Weird Things In Holland

1. Bathrooms – On the main floor of most Dutch houses there is a WC (pronounced vay say) which basically is a washroom. It has a toilet and a small sink. The sink only has a cold water line going to it so you have no choice but to wash your hands with cold water. Some toilets have, what the stake presidents wife calls it (who is American) an observation deck. This is tough to describe but basically the hole is in the front of the bowl and directly below where your “business” falls, there is a platform. When you flush, water flows over the platform and washes everything down the hole (you hope).

2. Public toilets – They barely exist and when they do, it costs you anywhere from 25 cents to a Euro to use. Most places have a slot to put your coin and the door to the bathroom becomes unlocked.

3. Drinking Fountains – Also do not really exist. In fact, come to think of it, I can’t remember using or seeing one since I got here. Even at church, if you need a drink, you go in the kitchen and get a glass.

4. Food and Drinks – A few weird things here. First is the small containers. Everything comes in smaller sizes including the milk. We buy 1.5 liter boxes of milk so with 6 people, we have to buy several at a time. The reason why everything is small is they have to fit in the refridgerators which are also small. You can buy full size fridges but that is rare. Eggs are not sold or stored refridgerated. They sit on the store shelf next to other items like the pancake mix. Most Dutch people store them in the cupboard but we refridgerate them as soon as we get home. Next are the coffee breaks. It is customary to have a coffee break at 10 am as well as other times of the day but this is not a hard-fast rule. Most people I work around have their first coffee when they get in and refill about every hour throughout the day. The last thing I will mention about this topic is the alcohol. Anytime we all get together at work for a meeting, beer, wine and soda are served as well as cheese and cured meats. I have never been expected to drink while I work, but it makes the day much merrier (being full of coca-cola, of course).

5. Pets – People love there pets here and are treated as well, if not better, that children. This treatment also includes public areas. Seeing people walking down the mall, in the grocery store or even in restaurants with their dog is very common. Where the people go, the pets are welcome. There are some exceptions to this like the local Toy-R-Us does not welcome animals.

6. Birthdays – They are a very big deal for the one having the birthday as well as the rest of the family. Alex recently has his birthday and in school they made this big fancy hat that he got to where and we sent treats with him to share with his class. When a member of a family has a birthday, the whole family is congratulated, big cakes are made and they go all out for the parties.

7. Checks – Though checks are going out of style in the U.S. and most pay bills online, they are completely gone here. Getting checks was not even an option when we opened our bank account. Everything is paid using Pin cards which are like debit cards or you can transfer the money directly. Even with tithing, basically you fill out the standard slip but place a check that it is being sent via Giro. I then go online and transfer the money directly into the churches account.

8. Canals and Birds – Holland, as most know, is actually below sea level so there are dikes and canals everywhere. Because of all the water, it is an excellent place for all water birds. Often on my way to work I see swans, cranes, ducks, geese and other birds. Some are very strange like these ducks that have a pointed beak.

9. Blankets and Sheets – When we first got here, we were working on making the beds and found it odd that the top sheet was double layered. We quickly found out that they do not use a top sheet as Americans are used to. The bottom fitted sheet is the same but the top one is basically a cover. You cover your comforter with the sheet so you never really need to wash your blanket. You just slip the blanket out of the pocket and wash the sheet. Kind of smart actually. We plan to take some of these sheets back with us to America when (and if) we move back.

10. Nudity – We all know that Europe is much more liberal than the most liberal in the U.S. We expected to see billboards and advertising everywhere full of nudity. I was very disappointed that this is not the case (JK, kind of:). Kristal and I did see one small advertisement in a metro station with a nude woman but that is the only time we have seen anything since arriving. Television is not regulated late at night so you could see anything on TV after 10 but before then it seems safe. Overall though, the general feeling is that the naked body is not necessarily something to be hidden always. I recently learned that most day spas, which are for both sexes, do not allow any clothing or robes in the saunas. Some do not even allow clothing in other areas. We plan to visit one soon (again, JK, kind of:)

OK, this post is already long enough. There are other things I could mention, (like seeing men pee on the side of the street, though not common, you are not surprised when you see it) but that would be inappropriate, so I will not. Though it is much like America is most ways, there are still some differences which make life here unique, but we love it.

Visit to Scotland

I was in Scotland Mon-Wed this week for a day of work but of course, set aside some time to play as well. I visited Edinburgh which is the capital city of Scotland. While there I walked around for several hours checking things out. I toured the underground vaults that the city was built on. These where basically supports for bridges and buildings but ended up being used as places to take the sick, as brothels, doctors did illegal studies on human bodies. Basically the typical rape, mutilation, torture and murder that old Europe is famous for. The vaults are said to be one of the major places for paranormal activity. I was hoping for a bit of a scare myself but nothing happened. I then went to an old cemetary called Canongate. Buried there, among others, were Adam Smith (father of economics) and Robert Fergusson (Poet). I did not take any pictures of this because it was nearly 11:30 PM (best to see ghosts late at night) before I left the cemetary and my phones camera does not have flash.

When I first arrived I exchanged a few hundred Euros to Pounds. I found it odd that I ended up with 5 different kinds of 20 Pound currency:

Here is my hotel which is in the center of Edinburgh:
Views from my hotel room


I walked around Edinburgh for much of the first night. One thing that is amazing is the huge castle which sits on top of a large boulder in the middle of the city. People lived on the site as long as in the 9th century but the castle as it is seen today was mostly built in the 16th century.

And a couple of night views from different sides:

There is a road that leads up to the entrance to the castle called Royal Mile or High Street. Here is a picture at the top of that road looking at the only entrance to the castle. You can see that this is where the parking lot now is for visitors:
Here are random pictures I took just walking around the city:

So here are all my pictures that I took as a slide show. If you want to see them larger, click on the slideshow and it will take you to a site where you can view all of them larger and scroil;l through them as slow or fast as you would like:

Pictures on the way to work

I decided to take some pictures on the way to work this morning so I can share with each of you my daily commute. As most are aware, we do not have a car yet here, don't know for sure if we are going to buy one. I currently ride my authentic dutch bicycle each morning. Work is only 4 kilometers away (about 2,5 miles) so it is a good ride. So here is my bike complete with lights, odometer/speedometer, rack on back and my bag that holds my laptop and other stuff (please click on the pictures to view them larger):



One thing that makes riding a bike so nice and safe is that there are seperate roads for bikes. These usually run along auto roads but sometimes are a bit off to the side and completely seperated like this:



Canals are everywhere!!! I cross a small bridge going over one. Here is a picture taken from the bridge looking right:




When you come to a busy intersection, bikes have their own stoplights. May I point out my daily temptation in the background. Considering I have only stopped twice for breakfast, I think I am doing OK.




Here is a picture getting closer to work. There is more traffic and you can see that the bicycle road is running along the main road:



Finally (OK, it has only been about 12 minutes since I left home) I arrive at work. I work on the 5th floor (4th floor according to them because the 1st floor is really the ground floor or marked as "0"). I will be moving to the top floor in a couple months. Notice the Novell Mini. Many people in the states have a model car on their desk of this icon for Novell. Here we have the real thing.



Here is my desk. I share my office with one other guy: