Also wanted to share that two weeks ago my sister had a baby boy so now I am an aunt again. He is a little bundle of joy-Benyamin Zev. And my favorite little man Noah is now a big brother.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Holiday season continues. . .
Well winter had been in full force here in Holland. During the Chanukah holiday we had our first batch of snow. It is something to get used to living in a place where people do not shovel their walkways and the plows do a terrible job on the streets. After a snow storm the ground is very icy and it is hard to get around.
Chanukah was nice as we celebrated with friends. We went to one friend’s house and had fresh potato pancakes and jelly donuts. Yum, yum. Then on one of the last days of Chanukah, the town held its community Chanukah celebration and candle lighting. It was held in the city hall and was very nice. The rabbi and his wife organized. They made the menorah out of food cans (see picture) and had the American and Israeli Ambassador on site to help light the candles. They also had some of the kids of the community sing Chanukah songs. It was a nice turnout and a very lovely event. Unlike what we are used to at home, in town there were no Chanukah decorations or even menorahs in people’s windows. Therefore this event was so nice to be able to feel the Chanukah spirit. After the event we had to go to Dutch class and bought in some Chanukah chocolate coins to tell about the holiday. Then on another night Scott and I went to see the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables in the movie theater. It was our Chanukah gift to each other. As we both like musicals, I knew this would be fun for us. Since Les Miserables recently turned 25th, the producers put on the show in a huge stadium in London and recorded it to be seen all over the world. Was so great. I recommend to anyone who likes Les Miserables.
Recently my aunt and dad told me that my grandpa had a friend who lived in Holland and maybe I could call him and see if he was still around. My grandpa had worked with a Dutch company, so he found himself in Holland a few times and become close with this man named Ferdi. Over the years they had stayed in touch and even after my grandpa passed away, my aunt stayed in touch. I called Ferdi and he lives about a half hour from The Hague, so I made plans to go over and meet him. I brought pictures of my family as I knew he would be interested. We met in the train station and he was this cute old man. He was 92 years old and had fond memories of time spent with my grandpa. We went back to his house and I showed him pictures of my family and he was able to show me a picture he had of my grandparents. It was such a nice experience for me to meet him and was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with him. My aunt and my dad really enjoyed hearing about my time with him. My very cute because Ferdi referred to my aunt by her nickname. It was so heartwarming because it meant that my grandpa referred to my aunt that way. I hope to visit him again soon.
Then a funny thing happened the next day. Scott called me early in the morning and asked if I wanted to meet up with my cousin. I was so confused, but he explained my cousin was traveling around Europe and happened to have a meeting in The Hague so wanted to see if we were free. Turns out my cousin got stuck by the snow in Europe, so ended up sleeping in the airport in Munich and then found himself early in Amsterdam, so he had some free time that wasn’t expected. Was so nice to meet up and spend time with family. Was ironic because the day before I had spend the entire afternoon talking about my family and then the next day a member of the family showed up. We took a picture to share with everyone at home. See above.
Then over the weekend we had friends come from Amsterdam to hang out. We were able to show them our pizza making skills, and they said the pizza was good and then we headed over to see an IMAX movie in town. We were a bit worried as we read the movie would be in Dutch, but were happy to see when we arrived that they had headphones you could use if you wanted English. See this is why it has been so hard to learn Dutch. You really never need to use it when living in this country. Was a great movie about the ocean floor and was such a fun time.
Now a classic story about living in Holland and medical care-As some of you may know I arrived here with a herniated disc and have been dealing with it since last spring. I had gone to a doctor in September and she recommended Physical therapy and said to come back in time to see if it was helping. So I made an appointment and went back. I arrived and started asking questions about my back and then proceeded to be insulted by the doctor. She told me I was asking too many questions and said she couldn’t give me a proper diagnosis because I had not been back in months (every though she had not told me to come back for a while.) She told me she needed to review my MRI (which I had given her the first time I saw her) with the radiologist and would call me back Friday night. I told her that would not work and she said ok I will call you back next Friday night. I explained to her she could not call me back because I do not speak on the phone after sundown on Friday. She had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I had three heads. Was one of the worst doctor visits I had ever had. I called Scott hysterically crying afterwards and he assured me was a one time event and I wouldn’t have to go back. I have never been told by a doctor I was asking to many questions. Thankfully she called me on a Friday afternoon and prescribed more physical therapy and I am going to schedule follow ups with a different doctor as I never want to see her again.
Well in the weeks right before Christmas we had another massive snowstorm and almost a foot of snow. Again made travel a mess. Everywhere it has been icy and has been really annoying. Also since has been so cold, all the pipes outside our house froze. Since the water wasn’t draining we had a minor flood into the house. Scott took off all the pipes and we de-iced them in the house. I am attaching pictures of the big icicles that came from inside the pipes. Everyone we have spoken to has told us they also have had minor leaks from this weather. The people here are not set up for this type of weather, since it was not usually like this, though as has been for a few years I think this is now the norm, not the exception.
