Queen's Day, minus the orange. He even "snuck up" on some women wearing the traditional Norwegian clothing for a photo as they walked along the harbor and down the street. He had the afternoon to visit Akershus Fortress and Castle. I was so glad to see that he had such great weather to explore the city - because as of Monday, it was work, work, work. Poor guy flew every day. Flew on Sunday to get to Oslo. Worked in Oslo on Monday, flew to Bergen on Monday night. Worked in Bergen on Tuesday, flew back to Oslo on Tuesday night. Worked in Oslo on Wednesday, flew back to Amsterdam on Wednesday night. He was glad to get his feet on solid ground for a few days straight once he got home - and we were glad to have him back!
And now tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd, we leave for a week-long vacation in France. We will spend one night in Paris, then travel to Bayeux. Bayeux is a small town very near the D-Day Beaches, which we will visit on Monday. We'll rent a car and visit Mont St Michel on Tuesday, and then back through Paris on Wednesday to our final - and most exciting destination of the trip - Euro Disney! I cannot wait to "show and tell" what our little boy thinks of meeting Mickey and friends. Do you remember that commercial for Disney a while back with the little boy that says "I'm too excited to sleep!", and then the Dad says it too to the Mom as they lay down in bed? Well, that is how we feel - we're not sure who's more excited! And, I can't wait to see how Disney is the same/different - bet they have "French fries". :) Au revoir!
We found a bench to stop and have a snack. I had read in a travel book about Volendam being a popular place to have your photo taken in traditional Dutch costume. I was really hoping that Ben and Greg would oblige me in having our pictures taken...like they had a choice. :) So, we found one of the shops, and the girls in the shop started getting us dressed into some Dutch gear. Ben was not too excited about the "bib", the "black rope necklace", or the traditional black pants - but you can't even tell since he was such a good sport with the red jacket, hat, and clogs (he LOVED the hat and clogs!). While the woman was placing us for the photo, she brought over a pail of fake fish. Right away, Ben picked them up and started playing with them. The photographer was able to get his attention away from the fish long enough to snap a great photo, we were so pleased! It was hard saying goodbye to the clogs and fishies, but we were so glad we did this. What a fun way to remember Volendam!
After our photos, we wandered along the Haven (harbor) street some more...past the shops and cafes. It was very "touristy", but still had a charm about it. We found the Hotel Spaander, where many artists stayed in the late 19th century while they were painting views of the town. The walls of the hotel cafe are covered with paintings accepted by the owners in lieu of payment. We walked along the water and found a quiet spot to eat our picnic lunch. After we finished, we slowly made our way back through town to the bus stop. Volendam was a really cute place to spend the morning just soaking in the sun along the water, watching all the boats and the people. Next stop, Edam!
Just a short 10 minute bus ride to Edam. As we started walking toward the city center, we could see the Speeltoren (Carillon Tower) from 1561. Lots of lovely little homes (these purple flowers are in bloom all over Holland right now) and narrow lift bridges.
Our first major stop in Edam was - where else? - the Kaaswaag (Cheese Weigh House). The weigh house dates back to 1592 and has a cheese-making display inside (although now, cheese-making is an automated process). In July and August, the cheese market is held here, basically a re-enactment of the cheese buying/selling that used to take place. Then, it is weighed in the weigh house. If you're curious, the color of wax used to wrap Edam cheese means something - red for export and yellow for local consumption. Near the weigh house, we found this cafe sign that made me smile...and made me hungry!
We walked along the canal toward Dam Square and the Stadhuis (Town Hall), built in 1737. The Town Hall is said to have a really lovely wedding room, which we didn't get to see because a wedding was taking place. :) We thought, what better way to celebrate the newlywed couple than to stop for a quick rest and ice cream cone? Ben clearly loves to celebrate marriage...or maybe it was the ice cream? ;)
With some renewed energy, we walked to the Grote Kerk (believed to be built in the 15th century). Near a quiet field, this church is very big and very beautiful, with lots of stained-glass windows, many donated as gifts from neighboring towns after a fire damaged the church in 1602.
By now, it was early afternoon, and we considered heading home. Greg saw a sign for "Fort Edam", so we decided to make that our final sight for the day. We walked along the pretty canal in the center of town, following the signs. And, we walked. And then we walked some more. We didn't see any more signs, and so finally, we gave up and started walking back. Ugh. As we walked back, I happen to spy a sign written in faded black marker nailed to a tree. Seriously?? So, although annoyed by this tiny and rather unhelpful sign that we missed the first time around, we were happy to have found our destination. Until, we use the very little Dutch that we know to deduce that the fort is only open on the first and second Sundays of the month. Seriously?? It always feels like the Netherlands shuts down on Sundays - but this is open ONLY on Sundays? Oh well, we took a photo of the (stupid) fort and turned around and left. As we walked away, I had to take a picture of the house right next to the hidden gate that must have distracted us when we passed by before. What is that stuff on the roof and why is it there? And, will we ever know the answers to these questions??
