Alumni Stalker

I am a proud alumnae of Concordia University Nebraska (Go Bulldogs!) and although it has been years since I’ve been back to the campus I still feel a strong connection to my college experience. (My parents are also alumni so I’ve got that legacy thing too.) I even faithfully read the alumni newsletter so when I saw that two different student groups would be taking trips to Europe this summer I was pretty excited! Fueled by a touch of homesickness and a heavy dose of nostalgia, I made plans to meet up with the Concordians while they were on the continent.

First up: Amsterdam. A group of 20 students were on a study tour of Europe, lead by Dr. Bruce Creed and Prof. Lynn Soloway. I first experienced Europe on a similar trip lead by Prof. Soloway a few (!) years ago so it seemed like I was coming full circle meeting up with them.

Although I’d really hoped to spend time in either the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh museum with the group so that I could have a tour of the fabulous art narrated by Prof. Soloway, my schedule didn’t work out for that to happen. Instead a friend and fellow Concordia alum hopped on the train with me and we met up with the group outside the Anne Frank House. After lunch we wandered through Amsterdam, chatting with the students and soaking up the atmosphere (and the rain!) until we arrived at the Flower Market. It was great to play catch up!

Next stop: Frankfurt. The A Capella choir was on tour in Europe, and their closest stop was 2 1/2 hours south of us. This time I dragged my family along and when all was said and done they admitted that they kind of enjoyed it.

This picture doesn’t do the choir justice – for that check out this youtube video – but I loved every minute of the concert! I was truly wowed by their talent – from the first note they sang to the last. I tried to take a video myself but I wasn’t terribly successful. Besides, I know I looked ridiculous holding up an ipad to film it.

Okay, college whippersnappers. Carry on and enjoy your time in Europe. This crazy alum will stop bothering you now.

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I’d Like To Buy a Vowel: An A

Windmills, wooden shoes and cheese – that is what Holland is all about, right? It is at Zaans Schans! We first heard about Zaans Schans when we made a trip to Amsterdam a year ago. We asked a waitress about things to do and this was her suggestion. It took us a while but we finally got there. (It took 11 months and 2 1/2 hours, to be specific.)

Zaans Schans is just north of Amsterdam. We took advantage of discount train tickets I’d bought (and was determined to use before their expiration date.) It is a little traditional Dutch village composed of traditional buildings and is often loaded with tourists, for obvious reasons.

Some of the building charge admission but just walking around is free. There are seven windmills in the village and they’re used for different purposes – one is a sawmill, one is an oil mill, and one is used to make paint.

We went into the spice mill. The power of the wind has been harnessed to grind spices. Holland was a big player in the whole spice trade (Dutch East Indies Company ring a bell?) so it’s understandable why they’d need a mill.

Like much of the Netherlands there was water all around – and little bridges to cross and pose for photos.

We visited the cheese factory but missed the demonstration.

We visited the wooden shoe factory but missed that demonstration too. Here is the equipment used to make the shoes though.

Part of the factory had an exhibit on the history of the wooden shoe. There were also a variety of wooden shoes, some of them artistically decorated.

The exterior of the building was pretty interesting also. Shoes as decor – who would’ve thunk it?

Here are the chunks of wood used to make the shoes.

Every visitor to Holland needs a photograph with a giant pair of wooden shoes!

We got a photo in the super gigantic wooden shoe for good measure.

This building an Albert Heijn grocery store. That is a grocery chain in the Netherlands. The founder was from the Zaanse Schans area.

We enjoyed a demonstration at the pewter shop. Molten metal was transformed into a spoon. Fascinating!

There were plenty of friendly critters in Zaans Schans also.

After a few hours we headed back to the train station. On the way we passed a bakery with this adorable window display – that is Sinter Klaas (St. Nicholas) and his band of helpers, Zwarte Pete(s) sailing on a sea of cookies.  Something else that made the walk back delightful – we passed a cocoa factory. The smell was quite enjoyable!

And that was our day at Zaanse Schans. On the way back Thomas observed, “We spent more time on the train than we did at our destination!” Yes, that may be true, but it was a relaxing and enjoyable train trip. I don’t think we will return to Zaans Schans but if we have any visitors I will be happy to buy them a train ticket and send them on their way.