Now we are in the midst of Christmas weekend here in The Hague. Most everything was closed so we stayed in and made some yummy egg drop soup and a chicken stir fry.
That is the latest for now. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Chanukah was nice as we celebrated with friends. We went to one friend’s house and had fresh potato pancakes and jelly donuts. Yum, yum. Then on one of the last days of Chanukah, the town held its community Chanukah celebration and candle lighting. It was held in the city hall and was very nice. The rabbi and his wife organized. They made the menorah out of food cans (see picture) and had the American and Israeli Ambassador on site to help light the candles. They also had some of the kids of the community sing Chanukah songs. It was a nice turnout and a very lovely event. Unlike what we are used to at home, in town there were no Chanukah decorations or even menorahs in people’s windows. Therefore this event was so nice to be able to feel the Chanukah spirit. After the event we had to go to Dutch class and bought in some Chanukah chocolate coins to tell about the holiday. Then on another night Scott and I went to see the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables in the movie theater. It was our Chanukah gift to each other. As we both like musicals, I knew this would be fun for us. Since Les Miserables recently turned 25th, the producers put on the show in a huge stadium in London and recorded it to be seen all over the world. Was so great. I recommend to anyone who likes Les Miserables.
Recently my aunt and dad told me that my grandpa had a friend who lived in Holland and maybe I could call him and see if he was still around. My grandpa had worked with a Dutch company, so he found himself in Holland a few times and become close with this man named Ferdi. Over the years they had stayed in touch and even after my grandpa passed away, my aunt stayed in touch. I called Ferdi and he lives about a half hour from The Hague, so I made plans to go over and meet him. I brought pictures of my family as I knew he would be interested. We met in the train station and he was this cute old man. He was 92 years old and had fond memories of time spent with my grandpa. We went back to his house and I showed him pictures of my family and he was able to show me a picture he had of my grandparents. It was such a nice experience for me to meet him and was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with him. My aunt and my dad really enjoyed hearing about my time with him. My very cute because Ferdi referred to my aunt by her nickname. It was so heartwarming because it meant that my grandpa referred to my aunt that way. I hope to visit him again soon.
Then a funny thing happened the next day. Scott called me early in the morning and asked if I wanted to meet up with my cousin. I was so confused, but he explained my cousin was traveling around Europe and happened to have a meeting in The Hague so wanted to see if we were free. Turns out my cousin got stuck by the snow in Europe, so ended up sleeping in the airport in Munich and then found himself early in Amsterdam, so he had some free time that wasn’t expected. Was so nice to meet up and spend time with family. Was ironic because the day before I had spend the entire afternoon talking about my family and then the next day a member of the family showed up. We took a picture to share with everyone at home. See above.
Then over the weekend we had friends come from Amsterdam to hang out. We were able to show them our pizza making skills, and they said the pizza was good and then we headed over to see an IMAX movie in town. We were a bit worried as we read the movie would be in Dutch, but were happy to see when we arrived that they had headphones you could use if you wanted English. See this is why it has been so hard to learn Dutch. You really never need to use it when living in this country. Was a great movie about the ocean floor and was such a fun time.
Now a classic story about living in Holland and medical care-As some of you may know I arrived here with a herniated disc and have been dealing with it since last spring. I had gone to a doctor in September and she recommended Physical therapy and said to come back in time to see if it was helping. So I made an appointment and went back. I arrived and started asking questions about my back and then proceeded to be insulted by the doctor. She told me I was asking too many questions and said she couldn’t give me a proper diagnosis because I had not been back in months (every though she had not told me to come back for a while.) She told me she needed to review my MRI (which I had given her the first time I saw her) with the radiologist and would call me back Friday night. I told her that would not work and she said ok I will call you back next Friday night. I explained to her she could not call me back because I do not speak on the phone after sundown on Friday. She had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I had three heads. Was one of the worst doctor visits I had ever had. I called Scott hysterically crying afterwards and he assured me was a one time event and I wouldn’t have to go back. I have never been told by a doctor I was asking to many questions. Thankfully she called me on a Friday afternoon and prescribed more physical therapy and I am going to schedule follow ups with a different doctor as I never want to see her again.
Well in the weeks right before Christmas we had another massive snowstorm and almost a foot of snow. Again made travel a mess. Everywhere it has been icy and has been really annoying. Also since has been so cold, all the pipes outside our house froze. Since the water wasn’t draining we had a minor flood into the house. Scott took off all the pipes and we de-iced them in the house. I am attaching pictures of the big icicles that came from inside the pipes. Everyone we have spoken to has told us they also have had minor leaks from this weather. The people here are not set up for this type of weather, since it was not usually like this, though as has been for a few years I think this is now the norm, not the exception.
Now we are in the midst of Christmas weekend here in The Hague. Most everything was closed so we stayed in and made some yummy egg drop soup and a chicken stir fry.
That is the latest for now. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Holiday Season Begins!!!
