Apple tree in blossom
Spring has sprung (again)
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Sad loss
Frits passed away on March 28.
We have lost a remarkable, dear friend. Our thoughts are with Hank.
Frits (while on vacation in Crete)
Libby does Amsterdam
From the official website:
“This year we celebrate 400 years of enduring friendship between the Netherlands and the United States. Four hundred years ago, a Dutch ship called the Half Moon guided to the shores of what is now New York City with Captain Henry Hudson at the helm. This lead to the establishment of New Amsterdam and the New Netherland colony. Some 167 years later, in 1776, the Dutch were the first to salute the flag of the United States of America. NY400 celebrates the free spirit, openness, entrepreneurship and tolerance of those Dutch-American pioneers, and their continued relevance today and beyond.”
¡vamos a la playa Engel!
April 3, 4, 5: spanish evening in the Engel!
We’re ready!
Streetview comes to Amsterdam
Amsterdam is now part of the Google streetview database. We’ve come out OK: only thing is that they were repaving the street outside the houseboat, oh well. Can’t really tell whether we’re at home or not; the Ayor is there anyway, unlike in the satellite view: in Google Earth we’re out on a boat ride apparently.
Coughing and wheezing
Yesterday Jan wanted to check whether the Ayor had survived the winter. With some gentle persuasion, and a heavy iron rod, the Ayor started up, blowing clouds of blackblue smoke. But the engine started, and after a couple of minutes, all the pistons were firing. So we took it out for a short spin. It was cold, and the sun was fading, but it was nice to be out again. Now all we need is nice weather.
Gourmet cuisine
Grill with your favourite beer or soda
When we were in Nashville, we found these in the local Home Depot. We considered it a joke, but after having tried it, we must say that the chicken was very nice. We used Hertog Jan beer, and the result was very nice.
The can is still inserted.
still here
No, I’m not gone – just busy at work. Oh, and some travel too. But I’ll update on that later.
Here, a picture from Cologne, where we were for Karneval, as tradition requires.
Timon in Cologne
Nashville
On our way back from Mexico, we spent almost a week in Nashville, on the occasion of my uncle’s 80th birthday.
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- My uncle celebrated his 80th birthday
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- Cathy and Howard
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- Peter and Dicky
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- The kids table
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- Superbowl Sunday
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- John, Peter and Patti
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- Monell’s
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- Lunch at the Mad Platter
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- Cheekwood house
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- In Cheekwood
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- The glass bridge on the sculpture trail
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- Readymade garden sheds
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- Mary’s Oldfashioned Barbecue Pit
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- The Parthenon
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- Schermerhorn Symphony hall
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- The Ryman auditorium
Mexico
In January we spent almost two weeks in Puerto Vallarta, or PV for short, in Mexico. Originally it was supposed to be a week, but Delta cancelled our original flight, and the only viable alternative they could offer us was a flight two days earlier. Oh well, we got extra vacation time..
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- Puerto Vallarta
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- The view from our balcony
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- The hotel pool
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- Frank, Wim, Nick
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- Wim and Nick
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- Breakfast at the beach
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- Scrabble on the beach
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- Jan and Timon
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- Jan, Angus, Brad, Nick, Frank
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- Playing in the waves
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- Sunset
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- Farewell dinner in El Brujo
Somewhere over the rainbow
With the number of ‘family’-members that work at Het Muziektheater – as well as myself – , it’s not really a surprise to see the rainbow end there.
Muziektheater with rainbow
From the Datsja
This is a quick note from our garden, really to see if this works from my new iPhone.
Oktoberfest pictures
Last Saturday was Oktoberfest in De Engel. Click the picture below to see a gallery:
Renate carries two beers
Oktoberfest – in Oktober!
Coming up on October 25 in De Engel: Oktoberfest! Bier, Bratwurst und Ich bin wie du.
a week in Πλακια
So, last week we were in Plakias, Crete. After the jump, a few pictures.
Greek dance
During our stay in Plakias (Πλακια) there was a ‘Day of Tourism’. Part of the program was Greek folkdancing. See a little example here: greek dance.
New kitchen
We just got back from Crete (very relaxing, pictures to follow later), but just before (and a little during) our trip to Crete, we had a new kitchen installed. It’s essentially the same layout as the previous one, but now with all drawers, and no more cupboards. It’s taking us some time getting used to the new layout, but it’s nice to have everything wokring smoothly, after having drawers that were stuck and cupboard doors falling off.
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- new kitchen 1
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- new kitchen 2
Falling leaves
Fallen branch
Or more precise, falling branches. When I came home on September 1st, I saw a huge branch had fallen down off the tree outside our hosueboat. It had just missed the parked cars, and fallen between the housebaot and the shore. Judging by the discolouring of the wood, the tree is diseased. Here’s hoping the whole tree won’t fall over…
Hotel review: Alexander Thompson Hotel, Glasgow
While we were in Glasgow for the weekend, we ended up in the Alexander Thomson Hotel. It was during the Edinburgh Festival, and even in Glasgow, hotels were hard to find. This hotel is a budget option. We had an attic room, which was OK, but the bed hardly counted as a double: ona-and-a-half at most. Otherwise everyhing was fine. The hotel could not be blamed for some very noisy neighbours on Saturday night. When we first arrived, the elevator had some problems, but that was the only time. Location: on Argyle Street, right next to the Waterloo.
Hotel review: Ord House Hotel, Muir of Ord
While on our way to Scrabster, we stayed one night in the Ord House Hotel. It’s an old country house, with a definite old-world charm. The rooms were OK. As in many British hotels, the bathroom was carpeted throughout… We had the Superior Double Ensuite, which included a bathroom with bath, but no shower. No TV in the room. Dinner in the hotel restaurant was excellent. Free WiFi.
Overall, a pleasant stay, but a tad expensive.