The 2013 U.S. Food Tour

We knew adjusting to life in Europe would be a little hard, but didn't think adjusting to the food was going to be an issue. Shortly after moving here, we missed some of our favorite places to eat.  I mean really, have you heard anyone wanting to go out for Dutch food?Where else in the world do you go to get Dutch food?  We may live in the Netherlands, but you can still get Mexican food, Italian food and Argentinian food.  Can you go to Italy or Mexico and get Dutch food?  I would venture to say you wouldn't even find Dutch food outside the Netherlands.  I was once told by a colleague that the Dutch are not known for their food.  In fact, he told me the Dutch only eat because they have to.  A typical Dutch lunch is kaasbroodje (a sandwhich made of bread and cheese, nothing else).  Sounds tasty right?  We do have some chain places here: Dominoes, McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks and KFC (minus the biscuits and the mash potatoes).  These work when you're in a pinch, but we still miss some of our favorite places.

We can't wait to cross some of these places off our list.

With that being said, we started to make a list of places we wanted to eat at when we returned home for the holidays.  Keep in mind, we are not foodies, so our list of places is not very sophisticated.  In no particular order, here is the 2013 U.S. Food Tour list.

• Chick-fil-A: Carmen is excited about chicken minis and will most likely want to eat them everyday.
• Cracker Barrel:  I want to eat there for the breakfast.  Breakfast is not considered a meal here.  Basically a Dutch breakfast consists of bread with cheese and that is it.
• Texas Roadhouse/Outback: I am really wanting a simple steak and potatoes dinner.  You can't get that here at a reasonable price.
• Mexican food:  Notice I didn't specify a specific place.  As long as it has free chip and salsa and queso, that is all we need.  We'll be so happy with chips and salsa, we might not be able to eat our main meal.   
• McDonald's:  Yes we have McDonald's here, but they don't have breakfast.  I want a bacon egg and cheese biscuit, an egg mcmuffin/sausage mcmuffin with egg and Carmen is really wanting their oatmeal.  She swears its the best oatmeal ever.  
• Mellow Mushroom:  One of the best pizza places in Atlanta (we love the crust).
• The Vortex:  Burgers, burgers, burgers.  If you have ever eaten there, you know what I'm talking about. 
• BBQ:  Just like Mexican food, any kind will do.
• Waffle House:  I love my hash browns scattered, smothered, covered, topped and chunked.  They don't know what hash browns are here.
• Dunkin' Doughnuts/Krispy Kreme: Notice a breakfast theme here?  Really, they don't have breakfast here like you're used to (bread and cheese or a croissant).

This is just a quick list.  I'm sure there are several other places we want to hit while we are home.  It's a good thing we ride bikes.  We're going to need to do a couple of laps around Amsterdam once we get back.

Six to Eight Black Guys.

This story is not intended to be racist or offensive.  This is the story that was told to me and the pictures in this blog were pictures of actual events.  If you are offended easily, you might not want to look/read any further because the pictures could be offensive to some people.



Now that the disclaimer is done, lets get on with this blog.

So after being here for three months, a friend of mind posted something on my Facebook wall about Christmas here.  The story was so crazy, I didn't believe it.  I looked it up online and everything online supported the story I had heard.  Still in disbelief (that is how crazy this story was) I went to work the next day and asked a colleague about the story and she confirmed the story as being true.  Today I got to see first hand, the crazy celebration/story of the arrival of the Sinterklaas.

So in the Netherlands, they have two celebrations for Christmas.  December 5th is St. Nicolas' Day and December 25th is Christmas.  I think everyone knows what Christmas is, so I don't have to explain that.  They have Santa Clause; he flies in a sled with reindeer and delivers gifts to all the good boys and girls.  However; December 5th is another story. December 5th is St. Nicolas' Day.  This is how the story of St. Nicolas goes (hold on, cause this story is crazy).

Sinterklaas arriving in Amsterdam from Madrid, Spain.