So the turkey defrosted and turned out great. See pictures above. Everyone came and they really enjoyed themselves. It was a pleasure for us to be celebrating thanksgiving with new friends and some of them are not American, so this was their first Thanksgiving. We had all the American staples, turkey, stuffing, cranberry, sweet potato, apple pie, etc. We received nice compliments on the food and everyone was amazed at the spread. This is Scott’s favorite holiday, so it was nice that we were still able to celebrate it outside the US. Then on the actual Thanksgiving Day, I was able to watch the Macy’s Parade in real time. This was very nice, but did make me a bit homesick and then later that day skyping with my whole family who were together celebrating made it a bit more difficult. It was nice though because my brother took the computer around the house, so Scott and I were able to say hi to all my relatives. After I watched the parade I had to start cooking because we were lucky to have our second set of visitors coming over from the US. We had some friends who decided to spend Thanksgiving in Amsterdam. We told them if they wanted they could spend Shabbos with us, so they wouldn’t have to worry about any plans. They came in Friday afternoon and Scott and I gave them a quick whirlwind tour of The Hague. Shabbos is starting early these days, so Friday ends up being a very short day. We started at Madurodam. For those of you who have never heard of this place, Madurodam is a miniature Holland. It is a very neat place that has recreated many famous sites in Holland in miniature. Scott and I had decided to wait until guests come to see this place. Was fun to see, but that day was a bitter cold day, so we look forward to going back in warmer weather. Then I gave our friends Debbie and Daniel a quick tour of the main city center of The Hague. They were happy to see I knew my way around. Then we jetted home for Shabbos and was great Daniel was here because he made the 10th person for the minyan in shul. Since we had guests over who were willing to play games, we played Apples to Apples and had a great time. Shabbos morning we went to shul and introduced our NY friends to our friends here in The Hague. Then we had over about 9 people for lunch including ourselves and Debbie and Daniel and was a great Shabbos afternoon. Before we knew it Shabbos was over and our friends left to head back to Amsterdam. It was great to have friends from home to show them our life here. It is always so nice for us having visitors and we welcome whoever wants to come. Please give us some advance warning.
Now we are in the midst of Chanukah. We started off the holiday with Scott making yummy latkes and we are picking up jelly donuts on Sunday. We have plans to celebrate the holiday with friends and should be fun. My only complaint is that it is so cold here and had been snowing. Not ready for real winter yet, but what can you do.
Happy Chanukah to all my friends reading who celebrate this holiday.
Now we are in the midst of Chanukah. We started off the holiday with Scott making yummy latkes and we are picking up jelly donuts on Sunday. We have plans to celebrate the holiday with friends and should be fun. My only complaint is that it is so cold here and had been snowing. Not ready for real winter yet, but what can you do.
Happy Chanukah to all my friends reading who celebrate this holiday.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Copenhagen, Denmark
Nov 20th-Copenhagen
Since I last wrote, Scott and I visited Copenhagen, Denmark. Scott had to go for a work training and I went for fun. I spent a few days exploring the city, despite it being cold and windy. November is not the perfect time to visit, but at least there was no waiting on lines for museums. I visited the Jewish museum, Museum of Resistance, three of the royal palaces, Museum of Copenhagen, Museum of Denmark, and the Geology museum. Unfortunately the famous landmark of the city, The Little Mermaid is in China for 2010, so I couldn’t see her. They had a copy in the airport so we took pictures. See above. I took the hop of hop off bus tour and for one of the routes; I was actually the only one of the bus. Interesting experience to be on a huge bus all alone going around the city. I was very impressed with all the palaces. We even were able to see some of the royal jewels, which they have on display. On Thursday night I arranged us to see a comedy/musical show at Tivoli, which is an amusement park with restaurants and theaters, and very famous in Copenhagen. It was put on by an English speaking theater company and was hysterical. We didn’t understand all the jokes as they made fun of some Danish things, but overall we had a great time. I was unimpressed with the Jewish museum. It was designed the by famous architect Daniel Libeskind, but I thought it was a weird setup and there actually wasn’t many artifacts to see. The Museum of Resistance was much more interesting and showed what the Danish did to resist the Nazis during WWII. Amazing how they helped save the Jews and only a small amount were killed. Makes you think what other countries could have done to help save people during the war. As we decided to stay for Shabbos, I got in touch with the local Chabad to see if we could join them for meals. What an experience we had. There is an active Jewish community in the city, with two shuls. The shul near chabad doesn’t get so many people on Shabbos, but the other has at least 100 active families. The chabad is very active with many ongoing activities and every shabbos they get close to 100 people and in the summer the number is even higher. They feed people for free and just ask you to give a donation. The chabad rabbi and his wife were so nice and friendly and we enjoyed their company. The rabbi had just come back from a Chabad conference in NY, so we got to hear about his experience. We were even fortunate to meet an elderly man who grew up in Copenhagen visiting from Israel. He shared his experiences of being in the City during the war. He spoke in Hebrew and most I was able to understand, but thankfully the rabbi translated all afterwards. We had a very lovely Shabbos and I am sure will go back again.
