tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68797622909311240322024-02-21T12:33:17.339+01:00¡A Europa!Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-88172416820690381042012-07-17T17:41:00.000+02:002012-07-17T17:41:32.172+02:00Tavira, Portugal - Sun, Surf, Sand and a short trip to Spain<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr5qlE4QpzJRfMl7rkpmRriVBO1C4dXX9ugmzmO6Loxidfihxz19l_bh7X10pOT0f9dBwTZTJeLQdCc9qwl6ANAqQYbXcpsSa5BYsSaqtSqxRBA0_57SkJQU_qx8VDdkZt_fTqYD2oCk/s1600/first.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr5qlE4QpzJRfMl7rkpmRriVBO1C4dXX9ugmzmO6Loxidfihxz19l_bh7X10pOT0f9dBwTZTJeLQdCc9qwl6ANAqQYbXcpsSa5BYsSaqtSqxRBA0_57SkJQU_qx8VDdkZt_fTqYD2oCk/s400/first.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boats at the waterfront in Cabanas</td></tr>
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Hauke and I took the train from <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2012/07/southern-portugal-first-impressions-of.html">Faro</a> to Tavira, 30km east, around midday. It only cost a couple of euros, so I was expecting the same level of service as I experienced in <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Italy">Sicily</a>, but apart from the trains being several decades older than the majority of others in western europe it was great, having an actual timetable and sticking to it!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tapas on our balcony in Tavira</td></tr>
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Tavira is a smaller town, of around 10 000. Unlike Faro, its a small, sleepy town, with no big office buildings and a smaller amount of tourism. I found it much more beautiful than Faro, with old Moorish architecture and castle ruins perched on a hill that gives an amazing view of the town. After lunch at a cafe, we headed to <a href="http://vivario-lmr.blogspot.de/2011/06/viva-rio-chic-cheap-bedrooms.html">Viva Rio</a> to check in, a new guesthouse on the riverbank with cheap but really nice rooms with a bathtub that I made the most of, our own balcony, and a bigger rooftop balcony with a great view - I really recommend the place!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Hauke on the beach in Ilha de Tavira</td></tr>
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The best beaches near Tavira are located on islands a little out at sea past sea pans, so after dumping our stuff we took the ferry to Ilha de Tavira, which is claimed to be one of the best beaches in the Algarve. There are some tiny houses, built in the early 1940s there, and a bunch of restuarants and bars. It was later in the afternoon when we arrived, and I did have sunscreen on, but I still managed to fall asleep and get badly burnt. After a quick mojito, we headed back to the village and spent the rest of the evening enjoying tapas and wine on the rooftop watching the sun go down. Unfortunately, my level of discomfort increased to the point where sitting was painful and after the sun went down I ended up back inside lying facedown with the airconditioning system pointed at my back begging for more applications of aftersun every ten minutes of so!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old church in Tavira</td></tr>
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The following morning was Hauke's birthday so I headed out early to grab food for breakfast, and after deciding to go to the next town over, Cabanas, to reach the Ilha de Cabanas, we killed some time waiting for the bus by exploring the old section of the town on the hill next to our hotel. There is a couple of beautiful old church, a freshly painted convent and many amazing houses on steep lanes or small plazas, but the most incredible is the castle ruins. There is a section of walls still standing, with a beautiful garden planted inside. From there, you can climb up, walk around the walls and have an amazing view from the towers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilha de Cabanas</td></tr>
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After a quick beer, we headed to Cabanas, a small village just 7km away. While originally a tiny fishing village, it has been recently developed for tourism, with a new broad walk along the harbour and big resort hotel buildings along the shore. We took a boat to the Ilha de Cabanas only a couple of hundred metres away. This was one of my favorite beaches in Portugal, with raised wooden bridges leading up to a restaurant perched on the top of the island, and down to the main beach on the other side. I was much more liberal with the sunscreen this day, and we had a great time - I'm jealous that I've never got to spend my own birthday lying on the beach!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxebPEyxYlFrXKaP5ZRq7aVSgCbOUJqd7DO2nA6h3BdewN9YnfmJ6tsoLmCZFdcTVP3bYma2duyPezsqUmOeAWrFl9zJIQz4e_B3ByjAycPm0HMXH_NG_JwQOOiWF19nNug9-R49X1lI/s1600/night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxebPEyxYlFrXKaP5ZRq7aVSgCbOUJqd7DO2nA6h3BdewN9YnfmJ6tsoLmCZFdcTVP3bYma2duyPezsqUmOeAWrFl9zJIQz4e_B3ByjAycPm0HMXH_NG_JwQOOiWF19nNug9-R49X1lI/s400/night.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tavira by night</td></tr>
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For dinner we headed to A Ver Tavira, an upmarket restaurant next to the castle ruins, where we could again pass the evening sitting on a balcony watching the sun set over Tavira. I attempted to surprize and embarrass Hauke by getting the wait staff to stick a candle in his desert but failed by talking too loudly! But it was a nice meal, and we finished the day off with a walk around the city by night, and a few more glasses of wine back at the hotel. Its definitely convinced me to head away for another trip on my own birthday next year!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja36hOIc-9VNX2ZC8oTzkNCR0a5p2lSoCxHxJ79ZrcN_uh_FnTW9lxyzvcgyz32pBPAn1l9HNNPr-vWEBewqwslwh7Ptzr8i8yXEIDsRZwI9ZfpD459S9Z8JJsArcyAS-rFklaySuGiOc/s1600/convent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja36hOIc-9VNX2ZC8oTzkNCR0a5p2lSoCxHxJ79ZrcN_uh_FnTW9lxyzvcgyz32pBPAn1l9HNNPr-vWEBewqwslwh7Ptzr8i8yXEIDsRZwI9ZfpD459S9Z8JJsArcyAS-rFklaySuGiOc/s400/convent.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Convent in Tavira</td></tr>
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After talking to a couple at our guesthouse, we decided to take the train east along the coast to Vila Real de Santo Antonio, a town of about 18 000 on the river that is the border between Portugal and Spain, and cross over by ferry into the spanish town of Ayamonte. They'd assured us that both were beautiful, but I'm not sure what they saw in Vila Real - being founded in the 1700s it doesn't have the amazing architecture that Faro and Tavira possess, and has been in decline for the last 50 years. We walked down the main shopping street of stores selling mass-produced straw hats and baskets and cheap chinese plastic crap and past an uninteresting town square to the harbour without spotting anything worthy of interest, and we both grumbled when we had to wait quite a bit for the next ferry, as there really was nothing more to see to kill time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFZMtVKUPmGKEWUNmz5mn7RbV63PgcIgpe8u3Jboy1G-Yky3zFTrtwE-ItvTGKo1XU9oVl0LtXtW8HvYRcHCxz_jLfE_OcypvlESLjW5Drd76-ietEXo_H76kD3wXJr2v13rmtqHZGwo/s1600/IMG_2923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFZMtVKUPmGKEWUNmz5mn7RbV63PgcIgpe8u3Jboy1G-Yky3zFTrtwE-ItvTGKo1XU9oVl0LtXtW8HvYRcHCxz_jLfE_OcypvlESLjW5Drd76-ietEXo_H76kD3wXJr2v13rmtqHZGwo/s400/IMG_2923.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main square in Ayamonte</td></tr>
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Ayamonte however, was a different story. This town is a similar size, but is much older and still has a beautiful medieval old town with the narrow alleyways that I love! The town square, and many other areas, are filled with palm trees and seats covered in brightly coloured and intricately designed ceramic tiles. We walked around for a while, checking out some old churches and monuments, and stopped in the city zoo to eat a picnic lunch accompanied by the spanish Shandy beer that I had missed so much! Being able to talk Spanish again for a day was great, it was kind of infuriating listening to Portuguese, as it sounded so similar but I could only understand snatches of what was being said. The whole town was dead during siesta time, so we walked up the hill in the scorching heat to yet another church, and were rewarded by an amazing view over the little town, and across the river to Vila Real and Portugal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in Ayamonte</td></tr>
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You can notice the difference between the whitewashed walls of the more moorish-influenced southern Portugal, with the bright colours of southern Spain, although the colours of both countries seemed to stand out a lot more against the amazing blue sky and sunlight of the South compared to back in western Europe, and I took a lot of photos of little architectural details - having <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Spain">not had amazing experiences in Spain</a> before, it was great to visit such a beautiful place and have such a nice day. Finally, after one last beer it was time to take the ferry back to Portugal, grab our things from the hotel in Tavira, and head back to Faro for another two nights.<br />
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More photos of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4141597982935.2173489.1373259720&type=3&l=589dd02e99">Tavira are here</a>, and of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4163939581461.2173999.1373259720&type=3&l=f2b80e8195">Ayamonte here</a>.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: large; line-height: 25px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've signed up for <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/nz-thechallenge" style="color: #333399; text-decoration: none;">Live Below the Line</a>, and will live off </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">€1.40 a day for five days to change the way people think about poverty and raise money for charity. Read more <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/p/live-below-line.html" style="color: #333399; text-decoration: none;">here</a>, and Support me <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew" style="color: #333399; text-decoration: none;">here</a>.</span></span></b></span><br />
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<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com08800 Tavira, Portugal37.1258122 -7.649840836.9232497 -7.9656978 37.3283747 -7.3339837999999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-84487757860425339652012-07-16T22:09:00.000+02:002012-07-17T17:23:29.837+02:00Southern Portugal - first impressions of Faro<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdES03AUwarWLxZ7gQZNfEJ7mcE2IHaNxfKZXhraolbm5Ho0xbfoidPTthCyWWyg_iQ0v8zV0xrntWL6eJhC0CMXQL_52A6WzFvgDiCVvgWsgm5wwyA320mNZIAqESfvlQRQeYKahYR0/s1600/faro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVdES03AUwarWLxZ7gQZNfEJ7mcE2IHaNxfKZXhraolbm5Ho0xbfoidPTthCyWWyg_iQ0v8zV0xrntWL6eJhC0CMXQL_52A6WzFvgDiCVvgWsgm5wwyA320mNZIAqESfvlQRQeYKahYR0/s400/faro.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the old section of Faro from the sea</td></tr>
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In late June, I headed to the Algarve region of Portugal on the southern coast to spend five days sitting on the beach with <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Hauke">Hauke</a> to celebrate his birthday. I took the train down to another delightful Ryanair airport near Eindhoven, and flew down to Faro, the biggest city in the region. There, after a frightening moment when I didn't realise Portugal was a different timezone to the rest of Western Europe, I met Hauke off the plane from Germany. We bussed into the city and after I got us lost (note to self, do not draw a map on the back of a plane ticket that the flight attendant will rip in half!) and Hauke asked for directions (yay progressive European men!) we found the youth hostel, where the world's funniest Portuguese girl checked us in for a night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me drinking a cocktail</td></tr>
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Portugal was hot! After the horrible grey and rain of Amsterdam, it was amazing to be somewhere where the temperatures ranged in the 30s and we could actually see the sun. There were a couple of interesting Eurocup games on, so we watched these at a small but packed bar, where Hauke was delighted to discover the beer was only 50cents each! In general, Portugal is much, much cheaper than the rest of Western Europe - we paid 15euros for an actual room in a hostel, compared to around 30 for a dorm bed most other countries, and we paid about 6euros for dinner that night at a little alleyway restaurant where Hauke was fascinated by little lizards running over the walls like we had in Costa Rica.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke riding a mechanical bull</td></tr>
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The Portuguese had won their game against the Dutch, so everyone was out on the streets celebrating. They had erected a huge screen in a kind of town square on the harbour, and were playing music afterwards, so everyone was kind of milling around there. There were fairground type rides for the kids, and a mechanical bull that Hauke had great fun riding, and even more fun laughing at me attempting to ride it will wearing a very short skirt - I think I became a spectacle that most people in the square were laughing at! Making the most of the cheap prices, we sat at a nice bar with a cocktail, and then called it a night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buildings in Faro</td></tr>
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In <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2012/05/queens-day-in-amsterdam-and-haukes.html">typical fashion for the pair of us</a>, it took us a long time to get up and moving the next morning. We wandered through the city a little bit. Faro is bigger than I thought - there are only around 40 000 people in the city proper, but it's the big administrative and business centre for the region, so there are a lot of office buildings and shops. The centre is all clean and new, with amazing mosaic tiled pedestrian-only streets, but if you head out a little further you find old narrow alleyways with decaying old buildings, and many old defensive walls. Like Costa Rica and Spain, houses are build right up against the footpath with square dimensions and quite flat roofs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House covered in ceramic tiles</td></tr>
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These houses were often covered in beautiful ceramic tiles. One thing that was noticible throughout both Portugal, and Ayamonte which we later visited in southern Spain, was the halted construction work. I never noticed this in <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Madrid">Madrid</a>, either the economic crisis hadn't hit so bad, or I simply didn't register it, but in this area you could see half built houses and commercial buildings everywhere, and a lot of men lazing around on the streets when you would have expected them to be working.<br />
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The heat forced us to stop mid-way to the train station for a drink in the shade, and then we arrived and boarded a train to Tavira, where we would spend the next two nights over Hauke's birthday, a mystery location that I had organised and he knew nothing about!<br />
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More photos of Faro are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4141569982235.2173488.1373259720&type=3&l=6a0652f772">here</a>.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25px;"><b>I've signed up for <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/nz-thechallenge" style="color: #333399; text-decoration: none;">Live Below the Line</a>, and will live off <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">€1.40 a day for five days to change the way people think about poverty and raise money for charity. Read more <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/p/live-below-line.html">here</a>, and Support me <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew" style="color: #333399; text-decoration: none;">here</a>.</span></b></span><br />
<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Faro District, Portugal37.2555153 -8.396493836.4467188 -9.6599213 38.0643118 -7.1330663tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-77711178525744601162012-07-16T21:59:00.001+02:002012-07-16T21:59:46.322+02:00Live Below the Line - an explanation<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You may have noticed I've been spamming everyone with messages about Live Below the Line. If you haven't <strike>actually bothered to read any of them</strike> worked out what this is, I have signed up to live on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">€1.40 per day for five days </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">to change the way people think about poverty and raise money for my chosen charity, the Global Poverty Project. You can read more about Live Below the Line and the Global Poverty Project one <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/p/live-below-line.html">the separate blog page I've written here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48e1sv9nlqhMK55rF2yM9wX8_TtgwzwylXOx_o6WExtIaJNfmY8v3V7p1zdfvAwU_ULc6Krs2ch0rZ76XR-2vx-A1kUazlMDJBAXr9lXqL3e8oWasDaMS1q9bhGfxrVGUp1xWAadHVa0/s1600/lblnewlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48e1sv9nlqhMK55rF2yM9wX8_TtgwzwylXOx_o6WExtIaJNfmY8v3V7p1zdfvAwU_ULc6Krs2ch0rZ76XR-2vx-A1kUazlMDJBAXr9lXqL3e8oWasDaMS1q9bhGfxrVGUp1xWAadHVa0/s400/lblnewlogo.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">You may be wondering why I'm signing up to swap discovering local cuisine and indulging in my passion for local libations for a week's worth of rice and water, and to swap getting out and about in this corner of the world for five days of lying around in a lethargic food-deprived state (hopefully that bit is an exaggeration!).</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Those of you who knew me well back in New Zealand will know that I was always pretty passionate about being a global citizen and getting involved in many projects to help others out. While I've attempted to get involved in a few projects over here, lack of the appropriate language skills and a tendency to relocate frequently has really prevented me from doing so. As <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2011/12/reflections-one-year-in.html">I mentioned back when I wrote some reflections on my first year here in Europe</a>, this has contributed to me feeling like I've lost a lot of my identity by coming over here, something that really surprized me and has been one of the hardest things I've dealt with so far. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">So, when I saw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-lyPjTTUw">this video</a>, I jumped at the chance to sign up for something that will both help others, and help myself a little too. Please support me by skipping your latte today and <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew">donating the $5 here</a>, every little bit helps!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I'm really passionate about the project, and will share as much as possible with you all too - by posting links to media released by others involved, like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVhkwkH5ugs">this video</a>, blogging about my experiences, and if time allows, I will even do some research and write some posts about poverty here in Europe.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">My spamming won't be going away anytime soon, so save yourself the guilt you'll feel as you read my posts while sipping your latte, and <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew">go here to donate!</a> Thanks everyone!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-58749007973463779712012-07-15T22:25:00.000+02:002012-07-15T22:25:00.204+02:00June in Amsterdam - Bidding Adieu Part II<br />
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This is Part II of June in Amsterdam. Part I is <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2012/07/june-in-amsterdam-bidding-adieu-part-i.html">here</a>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marken</td></tr>
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One Friday Anissa and I headed north along the Markenmeer to Marken, a formerly isolated island that is now connected by a causeway. First inhabited by monks in the 1200s, they built dikes and began farming the tiny, flat polder land until the Dutch Count kicked them out in the 14th century. Problems with the soil and frequent flooding made farming more and more untenable, so in the 1500s and 1600s the island's inhabitant started fishing. The frequent floods often wiped out buildings and killed people, so the houses in Marken were build on top of mounds of soil or tall stilts. These traditional little wooden houses are a major tourist drawcard today.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marken</td></tr>
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In the 1930s, the Zuider Zee that surrounded Marken was turned into the IJsselmeer, an artificial lake, when the huge Afsluitsdijk was built, wrecking the fishing industry there, and in 1957 the dijk connecting Marken to the mainland was built. This dijks were part of the Zuider Zee Works, a plan to dam the inlet with a series of dijks and drain huge sections to develop new agricultural land. These plans have been reformed over the last century, but some sections of land were developed, including that of Almere, a new city built near Amsterdam from the 1970s onwards, now the 7th largest Dutch city. Now, about 1800 people live on Marken, most working in the tourist industry, or commuting to Amsterdam.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volendam</td></tr>
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We walked around for a bit, checking out the tiny village, the church and the museum, and then walked out to the lighthouse on the north-eastern corner. This is about all there is to do out there - its pretty, but the place is tiny! We then grabbed something to eat at a wee seafood stand and took the ferry across the Gouwzee to Volendam. Volendam was originally just the location of the harbour for the nearby town of Edam (unsurprizingly the home of Edam cheese) but later became a town in its own right. With a population of 20 000 people its much bigger than Marken, and is a huge tourist destination - hordes of tourists were walking along the waterfront and clogging up the entranceways to the many souviner shops, meaning I didn't enjoy it as much as I did Marken. Something about the place remind me of Akaroa - a small waterfront town not far from a big city, but not even Akaroa is so touristy!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me dressed in a traditional dutch outfit</td></tr>
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Anissa and I had many laughs getting our photo taken in traditional dutch dress at a studio. Apparently several people still wear traditional dress on a daily basis in both Volendam and Marken, but we never saw anyone in it! I also let Anissa talk me into spending some time dangling our feet into a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish">Doctor Fish</a> tank. Its a weird sensation, not one that is pleasant in the beginning, but in the end you get used to it, and it feels a bit like really mild pins and needles. We walked around a little, and checked out an amazing second hand store where I found a box full of old camera lenses that were made in the former GDR and Soviet block countries, very cool, before taking a bus back to Amsterdam.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Ollie on the roof of the NEMO building</td></tr>
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The next day we visited a couple of photography galleries in Amsterdam, they were both quite impressive and the buildings hosting them were amazing, and then Sunday I was back at Anissa and Willem's place for a roast lamb dinner with Jp (the guy whose <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2012/07/may-in-amsterdam.html">boat we'd been out on</a>) and another couple of their friends. I miss throwing my own dinner parties, so I really enjoyed sitting around with everyone and the chance to make a pavlova! The following weekend Anissa and I went to the Anne Frank House, an amazing museum.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie in the monkey house at the zoo</td></tr>
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I also spent a lot of time in June getting out and about with Ollie, we went back to the library again one raining day and had lunch in a cafe afterwards, went to the Zoo where giraffes and penguins were the highlights for him, but going into a monkey house where they climb on branches over your head couldn't tear his attention away from the potato chips he was eating! And finally, we went to the NEMO interactive science centre. He was too young to understand anything, but he had a lot of fun running around pressing all of the buttons and watching things work, and the view over Amsterdam from the top of the sloping roof is quite cool. Taking him places is exhausting work, by the time you drag him, the stroller, and our bags on and off buses and trams, keep him quiet and sitting still sometimes, and run around after him other times, but he's always so excited about everything, even just riding on the bus, so its a lot of fun.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6bR9EGnLMYv9-lIBIAxw_tTm9xhyphenhyphenw_lNmQTw9MCWE0toIBg28Z3py2mQHlR3UQ3JjyQZ9JNRoAiFrzSROjWCet0ZNhim26POh71uHpyIu3KNvWBTmp_wGXiyYwWD2qhGSN0f1um52c/s1600/IMG_2391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6bR9EGnLMYv9-lIBIAxw_tTm9xhyphenhyphenw_lNmQTw9MCWE0toIBg28Z3py2mQHlR3UQ3JjyQZ9JNRoAiFrzSROjWCet0ZNhim26POh71uHpyIu3KNvWBTmp_wGXiyYwWD2qhGSN0f1um52c/s400/IMG_2391.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not really a conventional "bachelorette"</td></tr>
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And then suddenly it was time to say goodbye! I'd had a pretty good stab at sorting through my stuff and packing everything up, and after a suprizingly unemotional goodbye with the kids, Rogier dropped me at Anissa's where I would stay for the weekend, leave my stuff while I was in Portugal, and return to for a couple of nights before I headed down to Munich. That night we threw a leaving party for me, themed as a bachelorette party as coming over from England to have your stag night or hens party is really common and it sounded like a good idea when it surfaced at another drinking session. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with friends at my "Bachelorette" leaving party</td></tr>
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It was a good night, although I didn't like "being engaged" and accepted all of the free drinks offered to the bride-to-be and can't remember very much of the night! I do remember we started off at the Amsterdam Hell's Angel's Bar, and finished at the Irish Pub that Jp works at, and I do remember feeling like death all Saturday and having to repack all of my stuff and try to shed more things. And then I was off to Portugal early Sunday morning, for my first child-free week in nearly a year!</div>
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More photos of Marken and Volendam are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4056968907261.2171526.1373259720&type=3&l=098da496a9">here</a>, and photos taken in Amsterdam are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4113964492115.2172763.1373259720&type=3&l=b5c3a338fc">here</a>.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I've signed up for <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/nz-thechallenge">Live Below the Line</a>, and will live off <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">€1.40 a day for five days to change the way people think about poverty and raise money for charity. Support me <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew">here</a>.</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Oudezijds Voorburgwal 221IV, 1012 Binnenstad, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167952.2148787 4.5793108999999994 52.525552700000006 5.2110249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-7790693352688314772012-07-15T22:01:00.001+02:002012-07-15T22:25:11.777+02:00June in Amsterdam - Bidding Adieu Part I<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DJs2c_rSi2hQCLHHEHLv7KOJ6r0g-Uw43_BNemsi33yKKEV-hPKDSwJFOi7qd8_sCaU9PFTXfXPsoJupZrW4sKTFMC1etaZ8hOMss0scppjZB6AiznELbZovX8WkhCbbzsJ_cnuS2v8/s1600/first.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DJs2c_rSi2hQCLHHEHLv7KOJ6r0g-Uw43_BNemsi33yKKEV-hPKDSwJFOi7qd8_sCaU9PFTXfXPsoJupZrW4sKTFMC1etaZ8hOMss0scppjZB6AiznELbZovX8WkhCbbzsJ_cnuS2v8/s400/first.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windmill in Kinderdijk</td></tr>
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June saw me spend my last weeks in Amsterdam. I had a week-long holiday booked for the third week of the month, so I had only a fortnight to sort out all of my stuff and pack, and fit in as many experiences off my to-do list as possible, before I shifted all my stuff to a friend's house, jetted off to Portugal and Luxembourg for an overdue holiday, and then returned for a couple of nights before taking the train down to Munich in Germany to move in with yet another family as their au pair.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGj1O36Y8tj7OQFYyt_WxeG0rhVITCOAu5KMphLOJygaJEw0naK1HD9rXeNRMx1CNIWgrX0YM8HiZi8_2a0EXuFvdaxQ6MBCxZZzRpKs_LvpnJF8gnRzOwYImeRiZdXj6zKX0PsY5KSE/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGj1O36Y8tj7OQFYyt_WxeG0rhVITCOAu5KMphLOJygaJEw0naK1HD9rXeNRMx1CNIWgrX0YM8HiZi8_2a0EXuFvdaxQ6MBCxZZzRpKs_LvpnJF8gnRzOwYImeRiZdXj6zKX0PsY5KSE/s400/2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vemen moving cheese in Alkmaar</td></tr>
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I started the month off with a trip to Alkmaar, a city of about 100 000 slightly north of Amsterdam. It is famous for its cheese market. Held on Friday mornings in one of the city squares, the market dates back to at least the 1300s and even in 1916 an average of three hundred tonnes of cheese was being sold every market day. Now, its just a display of the old cheese market traditions. There is a guild of cheese carriers who do the moving and weighing. They have four teams (vemen) of men, each with its own colour. They wear white and a straw hat with their coloured ribbon, and have different names for their rank and which job they perform - there is a lot of <a href="http://www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/cheesmarket.html">detail in these customs</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXi_HMP7PihiAbYNlV5tXzrZmJIX4V3yMsixS29B5qcjS0_dwMQ4pxPBdfwb1tHgO8vmNVDD7Ri_Ok-IR72m7ODUwQQgsULlJz-Bnb2s9FVaSgo2WKETDnMB9mZpQ76-C6muoNbxuI2M/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXi_HMP7PihiAbYNlV5tXzrZmJIX4V3yMsixS29B5qcjS0_dwMQ4pxPBdfwb1tHgO8vmNVDD7Ri_Ok-IR72m7ODUwQQgsULlJz-Bnb2s9FVaSgo2WKETDnMB9mZpQ76-C6muoNbxuI2M/s400/3.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny shops in Alkmaar</td></tr>
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There are other groups responsible for bringing in the cheese on wagons and moving it onto a kind of carrier pallet, that the Vemen then hoist up and run over to the weighing scales. Once it is weighed, they run it back to the wagons, where the others load it back onto the wagons and take it away. Traders negotiate prices with a system of handclaps. I guess its an interesting spectacle, but its pretty repetitive after the first five minutes, and I didn't think it lived up to its reputation as one of the best tourist attractions in the Netherlands. I only spent a little while longer in Alkmaar, walking around the old town with extremely narrow streets and very narrow shopfronts, before I took the train back south to Zaanse Schans.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sawmill in Zaansee Schans</td></tr>