St. Nicolas is a retired Bishop from the county Turkey.  He goes by the name Sinterklaas. He looks just like Santa Clause, but wears a hat that looks like a hat the Pope would wear. Sinterklaas lives in Spain and in mid-November he makes his way to the Netherlands via a boat (from Madrid Spain, a land locked city).  Sinterklaas travels with a white horse and about six to eight black guys called Zwarte Piet (translated: Black Pete).  Zwarte Piet is a "slave" that does Sinterklaas' bidding.  They are really black, like Wesley Snipes black. I'm told that the reason they are this black is because first of all, they are black to begin with and they travel down the chimneys and the soot in the chimneys makes them even blacker.

One of several boats with Zwarte Piets on them.

Sinterklaas rides from house to house on a white horse with the Zwarte Piets and gives gifts to all the good little boys and girls just like Santa Clause.  The Zwarte Piets give out a mixture of cookies and candies called "strooigode and Kruidnoten".  After that is done, Sinterklaas then asks the parents which little boys and girls have been bad.  If the parents point to the kids, the Zwarte Piets then kick the kids and whip them with switches.  After the beating is done, the Zwart Piets then put the kids in a sack and they bring the kids back to Spain where they are forced to work.

Now is that a crazy story or what?  If I heard that story as a kid, I would have never acted up.  After all of that takes place, Santa Clause comes on December 25th and delivers more presents to the good children.  So the children in the Netherlands get presents twice in December (if they are good) and if they are not good, they get beaten, kidnapped and taken to Spain (which Spain doesn't really sound like a bad place).  I told you this was a crazy story, so I hope everyone has been good this year so the Zwarte Piets don't come and beat you and take you to Spain.

Hazards of Biking.

I've been riding a bike as a main form of transportation for six months now.  Riding a bike in Amsterdam is not without its hazards.  Traditional hazards include trams, cars and mopeds.  But there are some other hazards that are not traditional.  Here are some non traditional hazards of biking:

1) Bike Tours:  These groups can be very dangerous.  Bike tours?  Yes.  The problem with bike tours are the tourists riding the bikes.  Since they don't want to get left behind, they will do whatever it takes to stay with the group.  This includes running red lights, pulling out in front of you and sometimes just stopping in the middle of the road to look at something.  And when you ring your bell at them, they panic and start to wobble left and right, thus making the possibility of them crashing increase.  For most of them, it is the first time in a 100 years they have rode a bike and the sites of the city is just too overwhelming for them.

They usually have matching bikes.  Beware of the matching bike gang.

2) Tram Tracks: The obvious reason these are dangerous are the trams.  If you don't pay attention, you could get hit by one, but these are also dangerous because they are deep. When crossing these on a bike, you need to make sure you turn your front tire at a sharp angle to cross them.  If you don't, you could end up on the ground and embarrassed.  I once saw a lady try to ease over these things. This was a bad decision.  As she merged over, the front wheel got stuck in the tracks and cause her to fall over and crash in front of everyone.  I will admit, I did laugh a little because I knew the error she made.  If that wasn't bad enough, the car she was in front of started honking and yelling at her.  Use caution when crossing these things.

Beware, these are deeper than they appear.

3) Tourists on Foot: These are the most dangerous "non traditional hazards".  This hazard has no regard for anything.  Like their biking counterparts, they do not pay attention to where they are going.  They will step right off the curb and in front of you without looking.They are constantly looking everywhere, but where they are walking.   They also think the bike lanes are really nice sidewalks and walk in them all the time.  You constantly have to ring your bell at them to get them to move and sometimes you have to buzz them so they will get the point.

Pay attention to where you're going!

4) "The Danger Lane": This is a common way around cars, but is very dangerous.  Once you commit to using this lane, you commit to dangers associated with it.  Car doors opening, cars swerving, hitting a bollard (or the penises as my wife likes to call them) or even hitting a pedestrian.  If something bad is going to happen on a bike, this is where it is most likely to happen.  I heard a story about someone going down this lane, but they went down it real slow.  The end result was falling on a car and not being able to get up.  Enter this lane with caution.  

Hold your breath, we could be in for a bumpy ride.

