Apartment, Sweet Apartment

The day is finally here- we got the keys to our apartment! After the stress of moving out of Portland, four weeks of staring at each other in hotel rooms, three transatlantic flights, and figuring out a new city and country, we've (miraculously) managed not to kill each other, or even to 'accidentally' bump the other into a canal. Though it's been close....

Anyway, here's the new apartment. We love the kitchen and the bathroom. The living room and bedroom are fairly standard. Erika is not thrilled with the decor, so that'll be changing... soon. And the location is just about perfect. We're 15 minutes from Erika's office and a quick bike ride or 10 minute walk to the canal ring, where all the action is. We will actually move in over the weekend. After that, we're ready for guests, so start booking those tickets now.

The view from our "French" balcony. That means Tiny balcony. Still, it's a nice quiet street, lined with trees, and the end of the block leads to the main city park, Vondelpark. Not bad.

Our kitchen, full of light, with a lot of space. We've got a dishwasher, a fairly large fridge and freezer, and a cool looking stove. You'll notice there's no oven under that stove. That's because we have what is called a 'combi,' which is supposed to mean 'a combination oven and microwave' but really means 'microwave.'

The living room/dining room. Not as large as we'd like, but bright and bookended with balconies for lots of light and a nice breeze. Those dining room chairs are probably the first things to go...

This is the laundry room/closet, or as we call it, The Jane Wing of our apartment. Jane, if you want more chocolate phallus, you've got to come get it.

Ramona, please don't sue us

So, one of the great things about Amsterdam is all the great international cuisine. We've especially enjoyed finding good Thai food and last night we ate at this great little hole in the wall called Cook Kai. There are only 5 or 6 tables and the little old Thai ladies that work there can barely see over the counter. And the food was fantastic (and fast, a rarity in Amsterdam). They have a ridiculously cute logo on their sign and menu:


The whole time we were eating there was something so familiar about that picture, but we couldn't place it. Then today we were reviewing our pictures from last week, it hit us: It's Eliot!

The Flying Dutchman & The Rambler

We're back! We had a great time in Portland and California (there'll be a shutterfly album for those interested in wedding pics). We had a great time at the wedding, though we both got a little sunburned during the river tubing. Bizarre burns, too, all splotchy and random. Don't forget to check the expiration date on your sunblock, kids!

Anyway, we celebrated our return by buying our very own ugly, used, one-speed bicycles. Actually, Rob bought two. The first time we rode off from the store, we got about a mile away when his pedal fell off. After carefully working back to the store (there was a missing bolt, so he had to push the pedal on, pedal a few times, and then kick the pedal back into place, which is tricky enough without worrying about getting flattened by traffic and trams), the seller tried to fix it, but said it would be easier to just get another one... Nice bikes, no?

A post for the book nerds

We updated our book list so that now each book links to a review page. Not reviewed by us- we're not that smrt, but reviewed all the same. You can see that Rob has lots of time on his hands, the no-good loafer, and spends most of his time in the park reading and checking out the chicks- er, ducks. Lots of ducks in Amsterdam. Yep. Anyway, if you are also a nerd, you may enjoy some of these books.

We'll probably get a movie list up, too, though they probably won't be first runs since we don't always get those. Rob says that's okay since he can educate you through DVDs. He's kind of a snob that way...

Vacation from our vacation

The breakneck pace of Amsterdam was too much for these expats, so we've hightailed it home to Portland for a week. Actually, Erika's brother's getting married, so, we'll be hanging out in Oregon and sunny California for a while. Hope to see all of you Portlanders soon!

Enjoying the Parks

One of our favorite things to do in the city is to go to the park. There are several beautiful parks withing biking distance of our hotel (and future apartment).

This is Beatrix Park, named for the Queen.

A garden in Beatrix Park

Below, a dog parkReading in Vondelpark


Mysterious resistance sculpture in Beatrix Park.

A little Man on Man Action...

Double post? Um, no. Last Saturday the city held its annual Gay Pride Parade. Parades in the city usually take place along the canals, which is pretty cool. Everyone sits along the canals or on the bridges, or, if you're lucky, in a boat on the water and watches the parade go by. We were lucky enough to know somebody with a boat, although there were like twenty of us on the boat, which made it pretty full. Every time somebody moved or got on or off (or, in the case of parades, got on our boat so they could walk across us to get to their boat), the boat would tip pretty good, causing Rob to have several minor heart attacks.
As for the parade, there were over 72 boats watched by over half a million people. That's a lot of boats.

An idea of how crowded the canal was, on one of the hottest days of the summer.

A typical float. Each float had a DJ blaring the loudest house music.

These guys did an elaborate song and dance number. They were very good.

Finally, a pic of Rob on this site?

Tea time.

A little Man on Mane Action...

This is a coaster I snagged at the bar tonight. I don't know what else to say.

Lil Miss Cosmopolitan

Today we took the train into The Hague to start the paperwork on our residency forms. Here's Erika, enjoying her European coffee and reading the WSJ. Meanwhile, Rob licked the windows and mooed at the cows.

Amsterdam's Children

Erika takes in the football (soccer) game

Erika tries out the late night "Shoarma" sandwich. Mmm.. Mystery Meat.

This is the Amsterdam street post. They are ubiquitous in the city and often scraped up or bent at an angle from some truck or car. The street posts are called "Amsterdammertjes," which literally means "Amsterdam children," but hopefully real dutch kids aren't as abused. The XXX has nothing to do with the Red Light District, but are St. Andrew's crosses that are the symbol of the city and are found on everything.

These are the chocolates the hotel leaves on our pillows each night. Street post or something else? You decide.

First Post

Hi. It's been 10 days in Amsterdam and we're finally settled enough to start posting. Amsterdam's beautiful- we arrived just in time for some of the best weather they've seen in a while. Erika's got a nice sunburn from a day spent on a boat in the canal, watching a parade (in Amsterdam, parades are on the canals. We'll post some pics here shortly).

They've gone by quickly, but in the first ten days we've:

• Managed to get over our jetlag- no easy feat

• Become mildly familiar with the city- when we get lost, we usually know where we are, just not where we're going

• Eaten very, very well

• Found an apartment! We won't move in until after we get back from the wedding, but it's nice to have found a place

• Joined the masses by using bikes to get around. In fact, today Erika biked to the office.

So, we're settling in nicely. The food is great (well, not necessarily the dutch food, but everything else), the city is beautiful and we're still very excited about the next two years. Here are a few pics to tide you over and more posts should follow soon. Tot Ziens!