King's Day in the Netherlands

King's Day is a new name for this celebration...a short summary is King's Day came about after last year (2014) when Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne and her son, Willem-Alexander, took over. Previous to this it was Queen's Day. It stayed the same for two Queen's in a row, being held on 30 April, despite Queen Beatrix's birthday being in January.

So, this new celebration is held on the 27th of April now, know this people because inevitably people were showing up on the 30th and the celebration had come and gone. So, get with the program and know if you are planning a late April visit to the Netherlands (which I 100% recommend) be here for Kings Day on the 27th, 26th if the 27th is a Sunday.

So...moving on. We had a great time. I know I am writing about this late, but ya know, better late than never.

Our friends have an apartment down in the Jordaan, so we went there and our kids got to hang out and we got to hang out. It was a blast. There are a few things to remember for King's Day though:

1. If you want a night time party with lots of music on stage go the night of the 26th...music plays until about 3am, but know it will be crowded.
2. The morning of the 27th everyone sets out their stalls to sell pretty much everything they've saved up for the past year. This is the only day in the Netherlands where you can sell stuff without a vendor permit.
3. Be patient. Kids will be in your face to buy stuff and they will try to get to you buy access. Be firm but nice and they back off pretty quick. But, if they want to put a Dutch flag tattoo on your face for €2, just pay them and let them do it, it will totally make their day.
4. Be ready for a crowd. You know how I said the night before is crowded. The day of is too. You have to know you will be shoulder to shoulder, back to back, and you will get pushed. Keep your cool and just go with the flow...most of the time it gets you to the bar anyway so life is good.
5. Finally, above all...be patient and always have a smile. Will make for a wonderful day.

There was an oyster and caviar bar, it was right next to the champagne bar...coincidence...I think not!

Look at that crowd. It was really crazy..and all down the sides of those streets were people selling stuff!

So many people were on the canals. Personal boats and rented boats. They don't do any canal tours that day, they are only to rent a seat on for King's Day. You can also buy a ticket for a space on a party barge and they will have a DJ, drinks, etc.

We got the opportunity to walk among the vendors and talk to so many interesting people. For a lot of them this is a favorite day of the year. It is a wild party and you really get a good feel for the community of Amsterdam.

This was something someone was "selling". €2 and you could swing on the swing that had you swinging out over the canal! I tell you, the cultural experience you get here is an eye opener. I love it. But, hubby wouldn't let me swing sadly...can't say I really blame him.

Hubby and I checking out some architecture.

We ended the day with a look out from the rooftop of our friends building. They took this awesome photo of us.

If you decide to plan a trip to the Netherlands, I do feel the best time is the last weekend in April. You'll get to celebrate King's Day, see the tulips in bloom at Keukenhof Gardens, and you can enjoy a bike ride through the countryside.  

Spring truly is the best time of year for a visit...tell me, where do you live and when do you feel is the best time to visit? 

P.S, Linking up to: Tater Tots and Jello and Nap Time Creations.

Sinterklaas, a Dutch Tradition, plus other stuff.

Happy Friday! As you all know we live in The Netherlands and last night Sinterklaas and his Piet made a visit to all the little girls and boys all over the country! I find this to be a fascinating tradition. Sinterklaas is a Saint of sorts who comes in from Spain on a boat and transfers to a horse. He stays for 3.5 weeks with is Piets! He gives gifts and candy to the children. It is really cute and everyone seems to love the tradition (there is some controversy but that is for another day). When Sinterklaas and the Piets deliver the gifts they leave them in a bag with a poem about the person, the children also lay out their shoes and goodies get put in them. So, since I have a few Dutch friends now I asked them to tell me about their family traditions involving the Sinterklaas holiday here is what they said:

• One friend, my daughter's cheer coach, said since her family is all older they don't traditionally exchange gifts but they play a game for gifts. You start by everyone bringing a gift set at a certain price, then you take a really big dice and roll to see who goes first. Then once it is time to start whoever rolled the highest number rolls the dice and if you roll say a 1, you take a present from the big pile of gifts. If you roll a 2 you can take a present but have to give it to someone else, a 3 means you can take a present from someone, and a 5 means you can take all the presents one person has! You can make up whatever rules for the dice numbers these are just what they do! I think that sounds like a ton of fun!
• Another friend actually dresses up and is one of Sinterklaas's helpers! Her father played a Sinterklaas when she was a small child so she is very passionate about this tradition. 

  

  My friend was gracious enough to let me use this photo, her and her daughter are the Piets on either side of Sinterklaas. 