5) "The Chit-Chatters": My wife just cringed at this.  She hates that word, but that is the best way to describe these people.  These people are clearly not in any hurry to do or go anywhere.  They don't care that they are holding you up, they are not aware of anything but the conversation they are having. Because they are not paying attention to anything but their conversation, they are swerving all over the place making it impossible to pass them.  If you try to pass, you run the risk of hitting a parked car as they swerve into you. On this day, I finally had to ring my bell to get them to move so I could pass them. As I passed, the guy on the left gave me a "What's the rush jerk?" look.  I was tempted to kick him, thus knocking down and pushing him into the guy with a skunk for a hair do.  I would have called him a douche as I passed, but that translates into "shower" here and doesn't have the same insulting affect as it does in the States.

Blah, blah, blah.  We aren't in any rush.  We have all day.  This guy is clearly in a hurry to get home.  Blah, blah, blah.

With all these hazards you would think personal safety is a main focus.  Wearing a helmet is a must right? Wrong!  No one in Amsterdam wears a helmet, because wearing a helmet is for suckers and we aren't suckers.  Plus we don't want to look like tourist.  

Will it Ever Be Normal?

I've been here for four months now, and things are really starting to feel normal.  However, there are some things that still do not feel normal.  Here is something that doesn't feel normal yet:

Riding a bike- Now, this has come easier to some than others.  Some are still learning how to navigate around on their bike and keep it up right.  I have somewhat gotten used to riding my bike to work.  Every morning I ride to work, and I can’t believe that I’m riding my bike to work.  It is such a strange feeling and even more strange to see everyone else doing it.  It’s really weird to see a bunch of adults riding bikes from place to place.  However, riding my bike in all kinds of weather is another story.  Today I had to ride home in the rain, which is normal for Dutch people.  I am convinced that for this very reason, Dutch people are stronger people than Americans. 

"Get out the way, I gots to get to work for real."

You doubt me?  Picture your worst co-worker and imagine them riding a bike in the rain.  “No way!”  That has "call out sick" written all over it.  There is no way you will get a minimum wage employee in America to ride their bike to work in the rain (even if everything is relative in size and distance).  Some people will say “Well, they’re dumb for riding in the rain.  Isn't there public transportation?”  There is, but even with that they just suck it up and deal with it.  They are not consumed with what they look like when they get to work; they just know that they have to get to work no matter what.  I say all this after riding my bike in the rain two days in a row.  And like an American, I have decided today is the last day I will do that.  I will be taking public transportation to work when it rains from now on.  I can act Dutch on non-rainy days.  I'm not that much in a hurry to blend in.  

Because Six is Too Many

The other day I was in the store and saw something that I thought was odd.  I saw packages of beer and soda that had been opened.  I thought "What the hell?  Who is going around here stealing beer and soda?"  Only a few day later, I discovered that you can buy drinks in singles if you want.  I have never been in a store and thought, "I'm in the mood for one beer.  They don't have singles, well I guess I will bust up this six pack and buy one."

Four, yes.  But six, I'm not an alcoholic.

Then I wondered, what if this applied to other things like socks, underwear or other food items like eggs.  Can you imagine only buying two eggs?  What if you didn't want an entire two liter bottle of soda, so you opened it up and poured some into a container to buy.  I just found it odd that you could just open up packing of drinks and take what you want.  I guess this person was short €1,80.

Signs of the Times

This weekend there was a big festival in town.  During this time, someone went around and vandalized several of the "Do Not Enter" signs.  I thought I would share a few of them in my Photoblog this week.

"The Sculptor"

"Ikea Furniture Carrying Zone"

"Secrets in the Drawer"

"Craftsman"

"Packed in Like Sardines"

"Covering it Up"

"The Grip"

"Put a Bird on It"

"The Stockade"

"Love for the Law"

Reflecting on History.

Coming from the U.S. it is easy to forget about history.  Not to say America doesn't have a lot of history, it does.  America has lots of history, it is just most of our history happened along time ago and Americans tend to forget it.  If you live in the north, you are surrounded by the history of the Revolutionary War, in the south it's the Civil War or Civil Rights Movement and the west, filled with the expansion of America and the exploration for gold.  Since moving to Europe, I have discovered that I am constantly reminded by the history that took place here.  As I walk around my neighborhood, it is not uncommon for me to see a house that was built in the 1600's and still occupied by people.  Rembrandt is buried near my home, Van Gogh lived here and the Anne Frank house is just down the street from my house too.  It is the Anne Frank house that makes me think of history the most.  Everyone knows who Anne Frank is, but as a reminder, she is a Jewish girl who's family went into hiding during the Second World War to escape the Nazis.  They were able to hide for a few years before being discovered on August 4th, 1944.  It made me think, "surely Nazis have been in my house looking for Jewish people in hiding right?"

Recently I went to Cologne, Germany.  While I was there, we visited the National Socialism Document Center.  What is that?  A place that kept documents?  No, this was the headquarters of the Cologne Gestapo.  The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe.

Behind these doors people were tortured for information and most people didn't leave here alive.

It is in this prison where 400 people were murdered between 1943-1944.  Now unlike our history which happened along time ago, this history happened just 70 years ago.  Seventy years ago isn't that long.  Some of us have grandparents that fought in this war, my grandfather did.  It is hard to image that someone thought this type of action was acceptable.  It's amazing that all this type of stuff happened just a stones throw from where I live now.  I cannot image what it was like to live during a time of constant fear.  The point is to never forget about history no matter what kind of history it is.  The next time you pass a historic marker on the side of the road or the next time you pass a state/national historic site, take time to stop and reflect on the history that help form your country.

Who Can Afford to Drive?

One of the things I miss since I have moved here is driving.  I know that sounds crazy to most people, but for me I love to drive.  Most people find it stressful or a pain in the ass, but I see it as relaxing and a form of freedom.  Since moving here, I have only driven a hand full of times and in a city like this it can be a little stressful.  You have to watch for cars, bikes coming at you in every direction, people crossing the street at random times and you have to watch for trams that run in the middle of the street, all while driving a manual transmission.  Now luckily when I was growing up, my parents had manual transmission vehicles and I learned to drive on that.  In Tallahassee, that is no easy feat.  Tallahassee is very hilly, so having to stop on a hill and then go in a manual can be very challenging.  None the less, I learned how to drive a manual but only owned automatic cars.  Now in the Netherlands, almost every rental car is a manual transmission which is completely the opposite of that in the states.  Now why is this an issue?  It really isn't an issue for me, but I just thought it would be easier to learn how to drive on an automatic vs. a manual.  So why bother getting a drivers license since I don't own a car?  Well, my U.S. drivers license is only good for six months here.  After that I have to get a European drivers license.  If we rent a car to go somewhere, I will need to have a valid drivers license.  Plus the idea of having a foreign drivers license was really appealing to me.  I went to driving school's website to see if they teach driving classes in an automatic vehicle I found something interesting.

Like most Americans, I either have motor dysfunctions or have developed a fear of driving.

I was surprised to see how European's view driving an automatic.  I have been driving 24 years and never realized that I was either afraid of driving or had a motor dysfunction.  I called to get pricing on driving classes and was a little shocked.
     

                                                     -Driving manual:          € 99,00

                                                     -Theories class:          € 24,50

                                                     -Theories exam:          € 31,00

That isn't too bad, but that is just the start of it.  Now for the real cost.

                                                     -10 hours of  practical driving:   € 459,00

                                                     -Physical (really?):                     €   29,00 

                                                     -Driving exam:                            € 235,00

That is € 877.50 to learn how drive/take test (that is $1,124.87)  Who can afford this?  I wonder if they have a layaway program here?  We'll just have to see if it is worth it or not.  Maybe I ride dirty for a little while and if I get pulled over, play the stupid American card.  

Always Carry Change.

For those of you who know me, I mean really know me, you know that I don't carry any cash on me. In fact, 95% of the time I don't have a wallet on me.  Recently I've had to carry my wallet since I don't have a car to keep it in, but I still don't carry cash.  My advise to people traveling to Europe is to always carry some type of cash or change with you at all times?  I suggest this because when nature calls, you might not be able to find a free bathroom to use.  Access to public restrooms (or Water Closets (WC) as they call them here) are very few and far between.  You just can't walk into a McDonald's and go to the restroom.  Most of them  required an access codes so you have to make a purchase.  Some places charge you use the restroom.  You better have correct change or they will not let you in.  Last week we were in a train station when I had to find a restroom fast.  We found a restroom, but it cost € 0,50 to use them and if you don't have enough money they won't let you in.  My wife was short € 0,02 and they would not let her in.  She had to have them make change for a € 5,00 just to use the restroom.