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Zaanse Schans is a neighbourhood of a town on the northern border of Amsterdam. Lining a river there are eight historic windmills - three oilmills, three sawmills, a dye mill and a mustard mill, that were built in the 1600s and 1700s, and later moved to the Zaanse Schans museum area. The location also has a bakery museum, a watch and clock museum, a distillery museum, a cheese museum, an overall Zaanse museum, and the relocated first ever Albert Heijn shop (now the biggest dutch supermarket chain). I guess it's a bit of a Dutch Ferrymead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6FY8Tj7Xztrp0ia6xsLhXjBppHshN1CWDW0bISzyU3fg8WPYlp8fy6ugobPzPszB5osBJRoC_AbnHvnPAhiKhuGsG-_flfwJFJV8Calti-ys7TRnXugH9TYcutG3dxlix2FYzV466uQ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6FY8Tj7Xztrp0ia6xsLhXjBppHshN1CWDW0bISzyU3fg8WPYlp8fy6ugobPzPszB5osBJRoC_AbnHvnPAhiKhuGsG-_flfwJFJV8Calti-ys7TRnXugH9TYcutG3dxlix2FYzV466uQ/s400/5.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House in Zaandijk</td></tr>
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I arrived at the end of a very grey day, so the lighting was terrible for photographs, but the windmills were really beautiful. After everything closed up, I took a wee "ferry boat", rowed by an enthusiastic dutch couple, across the river and walked back through the tiny town of Zaandijk, which is filled with tiny traditional houses from the 1500s and 1600s. One of my favourite discoveries there was a large disused church, all boarded up and covered in graffiti.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-N3969cnUxlMEHXLHhfzYePtVnJ9XT5QxMpbqS5ExYGrUCJXEDfXXpGfibqoWvm49Vwu0bp5ftc9823fHIx4J6I8sHDyPZIDsSVMH0uHMtLQ-jgaUb2Qjc7Z-F3sjWRpA4uaLs1ONmw/s1600/thirdlast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-N3969cnUxlMEHXLHhfzYePtVnJ9XT5QxMpbqS5ExYGrUCJXEDfXXpGfibqoWvm49Vwu0bp5ftc9823fHIx4J6I8sHDyPZIDsSVMH0uHMtLQ-jgaUb2Qjc7Z-F3sjWRpA4uaLs1ONmw/s400/thirdlast.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam</td></tr>
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The following day I headed to Rotterdam, the Netherland's second largest city. Rotterdam is vastly different from other Dutch cities, and I'd heard it said many times that it was a place you'd either love or hate. The city was leveled during WWII, firstly by German forces who bombed it during negotiations with the dutch after an order to call the attack off wasn't properly relayed, resulting in the loss of the medieval city centre and many residential areas, and then by British forces who attacked the military bases and infrastructure. As a result, Rotterdam has no main city centre filled with market squares and old buildings like other European cities, instead boasting some hideously dated post-war architecture and a more disjointed city centre that reminds me a lot of Auckland - it has a port, neighbourhoods, some interesting buildings and shopping centres, but you couldn't really pinpoint an exact city centre. Rotterdam has now become a hub of modern architecture, and also has many amazing bridges, skysrapers, and office and residential buildings that incorporate traditional dutch elements like stepped gables.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGQ3yK_ijyexlaEIo1dJt7_KIvVLrN0i8Wl9-zmbeNTSUAdgOr8kcRakUuG0r_j-rEaBofZjgXxUcgRF-2OsKiRY-muXxr7j6zCVPS2zQQ-kLRPIMVWasmviFHVkG4KASHF3QHFYr1Ac/s1600/secondlast.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGQ3yK_ijyexlaEIo1dJt7_KIvVLrN0i8Wl9-zmbeNTSUAdgOr8kcRakUuG0r_j-rEaBofZjgXxUcgRF-2OsKiRY-muXxr7j6zCVPS2zQQ-kLRPIMVWasmviFHVkG4KASHF3QHFYr1Ac/s400/secondlast.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">windmills at Kinderdijk</td></tr>
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I first headed to the port, Europe's largest, and took two ferries out into the delta to reach Kinderdijk, a world heritage site where 19 windmills built to drain the polder still stand (and also the location of the Cat and the Cradle folkstory). It is a really touristy location, with hordes arriving in buses to walk up and down a path along the riverbeds. I hired and bike, and spent a hour or so biking up and down looking at the different windmills, most of which are now privately owned - its funny to see the inhabitants hanging out their washing or mowing the lawns while hundreds of tourists gawk at them! Despite the crowds, I think this was my favourite tourist experience in the Netherlands, it was really amazing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9Cku2Yj4afRPUeYiRbR45LqbecivJnl8AxxMwjQ9SD7eKbSBggtIM8fsEU0NJPvjVzqk1NxaE2CpLshvBpTSXGsdLAf2AG969_npc1I7IOaFA6UzeWyPHDpm_jm1S-qSt81BpSEdag8/s1600/last.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9Cku2Yj4afRPUeYiRbR45LqbecivJnl8AxxMwjQ9SD7eKbSBggtIM8fsEU0NJPvjVzqk1NxaE2CpLshvBpTSXGsdLAf2AG969_npc1I7IOaFA6UzeWyPHDpm_jm1S-qSt81BpSEdag8/s400/last.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cube Houses in Rotterdam</td></tr>
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Taking the ferry boats was also very cool, after living in Wellington for four years, I love living in harbour cities, and I could see myself living in Rotterdam and taking a ferry to different picnic or cafe locations every weekend! There is something about ferry boats that fills me with a small child's excitement, they never get old! Back in Rotterdam itself, I set off for a big walk around the city, taking in the different architectural sights. Probably the most famous dutchman to come from Rotterdam is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderius_Erasmus">Erasmus</a> and next to the ferry docks is an amazing cable bridge named after him. The cube houses are also interesting, houses made inside blocks that have been tilted 45 degrees so that one point reaches towards the sky. After meandering back to the train station, I headed home.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
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More photos of Alkmaar, Zaanse Schans, Rotterdam and Kinderdijk are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4056968907261.2171526.1373259720&type=3&l=098da496a9">here</a>.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've signed up for <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/nz-thechallenge">Live Below the Line</a>, and will live off <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">€1.40 per day for five days to change the way people think about poverty and raise money for charity. Support me <a href="https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/clairepettigrew">here</a>.</span></span></b><br />
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<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Amsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167952.292658200000005 4.7372394 52.4477732 5.0530963999999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-10547875296914710242012-07-09T23:25:00.001+02:002012-07-09T23:32:49.625+02:00My first foray East - Warsaw, Poland<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marker showing the placement of the former Jewish Ghetto Wall</td></tr>
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I've always though Eastern Europe was more interesting than the West, but seeing as I prefer crashing with friends over forking out for accomodation, I hadn't yet ventured further east than Berlin. But Doug, a NZer AFS returnee friend headed to Warsaw for a semestre-long university exchange, and I booked tickets to go over and see him for a weekend around May 10th.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soviet-era buildings lining a wide avenue</td></tr>
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I took the night train, at 16 hour journey over about 1300km. Id never taken a night train before, and had heard horror stories about them, of things going wrong, of the dodgy people who take them, and of luggage being stolen while you sleep, but the network is pretty big, you can start at Amsterdam and go all the way to Moscow, or branch off to Copenhagen or Munich, and probably a few others I'm not aware of. Its cheap, and seemed like it would be an interesting experience, but they stories I'd heard seemed true when the train pulled up missing half its carriages, and in typical Dutch problem-solving style, the conductors ordered all of us going to Warsaw (i.e. sitting in the four missing carriages) to cram into one carriage until we would switch in Germany. This led to six very uncomfortable hours with far too many people crammed into a very hot small space with the choice of crap air conditioning or an open window with rain coming in. But, in Dortmund we changed into a really comfortable carriage with reclining sleeper chairs, and I belted my handbag to my middle, popped a sleeping pill, and woke up eight hours later as we neared Warsaw.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRuU7GBnYtojdRjmJnaE3XPQkQ3JV1MTxq1-Jr4W1L_bDOBoOOYvdC3wAu4DkeBgCW_k1hoYY-ST0HN2gFB_-STXLo0N6lCMvxFX5RIidQr_usdMJ882XKZqwEnNDiVG8TkLnFb2bUpc/s1600/me+doug+festival.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRuU7GBnYtojdRjmJnaE3XPQkQ3JV1MTxq1-Jr4W1L_bDOBoOOYvdC3wAu4DkeBgCW_k1hoYY-ST0HN2gFB_-STXLo0N6lCMvxFX5RIidQr_usdMJ882XKZqwEnNDiVG8TkLnFb2bUpc/s400/me+doug+festival.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Doug at the Warsaw University festival</td></tr>
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Then another issue surfaced. Unbeknownst to me, and unlike the half-dozen other European simcards I've owned, my Dutch simcard didn't work outside of the border, and I had stupidly not written down Doug's number, thinking that he would just call me. All I could do was hope that he was waiting for me at the station, but after arriving and walking around for a while, and then sitting in the main hall, I decided I would have to be a bit more proactive about the situation. After failing to find an internet cafe, payphone, or currency exchange in the station, I got directions to a payphone in a nearby shopping mall, and headed there. I withdrew money from a NZ account, and then went to a little kiosk to break the note - the woman was not willing to give me change in coins at all, so I threw another chocolate bar at her with another banknote, waited for my change, threw another chocolate bar and banknote at her...and so on. I managed to get hold of Rogier back in Amsterdam, but had to wait for him to head back to the house, then rang again to instruct him in logging into my computor to find Doug's number...but my change ran out, and I had to go back to the ATM, back to the kiosk, and buy another three chocolate bars...Poland was not proving an easy place, but eventually Doug and I found each other!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-GJtPclNrGtxv9N4ZbRKJ_opDy8NRScUpEFKzd7JyaymAi7OlGfYYyBQVAx_Az6Av8DjMKeWU3434D7LXY_lPygiTHOkvZHbAEoONQbDqEoSUoOFPQxP6aTqBUN1SKSmp1vEZzXygA4/s1600/old+town.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-GJtPclNrGtxv9N4ZbRKJ_opDy8NRScUpEFKzd7JyaymAi7OlGfYYyBQVAx_Az6Av8DjMKeWU3434D7LXY_lPygiTHOkvZHbAEoONQbDqEoSUoOFPQxP6aTqBUN1SKSmp1vEZzXygA4/s400/old+town.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warsaw Old Town</td></tr>
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Warsaw was hot! It was around 28 degrees and quite humid when I arrived, definitely a change from grey Amsterdam. Doug is living in a university residence hall, where the majority come from former Soviet block countries, people sleep 2-4 to a room, and students stand around the linoleum hallways smoking ciggarettes well into the night. Not really similar to a NZ hall of residence at all! We dumped my stuff and headed out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMZ1l2YPRZE0-TZwrpPiFF_QLZ_i1pIjD0pVStpHGMEX7dcPTLbVj7N5rKDtkIweDKUKXI8ivbLLxDVj4JtbCoPt847jePEHExP9N-7IZtQsNXqom_681zATM96mpQKwwiNBWHrxOMus/s1600/view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMZ1l2YPRZE0-TZwrpPiFF_QLZ_i1pIjD0pVStpHGMEX7dcPTLbVj7N5rKDtkIweDKUKXI8ivbLLxDVj4JtbCoPt847jePEHExP9N-7IZtQsNXqom_681zATM96mpQKwwiNBWHrxOMus/s400/view.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Warsaw from the Palace of Sci & Culture</td></tr>
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With nearly 2 million inhabitants in the city proper, Warsaw is the 7th biggest city in the EU. We walked down past Doug's university to the centre of the city. It does feel very different to other european cities. 80% of the buildings were destroyed in WWII and had to be rebuilt, and most of this rebuilting was done in the basic blockish style typical of eastern europe. In the centre, the streets are really wide and seem well planned, with huge square apartment buildings and offices. It was also notable how clean Warsaw was - the trash I normally associate with big European cities was absent. Also, people wait for traffic lights even when there's no traffic, apparently you get big fines for jaywalking there! I think both of these differences are a hangover from the Soviet police state.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-glLIpbqanEHQ_Z1dO5LuLWjKMzd-D5P7OoF5IRdDjiSpovDzCO8bP7AUCtj5TgtwEjd5mEizIU_oAHu0Qb1i98hClPk1iRadCSgeSK42DCR4-r1mUZrFLlR_m3r-n1jsig__gS8QTJA/s1600/palace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-glLIpbqanEHQ_Z1dO5LuLWjKMzd-D5P7OoF5IRdDjiSpovDzCO8bP7AUCtj5TgtwEjd5mEizIU_oAHu0Qb1i98hClPk1iRadCSgeSK42DCR4-r1mUZrFLlR_m3r-n1jsig__gS8QTJA/s400/palace.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warsaw Castle</td></tr>
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We walked through a nice shopping district and after stopping in a bar/cafe that was one of Doug's locals for some kind of unmemorable polish dish, we sat in a park to drink a couple of beers and then went to a big free musical festival at Warsaw University. There, we met a bunch of Doug's fellow exchange students, watched a whole heap of random Polish bands perform, and consumed a number of cheap beers and food. After we called it a night, four of us walked into the Old Town for a bit, the historic centre that was razed to the ground during WWII, but meticulously rebuilt afterwards using as many of the original elements as possible.<br />
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The next day we headed back to the Old Town, and had a quick look at the Warsaw Castle, which was also totally destroyed and rebuilt. Its a strange building, we didn't go inside, but walked into the central courtyard, which showcases the way the different wings are made in different building materials and styles - it looks at bit like the piecemeal parliament buildings in Wellington. In the centre of the Old Town is the Market Square, one of, if not the most impressive Market Square I've seen in Europe. The reconstructed buildings all around it are based on the 17th century Gothic and Renaissance originals, and look vastly different from the buildings surrounding the main squares in more western countries. Part of the Old Town is lined by a section of the medieval city walls, brick walls that were originally built in the 13th century.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGn9iJ0qt8aioM7h24kguyI5FHLWKidoi86JWL8C5uNIxZpRl83Lg2elzNxPdOA18HR-mP0eNtkiQ2h8q_9Ptltb898k9bzZnldwJdSWMH-TH6OPyvnCUdh6X5H6XZoJ8y_GTD7Oo6IA/s1600/praga.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGn9iJ0qt8aioM7h24kguyI5FHLWKidoi86JWL8C5uNIxZpRl83Lg2elzNxPdOA18HR-mP0eNtkiQ2h8q_9Ptltb898k9bzZnldwJdSWMH-TH6OPyvnCUdh6X5H6XZoJ8y_GTD7Oo6IA/s400/praga.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building in Praga district</td></tr>
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We then headed out to the Praga district, on the other side of the river from central Warsaw and the Old Town. Praga was originally an independent town, only being linked by bridge to Warsaw in the 1790s. The buildings there mostly date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, but mostly survived WWII. Now most of those still standing are in a state of disrepair, but the area has been taken over buy young musicians and artists, and it has a really cool feel to it. Several Poles who we spoke to later wondered why we'd been out there - all claimed it was a really dangerous area, and many had never been there themselves despite living in Warsaw, but I really liked seeing a different side to the city. I had hungarian goulash for lunch and fell in love with the dish, and then we popped our heads into a beautiful Orthodox church, watching women in skirts and headscarfs enter for service.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtnOGsqiiih00LKpDsgjseixt-P6heXnyl1Tt_r3jdSVmie1MYEX00QE9d_bkFFWGVerZ7H81H3UOSegink2ws5ZlyWf2t_Bd7E6yODnXSIS2vj4K_Ue89eIDJQwI5Jl4ZXYHrIw4zEA/s1600/praga+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtnOGsqiiih00LKpDsgjseixt-P6heXnyl1Tt_r3jdSVmie1MYEX00QE9d_bkFFWGVerZ7H81H3UOSegink2ws5ZlyWf2t_Bd7E6yODnXSIS2vj4K_Ue89eIDJQwI5Jl4ZXYHrIw4zEA/s400/praga+church.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orthodox church in Praga</td></tr>
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Finally, we headed up the Palace of Science and Culture. This 231m skyscraper was build in the 1950s and was a gift from Soviet Russia - Doug said Poland was offered that, or a metro system, but picked the first as they didn't have the money to maintain a metro system once it was build. The building apparently looks like a lot of other Soviet era skyscrapers, and currently is housed by offices, museums, theatres and cinemas, shops, a conference centre, a university, and restaurants and bars. It's a pretty impressive building, as is the view from the terrace! Looking out over Warsaw you can definitely note the difference between the reconstructed old town, the huge Soviet era blocks, and the modern western style towers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMHfbKpKzKwdH6p_9drSbTcmaKJmtCziZdlWNRkRKyxsokie07Ifx15aCmzn0sEsBLX1eAgFnuPjfCj9CwhbSjV4BxspIQ05RVEybqU7KCazSslkzNRVlibfUDLP68df3ry4Qq9fQJKE/s1600/tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMHfbKpKzKwdH6p_9drSbTcmaKJmtCziZdlWNRkRKyxsokie07Ifx15aCmzn0sEsBLX1eAgFnuPjfCj9CwhbSjV4BxspIQ05RVEybqU7KCazSslkzNRVlibfUDLP68df3ry4Qq9fQJKE/s400/tower.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palace of Science and Culture</td></tr>
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After a dinner of polish dumplings back at the hostel, we went to see the Multimedia Fountain, the biggest such display in Europe. It uses water, light and sounds, with fountains shooting 25m high light up by different coloured lights to a soundtrack, and lighted pictures projected onto a screen of fog. It was really cool, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. We then headed to a 'bad taste' themed party hosted by one of the other exchange students, in their tiny one-bedroom apartment. I had to think how many people were crammed into that place, it was so packed that trying to move around felt like being in one of those puzzle games where you can only have space to move one square at a time! Everyone was loud and enthusiastic and consuming a lot of polish vodka, until the rather threatening polish police turned up and gave us five minutes to evacuate the place. We then headed into town, but as it was so late got turned away from all of the clubs, and ended up just going to bed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7fT6qhDyPBDCoETb6zXyrngkSSp7fgTLXEnK1ZsqyGnl8S0yoYo7ULEsudtJRsVz7PI6fyBeiMeEc_TBcx2z-PoAvdnxUjbyWvtELwIr4YzOfztvoFirNd8PIKFUDGQkzNsyvdkmxs4/s1600/old+town+market.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7fT6qhDyPBDCoETb6zXyrngkSSp7fgTLXEnK1ZsqyGnl8S0yoYo7ULEsudtJRsVz7PI6fyBeiMeEc_TBcx2z-PoAvdnxUjbyWvtELwIr4YzOfztvoFirNd8PIKFUDGQkzNsyvdkmxs4/s400/old+town+market.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warsaw Old Town Market Square</td></tr>
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Sunday saw us head to the former Jewish Ghetto. There, you can trace where the wall once stood - its amazing to see what a small area of Warsaw it occupied, considering the number who lived within it. You can see a memorial representing where the bridge crossed over the tram lines, from the 'big' ghetto to the 'small' ghetto. Most amazing was sections of the wall that still stand, and a ruined apartment building that also survived the war.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluIXNdnruRzwMAV5OemMEqgR080KlvlwpeHtmWvWi8GkrNBTdcknvaX5FKGr2dapytqN2-HAcI5mmhed7-Fr735v8ThXEouyOD4bh4DMRnTYAw8aHeP_yxXyEgDCxCTFiEQX0Yr58Y8M/s1600/lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluIXNdnruRzwMAV5OemMEqgR080KlvlwpeHtmWvWi8GkrNBTdcknvaX5FKGr2dapytqN2-HAcI5mmhed7-Fr735v8ThXEouyOD4bh4DMRnTYAw8aHeP_yxXyEgDCxCTFiEQX0Yr58Y8M/s400/lights.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Multimedia Fountain</td></tr>
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We ended the day at the Warsaw Fotoplastikon. This was one of my favourite experiences in Warsaw. A Fotoplastikon was a viewer for three-dimensional photos, used to show people who could not travel sights of the world before film was invented. This fotoplastikon was installed in about 1905, and has survived ever since, showing shots of Paris, London and prewar Poland throughout the Nazi occupation and Soviet communist era to people from all walks of life, who went to view the photos and listen to jazz music as we go to the movies. People can enter the theatre and sit at one of the viewers around the circular contraption, and the photos flip over as you look in. It makes you really appreciate both how easy it is for us to travel nowdays and see things for ourselves, and how easy it is to immortalize our memories with photography.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sLZPw6jWHimnbVeqMOjEczDDAGYvbimTpana12yOMO_N5LCpXDDKqpeCZuw2aaRkK0TWDUVxlNX4tSOfalGHREYakzeT3wv-nZx_c1KyG52y0DrIxZSeD35g7rUIlea_j24KlF3lmVE/s1600/ghetto+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sLZPw6jWHimnbVeqMOjEczDDAGYvbimTpana12yOMO_N5LCpXDDKqpeCZuw2aaRkK0TWDUVxlNX4tSOfalGHREYakzeT3wv-nZx_c1KyG52y0DrIxZSeD35g7rUIlea_j24KlF3lmVE/s400/ghetto+building.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apartment building in the former Ghetto</td></tr>
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Then it was time to eat a bit more, blow the last of my polish Zloty currency, and head to the train station. Using the Zloty instead of the Euro was amazing, everything was so much cheaper - I spent about 80euros ($120NZD) over the weekend, impossible to achieve in other european cities, and really felt like I was living it up! It was a great first foray into Eastern Europe, and left me itching to head back in that direction again soon!<br />
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More photos are<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3937100030614.2169371.1373259720&type=3&l=94caae6a1f"> here</a>.<br />
<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Aleje Jerozolimskie 33, 01-001 Warsaw, Poland52.2296756 21.012228751.9175081 20.380514700000003 52.5418431 21.6439427tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-34785793556383153312012-07-06T00:08:00.000+02:002012-07-06T00:08:51.805+02:00May in Amsterdam<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYAlQypQItHdKowM5Ox89XoSlB4SxL443LgC9j84HDf4AHZwlR5fGbyuQ1QuCvC-fiO7ipKySZDT5PhpCmQaSmX1-83J1d-evz5_JygEDXLXSq2PdV12a4N7UdFVuOyVy5P4L_k51bS0/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYAlQypQItHdKowM5Ox89XoSlB4SxL443LgC9j84HDf4AHZwlR5fGbyuQ1QuCvC-fiO7ipKySZDT5PhpCmQaSmX1-83J1d-evz5_JygEDXLXSq2PdV12a4N7UdFVuOyVy5P4L_k51bS0/s400/1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie, Pepi and me playing in the paddling pool</td></tr>
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This blog seems to be dying a silent death! I just got a bit too busy living life to spend any time writing about it, you'll understand why when I catch up on posts! But I am determined to get up to date, if only in brief as a record for myself, and now some I'm having some really cool new experiences. So here goes!<br />
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I don't have too much to say about May in Amsterdam, after <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2012/05/queens-day-in-amsterdam-and-haukes.html">Hauke was here for Queens Day</a> I got quite sick, eventually being diagnosed with bronchitis, so I spent a lot of time at home trying (and failing) to shake the cough. I did manage a trip to Warsaw in Poland over the second weekend of the month, but I will write about that in another post.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rollerderby in Amsterdam</td></tr>
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I watched Rollerderby for the first time. I'd often thought about playing it myself, as I'm quite aggressive on sportsfields and used to take great pleasure from shoving my elbow into an opponients side while the referree wasn't looking, but I never really new much about the game. Turns out, the point is to go round and round in circles, with one person from each time trying to get to the front and go around the fastest, while the rest of the opposing team tries to block you from doing so. It actually wasn't very exciting viewing after the first couple of rounds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOpcv_5vI6o4gS1ksVbdt-jTOS6dsmjyFYbzGSBbiFgwcIzpvllnCDfJ-IYy-YlTMbWfuLxzgNTtSjb8J7wd4JGHicNyflCI9S4SD4M6c4F1BHfwFVjP_8xqKAyp55bnDoUy-Pwzcz68/s1600/IMG_1454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOpcv_5vI6o4gS1ksVbdt-jTOS6dsmjyFYbzGSBbiFgwcIzpvllnCDfJ-IYy-YlTMbWfuLxzgNTtSjb8J7wd4JGHicNyflCI9S4SD4M6c4F1BHfwFVjP_8xqKAyp55bnDoUy-Pwzcz68/s400/IMG_1454.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie on a really hot day</td></tr>
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The weather got really really hot for a while, and I spent a lot of time hanging out in the sun with Ollie, splashing around in the paddling pool with both kids, and sitting on Anissa's terrace in the evenings with a few drinks. The nice weather really lifted my mood and made me happier to be in Amsterdam over summer...<br />
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...until one morning Jacquie told me that my visa application had been rejected and I had 28 days to leave the country! There was no indication that there would be any problem, so it was more that a bit of a surprize. Their basis for rejection was that Rogier and Jacquie could not prove that they could financially afford an au pair, as their only income source was earned in Luxembourg. Seems a bit silly to me, given the whole borderless Europe thing, but I've heard a lot about the Dutch visa office, and it seems a total mess, turning down a lot of visas for random reasons after they refuse to process visas via their embassies and make you fly all the way here to submit the application.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippVhQcYm1juARCaRAtBg2nhc_91lPVBS_6F-SsKtZpOFutxpq5TFlbhCD6A2mMGm4z5hmFC-Mn3AB0sFoFlUQQsZ_DxUxZvEdP0_6ISbap1aLLejhZ0KhXBnXoYwhr8w9Nr3uwZo0-dI/s1600/wasn't+me!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippVhQcYm1juARCaRAtBg2nhc_91lPVBS_6F-SsKtZpOFutxpq5TFlbhCD6A2mMGm4z5hmFC-Mn3AB0sFoFlUQQsZ_DxUxZvEdP0_6ISbap1aLLejhZ0KhXBnXoYwhr8w9Nr3uwZo0-dI/s400/wasn't+me!.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Who me? Of course I wasn't playing with it.."</td></tr>
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After I got over the initial shock, with the help of a lot of red wine and some amazing friends and family, I actually came around to the idea, and decided that while I would miss Ollie and Pep like crazy, I wasn't really keen to spend much more time working for their parents and was glad to leave Amsterdam. While I had a lot of "wow, look at the clogs/tulips/windmills/cheese, its so cool to be in the Netherlands" moments, I never really felt at home there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">too cute!</td></tr>
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I'm going to make some horrible general-<br />
isations here, and say that the Dutch are quite cold people who are hard to befriend and have very different concepts of manners and childraising than I am accustomed too. Unlike some of the other au pairs, I wouldn't say they're rude, because I think its just a different way of doing things, but definitely the lack of pleases and thank yous started to bug me, as did their way of letting their children run wild and do whatever they want unpunished when young, figuring at some point when they grow up they will work out the proper way to behave<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQtHHkhYnlMhEC9ZqFjvCcg_bv0dPaAi4XTWnff1Q1S-RPGT2hYjloHNjtjp3E7rpSxYoRqNk5m4XdSfwtpMUXWleyThTtk0iVYk7L9GM4SsOkQdUgZptJGLbr5A7d9MVPwkoJtTsGtI/s1600/boat+stop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQtHHkhYnlMhEC9ZqFjvCcg_bv0dPaAi4XTWnff1Q1S-RPGT2hYjloHNjtjp3E7rpSxYoRqNk5m4XdSfwtpMUXWleyThTtk0iVYk7L9GM4SsOkQdUgZptJGLbr5A7d9MVPwkoJtTsGtI/s400/boat+stop.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our boat trip, pulling up at the windmill brewery bar</td></tr>
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A good example was when I was having lunch with Anissa and a very flashy woman dining with a friend ignored her preschooler while he disturbed the rest of us, and then turned around to order another diner to shut the door, without adding a please or thank you anywhere. I know it seems minor, and the kind of thing you see in most countries, but it seems so much more prevalient in Amsterdam, if not the whole of the Netherlands. Overall, its not a culture I could see myself integrating into. Also, I don't think Amsterdam is my favourite dutch city. The blatant sex, drugs and drunken debauchery gets annoying after a while, as do the hordes of tourists that constantly get in the way. It isn't a big city, but feels quite spread out with different bars, resturants and parks all over the show rather than in a orderly centre, so that it becomes a hassle to do things. I much prefer <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Haarlem">Haarlem </a>or <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search?q=the+hague">the Hague</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcCOc4Dy_OwP6Cnqsx6XpvjnXUTk6-XvUQrr4zXCITbGgt3URPMCB3HofaG28Vb0J_h2SZCsy921_DsE_QGgp9SPY3KQyv4tlVR8bho4uIbtcL3Xd1KDTAf-u5hk12lcYqbwnfyW5IJU/s1600/me+and+anissa+boat+trip+bar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcCOc4Dy_OwP6Cnqsx6XpvjnXUTk6-XvUQrr4zXCITbGgt3URPMCB3HofaG28Vb0J_h2SZCsy921_DsE_QGgp9SPY3KQyv4tlVR8bho4uIbtcL3Xd1KDTAf-u5hk12lcYqbwnfyW5IJU/s400/me+and+anissa+boat+trip+bar.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Anissa at the windmill brewery</td></tr>
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And finally, having to move turned into a good opportunity to see a little of somewhere else for a couple of months, before I head to Gottingen in Germany to work in September. Initially, my mind was spinning with all of the possibilies, and I looked at spending the summer in the south of France, or Turkey or Greece. After finding the Netherlands hard to settle down in, my heart really wanted me to go back to Luxembourg, where I felt at home, knew my way around and had friends. I spent hours every day for weeks looking at profiles of families and places to go - hence the lack of blog posts! But, in the end I listened to my head over my heart (and my desire for sun and surf) and agreed to go to Munich for a couple of months, as it would allow me to improve my German. More on that later...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me perched on the stern</td></tr>
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Moving also meant I had to cram four months worth of plans into just one month! Just after I found out I would have to move, Anissa surprized me with a day out on a boat cruising around the canals. This is something I'd always wanted to do, not just go on the <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/2011/10/netherlands-work-in-different-location.html">tourist trip in the big barge</a>, but be on a little motorboat with a bunch of friends, drinking and partying as the dutch do on the weekends. A friend of hers had gone in with his coworkers on a boat for a year, so he took a bunch of us out for the day. We had perfect weather, and after a stop to get petrol (service stations in Amsterdam have back entrances, steps down the the canal water level so that boats can pull up and get gas, cool ay?) we picked everyone up and spent the whole day cruising around.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteLNaDhBli0QnqkR-dAqQk94vVPIm7iCpt-MrzKLzzS1K_qsDkKfRDll6ec7wESsnPo3-fCm8AFuqhPiUSIRnRjwnRYtYGd1ra64enQeJ8ddN6cQxDufU5rMiQovRNUVS0WqVAXxhJHs/s1600/boat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteLNaDhBli0QnqkR-dAqQk94vVPIm7iCpt-MrzKLzzS1K_qsDkKfRDll6ec7wESsnPo3-fCm8AFuqhPiUSIRnRjwnRYtYGd1ra64enQeJ8ddN6cQxDufU5rMiQovRNUVS0WqVAXxhJHs/s400/boat.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faces of horror as we ventured out into the rough open sea</td></tr>