• Another friend said in her family when you give someone a gift you get them a present but when you wrap it you have to make the wrapping something they like. For example, if she bought my daughter something she would make the wrapping a cheer bow and then put the gift inside and wrap it. If she bought me something she would make it to look like a runner and put the gift inside, these can get pretty elaborate. Like this: 

  

  So a gift like this would be for a video game lover and inside you would put a gift! (PS I found this image but it didn't link to a website if anyone knows where it came from please, please let me know so I can give credit!)

• My daughter said, from what she learned, she thinks she loves the Piets that come around and put goodies in your shoe the best. That is the cutest part of the whole scenario for her.

I am so glad to get to experience this whole holiday. It is unique because business are open as usual, but there is all sorts of holiday excitement happening. 

If you haven't checked out these great posts from earlier this week right here on the blog, please do, there are a couple of great crafts from my Thanksgiving centerpiece there is the Bouquet in a pumpkin and the Give Thanks Mini Bunting

Second, my friend Angela, who is also an expat living here in Amsterdam recently opened an Etsy shop! She is super, super talented and I wanted to tell you all about her so you can go check her out!

I mean, how cute is this tree topper?! Go to her store Persimmonandme and check her out, she has other goodies on there too, like ornaments and another tree topper! Check her shop out!

Now, this week as you have probably noticed from my facebook page I am participating in a Christmas Countdown project with 72 other bloggers! Everyone has been posting some amazing things...here are the twelve project that have been posted so far:

• Jamberry Joyful Holiday
  
• Christmas Treescape Candle Tutorial
• Fun, Festive Christmas Traditions
• Fun Family Christmas Eve Tradition
• DIY Crayon Wreath for Teachers
  
• Christmas Countdown Chalboard
• Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
• Magical Christmas Bath with Craft Foam
  
• Fireside Christmas Coffee
• Be Merry Sign
• Macaroni Ornaments
  
• Grandma's Lemon Bars

There are so many wonderful things to learn about everyone's Christmas traditions, this is such a wonderful time of year to learn about people and different cultures!

In the comments tell me about some of your family traditions this time of year!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I cannot believe it is already October 31! How is this even possible?!

So, for Halloween I thought I would talk about Halloween here in Holland.

Funny enough The Netherlands doesn't formally celebrate Halloween on October 31st like we do. There is no formal trick or treating, dressing up in costumes, etc. We were able to find some decorations in a craft store. So this is how I decorated my table:

This is the whole table.

I started with a "bloodied" curtain I found at a craft store.

Then I flanked either end with these tomb stones.

Added a couple of candles (that can double for Christmas) and put them under some cereal boxes covered with chrome duck tape to catch drips.

Then I made the adorable orange pumpkin (so easy tutorial to come) and added a couple small white gourdes.

The wine bottle was holding M&M's but, well, with a house full of people those don't last long ;)

Last weekend when our friends were in town visiting we went off to the Keukenhof Haunted Castle. We had an absolute blast. Took us a little over an hour to get out there via transit and about 3.5 hours to get back!

The castle all lit up. The haunted parts weren't actually in here they were all through the grounds.

The scariest one for me. It was super creepy inside lol the actors they had were amazing! The kiddo and her friend went though alone and when they asked which way to go at one point they actually gave them a solid pointed finger for the direction, but when we (the older people asked) they totally screwed with us at first, it was awesome lol

About to go in, we go photo bombed by our friend and the guy just hanging around up there hahaha

Funny thing about this Haunted Castle..not so sure why I was hell bent on going. I do not like scary things. I hate scary movies, I can't even watch the Walking Dead due to nightmares! I am jumpy as all get out, but I think that is partly why I wanted to go. We had such an amazing time. Like one of my friends said, "It is amazing how much you can laugh while being so scared!" 

So this Haunted Castle only goes on for two days a year...they did a bang up job. The whole grounds were completely decorated and looked amazing. 

My only complaint was when they closed the haunted house lines at 10:30, 90 minutes before the place was supposed to close. Not sure the purpose there, I think it is a cultural thing that I will talk about in another post.

On the ride home waiting for the train. It was very chilly and windy so the girl huddled up together under our friends sweater.

So, funny story we didn't actually realize they wouldn't have extra transit going back and forth from the Keukenhof to the train stations so we were at the mercy of the evening bus schedule. Luckily they still had busses running late into the evening but boy was it an adventure figuring it all out!

Something none of us will forget though!

For tonight, one Mama from our school worked really hard to plan out a route of people who were willing to decorate their houses and hand out candy. Which is fantastic, but some of the teenagers decided to head off to Fright Night at a local amusement park. So much fun and makes it more like home for her.

I do know there are some Halloween parties happening at local clubs, but we were too lazy to put together costumes and stuff this year.