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Tin Tin And The Smurfs

(Wouldn’t that be a great name for a band?)

After the boring visit to the Flower Carpet (a bit of an exaggeration there – honestly, my boys didn’t seem terribly bored) we headed to something that was a little more their style: Le Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée. I’ll save you a trip to google translate – that would be the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

The Belgians are quite serious about their comics. Before coming here I was only familiar with Tin Tin, thanks in part to the recent big screen remake about the young reporter. I learned that the Smurfs are actually Belgian, as are many other comic characters who apparently have not made the trip across the Atlantic to the U.S.  

For example, I’ve never met this guy before but he looks like he could be a lot of fun!

The center had an exhibit on the history of comics, and apparently “Little Nemo” was one of the first.

There were many comics on display, and if we knew Dutch we could have been amused for hours. Instead we wandered around and looked for some familiar faces.

Like Snowy, Tin Tin’s dog, wearing his space suit from his trip to the moon.

Tin Tin’s rocket ship from that comic was there too.

These little blue guys are probably the most famous, especially since they are making a comeback with their recent movie.

The original artist, Peyo, is Belgian, and here are some of his sketches.

No museum visit is complete without a stop at the book store! Fortunately there was an English section so we picked up some reading material for the drive home.

Even for the comic novice, Le Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée was entertaining. Belgium: it’s not just about beer, chocolate and waffles.

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A Tale Of Two Blueberry Patches

This summer we picked blueberries on two different continents. The berries were equally delicious but that is where the similarities end.

While in the U.S. we drove to the blueberry patch. The employee at the entrance said, “Today we’re picking from fields A, B, C and D. Park where you can and pick wherever you’d like. ” We picked until our containers (a random assortment of Tupperware types) were full and then we paid and went home.

On the European side we actually picked in the Netherlands, just a short drive across the border. When we arrived we were told exactly where to park. We entered the weigh station and were given buckets to hold our bounty. Last year I had brought my own containers and that was a no-no. We were told to look for the lady wearing a red hat.

The Red Hat Lady directed us to our bush. She spoke a little English and we speak no Dutch but she demonstrated the procedure: get every blue berry – no green ones – from top  to bottom, every branch, completely clearing them from the plant. She was not kidding about which bush was ours. When I picked a few berries from a bush across the way she mentioned something about “verboten” and made gestures indicating what my punishment would be if I continued with such a heinous violation of policy. She was sort of smiling when she said this. Sort of. One poor guy made the mistake of lighting up a cigarette while picking. He was sorry.

When our bush was empty she came over to inspect. We’d missed a few berries so we had to pick those before we were allowed to move to a new bush. This process continued until we’d met our quota of berries – 3 kilograms per adult. (For those still using the English system, that is a total of 13.2 pounds. LOTS of blueberries.) We were then excused to go pay.

As we were heading to the car Red Hat Lady asked to see my friend’s camera and the worms the boys had picked up. I thought we were in trouble again (how’s that for fear of authority?) but she just wanted to see the photos and even admired the worms. Red Hat Lady did have a friendly personality and a sense of humor after all – she was just very serious about her blueberry patch.

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Who Built The Ark? Noah, Noah!

Does anyone remember that Sunday School song? I’ll start by revising the lyrics: in this case it should be, “Who built the Ark? Johan Huibers!”

Earlier this Spring we climbed aboard Noah’s Ark. Though the real ark is thought to be in Turkey, we saw a replica in Cologne, Germany. This big boat was the project of a man from the Netherlands, Johan Huibers. While some might think that another flood may inundate his homeland if global warming continues, Huibers did not make the flood for that reason. He says the idea for building the Ark came to him in a dream, and throughout the 20+ year process his steps were ordered by God and the whole thing came together. Now it is touring the waterways of Europe and when it stopped nearby, we got on board!

This ark is about half the length of the original and one fifth of the volume, though the exact length of a cubit is not known. (A cubit is the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, estimated to be about 20 inches.)

Ironically, it was a rainy Saturday when we visited so we wanted to get into the Ark quickly!

Inside it is filled with stuffed animals (and a few real ones – bunnies and fish for example) and displays that tell the story of not just the great flood described in the book of Genesis, but many of the “highlights” of the Bible.