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Memorable moments were me offering to take driving over while someone had a ciggie, and subsequently crashing into a moored boat, heading out into the open sea and then reaslising we were a bit too small for it, then running out of petrol and having to refuel in the middle of the harbour with the waves crashing over the sides and the big boats steering around us, pulling up at the windmill brewery bar to stop for drinks, and the many interesting locations we stopped to pee, including Willem just sitting on the stern and peeing overboard. Willem also ended the day on a funny note by falling into the canal while trying to moor us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYkEl0ErRwy1-3_P1g2Lh7FpMFvnb-atSCXeFMq-29mJhCEgVvlnHIfHEMTJ8sjfuYYQFYWSBZTbrydMJHtyJt359arPkn-vM4a3QrBJI17yN-v0Q_lflDom8NfLdT1mE4bh10_STNsM/s1600/boat+last.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYkEl0ErRwy1-3_P1g2Lh7FpMFvnb-atSCXeFMq-29mJhCEgVvlnHIfHEMTJ8sjfuYYQFYWSBZTbrydMJHtyJt359arPkn-vM4a3QrBJI17yN-v0Q_lflDom8NfLdT1mE4bh10_STNsM/s400/boat+last.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willem overboard in the canal</td></tr>
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I also visited a beach with Jana, at IJBurg, some man-made islands just on the edge of Amsterdam. Its not a beach I would recommend, like the rest of the city its horribly windy, has a view of the suburbs and industrial area rather than open sea, and was a bit icky. I was feeling really sick that day and didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would have, and also managed to get sunburnt. I think my skin has been dutchified, as last summer I spent a <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.de/search/label/Italy">whole week lying in the sun in Sicily</a> with no sunscreen on and didn't get burnt at all, this year I had a low-SPF on but still got burnt by the dutch sun, surely one of the weakest in Europe! Not cool!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPatNzjQq_HoZyzZ79WcQuPSR01Nj3FqmXIxAkR0IpCwN1F57kfk2Z6GcZUvz_JcORKHOAqkZYB6miZp2Y7_hkuXH9iZn2ZJdvAa3azu0ZyAkDlMM879UMzRyK3n9ti98j1ef3AvcHcQc/s1600/beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPatNzjQq_HoZyzZ79WcQuPSR01Nj3FqmXIxAkR0IpCwN1F57kfk2Z6GcZUvz_JcORKHOAqkZYB6miZp2Y7_hkuXH9iZn2ZJdvAa3azu0ZyAkDlMM879UMzRyK3n9ti98j1ef3AvcHcQc/s400/beach.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the beach at IJBurg</td></tr>
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So May was not my best month this year, it really drained me emotionally and saw me get really sick physically. Finding out I would be moving again was hard, facing the fourth time I'd have to pack up and start all over again in a little over a year made me realise that this whole nomadic lifestyle is getting old, and I am beginning to crave a solid base, a house I can feel at home in and some close connections with people. It also proved my theory that trying to plan anything while on an OE is a waste of time - six months ago I would have told you I would spend the summer in Luxembourg, a couple of months ago I would have told you I would spend the summer in Amsterdam, and now here I am off to southern Germany! My new mantra is life live by a Plan B - Plan B is what you think you could do, if everything works out right, no doors close to you and no new doors open to you. Plan A is what you actually do when everything turns to shit or you get a better offer! So lets hope my new plan works out better than my previous ones!<br />
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More photos are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3987877460018.2170288.1373259720&type=3&l=3f7b439527">here</a>.<br />
<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Oudezijds Voorburgwal 221IV, 1012 Binnenstad, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167940.2275557 -15.319676099999999 64.5128757 25.1100119tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-80226227525199318962012-05-18T14:48:00.001+02:002012-07-06T00:09:05.110+02:00Queens Day in Amsterdam and Hauke's visit<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDVTfmbUKsuTpLCimgSD0zcY1CW4vgKzvmZXlc9vZLt4NC1QdqetTZnKwnQQcJE8RfsAlEjMUMFbjwu3gbkXghRiFaBEgVeSewjVjqe4vUcXGSnyXwwPcDFl4DYAFCNfLChMDSfefqr8/s1600/IMG_0811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDVTfmbUKsuTpLCimgSD0zcY1CW4vgKzvmZXlc9vZLt4NC1QdqetTZnKwnQQcJE8RfsAlEjMUMFbjwu3gbkXghRiFaBEgVeSewjVjqe4vUcXGSnyXwwPcDFl4DYAFCNfLChMDSfefqr8/s320/IMG_0811.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke and I on Queens Day</td></tr>
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At the end of April the Netherlands celebrates Koninginnedag, or Queens Day. April 30th was the birthday of last queen, and the current Queen Beatrix kept the same date when she took the throne. It is absolutely crazy, the whole country seems to dress in orange and get out on the streets partying. The celebrations start on Koninginnenacht, or Queen's Night, and continue the next day as people get up early to participate in a giant fleamarket all over the country - apparently one fifth of dutch families sell things, and half of the dutch population buy things every year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oBsgE_NdfNxP9LpIzxaBRthJsEzuAgT6-7pr18MJKl0HnBfccZeGU3saV9avwBVy421HbLqU9ZF-DmkzMmaQj2MvaempbibdPOewILzPZln7ST8gEv5RFIwqj2LjCb5gbbVuQcmzkkE/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oBsgE_NdfNxP9LpIzxaBRthJsEzuAgT6-7pr18MJKl0HnBfccZeGU3saV9avwBVy421HbLqU9ZF-DmkzMmaQj2MvaempbibdPOewILzPZln7ST8gEv5RFIwqj2LjCb5gbbVuQcmzkkE/s400/IMG_0703.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke in Amsterdam</td></tr>
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Normally the Queen heads to a different town to celebrate with the locals every year, but there are organized activities in Amsterdam too, like free concerts in the biggest squares. This year, a lot of official events were cancelled because the Queen's son is in a coma after a skiing accident, but that didn't stop anyone from partying! The use of orange as the dutch national colour comes from the royal family being the House of Orange-Nassau, and people were as into it as the Irish are into green for St Patricks Day. I'd heard about Queens Day years ago from an exchange student living in NZ, and been excited about it ever since I decided to move here with the family. They were nice enough to let Hauke come celebrate it too, so he visited for five nights over the weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnxk_9pdOs8ocrtVPz6iPVl8Lkg6TG_lFZ93Wr3sjEc5hm1bBOHpFCgTNLs6CnlaUhaBP-mwaRczznni-E6D2vaaBKBe2rCLbD0LaTTZTLxJ_6WC-uCjSazaeBVYXgXf1L0axcymSmIA/s1600/IMG_0698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnxk_9pdOs8ocrtVPz6iPVl8Lkg6TG_lFZ93Wr3sjEc5hm1bBOHpFCgTNLs6CnlaUhaBP-mwaRczznni-E6D2vaaBKBe2rCLbD0LaTTZTLxJ_6WC-uCjSazaeBVYXgXf1L0axcymSmIA/s400/IMG_0698.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The World Press Photo Exhibition in Oudekerk</td></tr>
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On Friday morning I biked into the city and hired a bike for Hauke, before meeting him at the train station. We spent the rest of the day bumming around the city, doing a bit of shopping and having a picnic in Vondelpark. It was pretty cool to reflect on all of the parks in different cities and countries that we've sat and had picnics in over the last 18 months! We then visited the World Press Photo Exhibition, housed in Oude Kerk in the red light district. Its the oldest building in Amsterdam, so it's a amazing space for a photo exhibition, and the photos were phenomenal, although quite depressing given all of the subject matter. We then biked back to Badhoevedorp to have dinner with everyone before biking back to the city to go out again. Pepi and Ollie were a bit shy around Hauke for the first 5 minutes, but then they quickly <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/04/freezing-february-in-luxembourg-part-ii.html">warmed to him again</a> and Pepi banished Rogier to the far corner of the table so that Hauke could sit next to him!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4aMwt2j9J05Qx5pjXADc5v7nq8PpimbvbBF_h6ow0GkoDPwdsPeAX_hzy6QCRK6bRVz6qafFQnQCCGfiWdAIdNkhvO_IMjGnS0UN010vDl3SYiMmnoa6R2Svl9jm2Drcg1tM7DELS2s8/s1600/IMG_0743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4aMwt2j9J05Qx5pjXADc5v7nq8PpimbvbBF_h6ow0GkoDPwdsPeAX_hzy6QCRK6bRVz6qafFQnQCCGfiWdAIdNkhvO_IMjGnS0UN010vDl3SYiMmnoa6R2Svl9jm2Drcg1tM7DELS2s8/s400/IMG_0743.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old man we met in Badhoevedorp</td></tr>
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It was a really beautiful evening so we first sat on the side of the canal by the windmill out here to drink a few beers. As we were sitting there, a old man jumped out of a car and started talking to us, eventually talking to Hauke in German for what felt like a good half an hour about Badhoevedorp and what it used to be like, and the Netherlands in general. He looked like real salt of the earth, wearing a fishermans hat, a woolen jersey filled with holes, and pants covered in paint, so I had to ask to take his photo! We then biked into the city and went to an Internations event at a club called Jimmy Woo. Internations here seems quite different from Internations in Luxembourg - people are a lot older and a lot more poncy! It was harder to begin conversations, especially because Hauke was there too, but we did talk to a group of younger people. This was also my first time in a club in Amsterdam, as my friends here normally prefer to drink in pubs or bars rather than go out dancing. It was a cool place, quite fancy and expensive, with a massive line queuing outside by the time we left. Biking home was an interesting experience, managing a straight line was a bit beyond me that night, but we made it in the end!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9KPLWRbM70AEvf3KXQE8ZzUBLjJ0MswZxX8PlWW2uh9PrRh4yyOcRnd-el7nma8Pu_LAOTItFuvuuJArfVMpx1h-p7258-LjN5Fh32r-pbD3_F4-GJ2KQ7jtlJaMWMAe9psN3JEE6a4/s1600/IMG_0797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9KPLWRbM70AEvf3KXQE8ZzUBLjJ0MswZxX8PlWW2uh9PrRh4yyOcRnd-el7nma8Pu_LAOTItFuvuuJArfVMpx1h-p7258-LjN5Fh32r-pbD3_F4-GJ2KQ7jtlJaMWMAe9psN3JEE6a4/s400/IMG_0797.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke playing supermarket with Pepi</td></tr>
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We were definitely feeling the effects of the night before when we woke up on Saturday, and took things pretty easy. Hauke conned Pepi into helping him get ready by drying his hair, brushing his teeth and putting on his socks and shoes for him. We didn't leave the house until after 3pm, and despite some pretty nasty weather, we biked out to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/05/kids-opening-surprize-easter-eggs-april.html">Haarlem</a> to have a look around. We didn't have so much time there, and I was feeling truly lousy, so we just had a walk around, checked out the fair set up in the main square for Queens Day celebrations, and then went to Joppenkerk for a drink. That night we babysat the kids - or I should say, Hauke babysat! Pepi doesn't want a bar of me whenever Hauke is around, so he played with Pepi and then put him to bed while I sat on the couch with a glass of wine!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFFWGwjjn3mKq_P8sduCAnrVsrP7eoU2fDpQhIKKoKLj_cC1PoZbfd7A34UP9CDFPBAN9_WHFwgI1ZGqB3YAfs4-Q_baYlN3XGVQ-9ahYoGWTbqHuZe4qObZ_Vtuh7ZbP5moh5mfU9pE/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFFWGwjjn3mKq_P8sduCAnrVsrP7eoU2fDpQhIKKoKLj_cC1PoZbfd7A34UP9CDFPBAN9_WHFwgI1ZGqB3YAfs4-Q_baYlN3XGVQ-9ahYoGWTbqHuZe4qObZ_Vtuh7ZbP5moh5mfU9pE/s400/IMG_1552.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The four of us up the windmill</td></tr>
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Sunday morning we were also on duty, so we took the kids out of the house for a bit. I had planned on spending the day at the big playground out here, but for some reason the gate remained closed passed its opening time, so we messed around in a smaller park until it got boring and then took the kids up the windmill. The scraps of information I heard from the windmiller showing us around were interesting - he runs the windmill at different speeds when its raining to keep the place from flooding, instead of purely for decoration like I thought - but I spent most of the time trying to keep the kids in check. They seemed to enjoy it though, Pepi told Jacquie some crazy stories about where we'd been and everything we'd done that morning, like going to see a children's movie (probably the 10minute animated documentary on Rembrandt we saw at the windmill!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNH6GAx9KveWdQhyD1l0aL-ByR868T9YtuLSwv90CgQjULUbHATIq2QF9USRup4nATHtbc2OKfDJ7Bn1pSWt7kmD_Vv6uEx90V3W9-c0A1dYkGhhV30dJdbKg1x528LIbbOo9ulgI6TA/s1600/IMG_1699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNH6GAx9KveWdQhyD1l0aL-ByR868T9YtuLSwv90CgQjULUbHATIq2QF9USRup4nATHtbc2OKfDJ7Bn1pSWt7kmD_Vv6uEx90V3W9-c0A1dYkGhhV30dJdbKg1x528LIbbOo9ulgI6TA/s400/IMG_1699.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Music stage at the Live I Live festival, the Hague</td></tr>
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Then, we headed to the Hague to celebrate Queens Night. While the whole country celebrates to some extent, the Hague is supposed to be the place to be. Apparently years ago there used to be big riots there on Queens Night, so they started planning a lot of events to make the atmosphere more positive and put an end to the rioting. Now, they have the free Life I Live festival, which sees the whole central district shut down as stages hosting different bands are set up throughout the city and bars and restaurants spread tables and chairs out onto the streets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjc0-3DhuxSwlFUdsu_PrXHcWalxwCE7aleF2CD0sUoiQMKiLkgZDoJZqTqTdMnmnOlb_gM_gxz2Fowc4D4hkosz-tLh8QsstGrvRg5xr8KrzLf9nSD8RpHThtXshBPA6Ti8EqD4XYlc/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjc0-3DhuxSwlFUdsu_PrXHcWalxwCE7aleF2CD0sUoiQMKiLkgZDoJZqTqTdMnmnOlb_gM_gxz2Fowc4D4hkosz-tLh8QsstGrvRg5xr8KrzLf9nSD8RpHThtXshBPA6Ti8EqD4XYlc/s400/IMG_1575.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke and I infront of the Parliament buildings in the Hague</td></tr>
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To get there, we biked to the airport out here and took a train, arriving in the middle of the afternoon. While I'd <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/10/netherlands-work-in-different-location.html">been to the Hague last year for a quick visit</a>, I hadn't done more than find all of the shops, so after a quick stop at the tourist office, we set out to explore everything. I really like the Hague, its pretty and a good mix of old and modern, and seems like it would generally be a nice city to live in. Although Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the Hague hosts the government and parliament, and the parliament buildings are pretty cool, you can walk right through the middle of them to get to the street on the other side. The palace is also located in the Hague, although the Queen lives at another residence - I don't really know what to say about the palace, I've seen so many here now and this one doesn't stand out in any way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmJlWmf6XfchY5Nr-kxb4JwSZOL9Aunzi28GhlAp0jjyToE0A0zov4SLEDpPNDwsMUagRuUWljLLJ6AKILEREmTq8ynGWsVGyk2yprkiIrXK70RRCi9k15dsdkw9esfS3M4DNGuSZZOo/s1600/IMG_1606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmJlWmf6XfchY5Nr-kxb4JwSZOL9Aunzi28GhlAp0jjyToE0A0zov4SLEDpPNDwsMUagRuUWljLLJ6AKILEREmTq8ynGWsVGyk2yprkiIrXK70RRCi9k15dsdkw9esfS3M4DNGuSZZOo/s400/IMG_1606.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scheveningen beach at the Hague</td></tr>
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We also took the tram out to the seaside. While still part of the Hague, the district is called Scheveningen, and is a big beach holiday destination, with a huge esplanade filled with shops and restaurants and a huge pier. It is a little bit too commercial for me, and apart from the amazing Kurhaus hotel and restaurant building from the 1800s, I think the rest of the architecture there is pretty ugly. The pier is cool, we walked along to the end where people can climb a tower and bungy jump. There's several derelict builings coming off the end of the pier too, they look like former restuarants or casinos, and while I always love dilapidated buildings, I reckon these would make awesome night clubs or something similar.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; color: #4d4e51; font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVChFqN5hBfC7MJOtFNmNt3r8ahtb7rXUelEYjSEiDcuWep9PyNNKahFMD6yoCh8ojHzCpvdnsl_9MOJyr_IlGI0IuF_GV6Nv7LYFhJhnIHUEHA6p4C3sh88eWMyO2XR32XtrQCydF2qE/s1600/IMG_1675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVChFqN5hBfC7MJOtFNmNt3r8ahtb7rXUelEYjSEiDcuWep9PyNNKahFMD6yoCh8ojHzCpvdnsl_9MOJyr_IlGI0IuF_GV6Nv7LYFhJhnIHUEHA6p4C3sh88eWMyO2XR32XtrQCydF2qE/s400/IMG_1675.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why buy one beer when you can buy five?</td></tr>
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On the way back to join the music festival we decided to stop for a beer at one of the bars spilling out onto the street. One beer turned into ten beers, and then we were in a pretty good mood for enjoying everything. The music was all dutch, and we didn't really find a stage playing a type of music that we were really into, but we had a good time checking them all out, wandering around and getting both falafel and Febo (a dutch fast food chain where burgers and croquettes are sold vending-machine style, you enter coins and the window opens and out they pop instantly, no waiting around or dealing with queues or cashiers). I really enjoyed the atmosphere there, the streets were packed with happy people and had we not been worried about getting home early and sober enough to go out and celebrate Queens Day the next morning, we would've stayed later and really let loose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcuu4cyDYl9X_xRYAdKr7ikLIn2ilciex-zlshPvvoJaKANeEuZXgmNbphN-UPM72XviTIDjgk306cuUe1L-eq4Qw-ZsWelxcPtZitth3KQpUGowzLUNlKrHCsoTGdCMEBr-EGSEhdJw/s1600/IMG_0865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcuu4cyDYl9X_xRYAdKr7ikLIn2ilciex-zlshPvvoJaKANeEuZXgmNbphN-UPM72XviTIDjgk306cuUe1L-eq4Qw-ZsWelxcPtZitth3KQpUGowzLUNlKrHCsoTGdCMEBr-EGSEhdJw/s400/IMG_0865.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke and Anissa walking through the Jordaan</td></tr>
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Monday morning we donned our orange gear and biked into the city. The weather was insane, after a couple of weeks of windy, grey, drizzly skies, the day was brilliantly sunny and hot, I even got a little burnt. It was a weird atmosphere biking into the city, Badhoevedorp was really quiet and empty, although Dutch flags had appeared on flag poles at many of our neighbours' houses, and there was a steady stream of orange-clad cyclists heading the same direction as us. The streets were packed so it took ages to reach Westerpark on the other side of the city - what would normally be a 40min trip took us about a hour and a half. There we met Anissa and her friend Lex from Germany and Matteo from Italy, and we spent several hours lying in the sun drinking and enjoying the free music.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhdwvsU_KqmzLUVKgrlW-3QSbDZWdhQmrl7Evjf7mdATh0G0DF4nhv1fxyi7LF6gqL6qRnFFXkdguFUXGu8eR1dOTTA1ij9XX6G9gZNaaSlOJuyBc0e_bmy-kc2oZXuEmHyZNjkEhBts/s1600/IMG_0897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhdwvsU_KqmzLUVKgrlW-3QSbDZWdhQmrl7Evjf7mdATh0G0DF4nhv1fxyi7LF6gqL6qRnFFXkdguFUXGu8eR1dOTTA1ij9XX6G9gZNaaSlOJuyBc0e_bmy-kc2oZXuEmHyZNjkEhBts/s400/IMG_0897.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street and canal filled with orange partiers</td></tr>
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Later, we headed into the city, walking through the Jordaan neighbourhood. The Jordaan is a really old working class neighbourhood, now really upscale and artsy. The place was truly packed, there were kids out on the street selling second things in front of their houses, people busking, stages set up at street corners with bands playing, bars spilling out onto the street, and orange decorations everywhere. The canals were fill of boats jam packing with people partying to loud music, I would love to know how many drunk revelers fell from the overloaded boats into the water!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPaIs4YQ0L9ak5G5OGa716Ga6E27RWEZX-p8Vmu7qKVyyjnCgxm0hjv_YNv_0s3O4w2Sky20WhpJRCf1GXFCrEkGLwIimzZbguoprm_qDFX68-rZmyazmG7WT9aRn8iBQvuLm9ccwPmg/s1600/IMG_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPaIs4YQ0L9ak5G5OGa716Ga6E27RWEZX-p8Vmu7qKVyyjnCgxm0hjv_YNv_0s3O4w2Sky20WhpJRCf1GXFCrEkGLwIimzZbguoprm_qDFX68-rZmyazmG7WT9aRn8iBQvuLm9ccwPmg/s400/IMG_0906.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boat party on the canals</td></tr>
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We went to Anissa's friend's place where they had set up couches on the footpath in front of their place, in the central city next to a canal. From there, we had an awesome view of the boats going past, I bought some weird wooden parrots from the neighbour, and we passed the rest of the day drinking with her friends. Eventually, we went to get food (more Febo and our second trip to Wok to Walk so far that weekend!) and moved location to another friend's apartment just off Leidseplein, where we stayed until we finally called it a night and headed home. There, everyone started to run out of beer, and we witnessed some bizarre arguments over it akin to what you'd expect on a desert island running out of fresh water! By the time we walked back to get our bikes from the Jordaan and set off for Badhoevedorp the streets had empty and barstaff were sweeping the sidewalks. The amount of trash on the streets was horrendous; beer cans, discarded orange accessories, unsold junk from the fleamarkets, and general rubbish, however the council cleaning staff was out in full force. It was a long day, and I'm surprized we survived the 12 odd hours of drinking in the sun as well as we did!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxyZmQazawsXcsZtUFJv3wnoisaix5E5l61tpvqJuIce68PdzMygAM0eesAaV8N0XR_Pgi5T-pEkBgydAZp-HHOoFQeGjO7ubhyy8JHn35iq1lEY69cKnqdAi7EHCPC3WyByQeZRcDVU/s1600/one.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxyZmQazawsXcsZtUFJv3wnoisaix5E5l61tpvqJuIce68PdzMygAM0eesAaV8N0XR_Pgi5T-pEkBgydAZp-HHOoFQeGjO7ubhyy8JHn35iq1lEY69cKnqdAi7EHCPC3WyByQeZRcDVU/s400/one.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anissa and Lex on the canal-side terrace at Soundgarden</td></tr>
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Tuesday we got off to a pretty slow start, and biked back into the city to have brunch with Anissa, Lex, Barbara, a friend from<a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/search/label/Mainz"> Hauke's university city Mainz</a>, and her friend. From there we headed with Anissa and Lex straight to a bar around the corner, and settled down with beer out on the terrace. I also wanted to show Hauke the <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/05/march-in-amsterdam.html">Tara and the Brouwerij 't IJ</a>, so we headed back to drop of the rental bike and then I fearful perched on the back of my bike while Hauke navigated the rush hour traffic to the Tara. This was a interesting experience, as I couldn't see anything past him and he's a bit more bold than me, so suddenly he would zip through lanes of traffic or wind around pedestrians!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuynTPp7tVnWtQ7UWcKgSLcI0DuBhQHNimDsxv0J9r9NypG5KO8n3E3J-sNbWkLw4I-Gjhj6BcKob5vhyphenhyphen_00esLBtmPE_SF1BHItOIiWmBaTHjj_r6AItxOUD-VzTbYeeFE4tmffSdg4o/s1600/IMG_1763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuynTPp7tVnWtQ7UWcKgSLcI0DuBhQHNimDsxv0J9r9NypG5KO8n3E3J-sNbWkLw4I-Gjhj6BcKob5vhyphenhyphen_00esLBtmPE_SF1BHItOIiWmBaTHjj_r6AItxOUD-VzTbYeeFE4tmffSdg4o/s400/IMG_1763.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauke and I at the windmill brewery bar</td></tr>
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After a couple of rounds of pool and a few more drinks at the Tara, we biked out to the windmill brewery bar. This time I got the hang of the perching thing and really enjoyed the free ride! Carmela came and joined us there, and we continued drinking and snacking on fries and the dutch dish bitterballen, balls of stewy meat crumbed and deep fried. Around midnight we called it a night, and after a detour for more Wok to Walk and Febo, began the ardous process of biking the 13km home with two of us on one bike. Hauke did an amazing job, and I was quite impressed with myself for managing 4km with him sitting on the back - look how dutch I'm becoming!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iVf4pcelg7RheuqC1iQ6J2jYCY-jWsyxJhXe14IqOGuCOwQLMRG8WYGkGv9hpS2XU-AtzrCjAVAZnnw4PMoDIcbaiNGAW4UbBSY7uc8ZGb7-pnFzfy1SPDPAHW3k6T_PHxeZ-qS5UEc/s1600/IMG_0770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7iVf4pcelg7RheuqC1iQ6J2jYCY-jWsyxJhXe14IqOGuCOwQLMRG8WYGkGv9hpS2XU-AtzrCjAVAZnnw4PMoDIcbaiNGAW4UbBSY7uc8ZGb7-pnFzfy1SPDPAHW3k6T_PHxeZ-qS5UEc/s400/IMG_0770.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepi brushing Hauke's teeth</td></tr>
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Wednesday morning we were up early and Hauke was off. I took the kids with me to the bus stop to say goodbye, Pepi handled it pretty well but Ollie cried and cried, it was really cute, and then the whole morning he would ask for "Hauk" and then tear up when I said he'd gone. I had a really good time with him here, but after five days of alcohol consumption and numerous trips to fast food places, I think my body was glad to say goodbye!<br />
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More photos from the long weekend are<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3772942566780.2167392.1373259720&type=3&l=8742034be7"> here</a>.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Amsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167952.292658200000005 4.7372394 52.4477732 5.0530963999999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-37878499319497013032012-05-17T14:56:00.000+02:002012-07-06T00:09:14.475+02:00April in Amsterdam<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiZ5qBZPypGfLalzh-40PJcM0BBEVvZZYL7SkY5_-8Ihr1kewPGO0srLdgi3-wxVFsC5H_R7svpgkWiyJIMaf1L24mmbJeBSWAs-got2cPAxTanxBYX2A3wRTefbOVcFV_-ZTvCEhyCg/s1600/1easter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiZ5qBZPypGfLalzh-40PJcM0BBEVvZZYL7SkY5_-8Ihr1kewPGO0srLdgi3-wxVFsC5H_R7svpgkWiyJIMaf1L24mmbJeBSWAs-got2cPAxTanxBYX2A3wRTefbOVcFV_-ZTvCEhyCg/s400/1easter.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids opening surprize easter eggs</td></tr>
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April has been a bit better here.<br />
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Easter was sunny but cold. I took the kids to the park in the morning, with a detour to feed the ducks, and then gave them <a href="http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2010/05/hula-seventy-extraordinary-surprise.html">surprize eggs</a> that I'd made. In the middle I put a small easter egg, and then I wound strips of crepe paper around and around, tucking other little presents into it. I didn't want to give them a whole lot of chocolate, so that seemed like I good alternative, and unwinding them kept them amused for awhile!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr2nkxt0rFnMGo5BGDswkLidGhsbheaCt8ix0f4Fz5K3HnWqq-Royz-nazwsFYW3BJTcyxhmPWYyiMtF-HQZF6zhYdSOe7Yljo-6kyiHDJ1z7KiAm1EfneB4_UaJGT31JmrVkI0RmBKM/s1600/2Haarlem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr2nkxt0rFnMGo5BGDswkLidGhsbheaCt8ix0f4Fz5K3HnWqq-Royz-nazwsFYW3BJTcyxhmPWYyiMtF-HQZF6zhYdSOe7Yljo-6kyiHDJ1z7KiAm1EfneB4_UaJGT31JmrVkI0RmBKM/s400/2Haarlem.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Houses in Haarlem</td></tr>
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One weekend Jana and I biked to Haarlem to meet up with some couchsurfers. Haarlem is a city of about 150 000 people, and is about 13kms, or 1 hours bike ride North-West of Badhoevedorp, close to the sea. It's the centre of the flower-growing area, nicknamed 'Bloemenstad' (flower city) and used to be a major city before the growth of Amsterdam. I really like it there, the old buildings are beautiful but not tourist-clogged, there are less chain stores and more small shops selling funky housewares or clothing, and there are cool bars and cafes and a couple of markets. We went with half a dozen others around some of Haarlem's 19 Hofjes, or little almshouses build around courtyards for single women to live in, like the <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-of-belgium-with-tim-brugge-beach.html">Béguinage</a> I visited in Belgium and several others around Europe. Unfortunately my camera died, so I don't have any photos, but we had a really nice day and finished up with coffee on the 6th floor terrace of the V&D building (supermarket/department store).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaElH9E4xsN1T4mhCGN70rAlIryDJ4noTHAmTG2uU4thYtvySMaLrULCoyZBxLfrMdC-6CQ61595yV7CBDKcpxHRmhheXy66ndDS6dOUaQG8QVT2rrzYF2bdR2OnFJUEg5EgU405Sug0/s1600/3Haarlem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaElH9E4xsN1T4mhCGN70rAlIryDJ4noTHAmTG2uU4thYtvySMaLrULCoyZBxLfrMdC-6CQ61595yV7CBDKcpxHRmhheXy66ndDS6dOUaQG8QVT2rrzYF2bdR2OnFJUEg5EgU405Sug0/s400/3Haarlem.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower garlands in Haarlem</td></tr>
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I went back to Haarlem a week later with Carmela for the Bloemencorso, or 'flower parade'. We went around lunchtime and spent the day looking around, checking out some of the sights that I hadn't already seen and then visiting the Frans Hals museum of fine art. The whole city was decorated with fresh flowers, building the anticipation. After some food and a few beers, we stood out in the lit-up market square waiting for the parade in absolute freezing cold! The parade is made up of floats and cars decorated solely with flowers, the smell and colours are amazing! It starts at Noordwijk, where many flower fields are located (and where <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/10/netherlands-work-in-different-location.html">I went on holiday with this family last year</a>) early in the morning, and travels 40km to Haarlem. It was meant to arrive at 9pm, but was about an hour late, and I really cannot emphasize how damn cold it was!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaJu9ZG7ek1kmWDIxEJvXa3F07qRU4rB9o88apLSykg4Y1QYDNyRvROGtGwBb0o3dbHAxhoBbQ3VziRcG_AZLbR-mJ8qalwki2IbUGXkrglCdNzhejAsqmJIdUwBwerPO0kOPxqncY1M/s1600/4flowers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaJu9ZG7ek1kmWDIxEJvXa3F07qRU4rB9o88apLSykg4Y1QYDNyRvROGtGwBb0o3dbHAxhoBbQ3VziRcG_AZLbR-mJ8qalwki2IbUGXkrglCdNzhejAsqmJIdUwBwerPO0kOPxqncY1M/s400/4flowers.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Float made of flowers at the Bloemencurso</td></tr>
