Dutch observations

It's been quite the eventful last few days!  Here's a summary:

1.  Work is still going really well.  Getting into the swing still, but going much better than I could have hoped or dreamed of.  And to top it off, I think I made a Dutch friend on the team!  Score!!!!  I couldn't be more thrilled.  Now, only 20 more to go :)

2.  Dutch Problems:  Not enough vases for all the beautiful, relatively cheap flowers.  If you come over to visit, it's BYOV (bring your own vase).  They are just too tempting not to buy.  The temporary apartment only had 2 vases, both of which are full right now.

3.  Another Dutch observation:  I think I've written before about how tall the Dutch are (too lazy to check, but I think so).  So far, this has only caused minor issues for me - the biggest of which is that EVERY chair in the Netherlands is too big for me.  Quite uncomfortable to sit with your legs dangling all day.  I'm so silly too - I packed my work footstool into my shipment.  So I either need to get a new one off of Amazon or wait for 2 months. 

4.  Made it to Amsterdam again today.  I say again, but this time was completely different.  In another blog post I discussed the first visit on that first weekend.  We took the train, got thoroughly lost, but enjoyed the time there.  This time, since the company is comping my miles (er - KMs I mean)and gas as part of the package, I decided to drive there.  I drove to a park and ride on the outskirts of Amsterdam and then took the tram in for free as part of the parking.  Worked like a charm!  No incidents driving - it's really easy to drive here.  Everyone (gasp!) goes the speed limit, which is frustratingly low.  But it makes it easy to drive.  Big Brother is everywhere though.  They use cameras to monitor speed and Faith (the GPS) tells me everytime there's a camera watching me.  She tells me that a lot.  And reminds me when I'm over the speed limit.  She's super picky.  I've been told though, that even if you are over by only 2-3KMs/hr and the camera catches you, you can get a ticket.  It gets paid directly out of your salary check.  Talk about a tricky tax.