Today I was running some errands and came across what appears to be a boutique restroom place.

My kind of store.

This place charges you € 1,00 to use the restroom, but it is really clean in there.  And if that isn't enough, it even has a gift shop in it for all your restroom needs.  They sell toilet brushes, toilet paper and books to read while you sit and think about things.  Maybe I should open up a place called "The Porcelain Palace".  It would have high end toilets in it, "spa" type music playing in each stall and urinals with flat screen TVs above them showing the news or ESPN.  We would also have someone in there dressed up like a butler to offer you with a variety of soaps, lotions and hand sanitizing gels.  We would even sell T-shirts in our gift shop.  "At the Porcelain Palace, we never treat you like #2".

Summer is Here!!!

It is officially summer here.  How do I know, cause it is 28° C here (84° F).  This normally isn't hot, but when you live in a house that doesn't have ceiling fans or air conditioning, that is hot.  It will be interesting to see how we handle this new "challenge" in our life.  Is it too late to add an air conditioning unit to the list that I posted in my prior blog?  Maybe we can start a sponsorship program.  People can donate money and "sponsor" various parts of the air conditioning unit.  When all things are said and done, this will look like a NASCAR car with various names on it.  The more you "sponsor" the larger your name or your company's name will appear on this unit.

"Your Name Here"

Just to give you an idea of how warm it is here, as I write this blog there is a guy next door working on my neighbor's roof.  It is so warm out, the worker has taken off all his cloths except his underwear.  Can you picture a guy in his underwear working on a roof?  Neither can I, so I tried to get a a picture to post so you all could see that I wasn't lying,  but I got caught taking a picture.  He probably thinks I'm some kind of pervert and will warn my neighbor about me.  I guess in the meantime, we will have to take some cool showers.  It will be interesting what the rest of the summer will bring and the winter too (at least we have heaters).

The List

Since we have moved here we have missed some of the "luxuries" of the states (I use the term "luxuries" loosely).  We have actually started an "import" list of the things we miss and want to import when we come home to the states.  We've have received some requests from people wanting to get some stuff for us, so I have decided to publish the list or a registry if you will (since Publix doesn't have one):

• Kraft Mac and Cheese (We know it's fake, but we love it).
• Irish Spring Original Soap (I have used this for years and it's only sold in the US).
• A bag of large marshmallows (Carmen is really needing some).
• Box of graham crackers (Can you guess what is next on the list)?
• Hershey bars (My wife is having serious s'mores withdraws). 
• Jiff Peanut Butter Creamy and Crunchy (The peanut butter here is a little gritty and not as sweet).
• Boxes of daytime Cold/Flu medicine (Apparently they really use pot here for medical purposes, which is the only reason I can come up with as to why they don't have cold medicine here).
• Hunt's Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce (This is for me).
• Coffee-mate Hazelnut Creamers- Singles (My wife will kill for this).
• Sweetened Condensed Milk (If you don't know what snowcream is, you won't understand).
• Stevia in the Raw packets (See hazelnut creamer reason).
• Anti Bacterial Hand Gel (Apparently they are pro bacterial over here).
• Betty Crocker Cake mix Yellow and Red Velvet (If you know my wife, you know her love affair for cake and all cake products)
• Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Icing (You can't have Red Velvet cake without out that).
• Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Squares (Don't ask).
• Bisquick (For pancakes and biscuits, duh).
• All the plastic bags you can send (They make good packing and they are like gold over here, although we use them for cat litter).

I know this is an odd list, but we are really craving these things.

Now for the scam, that is right a scam.  If you decide to send these things, send them via the United States Postal Service and claim a "low" value.  Do not send them via UPS or Fedex cause you will need to send a commercial invoice with them and we will have to pay a tariff (an importing tax) on them and it is not worth the hassle.  Your donations can be sent to the Sean and Carmen Withdraw Foundation, care of:

Sean and Carmen Allen

Prinsenstraat 11 II/III

1015DA, Amsterdam

Netherlands

In exchange, if you need some wooden shoes, stroopwafels or anything Dutch you would like we can send that to you.  Although I don't think the Dutch are really known for anything other than wooden shoes.