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While it was pretty, I didn't think it was worth the wait or the hype to be honest, once all of the floats arrived the whole thing ended, I was expecting a bit of a party like I'd become accustomed to here in Europe, like at the <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/04/freezing-february-in-luxembourg-part-ii.html">Diekirch Carnival</a>. The coolest part of it was the marching brass bands, one of which was mounted on bicycles - joining a bicycle-riding band troupe is totally now on my bucket list! At the parade we met a couple of Polish au pairs and headed out for a drink with them afterwards. One of them then introduced me to Jopenkerk, a brewery/bar set inside an old church. Its really beautiful, it still has the amazing walls, ceiling and stained glass windows, and on one side of a glass wall are the big copper tanks. There we met some french guys, which led to more bars, and eventually I managed to bike the 13km home at 4am - not the smartest idea, but I lived!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQA6u5Hse2bh4RXx_f0VjCcMmtMR5oz-xbTxMLMIY5DnSgXnVZBsRNGrQmeaBdTRuN0hhyphenhyphenRYvgm8V8V4GBL_yyBQXBbK7E19y70wzkXT3rZMDG63pdJrgtgXeKkCzIB00QmN1mYsyMPs/s1600/5tulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQA6u5Hse2bh4RXx_f0VjCcMmtMR5oz-xbTxMLMIY5DnSgXnVZBsRNGrQmeaBdTRuN0hhyphenhyphenRYvgm8V8V4GBL_yyBQXBbK7E19y70wzkXT3rZMDG63pdJrgtgXeKkCzIB00QmN1mYsyMPs/s400/5tulips.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens</td></tr>
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I also visited the Keukenhof Gardens with Carmela, and another friend Patrizio from Italy. With 32 hectares, it is the World's largest flower garden, and is only open for a couple of months each year. It focuses on tulips, as well as daffodils, hyacinths, and a few others. We walked around for ages and had a picnic lunch there, and it was pretty, but after a while it all starts to look the same, all perfectly manicured beds of the same flowers, with a million tourists squashing them to take photos - I think that the Wellington Botanic Gardens have much more variety on offer!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw13aNon_S68fU5E8d0Bs20fW2j4Nui50XRKCZ_lmSW1YajY4KsIr9Turgq7m_tjgjynae-JCSOmcBbF6jpxV4w4Y8cYOaKMRcLoF1w1pmiBoW2ywvW_KqkaLN8j2jpuMs4BfBHrBlKfI/s1600/6tulips.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw13aNon_S68fU5E8d0Bs20fW2j4Nui50XRKCZ_lmSW1YajY4KsIr9Turgq7m_tjgjynae-JCSOmcBbF6jpxV4w4Y8cYOaKMRcLoF1w1pmiBoW2ywvW_KqkaLN8j2jpuMs4BfBHrBlKfI/s400/6tulips.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulip fields around Lisse</td></tr>
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Despite more freezing weather, we hired bikes and headed out into the countryside to see the flower feilds, and I enjoyed these much more. The huge feilds are planted with rows and rows of coloured flowers, interspersed with canals and the occasional windmill. We even biked out to the beach about 10km away, not far away from Noordwijk. Here we ate the Dutch version of fish and chips, kibbeling and fries. Kibbeling is battered and fried chunks of fish, which I much prefer to the more popular Dutch herring dish, raw herring marinated in brine and eaten on bread with onions. There are carts selling it everywhere, including one on the middle of Badhoevedorp that emits a lovely fish smell! I ate it once - while it's not terrible, the texture isn't great, and given the choice of that or something else, it isn't what I would chose to eat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1bAH-APfHnYwZLtaNYPz2yvB6YsgdS7-Cqx0Ex2Ec67fB-Y0rpvdLeQPXaSywc70joE7-U9UffJF7F82fTeuAiNb3tsiRl04CjWusBHGWIgV1ExDJndXhBYvnpYhxWxH0rrm9ngtEk8/s1600/7swim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1bAH-APfHnYwZLtaNYPz2yvB6YsgdS7-Cqx0Ex2Ec67fB-Y0rpvdLeQPXaSywc70joE7-U9UffJF7F82fTeuAiNb3tsiRl04CjWusBHGWIgV1ExDJndXhBYvnpYhxWxH0rrm9ngtEk8/s400/7swim.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Ollie at the pool</td></tr>
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The kids have been good. I've barely seen Pepi as he's mostly at school, but Ollie and I have had a lot of fun. I've started taking him swimming on Mondays, we get an hour and a half in the pool and an instructor takes a group lesson for a little while too. At first he was terrified and clung to me, but by the end of the first lesson he was happily jumping off the edge of the pool into the water with me catching him, and he has improved a lot. Now he can "swim" with his arms, or "kick" with his legs while I hold him afloat, but he can't manage to do both yet, and he's still to scared to float by himself, even with water wings on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU6XsO9oNrOFf0mVc7sGH3EIqjCfQVIgaI6Naknh27KKzCdcqcDHp4EMeQTzMKVwkxJkc-GduUwmOVMOipD-VLUBpBuEi83GcOEMmzm2Z8NCj7LVwV5k3wvSLEaGz8r23C6bVvpkNq4A/s1600/8library.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtU6XsO9oNrOFf0mVc7sGH3EIqjCfQVIgaI6Naknh27KKzCdcqcDHp4EMeQTzMKVwkxJkc-GduUwmOVMOipD-VLUBpBuEi83GcOEMmzm2Z8NCj7LVwV5k3wvSLEaGz8r23C6bVvpkNq4A/s400/8library.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie 'reading' at the library</td></tr>
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One day we took the bus and tram into the city to the big library, it has a cool kids section with english books, and for Ollie the bus and tram are a big adventure in itself! He spent the whole time pointing out "more water, more water, more water" at all of the canals - welcome to the Netherlands buddy, there's water everywhere! We also went to the airport, it's only a short bus ride away from home, and it has a huge viewing deck complete with a plane you can climb inside, and the restaurant inside has a children's playground. There's also a train station under the airport, but we didn't even get that far we spent so long watching the planes, he was really into them!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPwWSqv8VIDIA1pwZK1GdyDdRfYzlEBHhzTY1wMcK8GZnhQAUT0mEorm7g7HftY7oP0RA-bIQvIM1AzScJo1X8_o9UHOuBAWYk_ZnG356nkcPyRLv0T21fqqjsaPjje7oofQw7ZWrGG8/s1600/9windmill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPwWSqv8VIDIA1pwZK1GdyDdRfYzlEBHhzTY1wMcK8GZnhQAUT0mEorm7g7HftY7oP0RA-bIQvIM1AzScJo1X8_o9UHOuBAWYk_ZnG356nkcPyRLv0T21fqqjsaPjje7oofQw7ZWrGG8/s400/9windmill.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">friends at the windmill brewery bar</td></tr>
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I've been getting out in the good weather a bit, either running or going on bike rides. I've been quite a way along the big Ringvaart canal here, through several small villages, and I'm looking forward to finding other directions to bike in. I enjoy this aspect of living here, that its so easy to get out for some exercise and see some nature. I've caught up with a few friends from Luxembourg that have visited - this always equals a lot of time spent wandering around Amsterdam's red light district, and I've been out with friends from here a bit too - all in all a busy month!<br />
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More photos from April are<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3582315321218.2163745.1373259720&type=3&l=bc8d3943b0"> here</a>.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Amsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167952.292658200000005 4.7372394 52.4477732 5.0530963999999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-69600371683781034022012-05-16T11:39:00.002+02:002012-07-06T00:09:27.078+02:00March in Amsterdam<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE78SKs8jmQOVna0Q6I57rfK8qh-WTnqkfsvYGy2iXie_SobOln8UusegQ3NQOtwNZmY2FIm7m05nKBwAH7puKQwujfIzEe9M3z1hEP5mbrqTvyDQ_5cAq1Fm_ifnrkMqFpwF7QsZ2Irs/s1600/IMG_9379_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE78SKs8jmQOVna0Q6I57rfK8qh-WTnqkfsvYGy2iXie_SobOln8UusegQ3NQOtwNZmY2FIm7m05nKBwAH7puKQwujfIzEe9M3z1hEP5mbrqTvyDQ_5cAq1Fm_ifnrkMqFpwF7QsZ2Irs/s400/IMG_9379_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying spring in Amsterdam</td></tr>
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March was not the easiest month for me. As I've said, beginning again here in Amsterdam has been harder than it was to settle down in Luxembourg. On the one hand, I'm working a lot more and enrolled in a very time-consuming German course, so I'm much busier than I ever was in Luxembourg and spend less time sitting around broke and bored.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_78IIXeykjW0nXlPEDtVIaAUY8CdcQroHUqOMBgLJSrflRq_Tesvh-q-iSK7rSYUPDyhNeNC_g6rGuC0X8p6TmcQOF6ngLPJvDjsUQjUZljIAlSf-q52KCZ3ghtxGLg6mD9ZyKfHmrY/s1600/IMG_9453_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_78IIXeykjW0nXlPEDtVIaAUY8CdcQroHUqOMBgLJSrflRq_Tesvh-q-iSK7rSYUPDyhNeNC_g6rGuC0X8p6TmcQOF6ngLPJvDjsUQjUZljIAlSf-q52KCZ3ghtxGLg6mD9ZyKfHmrY/s400/IMG_9453_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picnic with the kids at the local playground</td></tr>
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I also like the small-town feeling here in Badhoevedorp - having parks, the post office, shops, swimming pool and library within walking distance means I get out and about a lot more with the kids. However, being busy means I spend less time socialising and meeting new people, and I'm finding it harder to make friends here than I'd hoped. Luckily I have met a couple of cool people, and anyway I'm pretty set on buckling down, working hard and saving some money while here to continue my travels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjZNWXFnSWvWwiFw8XS5n9BQUdeYSoVSCVgmuvAaeilqBFy6ijb_dQl5tG-firT-FVibnEQIBVfc22eibMoUjryIcGkpKeQLfa4i-Ff5LYLRm6-5PX7n-1tLvZEgrOudXiGv7YgRjF28/s1600/IMG_9445_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjZNWXFnSWvWwiFw8XS5n9BQUdeYSoVSCVgmuvAaeilqBFy6ijb_dQl5tG-firT-FVibnEQIBVfc22eibMoUjryIcGkpKeQLfa4i-Ff5LYLRm6-5PX7n-1tLvZEgrOudXiGv7YgRjF28/s400/IMG_9445_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie found my lipstick, so I let him do mine too!</td></tr>
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My new work routine is - home with Ollie on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until Pepi is home from school, then I've got both of them until Jacquie is home from work, and then I help with dinner, bath and bedtime. Wednesdays and Fridays I have Ollie for a hour or so in the morning, and I do a couple of hours one weekend morning, plus babysitting. I'm enjoying the new deal, while I'm working a lot more and am finding it hard to fit everything else (including this blog!) into my free time, I like being at home alone with the kids, as I can set the tone and organize whatever I like for the day, and I love having a big part of the day with just Ollie - we can do things that I can't while I've got both kids.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGUVxKfWe3H7k-hZ5r2SMqJpqwQAjPfzmztpuYuBDpgAtKfHRyAx-9zm3atSvNj_TJzDPIARqnTNhInMau-Qm-nAg4IW_aGk9rEYdFZmHZauY1dsTT8_TRMz6cT3JhrDpSJLPA51vA5g/s1600/IMG_9398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGUVxKfWe3H7k-hZ5r2SMqJpqwQAjPfzmztpuYuBDpgAtKfHRyAx-9zm3atSvNj_TJzDPIARqnTNhInMau-Qm-nAg4IW_aGk9rEYdFZmHZauY1dsTT8_TRMz6cT3JhrDpSJLPA51vA5g/s400/IMG_9398.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">being a fireman at a playground</td></tr>
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He's a really different kid now he's getting so much more one-on-one time than he's ever had before. Even after just a week with Pepi at school he'd already picked up so many more words and become much more talkative and attention-demanding, now its hard to be out and about with both of them trying to draw my attention to things and have conversations at the same time. We did have one eventful week here in which both parents were away, and I had all three grandparents in the house in stages throughout the week. While its nice that the kids see them more often now, I think it would be less stressful for me to just cope with the kids alone! This same week, Ollie decided that 4am would be a good time to start the day a couple of times - I was not impressed with him, and not impressed with the grandparents who didn't give me a break during the rest of the day either, it was a really long week!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OD2-o7Axov3sbDTlHunLEcVCZSFUQ0tuiAgeJDVUn7iuJHhyphenhyphenw2gu6lxBhai8pOBHRswjUlIIf_UOgkColEr9ADO7gastIDf5z-ymAIL7Gkt1T76Nzcpi4MDxvt2vsLldQ-jSzqeCH3c/s1600/IMG_9500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OD2-o7Axov3sbDTlHunLEcVCZSFUQ0tuiAgeJDVUn7iuJHhyphenhyphenw2gu6lxBhai8pOBHRswjUlIIf_UOgkColEr9ADO7gastIDf5z-ymAIL7Gkt1T76Nzcpi4MDxvt2vsLldQ-jSzqeCH3c/s400/IMG_9500.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's started using the big-boy swing!</td></tr>
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One of Ollie's cutest new words has been 'freckle'. He can spend ages just pointing at 'more freckle, more freckle, more freckle' on my arms. We've really spent a lot of time exploring Badhoevedorp. We frequent several different parks, the scariest of which is, in true dutch style, bordered on three sides by water, and we often pop down to the supermarket or the bookshop, or to feed ducks in the numerous canals around here. The neighbourhood is, like almost everywhere in the Netherlands I think, filled with flowers, both lining the streets and in people's gardens and homes, and spring has truly arrived here, so Ollie has also become obsessed with the word 'flower'. Again, I get 'more flower, more flower, more flower' as he points to each individual one when we walk past. Pepi seems to be going well at school, he's made some friends and has frequent play dates, and it tires him out, but his dutch is apparently much better (at the expense of his english) and he seems a bit more mature now.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSLjD8N92MUAebKzjfAoDkyGm2puf1gk6amswLYheDB88q5oCWGoKEn9Vkzhp-qqCRyVfnM82OSEnB93k4D4b_KdDw9egjO6Qsuf0FiDlKEaS3liwnHBjZ38e_K5QHtqdj_ojJzqizPA/s1600/IMG_9531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSLjD8N92MUAebKzjfAoDkyGm2puf1gk6amswLYheDB88q5oCWGoKEn9Vkzhp-qqCRyVfnM82OSEnB93k4D4b_KdDw9egjO6Qsuf0FiDlKEaS3liwnHBjZ38e_K5QHtqdj_ojJzqizPA/s400/IMG_9531.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Patricks Day at the Tara</td></tr>
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I've met some <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/p/about-couchsurfers.html">couchsurfers</a> here, having attended a casual meet up of just a couple of people, and run a couple of events myself. Anissa, a german-born, singapore/canada/netherlands raised woman and Carmela, a spanish au pair have been awesome to hang out with, we went out with a bunch of other CSers for St Patricks Day, they've introduced me to a couple of bars that are starting to become favourites, and they both went out with me for my birthday. I'm getting particularly fond of the Brouwerij 't IJ bar, a small brewery and bar located in an old windmill, and the Tara, an Irish pub that differs from all other Irish pubs I've been in by having many different rooms with strikingly different decor, from ultra modern to vintage. We started a pub-crawl of irish bars here on St Patricks Day, and went on to visit a couple more before calling it a night pretty early. I have to say, St Patricks Day was a bit of a disappointment here, I guess the Dutch just don't have as much Irish in them as New Zealander's do and didn't see it as a reason to don green and down Guiness, with the exception of all of the tourists.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48FGIoLGpd5VcXvdw3sG4dwTQe8qgWhzWD8lmHh1FfHzhdS3YEVUqxOZmracf8yWUUE2CMK-RbmQ_soAiaQ9HA7IpvvjYlycoGrIlDNuRBE0BVnZpAItTZXscTHjg8fClUS3p0yNMM3k/s1600/IMG_9637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48FGIoLGpd5VcXvdw3sG4dwTQe8qgWhzWD8lmHh1FfHzhdS3YEVUqxOZmracf8yWUUE2CMK-RbmQ_soAiaQ9HA7IpvvjYlycoGrIlDNuRBE0BVnZpAItTZXscTHjg8fClUS3p0yNMM3k/s400/IMG_9637.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My birthday cupcake at Vondelpark</td></tr>
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My birthday was about as cool as a birthday can be when you're in a new place! I had the day off work and biked into the city for the first time with Jana. Biking into the city itself is pretty easy, you just go straight until you hit the centre. It's a bit over 8km and takes maybe half an hour, so I'm definitely adding to my exercise regime! However this day, we also went on a wild-goose-chase for a town hall, and that, combined with not having a map, made things a big stressful. Most of the way in is on a decent seperate bike path, but in the city the roadway 'bike path' doesn't stop you from having to dodge car, taxi and bus drivers, along with trams and pedestrians. Luckily, bikers outnumber everyone else here and seem to get priority, and everyone else is pretty aware and considerate of bikers. Still, I got Rogier to get me a helmet and I put up with everyone elses ridicule and wear it everywhere - I've had enough near misses with idiots not to want to take my chances.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wI7uNh5kQNDmvQft1cLqZuk8ocUgdIiWdIX_UD9_e5mkmT2WQ8kILyZKqy-IDPPt_e0jnReA0oN_9Hirl3_7NI55wVieoEA-NWFW6iNNAoo26jfKSI2wOl59TXevJFugwDpdFghtKUE/s1600/IMG_9663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wI7uNh5kQNDmvQft1cLqZuk8ocUgdIiWdIX_UD9_e5mkmT2WQ8kILyZKqy-IDPPt_e0jnReA0oN_9Hirl3_7NI55wVieoEA-NWFW6iNNAoo26jfKSI2wOl59TXevJFugwDpdFghtKUE/s400/IMG_9663.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out with Anissa on my birthday</td></tr>
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We eventually made it to Vondelpark, a popular park in the centre of the city, and had a little picnic under the first grey skies of the month. Pepi had helped me bake cupcakes the day before, so we lit one for me to blow out, and then quickly biked home again in the freezing cold. Later that night I went and had an awesome home-cooked curry with Anissa and her flatmate Willem, and the Carmela joined us to go to one of the bars in the WesterGasfabriek, a former gas plant that is now a big park with different bars, galleries, cafes and other cultural and artistic businesses set up in the various old factory buildings. It's very cool, and we picked a bar with a kind of swing/jazz band playing to a lively crowd and had an awesome night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBg_FX7LboOIT2orWie7ts8Vx-kQztGtzekB_KQWP_mUBVRRlIh3FFURCMVFliW17XicbZxviDzQJARKPr8G7_KlgecDfr55mECpLw6HQ8Z189nQ9DN2kFXA0n-h-JPtM2Ahv3rfmOGU/s1600/IMG_9384_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBg_FX7LboOIT2orWie7ts8Vx-kQztGtzekB_KQWP_mUBVRRlIh3FFURCMVFliW17XicbZxviDzQJARKPr8G7_KlgecDfr55mECpLw6HQ8Z189nQ9DN2kFXA0n-h-JPtM2Ahv3rfmOGU/s400/IMG_9384_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the famous I AMsterdam sign</td></tr>
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As I mentioned, I'm taking a German course here. I'm studying with the Goethe Institut, a German government run centre that provides really high-quality courses. I'm hoping to get some basic german under my belt before I move there in September, but the course is hard - its only one session of 2.5 hours per week, but its really intense, so there is a lot to memorize at home and not much time to practice listening and speaking. The vocabulary we've encountered so far is overwhelming, but I'm feeling ok about the grammar - I think listening and speaking will have to wait until I get to German to perfect!<br />
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More photos are<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3417384718056.2160305.1373259720&type=3&l=c2d35a15ab"> here</a>.<br />
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<br />Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-27006047936576531132012-04-20T20:13:00.001+02:002012-04-20T20:39:11.413+02:00Moving in March - to the Netherlands<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3ET_ne9rAXmv7OiJpi3V4uI39DxI-iWl4VBgFUTRAcx5N3JMK6_eKUCGuJUQIBgqRTtrjItGXne7kg2m_lY-83Q-q3SkjelbVgQD7RWZs7l7EPCd-gTd_QGxURfwIu2Zqo09Dba-xfs/s1600/moving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3ET_ne9rAXmv7OiJpi3V4uI39DxI-iWl4VBgFUTRAcx5N3JMK6_eKUCGuJUQIBgqRTtrjItGXne7kg2m_lY-83Q-q3SkjelbVgQD7RWZs7l7EPCd-gTd_QGxURfwIu2Zqo09Dba-xfs/s400/moving.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Removals" in German, on the side of the moving truck</td></tr>
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Moving with an au pair family was a strange experience. We had professional movers in, so in the weeks before everything in the house just had to be sorted out, something I couldn't really help with. Moving day saw snow falling again as I got home late from a night out and jumped into the shower, then sat around for hours watching the movers work like crazy but unable to do anything, I'm not good at sitting idle like that!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoesTMPaDSFC5bs7IyfSzNc2QCwtOmIRIcJvrBeUSfLnJk118jM-V_uw1MfBGWp1rObPNZBrLkEjFldObdwsu25zhLVuolKXRp5yO0XhVueeKIPYJLHM89vquqxhvQN-h7mBlV4CGcSFc/s1600/moving+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoesTMPaDSFC5bs7IyfSzNc2QCwtOmIRIcJvrBeUSfLnJk118jM-V_uw1MfBGWp1rObPNZBrLkEjFldObdwsu25zhLVuolKXRp5yO0XhVueeKIPYJLHM89vquqxhvQN-h7mBlV4CGcSFc/s400/moving+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving day - camera didn't capture the falling snow!</td></tr>
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After lunch Jacquie and I picked the kids up from creche and drove to Boxtel in the Netherlands, where their grandmother lives. On the way there we had a disturbing phone call - the movers had miscalculated and a lot of our stuff wouldn't make it to the new house for up to a month. My being out that night and arriving home late meant that they'd left my room until the end, and my furniture was stuck in Luxembourg.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj805eXcJIaWcd0EUOSTbM0FuZoF-3QnruCa6ZmmUhgPM4nfwGrelvzPfJFbr6xkk0mD9DQhAiEYfChd4Z0iEscgD46PkujPDdxJcxq3NZpJqAVjya_aDFxGKf76-snxRu9GdyzFDnt7XM/s1600/dino+museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj805eXcJIaWcd0EUOSTbM0FuZoF-3QnruCa6ZmmUhgPM4nfwGrelvzPfJFbr6xkk0mD9DQhAiEYfChd4Z0iEscgD46PkujPDdxJcxq3NZpJqAVjya_aDFxGKf76-snxRu9GdyzFDnt7XM/s400/dino+museum.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the kids at the dinosaur museum</td></tr>
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Staying in Boxtel for a few days while Jacquie and Rogier sorted out the new house was actually more enjoyable than I expected. I didn't know this Oma very well, but she turned out to be really good with the kids and heaps of fun, and as I sat watching TV with the kids while she cooked us dinner and brought me a glass of wine, it really felt like a holiday. It was also the first time that Ollie has called for me when he's woken up during the night or in the morning, even when I've been alone with the kids in the past, he's woken up calling for Mama and Papa, so that was really cute. While there we went to a dinosaur museum, and the kids spent a lot of time imitating dinosaurs - in their world dinosaurs roar like lions, very cute!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s7_pA40wOH3r82GHebZHUF97M3O73RSpJ0aw3SUJJBUaNTQtV_8e-10dR1fX8hO1GGiEOKeG4IrL_cB4F3CsZFyWLx84LMxr_3Kvgt5UR83xqhK4d4YTzKpX6xsysA6jEsrCT3MzdyY/s1600/house+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s7_pA40wOH3r82GHebZHUF97M3O73RSpJ0aw3SUJJBUaNTQtV_8e-10dR1fX8hO1GGiEOKeG4IrL_cB4F3CsZFyWLx84LMxr_3Kvgt5UR83xqhK4d4YTzKpX6xsysA6jEsrCT3MzdyY/s400/house+front.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our house - front view</td></tr>
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On Wednesday afternoon Rogier picked us up and we headed to our new house in Badhoevedorp, a small town of about 11 000. Technically, Badhoevedorp is not part of Amsterdam, its in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, an area reclaimed from a former lake in the 19th century. However, we're close to Amsterdam, if you walk a couple of minutes from the house and cross a bridge over a canal, you see the big sign saying 'Amsterdam', its a bit like Belfast is to Christchurch. Badhoevedorp is nice, a lot like pre-earthquake Rangiora, with a couple of supermarkets and some shops, a lot of parks, and quiet streets where all of the neighbourhood kids come out to play. That first afternoon Rogier met a South African au pair in the park, and I've since met half a dozen more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEmmvjUH9MWwECe8Jct2a0rXXbHInlHU1WBPrd4iDsEt9zSkYFkjO4SwEKK9286q5Te4VbZMRX3EWJkdp0x_wIIiHzfAdWZrFefvJAyClsBClPhQ54rAwb0aJhdeIBrBMbj3jODTdRm8/s1600/street+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEmmvjUH9MWwECe8Jct2a0rXXbHInlHU1WBPrd4iDsEt9zSkYFkjO4SwEKK9286q5Te4VbZMRX3EWJkdp0x_wIIiHzfAdWZrFefvJAyClsBClPhQ54rAwb0aJhdeIBrBMbj3jODTdRm8/s400/street+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our street, with our house on the corner and the park opposite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our house is nice, its smaller than the house in Luxembourg was, but the living areas are all open plan, so in theory its harder for the kids to destroy something while I'm in the kitchen, and it has much better outdoor living space. We live literally right next to a small park, a couple of hundred metres away from Pepi's school, and with 500m are the shops and a couple of pubs. Pepi started school the day after we arrived, here in the Netherlands you start going when you're 4 years old, but from 4-6 years you're separated from the big kids and its mostly playing and painting and learning to count etc, like Arin's school was in Belgium. I guess its more like preschool in New Zealand. So far he's loving it and he spends a lot of time drawing pictures for his teacher.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-Vgc0DdiX2tmTt6WlM0ZYyQvqbPfhosMZf-kziYu3sB4uHTaYP2jCSCz6ipI5Ujtc5CHcq0bY1Mem9IxLzaiKaZfoA0cPgsCPD06A0EP4khQJfoKqFKkFusY3sM8zzVaqUkAWasHd88/s1600/windmill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-Vgc0DdiX2tmTt6WlM0ZYyQvqbPfhosMZf-kziYu3sB4uHTaYP2jCSCz6ipI5Ujtc5CHcq0bY1Mem9IxLzaiKaZfoA0cPgsCPD06A0EP4khQJfoKqFKkFusY3sM8zzVaqUkAWasHd88/s400/windmill.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The canal, houseboats and windmill close by</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At first I was catching the bus to the centre of Amsterdam city, it takes about half an hour but was quite expensive, so then I began walking to the tram stop 20 minutes away, and taking a half hour tram in to save money. Now I can bike in, it's about 10km depending on where I go. At first the weather here was amazing, and everytime I walked around and saw the typical dutch windmill towering over the houseboat-lined canal I had to smile. I'll write more about what I've been doing here the last six months soon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zzw0zbTv5l3bAt243JC6HkhaBLMemTX2tzHS7gpgI7_yy3tgpWpyyBXUTExFpt923ZEstiSb_tpENgod5AwQOqpufkrN4C6t-67Nt_KEeVcntat-X7rBQT97xNWkhK8cyxk2EblQUrM/s1600/Pep's+first+day+of+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zzw0zbTv5l3bAt243JC6HkhaBLMemTX2tzHS7gpgI7_yy3tgpWpyyBXUTExFpt923ZEstiSb_tpENgod5AwQOqpufkrN4C6t-67Nt_KEeVcntat-X7rBQT97xNWkhK8cyxk2EblQUrM/s400/Pep's+first+day+of+school.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepi's first day of school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I have mixed feelings about having left Luxembourg. On the one hand, it's a small country and I had spend enough time there to get a feeling for the place and had travelled quite a bit both within the country and just over its' borders. I also feel like I was stuck in a bit of a rut in Luxembourg, as there isn't all that much to do and I had far too much free time on my hands, and spent far too much of that time just drinking. However, I miss my friends from there and while I do like the adventure of somewhere new, I really miss knowing my way around, having favourite places to go to and having good friends - in essence, I miss feeling really settled somewhere. Since I moved to Europe over a year ago the longest stretch of time I've spent anywhere was this 7 months in Europe, and I'm really starting to feel the urge to settle down and make a base for myself somewhere. I'm getting really sick of having the same conversation over and over and over again "who are you, where are you from, how long have you been here, what do you do".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEZEgf2OjPqmm81Y6Hhoo7Khnq8bd-b-GYc7ugeD94OGPmgVwdz79s5YQE_aDfDbu3GQkxWFCIqddOzkJxP3kPpmZct39I0kYcysWDwpFZGyfVI4dFvg7LTVKTu0XcNwwiIxd06506e0/s1600/lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEZEgf2OjPqmm81Y6Hhoo7Khnq8bd-b-GYc7ugeD94OGPmgVwdz79s5YQE_aDfDbu3GQkxWFCIqddOzkJxP3kPpmZct39I0kYcysWDwpFZGyfVI4dFvg7LTVKTu0XcNwwiIxd06506e0/s400/lounge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the new house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Moving into the house with this family has made me feel a lot more comfortable living in their home, since I've been living here as long as they have. However, the first week was really rough, I arrived to discover not only my furniture was missing, but most of my possessions as well, and I'm pissed off that the move put me financially out of pocket as I had to go purchase some basics like underwear and a cardigan until the rest of my stuff arrived. I'm also the bottom of the priority list here, and even now after seven weeks I'm missing some furniture and don't have mirrors or hooks up. Its making it harder for me to settle in and I'm getting sick of still having stuff in a box or piled on the floor.<br />
<br />
But, the last six weeks have been better, and I will post about what I've been up to soon, trying to get on top of things before some upcoming events that will make interesting blog posts - Queens Day here, and then trips to Poland, Portugal and Luxembourg.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Amsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167952.292658200000005 4.7372394 52.4477732 5.0530963999999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-16853600228343800912012-04-04T17:30:00.000+02:002012-04-04T17:30:53.785+02:00Freezing February in Luxembourg - Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvxUYom2IYqI1Pj-71VXjUgy1nZYa3z3mXkNoiSWNBWYhiYW0lxaPSrUM-ikDkv2O8iF_9sC6zyqRAc_6ZZpRjr0FiRA9bYFttxGs9wrJ5_JviUyKQ-yj4Dv6zJyvi8iTWyHuIlzp8_U/s1600/blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvxUYom2IYqI1Pj-71VXjUgy1nZYa3z3mXkNoiSWNBWYhiYW0lxaPSrUM-ikDkv2O8iF_9sC6zyqRAc_6ZZpRjr0FiRA9bYFttxGs9wrJ5_JviUyKQ-yj4Dv6zJyvi8iTWyHuIlzp8_U/s400/blog1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Hauke covered in snow and confetti at the Diekirch Cavalcade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Wow, I've really failed at keeping the blog updated haven't I? The end of February, and also the last month here in Amsterdam have been crazy busy, so I've got a bit of catching up to do, so please excuse a couple of bad blog posts until I'm up to date again. Part I of February in Luxembourg is <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/02/freezing-february-in-luxembourg-part-i.html">here</a>, and my mid-month trip to Metz is <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2012/02/night-in-metz-france.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
To summarize the last half of February:<br />
<br />
I spent an insane amount of time running around completing a ton of errands and working extra. Despite my best intentions of crossing off everything on my to-do-before-leaving-Luxembourg list, there is still a lot for me to check out next time I visit!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-S2xFsxhYVvsl3DhYxA8zyncjTC-_VtWqqruEnXEvid1Tn6Tz_GY41k1Xuig9-xHyqe0OlQLfAmwy275V43pwO3Z_ImLdrGfl2TyF7vcbgDKMv2NPa56pP_h6vnMaBWZre2FEqKmv1P4/s1600/feb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-S2xFsxhYVvsl3DhYxA8zyncjTC-_VtWqqruEnXEvid1Tn6Tz_GY41k1Xuig9-xHyqe0OlQLfAmwy275V43pwO3Z_ImLdrGfl2TyF7vcbgDKMv2NPa56pP_h6vnMaBWZre2FEqKmv1P4/s400/feb1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie and Pepi being all cute on Valentines Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I went ice skating one night, at an indoor place in the city. It was actually really boring, in the memories I have of ice skating in Christchurch, with the music, disco lights and constant games and competitions, it's a lot more fun!<br />