Now we are getting ready for our first Thanksgiving outside the US. We arranged for a turkey from Amsterdam and are having 10 adults and 4 kids for dinner tomorrow. Should be fun!!! Just hoping our turkey defrosts by tomorrow!!
Since I last wrote, Scott and I visited Copenhagen, Denmark. Scott had to go for a work training and I went for fun. I spent a few days exploring the city, despite it being cold and windy. November is not the perfect time to visit, but at least there was no waiting on lines for museums. I visited the Jewish museum, Museum of Resistance, three of the royal palaces, Museum of Copenhagen, Museum of Denmark, and the Geology museum. Unfortunately the famous landmark of the city, The Little Mermaid is in China for 2010, so I couldn’t see her. They had a copy in the airport so we took pictures. See above. I took the hop of hop off bus tour and for one of the routes; I was actually the only one of the bus. Interesting experience to be on a huge bus all alone going around the city. I was very impressed with all the palaces. We even were able to see some of the royal jewels, which they have on display. On Thursday night I arranged us to see a comedy/musical show at Tivoli, which is an amusement park with restaurants and theaters, and very famous in Copenhagen. It was put on by an English speaking theater company and was hysterical. We didn’t understand all the jokes as they made fun of some Danish things, but overall we had a great time. I was unimpressed with the Jewish museum. It was designed the by famous architect Daniel Libeskind, but I thought it was a weird setup and there actually wasn’t many artifacts to see. The Museum of Resistance was much more interesting and showed what the Danish did to resist the Nazis during WWII. Amazing how they helped save the Jews and only a small amount were killed. Makes you think what other countries could have done to help save people during the war. As we decided to stay for Shabbos, I got in touch with the local Chabad to see if we could join them for meals. What an experience we had. There is an active Jewish community in the city, with two shuls. The shul near chabad doesn’t get so many people on Shabbos, but the other has at least 100 active families. The chabad is very active with many ongoing activities and every shabbos they get close to 100 people and in the summer the number is even higher. They feed people for free and just ask you to give a donation. The chabad rabbi and his wife were so nice and friendly and we enjoyed their company. The rabbi had just come back from a Chabad conference in NY, so we got to hear about his experience. We were even fortunate to meet an elderly man who grew up in Copenhagen visiting from Israel. He shared his experiences of being in the City during the war. He spoke in Hebrew and most I was able to understand, but thankfully the rabbi translated all afterwards. We had a very lovely Shabbos and I am sure will go back again.
Now we are getting ready for our first Thanksgiving outside the US. We arranged for a turkey from Amsterdam and are having 10 adults and 4 kids for dinner tomorrow. Should be fun!!! Just hoping our turkey defrosts by tomorrow!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Mid-October
I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but thankfully things have been busy. On the Sunday after Scott’s birthday we headed to Amsterdam, to find mozzarella cheese to make pizzas for the birthday party we were planning. We also ordered a large birthday cake for the occasion. See it just took a while, but now we have figured out this whole kosher food situation. We were also fortunate to spend time with some of Scott’s fellow American expat coworkers and their families. The wives have been so friendly and helpful to me, which has been great. So now back to birthday celebrations. On the 23rd, we had a big party at our house in honor of my birthday, Scott’s birthday and Diego’s birthday. (Scott’s coworker’s husband who also just turned 30). Diego came over the Thursday before to help Scott make the pizzas. Now he is an expert pizza maker. We also filled him in on Diego from Dora the Explorer. He had never heard of him. I guess they don’t show Dora in Argentina, where he is from. The party was so much fun. We had Argentinean friends of Diego, our friends from shul, some of Scott’s coworkers, some friends I have already made while here and our neighbors. Everyone had a great time eating homemade pizza, and the big birthday cake. (pictures posted above) This was the first time I felt like we were settled here and things will be ok. It was so nice to see in such a short time all the people we have met and can share happy occasions. It was great that the party was so multicultural because then happy birthday could be sung to us in three languages. It was also great to spend time with our neighbors, an expat from Canada and a young Dutch family, renovating the house next store. Good thing I am used to construction nearby from my NYC days, so doesn’t faze me. Our neighbors are really friendly, which is very nice.
Now that we are also more settled we have been able to host more shabbos meals. Last weekend, we even hosted Friday night and shabbos day. People are so happy to know they can trust our kashrus and eat in our house. And on the flip side we are happy that we can have people over to celebrate the Sabbath with us. We have also been hanging out socially with some of the people we have met here. Just last Sunday we went to Amsterdam and met up with a nice young couple whom we had met weeks before at the Jewish learning weekend. We ate in a kosher Mediterranean meat restaurant. Food was great. We have decided this is our new favorite Amsterdam kosher spot.
