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.

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.

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

First European Vacation

European Vacation-
Well as you all may know, I have had lots of time off over the past year and a half since Scott and I got married, but hard worker he is, Scott has not taken a real vacation since our trip to Australia a year and a half ago. Our goal was to take a vacation shortly after we arrived in Europe. As we are central to so many countries we had lots of options. We went back and forth between Spain, Northern France, Ireland, but were told those places were way too hot and crowded in August, our planned trip time. So then Scott said how about a cruise. He has cruised many times before and always found it enjoyable. I was always a bit unsure about going on a cruise, but I thought hey why not. We found a great one that would go around the Mediterranean and make stops in France, Italy and Spain. Seemed like a great option and best of all on Saturday the boat would be sailing, so we wouldn’t miss out on any sights on Shabbos. The cruise left from Rome, so we took a really early flight from Amsterdam and arrived in Rome first thing in the am. So crazy that it only took us two hours to get from Amsterdam to Rome; this is when it hits you wow I live in Europe. As soon as we arrived we took a train from the airport to the Port. We arrived at the port and checked in and then got on the ship. Crazy how large it was, not only does it hold over 3000 people, with multiple dining rooms, shops, restaurants, but also had an indoor ice skating rink. We found our room and it was actually spacious. The bathroom left a bit to be desired size wise, but worked for our needs. We went to an upper outside deck to see the ship leave port; Scott was excited as we got to see containers and cranes at the shipyard. We then checked out the rest of the boat and went to sleep to be refreshed for the 7 days ahead of us. Our first stop was in Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. We took a sightseeing tour around the city and then went to check out the Aquarium and Maritime Museum. Both were very interesting. It was neat that in the Maritime Museum they had a whole exhibit on Ellis Island, a place I find fascinating and have been to a few times. Then we went back to the boat and got ready for dinner. It is interesting how on the boat there are formal nights and people get all dressed up. Seriously men are in tuxes and women in fancy dresses. Was a kick to dress up and walk around the boat and enjoy all the evening festivities. This first night we went to the first show put on by the ship’s singers and dancers. Was ok, not much to write home about. Then our second port stop was Toulon, France. We learned that from Toulon, one could take a train to Marseilles, which has great tourist sights and kosher food. So this is what we decided to do. We got to Marseilles and took a tour around the city. Was beautiful driving along the coastline. Then they took you up into the mountains to see a church on a hill. Was so windy, thought we would blow off, but we got some impressive city pictures from high up. Then we went off in search of kosher food and boy did we find some. We decided on an Asian place called Super Sushi. Scott had a cheeseburger (soy cheese of course) and I had some yummy meat dish. Food was great. Then we checked out the Judaica stores, where we bought some mezuzahs and I got a pocket siddur in Hebrew and some French. Then we went to the kosher market and bought some colored pasta. Seems like a basic find, but haven’t yet found this kosher so far. Then we headed back to the ship for another night of fun activities. Tonight was a show called Ice Dancing. Was amazing to see all these ice skaters perform a dance show with lifts and jumps at sea while the ship was rocking a bit. I think this was one of my favorite parts of the ship itself. Then Wednesday was Barcelona. We had almost a full day there. We started on the hop on Hop off bus to tour the city. We started at some Jewish sights, but wasn’t much to see as the Jews were expelled so long ago. Then we attempted to go to the Picasso museum, but line was way too long, so we will save that for the next time. We checked out the Contemporary Art Museum because Scott likes stuff like this, but was absolutely horrible. I do not recommend. Then we headed over to this church called Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece. It is a church that has been under construction for over 100 years. Was very interesting, but I still am confused why takes so long to build a church, but that is just me. Then we got back on the Hop on Hop off bus to go around the rest of the city. Saw some lovely sights. We tried our best to leave enough time to get back on the ship, but we missed one bus by 1 minute because we were stuck across the street waiting to cross and then ended up on the last bus back to the ship. We were lucky because there was tons of traffic back to the ship and if we had not made that last shuttle, we may have been stuck in Barcelona. That night went to another show on the ship, but again wasn’t so great. Just very cheesy. Thursday we were still in Spain, stopping at Palma De Mallorca. Is a lovely port stop. Again churches to see and we went to a museum which had some Dali pictures, which Scott enjoyed. I was happy because this spot is known for its pearls, and my nice husband bought me some lovely pearl jewelry. We made sure to also stop at the local Hard Rock Café to get a pin as Scott collects them. We also got one in Barcelona. That night we arranged to attend a mystery theater dinner. Wasn’t so great, but they must have done a good job as Scott and I both guessed incorrectly the killer. Then Friday for our last stop we were back in Italy in Cagliari, Sardinia. Problem with this stop was we didn’t arrive until noon and that is the beginning of Siesta which lasts from noon-4, so almost everything was closed while we were at this port. We took a quick tour around and then decided to go back to sit by the pool, which was quite enjoyable. That night we met a lovely couple from Fairlawn, NJ. Of course their kids went to Yavneh, so they knew Scott’s mom very well. I told them I was jealous they got to go back to NJ to all the good kosher places and they were like we are jealous you get to stay in Europe. Actually I think they are right. The kosher food will always be there, but this is once in a lifetime chance. Saturday we just relaxed and caught up on our reading. Saturday night they had a Mardi Gras farewell parade, but again very lame. Then Sunday got up early and departed the ship. Was an amazing experience and I highly recommend cruising for people of all ages. One night at dinner we sat next to a woman celebrating her 90 birthday and there were many children as well. On Sunday our plan was to leave the ship early and spend the day in Rome. The day started out crazy because first we were dropped at the wrong terminal so had to walk to another one. Then waited on line for a while to drop off our bags only to be told it was too early ( Scott had called to check this beforehand and he was told no problem dropping baggage off early) and then we had to go back to where we came from to drop off our bags in a storage place. Then we got to the train station and had to wait in line for almost a half hour with 1 person ahead of us, while some couple was having a discussion with the ticket man. He spent almost a half hour with this one couple and then even started smoking in his booth. Was the craziest thing I have ever seen. There seemed to even be a supervisor walking around watching the whole thing and he did nothing. We made our train by like 1 minute. We were exhausted and was only 10:00 am. Finally we made it to Rome and started at the Coliseum. Scott wanted to see again, but when we saw how long the line was and since we both had already been there we took pictures outside and continued our tour around the city. Next stop was the big synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. I had already been there a few years before. Shout out to great traveling partners and friends, Dalia and Sharon. Was just as interesting the second time around. Then we stopped for lunch in a kosher meat place around the block from the shul. Was so yummy, we shared a meat platter for two. Was like heaven on a plate. Then we walked around and went to the top of some building for some spectacular sights of the City. Though was crazy hot walking around all day, so we were pooped by the end. We haven’t experienced heat like this at all this summer in The Hague, so you forget what it is like. Then we headed to the airport to head home. Funny on the plane the girl sitting next to me was an upper west sider from 98th street. I told her to come back and visit us next time she travels our way. Small world. So that ended our first European vacation while being expats. Now just settling back in and getting ready for our first guest from home. So excited!!!! Lisa arrives on Friday and I can’t wait.