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Valentines day was pretty quiet, I just stayed home with my two boys. It marked one year since I first set foot in Luxembourg, as I'd come out here for one night on Valentine's Day while I was staying in Brussels. Its amazing to recall my first impressions of the country and contrast them with my current feelings towards it now. I should do a round-up of seven months in Luxembourg post sometime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUuzux6PMgZ8iaJNU3Lm5ijQqkrqrz8Dt6VfQWbVv_pjdHfrrZ48O-OouggBcWhpT0PGI93JjtxulpaTCzhnG4afcSZrnB-Va453o2TNSbRE5mCUpGl3AOQItH5so1vDmBVTHyAbiN7U/s1600/feb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUuzux6PMgZ8iaJNU3Lm5ijQqkrqrz8Dt6VfQWbVv_pjdHfrrZ48O-OouggBcWhpT0PGI93JjtxulpaTCzhnG4afcSZrnB-Va453o2TNSbRE5mCUpGl3AOQItH5so1vDmBVTHyAbiN7U/s400/feb2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie, Hauke and Pepi off on an adventure!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Hauke came to visit. As I expected the kids fell in love with him immediately, especially Pepi, who spent whole weekend either tailing Hauke like a baby duck, or repetitively asking where he was. We walked all around the city checking everything out, actually managed to take Pepi out for hot chocolate without disaster, did a lot of shopping, spent an awesome night out with my spanish-speaking friends, a not-so-awesome-because-I-got-really-sick night out visiting a few clubs (Hauke got bounced from a club for being too young!) and another relaxed night out visiting a few very fancy bars. We also took the kids out to Esch-sur-Alzette on the train, and went to the Cavalcade in Diekirch, so a very intense but awesome weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxabH-2TKjiCl3tqZqRk0ke_UDL_6PndV8pxMHe5kIwFUyTIuuIa7QvkzohxDa2p7E76FVpX1JpDGacpe6QboiwLb_6sA8WjzXhuBAmOmi9YLfv3Wp6StQCdG46_UXyiExtF72-s4cUU/s1600/lux3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxabH-2TKjiCl3tqZqRk0ke_UDL_6PndV8pxMHe5kIwFUyTIuuIa7QvkzohxDa2p7E76FVpX1JpDGacpe6QboiwLb_6sA8WjzXhuBAmOmi9YLfv3Wp6StQCdG46_UXyiExtF72-s4cUU/s400/lux3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diekirch Cavalcade - candy in one hand, vodka in the other!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Diekirch Cavalcade is the biggest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival">Carnival</a> celebration in Luxembourg. Carnival in Europe is similar to carnival in Brazil, a huge celebration before Lent begins, with a parade/street party type thing going on. Think Santa Parades in New Zealand without the Christmas theme and a whole, whole lot more alcohol. I was amazed, despite the event being 'kid friendly' with kids marching in the parade and lining the streets, the majority of adults in the parade were drinking and smoking really heavily.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZIxMQRn549cR9nhH-VAH-hb-oy4m6yNDdXvnM8wZVisnrdiEXJJPgAgKMKXTErnsKhb4MII0egIxlyV5A_E5dVGFmWHceMaDsJacvdwsh-_Lf1cCIBWQc0LE4T_nPCEfktUNJIgWXe8/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZIxMQRn549cR9nhH-VAH-hb-oy4m6yNDdXvnM8wZVisnrdiEXJJPgAgKMKXTErnsKhb4MII0egIxlyV5A_E5dVGFmWHceMaDsJacvdwsh-_Lf1cCIBWQc0LE4T_nPCEfktUNJIgWXe8/s400/cake.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepijn's birthday cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I remember that they banned throwing candy in parades in New Zealand because of the dangers of kids running out onto the road, but here in Luxembourg they threw not only candy but miniature bottles of spirits, and people were walking around offering candy to kids and pouring alcohol for the adults. Very strange. You get more of an idea what it was like from my photos <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3180405673728.2155989.1373259720&type=3&l=ccaa9ca95b">here</a>.<br />
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We celebrated Pepi's fourth birthday. I made a Postman Pat birthday cake that wasn't quite as cool as Ollie's train cake, but still took quite a bit of work!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqaEb8mzuUuAUq-Rgwfg9wARmNhB6hOEj27wftbB_2f6ljG_My_rVwHrw1Gx-pSK1_HmnRnOBCLxDycDvRaLPnfPhELCmwICXt3BKH9qV2Bv0ybBTvfsvNLiJD04998mRPGRj-ze-Wis/s1600/leaving+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqaEb8mzuUuAUq-Rgwfg9wARmNhB6hOEj27wftbB_2f6ljG_My_rVwHrw1Gx-pSK1_HmnRnOBCLxDycDvRaLPnfPhELCmwICXt3BKH9qV2Bv0ybBTvfsvNLiJD04998mRPGRj-ze-Wis/s400/leaving+party.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with friends on my last night out in Luxembourg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I went to strip clubs three times (they're the only kind of bar still open after 2am on a weekday). Definitely time to move to a new country when you're visiting strip clubs so much...<br />
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I went out with friends for a last-hurrah, it was a really awesome night and I'm so glad that my various groups of friends all got along so well when they finally met! I arrived home at 6.15am and was still awake when Ollie woke up and started crying at 6.30am.<br />
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We packed up and moved out! Ok technically this was March, we left Luxembourg on March the 5th. More on the move later...<br />
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More photos are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3180405673728.2155989.1373259720&type=3&l=ccaa9ca95b">here</a>.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-4558221965888766372012-02-22T10:57:00.000+01:002012-02-22T10:57:33.846+01:0015 Hilarious Words About Kids I'm Adding to My Vocabulary<span class="Apple-style-span">The following words come from Eric Ruhalter's <a href="http://thekiddictionary.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">The KidDictionary</a>, a website of a collection of words created to describe the indescribable things that kids do. I love these! </span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">UPPTITUDE (Up-tih-twed) <i>n.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>A child's immense desire to be the one who presses the button on the elevator.</b><br />
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In an elevator, getting to where you're going is as simple as pressing a button. Unfortunately, if you have two kids and you're on an elevator, that is a push too few! Unfortunately one of these two is much bigger and faster than the other, so the rest of the elevator ride turns into a two-year old tantrum!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">THREEMAGEDDON (THREE-muh-GED-uhn) <i>n.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The supposed hellfire and brimstone that would erupt if an angry counting mother got to three.</b><br />
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I wish this applied to Pepi. Arin always capitulated before I got to three (making me wonder what I would ever do if he didn't!) but Pepi often just ignores me and makes me chase him around the furniture.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">SUPPERCATE (SUP-er-cayt) <i>v.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>To take three bites of dinner and then request desert.</b><br />
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Note that if it's me instead of Mama cooking, then the three bites of dinner will be skipped in favour of declaring dinner to be disgusting and requesting dessert immediately. Even if its just the same lasagne from the box that Mama cooks too.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">SLEDENTARY (SLED-en-terry) <i>adj. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>To be so bundled up to face the winter elements that you cannot move.</b><br />
<br />
No amount of heavy clothing in the world will ever slow Pepi down, but Ollie? Kid looks like a fat cushion with two spindly legs sticking out the bottom and his arms sticking out horizontally because he's too bundled up to let them fall at his sides before we let him out during winter. I should be more sympathetic, but watching him topple over into the snow dressed like that is hilarious!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">SCOOZER (SKOO-zehr) <i>n. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>A kid who only has something to say to you when you are on the phone or in the bathroom.</b><br />
<br />
Its like an inbuilt-radar-type thing, the minute you're attempted to have an adult conversation or pee in peace, there they are with something that desperately can't wait.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">MONOPOLOOZE (mo-NAHP-uh-looze) <i>v. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>To strategically lose a board game to an unsportsmanlike child.</b><br />
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I want to teach the kids sportsmanship. They're not into boardgames yet, but with Pepi, anything can be turned into a competitive game. But usually, he's just not getting the sportsmanship thing and I just can't take it anymore, so I go ahead and let him win.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">LULLABYE-BYE (LULL-uh-BYE-bye) <i>v.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The long delicate process of sneaking from the bed of a preschooler who makes you lay down with them at bed time.</b><br />
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My biggest au-pairing peeve! Pepi always makes you lie down with him at bedtime. There I am imprisoned until he falls asleep and I have to slowly, carefully disintangle myself from him and sneak from the room. It's not easy, and frequently I get caught in the act of fleeing and have to start over.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">YUPPING (YUP-ing) v<i>. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The act of pretending to understand what your yammering 2 year old is trying to say to you.</b><br />
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Ollie has a fantastic mash up of baby words in three different languages, so carrying on a conversation is a bit of a challenge. But not to burst his bubble and to encourage his, I pretend to understand what they're saying and respond. Same applies to Pepi and his new habit of speaking dutch to me. 'Yupping' is very similar to 'smile-and-nodding', used when talking to people in foreign languages.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">WHYARRHEA (WHY-uh-ree-uh) <i>n. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>An inquisitive child's string of questions rattled off in rapid-fire succession.</b><br />
<br />
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? I always said I would never answer kids' questions with "just because" but seriously, by the fifth 'Why?' the question their asking requires an answer from a Year 12 biology textbook.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">DETASTE (de-TAYST) <i>v. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>To harbour a deep hatred for a food you have never ever tasted.</b><br />
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Introducing new foods to kids is hard. Mostly because, despite never having tried them, they already hate them. Different shaped pasta? Not without a big showdown first. Again, this especially applies when I'm cooking dinner. Note however, that lunchtime is a totally different ballgame, when the kids will sit on my lap and happily eat whatever I've made for my own lunch - often leftovers of whatever they hated last night!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">PHANTOMOLITION (fan-tum-o-LISH-un) <i>n.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>When something gets broken, but nobody did it.</b><br />
<br />
Actually, this rarely applies in our house. If you ask Ollie, then Pepi did it. If you ask Pepi, then the cat did it, or more recently, Papa is getting a lot of the blame.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">BUNNYCOMB (BUN-ee-comb) <i>v. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>To frantically search the house for your kid's favourite stuffed animal to avoid a meltdown.</b><br />
<br />
Both kids here have one stuffed animal that their whole world revolves around. Its like a part of their body. Only its not attached, so they can lose it. And when they lose it physically, they lose it emotionally as well. So you'd better find that raggedy dirty cloth creature.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">STOCKTEASE (STAHK-teez) <i>n.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>A child who lets you buy vast quantities of their favourite food, then immediately decides they don't like it anymore.</b><br />
<br />
The four bags of popcorn crackers in the draw here attest to this. I remember doing this as a kid. However, I also remember referring to my father as a garbage disposal - nothing unwanted ever got wasted in our house!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">ADRENELAD (ad-DREN-uh-lad) <i>n.</i> :</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>A child who will never ever under any circumstances admit that they are tired and ready for bed.</b><br />
<br />
Pepi is like one of those eveready batteries that just keeps going, and going, and going. Bedtime is a battle for five-more-minutes-please. Imagine my surprize when, babysitting a 3-year old girl the other night, she just got up and went to bed when she was tired, ten minutes before her bedtime. Amazing.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">KIDDLES (KIDD-uhls) <i>n. </i>:</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Crumbs and debris found in the creases of your car's upholstery when you remove your kid's car seat.</b><br />
<br />
Cereal, half-sucked lollipops, snack foods, bits of paper, broken crayons, little lego people...car seats are both awesome at keeping kids safe, and hiding crap for you to discover under a layer of fur much further down the line.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-12656488376215567382012-02-14T16:04:00.001+01:002012-02-14T16:04:51.227+01:00A night in Metz, France<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6QYzBtOsq5vw8XYN01pWJTjXL-V24Z2PmkxrblIaEHeNo1Nsxd_TptIqAjEADBKQfW3EvrH1vexBPgze6hWKkt-HieQ9htn36jTi547xVhfquYoBw1ACr7_p-8uwt7BbQ0z-AUdkpgA/s1600/one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6QYzBtOsq5vw8XYN01pWJTjXL-V24Z2PmkxrblIaEHeNo1Nsxd_TptIqAjEADBKQfW3EvrH1vexBPgze6hWKkt-HieQ9htn36jTi547xVhfquYoBw1ACr7_p-8uwt7BbQ0z-AUdkpgA/s400/one.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Last Friday Josh and I loaded up his little mini and headed down to Metz, which with a population of 230 000 is the closest big French city to Luxembourg, less than 45 minutes drive south. It is the capital of the Lorraine region, and being near the borders with Luxembourg and Germany, has been shaped by both Roman and German culture and has a pretty interesting 3000 year history. Its known as a city of art and history, and hosts the Pomidou-Metz museum, the only branch of the famous Pompidou modern art museum to be located outside Paris.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pZlGzAqMJxDyRwq-L0Brl9at2C6A07ejkUszyK_RJ9TY8rS9bKCmiG_3reU4IOOs57thOXtdilFiaVWQDVqB4gTrMzcjIyt6oBcQaBT2_-Nza_DHYmsqTbsJCFaD4vc5Fh9xrIOEzFg/s1600/masks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6pZlGzAqMJxDyRwq-L0Brl9at2C6A07ejkUszyK_RJ9TY8rS9bKCmiG_3reU4IOOs57thOXtdilFiaVWQDVqB4gTrMzcjIyt6oBcQaBT2_-Nza_DHYmsqTbsJCFaD4vc5Fh9xrIOEzFg/s400/masks.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh and I modeling masks for Elise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We stayed with Elise, a 22 year old french art student from Couchsurfers. We arrived on Friday evening and met her and her friend at the train station, parked the car and walked to her apartment. They were great fun and really hospitable, we sat around drinking and talking about France and their studies, and they got us to pose with some masks on for one of Elise's projects, quite funny!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6EMrocttVaQkX0w2Fgcmjs3iZstrCmbyqrwx9hnZsFPfg6dbOABK250dcfO9Nj1jjYPcA1ggjCGNcWI0aWcL7R0d738uHTvnKbfNiwKSXpxON_Dx0FfGAFpyeLAy2PZM5LBEJ6i4vno/s1600/group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6EMrocttVaQkX0w2Fgcmjs3iZstrCmbyqrwx9hnZsFPfg6dbOABK250dcfO9Nj1jjYPcA1ggjCGNcWI0aWcL7R0d738uHTvnKbfNiwKSXpxON_Dx0FfGAFpyeLAy2PZM5LBEJ6i4vno/s400/group.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audrey, Elise, me and Josh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>With another friend, Max, we walked to their friends' apartment in the centre. We were definitely hanging out with a bunch of french art students - we walked into an apartment decorated with completed art projects and works in progress, filled with marijuana smoke and half a dozen bohemian-style kids performing a medieval dance! They were really friendly and were probably the best bunch of young french guys that I've spent time with when it comes to speaking english, they were all really open to trying to speak to us, and Josh did his best with a bit of french as well! As in Luxembourg I normally go out to bars rather than to house parties, it was cool to hang around for a bit of a change. We'd planned on going out to a few bars later on, but all three of us were pretty tired, so we left around 1.30 and headed home in the freezing cold!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuz0AANkfDf95z98QyIpejU9XqGEkezGeloTVFrWAYIE2WYXmUBF4oRY0zFjkO_wQbiHBCz-k59tl8iRlK2nBx0UEJja2cv72CIvn-GctS_b4w6EIMzN-kMDn1_XvnGcYWG3g4A0byz4/s1600/metz2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuz0AANkfDf95z98QyIpejU9XqGEkezGeloTVFrWAYIE2WYXmUBF4oRY0zFjkO_wQbiHBCz-k59tl8iRlK2nBx0UEJja2cv72CIvn-GctS_b4w6EIMzN-kMDn1_XvnGcYWG3g4A0byz4/s400/metz2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A residential street in Metz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We were up in the middle of the morning and bid farewell to Elise before heading off to see the city. We wandered aimlessly around the city centre for awhile, heading into quite a few pharmacies to stockpile medicines that are perscription-only around the rest of Europe, it made me laugh seeing as I used to work in a pharmacy and we worked so hard to prevent people doing the same thing there! Metz has one of the biggest pedestrian-only areas in France, and most of the buildings are built out of pretty yellow limestone so it would have been really lovely had it not been freezing cold with a terrible wind blowing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqTAi7dlLxwll6PQVm2C1jrkM8pS_hFXuykpl-NEEQKPb8KMugYGLUNlizgNeex2hnPtqQqRsLkJ1sGu97wxUXSTYBOKIHWnkcIW0vTer-TX8erqDq_RDHSLUH-bo1GdsPuVpIc7vrVU/s1600/cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqTAi7dlLxwll6PQVm2C1jrkM8pS_hFXuykpl-NEEQKPb8KMugYGLUNlizgNeex2hnPtqQqRsLkJ1sGu97wxUXSTYBOKIHWnkcIW0vTer-TX8erqDq_RDHSLUH-bo1GdsPuVpIc7vrVU/s400/cathedral.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass in the Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Eventually we stumbled upon the cathedral, an amazing building. I've been to a fair few churches in Europe now, but this one has the largest amount of stained glass windows in the world, mostly from the 14th and 16th century, and the third highest nave in France (10th in the world). It was consecrated in the 1500s, but has had a lot of extensive renovations done since then.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFYGErjDMeWE2L5Jg3uNYfVNsfci24veSeiY7kpGThommSXt0WwTjldKsoTfhEH1jk2QlqsTtxuzysztWRJZNKllVrX0K2zn5LgQhvqGocR_sjvQu5Cm9pOC9MgLBstatdqUpZ-w2MJI/s1600/metz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFYGErjDMeWE2L5Jg3uNYfVNsfci24veSeiY7kpGThommSXt0WwTjldKsoTfhEH1jk2QlqsTtxuzysztWRJZNKllVrX0K2zn5LgQhvqGocR_sjvQu5Cm9pOC9MgLBstatdqUpZ-w2MJI/s400/metz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wall near the Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We left the cathedral and stumbled through a indoor market that turned out to be rather uninteresting, and went in search of lunch. As is typical for France at a weekend lunchtime, everywhere was packed, and we ended up with a tiny table at a a place called Bar Saint Jacques, a typical french bar-bistro with a terrace on a square. We really hit gold, it was full of locals catching up and knocking back wine, and I was amazed to order a meal of toasted sandwidge and salad that only cost me 3.80euros, or $6NZ - the price of a cup of coffee in Luxembourg!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxvG4qQTbSSI5fHsyQlCbyZFFThLIARLjnrGRzO6uGn_FYwRKIsOyFdMu64cphbb18BxK82Jam7wVQNZ96z2nFJt9PiSYOHR3U6RXHYUaLb1ebPPeK7OE3OZIrKs97-MjN2Pl5dCKKLo/s1600/river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxvG4qQTbSSI5fHsyQlCbyZFFThLIARLjnrGRzO6uGn_FYwRKIsOyFdMu64cphbb18BxK82Jam7wVQNZ96z2nFJt9PiSYOHR3U6RXHYUaLb1ebPPeK7OE3OZIrKs97-MjN2Pl5dCKKLo/s400/river.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There, we searched for the location of the tourist office, and found it to be right beside the cathedral we'd been in earlier! So we headed back and sourced a map, and then went for a big walk around the city. Metz has more than 100 buildings on the historical monument list, and huge open green spaces along the riverbank. The river itself was quite pretty, as it was frozen over, and had a whole lot of ducks and seagulls just sitting around on the top. But, we were really suffering from the cold and had to keep popping into cafes to buy coffees to warm up. A fair was just starting up in one of the big squares, so we stopped in their for some below-par crepes, and then we called it a day and went back to the car.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7olnzWLZEU6sXDwASRgTems7HeDeztD6ZfizpUltmrWG_ht9VHsmjWPgUufuQRgMb9U0GTumKkUMnEwx2_VZmUCwR3ujIVe2rdNrvzHLNO1_YB22oEJ38vgl4M5nZZPY525TsXtN6JIk/s1600/ikea+outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7olnzWLZEU6sXDwASRgTems7HeDeztD6ZfizpUltmrWG_ht9VHsmjWPgUufuQRgMb9U0GTumKkUMnEwx2_VZmUCwR3ujIVe2rdNrvzHLNO1_YB22oEJ38vgl4M5nZZPY525TsXtN6JIk/s400/ikea+outside.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ikea!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On the way out of town we stopped at Ikea. As we don't have Ikea in New Zealand, before coming to Europe I'd thought it was a pretty expensive place full of amazing modern furniture. However, here its a massive chain store that sells cheap furniture that students fill their flats up with! I still get amazed by some of the modern designs though. I'd wanted to go to Ikea since I'd arrived here, but had never been, so I was really excited to finally get there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDlwsy3_jN_Mb_ega-LV_9awymrcSSr8gFxslA4QAFkt5yiLlhiDwnuhWI6HlvQ34ZTnAT3zHaPf_SruQOVVR_9oij1pY-Z2z6SeNKsu5k4-Of7DiBrqq_i5YIVr9JirxHY4DX7SxNM4/s1600/ikea+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDlwsy3_jN_Mb_ega-LV_9awymrcSSr8gFxslA4QAFkt5yiLlhiDwnuhWI6HlvQ34ZTnAT3zHaPf_SruQOVVR_9oij1pY-Z2z6SeNKsu5k4-Of7DiBrqq_i5YIVr9JirxHY4DX7SxNM4/s400/ikea+food.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ikea swedish meatballs and lingonberry juice</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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The stores are all really huge, and the layout is quite clever, its like a maze and they make you walk past everything to get whatever you want. Naturally, we went in just to get clotheshangers, and ended up spending 80euros, or $120NZ, between the two of us! They even have a map with a list to fill in and free little pencils at the beginning, so naturally there are now half a dozen Ikea pencils lying around my room! Ikea has a cafeteria inside, and I'd also heard a lot about swedish meatballs, so it was cool to split a meal of meatballs, rice and swedish lingonberry juice.<br />
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So, I quite enjoyed Metz, it was good to go somewhere new rather than return to an old haunt, and to stay with locals again, and I think it's a pretty cool city. More photos are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3243786178201.2156941.1373259720&type=1&l=39f4abf343">here</a>.<br />
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</div><form action="https://www.facebook.com/ajax/ufi/modify.php" class="live_10100553444589530_131325686911214 commentable_item autoexpand_mode" data-live="{"seq":0}" method="post" rel="async" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="clearfix uiImageBlock uiStreamFooter" style="color: #999999; zoom: 1;"></div></form>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Metz, France49.119666 6.176905000000033449.075663000000006 6.1165010000000333 49.163669 6.2373090000000335tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-86332812414423815992012-02-10T19:39:00.000+01:002012-02-10T19:39:30.796+01:00Freezing February in Luxembourg - Part I<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hgnEpDNgHMlbRknxw17gfCoYqfgVzFSy0Hf_TLPuTka6g_1bdjhOuc3NolIhKe9XSGc4OQRYGEPHtFtPutZdfXknjUPL-ERUrZntybrCbFnRWbsXWkRrmQP4TU2sOo_ts_UFs2didIk/s1600/lux+snow+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hgnEpDNgHMlbRknxw17gfCoYqfgVzFSy0Hf_TLPuTka6g_1bdjhOuc3NolIhKe9XSGc4OQRYGEPHtFtPutZdfXknjUPL-ERUrZntybrCbFnRWbsXWkRrmQP4TU2sOo_ts_UFs2didIk/s400/lux+snow+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view of Luxembourg from the Mudam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>February in Luxembourg has been cold! As you've no doubt seen on the news wherever you are, Europe has been hit by an insane cold snap. While hundreds are dying in temperatures of down to -30degreesC in Eastern Europe, here in Luxembourg throughout the first week of February we've had highs of around -5 or -6 and lows of between -11 and -14degrees. So its still damn cold. No more snow has fallen since that one Sunday in late January, but what did fall has really stuck around, driving me crazy as my winter boots are full of holes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmY-lB02oLAOMLoIzr-uu613G5vAesXEY3MKvKc44HgbJpPA-vrtBXVlbUGCbc3NFA9lTgn_xbZTtRM320TB1t5a1Gr2pMuEDOKFvzZq2Qae9Y2AvbQTuYzX2aqws7Pd3wY6Eab66l6M/s1600/train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmY-lB02oLAOMLoIzr-uu613G5vAesXEY3MKvKc44HgbJpPA-vrtBXVlbUGCbc3NFA9lTgn_xbZTtRM320TB1t5a1Gr2pMuEDOKFvzZq2Qae9Y2AvbQTuYzX2aqws7Pd3wY6Eab66l6M/s400/train.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepi, Dante, Ava and Kerli on the train</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This first week, I went out a couple of times, to live jazz on Tuesday, to drink with another kiwi au pair here in the Spanish bar on Wednesday, and to see a Portuguese friend on Thursday. Going out, and especially coming home later at night, really requires effort in this weather! I never noticed the cold so bad last winter, but now I'm often wearing both pantyhose and thermals under my jeans! Friday saw me take Pepi out on another adventure, this time accompanied by Kerli and her dutch charges, Ava and Dante. This trip was much more successful than the first, last time Pepi had been really quite and watched everything around him with big eyes, and asked to go home to Mama a lot, this time as soon as we got on the bus he was happily narrating everything around him and I had to drag him home at the end of the day! Much to my embarrassment, his endless chatter saw him ask me both why the really wrinkly old lady sitting by us 'had so many owas (ouchies or boo-boos) on her face, and why another lady had poop on her hat. Fun times.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMCchbra4bY8vSRdotUtOy52SEYAAXgSMFLujHGkc21uigl6mTEr4pH5Yt4PZ0Fw0bQkLReQwXwva4hAsaAS0dsVNqQYJ_UrPHI9NWUF99iWoOCLgkHDI8KYVaGDxP3iWrU_aKkl9pM8/s1600/Pep+headphones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMCchbra4bY8vSRdotUtOy52SEYAAXgSMFLujHGkc21uigl6mTEr4pH5Yt4PZ0Fw0bQkLReQwXwva4hAsaAS0dsVNqQYJ_UrPHI9NWUF99iWoOCLgkHDI8KYVaGDxP3iWrU_aKkl9pM8/s400/Pep+headphones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pep making music</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We took the bus to the train station where we met the others, and then the train to Esch-sur-Alzette to the concert venue the Rockhal, where they had a kind of interactive exhibition of electronic music for kids, with things like microphones that turned your voice into different sounds, collaborative electronic drums, and a disco music room. I found it really cool, and could easily have spent ages with Pep going around the different stations, but unfortunately Pepi is totally in love with Dante, and Dante has the attention span of a gnat, so every minute or so Dante would get up and run to the next station and Pepi would get up, look at Dante and then back at what they had been doing, look wistfully at Dante again and then back to what they'd been doing, and then rush after Dante. He was definitely most into the drums though, he kept heading back to that station, and he wouldn't go near the singing one! So, after a stop at MacDonalds for icecream we headed home, jumping into every pile of snow on the way and arriving freezing cold and very tired!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFctWkioTXKrSLXb7qV1ByJ1yan_FAFos5XVp9bMzQnDF-Hz5Nf-6al3NFN09PTpxh-sMjHI_w1IWBM0b0HzhvmcXhoutbB8cP8Zg1eComRMaOvyMh0JcEhaPRaVBVUfwr9szmY-OVbnU/s1600/kids+music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFctWkioTXKrSLXb7qV1ByJ1yan_FAFos5XVp9bMzQnDF-Hz5Nf-6al3NFN09PTpxh-sMjHI_w1IWBM0b0HzhvmcXhoutbB8cP8Zg1eComRMaOvyMh0JcEhaPRaVBVUfwr9szmY-OVbnU/s400/kids+music.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dante and Pepi making music</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That evening, Pep was complaining of a sore tummy, but I didn't think too much of it until I woke up at 3am in agony myself. After a sleepless night spent puking myself, my plans to take Pepi to play with Dante and Ava the next day so that Rogier and Jacquie could get some pre-moving work done, and to go skiing the following day were promptly scrapped, and I spent the weekend hiding in bed.<br />
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By Tuesday, I'd decided that the snow had cleared enough for me to start running again...so naturally we had another snowfall! So instead, I went to drink a few beers and play some pool with Josh. I used to play a lot in NZ, but I've never been very good and he normally always cleans up, although I sunk my first attempt at a jump shot which I was pretty happy about.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K3WABnl__hmLtN40rQCJACennB5HeIJ8W5SH2OSyEiuBFFMZWYa_jbv4nulf6Y6_dEnfT8O0X6ESSntSqkdrsAc96T9N-EAy-O2xR7vgTcAYUheDwIV7MR26-IsEsMpcSEd0ognq6m4/s1600/mudam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K3WABnl__hmLtN40rQCJACennB5HeIJ8W5SH2OSyEiuBFFMZWYa_jbv4nulf6Y6_dEnfT8O0X6ESSntSqkdrsAc96T9N-EAy-O2xR7vgTcAYUheDwIV7MR26-IsEsMpcSEd0ognq6m4/s400/mudam.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Mudam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Wednesday morning I woke up with big intentions of going to Arlon, a city just over the border in Belgium, but I looked out of the window at snow falling and decided to head back to bed instead! Later that afternoon, I headed out, first lining my boots with plastic bags! These boots were a huge investment before I left New Zealand, and had served me well over the past year, but are now falling to bits and I keep getting wet feet. I went to the Mudam, the museum of modern art up in Kirchberg suburb, where all of the fancy offices and European parliament buildings are. The building was designed by I. M .Pei, the guy who whacked the big glass pyramid in front of the Louvre in Paris, and has similar glass artifacts. In the main entrance hall is a cool work, a two-story tall structure that has a machine winding many tiny threads into a massive rope, depicting the nervous system. You can climb up to the top and look out of the windows of the view over Luxembourg, its very cool. Other than that, I picked a bad day to go, as they were setting up all of the new exhibitions and I could only see their standing exhibits.<br />
