In Search of the Great Pumpkin

In Search of the Great Pumpkin

When I first moved to The Netherlands I knew that the holidays and traditions would be different but for me giving up Halloween was very difficult. Children in the States usually starting planning their costume on November 1^st (the day after Halloween), that’s if they’re not in too much of a sugar coma from the night before.

Me

As a kid I usually had to dress up in something that had been handed down from one of my sisters. And there was rarely a store bought costume in my closet. I remember being a bunny, a hobo, clown, gypsi but my favorite was the milkmaid.

Linus explains the Great Pumpkin in the beloved Halloween tale; It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! The Great Pumpkin is a fictional character that Linus ranks right up there with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Linus tells us that The Great Pumpkin comes out on Halloween night in search of the most perfect pumpkin patch. And when he finds it he bestows gifts upon the children (just like Santa)! Poor Linus sits in the local patch waiting and waiting for the arrival of The Great Pumpkin… all the while missing the Halloween parties, and tricks and treats.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRGkEDADmRU

Traditionally, here in The Netherlands, the Dutch celebrate Sint Maarten’s Day on November 11. St. Maarten was a friend of the children and a patron of the poor. Children in parts of The Netherlands make paper lanterns

 and carry them from house to house asking for candy. But, here in The Netherlands…. I think… Halloween is beginning to catch on…Very slowly but with a lot of enthusiasm. I mean, how you cannot love a holiday where you can dress up in costume and get free candy.

Over the years I’ve discovered local farmers that sell pumpkins and gourds along the side of their farms. I love it because then I’m able to bring a little fall into my home decorations. It also is just endearing to see the little stands along a fabulous fall bike ride. I’m not sure about other areas, but my local Carnival store is open year round. 

It’s a fabulous place to get costumes but they also have a huge isle of spooky, scary Halloween fun. It was so fun to see the kids trying to make the moving scary creatures cry out a cackle when they would move past the motion sensor. And I enjoyed their wonderment of all the scary skeletons and scary witch masks.  I love it!

This year I attended a few costume and Halloween parties. It really puts the fun into the holiday. One fabulous party was put on by the North American Women’s Club of Eindhoven http://www.nawceindhoven.com/ in conjunction with our local International hangout The Hub Eindhoven for Expats http://www.thehubeindhoven.nl/ .Three of my friends, Sam, Katja and Jessica, threw two wonderful Halloween parties.

Jessica, Sam & Katja

photo by Bart Salters

 One for children was held during the day. The children came dressed in their favorite Halloween costumes, got to Trunk or Treat, had their little adorable faces painted, carved pumpkins 

photo by Bart Salters

and took Broom Flying lessons. 

photo by Bart Salters

Such a wonderful time was had by the children. I’m sure they’re all wondering what to be for next year’s party.

Goodies by my friend Linda

 But that night… the lights came down, the adult beverages came out,

Prosecco with a shot of blood

 music filled the air as the Hub became filled with spooky, creepy, beautiful and funny creatures. 

Sam, Ruxi and I

Brendan in the Kill Room

And whether you’re 13 or 30 or any age for that matter, who can resist a night dancing to Thriller!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhbYxXg7p-A

I’m so happy that some areas in The Netherlands are embracing Halloween. Fun, spooky delights with costumes and candy. I think the Great Pumpkin will need to start looking for the perfect pumpkin patch on this side of the pond.

Happy Halloween!

Todd and I dressed as 
Vincent Vega and Mrs. Mia Wallace

My Daily Dutch

My Daily Dutch

Well for three years I’ve lived blissfully right below the radar screen of the Dutch Police, or what I believe to be the How to Speak Dutch ~ Police.  Those people who criticize you over and over with a single word. Waiting for you to either magically understand how to say the word correctly according to his or her hearing or with as much grace as you can muster find a bush to throw up in in order to not have to perform the grueling beating of trying to say the word correctly in Dutch for the 100^th time. 

