Animals on the Move

As you might expect, our animals have been a bit freaked out by all the commotion around here. They've also enjoyed having new things to sniff and climb on...

- Krista

World Cup Mania

We've been following the World Cup pretty closely over the past few weeks, especially since the Dutch are in the final today against Spain. They're a fairly enthusiastic bunch, to say the least.

During the Holland - Uruguay game

...And after the game

Hup hup Holland!

Everyone jumping into the Museumplein pond after the Dutch won

- Krista

Last Days in Amsterdam

Packing, summer weather and the World Cup have kept us fairly busy this past week...

After the Netherlands vs. Brazil World Cup game - the Dutch love their football!

Hup hup Holland!

Happy dog

- Krista

Amsterdam...

I'm still thinking of new blog names. Any suggestions, anyone?

Well, as this chapter in our lives draw to a close, I'm starting to get a little nostalgic. What a surprise.

Amsterdam has been good to us. We've met some great people, had some amazing vacations, spent our summers laying in the park, pool, and on boats. We got a puppy, learned some Dutch, adjusted to living in a foreign country as American expats, picked up a few new hobbies, learned to appreciate our friends and family back at home more than ever, and have become amazing cooks (according to us).

It's been quite an adventure, to say the least.

Now, as we're uprooting ourselves yet again, I'm not sure what to think. I've been away from Portland long enough it no longer feels like home and Amsterdam has taken its place. I have my favorite coffee places, grocery stores, produce markets, dog parks, bookstores, groups of friends, etc. all here. And now we're moving to this gigantic city called New York, where I've never really even been, and we're going to start all over.

What will it be like? Who will we spend our time with? Will I have more opportunities to work? Will our animals like it there? How long will we live there for? There are so many unknowns, I can't help but feel overwhelmed.

Every time I've gone back to the States in the past few years I couldn't help but shed a few tears as I stepped on the plane to Amsterdam, nostalgic for my life a few years ago. But now as I contemplate the fact that we're leaving this country for good most likely in just a week and a half - well, my eyes won't stay dry.

Thanks Amsterdam, and everyone in it, for making the last two years of my life ones I'll never forget.

Just for kicks, here are a few photos from our last few weeks here in Amsterdam. I'll probably post more as the week goes on.

At a friends to watch the US vs. Ghana World Cup game... next time USA, next time

At a food tasting festival this past weekend

Brian and Rocket playing with a stick in Vondelpark

We proudly sported our homemade USA shirts at all the American World Cup games

With Rocket in our local park

- Krista

NYC

We are moving to New York!

Yes that's right - on July 13th, 2010 we will officially be living in the United States again.

Brian got a job with a digital ad agency called RGA, and we couldn't be more excited to move there. Neither of us have ever lived there before - in fact, I've only been there for one day in my entire life - but it should be a pretty exciting adventure. Guess I'll have to come up with a new name for this blog!

More details to come soon.

- Krista

Ibiza!

We took a much needed vacation at the end of May to the sun and party capital of Europe - Ibiza, Spain. The island attracts people of all ages from all around Europe and the rest of the world. Young people go there to party at some of the most infamous clubs in the world, families go to enjoy the beautiful beaches and get a little Vitamin D after a long cold winter, and everyone else goes for various reasons - to enjoy their gigantic yacht, get away from it all in a villa in the mountains, or even to take an eco vacation (Ibiza was the original destination for European hippies and still has some hippy influences today).

Needless to say, we had a fantastic time.

We started out in Ibiza town, where we felt it was our duty to attend some of the most famous clubs of the island, Pacha and Space. If you're a real party-goer, the proper way to go out in Spain is to eat dinner at about 11:00 at night, go to a bar for a few hours, and then show up at the club at about 2 or 3 in the morning - then stay out until 6 am and stop at a cafe before sleeping until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Brian and I didn't exactly do that - I'm too much of a morning person to spend the day zonked out in bed - but we did stay out until 5 am two nights in a row, a big success in my mind.

Once we got the nightlife out of the way, we got to enjoy the island's amazing beaches and spent a lot of time reading, relaxing and exploring. We spent two nights on the other side of the island at a place called San Antonio (a big British hangout), which was really fun (we secretly enjoyed the touristy part of it because it meant there were more food options than the typical Spanish grub).

We even rented a boat one day while we were there which was absolutely amazing - until poor Brian stepped on a sea urchin and could barely walk because of all the thick needles stuck in his foot. He still has tons of them in his foot, poor guy!

Other than the sea urchin incident (which Brian handled pretty well, other than making me wait on him for the first few days), it was an amazing trip! We loved Ibiza and would definitely go back again.