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Thursday was similarly laid back, I spent most of the day in pursuit of new shoes, eventually giving up on finding women's boots that fit my massive feet and just buying mens shoes instead. I was trying on shoes in the mens department and got told by a sales assistant that I was on the wrong floor, and then got told at the cashier that if I didn't take the boxes with me, I couldn't return them if they didn't fit my boyfriend! Way to rub salt into the wound! And now, after a night out on Thursday and a day with the kids today, I'm off to spent the night in Metz, a city about an hours drive into France.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-19266309614626255912012-02-06T15:44:00.000+01:002012-02-06T15:44:48.570+01:00January in Luxembourg Part II<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mnxw8EB9XWqX5DFuPYWNAvGnqof-2yPFJuRVYHVducPMZjEHRha-doo9q6WQksubM22TTYTmirTYqLPAC3t-OfMhUlNzBo1KXNQ67gERSXq0q2vJg3wZStihyphenhyphenSJbM2cEw-uXyvOkoXs/s1600/pink+festival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mnxw8EB9XWqX5DFuPYWNAvGnqof-2yPFJuRVYHVducPMZjEHRha-doo9q6WQksubM22TTYTmirTYqLPAC3t-OfMhUlNzBo1KXNQ67gERSXq0q2vJg3wZStihyphenhyphenSJbM2cEw-uXyvOkoXs/s400/pink+festival.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sphere Room at the Trans Ardentes Festival, Liege, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The second half of January hasn't been particularly interesting, I caught a really terrible cold and spent the better part of two weeks either in bed or moping around the house. I did make it out a couple of times, mostly just to Liquid for live jazz during the week, and once on a Friday I went out with the intention of having a big night out dancing, but I didn't make it further than the free jager party at Scots.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZpNYo86u7gDDmjugjSm25Ux2ANTJw7KqIFKBaUJnarpx1m0LFIoNEvm6m6mWbyBYQ2cdwYAM0MaE22JfIsBLKwdNH2GdVGC-UH88UGDHBjX0nJ0WXK2fr6E23K65ff9aNvglOWds6K8/s1600/jager+night+at+schots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZpNYo86u7gDDmjugjSm25Ux2ANTJw7KqIFKBaUJnarpx1m0LFIoNEvm6m6mWbyBYQ2cdwYAM0MaE22JfIsBLKwdNH2GdVGC-UH88UGDHBjX0nJ0WXK2fr6E23K65ff9aNvglOWds6K8/s400/jager+night+at+schots.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh, me and Naz at Jager night at Scots bar, Luxembourg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The highlight of those last couple of weeks was going to Liege, Belgium for the Trans Ardentes electronic music festival. Josh and I drove up on Saturday afternoon, its only a little over an hour away, and after picking up <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/02/liege-lena-and-day-trip-to-netherlands.html">Lena</a> we headed just over the border to Maastricht in the Netherlands for a brief stop to go shopping and get KFC for lunch. I'd been to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/02/liege-lena-and-day-trip-to-netherlands.html">Maastricht once before</a>, for a day, and it was freezing cold so we didn't stop to look around much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAg75XBIz5acSyp0JD0i0WXTZYANXEC33Uqn0xO7FDpLfXsAek1NqVmyY7T95_3-6MeD3r2TqgC6xejLDVaMRtyL_4ESv7r-2fVqIgP2K_TIY5PDfFvcdbb4SiB9RhcAYU2A0yt-6726A/s1600/elektro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAg75XBIz5acSyp0JD0i0WXTZYANXEC33Uqn0xO7FDpLfXsAek1NqVmyY7T95_3-6MeD3r2TqgC6xejLDVaMRtyL_4ESv7r-2fVqIgP2K_TIY5PDfFvcdbb4SiB9RhcAYU2A0yt-6726A/s400/elektro.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ceiling in the Elektropedia room, Les Trans Ardentes festival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then we just headed home, fluffed around getting ready, and caught the bus to the festival. Having been sick, and being very tired from a couple of sleepless nights with crying children, I wasn't really amped until we got on a packed bus full of young people who were definitely much more in the party mood than we were! The festival is held indoors, at a big kind of hall, with concrete floors and steel sides and roof. It has separate sections, so there were four stages with different DJs performing at different times. Josh and I were both pretty into the Cube Room, which had kind of electro lounge music, more than the others, but the three of us, and Lena's friend Marion (who is awesome, I know her from past visit to Liege and the La Semo festival) and her friends, spent the night moving around quite a bit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpy_rzz5K6CXQtgly0fUpYok79c-8PtIY1FuBLqADjf3RQFSw6tse34lYqUDIXMgknzhqRTh9OMJM0uUpsqfjDH4DLijZqK2rh3cpPCj5zMKcN0ROEKXJtyVEML8mXMGXkIgFXySlkx4/s1600/Lena,+me+Josh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpy_rzz5K6CXQtgly0fUpYok79c-8PtIY1FuBLqADjf3RQFSw6tse34lYqUDIXMgknzhqRTh9OMJM0uUpsqfjDH4DLijZqK2rh3cpPCj5zMKcN0ROEKXJtyVEML8mXMGXkIgFXySlkx4/s400/Lena,+me+Josh.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lena, me and Josh at Les Trans Ardentes festival, Liege, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Like all the festivals I've been to in Belgium, you have to swap cash for tickets that you then swap for drinks. I guess it seems like a good idea, not having to mess around with money at the bar, but it really just means you have to join another really long line, and you can only get the tickets in preset amounts that aren't divisible by the cost of drinks, grrr. But, being sick (and broke!) I had resolved only to have a few drinks anyway. The other annoyance was having to pay an extra 2euros to be able to use the bathroom - not every time you went, you just had to pay for an armband that allowed you into the toilets all night. How stupid is that? Just raise the ticket price by 2euros! And sexist too, because there were free urinals outside for the guys. And even though it was smokefree, once the crowds built up everyone started smoking inside, so I was constantly afraid of getting burnt in the middle of the dancing crowds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftrIrdVMyXcfkhI3yM9PlbmPfrNS5TwWc6axIztsxuuCTRZGr95F_GaarrCdwMuolldd92dLpQcZdq_Ef5OpPJDYMtSiu7pEZ4JU7NwOiRcLfZ2pi-Lm4CMlU1-JEcbFZdgB79W9Fbcc/s1600/boysnoize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjftrIrdVMyXcfkhI3yM9PlbmPfrNS5TwWc6axIztsxuuCTRZGr95F_GaarrCdwMuolldd92dLpQcZdq_Ef5OpPJDYMtSiu7pEZ4JU7NwOiRcLfZ2pi-Lm4CMlU1-JEcbFZdgB79W9Fbcc/s400/boysnoize.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boys Noize at les Trans Ardentes festival in Liege, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But, rant over, the festival was awesome, I'm now totally addicted to electronic music festivals. I don't think New Zealand has anything comparable, not with 12 000 people coming through the doors and with such high standards of DJs, like Birdy Nam Nam, Cassius and Boys Noize. The German DJ Boys Noize was the big drawcard for me, he's been my favourite DJ for about three years, and I was gutted to miss him playing at Rhythm and Vines back in New Zealand just after I'd flown to Germany last year! He played at 1.30am, and by that stage I'd been dancing for over five hours and I was dead tired and aching everywhere, but I stayed on my feet for the whole set, he was really amazing and actually better live than recorded. I couldn't say the same about Birdy Nam Nam, I thought they were terrible live and I didn't stick around! It must have been around 3.30am when we called it a night, Josh was really the worse for wear and Lena and I were both shattered. But, it was an awesome night, and one of my favourite experiences here in Europe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERMe9f4iYYIHFitkL1WIrNlsn6OLWpwrAVSGOHiLYJpfKj0Vq0j7nnx-iTuh__XW_dD_ywn2JMmI2iYiX2nS1XJZjGiuoFFYKPk5Oh8Fa-pFDLZjLjoL1iQN_zN0dPmwlYsJNm_XC-S0/s1600/Lena+dna+josh+day+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERMe9f4iYYIHFitkL1WIrNlsn6OLWpwrAVSGOHiLYJpfKj0Vq0j7nnx-iTuh__XW_dD_ywn2JMmI2iYiX2nS1XJZjGiuoFFYKPk5Oh8Fa-pFDLZjLjoL1iQN_zN0dPmwlYsJNm_XC-S0/s400/Lena+dna+josh+day+after.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lena and Josh at "the cool bar" in Liege, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We slept quite late the next day, only dragging ourselves out of bed sometime around 1pm to find Lena's mum had laid that table with pastries and fruit for us for breakfast, so cute! We wanted to show Josh around Liege, but we were all so tired and it was absolutely freezing, colder than I've felt all winter so far, so we kind of dashed quickly through the centre into what me and Lena call "the cool bar" where we always go for a drink, and then we ended up playing a couple of games of pool before heading to Quick for dinner and then jumping into the car to head home. It was so cold I couldn't even bear to take my hands out of my pockets to take photos all day. An hour later with the car heating going full bore, I still couldn't feel my hands or feet, and just as we crossed the border into Luxembourg it started to snow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoxFCSqeLo7duE3ODMiEMSJug5C7O4ZXnbaXNFY8TAbPzcgeGyVFlcT7A_0PzMscrgSSBjrrpY2jfR-huS_xdplFMclkaKbTlJl2W3h01mJ56Esa9riAX_s6oA0eZYvHco7WeYB2gCyY/s1600/ollie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoxFCSqeLo7duE3ODMiEMSJug5C7O4ZXnbaXNFY8TAbPzcgeGyVFlcT7A_0PzMscrgSSBjrrpY2jfR-huS_xdplFMclkaKbTlJl2W3h01mJ56Esa9riAX_s6oA0eZYvHco7WeYB2gCyY/s400/ollie.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie playing dress-ups. Girly or what!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The cold weather continued the next couple of days, with highs of about -1 and lows of about -4, so even though more snow didn't fall, what we already had stuck around. I spent Monday recovering from the weekend, and running a ton of errands around the city. I babysat that night, putting the kids to bed myself which is uncommon. Unfortunately, Pepi's 'Baby Mozart' stuffed monkey was forgotten in Rogier's car and went off to him. Trying not to show my panic, I went through the whole bath/bed routine as normal, and it wasn't until he was lying with me in bed that he realised Baby was missing. I told him Baby had wanted to go to work with Papa, and he only cried for a couple of minutes before settling down, a pretty good outcome considering how attached to that thing he has been!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKl9s3dgO9buY2C0llmnNtayxZk4peum_u3YRvIQfo0HUYpa4pvU9ELFq10TJ_vvqwH9jb-IXn28hqduNGOQEQaO7-4_enuhFx636b9kLNu_kaM-PDucvVtG6gJ3nTLKvaKY8BzLz48Os/s1600/thionville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKl9s3dgO9buY2C0llmnNtayxZk4peum_u3YRvIQfo0HUYpa4pvU9ELFq10TJ_vvqwH9jb-IXn28hqduNGOQEQaO7-4_enuhFx636b9kLNu_kaM-PDucvVtG6gJ3nTLKvaKY8BzLz48Os/s400/thionville.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">city hall buildings, Thionville, France</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tuesday I was up early and took to the bus to Thionville, 30km away in France. Remembering that international postage from France was quite cheap and knowing that nothing (ciggarettes, alcohol and petrol excluded) can be described as cheap in Luxembourg, I looked into the price difference last year and found that I could post up to 7kg in a pre-paid box from France for 40euros, compared to paying 160euros to post 7kg from Luxembourg. So, before Christmas I lugged 14kg of presents and crap I wanted to ship home over the border on the bus, discovered the handrawn map I copied of Google was useless and wandered aimlessly around town until I found the Tourist Office, and then spent a whole hour in the shop sorting everything out with a english-speaking man who told me that his daughter had gone to New Zealand on exchange, and reported it to be 'boring, with nothing to do'.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OyQduXvrkoC3DvUXSicGhHNAkkXAjxuBxWvqXUE5rwEoBxYi9-pLcrouh-a0N0zmeDBNMc85BV9aUJWsePCTMrr578IwvEvR3tQyDM_YsLTLxuctRHFHsJUNCeWyeSQDBEWdFXJrOaE/s1600/thionville2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OyQduXvrkoC3DvUXSicGhHNAkkXAjxuBxWvqXUE5rwEoBxYi9-pLcrouh-a0N0zmeDBNMc85BV9aUJWsePCTMrr578IwvEvR3tQyDM_YsLTLxuctRHFHsJUNCeWyeSQDBEWdFXJrOaE/s400/thionville2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thionville, France</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I looked around me at Thionville, a town of 40 000 with nothing special and no exciting nightlife or activities of its own, and had to wonder where in New Zealand she had been living. Thionville was so unexciting, I didn't even mention going there in this blog. This time however, the town was covered in snow, and even the most boring and basic of places look pretty under snow, so I walked around for a hour or so taking photos, until the cold really got to me and I jumped on the bus again. Back in Luxembourg, I walked from the train station into the city centre to photograph the Petrusse Valley in between.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKw_nNKtUekFsSgllD1GvBOm-xJJhKVQArGzqvwC743TOm0T0AoS4PB_DBCsGrb06stHpOPohWbsFJPSdONpkS8tqwjeteQ3_yeSHABvofrDzAhr-C6tsXWiAnu76bgkmOmUw5hN4bPw/s1600/petrusse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKw_nNKtUekFsSgllD1GvBOm-xJJhKVQArGzqvwC743TOm0T0AoS4PB_DBCsGrb06stHpOPohWbsFJPSdONpkS8tqwjeteQ3_yeSHABvofrDzAhr-C6tsXWiAnu76bgkmOmUw5hN4bPw/s400/petrusse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petrusse Valley, Luxembourg Ville, Luxembourg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Arriving back home, I noticed that some of our neighbours had shoveled the snow of their driveway and the pavement. With it being sunny during the day, but still so cold, it was really icy and Rogier had hit the rubbish bin sliding while backing out the night before, and because I've never shoveled snow before I thought it would be fun to give it a go. I thought wrong! Shoveling snow is hard work, that stuff is damn heavy and it took me forever to work out how to break up the ice, rather than just trying to scrape it off the concrete. I won't even tell you how long it took me, but I was pretty proud of my effort.<br />
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So, not a very interesting blog post I know, I'l do my best to get out and about a bit more in February!<br />
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Photos from January are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2963385728365.2151883.1373259720&type=1&l=c7a32ec0d0">here</a>. I've also just gotten into Twitter in a big way, you can follow me <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/clairepettigrew">here</a>.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-65017891563466491232012-01-17T21:12:00.001+01:002012-01-17T21:14:45.651+01:00January in Luxembourg Part I<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpyhj2M-DC3oVTVeWTZPX60uhrbSlJa2qJE0kW2sW5LC6MkO1KF6t_Ilz5Ojnerd2rjc32Hn0WR5Mq-9BfmgJNq_bJx31t067J9O0T9GymM4HhyphenhyphenpmuduZGmJ0YQxDamZ2pZ4QdYrbiOY/s1600/one.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpyhj2M-DC3oVTVeWTZPX60uhrbSlJa2qJE0kW2sW5LC6MkO1KF6t_Ilz5Ojnerd2rjc32Hn0WR5Mq-9BfmgJNq_bJx31t067J9O0T9GymM4HhyphenhyphenpmuduZGmJ0YQxDamZ2pZ4QdYrbiOY/s400/one.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie's cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, after a pretty uneventful New Years, January is turning out to be a little crazy as I try to jam in as many things on my 'To-do-before-leaving-lux' list as possible.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spent the first week of January working on a birthday cake for Ollie's second birthday. I made him a train cake, and it took me a bit of planning, three trips to two different supermarkets, several hours spent making three separate cakes, and then a whole afternoon to decorate them. The finished cake was pretty cool though, so now I'm trying to work out what I can make to top it for Pepi's fourth birthday next month.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_GG_wHpC7Zxl6qQEE7YB9MROhYGufNQUtvQ6A7u-GU3tvKXbsAa6xWhZLpcTXxv8QYSTnlIJrIFAew_An1w_8XGaCNe2G-yNZN_NGO_nSdMbQ9j7j0s6wjV0SmiBryk-jPch8cQahPQ/s1600/two+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_GG_wHpC7Zxl6qQEE7YB9MROhYGufNQUtvQ6A7u-GU3tvKXbsAa6xWhZLpcTXxv8QYSTnlIJrIFAew_An1w_8XGaCNe2G-yNZN_NGO_nSdMbQ9j7j0s6wjV0SmiBryk-jPch8cQahPQ/s400/two+.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vianden</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That Friday I headed out for a day trip with Josh, my American friend. He hasn't seen much of Luxembourg beyond the city, so we drove through the Bambesch forest behind my place, through Diekirch and Ettelbruck, up to Vianden on the German border. Our detour through the McDonalds' drivethru for coffee was entertaining, I don't think Josh's american english is easy for people here to understand, so I ended up leaning over ordering in German, and we received two very black, very sugarless coffees at the end.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAukmdkt1aQOpkKdPKMyDUAwwRhqKATkvdCF6lUybx3kBkmiJROZgzyVcDJzCI06h8CVGiH4JxVhI_m7soB1eOkQVzOaHD4KKCHSby88V9Nhyphenhyphen3U4cbVN7FROf-04vKvhFI5JdeSm4hgY/s1600/three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAukmdkt1aQOpkKdPKMyDUAwwRhqKATkvdCF6lUybx3kBkmiJROZgzyVcDJzCI06h8CVGiH4JxVhI_m7soB1eOkQVzOaHD4KKCHSby88V9Nhyphenhyphen3U4cbVN7FROf-04vKvhFI5JdeSm4hgY/s400/three.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceiling inside Vianden Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had been to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/10/september-in-luxembourg-part-i.html">Vianden in September,</a> but we didn't really stick around for long. It has the most beautiful and biggest castle in Luxembourg, home of the Counts of Vianden, whose descendents </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">eventually ended up as part of the Dutch Royal Family. It dates back to the 11th century, got trashed over time, was inhabited by Victor Hugo in the 1870s, and was the last place in Luxembourg to be liberated from the Germans after WWII. The castle has been undergoing restoration ever since the 1970s. This time, Josh and I actually went inside the castle and had a look around. The guy selling tickets was funny, he complained that the total was smaller than they usually allow for a credit card sale, allowed it anyway, and then spent ages complaining about it. This seems to be on par for Luxembourgish customer service, they will normally help you, but they will make sure you know they're not happy about it! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The castle is pretty cool, but it seemed like we were missing out on some vital information like a map, so we spent a lot of time wandering around trying to work out what things were. Information panels that were only in French and German provided me with a good chance to show off by <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">translating them</span> making shit up for Josh. You can go right down to the foundations of the castle which is kind of cool. We finished off the afternoon having a few beers in a pub out there.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdTTOv_xjGK3pegJ5cFbPJ_AcZ66f8MTNO7E1rYuHsVirIYzG8uzYWsReevEZqhTj7vCUhU_oSzqkF37wtNT9h4m6nfQzyWzCPFknunycEL83a0Y2ZWB4X76Fc81LuDV-6JO6Yd0vD1c/s1600/four.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdTTOv_xjGK3pegJ5cFbPJ_AcZ66f8MTNO7E1rYuHsVirIYzG8uzYWsReevEZqhTj7vCUhU_oSzqkF37wtNT9h4m6nfQzyWzCPFknunycEL83a0Y2ZWB4X76Fc81LuDV-6JO6Yd0vD1c/s400/four.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Josh and I went out clubbing on Saturday night, so having a house full of guests and excited kids on Ollie's birthday the next day was interesting. The cake went down well, and Ollie was a real cutie all day - he's just grown tall enough to reach the door handles and has worked out to open them, but mine is a little bit too high, so that afternoon he pushed his little chair underneath it, climbed up and opened the door, and then came and sat on my bed just chilling out with me for quite awhile. We've just begun toilet training him, which has been very cute as well - he's so proud of himself!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhYpe7cAeFSCm5Jda8eK8pWZto-MQUZRLklCX8ptiuyuEfQ2DJX7UuDdjC3p0wL7H4Co7Ax6-MVOum3Hdyk_pm5in8inAOXIg46q-yNXc4rgMUo035-0gySBGz9I_4TUdVkapLPRNOkA/s1600/six.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhYpe7cAeFSCm5Jda8eK8pWZto-MQUZRLklCX8ptiuyuEfQ2DJX7UuDdjC3p0wL7H4Co7Ax6-MVOum3Hdyk_pm5in8inAOXIg46q-yNXc4rgMUo035-0gySBGz9I_4TUdVkapLPRNOkA/s400/six.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devnull at Rocas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This last weekend has been kind of crazy, Jacquie was away so I spent Saturday helping Rogier with the kids and made a last-minute decision to go skiing the following day, so I ran around like crazy for a couple of hours trying to organize everything for that, tidy the house up a bit and cook dinner for them before I headed off to Josh's to cook dinner for us there. Alex and Steve's band, Devnull, had their first gig that night at Rocas, so we went there. I'd sworn I would be home by midnight but the drinks were free and the night seemed young (and someone thought it would be funny to lock me in the backstage room) and I didn't end up home until 2.30am.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijObw6PMgzYNXLxwwUzzMLJTBCulrHyiN1bhvhg4JxhuAX4cnPmqZfWNJP7Ipyp_AHNYCI2-u-kAt9ROyYOc65p3ztE7D1C3QryJXoztZqGovXawyyxl_nBevNzv7uvkyNkeW6X3rmO9A/s1600/IMG_7474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijObw6PMgzYNXLxwwUzzMLJTBCulrHyiN1bhvhg4JxhuAX4cnPmqZfWNJP7Ipyp_AHNYCI2-u-kAt9ROyYOc65p3ztE7D1C3QryJXoztZqGovXawyyxl_nBevNzv7uvkyNkeW6X3rmO9A/s400/IMG_7474.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving down to La Bresse skifield in France</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7am the next morning I was up early to go skiing with Josh. I was not feeling fantastic and Pepi coming downstairs to hang out with me while I was getting ready didn't help, he has just suddenly gotten into the 'but why?' phase and kept asking for an anatomy lesson while I was running around like a hungover headless chicken trying to sort myself out. Eventually I tumbled out of the door into Josh's car, and we were off to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=la+bresse&hl=en&ll=48.472921,6.767578&spn=7.430736,16.853027&hnear=La+Bresse,+Vosges,+Lorraine,+France&t=m&z=6&vpsrc=6">Le Brasse</a>, the biggest skifield in North-East France (so still pretty small, bout the same size as Rauris was). It's about two and a half hours drive from Luxembourg, further South than Strasbourg, and Le Brasse is actually only 20km from <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/mulhouse-french-food-german-buildings.html">Le Markstein where I went skiing one day last year</a>.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEMQaA2Rd3RwE0DwYLNC-Mx2PK7uo4s8_rFLSiTy81tdXla2RZgeFr6togGaIVTuTC8PHoaRE1KIxvSNH1WQweUIS0iEhy9jUAi4t0SkLnewG4Cfz3_2ERtPv00Ra5ORsk-ieBxu8B5A/s1600/eight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEMQaA2Rd3RwE0DwYLNC-Mx2PK7uo4s8_rFLSiTy81tdXla2RZgeFr6togGaIVTuTC8PHoaRE1KIxvSNH1WQweUIS0iEhy9jUAi4t0SkLnewG4Cfz3_2ERtPv00Ra5ORsk-ieBxu8B5A/s400/eight.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me rocking the aviators on the lift with Josh</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rogier had been kind enough to lend me all of his gear, his boots fit my freaky size 45 feet perfectly, although his skis are a little long and heavy for me, and I definitely looked resplendent in his too-big beige colored jacket, oversized mittens and some random aviator sunnies I found in the cupboard! Visibility was a major issue for me all day, so I might invest in some goggles this year, they seem to be the only thing I can never manage to borrow or hire. It took me a hour or so to get really comfortable again, but by the end of the day I think I'd improved marginally on where I was at last year, and the only fall I had was tripping over and whacking my head in the carpark! I really need another day or so this season if I really want to improve my skills, rather than just maintain them.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Bresse, France</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">La Bresse is ok, much bigger than Markstein and I think about the same size as Rauris, but the snow isn't great this year and several of the runs were closed due to a lack of snow (not that that stopped us going down them!). I think learning at Rauris really shaped my skiing preferences, I prefer really long runs so that I don't have to get on and off the damn lifts all the time, and I prefer pistes that have sharp curves and drops in them like Rauris did, rather than straight and flat slopes that are only really good for speed like La Bresse has. I should be more sensible with my time and money, but I'm dying to go again this season, so I might see if I can head down that way again, although I'd be keen to check out a different skifield. The region is quite pretty though, its more hilly rather than alpine, and apart from a strong wind at the top the weather was perfect so the snow covered trees were really beautiful glistening in the sun.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvqx6r0ZONj8srn3pnnyrWj2T1nxEcL4TASOsEAalmN46WCyMIr13fRCnWMqIfVJMdimvRwBNHs6XGi2o91OYOn5V3c2Lp9bZ3jVIYylSWofb-NS5s71kRd4BOLYa57kOzsXninL5LTg/s1600/IMG_7326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvqx6r0ZONj8srn3pnnyrWj2T1nxEcL4TASOsEAalmN46WCyMIr13fRCnWMqIfVJMdimvRwBNHs6XGi2o91OYOn5V3c2Lp9bZ3jVIYylSWofb-NS5s71kRd4BOLYa57kOzsXninL5LTg/s400/IMG_7326.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepi "take a photo of the plane on my shirt!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've now only got about seven more weeks left in Luxembourg, and it's starting to scare me a little, as there is still quite a bit I would like to see and do before I leave. On the other hand though, I'm ready to get to Amsterdam, as I'm eager to discover somewhere new and have a change of scenery and lifestyle. Like I've said before, Luxembourg is a hard country to settle down in. Because there is such a large expat community of people who are always coming and going here, Luxembourgers tend to stick to themselves and the expats tend to keep their friendships pretty superficial. I was at an Internations event (for the expat business community) one night and when I told people I was moving to Amsterdam, everyone said it was a good move. Luxembourgers don't have the best reputation among many of the expats I've met here, one said to me that night 'Luxembourgers are like Dementors, they're all gloomy and depressing and if you get to close, they suck the life out of you'. I posted the quote on Facebook and got a pretty angry reply from a Luxembourger, which didn't really do much to prove that they have a sense of humor. On the other hand though, many expats here are so negative about the people and the country that they're hard to be around too! But anyway, seven more weeks...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More photos from this month are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2963385728365.2151883.1373259720&type=1&l=c7a32ec0d0">here</a>.</span></div>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-82788864921311256162012-01-11T23:52:00.000+01:002012-07-16T21:24:34.870+02:00Bring on 2012I left New Zealand in late 2010, and I find it hard to believe a whole year has passed over here!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyzFGrfXAEsjx_0gawN_0inx5piHLM0NEGC3MwH0ZXiQllZXadzTx8mhw4BH_ef1EvQwpQcqIWVxrPq5E3EwLJ3Tpa_Sd-oLljNb47d-KXqnWaRKxzP3S4DI_DTfVuc_UiMuSl5wZ5ug/s1600/IMG_4043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyzFGrfXAEsjx_0gawN_0inx5piHLM0NEGC3MwH0ZXiQllZXadzTx8mhw4BH_ef1EvQwpQcqIWVxrPq5E3EwLJ3Tpa_Sd-oLljNb47d-KXqnWaRKxzP3S4DI_DTfVuc_UiMuSl5wZ5ug/s400/IMG_4043.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amsterdam, photo taken in August</td></tr>
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As I hinted at recently, more change is on the cards for me as the family I'm nannying for pack up and move to Amsterdam at the beginning of March. I took my time deciding whether or not to go with them, but in the end I've decided that I've seen and done most of Luxembourg and the surrounding countryside, and five months living in Amsterdam will give me the chance to explore a country I don't know so well.<br />
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I'm not one for New Years resolutions, I'm more for gradual change than making big declarations, and I don't think New Years has as much relevancy for making changes in my life as a new school semester or a new job is, but a Stuff.co.nz article asking 50 NZers what they were hopeful for in 2012 got me thinking about what I would like to get out of the year ahead.<br />
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I am hopeful that this year I really will learn to live within my means and get my finances into better shape. Anyone who knows me will know that I don't have many skills in the money department, and ever since I blew all my savings while trying to make Spain work out, I've been struggling to get my head back above water. I can but hope...not even two weeks into January, and my budget for this month is already a disaster!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS17oJt0YA4o3y7Ywgmtp78a7hU0o0i3amaoweyx7dtGamKIHiWWEaeYCpI5Eogt_gexxvqHrbVkZh0GTpxQ8A7_NiXmqCjFSf9l1Zt2hccVap2DvQ7o6MUPrFYDj0cRkma83KmVkMadQ/s1600/IMG_4092_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS17oJt0YA4o3y7Ywgmtp78a7hU0o0i3amaoweyx7dtGamKIHiWWEaeYCpI5Eogt_gexxvqHrbVkZh0GTpxQ8A7_NiXmqCjFSf9l1Zt2hccVap2DvQ7o6MUPrFYDj0cRkma83KmVkMadQ/s400/IMG_4092_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amsterdam, photo taken in August</td></tr>
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I hope that I really make progress in learning German, and pick up a little more french and dutch. I came to Europe to learn a third language, but after a year here, I'm failing miserably! I have some basics in all three, but I couldn't have a conversation in any! The frustrating thing is I'm really really passionate about learning German, but I missed out on a german course last semester, and now I'm waiting for my bosses to sort out how things are going to work with the move.<br />
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I am optimistic that Amsterdam will be a positive move for me. Again, I've thrown all of my plans to the wind in leaving Luxembourg before my year is up, but Im viewing it as a chance to discover another corner of Europe. I've kind of seen and done most of Luxembourg and the surrounding countries, whereas I haven't spent much time in the Netherlands and it being so small and with cheap public transport, I should be able to travel around a lot, and hopefully even make it over to Hamburg or part of northern Germany. I'm also hoping that a change in location will see me settle down, make friends and feel at home in a way that I haven't in Luxembourg. I love Luxembourg, but its hard to live here as the Luxembourgers really stick to themselves, and the foreigners living here are all on short-term contracts, meaning its hard to make good friends with people and as soon as you do, they leave anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieimpTsJT09zHZxYgINV3k6-bJflh_X16H1YVQ3ufaYOufS6pvXqZGka_hsut0P2S6HxspEcVQQxu4GvNlU5sj_oMATubPlpbnMM7fo2bqu1ACSRsJCAo7cnqcai-3fWt7iq16ihRY6ZY/s1600/IMG_4106+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieimpTsJT09zHZxYgINV3k6-bJflh_X16H1YVQ3ufaYOufS6pvXqZGka_hsut0P2S6HxspEcVQQxu4GvNlU5sj_oMATubPlpbnMM7fo2bqu1ACSRsJCAo7cnqcai-3fWt7iq16ihRY6ZY/s400/IMG_4106+-+Version+2.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amsterdam, photo taken in August</td></tr>
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I am also hopeful that I can evade immigration officials until I apply for a visa for Germany, and hopeful that Germany grants me one without any problems! I'm not going to make any wishes about what will happen once I'm inside Germany - I've learnt enough making plans while on an OE to do that now!<br />
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And finally, I am hopeful that I really make the most out of every opportunity that living in Europe in 2012 has to offer me. After my first three months of traveling around, I'm finding that now I tend to return to the same locations rather than discovering new ones. I can put this down party to wanting to catch up with my closest friends, and I guess that being able to do so easily is in fact one of the things that living in Europe has to offer, but also to me just not having the money or time to travel very far from where I'm based here in Western Europe. I would love to head over towards Eastern Europe, and also up to Scandinavia, so if I can sort out my finances a bit better, hopefully I can achieve one or the other by the end of the year.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-90461561104492860402012-01-02T17:30:00.000+01:002012-01-02T17:30:51.932+01:00Top ten ways you know you've been living in Europe for too long<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbxJYNhGgIpKe_XGIuhKWLGggnZzQKxU9YxwTvL-9DZF1cOOrOta1HvsXAxxp2IdLOx7fFFXN61kwm8EqdFknfh0ksuOpoBs4YV-y5MPWYhjD84a79Iccsbe5QIQEF_ufM9R2tpfRkGYU/s1600/kiwi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbxJYNhGgIpKe_XGIuhKWLGggnZzQKxU9YxwTvL-9DZF1cOOrOta1HvsXAxxp2IdLOx7fFFXN61kwm8EqdFknfh0ksuOpoBs4YV-y5MPWYhjD84a79Iccsbe5QIQEF_ufM9R2tpfRkGYU/s320/kiwi.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>1. Cold salami and cheese on toast seems like a perfectly normal breakfast option, and you can't even remember what decent coffee taste like.<br />
