Things I’ve Seen …

I’m assuming this is a small, portable grill, painted like a football (soccer ball) in the classic Dutch orange. I saw it yesterday sitting on it’s lonesome on the terrace along the Nieuwegracht.

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Olifanten

When we first knew we would be moving to the Netherlands, we bought the Rosetta Stone software program that is supposed to teach you any number of languages. It’s not a bad program, and I think it’s good for basic vocabulary, but in the end, it can be more confusing than helpful.
One of the first [...]

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Areas of My Expertise

my waiting area
I’m starting to worry. It seems like any time G goes out of town, something unpleasant happens to me. Last time, my knee got badly banged up as I tried to stop Lola from going over the wall. This time — today — I managed to lock myself out of the house.
I had [...]

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Summer Darkness

Last week we headed over to the Domplein to catch some of the Summer Darkness festival, an annual event in which the underground comes above ground for four days. There were various events going on all around town, but we hit up the market and fashion shows taking place at the Domplein on Sunday. It [...]

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Rituals

The long line of refugees is up against the wall all along the street this morning. Their morning-suited guards patrol the street with glasses of champagne in hand.
The students have arrived!

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A Thought

After seeing a photo of a hostel where Van Gogh stayed at during a visit to the city the province of Drenthe, I find myself wondering if Van Gogh is the Dutch equivalent of George Washington, with the “he slept here” signs.

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They’re Here

(photo is a detail of the Academiegebouw, one of the original buildings of the university, located next to the cathedral)
It’s that time of year again. The students have returned. Utrecht is the home of the largest university in the Netherlands, which makes us a university town, especially when you consider the relative small size of [...]

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Orlando and the Palm

Thanks to one of my Flickr contacts, I was reminded that there’s a palm tree growing in Utrecht. It can be found in the Flora’s Hof, behind the old gate of the Bisschopshof next to the Domtoren (the big church tower in the background). I was there earlier in the year when Amy came to [...]

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Musical Boats

The weather Saturday was sunny and warm; Sunday, not so much. Pouring rain came down all morning, despite our hopes to head out and enjoy the muzicale botenparade (musical boat parade) that was the feature of this month’s Culturele Zondag (Cultural Sunday). Culturele Zondag is an event held once a month here in Utrecht, with [...]

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Canine Family

I think this may be the best thing I’ve ever seen, while walking through any city. Even better than bumping into James Earl Jones one Monday morning in Manhattan. We saw them yesterday while we were out along the Oudegracht, enjoying the botenparade (boat parade) that was part of Culturele Zondag (Cultural Sunday). At first, [...]

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