Recently I started knitting lessons with my friend Sasha, who is stuck at home in bed after an unfortunate carting accident, led to two broken ankles. Word to the wise, try and avoid carting. We had a teacher, who owns a cute knit shop in the town center come to Sasha’s house. She gave us basic lessons and now we are off knitting. I can tell you here that I am planning to start with a scarf for Scott and as he doesn’t read this blog, it will still be a surprise.
Scott and I also started Dutch lessons. We go to class twice a week at night. There are 6 students including us in the class. They come from Poland, Ethiopia, China and Israel/South Africa, so we are a diverse bunch. Has been an interesting experience. Many words are similar to English, it is just a question of getting pronunciation and grammar, which can be difficult. We need to memorize the words we don’t know and practice, practice, practice. Hopefully next time we are home to the states, we will be able to speak to you in Dutch.
So that’s the latest for now dear friends . . .
Now that we are also more settled we have been able to host more shabbos meals. Last weekend, we even hosted Friday night and shabbos day. People are so happy to know they can trust our kashrus and eat in our house. And on the flip side we are happy that we can have people over to celebrate the Sabbath with us. We have also been hanging out socially with some of the people we have met here. Just last Sunday we went to Amsterdam and met up with a nice young couple whom we had met weeks before at the Jewish learning weekend. We ate in a kosher Mediterranean meat restaurant. Food was great. We have decided this is our new favorite Amsterdam kosher spot.
Recently I started knitting lessons with my friend Sasha, who is stuck at home in bed after an unfortunate carting accident, led to two broken ankles. Word to the wise, try and avoid carting. We had a teacher, who owns a cute knit shop in the town center come to Sasha’s house. She gave us basic lessons and now we are off knitting. I can tell you here that I am planning to start with a scarf for Scott and as he doesn’t read this blog, it will still be a surprise.
Scott and I also started Dutch lessons. We go to class twice a week at night. There are 6 students including us in the class. They come from Poland, Ethiopia, China and Israel/South Africa, so we are a diverse bunch. Has been an interesting experience. Many words are similar to English, it is just a question of getting pronunciation and grammar, which can be difficult. We need to memorize the words we don’t know and practice, practice, practice. Hopefully next time we are home to the states, we will be able to speak to you in Dutch.
So that’s the latest for now dear friends . . .
Monday, October 11, 2010
Homeward bound, Antwerp and birthdays . . .
Well it has been a while, but our European adventure continues. The blog was on break while Scott and I headed back to the states for the Jewish holidays. So let’s head back a few weeks to keep you up to date what we have been up to. First off we spent Rosh Hashana in The Hague. Was my first time not in Oceanside with my parents for the holiday. When packing to move here it never occurred to me to pack my Machzors (Jewish book special for holiday) as they are kept in Oceanside. Right before the holiday we realized this fact and thankfully the rabbi had one English/Hebrew machzor I could use, which made life much easier. All Machzors are in Dutch, so would have been hard to follow along. Thankfully Scott had a set here, so he was able to follow. The first night we had dinner at the Rabbi’s house, which was a great way to start of the holiday. Then I hosted a meal the first day and we went to friends the second day. Was a nice holiday even though we missed our loved ones at home. We thought we would see many more faces in shul over the holiday, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We were told more people would appear during Yom Kippur because of Yizkor. As Rosh Hashana was during the week and these holidays are not as commonly known as in the US, maybe many people could just not take off during the week. Services were basically the same, but one big difference being there wasn’t much congregation repetition as I am used to. The Chazzan basically does the whole service himself. Scott had an interesting holiday as he is one of the only Kohan’s here, (In Judaism, there are three classes people find themselves in) he had learn how a new melody for the Kohan’s prayer and say it all by himself. In the states we are used to saying it only in an afternoon service, but here they say it is the morning as well. The Rabbi is a kohan, but on the second day he went to the other shul, so Scott was on his own. People were so impressed that he learned the local Dutch tune and did it all alone. He thought he was golden as he now knew the tune, but unfortunately every holiday has a different tune, so the study continues. Then early Sunday after Rosh Hashana ended I headed home (now I know this is home now, but the states will always be home to me.) I was sad to leave Scott for the week, but so excited to get my US fix of family, friends and food. Soon after I arrived we headed for good ole NJ pizza. Was very good and brought a huge smile to my face. Then headed back to my parents for a few days until the end of the week. I spent Mon-Wed in NYC seeing friends and meeting babies born to friends while I was away. Shout out to Ethan and Neta, very cute babies. Then Thursday Scott arrived and we stayed in NJ to spend time with his family. Yom Kippur was in Paramus and we were lucky that we were able to spend time with Scott’s mom, brother and his family, and Scott’s best friend who happened to be in town. Then Scott being a wonderful brother as he is flew to Michigan for two days to spent time with his sister and her family and meet his new niece. He had such a nice time there and in the meantime I stayed in NJ and saw more friends and hung out with more of my family. Then Scott came home and we were off to Oceanside for Sukkot. It was really great that all my siblings were home and we were able to spend a great deal of quality time together. Then the holiday ended and Sunday we saw some friends in NYC and Scott went back. I stayed an extra week and saw some more friends and then spent Simchat Torah with my sister in Teaneck. Was a great three weeks in NY eating some incredible kosher food, and seeing all my wonderful friends and family. I realize I am a lucky girl to have such great people in my life. I look forward to the next trip home hopefully within 6 months to see everyone again in person and see the people who I missed on this trip.