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2. You don't mind going clubbing in jeans, a sweater and flat shoes, but photos of what you were wearing on Courtney Place a year ago make you cringe.<br />
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3. Rather than crossing a border being a huge deal, requiring planning, a plane flight, research to ensure you're not going to have visa problems, and numerous checks to make sure you're passport is valid and on you, border crossings are now meaningless and happen accidentally (<a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/10/september-in-luxembourg-part-ii.html">like when you make a wrong turn in the car</a>) or for random tasks (like to go clubbing or to go to a cheaper supermarket).<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>4. You've worked out how to scam the train ticket collector, stopped paying for bus tickets, and no longer feel weird jumping off the bus without saying 'thank you' to the driver.<br />
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5. You know what gewürztraminer, roquefort and foie gras are, and wine is now something that you sip slowly with food, making sure you've got the right wine to match your meal, rather than something you buy a cardboard cask on to get drunk off the week before payday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>6. You know enough basics to not only be able to order drinks in six languages, but to be able to ask them to hold the ice and give you a straw too.<br />
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7. You've stopped converting euros into dollars, accepted 4euros ($8ND) as a reasonable price for a latte, and give tips without thinking about it.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"></div>8. Your previous understanding of <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/rant-about-toilets-in-europe.html">public toilets has now been replaced by the image of the Burger King logo</a>.<br />
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9. You no longer see the need to wait patiently in queues, instead partaking in the <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/06/top-ten-just-different-things-at.html">crowd-control-needed mobs at the supermarket checkout</a> and <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/mulhouse-french-food-german-buildings.html">pushing bratty french kids out of the way </a>when need be.<br />
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10. You haven't seen the sea since your <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/search/label/Italy">summer holiday in Italy</a> six months ago, you probably won't for another six months, and that isn't weird at all!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-33842078692804882462012-01-01T01:13:00.000+01:002012-01-01T01:13:42.002+01:00Happy New Years - ending the year in Luxembourg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMTeDX1KAUeO5-hOJG8qh6VPY0bI9F_hWcsbEDc557TSKnG9Y_tGRw0YpGM2AVY7MwhLnT9T6irl7MDrdJiH_p7iAF39eKvesHlRVkMNXTm80YcoPvssyvKxo4xT5_9oLwmL9Ju9iw0g/s1600/christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMTeDX1KAUeO5-hOJG8qh6VPY0bI9F_hWcsbEDc557TSKnG9Y_tGRw0YpGM2AVY7MwhLnT9T6irl7MDrdJiH_p7iAF39eKvesHlRVkMNXTm80YcoPvssyvKxo4xT5_9oLwmL9Ju9iw0g/s400/christmas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Market in Luxembourg Ville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I sit writing this at 11pm, at home alone with the kids and already a bottle of champagne down since they went to bed three hours ago. Christmas and New Years have kind of been a non-event for me this year, but I will get to that after I recap what's been going on in November and December, with links to the other blogs posts I've written about events along the way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdftApyR8MA4AK7A5U6vq3736TDUtBs-Ez1Uc4mcxFrXRsMtMrY_u-vPNjA1fl3rlHXfxNzbvP7Sb3RyFjmRfo6207jr_rB8Zsl4U-f7YlFYzZnj7X1Qrv96ztjeGCwp00adjFG2RvrI/s1600/train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdftApyR8MA4AK7A5U6vq3736TDUtBs-Ez1Uc4mcxFrXRsMtMrY_u-vPNjA1fl3rlHXfxNzbvP7Sb3RyFjmRfo6207jr_rB8Zsl4U-f7YlFYzZnj7X1Qrv96ztjeGCwp00adjFG2RvrI/s400/train.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Pepi on the train</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After visiting<a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/11/back-to-liege-in-october.html"> Liege</a>, <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/london-take-two.html">London</a> and <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/11/view-in-grund-in-lux-ville-ok-so-i-suck.html">the south of Luxembourg</a>, the second half of November was pretty uneventful really. I managed to make it over to<a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/saarbruckens-old-christmas-market.html"> Saarbrucken in Germany</a> to visit the Christmas market, and then the last Tuesday of November I had a 'Big Day Out' with Pepi. He'd visited the train station with me and Rogier when I collected my ticket to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/strasbourg-at-christmas-time.html">Strasbourg,</a> and wanted to go on the train so bad that I promised him I would take him the following week.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexHGCoaSfcZgpmGq9PA7UuR6J5D5G_hKObsRst-iopmhuXGWmxTsa7d50KU9sD99AfjjcTr3zGd1bU4wciRMRGUejGrFCIox229_42CoZYq26fdvXmBM88jR_MUlJc4YalYLibDPLnYY/s1600/plaground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexHGCoaSfcZgpmGq9PA7UuR6J5D5G_hKObsRst-iopmhuXGWmxTsa7d50KU9sD99AfjjcTr3zGd1bU4wciRMRGUejGrFCIox229_42CoZYq26fdvXmBM88jR_MUlJc4YalYLibDPLnYY/s400/plaground.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pepi on the playground in Noertzange</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So on Tuesday when Ollie had gone for his nap we took off, taking the bus to the station and then the train to...who knows where! Despite trying to plan everything carefully, we pretty much just got on and got off at a stop where I could see a playground within walking distance! Pep didn't mind, he was quite excited about being on the train, we could have stayed on there for much longer than we did but I (correctly) thought that we were pretty close to hitting the French border. We ended up in Noertzange, population less-than 1000, resident ice-cream shops less than 1! After watching some diggers and 'Bob the Builders' at work by the tiny station, we walked down to the playground and I chased him around for awhile. By this stage he was getting quite anxious about missing Mama, so I tried to distract him with icecream, which turned into a huge fail as there isn't a single shop selling icecream in Noertzange. So, back on the train we went, and then it was onto a bus, then onto another bus after the first one crashed with a car (he didn't notice a thing!) and finally we reached the city, where the Luxembourg Christmas Market was in full tilt. A ride on the merry-go-round and miniature train later, we brought a scoop of icecream and finally took the bus home, where I collapsed exhausted - he had fun, but hauling a four-year old around in a push-chair and dragging that thing on and off the train and over the overpass is hard work!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPhMbuU2pT3U9fnesgsD5d-25_thr8ieN8ekv0p4RGqpMqzTkqhjVoHAPgWMHcpuBrv0Q8bjMnNP8LozX2vsEaUnZ2d9yebrBE5eTQPmQFHGzI36z2YyCnewuyLcjAPMzMW8s8_IBwo4/s1600/class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPhMbuU2pT3U9fnesgsD5d-25_thr8ieN8ekv0p4RGqpMqzTkqhjVoHAPgWMHcpuBrv0Q8bjMnNP8LozX2vsEaUnZ2d9yebrBE5eTQPmQFHGzI36z2YyCnewuyLcjAPMzMW8s8_IBwo4/s400/class.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cookie scrabble in my french class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I began December with a trip down to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/strasbourg-at-christmas-time.html">Strasbourg in France</a> to see Hauke, but again, the first couple of weeks of the month were pretty quiet. I baked a cake with the kids, dismally failed an end of year French test (as did the rest of the class, and we can all continue, so not too concerned!) and then celebrated Christmas with my french class two weeks running. The french teacher isn't really a professional french teacher but an economist doing it in his spare time, so I think throwing two parties with us was much more fun than planning two more lessons. The first time, we celebrated 'Belgian Christmas' heaps of different Belgian sweets and a kind of scrabble, making french words with cookie letters. The following week we joined with the advanced class, and everyone had to bring something from their country. My pavlova looked like a cowpat both in size and colour, so I made a last minute dash to the supermarket and doled out marmite on bread instead - and yes, I did notice a few people spitting it out into their napkins!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv4yZ2WZVFc2M1pzueY2Vf98G2j4RePBYerFAaXoo5g3tnYDfXj9nNhK_FAFvW6-mtXqLSx9-Gdt8ZPeeEB5IKVXgIUIAgq9CAHKdGR8PpJpZcCW5VTRZolQdCWC9O9dUuYXievGVL8Q/s1600/josh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvv4yZ2WZVFc2M1pzueY2Vf98G2j4RePBYerFAaXoo5g3tnYDfXj9nNhK_FAFvW6-mtXqLSx9-Gdt8ZPeeEB5IKVXgIUIAgq9CAHKdGR8PpJpZcCW5VTRZolQdCWC9O9dUuYXievGVL8Q/s400/josh.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh drinking Gluhwine at the Lux Ville market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>December saw me meet Josh, an american accountant who has recently moved out here, and we've become good mates. He's introduced me to egg-nog, and led to me heading out to the Christmas market for Gluhwine and to Liquid for Jazz and Blues night a fair few times this month. Through a friend from the Dominican Republic/Spain, I've also met a big group of latinos, mostly Mexicans, who are living here and all party at the local spanish bar. I don't know how I didn't know that they were here until now, but I've since spent several tequila-fuelled nights dancing salsa with them until the early hours of the morning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHZmmlbbrJ1ag0Icue0S8_AmbYmprwTp9lJYn5X8fLXPijZJHd0x09z9bzBUAv02SO6kKLDo-8_EYl6W64sJsWdY0vf7Qle55tx5Urs7xLJ87ge-zytkaWLMS5Q2-mzyKH8sxSw_DBQ4/s1600/diff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHZmmlbbrJ1ag0Icue0S8_AmbYmprwTp9lJYn5X8fLXPijZJHd0x09z9bzBUAv02SO6kKLDo-8_EYl6W64sJsWdY0vf7Qle55tx5Urs7xLJ87ge-zytkaWLMS5Q2-mzyKH8sxSw_DBQ4/s400/diff.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Band at the Christmas Market in Differdange</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After developing a compulsion to collect Gluhwine mugs from every Christmas market I go to (these things are hideous and too small for a decent coffee, no idea what I will do with them back in NZ! Gluhwine party anyone?), I jumped at the chance to visit Differdange, a town of about 10 000 close to Esch-Sur-Alzette and Dudelange in the South of Luxembourg with a mate Markus from Austria and his greek neighbour. Turns out Dudelange or it's Christmas Market isn't all that interesting, but I scored a bizarre mug with a old guy sitting on a bench smoking on it, watched Markus do a couple of rounds of a fake ski slope, and had a bit of a day out.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgH4rZIlerV3ZTazZXHQHY4OozHnJMocTWbksu-cNyyhRKzgwgJhHovNkVeF7mbGDJdn0DTLAiE_1LTrA-PCEgEuFxi4DiuD-yFu4BEEQhqI1xb_QY7DhMeOeNoIDJIa-GUYGTOPjCeE/s1600/makrup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgH4rZIlerV3ZTazZXHQHY4OozHnJMocTWbksu-cNyyhRKzgwgJhHovNkVeF7mbGDJdn0DTLAiE_1LTrA-PCEgEuFxi4DiuD-yFu4BEEQhqI1xb_QY7DhMeOeNoIDJIa-GUYGTOPjCeE/s400/makrup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letting Pepi play with my makeup</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The end of December saw <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-snowing.html">snow fall a couple of times</a>, but nothing compared to what I expected. Last year there was about a metre on the ground here and <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2010/12/frustrating-flights-and-snowy-streets.html">in Germany</a>, but this year it didn't stick around for longer than a day, the snowfields within a couple of hours of here are still closed, and the weather forecast for tomorrow predicts 11degrees. Watching <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-snowing.html">Ollie play in his first snowfall</a> was a highlight of the month, as has him learning how to say my name. He can't quite do the whole 'Claire' thing yet, so I'm now known as 'Car', ever since I woke up one morning to him banging on the door wanting me to come and play, shouting 'Carrr, carr, carr' over and over. He sounds a bit like a crow really, but it's so cute, and it gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling to know that I mean enough to him for him to learn my name pretty early on in his vocabulary.<br />
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I headed back over to Trier in Germany for an afternoon, to pick up a few things in the shops and check out what I'd heard was a great Christmas market, but again I was kind of disappointed. I think once you've seen one Christmas market here in Europe, you've seen them all, and especially after being at the really pretty market of <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2010/12/white-german-christmas.html">Gottingen with Hauke</a> and all of his friends, others kind of fall flat.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn51Ljr24pxStdA_WdNHP3SLmGFMk4ioC3086474wyfRzUNhNS05eWiUhAo0idE3YeQ0fgDSd_aEBghktLIJq_gObDp0jo5MYy4tbpeTAv8gDz4Rw8y0dfyAy1L7SDUCltgVqVtcH3M3g/s1600/peket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn51Ljr24pxStdA_WdNHP3SLmGFMk4ioC3086474wyfRzUNhNS05eWiUhAo0idE3YeQ0fgDSd_aEBghktLIJq_gObDp0jo5MYy4tbpeTAv8gDz4Rw8y0dfyAy1L7SDUCltgVqVtcH3M3g/s400/peket.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lena and I drinking peket at the Christmas Market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I also went back to Liege just for an afternoon, to sort out some visa issues. As of late December, my Spanish working holiday visa has expired, and I am kind of an illegal immigrant. I'm exploiting a loophole that allows New Zealanders to have three months in each of a long list of European countries, rather than restricting us to three months in the whole of Schengen like most foreigners are, but this is kind of tricky considering your passport never gets stamped to say when you arrive or leave each of the countries. Normally you can bluff you're way through this kind of thing, but because I want to apply for another European visa at some stage I don't want to risk any issues further down the line. So, I went to Belgium to ask for a piece of paper saying that I had arrived there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrQO6Heb9j0yuVej97i_Qt-w4IOvUo51Bi1RXzzqweinxx9Wd_qkVZhF4Kv_vkZlARKC2NPhJ_S7klef_36t-2-IGfE4OEZ2jTq6jSXwzu5qViV6eIJmCPWqnzY3-obpmtsA-DNmnebo/s1600/memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrQO6Heb9j0yuVej97i_Qt-w4IOvUo51Bi1RXzzqweinxx9Wd_qkVZhF4Kv_vkZlARKC2NPhJ_S7klef_36t-2-IGfE4OEZ2jTq6jSXwzu5qViV6eIJmCPWqnzY3-obpmtsA-DNmnebo/s400/memorial.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial to victims of the grenade/shooting attack in Liege</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Given <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-last-week-in-madrid-and-my-decision.html">my experiences in Spain</a>, I was pretty dubious that it would work, but I rocked on up at the Liege Town Hall with Lena to do the translating, and asked for a Declaration of Arrival, normally only given to those on a real long-term visa. She asked "do you have proof of how/when you arrived in Belgium?", "Do you have proof of a visa?", and "Do you have proof of address?", I answered no to all three, and apart from a scary moment when the fake address I gave her turned out to be an apartment building, she just shrugged her shoulders and gave me the paper anyway - totally unlike Spain! Now I see how <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-take-on-political-situation-in.html">Belgium managed to survive over a year with no government</a>! So unless they realise I was never at that address and give my name to Interpol, I reckon I'm safe for another three months! Lena and I spent a little while at the Liege Christmas market, where I scored yet another mug but this time shunned Gluhwine in favour of Peket, a kind of hard alcohol made from distilled grain in Liege, and shared the sobering experience of walking past the broken bus shelters and huge memorial to the victims of a<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/13/belgium-grenades-liege-_n_1145306.html"> grenade and shooting attack in Liege</a> just two days earlier.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu74fUkFTQ-RM-YS77WVHAVCkDyRWIWSnMt3zivj0oXx-5HGF1b04roqXTw0806xh9SVYnfYVGibZ7Nrm3kDeWeh6WYgTeN3FZvTYC7iF7-z_MSm7_Yt4WxXdbVBu_DwpWMXkTZfNB4a4/s1600/ollie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu74fUkFTQ-RM-YS77WVHAVCkDyRWIWSnMt3zivj0oXx-5HGF1b04roqXTw0806xh9SVYnfYVGibZ7Nrm3kDeWeh6WYgTeN3FZvTYC7iF7-z_MSm7_Yt4WxXdbVBu_DwpWMXkTZfNB4a4/s400/ollie.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie as a fireman/pirate/princess/spartan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And finally, like I said, Christmas and New Years have kind of been non-events for me this year. Christmas in the Netherlands is celebrated quite differently. There, Sinterklaas, or Santa Claus, sails on a boat from Spain on December 5th (Why Spain? Because centuries ago, Spain was the End of the World) accompanied by Zwarten Pieten, or Black Peters, black men with bright red lips and feathers in their caps that help deliver the presents. Sinterklaas leaves children presents and cookies in their shoes after the 5th - along with various small things, he left Pep and Ollie a toy kitchen this year, very cool!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ol-09ITlTzZOqMymGg2G6vN9BF_wzBjBMGCjvsq39OliFhGKD6S8UHM6JwvZCgCfbgxp2CugaHb7xMveijtqLmxQ_cSu5JPcrgsydkOm3GNz_-9K1yooaAiDoLrlDsPsGlGUbvQaSxE/s1600/pep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ol-09ITlTzZOqMymGg2G6vN9BF_wzBjBMGCjvsq39OliFhGKD6S8UHM6JwvZCgCfbgxp2CugaHb7xMveijtqLmxQ_cSu5JPcrgsydkOm3GNz_-9K1yooaAiDoLrlDsPsGlGUbvQaSxE/s400/pep.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princess Pepijn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The night before Rogier and the kids went to join Jacquie in the Netherlands for Christmas I gave them my present, a big box full of dress-up clothes. I'd been planning this for ages, but as usual things didn't go quite to plan, and I found it really hard finding articles to put in it - what I did find I collected in the UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and mum posted me some from NZ! I also wanted to put it in a wooden chest and paint 'Dress-Up' or something on the side, but Ikea has been sold out of wooden boxes for months, so its in a temporary fabric box for now - as usual, the kids are playing with the box as much as with the present inside, so I doubt it will last long! My attempt to use the present as bribery for good behavior for the day failed dismally, with me hauling a kicking and screaming Pepi out of the doctors office at one point. I had to laugh at all of the mothers with placid babies sitting there glaring at me, I was thinking "just you wait, one day this will be you!". The kids seemed to have settled on 'Fireman Ollie' and 'Policeman Pepi' outfits, but initially they were both into the barbie high heels and girlie necklaces, was very cute!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oMK1028ppeCmemek17xzQPa-5nGkqxsGtx03PXMnAa86QTgv0d3-n9xDQXkgmqEJKJzAYUkzBy_xX7vJyWb1Bx1OcO4P9HpEIH2bj2HJI5nJr6bwMEf1kP4CspwyPB2beDf4d3ivOGo/s1600/hardy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oMK1028ppeCmemek17xzQPa-5nGkqxsGtx03PXMnAa86QTgv0d3-n9xDQXkgmqEJKJzAYUkzBy_xX7vJyWb1Bx1OcO4P9HpEIH2bj2HJI5nJr6bwMEf1kP4CspwyPB2beDf4d3ivOGo/s400/hardy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve at Hardy's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, they all headed off on Christmas Eve, the day when most Europeans actually celebrate, and I spent the day nursing a hangover and trying to sort myself out to head out for dinner. I had dinner with two strangers via<a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/p/about-couchsurfers.html"> couchsurfing</a>, Hardy from Germany and Nicolas from Brazil. Hardy did a great job of hosting us, making salad followed buy wild pork and vegetables, and I made brownies with strawberries for dessert. It was another late night, followed by a 6am wakeup call to skype family back home, so I was struggling with the idea of heading out again on Christmas Day, but I made it to Markus' house for Christmas lunch, a big affair with ten of us, and a massive collaborative meal of lamb, beef, veges and salad, followed by a couple of different puddings and Austrian Christmas cookies. We represented about eight different countries, so it was quite an interesting day. Hardy and I attempted to go out that night, but there wasn't too much happening and we were both quite tired and called it a night around 2am, and then I rounded off my Christmas holiday by spending the next two days obsessively cleaning the house, even washing all of the kids' armchair covers and the inside of the fridge.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-wF8PiPv5jHitixspiIu95IFrIW_njUCo212AfHN1uLXzGzeV8VbxsdXLeB8CoVE4D8CX-IQxvU28gckiTpAt18VXmpAGw_sRLvz8Dr0qrv0DVn_WXDiurZSUIlnfAimLxbR3b74bwk/s1600/markus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-wF8PiPv5jHitixspiIu95IFrIW_njUCo212AfHN1uLXzGzeV8VbxsdXLeB8CoVE4D8CX-IQxvU28gckiTpAt18VXmpAGw_sRLvz8Dr0qrv0DVn_WXDiurZSUIlnfAimLxbR3b74bwk/s400/markus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Day at Markus'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm not too upset about spending New Years working, New Years has never been my thing anyway, as I usually find it to be quite disappointing. Jacquie and Rogier went to Maastricht in the Netherlands this afternoon, so I spent the rest of the day with the boys, baking scones and building obstacle courses around the house. The went to bed without any problem, and somehow didn't wake during the tremendous noise of the fireworks half an hour ago (its now 1am!) although Pepi has been up since and is now waiting for me to come and sleep in the big bed with him. At least I'm not spending New Years alone...<br />
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So I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years in whatever shape and form, and all the best for the year to come.<br />
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And greetings from Pepi..<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw7JburX5BeAP70v8tdd5tZvGisWYZcfBnwQyoqYUL_OxxkOabCKNZ4qaKsGjC8e5FfotTmoJVGRVD-Rqtndg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-37116674111378427332011-12-22T19:51:00.000+01:002012-07-16T21:25:06.450+02:00Reflections One Year In<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0kZDM_RI7yt-AtsOLOGjedBr4IYxXHBZX_VEOnRssQVWLrTE1RtZ3yQXWyvFgG6WjjRXTOYdF9XVT8nV683eKsONwBgIvJ4Jf4hGm6e5EoeDQbkXOoepbWPCbkrRSj9L73M4yNr6B_c/s1600/IMG_5951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0kZDM_RI7yt-AtsOLOGjedBr4IYxXHBZX_VEOnRssQVWLrTE1RtZ3yQXWyvFgG6WjjRXTOYdF9XVT8nV683eKsONwBgIvJ4Jf4hGm6e5EoeDQbkXOoepbWPCbkrRSj9L73M4yNr6B_c/s400/IMG_5951.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me looking at the view of Liege, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One year since <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2010/12/frustrating-flights-and-snowy-streets.html">I arrived in Europe</a>!<br />
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And what a year it's been. I spent Christmas in Germany and New Years skiing in Austria, then trained around Belgium, France and Switzerland before trying to sort out a visa and job in Madrid. When that fell apart I moved to Antwerp, Belgium to nanny for a family, which also ended badly, and then arranged to go and nanny for another family in Luxembourg, at which point I wrote this blog post, <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/06/reflections-six-months-in.html">Reflections Six Months In.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHKwDC-NZ_clELosVs8wll301Xyod8HxiHU5j20MhroqzfjIYZBU30_xHGNU2GHH4BVbSQKldUyKaiuvAnANDqqYJDRxXfI3WkBpuZIf6WoEy1m0Zt5AY9fTbbu6LuAPHiQxCN6lv0_8/s1600/IMG_6286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHKwDC-NZ_clELosVs8wll301Xyod8HxiHU5j20MhroqzfjIYZBU30_xHGNU2GHH4BVbSQKldUyKaiuvAnANDqqYJDRxXfI3WkBpuZIf6WoEy1m0Zt5AY9fTbbu6LuAPHiQxCN6lv0_8/s400/IMG_6286.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with two kiwi friends in London</td></tr>
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During the second half of this year, I spent a few weeks hanging out in an <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/07/back-to-harste-gottingen-in-summer.html">empty house in Germany and exploring the surrounding countryside</a>, headed down to <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/07/sicily-italy-days-four-and-five.html">Sicily for a week</a>, and then settled down here in Luxembourg. <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/08/nannying-take-two-week-one-as-au-pair.html">The beginning was tough</a>, it took quite a while for the kids and I to really get in the swing of things with each other, and I still don't feel 100% settled here, but I think that has a lot to do with the nature of Luxembourg itself, people are always coming and going to its hard to have a permanent group of friends. I've gotten out and about in Luxembourg itself quite a bit, but other than a few weekend trips away, including my <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/12/london-take-two.html">second visit to London</a>, things have been pretty quiet. You can check out the full list of <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/p/oh-places-youll-go.html">cities I've visited this year here.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mbg-IE-WrGRC7jE82bYQHtfi5w5H3iRdhHGdQtPqhFD7b4AyIi81c6i7XB__XloUP2nVL1B__RQ_TZAhYuukY5HP3uRztSfy6DCU2dtf3ZPBTGAqWBQG90nNwtPCWZA10cp158eAewI/s1600/IMG_6600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0mbg-IE-WrGRC7jE82bYQHtfi5w5H3iRdhHGdQtPqhFD7b4AyIi81c6i7XB__XloUP2nVL1B__RQ_TZAhYuukY5HP3uRztSfy6DCU2dtf3ZPBTGAqWBQG90nNwtPCWZA10cp158eAewI/s400/IMG_6600.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the ski lift at Rauris, Austria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Working out what the highlights of the year have been is difficult, there is simply so much that's been amazing. Spending <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2010/12/white-german-christmas.html">last Christmas in snow-covered Germany</a>, discovering different villages and castles and experiencing the Christmas market with Hauke and his friends was awesome. <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2010/12/learning-to-ski-in-austria.html">Learning how to ski</a> during a week on holiday with two German families too. <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/paris.html">My week in Paris</a> - the clubbing, the people, the food, the sights - which is surprizing because I went there expecting it to be overrated. My trip down to Sicily.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6ri1VtEYY9B4Iy_lNYQCieb-IRqLp3b8N6E-UwCa0d7BU_YqO_n4O6BNWxLKbZqz2HMFY34Z-ftqcnvoEsesWg-HmXevVSP_E7XCg4XhFGxbYxMzn3ky-q9vxQb8gzhC0h6NIlT-ylQ/s1600/IMG_6920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6ri1VtEYY9B4Iy_lNYQCieb-IRqLp3b8N6E-UwCa0d7BU_YqO_n4O6BNWxLKbZqz2HMFY34Z-ftqcnvoEsesWg-HmXevVSP_E7XCg4XhFGxbYxMzn3ky-q9vxQb8gzhC0h6NIlT-ylQ/s400/IMG_6920.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ollie and I in his first snow in Luxembourg</td></tr>
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And then all of the things like the moments when Pepi tells me he loves me, when Ollie first shouted my name, and when either of them runs up to me for a spontaneous kiss or hug - its taken us a long time to reach this stage, so I really appreciate it! The moments where I manage to navigate long train journeys, or find my way to someone's house in a strange city, and remember how lost I was when I first came to Europe! The moments when people's generosity and kindness just blow me away, the moments when I first discover something that you wouldn't dream of back in New Zealand, and the moments that make me accutely aware of how lucky I am to have grown up in New Zealand, with the family that I have and the opportunities I have had.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKv_wo6SKCy04Psj39ZyPFu_GRGIA9EsGBEssnHR5fQu6DdBJvajxnQ3cl7SWUO3tsRVy_X4ELTjlo1ufs6VaBKYWtmW2niCnqdET0rtihsLUKWb3yEQbFLiuG0UDU_agnjCSy856dCE/s1600/IMG_1164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKv_wo6SKCy04Psj39ZyPFu_GRGIA9EsGBEssnHR5fQu6DdBJvajxnQ3cl7SWUO3tsRVy_X4ELTjlo1ufs6VaBKYWtmW2niCnqdET0rtihsLUKWb3yEQbFLiuG0UDU_agnjCSy856dCE/s400/IMG_1164.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Alice and Arin, the kids I looked after in Antwerp</td></tr>
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Thinking about the lowlights of the year is also difficult. I guess, a lot has not gone to plan, and while I'm pretty adaptable, it has been disappointing. <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-last-week-in-madrid-and-my-decision.html">Not being able to stay in Spain</a> and so far not having learnt much of a third language has disappointed me. My time as a nanny in Belgium was a pretty big lowlight! While I did learn a lot there, overall I wasn't happy with the experience. Visiting friends and realising that time and distance has changed our relationship for the worse has been a lowlight too.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP58E44TSoGkK_tg1g5c2GBOaSszGT5YDBypiw1EVGJCtxXmFDWhL7tKqiJJLi0B2CAiap-fD-SnPATaT5qP0HqjvcmJATWEMn1cvij_l_qKgeIgxeuIsK2mzTOnMUvIlsr4WliCJ8G0/s1600/paris+lyon+185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP58E44TSoGkK_tg1g5c2GBOaSszGT5YDBypiw1EVGJCtxXmFDWhL7tKqiJJLi0B2CAiap-fD-SnPATaT5qP0HqjvcmJATWEMn1cvij_l_qKgeIgxeuIsK2mzTOnMUvIlsr4WliCJ8G0/s400/paris+lyon+185.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at the Eifel Tower, Paris, France</td></tr>
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I've learnt that I'm not your average tourist, I'm not happy just dashing from city to city partying and checking out the major attractions. I've gained a lot from spending as much time with locals as possible, doing small things like going to buy bread at the local french bakery with my host, and visiting small towns and villages. I've also learnt that, while flexibility and making decisions about where to go and when to go at the very last minute seems to be the typical approach to backpacking, you can save a lot of money buy booking in advance! I had to do a bit of research about how the train ticketing systems work in each country in order to get cheap deals, but in the end I saved a lot and don't feel like I missed out on anything but sticking to a itinerary.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWAPKJ8t-Fcfr1ZCSu2r7K0hsFKa9_iBFr7HRhPJrtglJAnxgPH0w5L08fGHd5_Eifio6Jvbd1VRcqRz6ASUQnLEY3peSO4ZSWVFETe-Ke12R-PXxO0EQby-QRPtn0QTeU_juhR3dBLs/s1600/IMG_6840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWAPKJ8t-Fcfr1ZCSu2r7K0hsFKa9_iBFr7HRhPJrtglJAnxgPH0w5L08fGHd5_Eifio6Jvbd1VRcqRz6ASUQnLEY3peSO4ZSWVFETe-Ke12R-PXxO0EQby-QRPtn0QTeU_juhR3dBLs/s400/IMG_6840.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me out partying with a bunch of Latinos here in Luxembourg</td></tr>
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Would I do anything differently? Not much. I would think twice before getting a Working Holiday Visa for a country that is new to the scheme! But overall, I think I'm happy with everything that I've done. How has this year changed me? I don't think I'll be able to answer that for a few more years! I'm definitely more worldly and knowledgeable. I've gained a lot of confidence in dealing with children, and I've become a lot more certain about having my own someday. In some ways, I've gained confidence, but in other ways, I've lost it - I'm no longer as certain about myself and where I'm going in life, I feel like I've lost a lot of my sense of self here, as many of the things that I would identify myself by, like my work, my community projects and my achievements aren't part of my life over here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrQaTuDaOhz_jYVUOCLCul3fWW4X1-1rH-QA4a8vWsF5MBzok35Os7NjWiFv0DHpOrRgPjQlzPdYx-L0mIKk1GPvy7_jXBWg7opDOdKhvo7-dD6nRO3orZYxjgc2FfzBJl48az0e3-Hk/s1600/IMG_4886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrQaTuDaOhz_jYVUOCLCul3fWW4X1-1rH-QA4a8vWsF5MBzok35Os7NjWiFv0DHpOrRgPjQlzPdYx-L0mIKk1GPvy7_jXBWg7opDOdKhvo7-dD6nRO3orZYxjgc2FfzBJl48az0e3-Hk/s400/IMG_4886.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in front of Vianden Castle, Luxembourg</td></tr>