I will say it has been interesting not having the usual pomp and circumstance surrounding Halloween. This is the fist year the husband and I aren't really doing anything except for a romantic evening of couch cuddling.

How are you spending your Halloween?

Culture Shock: Serving Sizes

When we moved to Europe one thing I was anticipating was a huge change in serving sizes. Surprisingly, they really aren't that much different honestly. When we go to a restaurant I feel like we get the same amount of pasta we would anywhere, chicken breasts are chicken breasts, and sandwiches are sandwiches.

However, I did  notice a huge difference in the serving size of coffee.

Y'all know I love my coffee. My days just are not the same when I can't fix a nice coffee and just have a few minutes to wake up. Well, I also love to stop at a cafe for coffee when we are out sightseeing and love to have my after dinner coffee.

So, lets start in North America. When I lived in the US and in Canada these were what we'd typically get:

A good old 8 oz-20 oz drip coffee. Brewed god only knows when, and sits on a burner for god only knows how long. Usually served with a nice burnt aftertaste. Now, the only place I can find such things are at the local Starbucks....which I don't frequent too often...

When I get to a cafe here this is what I wind up with:

This was a HUGE shock to me when we first got here, I am still figuring out how to order to get exactly what I want, but I am getting used to the surprise of what they will bring me when I order, "coffee with milk please". haha

So far everywhere I have gotten coffee here, I typically get something different. Some places I just get an espresso, some places I will get a couple shots of espresso, some places give me a few shots of espresso topped with water, and some places press beans. 

A few weeks ago when out with another expat who had just gotten here I said I was going to order a macchiato....she asked me, "Will that get me a regular size coffee?" haha I said, I think so...I will ask to be sure though because sometimes a macchiato is different here....

Good news: it was a regular size macchiato.

I have run into very few places that do regular American drip coffee. I actually prefer it this way, the coffee tastes way better and you don't get that awful burnt after taste that you get in many places in the US and the coffee is usually fairly fresh and very hot!

Here are some latte's I've managed to get while here:

When you order a coffee at a cafe or restaurant here you usually get a biscuit/cookie or a nice piece of chocolate ;) That was the best surprise!

These are a decent size and usually are what I get when we are out for a snack during a day of sight seeing.

Even my coffee's at home are small:

In our temporary home when we first got here we were left with a pod coffee machine and in our new, permanent apartment our fabulous landlords left us with a Nespresso Machine. I looked around for a drip coffee maker and they don't seem to have a wide variety in the stores. They seem few and far between...seems the more common thing here are the pods.

I know this seems like a small thing, but when everything is changing there are somethings you think are consistent...but nope, moving to a different country everything changes...including your coffee! 

Have you been somewhere and been surprised by the serving size?

Culture Shock: #5

I haven't done one of these for quite some time so thought I would do one now!

The first thing that has been really hard to get used to is how nosy everyone is here! Honestly, I am a pretty nosy person but sometimes I feel these people step a bit over the line.
Example 1:

See this beautiful red hair color?! I took her to get this done as a back to school treat. We get to the salon and the stylist, who was recommended to us by a friend, immediately wants to know "why" she wants to get her hair colored red? What?! Does any woman need a "why" for coloring her hair?! My daughter being ever graceful just says simply because she wants something different...ya know, being a teenager and all they like to experiment...he then suggests she get caramel color highlights because he thinks that will look better. She turns to me with a very distraught face, I leaned down and let her know that if he didn't want or couldn't do the red we could go and find someone who would/could. He even said to me as he was trying to talk her into the caramel highlights, "Well, if this were my daughter I would not let her dye her hair red", I responded "Well, thank goodness she isn't your daughter then." He finally relented and did the red and it looks amazing, but what was the deal with him giving his opinion on the matter...I get that he can and should give an opinion about the shade and counseling on weather or not we would need to lighten the hair first, but no he went straight to the criticizing stage and it was shocking.

Example 2: 

It is a nice 68F outside, not raining, sun shining...we walk to get groceries I'm wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and runners, kiddo is wearing basically the same. As we walk into the grocery store someone on a patio jumps in front of us to ask us if we are cold....um what?! No dude, it is 68 degrees outside, not cold. Finish shopping, walk home someone else stops us to ask for directions, once we gave them to him we start to walk off but he calls after us and he says, "I don't mean to be forward, but aren't you cold?" Uh, no, no, not cold. Why do you people even care?! I could see if I was standing in the rain, in a bathing suit on the side of the road shivering but I am enjoying a nice walk in the sun fully dressed on a nice summer day!

People are nice enough, I just find it interesting that people are so bothered by and feel the need to give unnecessary advice on such trivial matters.