I arrived back to Holland on October 4th, just in time for a big event, my 30th birthday on October 6th. My wonderful husband knowing that it would be hard to be away from everyone on my birthday decorated our whole living room with birthday decorations and treated me to a night at the beach, where we got to watch a lovely sunset. Also was great that my parents called on Skype soon after 12 our time and Scott took a picture of me with them. My favorite little man Noah sang me happy birthday and I got nice cards. Shout out to Pam who made Scott and me an incredible collage card with Dutch phrases. Since my birthday and Scott’s are 1 week apart, we decided we wanted to go away the weekend in between to celebrate. Our friends in The Hague set us up with a lovely family in Antwerp and we decided to go. It was an incredible experience to be there for shabbos. Here in The Hague when you walk to shul, you can sometimes forget it is shabbos, since you usually don’t see anyone else who looks outwardly Jewish. In Antwerp it is just the opposite; everywhere you turn there are Jews. Our female host was from NY, so it was great to be able to relate to someone my experience and ask questions. She was able to fill me in on some pressing food questions, such as yes Salsa can be found. It was such a nice shabbos at their house. They had tons of people for dinner Friday night and since they knew it was our birthdays had a cake for us and wished us a happy birthday. They were so nice and we can’t wait to go again. Saturday night in honor of our birthdays, we went out for dinner to a kosher dairy restaurant called Mama Mia. The food was amazing. Huge portions and it was like being in a restaurant in NY. Now I know where we will be eating next time we are in Antwerp. On Sunday we started our day with fresh pastries from the local bakery called Heimishe bakery, got some Starbucks in the train station and then walked around Antwerp by the water. Was a great day. We finished up the day by having a late lunch at the famous Hoffy’s and then did some food shopping in the local grocery store. Sadly they had no American cheese, but wasn’t a problem because carried back some when I came back from the states. Yet I bought Salsa, enough pasta to last for months, and tons of other products so we are now stocked up.
Next big thing we have going on is Scott’s birthday tomorrow. Not sure I can top what he did for me, but he is going to have his favorite food, tacos for dinner. Carried back me with about 12 packages of taco mix. Woohoo . . .
Pictures of all mentioned above will be in next post
I arrived back to Holland on October 4th, just in time for a big event, my 30th birthday on October 6th. My wonderful husband knowing that it would be hard to be away from everyone on my birthday decorated our whole living room with birthday decorations and treated me to a night at the beach, where we got to watch a lovely sunset. Also was great that my parents called on Skype soon after 12 our time and Scott took a picture of me with them. My favorite little man Noah sang me happy birthday and I got nice cards. Shout out to Pam who made Scott and me an incredible collage card with Dutch phrases. Since my birthday and Scott’s are 1 week apart, we decided we wanted to go away the weekend in between to celebrate. Our friends in The Hague set us up with a lovely family in Antwerp and we decided to go. It was an incredible experience to be there for shabbos. Here in The Hague when you walk to shul, you can sometimes forget it is shabbos, since you usually don’t see anyone else who looks outwardly Jewish. In Antwerp it is just the opposite; everywhere you turn there are Jews. Our female host was from NY, so it was great to be able to relate to someone my experience and ask questions. She was able to fill me in on some pressing food questions, such as yes Salsa can be found. It was such a nice shabbos at their house. They had tons of people for dinner Friday night and since they knew it was our birthdays had a cake for us and wished us a happy birthday. They were so nice and we can’t wait to go again. Saturday night in honor of our birthdays, we went out for dinner to a kosher dairy restaurant called Mama Mia. The food was amazing. Huge portions and it was like being in a restaurant in NY. Now I know where we will be eating next time we are in Antwerp. On Sunday we started our day with fresh pastries from the local bakery called Heimishe bakery, got some Starbucks in the train station and then walked around Antwerp by the water. Was a great day. We finished up the day by having a late lunch at the famous Hoffy’s and then did some food shopping in the local grocery store. Sadly they had no American cheese, but wasn’t a problem because carried back some when I came back from the states. Yet I bought Salsa, enough pasta to last for months, and tons of other products so we are now stocked up.
Next big thing we have going on is Scott’s birthday tomorrow. Not sure I can top what he did for me, but he is going to have his favorite food, tacos for dinner. Carried back me with about 12 packages of taco mix. Woohoo . . .