Here are a few photos:

Brian in the ocean in San Antonio

Driving the boat

Brian enjoying the sunset on the boat

The sunsets were pretty amazing, to say the least

Paragliders in front of the famous Cafe Del Mar in San Antonio

Brian had a hard time walking the next day after the sea urchin incident

- Krista

Sunny Days at the Beach

It has finally stopped snowing in Europe and we've actually had a few nice, sunny days in Amsterdam over the last few months. One of those days was so nice we actually got to go to the nearby Dutch beach, Zandvoort:

Brian and our friend Jesse on the beach

Some friends and I decided to make a pyramid - notice the dog on top

- Krista

A Week in Ireland

I've been terrible about updating our blog lately... I guess all this traveling and not knowing where we're going to be in a few months time (more on that when we have more information...) has put me out of the mood. But I'll be better about it, I promise.

So, to get on with this particular post...

As I mentioned before, my parents came to visit us in May for a couple of weeks. They have always really wanted to go to Ireland, and I decided I might as well go with them since I barely get to see them and since I don't have a steady job (turns out I had to work a bit on the trip anyway, but at least it wasn't too bad). We went for a week, starting in Galway, then going to Dingle, Kilkenny, and finally on to Dublin.

We had a really nice time, although as always I got a little carsick from so much traveling and had to get a surprise tetanus shot in one of the towns (rusty lock on a door... how annoying). The people were incredibly friendly, the food was unexpectedly delicious, and the music was fantastic (the beer was good too of course). We all left feeling like we could definitely go back and spend some more time there.

We took a lot of great pictures, but here are a few of the highlights:

Sunset in Dublin

My parents outside of a castle in Kilkenny - Ireland is known for its bad weather, at least it didn't rain constantly

The musician made my Dad and I get up and dance - of course we had no idea what we were doing!

My dad and I at the Cliffs of Moher

- Krista

The Keukenhof Gardens

My Dad came to town soon after my Mom and I got back from Prague and we decided to check out the world famous Keukenhof Gardens for Mother's Day. None of us had ever been there before and didn't know what to expect, but it was quite the place - over 100 different tulip varieties, all hand planted, spread out over 35 hectares of beautiful land. No wonder it's the most photographed place in the world (or so they claim).

Of course, I lasted about an hour in the gardens (I've always said I have ADD...) while my Dad couldn't stop naming the different kinds of plants and walking around the colorful gardens and probably could have stayed the entire day. It was pretty, nonetheless, and we had a good time.

Here are some of the photos from the day:

My parents walking around the tulip fields

Lots and lots of tulip fields

My Dad knew the name of just about every plant there

Funny picture of the day

- Krista

To Prague

After what felt like ages (I hadn't seen them since Christmas), my parents finally came to visit us in Amsterdam this May. My Mom came first and we took a mother-daughter trip to Prague since neither of us had ever been there. Despite the weather being less than perfect, we had a great time and both really enjoyed the city.

The architecture was really interesting, and we were both impressed at how Prague had really seemed to grow after being out of Communism for such a short period of time (about 20 years). We had tons of amazing food (always a priority), sampled the local Prague beers and walked through the sites in the Jewish Quarter and explored the city as best as we could with my Mom's torn ACL (poor Mom). It was a really fun trip and so nice to get to spend some mother-daughter time together.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

The view of Prague from the Castle

My Mom and I in Old Town Square

Old Town Square

Our typical break: at a coffee shop with our trusted Rick Steves' book

- Krista

Brian's Dad Visits

My dad came as a part of his world tour this spring. After stopping in South Africa, India, Hungary, Spain and other locales, Rick visited us in Amsterdam. We had a great time in the city, but the big highlight was the trip him and I took to Texel island over the weekend. It is a small island in the dutch Wadden Islands.

We rented bikes and rode around the island both days. Our day started with a ferry ride to the island and a scenic journey of sand dunes, beaches, forests, marinas and endless tulip fields.

Great to see you dad!









- Brian

Queen's Day 2010

Queen's Day is the biggest holiday of the year in the Netherlands - everybody gets the day off to celebrate the Queen's birthday and it gets pretty crazy and chaotic, to say the least. Everyone wears orange (the color of the Dutch Royal Family), people sell random stuff on the streets, and anyone who has a boat cruises the canals all day with as many people as they can possibly fit on it.

Since we were here last year for the festivities we knew what to expect, and decided to spend this Queen's Day on a boat with some friends. It was a really fun, exciting, claustrophobic day, and we were lucky that the weather cleared up enough so we had some sunshine to cruise around all day.

Here are a few photos from the day (there are more on Facebook for those of you who are members):

On a boat, wearing orange of course!

The view from our boat on the Prinsengracht

Our friends Jesse and Michelle on the boat

Enjoying the sunshine at the end of a long day

Happy Queen's Day! Or in Dutch, Fijne Koninginnedag!

- Krista

A Weekend in London

We had a long Easter weekend and since we hadn't planned to go anywhere else, we decided to take a quick trip to London since we haven't spent much time there since being in Europe.

It was a really fun, relaxing trip, and we both appreciated the luxuries of the UK - the English language, the amazing food, the friendly people, etc. The city seemed so much bigger than Amsterdam (it is), and there was so much going on compared to our tiny Dutch home.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Brian and I in Hyde Park

At Oxford Circus

Walking along the River Thames

Brian in the London Tube

Waiting for pizza...

Happy Easter everyone!

- Krista