The kids were given a treasure hunt to complete – questions to answer from each of the displays.

Solomon had his own luxury suite. After all he had a few ladies to share it with. (Just to clarify: King Solomon was not on the real ark. Like many others he was on board for visitors to see.)

Do you recognize this guy? Hint: He was taken out by a little guy who had 5 stones for ammo.

There are 4 floors to explore, a small gift shop and a restaurant. It is very kid friendly. This orangutan was tied to a big rope and by pulling the rope he would raise his head.

After we’d been there a couple of hours the rain stopped so we disembarked and headed home. God promised never to flood the earth again so we felt pretty confident it was safe to get off.

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What Kind of Flower Grows On Your Face?

A Tulip, of course!

We saw many, many, many tulips last week at Keukenhof Garden in Lisse, Netherlands. I highly recommend the destination; however, don’t take a bus trip and don’t go on a Saturday.

Keukenhof is a beautiful botanical garden that is open only 2 months out of the year, when bulbs have emerged from their winter slumber. We enjoyed perfect sunny weather. Because we were on a bus tour, our time in the Garden was quite limited. Because it was a sunny Saturday, it was incredibly crowded.

All around the garden are fields of flowers.

This was not a trip that the whole family was enthusiastic about, but there was plenty to do besides look at tulips.

How often do you get to wear giant wooden shoes?

Or meet a world famous rabbit?

Or play on a playground? (Actually, that happens just about daily but it is still fun.)

Or see a really cool bridge?

Or check out some water fountains?

We took lots of photos and tried not to get in the way of the thousands of other people taking photos. It was not easy.

And though they might not admit it, I think the boys had a good time.

I absolutely loved Keukenhof! This was one of my favorite experiences in Europe so far. I’m already planning to come back next year – by myself, in a car, on a weekday.

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Centerparcs Vossemeren

We now break from our regularly scheduled review of our trip to Paris to bring you a report of what we did this weekend…

We spent the weekend in Belgium at a place called Centerparcs. (I’m stuck on what to call it exactly – “resort” conjures up images of palm trees and cocktails with umbrellas in it which this did not have; “campground” isn’t correct because there were no tents or RVs; “hotel” doesn’t give the full picture.) The occasion was a retreat for the chapel leadership and their families. It was a great combination of learning, fellowship, and recreation. Centerparcs is a holiday destination (as the Europeans might call it) with loads of activities, almost like an all-inclusive.

Once we saw the exterior of the villas (their term, not mine) I understood why all the photos on the website were of the interior. Admittedly, the cinder-block construction would hardly be called charming. I’d also venture to say that the first weekend in March is not peak season for beauty of the natural landscape. However, the parc was nearly full – approximately 3,000 people were staying there!

But the interior was quite nice! Our villa had 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen (less an oven), a living room, a patio (sometimes visited by mallards, peacocks and sheep), a fireplace and even heated floors.

Right across from our villa was a soccer field, a playground, and a petting zoo.

It had chickens, pigs, goats, a cow, a donkey, geese, ducks and a tractor. It was like Old McDonald’s farm, including a rooster waking us in the morning.

There were many playgrounds throughout the property, in addition to tennis courts, a lake for boating, a zipline, bike trails…are you getting the idea?

In the main building they had a bowling alley, a game room, shops and several restaurants. We ate at the Pannekoeken Huis (pancake house) and one of the teens taught us to play tabletop basketball while waiting for our food. On my first turn I spun the coin, grabbed it with my thumbs and tossed it toward the makeshift basket. It went over my opponent’s head and hit this glass at the next table…and broke it! Oops.

We spent most of Saturday afternoon at Aqua Mondo, a huge indoor water park. There was a big pool, a kiddy pool, several waterslides, a lazy river, several jacuzzis, an outdoor pool, and a wave pool. I didn’t bring the camera for obvious reasons. My fingers were all raisiny by the time we were done.

Our second favorite activity was Discovery Bay. It is an indoor pirate-themed playground. It has places to climb, slide, and play in the water. This raft was great fun – the boys had to pull themselves across with a rope.

This suspension bridge was quite high, so I opted to stay on the ground to take photos. A high ropes activity was happening at the same time.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Centerparcs! They have locations throughout Europe so we look forward to visiting another “parc” - maybe in France or England next time.