Pictures of all mentioned above will be in next post
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Shana Tova
Scott and I just wanted to wish all our blog readers a Happy New Year filled with good health, happiness and sweet things. The New Year will give us many new things to blog about as we continue our adventure in Holland. Thanks for reading. The blog will be on break during the holidays, but will continue afterwards.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Shabbaton-Jewish Learning Seminar weekend
Last weekend we attended a Jewish learning seminar weekend organized by this organization called Arachim, who tries to renew authentic Jewish values and is involved with outreach programs. We thought would be a great opportunity to meet some fellow Dutch Jews and learn some interesting things. We heard from two great scholars Rabbi Yehudah Silver and Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Rabbi Tatz is an expert on Jewish ethics. The speeches were very interesting and we learned some new things. We also got to eat well as the catering was amazing and there was food galore. What was also great about the weekend is we made new friends. Most of the people came from Amstelveen, which is a town right outside Amsterdam, where most Jews live. We met a couple our age, the girl is British and the guy Dutch and I know we will spend time with them while we are here. We also met a rabbi originally from the states, who was so nice and said we can be in touch with him if we need anything and told us after the holidays he will have us over for shabbos. The whole weekend was in English, so if you didn’t know better you could think you were somewhere in the states. It was an amazing weekend overall. One story from the weekend is as follows: After hearing Rabbi Silver speak, we realized he was American, maybe even a New Yorker. So I decided to go up to him and ask if he was from New York and to say I was a fellow American. He said he wasn’t from New York, but his son lives in Cedarhurst, so he knows my hometown. He was like wow this must be an interesting experience to come from Long Island to the Netherlands. I was like yes and we actually just moved from Teaneck here and he said wow must be a real adjustment, I wish you all the best. It is always fun when we meet people here who know our hometowns and Teaneck. It is less than you may think.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Pictures from Amsterdam, Paris, Pizza
Interior of Starbucks in Paris, seriously!!!
Amsterdam/Portuguese Synagogue
Lisa and Paris!!!!
This week was another good week. On Wednesday went to Leiden with Nomi (friend living in Amsterdam) and Elisheva, who came in from the states. Scott and I had been there before, but looked interesting to Nomi and Elisheva, so worked for me. Though not sure if it was the Starbucks in the train station that was enticing me:-) We first went to the Naturalis museum, which is similar to the Natural History Museum in NYC. They have some great stuffed animals and Elisheva provided good commentary as she is a science teacher. Then we stopped in the botanical gardens to walk around. Was great weather, so was really nice. Then we just walked around the town and had a great time together. Was a lot of fun. I miss spending time with all my friends from home, so was great to spend time with a new and old friend. Then headed back to The Hague to meet up with Scott as we were heading that night to Amsterdam to shop for kosher food and get some pizza in the one pizza place in Amsterdam. We were excited to find kosher cheese, frozen foods and a kosher aisle in the supermarket. Not at all like the selection you may find in Stop and Shop or Shoprite, but grateful that this exists. We did really well getting all we needed to host our first houseguest and shabbos meal in The Hague. Then we headed to the pizza place. Not at all like NY pizza. Everyone gets their own individual pizza, but we enjoyed eating. Scott and I each ate a mini pizza and a half. Was the first pizza I ate in over two months, so was very exciting. Then Thursday spent the day cooking for our shabbos meal. As I had no warming tray, all the food I made had to be served cold, so was an interesting experience coming up with the menu. Lots of salads, cold chicken, apple muffins, etc. Then Friday Lisa arrived. Was so amazing to see a face from home and as Lisa is like family was a great feeling. She brought lots of goodies from home, which was awesome. Saturday we went to the synagogue and introduced Lisa to all the new friends we have made. Then we headed home to host some friends for lunch. Was a great afternoon and felt like being back in the states. Sunday we headed to Amsterdam to see the sites. We started the day in the Portuguese Synagogue, which was beautiful and then headed over to the Jewish museum. Is so interesting to hear about Jewish history in the place we are now living. It is sad to realize how there were so many small Jewish communities all around the Netherlands before the War, but afterwards many did not return and the communities no longer exist. Then we went to the Rembrandt museum to see the place where Rembrandt lived and painted. After we headed to the Anne Frank House. This was an exceptional experience to see the place where Anne and her family hid for over two years. We started the tour with a 30 minute introduction lecture and were lucky to have in the group a rabbi who knew Otto Frank very well. Then we did some souvenir shopping and walked along the canals. Was a great afternoon. Finally wrapped up the day by taking Lisa to a kosher restaurant which has been in Amsterdam for many years and serves classic Dutch food. Yum, yum.