In example one I was paying someone to give her what she wants...in my opinion, unless you cannot do what I ask then I don't need your opinion on the matter. I know what is best for my child and what I am willing to allow her to do. It is just hair, not like i am allowing her to tattoo her entire scalp red!

In example two I told my daughter next time someone asks if I am cold, whether I am or not, I am going to say "yes" just to see what they would do. Think they'd give me a jacket or a lecture? haha

No one has been "rude" per se, and I don't really let these things bother me, but I think this is definitely a cultural thing as it isn't the first time incidents like this have happened. It just makes me wonder what gets into people and why they think they can be so forward to a total stranger? Not to mention it is really creepy when you jump in front of someone and command their attention to ask if they are cold. Just weird peeps, just weird. 

I will say though, living with people this outspoken I have really learned to speak up and be heard. I always tend to be a bit timid in giving my opinion, I am more reserved than most that way, but when someone gives me their opinion now I've learned to tell them, I see your point, but I view it differently and give my opinion because sometimes it means getting what I want to getting what they want to give me.

Weather....odd or not?

This has been our weather forecast...it has only changed slightly since I took this photo...we've had a few more days in the high 50's...that is only a little weird I mean it is August after all...where are the dog days of summer?! Guess I'd have to go to the Mediterranean for that?! But, that is not the weird part I have talked to several locals and here are the things I've heard about the weather:

"Oh, Amsterdam's crazy weather is back"

"Oh, this weather is unusual is usually isn't this wet"

"Oh, wait until winter you'll be sorry then it is wet, snowy, and overall sucks"

"Winter is great, usually very mild"

Ok, what?! People, you supposedly are from here...as far as I understand your predictions should be somewhat similar! I know weather is unpredictable but everyone is constantly contradicting each other. Those four statements are from four different people, all total strangers that I chit-chat with while out running errands. I know if you ask me and other people I'd grew up with what the weather is like where we are from in Jacksonville and we'd probably all say the same thing!

So, Amsterdamians get it together...what exactly is the weather like "usually"?! If it really is unpredictable then adopt the motto of Kansans: "Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!"

I will say though the early fall this one time around is kind of nice. I would like to ask for one more heat wave, but I won't hold my breath. 

Surprise treat!

So, now that I have ranted a bit, I promise that won't happen again...I got a surprise treat and is just one reason why I LOVE living here! We went to the Pure Market  a couple of weeks ago, it was a super cool place with really unique products. There were even some American and New Zealand expats selling there...which was a fantastic surprise. Well, as I'm walking by the American Baking Company I see this gem:

Oh yes folks that is a glorious, gorgeous Nanaimo bar! This is half of it because I ate half before I remembered to take a picture. It was a true Nanaimo bar too...fantastic recipe. Delicious and I go to talk with some other Americans & a few Canadians who were in line also. I hope they are back at the next one as I am needing a fix. It was such a nice surprise to find a little bit of "home" (by that I mean North America) so far away!

So, tell me have you encountered some insanely nosy people in your life? How did you deal with it?

Culture Shock: Week 4: Doritos, Backpacks, and Internet Banking, Oh My!

 Wow! It's been so long since I've done one of these! We've actually been in Europe 8 weeks now! It has been such an amazing adventure. From learning how to write an address to learning all our favorite products at the grocery store. These last couple weeks we have encountered some humorous and interesting things.....

The day the teenager and I discovered the "cool american" doritos was quite a day. We were just walking along and realized wow! they do carry chips here then as we were looking for a flavor we recognized the laughing that ensued got us a few dirty looks in the aisle, but it was all in good fun...incase you don't know the are the "cool ranch" flavor ;)

What do you mean Doritos don't need an "artsy" photo...of course they do! ;)

This was a fun one to discover. About two weeks ago we started seeing a ton of backpacks hanging from flagpoles. We couldn't figure out what it was. Well, the kiddo cheers with a bunch of older kids who were posting picture of them under their backpacks hanging from the flagpole and apparently it is a Dutch tradition to sling your bag over the flagpole to say "Yay! I'm all done, I don't need a school bag anymore". Pretty neat tradition huh?!

Finally...internet banking! This was a super interesting thing to learn. When we were first given the machine we didn't really understand what to do with it. But, basically you download the software to it, then when you go to log into your bank account on your banks website you plug this in, put your debit card in, enter your pin, press ok, and then you are in your account! You use this when transferring money between accounts, for bill payment, and when making an online purchase with a website that accepts debit as some European & Canadian sites do! Pretty neat huh? It makes the banking super secure. Although I will admit trying to get it to work at first was super frustrating because the day we did it apparently the English part of the site was experiencing technical difficulties and we couldn't understand anything! haha

So, that wraps us up for this week. My favorite is still the "Cool American" Doritos! I still giggle at that!