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The year has been both fantastic and hard. I've seen and done so many truly amazing things, but living in brand-new countries has a lot of challenges. I miss just understanding everything, like the way things work if you want to post a parcel or buy a cellphone, or when the supermarkets will be closed due to public holidays. Everything being in a different language means that Google is not your best friend like it was back home, and finding simple objects can turn into huge missions when they aren't sold in the shops you expect them to be in. Not speaking the language means that its harder to go over and introduce yourself to the neighbours, its harder to ask questions when you're unsure of something, and its harder to make friends. As I said, I've also found the loss of identity quite hard. Going from someone who had done well both academically and professionally and had quite a few achievements to my name, to being just another illegal immigrant wiping kids' butts for a living has been tougher than I expected.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdLDtmagXQdfkv91hys_jA-CNZAUd-hLW7bqOW-LdkjXNMugDL1NBR_9vm1EI2CfYHlAX9u_2vGTwpHYzLCUWjABYWR4r0gDJhaug_zdHh4r2dnlPbNSTYowT4dqLaJ5gFrGT1BRYoUw/s1600/IMG_3613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdLDtmagXQdfkv91hys_jA-CNZAUd-hLW7bqOW-LdkjXNMugDL1NBR_9vm1EI2CfYHlAX9u_2vGTwpHYzLCUWjABYWR4r0gDJhaug_zdHh4r2dnlPbNSTYowT4dqLaJ5gFrGT1BRYoUw/s400/IMG_3613.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at an ancient theatre above the sea in Taormina, Sicily, Italy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And where to from here? One thing I have definitely learnt is that being on an OE means you can never truthfully answer that! Yesterday I would have said that I was going to be in Luxembourg for another six months before moving to Germany. Today, things beyond my control have changed and that no longer seems likely. However, I'm not ready to go home yet - I haven't achieved my goal of learning another language, there is still many countries to discover, and I'm terrified of going back to a country where I am an expensive flight away from anywhere else, especially considering almost all of my friends are either from overseas, or currently living overseas too.<br />
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So, bring on another year here in Europe!Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.4477525 5.7319330000000255 50.182793499999995 6.5272330000000247tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-55946843737058517702011-12-21T14:39:00.000+01:002011-12-21T14:39:49.581+01:00This is Why You're German<i>Normally I hate stereotypes and I don't want to cause anyone offense, but anyone that has been to Germany or has German friends should get a laugh out of some of these! Taken from the website www.thisiswhyyouregerman.com</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Xshodmi3ebP1JWnlm0zg43nE6FJmxr3CD_ric9boxxKXY5LMWk1z2gN2BkrxyLfL9zvWXsGNjpBi_CYk5bFg46UA6qx0gsNJRb85PCfiwm2dW4HCXKCBJXTdFu1nv5JQljC3K0Tc084/s1600/german.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Xshodmi3ebP1JWnlm0zg43nE6FJmxr3CD_ric9boxxKXY5LMWk1z2gN2BkrxyLfL9zvWXsGNjpBi_CYk5bFg46UA6qx0gsNJRb85PCfiwm2dW4HCXKCBJXTdFu1nv5JQljC3K0Tc084/s320/german.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>The concept of small talk still puzzles you.<br />
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<div>You call your cell phone "handy" and a projector "beamer".</div><div><br />
</div><div>You recycle not just bottles and cans but also light bulbs, water filters, batteries and printer cartridges.<br />
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<div>You separate your trash into more than five different bins.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Being on time means 15 minutes earlier to you.<br />
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<div>You are really upset when the Deutsche Bahn is yet again 5 minutes late.<br />
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</div><div>You wonder why all those people are standing waiting in line when it's easier to walk straight to the front.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>You go to the movies, the theater is empty, but you still look where your assigned seat is - even if it's the left-most seat in the front row.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFK_FI5lE5KXhAmFtnCcl0A3s_rNutTmWLzsH36_R77G_qPH1hyL_ejpEwbu6aBX6zBA2M2J1I2TSlT6EzXYvC6xTheP1quUEXXhSA6JNvlayJh__GLjGzWhbKoS9-p8FCxW_8CaWxdU/s1600/germans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFK_FI5lE5KXhAmFtnCcl0A3s_rNutTmWLzsH36_R77G_qPH1hyL_ejpEwbu6aBX6zBA2M2J1I2TSlT6EzXYvC6xTheP1quUEXXhSA6JNvlayJh__GLjGzWhbKoS9-p8FCxW_8CaWxdU/s320/germans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You write your Nouns with capital Letters when writing in english... and your Nationalities and Languages beginning with a small letter.<br />
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It's your birthday and you are paying for the drinks.<br />
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You answer the phone by identifying yourself with your surname rather than just "hello".<br />
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Your taxi drivers drive Mercedes and your police drive BMWs.<br />
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You assume all stores are closed on Sundays apart from the local railway station store.</div></div></div>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-57715162491062148042011-12-18T13:56:00.000+01:002011-12-18T13:56:29.727+01:00It's snowing!I was excited on Friday to see that the weather report looked like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNaOvMcRP94e1KUgBEE-xxBRHv7UKz-7BJhNkMp3Wi28fxKaGGmYmyQWeAjtU4KG2Ef0EnKgoemO1gLkGq0z7EhbVSlgiLeqtuEQUbzgzyLNmqSFtDfE4jTBoSHdHNzyrxmTdI7OUAbw/s1600/IMG_6813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNaOvMcRP94e1KUgBEE-xxBRHv7UKz-7BJhNkMp3Wi28fxKaGGmYmyQWeAjtU4KG2Ef0EnKgoemO1gLkGq0z7EhbVSlgiLeqtuEQUbzgzyLNmqSFtDfE4jTBoSHdHNzyrxmTdI7OUAbw/s400/IMG_6813.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, rain+snow. Cool.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRLvUIToxAPvQMVVJ2xycXAxZECnP3UQ6gFT13cVw2CwFQQEZxKeK4uppnT4Pi9XMqXFneUHeHlJYn7gm6NGpP1wuaKEySilh5zhyphenhyphen_w6Z7RuEwSZDEYbSqkYHRSO_nOfwFcm1v8FdTuM/s1600/IMG_6832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRLvUIToxAPvQMVVJ2xycXAxZECnP3UQ6gFT13cVw2CwFQQEZxKeK4uppnT4Pi9XMqXFneUHeHlJYn7gm6NGpP1wuaKEySilh5zhyphenhyphen_w6Z7RuEwSZDEYbSqkYHRSO_nOfwFcm1v8FdTuM/s400/IMG_6832.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>On Friday night it snowed. I went outside at 2am and then freaked out because something was falling on me, I thought the roof was breaking apart or something. Unfortunately it didn't really stick and when I woke up on Saturday morning the world was still green, although it was freezing cold and smelt like snow.<br />
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Stupidly I forgot all of that when getting dressed to go out on Saturday night, and it wasn't until I opened the door wearing high heels, a short skirt and a top that goes see-through when wet that I noticed it was seriously snowing! Knowing I would miss my bus if I changed, I headed out anyway, and 50m down the road decided I was already over the snow!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrsak_jT7Kyj3rOfYL92Cp7K4jsauV_GdVg7e-10vsUPxLs3o6Tlbg4eC0DttWmnStv7_qc-BmUQwRAQ2PsNw4gu1dAZWdcEJGMXj4ZhYW74-fcAE-d3lBlUiZ6eSE_HK5b9YQzL78O4/s1600/IMG_6833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrsak_jT7Kyj3rOfYL92Cp7K4jsauV_GdVg7e-10vsUPxLs3o6Tlbg4eC0DttWmnStv7_qc-BmUQwRAQ2PsNw4gu1dAZWdcEJGMXj4ZhYW74-fcAE-d3lBlUiZ6eSE_HK5b9YQzL78O4/s320/IMG_6833.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Sitting in the bus, and later in the bar, listening to the french, german and spanish being spoken around me and watching the snow fall down among the old buildings and christmas decorations was pretty cool though. I think I've never really been out and about while it was snowing, like I've gone out to play in the snow, or ski, or even to walk to school or whatever, but I guess it normally snowed at night, or we thought it was so bad that we stopped everything we were doing and huddled inside. So, it was quite a cool experience to just take the bus into town, spend a few hours drinking and dancing, and then take the late-night bus home while the snow was falling all around me. Have to say though, high heels+snow+cobblestone streets = seriously bad idea. Through in my propensity for general clumsiness and you're in for some real trouble!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v8eVgPw6q_1ApcXUa39eNb7kiyEvlLU0AxPjsyZf3AXF_mRByM30JNMHafEdct3xjl0x-aMHaJtPzj1slhf0hGTxUtTKZis_y0OtLQgK3P5pf1Jhp5HwlGjaRHiaYRStX7BH_V0UesU/s1600/pepi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v8eVgPw6q_1ApcXUa39eNb7kiyEvlLU0AxPjsyZf3AXF_mRByM30JNMHafEdct3xjl0x-aMHaJtPzj1slhf0hGTxUtTKZis_y0OtLQgK3P5pf1Jhp5HwlGjaRHiaYRStX7BH_V0UesU/s400/pepi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I had the kids the following morning and was really hoping that the snow would stick. Luckily it did, and the kids didn't notice it until around 8.30am, and then I managed to drag out us actually getting out of the house until 9am. I threw them in multiple layers of clothing and put my ski pants on myself and out we went.<br />
<br />
For two-year old Ollie, this was his first snow, and he walked out of the door and just stopped and stared with this "what the..." look on his face! It took him a bit of persuading to get amongst it. There was no holding Pepi back though, we got straight into making a snowman, which turned into a huge drama as Ollie got really into the 'ball' and got really upset that we were just using him for the snowman. Heaps of tears, so I made him his own snowball. Two seconds later, it was broken on the ground. More tears. Another snowball. More tears. Another snowball. Pepi had commandered my gloves as we couldn't find his, and my hands were freezing, and Ollie was howling so loud I swear the neighbours all hate us now!<br />
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Here's the snow from Ollie's perspective:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5zMhLVXfEZT_15aBFNU6pn54BUJqABydG4Sr8JXZeOeo0GpW2AvxJD1dR-TQETO5zrnfEbw3APr_hBXJw-fpd29qzRjOx301wOmRJ6SNeIAYO0Co2etUfORPTYgaf8GEhS9KXOAeddI/s1600/one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5zMhLVXfEZT_15aBFNU6pn54BUJqABydG4Sr8JXZeOeo0GpW2AvxJD1dR-TQETO5zrnfEbw3APr_hBXJw-fpd29qzRjOx301wOmRJ6SNeIAYO0Co2etUfORPTYgaf8GEhS9KXOAeddI/s400/one.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Um, Claire, whuck is all this white stuff?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpaq0yvc4LGKwprllc6-E_gnECQtplinddxm6SgnRIDfgNFjlD2LmhOZRCZAao4AS5oNXY5WgdK_jAe5QPEXvYPL0GSwtHV2QFZX_599xf7tyqMUgrxJFR3xbGAjXBhbIoQZJsgcgGns/s1600/two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHpaq0yvc4LGKwprllc6-E_gnECQtplinddxm6SgnRIDfgNFjlD2LmhOZRCZAao4AS5oNXY5WgdK_jAe5QPEXvYPL0GSwtHV2QFZX_599xf7tyqMUgrxJFR3xbGAjXBhbIoQZJsgcgGns/s400/two.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's cold, it's wet. Girl, what are you doing to me!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmeMIlziVWQsROPnLxRqpxZFl9c9xFTbEkoHBnKbx-MwjQueflAW-eWvZlAWl36orl0XPjwAwkLlxTfXvkA8r7HnhpI_eUulkCWIMTPToasraJWwhYEv5UOf5KvZlEO0P3WBBqRlxF4E/s1600/three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmeMIlziVWQsROPnLxRqpxZFl9c9xFTbEkoHBnKbx-MwjQueflAW-eWvZlAWl36orl0XPjwAwkLlxTfXvkA8r7HnhpI_eUulkCWIMTPToasraJWwhYEv5UOf5KvZlEO0P3WBBqRlxF4E/s400/three.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"BALL!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAo78MeHpgCURQ73dx4LqMARHHhy1TFfag8xjdM5gk2creqA2JDYcUGR3QT-ePYocv1gIcZ092WJmWwe1EUQRr5NYGysQqHjeeWkGX_IyBV0YQvxpXDXL2XxVmhuHF0UhKzvkZrwa010/s1600/four.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAo78MeHpgCURQ73dx4LqMARHHhy1TFfag8xjdM5gk2creqA2JDYcUGR3QT-ePYocv1gIcZ092WJmWwe1EUQRr5NYGysQqHjeeWkGX_IyBV0YQvxpXDXL2XxVmhuHF0UhKzvkZrwa010/s400/four.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Baaaaalllllllllll"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3rNh5bUBl_7GRNXa0SoLSKA8_E60HFRzaUSL18KDWqnDRgppx4yo5O1PIMlCj5IxUa8YExuVC88G7ieUc8aGRblQc15uFv-l7v634dT8WqD2xcKCR03MKvE1Jrs3tr5-kalBSj1xxk8/s1600/five.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3rNh5bUBl_7GRNXa0SoLSKA8_E60HFRzaUSL18KDWqnDRgppx4yo5O1PIMlCj5IxUa8YExuVC88G7ieUc8aGRblQc15uFv-l7v634dT8WqD2xcKCR03MKvE1Jrs3tr5-kalBSj1xxk8/s400/five.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I want a snow ball!!!!!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQPSmhqHbOd9MVP-vmMmFB2olihDtRRBoeUwDu_ANHucEX0UHQhblW2mKjMtygbU7ikC8dyQDdyeAgKS7JGqR622QiCD1wAj9YrlR8PjkqY_-oxNQLV8mu_C8EVkf0zxZ6Jd1g3h6PwM/s1600/six.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQPSmhqHbOd9MVP-vmMmFB2olihDtRRBoeUwDu_ANHucEX0UHQhblW2mKjMtygbU7ikC8dyQDdyeAgKS7JGqR622QiCD1wAj9YrlR8PjkqY_-oxNQLV8mu_C8EVkf0zxZ6Jd1g3h6PwM/s400/six.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hmm, this throwing thing looks like fun"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6NznNN3yxMf7EVCIk-64msvKrHCyQNHdgyWCuPNI10OMX24_jAm2odre0nny-LY8UMq7v9Z41oqL5KSWK03gSnGymXW0Tb0wFq29oeRajKnFIA2ZbiIpt0vhUeTVmQb_ZMaTJWeOgOc/s1600/seven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6NznNN3yxMf7EVCIk-64msvKrHCyQNHdgyWCuPNI10OMX24_jAm2odre0nny-LY8UMq7v9Z41oqL5KSWK03gSnGymXW0Tb0wFq29oeRajKnFIA2ZbiIpt0vhUeTVmQb_ZMaTJWeOgOc/s400/seven.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ahaha, payback time, nanny"</td></tr>
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Finally Pepi and I managed to distract him with snow fights, until Ollie worked out he could actually throw the snow back at us (previously these <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-weekend-alone-with-kids.html">fights have been pretty one sided!</a>) and I got outnumbered by them, we all got wet and cold, and it really was time to head inside and make hot chocolate. It was so cool though getting to see Ollie really experience the snow for the first time, and I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun out there in it during the next month!<br />
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More photos of the snow in Luxembourg Ville and the kids are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2764803363930.2147398.1373259720&type=1&l=93b535af0a">here</a>.Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Luxembourg49.815273 6.129583000000025149.621973 5.8795980000000254 50.008573 6.3795680000000248tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-38906203732472017372011-12-07T13:15:00.000+01:002011-12-07T13:15:19.981+01:00Strasbourg at Christmas time<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A5qX4n_wWTR9p7NEYrYtIcvPNIEIdWSX0dNQ085sT9Ni_M8IMKtRiqcl_JtqiRB83u3ZSp8SHqn7hyphenhyphenFZs7ohtgjKA64fbYy7G8qdb1_gmq1UbY9ygcHmAHS1SCsnWKDRSf1BV8Mf42I/s1600/IMG_6718+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A5qX4n_wWTR9p7NEYrYtIcvPNIEIdWSX0dNQ085sT9Ni_M8IMKtRiqcl_JtqiRB83u3ZSp8SHqn7hyphenhyphenFZs7ohtgjKA64fbYy7G8qdb1_gmq1UbY9ygcHmAHS1SCsnWKDRSf1BV8Mf42I/s400/IMG_6718+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Strasbourg - Capital of Christmas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">This weekend past I headed to Strasbourg, France, to catch up with Hauke who is there for a year on a study exchange (between European universities it's called Erasmus). Strasbourg is only about 250km away, so two hours on a direct train. I'd been there for a day trip back in March when I'd been <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/mulhouse-french-food-german-buildings.html">visiting a friend further south, in Mulhouse</a>. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbMcXtx3qIjCfRrDfwPCpyUek7UZEOWvhAzZ_GtRO0D-qR9e_-Kqf8R34IpdRheBRD-Y07Bs9V5hwTDtjadbUDSINLfP7562B29ZYjBIncYB3Po-MS146PL5tdQKjt6hx3b_dHiteims/s1600/IMG_6656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbMcXtx3qIjCfRrDfwPCpyUek7UZEOWvhAzZ_GtRO0D-qR9e_-Kqf8R34IpdRheBRD-Y07Bs9V5hwTDtjadbUDSINLfP7562B29ZYjBIncYB3Po-MS146PL5tdQKjt6hx3b_dHiteims/s400/IMG_6656.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Hauke and I before the ball</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">I arrived at 3pm, and after dropping my stuff at his place we headed to the mall. Shopping usually isn't on the cards when we get together, but we were going to a ball at the university that night and we needed formal stuff. We were dashing from store to store, and kept bumping into another Erasmus student on a mission to find tights, but finally got everything done and after a few laughs at the awkwardness of Hauke trying to ask the lingerie shop assistant for a backless bra for me in french, we headed home to get dressed and have a few drinks before we went out.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgEcQpdij20KY-E4a-TRsAJ3VZU0miSL_rf11Jy2LeJTy8Kz9HqEi6UwdJd-OfeUND8Iw7qphdEoyWWIySwaW66RUkMg3m9tD9A_BURBTJICkktF5HANiAIFUzzuoG4IsYRlcoNflnOs/s1600/erasmus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgEcQpdij20KY-E4a-TRsAJ3VZU0miSL_rf11Jy2LeJTy8Kz9HqEi6UwdJd-OfeUND8Iw7qphdEoyWWIySwaW66RUkMg3m9tD9A_BURBTJICkktF5HANiAIFUzzuoG4IsYRlcoNflnOs/s400/erasmus.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A bunch of the Erasmus students</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Rita from Ireland and Majorie from the USA came over, and after we were all dressed up and well-watered and had taken the obligatory prom photos we headed in. A lot of people had paid to go earlier and eat, so we were arriving as everyone was already into the swing of things and lost no time on catching up by drinking the cheap beer. A lot of faces of other Erasmus students became a bit of a blur, and while we had a good time, nothing exceptionally remarkable happened, and then sometime around 4am we toddled home with us girls feeling rather sorry for ourselves after a night in extremely high heels.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8yBE6J9Br7EOtFteDacM1JDERNgi2z3-yIev6Be5oVVf-1H4XHAMDBi8ymtNGjuyAzGI8gNrmw92QyDMQB4F1G4U8Sus5mBsg8nRni2NQttUioWyw_q4nPBJQD3p1zBbX7dd2W1Y498/s1600/square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8yBE6J9Br7EOtFteDacM1JDERNgi2z3-yIev6Be5oVVf-1H4XHAMDBi8ymtNGjuyAzGI8gNrmw92QyDMQB4F1G4U8Sus5mBsg8nRni2NQttUioWyw_q4nPBJQD3p1zBbX7dd2W1Y498/s400/square.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">One of the many squares in Strasbourg</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Saturday got off to a slow start, we didn't make it out the door until after 3pm, but we headed into town to see the Christmas Market. Strasbourg has a really famous and large one, which unlike in most cities, is spread all around the place, with many sections having specific themes. Each year they invite a different country to have their own section as a guest of honour, so this year there was a 'Little Switzerland' section with a lot of cheese and watches, including a fondue stand where instead of dipping things into a pot full of melted cheese they had cut massive wheels of cheese in half and had managed to melt the cheese on the inside, so that the half wheel was working as a kind of bowl that they could dip things into.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Hauke drunk some Gluhwine (mulled wine) but I was doubtful that my stomach was prepared to hold that down after what I'd put it through the previous night, and so I stuck to spiced hot orange juice, a nice alternative that I haven't seen before.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhR7rTMYmqEk43oelU9r3lCwGdmDhJVyJ2UhdizvVtY8JcU_hQ8_IL1Hv4fAf2ifSUvv6h1HJoLq0cNIRj7X1-z0Mz41IUxUwRsRifamrYXi3fqaKYhFpMcgSd4xBG0NAvB8XaituhY8/s1600/decorations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhR7rTMYmqEk43oelU9r3lCwGdmDhJVyJ2UhdizvVtY8JcU_hQ8_IL1Hv4fAf2ifSUvv6h1HJoLq0cNIRj7X1-z0Mz41IUxUwRsRifamrYXi3fqaKYhFpMcgSd4xBG0NAvB8XaituhY8/s400/decorations.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Christmas decorations in a pedestrian alleyway in the centre</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The Christmas decorations in Strasbourg are really hard to convey through photos, just the shear volume of stuff decorating each tiny alleyway and each shop made it hard as photos where too noisy for you to be able to recognize individual decorations, and photos can't show the atmosphere or how packed the place was. It really was incredible, I thought the Christmas markets and decorations that I've seen in Germany and here in Luxembourg were amazing, but they have nothing on Strasbourg. One street even had a row of actual chandeliers encased in glass or fabric boxes suspended down the middle. The council's electrical bill must be massive, as would be the amount of money poured into buying and installing the decorations, but I guess they get it back from all of the tourists. I also didn't take so many photos because it was just too damn cold to seriously consider taking my hands out of my pockets!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtxkRq9a8dT9m5TO1eO_1-EERcibpzjDtpolo2z8JTJq4Ys5Zdt-yueaD-qJCa9H0nDIFquNSCWT87UtVsfnKtjJHynX3WYTIvcx4Y_o6Y_3u3LgtO6U2PF3c4v7E88I0uuZcesAoPEk/s1600/gluhwine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtxkRq9a8dT9m5TO1eO_1-EERcibpzjDtpolo2z8JTJq4Ys5Zdt-yueaD-qJCa9H0nDIFquNSCWT87UtVsfnKtjJHynX3WYTIvcx4Y_o6Y_3u3LgtO6U2PF3c4v7E88I0uuZcesAoPEk/s400/gluhwine.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Woman serving Gluhwine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The sun is currently setting before 5pm here in Europe, and it was really windy in Strasbourg, so while I think it was a lot warmer than Luxembourg, with the wind chill it was really freezing and we ended up sitting inside the massive Cathedral for quite a while just to try and keep warm! We had another quick gluhwine with a guy Hauke knew from highschool and some of his own Erasmus friends, the three of them had come for the weekend too, and then headed back home to warm up again!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnKcbTT92ME5pmWhfiqvkefbX4KGIMSBi_GE_CjMw26nzqX2sgMEPv2CiwJXjW7e17KNNv_4445CBRj3AKlCyypUo3t3GH2tVKqQ3ppadiIJ78G1MccUxhDq1auIKS3ynZXh7uoyhwIc/s1600/mexican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnKcbTT92ME5pmWhfiqvkefbX4KGIMSBi_GE_CjMw26nzqX2sgMEPv2CiwJXjW7e17KNNv_4445CBRj3AKlCyypUo3t3GH2tVKqQ3ppadiIJ78G1MccUxhDq1auIKS3ynZXh7uoyhwIc/s400/mexican.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dinner at the Mexican place</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">We'd planned the night before to go out for dinner with some of the other Erasmus students, so we met them and went to a mexican place that Latin-American-born Majorie insisted was awesome. Unfortunately it was so awesome that it was really full, so we ended up going away for a beer and not getting to eat until 10pm! Luckily it was really worth the wait, everyone enjoyed their quesadillas and fajitas, and Hauke managed to eat his own 'plate full of different meats' (just meat. Big hunks of fried meat. Crazy!) meal and then finish off two of ours' as well!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HKt-jnQQ5Kty7_BAfwpm2lW9_qcMNgR44UQIDUVUnqyat8qJoVn3JCyDMte3zJW7TdEg7vngJBL6q_uSQ-zmvATsKIF5ilkroElvrgEWYvB3U7B25U6gATaicYlFk3IasSEbASti5f0/s1600/street+por.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HKt-jnQQ5Kty7_BAfwpm2lW9_qcMNgR44UQIDUVUnqyat8qJoVn3JCyDMte3zJW7TdEg7vngJBL6q_uSQ-zmvATsKIF5ilkroElvrgEWYvB3U7B25U6gATaicYlFk3IasSEbASti5f0/s400/street+por.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Wandering around the city</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">We'd wanted to go out that night, but everyone was so tired from the previous night and so full from dinner that no one was really up for it, and we kept having issues with bouncers and places being full. After one last attempt to go to the University nightclub, a random place above what I think was a small shopping mall in amongst all the uni buildings, we called it a night and went home to bed instead.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">We again didn't make it out of bed before lunchtime the next morning, and in the afternoon headed back into town. There probably is more to do in Strasbourg than either of us realise, but with me having been there before and it being so cold and christmas-dominated, we mostly just kept wandering around. We did manage to climb to the top of the Cathedral, which was cool but not as impressive as it once would have been, having climbed up church towers with similar views in most European cities that I've visited!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qfBfXGdXFkrF8rFVYJ4p89BwQSVJOAyCsJjkZfWcv8GF_wblG9bR1XCugHWg5R3uBmvAQ8ZRe6WwfoTedxcsjtNqdmJN9bqN11sdAYIuBLKk6qp4_CW8xmKIZsrDQm4ZBvmWWBmUy0U/s1600/view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qfBfXGdXFkrF8rFVYJ4p89BwQSVJOAyCsJjkZfWcv8GF_wblG9bR1XCugHWg5R3uBmvAQ8ZRe6WwfoTedxcsjtNqdmJN9bqN11sdAYIuBLKk6qp4_CW8xmKIZsrDQm4ZBvmWWBmUy0U/s400/view.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">View of the rooftops from the Cathedral</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Finally, we met up with Rita for a little bit, got our photo taken with a random drunk Russian, and headed back to the warmth to watch a movie before I headed to the train station for the evening train back to Luxembourg.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Photos are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2744820744377.2147107.1373259720&type=1&l=bdcae836c5">here,</a> or even better ones from the last time that I was in Strasbourg are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1904162168438.2111868.1373259720&type=1&l=42e618dc5d">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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</span></span>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0Strasbourg, France48.583148 7.747882000000004248.5060395 7.6739310000000041 48.6602565 7.8218330000000043tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879762290931124032.post-35283478608479066262011-12-06T15:14:00.000+01:002011-12-06T15:14:19.514+01:00Generosity this Christmas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGEPo95dC3NjPmf_g1flX3YcDrw6uOW2cLwnh9SDMQE0Ofh64v3n-eyl1_NgIfUjw1iiMYiykkd_GVE-glvk4KRaTJdIHPDmZSz9kleMvSER3k12Oajiaxux7FUBuuR9_OM15teIa5n4/s1600/afs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #333399; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGEPo95dC3NjPmf_g1flX3YcDrw6uOW2cLwnh9SDMQE0Ofh64v3n-eyl1_NgIfUjw1iiMYiykkd_GVE-glvk4KRaTJdIHPDmZSz9kleMvSER3k12Oajiaxux7FUBuuR9_OM15teIa5n4/s400/afs.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can take anything away from this blog and the experiences I've had, it is the benefit of opening your doors and hearts to people from all around the world. In doing so myself I've been rewarded with amazing friends, and people opening their doors to me while I've been trying to learn more about the world and myself has really made this trip possible. I can't thank people enough for everything that has been done for me during the past year.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, in the spirit of Christmas, how about you consider opening your doors to a young person from somewhere else in the world yourself?</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was hosted by an amazing family during my AFS exchange year to Costa Rica, and my family has hosted a Costa Rican girl and <a href="http://clairepettigrewaeuropa.blogspot.com/2011/03/paris.html">French boy</a> since my return.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only requirement is a open heart and a spare bed. AFS exchange families come in all shapes and sizes, from young singles to retired couples and everything in between. You don't need to be the richest family on the block, or the most family-time focused one, there is always a young person that will fit in with your lifestyle. Just think about it. Interested but can't commit for a long-term exchange? Talk to me about other options.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in return for opening your doors to someone else, I know you will be amazed by the doors that will open in return to you. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7rURa_UeBHpqAn7Qyf2a-_zlUef4Lk4HXBcKsekc1CDJqZPwnZrpqCdhv8gxcQFIf591LmbxjOjfSAOuuLcoiFecu-jg-cCnHlo6SEfJWJ-eQNjLjPEOoT-EqWPeIF5Xo9bF4rYBxNs/s1600/Nick%252C+Germany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7rURa_UeBHpqAn7Qyf2a-_zlUef4Lk4HXBcKsekc1CDJqZPwnZrpqCdhv8gxcQFIf591LmbxjOjfSAOuuLcoiFecu-jg-cCnHlo6SEfJWJ-eQNjLjPEOoT-EqWPeIF5Xo9bF4rYBxNs/s1600/Nick%252C+Germany.jpg" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nick, Germany, 16</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nick comes from a family of 5, and is the oldest of 3 brothers. He very much enjoys astronomy and owns his own telescope. He also enjoys taking photos of the night sky. He also enjoys skiing and playing strategy games. Nick is described as an honest, ambitious and respectful person. He is looking forward to coming to New Zealand and exploring our beautiful country and is excited to be part of a Kiwi family.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh_eoP3Hl5r6djakzk_n4fv3PAHPoLiXMCsi_mVBBiwwP8z7siKDdbp4jGnIrrg-6ZCMAygYLXL4-UZpvSV6mBwj8HFqL2bL8iHsFCJtk9ASHdUr3J2G_8_gZvYAY9BM9PnGEZ1hKG-I/s1600/Veronica%252C+Finland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh_eoP3Hl5r6djakzk_n4fv3PAHPoLiXMCsi_mVBBiwwP8z7siKDdbp4jGnIrrg-6ZCMAygYLXL4-UZpvSV6mBwj8HFqL2bL8iHsFCJtk9ASHdUr3J2G_8_gZvYAY9BM9PnGEZ1hKG-I/s1600/Veronica%252C+Finland.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Veronica, Finland, 17</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Veronica is an active young lady with numerous interests. She plays tennis, goes to the gym, does cross-country and downhill skiing, does horse riding and has taken dancing lessons just to name a few. She applied to go exchange after doing a school presentation on New Zealand. She came home and told her parents she wanted to go on exchange to New Zealand. She also has artistic endeavours and enjoys photography. Her parents describe her as positive with a good sense of humour.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKI_jlRfktR25elUg6D-j9mH4JUUvEMhExaxqo4LbrYFIcY057wHpl2AppQngPuusnLd0dFWN-MsWHibmbOhyphenhyphenBHIl-tU47SM-MCuec-d3MSoM0rtOJEjVapedWKrrqEJ0S1m-MAcyDvc/s1600/Luiz+Felipe%252C+Brazil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKI_jlRfktR25elUg6D-j9mH4JUUvEMhExaxqo4LbrYFIcY057wHpl2AppQngPuusnLd0dFWN-MsWHibmbOhyphenhyphenBHIl-tU47SM-MCuec-d3MSoM0rtOJEjVapedWKrrqEJ0S1m-MAcyDvc/s1600/Luiz+Felipe%252C+Brazil.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Luiz Felipe, Brazil, 17</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Luiz Felipe is a friendly and easy going person. He likes to keep busy and enjoys such sports as soccer, surfing and swimming. Twice a week he does volunteer work teaching disadvantaged children how to use computers and he really enjoys this. Luiz Felipe also takes drama and performs in the end of year school play. When he finishes his studies Luiz Felipe wants to study to become a doctor and more specifically a neurosurgeon.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEASxrZ1yvoU5KjgtJotRT2kFXte1-lj_AXRgZ3emLRKi0SRtXhm95tCK3xe62pyQTSzqTzgMDhupD_sXlzoutRRx2hQ-yCBr-cTLH0JzALeK9bKw3I4uw_79RbNbt056UBkqslJJTpE/s1600/AFS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: none; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: center;"></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More student profiles and information can be found <a href="http://www.afs.org.nz/Host/">here</a>, or by calling 0800 600 300</span></span></div><div class="post-footer" style="color: #999999; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em;"></div>Claire Pettigrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06354732219816614204noreply@blogger.com0