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Paris for the Weekend

We just returned from a weekend in Paris! Doesn’t that sound so exotic and extravagant? Yeah, that’s how we roll…

Actually it is a small feat to go to Paris for the weekend since it is just over 4 hours by car. We left after school on Friday. Today is a holiday (some call it President’s Day but locals are celebrating Karneval) so we came back home today. Here’s a brief overview of our adventures – I’ll fill you in on all the boring nitty-gritty details in the posts to come! Our agenda was jam-packed, partly because there is so much to see, and partly because being the frugal type, I wanted to get my money’s worth out of the 2-day Museum Pass that we bought. I think we succeed on both accounts (although there is much more to see so I’m sure we’ll be back!)

 

Saturday morning we got up, jumped on the Metro, and headed to the Louvre, where we first had a petit dejuner of croissants (the first of many.)

After a morning filled with masterpieces (and tummies filled with McDonald’s!) we walked along the Seine.

The next stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral! It was amazing and cold! Can you see who made a purchase in a souvenir shop?

We climbed 400 stairs to the very top and were rewarded with this breath-taking view. (Or maybe that was just the stair-climbing part.) That was about all we could handle for one day so we headed back to our hotel where I strategized how we could get the most out of our Sunday.

Sunday morning we took the Metro in again (of course.)

First stop was church. Thanks to a little online research, we located a Lutheran church. Their website said they have services in French and English. Unfortunately, the pastor wasn’t expecting any English speakers (the regulars were all on holiday) and we were late so the service was only in French. One of us got something out of it; the other three were very patient.

After the service we parted ways. I went to Musee d’Orsay and took in the art and the boys went to the Army Museum. (Sadly, no photos allowed in Orsay – and I gave them the camera anyhow.)

I joined them there and we saw Napoleon’s tomb.

We got down and dirty (or more accurately down and smelly) on the Paris Sewer tour.

No visit to Paris is complete without a stop at the Eiffel Tower.

On our way to the Metro we checked out the Marine Museum.

The last Parisian landmark was the Arc de Triomphe. Back to the hotel to hit the hay!

On our way home today we made a stop at Riems, France and saw some of their claims-to-fame. 

Special thanks to Rick Steves for all of his travel advice, and to Mme Adasiak, Mme Guido, Mme Rubin, and my 9th grade French teacher (whose name completely escapes me right now). Plenty of French was stuck in my brain from those 5 years and it came in quite handy. Tune in later this week when I share more of my 323 photos! First up: the Louvre.

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Just Another Weekend

It was a pretty typical weekend for us.

Friday night we met with our small group for Bible study. We have a potluck when we meet and the food is always great! I made Orzo with Roasted Vegetables. (It tasted better than it looks; recipe to follow.)

Saturday morning we did some housekeeping, some errands, a run for me, and some cooking. The cooking was in preparation for the Chapel Thanksgiving meal. There was a nice crowd there (and plenty of leftovers too.)

Sunday Jeremy preached on Isaiah 9:6. After church we headed to my new favorite store to get a birthday present. MAKRO has it all – groceries, clothes, toys, restaurant supplies, hardware, BINGO cards – and there’s always a crowd.

Our next stop was a birthday party at the bowling alley. Yay for turning 3!

Then a quick stop at our first Christmas Market. We  plan on going to many more so I’ll save the full story for another post. We did see a couple of celebrities there!

And here’s the recipe!

ORZO AND ROASTED VEGETABLES

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

3 bell peppers, various colors

6 green onions

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 medium zucchini

4 oz fresh mushrooms

4 T olive oil, divided

1 T Italian seasoning

1 garlic clove, crushed

3/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1 cup orzo

2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Chop vegetables (except tomatoes) into 1″ pieces. Place vegetables into a 9×13 baking dish and toss with half of the oil and the seasonings. Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, add the rest of the oil to a saucepan and heat on medium-high. Add orzo and allow to brown lightly, stirring constantly. Add broth and heat until boiling. Then cover and cook over low until the liquid is absorbed (about 10 minutes.) Add orzo to vegetables and stir to mix. Sprinkle cheese and nuts on top. Bake, covered with foil, an additional 30 minutes or until warm through.

 

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