5.  Amsterdam review of RS book.  I'm including both the sites seen last time and the new ones today.  I think you could spend 3-4 leisurely days in Amsterdam - probably what it deserves.  I'll spend a lot more there, because it's so close.  Excellent people watching with things to do.
     a.  RS recommends getting the Museumkaart if you are going to see 6 or more museums in the Netherlands (good across the country).  I highly recommend this if you are going to spend time here.  It's saved me a ton of hassle waiting in line and eventually will save me money.  I've done 4 museums, each would have been 10-15 Euros -> Almost made my money back on that one.  And it's good for a year - I'm definitely going to win!
     b.  Rijksmuseum:  Saw this today - Rick Steves gives it 3 pyramids (highest).  I tend to agree.  Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Steen...all the big Dutch painters are there.  I thought it was better than the Groeninge in Brugge that he also had the highest marks for.  Famous paintings of note include the Night Watch by Rembrandt.  His book includes a walking tour, which was awesome.  Gave great insights into major paintings.  The Rijksmuseum is currently under renovation, so it's much smaller in scale (the full building looks like a smaller version of the Louvre).  Not sure if it will be reopened before I leave, but I would definitely see this again in it's condensed form - just enough to not get "arted" out.
     c.  Van Gogh (3 pyramids):  Seen 2 weekends ago.  RS got this one right too.  LOVED IT - more than the Rijksmuseum.  Too many great paintings to list.  I love impressionist works, so this was right up my alley.  Another great RS walking tour as well.  One of the floors was under renovation again.  I would have liked to see that floor.  The other floor w/o VG was a waste.  Such a travesty to kill a whole floor with graphic print modern art - it was not cool.
     d.  Anne Frank House (3 pyramids):  I agree - wrote a lot on that last time.  I've gotten in line at the library to check out her diary again.  The whole house was moving.
     e.  Amsterdam Museum (2 pyramids):  I did this one today.  I disagree with RS.  I give this one pyramid.  I think that based on sheer size, he went with 2.  I think the bigger the museum, the harder it is to grasp the theme and the message being displayed (although, more bang for the buck).  The first exhibit was called "Amsterdam DNA", which walked the viewer through the history of the world's most liberal city from 1300s to present day.  I liked this part.  It was easy to follow with clear signs and good English translations.  That took about 1 hour to get through.  There were a ton of tour groups, which knocks it down in my mind - mostly teenage or college study abroad groups, most of whom looked and acted hung over from the night before.  It was hard to get around them and get a feel for the museum.  Maybe a second trip would be better.  The second part of the museum is the permanent exhibit featuring artifacts, paintings, porcelain, etc that all had something to do with Amsterdam through the ages.  This part had a lot of potential but failed miserably in design of the museum.  I kept getting lost.  At one point, I thought I would never find my way out, much less move successfully from the 1800s to the 1900s.  It was a complete disaster of a lay out in my mind.  There were some cool things in there, but to be honest, I was really trying to pay attention to where to go next.  My first hint that this probably wasn't a well visited area was that all of the tour groups suddenly vanished.  Then I thought I was going to need to take up residence in the museum because I would never find my way out and no one goes into the permanent exhibits, so I guess living here would be ok.  The most interesting part was the 1930s-1950s section - I believe this is a prelude to what I hope to see at the Dutch Resistance Museum on my next trip.  RS failed me on this one - his walking guide of this museum was useless.  Interesting tidbits on items or paintings I never found.
       f.  Museumplein (one pyramid):  Saw this today.  I agree with RS.  Lots of people watching to do.  I sat and ate a late lunch there - people watching was good, food was ok.  Nice if you have time to relax.
       g.  Leidseplein (one pyramid):  Liked it - same concept as Museumplein.  If I had done it right, I would have lingered more at Leidseplein and not as much at Museumplein.
       h.  I also saw the Flower Market - which is a bit misleading, because the street with vendors essentially sells mostly bulbs.  But I do know now where to get bulbs and all things Holland (I found an orange shirt I'm considering buying!).  Next trip I'll look for another area that actually has cut flowers.
       i.  Since my P&R tram into town was free to ride in and then out one time, I took the tram all the way to central station and then walked back along the same line (line 2) just so I knew I could always jump on that tram if I was ready to be done.  This worked really well - I walked a ton, but I also saw a lot more of the city than last time.  I felt more comfortable jumping off and walking knowing I just stayed in a relative similar line to the tram.  Most of the stuff on my itinerary for today was on that line, so it worked out perfecto.  Next time, I'll try a different line and walk up it.  Amsterdam is confusing!
      j.  Almost forgot - I made it to a quilt shop today in Amsterdam that has real Dutch repro fabric.  It is so pretty - I bought a few small pieces for my travel quilt so now I have Dutch, French, German (thanks Mom!), and Kenyan.  Hopefully I can find some Italian in Milan...doubtful, but maybe?

6.  I signed on an apartment on Friday.  Move in is Oct 1.  Also walked a new area of the Hague I had not been too.  Found a new place to try dry cleaning.

7.  No movement on house or car.  Added lease to the house - if you are looking for somewhere to rent in Houston, let me know.

8.  Tonight after I got back from Amsterdam, I checked the "Out in the Hague" guide, which is a monthly publication of things to do every night.  Its in Dutch, but sometimes words don't translate, so the print them in English.  I saw the word "bluegrass" under one, which clearly doesn't translate.  So I went to the pub to check it out.  First thing about going to a pub by yourself I've learned:   Sit at the bar.  So much easier than trying to rangle a spot at a table.  Second, live music is a great conversation starter.  Met Dutchies, English ex-pats, etc.  Nice time.  Third, cover bluegrass done by a Dutch band was pretty good.  I put some videos on facebook - I don't think it's crazy to say that they sound as good as something you would hear in the states.  It's a local band out of Rotterdam called Stringcaster.  I went because of the selection they had online - it's actually better live.  Shocked - I loved it.

I've most likely lost everyone's attention at this point.  Need to learn to shorten my posts - but a lot of good stuff happened so it needed to be written!  On deck - tomorrow is church in the morning.  Not sure about the afternoon - Haarlem or a castle maybe?  Monday - Paris for a quick training.  Super early flight, so not going to go too crazy tomorrow.  Milan on Friday!!!  That's 4 countries in less than a month.  So crazy!!!