The pronunciation of words or dialects around The Netherlands is as confusing as they are in the different parts of the United States. If you ask someone from Boston and someone from Mississippi to say the same sentence you will get two very confusing accents. Same here!

Well, apparently I’ve been here a few years and a few people around me have decided…that’s it! It’s time for me to learn. I still have not taken any formal Dutch classes… probably never will. I truly enjoy just getting out in my community and winging it. And my beautiful Dutch neighbors are just the people to teach me. The man at the local hardware store has decided to only speak Dutch to me. He’s pulling the band aid off and is pushing me ahead. I ask questions in English and he answers me in Dutch and waits for me to figure out what he’s said. It’s a good system, and really seems to work. 

The other day I was in his shop looking for an attachment to hook onto my bike so that my dog can run along with me while I bike. I have no idea what this little thing is called but he knew what I was talking about. He made a few phone calls and as I strolled around his store looking at things while he chatted away in Dutch to the other person, I suddenly heard the price of the little doo hicky and the tone in his voice. Hmmmmmm might be a tad expensive. I may have to check around. He was pleased with the fact that I knew the jest of the conversation. And I was pleased as well. 

I think I must have about 1-200 word Dutch vocabulary to my possession, which sounds like a lot but not really at all. But, I look around at all the brave people who have come after me and are doing great and I think… ok I can do this. Just please don’t give me any quizzes, tests or homework! And please don’t make me repeat a word 100 times.

A few days later I was having lunch in my village with a friend when I noticed my friendly hardware man placing an order. I called out hello to him and asked him if he was having a nice day, which of course… he smiled and answered in Dutch.  I switched to my limited Dutch, answered a few questions and bid him a fijn weekend. 

Dublin~A Craic of a Good Time

Dublin~A Craic of a Good Time

One of my favorite things I love about living in The Netherlands is the gift of being able to travel to new and exciting places even if it’s just for a short weekend. As my husband and I planned out the rest of our year, we realized that we have only a few weekends available to just drop everything and get away together. With Ireland being on our bucket list of places to visit, we quickly made arrangements to head off to Dublin.

Flying out on our good ole Ryan air I was pleased to find out that they have loosened the regulations a bit. This time I carried on my one piece of small luggage AND carried my purse.  This is a huge deal as they used to make you stuff it into your bag and then of course the weight limit would be too high causing you to either check your suitcase or question your need for more than one pair of shoes for a weekend. Anyway… thank you Ryan Air for a little more wiggle room.

We landed in Dublin early Friday morning ready to explore the city. On our taxi ride to our hotel, the cab driver was chatting about things to see and do in the city. Cab drivers always have the best info, especially if you want to be with the real people not just the tourists. But my eyes were automatically drawn to the people’s doors. Home after home, business after business… the Georgian style doors were all painted brightly with different colors. As previously mentioned, I have a love affair of doors. This was a fantastic surprise for me as I had no idea that Dublin was famous for their doors. Cab driver number 2 later on that day gave me two different stories as to why the doors of Dublin are painted so brilliantly.

 I’ve since googled and searched and kept coming up with the same stories.. so I’ll go with my cab driver’s stories. Of course the stories begin with two famous writers living next to each other in Dublin, George Moore and Oliver St John Gogarty. They both painted their doors so the other wouldn’t come knocking on their doors after a night of drinking. But my cabbie said… that’s just good common sense. That way all the people of Dublin know which door is their own when they come stumbling home from the pubs.

The second story I love just as well… Queen Victoria of the British Empire had married her teenage sweetheart and cousin at the tender age of 18. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s love for each other defined their  love of their kingdom, their family of 9 children  and presented people with which a way on how to live a happy life. But Prince Albert died suddenly at the age of 42 of Typhus. Greif stricken Queen Victoria was not to be seen in public for 3 years and finished out her life as Queen for the next 30 years only wearing black. She was called the Widow of Windsor. In her mourning of her beloved husband she ordered all the British Empire to paint their doors black to show a sign of mourning. Well according to the story, that didn’t settle well with the Irish who instead painted their doors brilliantly beautiful colors. Both stories are a testament to a people full of life and passion. And I fell madly in love with the beautiful Dublin Doors.

