The five of us (plus one) arrived in Amsterdam almost a week ago. The sun had been up for a half-hour (we landed at 06:00) and would be up until after 22:00. We are still struggling to get the girls on a "normal" sleep schedule, which is hard enough back in the states where the summer day is long - but at least it's an hour and a half shorter than here!
After catching a nap Wednesday afternoon, we met up with the Writer family at "Escape" on the Rembrandtplein to watch the Netherlands-Argentina World Cup match (that started at 22:00 local time). The Writers are from Louisville and the children went to school with Lilli and Lucy. They were visiting family and friends in the Netherlands (Mrs. Writer is from here). The game was not nearly as exciting as the atmosphere. Everyone was decked out in orange, and the streets were loud! Unfortunately, Holland didn't play their best game and lost by penalty kicks after the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
We spent the better part of this week getting settled in as best we can (neither of our "stuff shipments" have arrived; hoping to see them later this week but not looking good). I purchased enough tools to get Holli's bike reassembled (her air shipment arrived some time ago), and we have plenty of clothes to get us through for a while. Most of the other stuff is rental - couch, table and chairs, toaster, utensils...
We have gotten out to explore the area every day. There are dozens of parks and probably hundreds of public "courtyards"shared by the surrounding houses that have playgrounds or common gardens. This seems to be a really nice way to interact with your neighbors. We have come across several of these in the immediate area.
Lilli got to spend some time with her favorite teacher on Sunday. Mrs. Beck and her sister (who I believe both married Dutch men) were in town and collected Lilli for some sightseeing. Mrs. Beck stopped in Amsterdam on her way back from her trip to Africa where she was helping out with a school and drinking water supplies, along with another couple of teachers from Collegiate. Lilli had a great time!
We got over to the local library branch on Monday. Unfortunately the selection of books in English was not too large. The large selection is located in the main library in the city center, which is a pretty long walk from here for Eliza (2.2 km). The girls did each get something however. Lucy's choices were the most interesting as she chose some abridged versions of darker classics (Dracula, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Mummy, and The Island of Dr. Moreau). Should be interesting discussing those with her...
Holli is getting settled in to work and so far has been able to maintain more reasonable hours. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue!
I'm learning about the differences between American and European homes and appliances... Some of them have options to put the menus to English but others don't. Some just work differently. The clothes dryer for example does not have an exhaust duct - it just spits the air back into the room.
We also battled a plumbing issue with the master bathroom shower drain. The Dutch places that I've seen so far are all very modern in their design, and our place is no exception. The shower drain is a sleek-looking piece of rolled stainless steel about a meter long by 15 cm wide (apparently I have to get used to the metric system - might as well get started!). Water rolls over the steel into the catch basin below, where it drains to a round funnel that was clear of obstructions. I poked around looking for the P-trap, only to find none. What I did find was that the funnel was removable, exposing a cup that the bottom of the funnel goes into. So in effect this is a weir system that serves the same function as the P-trap (keeping sewer gas out of the home) with the great improvement that the entire thing is serviceable without tools! I was easily able to clear the clog and put things back together in 2 minutes, compared with possibly having to get behind drywall to do this state-side. It's a wonder that some things don't get "copied" from one place to another!
Obviously not everything is better-designed here, and there does seem to be a certain amount of common sense (or at least attention) that is required - or assumed - of the Dutch that just may not fly in America. The traffic system is a good example.
The girls and I rode around for a few minutes last Thursday with Dorte, our incredibly nice and helpful "relocation counselor." After trying to figure out the rules of the road for a few minutes, I finally had to ask what was going on at the intersections. It appears to me that there are generally no controls on most of them (in other words, there are no stop signs). The rule/ law is that the person coming from the right has the right of way. So as you approach an intersection, you need "only" to check to your right and if no one is coming you continue through. While this allows for a very smooth and free flow of traffic, it requires a great deal of attention, and I just could not see it working in the US.
There are of course stop lights at the larger intersections. Actually two sets of them in many cases - one for cars and one for bikes! Not to mention the multiple pedestrian crossing lights (there are sometimes 2, 3, or 4 individual lights to allow you to cross for example the first car lane, then the tram lane, and finally the another car lane). Bikes - and bike lanes - are everywhere, and it is easy to see why. It is SO easy to get around the city on one, and car parking spots are so limited that it is just faster and easier to bike.
Another thing that struck me both on the Spring Break trip and during our first week here is the flora. Flowers - obviously tulips, but others as well - thrive here and seem to grow anywhere and everywhere. But the really impressive things are the trees! Sycamores and Willow trees are often massive and continue to grow - for years - even after they have fallen over! I'm sure that this is due to the fact that essentially all of the "land" in Amsterdam used to be under water, so the trees are able to get all the water that they want without sending the roots too deep.
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