   

I Really miss Wal-Mart

Of course I miss my family, friends, my car, Mexican food and air conditioning, but the one thing I really miss the most (just because of convenience) is Wal-Mart.  In some ways, I feel like I have stepped back in time.  There is a shop for everything here and that is where you need to go to get everything.  The grocery store only sells groceries (you can get pet food there) and that is about it.  I literally go the store everyday.  I know Carmen though we went everyday back home, but I really go everyday sometimes twice a day.  For one reason, you can only carry some much with you.  For another reason, it appears that everything here is packaged small and has a short shelf life.  Where do you go for medicine?  You have to go to the drug store.  Oh, did I mention that they don't even carry cold/flu medicine?  That's right, they don't have cold/flue medicine here.  You can get pot here, but not cold/flue medicine?  We asked our local what do people here take when they have a cold and he responded with "Nadda".  I went to the drug store and they only give you stuff with aspirin and vitamin C in it.  Great, I get to add another thing to my "import" list when I come to visit.

Say what you want about Wal-Mart, how evil it is, how they exploit foreign workers, how they run mom and pop stores out of town, but the things they do offer is great.  Low prices and convenience, and as an American that is what I love.  I love being able to go to one place, at anytime of day and get everything I need under one roof.

Oh how I miss thee.

The other thing I miss is having someone bag your groceries.  They don't do that here, you have to do it.  You have to put your items on the belt, bag everything up and pay before the next person is ready.  And if your aren't fast enough, you end up getting in the way of the next person's items.  As a result of this affect combined with the fact that I can only carry so much, I make multiple trips to the store.  Add to that, not every store carries the same thing.  Earlier this week I decided to make Rice Krispy treats for my wife.  I had to go to two different stores in two different parts of town just to get supplies.  The first store didn't have anything I needed.

Because I am so used to Wal-Mart, I don't know where to go to get other things.  I don't know where to go to get Command Strips to hang pictures.  No one here knows what they are, so we have had to reach out and have them "imported" to us.  No one here knows what a door stop is.  Where do I go to get Drano?  I do know, but I know were to get beer and pot.  Oh well, I'll learn.

Does Publix Have a Gift Registry?

We have decided when we come back to the states, we are going to bring an empty suitcase back with us just for food.  Before we moved here, I thought of a business that would cater to Americans or "Expats".  It would be a store with nothing but food from the U.S.  We would have everything from cereals, cake mixes to candy bars.  Everything over here tastes a little different, but a store like this would be great for American's who were missing that "taste from home".  My wife of course thought that I was crazy and thought that I was dumb.

After we got here, we took a walk around the town and found the store I was thinking of.  A store that caters to Americans.  Did we find American heaven?  This store had everything little thing you wanted to remind you of home.

Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Froot Loops and Oreos.

Jiff Peanut Butter, Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce and Kraft Mac and Cheese.

I didn't even say a word, I walked right into the store to check this place out.  No need to get use to the food here, we have our own little taste of America right here and that taste comes with a price.  Here is an example of that price:

                                          Kraft Mac and Cheese: € 2,99 = $ 3.87
                                      Apple Jacks/Froot Loops: € 7,49 = $ 9.68
                                    Reese Peanut Butter Cups: € 1,99 = $ 2.57
                                         Betty Crocker cake mix: € 4,99 = $ 6.45
                                               Aunt Jemima Syrup: € 6,99 = $ 9.04
                                     Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate: € 5,99 = $ 7.74
                                                                    Oreos: € 6,79 = $8.87
                                                   Jiff Peanut Butter: € 4,99 = $ 6.45

Those prices are out of control.  Time to go on American "detox".  I bought some local stuff here and you quickly realize that it isn't as good as American food.  Peanut butter tastes different, there isn't American Cheese here (my wife is having a hard time with this) and the Cool Ranch Doritos (called Cool American) taste different.   So for Christmas, rather than gift cards (which we can't use there as they are in dollars and they use Euros here) I have decided to start a gift registry at Publix.  We will register at Publix for birthdays and Christmas.  I can't wait to open up my first Christmas present to discover a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese.  And don't forget, Charmin with Aloe makes a great stocking stuffer for me.