Hard Rock Dublin

We next headed for the Hard Rock of Dublin. We needed a few good burgers before we descended on the Temple Bar area in search of the perfect Irish beer. Here were a few of our favorite beers and bars.

Later that night, we ventured off to see Ireland’s most famous theater show…. Riverdance, at the beautiful Gaiety Theater. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUgqcsqb-jI

Featuring mostly traditional Irish music and dance, the show was phenomenal to say the least and I’m so happy I was able to see it in Dublin.

The next day we awoke to a nice drizzle of rain. But that wasn’t going to dampen our spirits… we took off for the Guinness Storehouse. 

The 9,000 year lease signed in 1759

This exceptional experience of the famous Guinness beer is a must see in Dublin. The building is 7 stories and takes you through the history and process of making the famous dark beer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15lJn1r0Mk

You can learn how to pour the perfect pint and then enjoy the panoramic Dublin view from the top of the Storehouse in the Gravity Bar. Now this is the way to start a perfect day!

Happy and a little tipsy we headed for The Old Jameson Distillery. One problem.. we had spent so much time at the Guinness place that all the Jameson whiskey tours were booked. 

No problem.. buy a few gifts and Pub Crawl on to my favorite place of the day, The Brazen Head.

The Brazen Head is Ireland’s oldest pub. Established in 1198… ya gotta love a place that has continued to stay in business for this long. Rooms wind and twist and little corners are filled with delight. At night they feature storytelling dinners and Irish music. But my husband and I love to belly up to the bar and get to know the bar tenders. This is where we really felt at home. Much to my delight they had 

bangers and mash on their wonderful menu. A hearty meal and a Bulmers in the oldest pub in Ireland… truly the perfect way to end a very short weekend to Dublin. 

We for sure will be going back, but I want to get outside of the city and enjoy the country and coastal views.

 Thanks Dublin for a Craic of a good time!

In My Little Wooden Shoes ~Throwback Thursday

In My Little Wooden Shoes ~Throwback Thursday

Old pair I picked up at a garden store

When people think of The Netherlands, most people think of Windmills, tulips, and a few other fabulous things but today I’m throwing it back to the good ole wooden shoes. 

This one is actually a bottle opener

Enter any tourist area in The Netherlands and you can find a variety of little wooden shoe “bits and bobs” (that’s my new favorite saying I picked up from my new friend who’s from England). 

My favorite color.. Delft Blue

Wooden shoes, wooden shoe slippers, wooden shoe bottle openers, wooden shoe ornaments… the list really goes on and on, and I say this with love because I have a few of my own.

My favorite pair made by my friend Carrie.

One USA and one Dutch (the insides are orange)

Over 3,000,000 wooden shoes are made each year. Here they are called Klompen… a klomp is a clog and a klompen is a clog that covers the whole foot.

 Most are sold for tourist purposes 

My husband's parents wearing a pair and doing the "Dutch Kissing Boy and Girl"

At the Kinderdijk celebrating 53 years of marriage!

but I love seeing random people actually wearing them. Farmers, gardeners or others who need a good solid foot protection usually wear them. Apparently they are quite comfortable and are really good at protecting your feet from dropping tools or things in the dirt or earth that could penetrate through a shoe or boot. The oldest wooden shoe was found in Amsterdam along the historic street of Nieuwendijk and dates back to 1230. People here in The Netherlands began wearing wooden shoes as they kept the feet dryer than normal leather shoes. They’re easy to slip on and off as you come inside so you don’t drag dirt into your home. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSLMCLhGUYw

Originally wooden shoes were made by hand and still can be, but that takes about 2-3 hours. Now they have machines that can make a pair of shoes in about 5 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS34el5_DIA

In memory of Shirley Temple, who died earlier this year.