vaguely specific

Considering our complete lack of planning and preparation for the trip, (Ron was given a choice Saturday morning, "Get me out of here or ......")we didn't do too badly but it seems no matter how long I live in Europe this sort of industrial countryside is something I just can't get used to. We ended up planting ourselves at Benrath in a small hotel with a terrace overlooking the Rhine. If you sat facing Cologne you couldn't see the chimney stacks further up the river, if you squinted you couldn't see the caravan park on the other side, if you drank enough weisse weijn the thronging day-trippers greyed-themselves out.

Behind the hotel was the Schloss Benrath accessorised with forest, gardens, lakes, playground, swans, acorns and a woodpecker. Not bad!

In Cologne itself we limited our visit to the Cathedral and a walk along the river to the outdoor Antique market. It was a shame to miss out on the museums some of which I was really keen to see but we wanted to make sure it was an enjoyable holiday for Jacob as well so every morning and afternoon was spent wandering through the forest and exploring the castle grounds. Even better was the weather. We had three days of mostly-sun and quite mild temperatures. Jacob was in his element chasing field mice across the forest-floor, dragging enormous sticks back to the hotel and screaming "ccak cak" at everything with wings.

Because we were staying in a hotel and not an apartment we were able to do that rare-thing, eat dinner without Jacob. The hotel gave us a room close to the restaurant from which our baby-mobile would work and after feeding Jacob and putting him to bed we would sneek out to the restaurant and let loose. We took hours to eat dinner and sat over a glass of wine till all hours of the night (what hey! EVEN 9.00pm some nights!)

What did suprise us was the cost of food in Germany. It was so cheap! Three of us eating and drinking in a decent restaurant left us double-checking the bill and giggling with guilt as we walked away.

Jacob as usual charmed the pants of everyone and even made a little german friend, Lars, in the grounds of the castle. The stuffed animals in the hotel restaurant were a bit challenging but the many water features were the stuff of an 18 month's old dreams. The staff proved to be very child friendly and happily filled his bottle with milk, heated up his meals and made special cheese sandwhiches all at no charge.

We were both a bit surprised by how relaxing even this short holiday was and very very very glad we did it when shortly after crossing the border back into the Netherlands we ran into a mist which grew closer and thicker the nearere we got to Amsterdam. By the time we ran into our first traffic jam the wet grey sky was back down around our ears where it belongs.

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March 25, 2005

Photo Friday:Tiny

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March 23, 2005

Crazy talk.

Well I may not know who Johan Cruiff is let alone how to spell it but I know my integration is complete and I'm totally-Dutchified when 11 degrees celcius makes me think it might be spring. I've earnt that certificate!

There was a time when 11 degrees was a bitterley cold winter's day and at work we would swap details of hats and scarves, overcoats, layers of tights under our trousers and thermal underwear. This was in Melbourne. The COLD part of Australia.

Now, I'm riding home from work, its 11 degrees and I find myself thinking "You know it feels like spring"! This lunacy is confirmed by roadsides covered in daffodils and croci, weather reporters announcing the arrival of Spring and the streets full of people wearing T-shirts and their best new spring clothes. Nice to be sharing a mass-delusion then. Can the sun be ANY waterier? But at least its there!

February is always a mad bad blur for me, the month in which I finally give up and the greyness takes over. This year it was all the worse as between the three of us at least one has been sick almost every week since Christmas. Finally there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel! Temporarily sideswiped by the theft of the moeder-fiets and a late but hefty dose of a stomach flu I admit but I'm remaining optimistic.

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March 22, 2005

Klootzak!

This is the site that greeted Jacob and I yesterday morning as we stumbled out onto the pavement ready to face the day and cycle to the creche.

Notice the gaping hole where the "moeder-fiets', or 'mother's bike', would normally be parked? The bicycle we bought especially so I could put the little baby seat on a safe and reliable bike instead of the fietswrak I used to use? Some klootzak has stolen Jacob and my's bicycle!

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March 19, 2005

Photo Friday:Glow

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March 14, 2005

Les Gets

We're back from Les Gets. Until I get time to post something about it here are some photos.

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March 13, 2005

Photo Friday:Faces

I searched so long for something to post for Photo Friday that DIDN'T involve Jacob....honestly. But that would have involved searching CD's from the cupboard and the in-between-nap-time doesn't allow for that sort of extravagance. It has to be something on the hard disk.

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March 05, 2005

Nothing to post for Photo Friday

I can't find anyhting to post for Photo Friday:Obsession so instead here are some more photos from de Pijp in the recent snow. meanwhile we will be away in Les Gets for a week, so until then, Dooeei!

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March 04, 2005

Football architect totalled

Apparently the "architect of 'total football'" died yesterday. Other phrases like "The General", World Cup and 'coach of the century' have been bandied about. It is a sad indictment of the Dutch integration system that none of this means anything to me.

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Be careful what you wish for........

After all my whingeing about our strangely warm and damp winter, bemoaning the lack of snow and the sort of dry cold that clears the air of germs and flus, we have just had the coldest March night ever recorded. Luckily for me I've been able to work from home nearly all week so I have missed out on most of the possible inconveniences of the heavy snowfalls that we've had this week.

I may though, have jinxed our snowboarding trip to Les Gets. For the first time ever we are flying (the prospect of 10+ hours in a car with Jacob leaving us completely unenthused) and Schiphol has been in chaos all week with only two runways snow-free, incoming flights cancelled and various delays with outgoing flights. So we may get to spend 10+ hours in the airport instead.

On the up-side Jacob is getting an extra weeks' use out of his new snowsuit, has been playing riotously in the snow at creche and has added the word 'snow/snieuw' to both his vocabularies. With a big smile to accompany it!

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March 03, 2005

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March 02, 2005

The white stuff

All my whingeing has finally payed off and at this late by-the-skin-of-your-teeth-Mr-Winter stage we finally have some decent snow! While its been snowing most days for the last week or two its never been cold enough or heavy enough to stay around. Just wet enough to make the ride to work a bit more interesting. But this morning we woke to a white world and Jacob had to don his snow suit to go to the creche.

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