Tour de Amsterdam

When we decided to move to Amsterdam, we decided to not have a car.  With the transportation system in Europe, we figured we would be able to get around without a car.  So what if we have to walk in the rain a little, so what if it is snowing outside and is a little cold, we will be able to get around to most places via trams/buses/metro or bikes.  Recently Carmen and I went out bike shopping.  This was a big decision.  We waffled between a new bike, which is € 600,00 ($ 775.00), or a used bike, which € 250,00 ($ 322.00).  The main driving force behind the waffling is the fact that bike theft is very high in Amsterdam.  Can you imagine spending € 600,00 and coming outside to find your bike gone?  Decision made, we are buying used bikes.  We looked at several used bikes and to be honest, they all looked junkie.  "Why would we spend € 250,00 on a junkie bike, we should just get a new one, but it is going to get stolen so lets get a junkie bike, but it looks junkie and we want something that looks new."  This process went on all week.  We could not decide what we wanted to do.  Well Saturday came around and it was crunch time.  We had to get a bike, at least Carmen did, to get to work on Monday.  The decision was any easy one and what most Americans would have made, we are buying new bikes and hope they don't get stolen.  I present to you, my new "whip".

My new 2013 Batavus bike.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Isn't that a girls bike?"  Yes it's a girls bike, but that is what most people over here (including guys) ride!  I chose a "girls" bike because Dutch bikes sit up very high and it will be easier to get on and off the bike. They sit so high, I can barely touch the ground with my toes when I am stopped.  I upgraded it and had them install what I call the "E.T." Edition basket on the front of it.

Today, I decided to ride to work with Carmen.  How fun would that be, riding to work with my wife?  I get out of the house, we'll get some exercise and I can condition my body to get use to riding a bike after not riding one on a regular basis.

According to Google Maps it's only a 23 mins ride.  This shouldn't be too bad.

I can tell you I would regret this decision.  In fact, 15 mins into the ride I started to rethink the car thing.  First off you would think "The Netherlands are flat, that shouldn't be a bad ride."  Wrong!  They are flat, but that means you have to pedal 100% of the time.  Since there aren't any hills that means no coasting to catch your breath and to relax your legs.  Second is the wind.  The wind was blowing so hard I felt like Jim Cantore reporting live for the landfall location of Hurricane Andrew.  At one point, I'm pretty sure I wasn't moving. I felt like I was staying in place.  I thought "I hope I don't have to make this ride everyday.  This sucks and I feel sorry for my wife."  And just imagine rain and snow, oh my God what a nightmare.  What the hell have I got involved in?  This was the longest 5.8 km (3.06395 miles) ride in my life.  At one point I wanted to stop and relax but I was afraid I wouldn't get back on the bike.  I kept riding and finally made it. I am no Lance Armstrong.  Maybe I should do some steroids to help with the ride.  Now have to ride it back home!!!

Finally, Success!

I can fully appreciate what Nationals go through when they come to America not knowing anything.  Yesterday we received mail from the bank with our Pin card codes.  Exciting right, well not so fast.  The only thing we can read on the letter, besides our name and address, is the pin number.  Everything else in the letter is written in Dutch.  I guess it was arrogant of me to assume that it would be in English.  My response to my wife was "Now I know how Mexicans feel when they come to America".  This isn't a racist statement, but a statement of truth.  I now know what it is like to move to a country where everything is written in another language and not know what it says.  At least they speak English here which makes the transition a little easier.

Today I had a mission, get cable and internet (keep in mind we don't even have a TV yet, but we need cable and we need it now)!  My first attempt was online.  Not really an issue cause I use Google Chrome as my browser and it automatically translates any language to English for me.  I found the package I wanted but had further questions that I couldn't find the answers to.  I decided to click on the box that will have UPC call you to answer your questions.  I put in the phone number for the location I am at and they called right away. How I wish they made Google Chrome: Phone Edition.  I was not able to understand anything the recording was telling me.  So like most everyone else, I hit "0" thinking it would get me to a live person.  Nope.  Once you do that, the phone rings busy over and over.  I hung up and tried it again.  Can you guess what happened next? If you guessed the same as before you are right.  So I decided to look up UPC online and found a location very close to where I have been spending my days.  I drove to the location and parked in a parking spot.  As I was walking up I asked a women if this was paid parking.  She said yes and helped me with the marking meter.  She asked me where I was going to determine the amount of time to put on the meter.  I told her I was going to UPC and she said she worked there and would take me there.  After I couldn't get my card to work in the meter she said she would pay for my parking and walked with me to UPC.  Once at UPC I told the guy what I wanted and he was able to help me.  Within a matter of minutes I had internet and cable without a pin card or money, take that cell phone providers.  This by far has been the easiest transaction I have done to date in Amsterdam.  Oh I forgot to mention, the internet connection here is 150 mbps vs. the connection in the US which is about 50 mbps to 105 mbps.  

Feeling high from my transaction (and not from the weed that is sold here), I walked back to my car which was parked across the street from a Burger King.  I decided to go inside for a celebratory breakfast.   I was then shocked to find out that they stop serving breakfast at 11:30 am!  Take that US with your 10:30 am cut off.  Who the hell is ready to eat lunch at 10:30 am?  When in Rome, I decided to try something I have never had.  I introduce to you, the Breakfast Burger.

100% delicious.

Let me preface the following with, this is not an everyday thing I will be getting or would be getting.  I saw this on the menu and thought "I need to try that!"  This is not your typical breakfast sandwich.  Not really knowing what to expect I thought perhaps the term "breakfast burger" might have been miss translated considering yesterday we ate at KFC and I ordered a "Tower Burger".  This was not a burger at all. It was a bun with a breaded chicken patty on it.  Thinking this might be case here, I ordered it.  I was surprised that the translation was not mixed up.  This is really a breakfast burger. It is a hamburger bun with a Whopper patty topped with egg, cheese, bacon, tomato and mayonnaise.  It was really delicious and worth trying it once.

So what did I learn today?  Setting up cable/internet is the easiest thing I have done so far in Amsterdam and the breakfast burger is really a "breakfast burger" and it is delicious.  

Learning Curve

Going into this move, I knew things were not going to be easy.  I decided to embrace the move as a "learning  experience".  The first thing I learned was take everything you know and throw it out the window as it doesn't apply here.  Everything from banking to eating is different here.  In order to do anything here (get utilities, cable, internet and phones) you need a back account.  We had to wait 6 days to get an appointment at a bank.  Once there, we were able to set up a bank account with $0.00 in it.  Apparently, it take 6 weeks for the banks here to process a cashiers check.  Not good enough for us, so we asked about doing a wire transfer from our account in the U.S. to here, that takes 2 weeks to process.  How you can get a debit card (pin card) with a balance of $0.00 is beyond my understand, but that is the way it works here.

Also the saying "Nothing in life is free" strictly applies here accept to WiFi in cafes.  Drink refills and condiments are not free here.  I had to pay $1.00 for (2) small packets of ketchup yesterday at Burger King.  If they were the size of the ones you get a Chick-fil-a that might ease the pain, but they were smaller than that.  I did get (2) free packets of frietsaus yesterday, friets are french fries.  So being the creative person I am, I have decided to get a travel size shampoo bottle and fill it with ketchup and I will carry that around with me daily.

Words I learned this week:

Nee = No  (I heard that word a lot yesterday when we were opening up a bank account).
Kip = Chicken
Friets = Fries
Kaas = Cheese
Fiets = Bike.

If you can't remember what things are, take maters in your own hands and label everything.

This is what I did to my washing machine.  Nothing a label maker and Google Translate couldn't fix.

Driving is another story here.  You truly have to always be on the look out for bikes, cars, people and now add trams to that list.  The trams travel in the middle of the street, so you have to take extra caution when making a turn while driving a stick shift.  Now that the first week is over, I'm sure the next few weeks will be interesting.  The lady at the Expat Center told us the first month is the hardest.  I hope it goes easy.