Monday we got up early and headed back to Amsterdam to meet up with two friends, Vanessa from Amsterdam and Elisheva from the states, to start our road trip to Paris. Took us about 6 hours, which included the two stops we made and arrived in Paris in time for dinner. Was great to be in a place with so many options for kosher food. We picked a dairy place, and was yummy. On Tuesday got up early and started on a tour of the city and then to the Eiffel Tour. We walked around to see Napoleons tomb, Notre Dame and then after a great steak dinner back to the Eiffel Tower for a night cruise down the Seine. Was a jam packed day seeing all of Paris' famous sites. On Wednesday we headed over to Versailles to spend the day exploring the palaces and gardens. I had been to Versailles before, but still amazing to see a second time. Then we headed out in search of another great kosher restaurant in Paris. We checked out one street which is known to have many kosher places. We found one place that seemed to have food which everyone liked. We sat down and ordered chicken sandwiches, only to be told they had no sandwiches, wraps, only sushi, salads and hotdogs, which was ok. As we were eating the first course, we noticed the waiter get on his bike and drive off. Then a few minutes later he returned with what seemed was our bread for the hot dogs. Was a funny meal experience. Food though was good, so was all worth it. Then after dinner we headed to the top of the Arch de Triumph. Was beautiful to see the entire Paris skyline from high above at night. Then to top off the night we went for a drink on Champ Elysees. Thursday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day of about 80 degrees. We started the day at Montmartre to see the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the surrounding city on the hill. Many famous painters spent time there working on their craft. After heading down the mountain, I went in search of kosher food. I headed over to La Villette and found the Jewish section and starting stocking up on as much as I could carry back such as cheese and some other essential items. I was also in search of a crock pot, and warming tray for shabbos, so headed over to a Judaica shop and there right in front was everything I needed. So now we are all set for hot food on shabbos, which is very exciting. Then after dropping off all my purchases in the hotel, headed over to Rue Rosiers for dinner. I had an amazing schnitzel sandwich and then we started our drive back to The Hague. Was a great trip and had so much fun with my friends. Shout out to Lisa, Vanessa and Elisheva for helping me have such a great vacation. Really had a great time spending the week with you.
The weekend after I returned was the first weekend we had no plans at all. It was great to be able to relax and enjoy the time in our new home. We had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. Thanks Pincus family. In the afternoon, we headed to a goodbye party of someone we met in The Hague, who is moving to Israel and had a chance to make some new friends which was great. Then most exciting of all was for dinner we made homemade pizza. We had the cheese and sauce, so all we had to do was make the crust. Was actually very easy and tasted good. Now we can keep working to perfect it and by the time we get home we will be pizza experts.
Monday we got up early and headed back to Amsterdam to meet up with two friends, Vanessa from Amsterdam and Elisheva from the states, to start our road trip to Paris. Took us about 6 hours, which included the two stops we made and arrived in Paris in time for dinner. Was great to be in a place with so many options for kosher food. We picked a dairy place, and was yummy. On Tuesday got up early and started on a tour of the city and then to the Eiffel Tour. We walked around to see Napoleons tomb, Notre Dame and then after a great steak dinner back to the Eiffel Tower for a night cruise down the Seine. Was a jam packed day seeing all of Paris' famous sites. On Wednesday we headed over to Versailles to spend the day exploring the palaces and gardens. I had been to Versailles before, but still amazing to see a second time. Then we headed out in search of another great kosher restaurant in Paris. We checked out one street which is known to have many kosher places. We found one place that seemed to have food which everyone liked. We sat down and ordered chicken sandwiches, only to be told they had no sandwiches, wraps, only sushi, salads and hotdogs, which was ok. As we were eating the first course, we noticed the waiter get on his bike and drive off. Then a few minutes later he returned with what seemed was our bread for the hot dogs. Was a funny meal experience. Food though was good, so was all worth it. Then after dinner we headed to the top of the Arch de Triumph. Was beautiful to see the entire Paris skyline from high above at night. Then to top off the night we went for a drink on Champ Elysees. Thursday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day of about 80 degrees. We started the day at Montmartre to see the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the surrounding city on the hill. Many famous painters spent time there working on their craft. After heading down the mountain, I went in search of kosher food. I headed over to La Villette and found the Jewish section and starting stocking up on as much as I could carry back such as cheese and some other essential items. I was also in search of a crock pot, and warming tray for shabbos, so headed over to a Judaica shop and there right in front was everything I needed. So now we are all set for hot food on shabbos, which is very exciting. Then after dropping off all my purchases in the hotel, headed over to Rue Rosiers for dinner. I had an amazing schnitzel sandwich and then we started our drive back to The Hague. Was a great trip and had so much fun with my friends. Shout out to Lisa, Vanessa and Elisheva for helping me have such a great vacation. Really had a great time spending the week with you.
The weekend after I returned was the first weekend we had no plans at all. It was great to be able to relax and enjoy the time in our new home. We had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. Thanks Pincus family. In the afternoon, we headed to a goodbye party of someone we met in The Hague, who is moving to Israel and had a chance to make some new friends which was great. Then most exciting of all was for dinner we made homemade pizza. We had the cheese and sauce, so all we had to do was make the crust. Was actually very easy and tasted good. Now we can keep working to perfect it and by the time we get home we will be pizza experts.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Pictures from the cruise- A few out of 400 or so
Outside the ship
Barcelona
Marseilles
Ice show and Formal night on the cruise
Maritime Museum and Aquarium
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