News

Here’s a picture of New York Public Library. I was admiring the flowers (bloemen) as usual:

New York Public Library, April 2012

Something I found interesting is the street signs that you come across when wandering through the Hague and other Dutch cities. Mostly because I half expect to get myself in trouble one day because I didn’t know what the heck the sign said and I go the wrong way. . .

Here’s an example of one of the signs you will see in the Netherlands.

Dutch sign - Walking zone only

This sign means “walking zone only”, or, only walking pedestrians are allowed here. Marco told me a funny story about that. He said that there were some complaints regarding having this sign up around the red light district, since it featured both a man and a child on it. As if the government was advocating that you take your child there?

He believes the government finally said they weren’t going to change the signs just for one type of area – since that would be too much of an expense and wasted labor removing the old signs just to put the new ones in.

And then of course you have the ‘no smoking’ (marijuana) signs that the Dutch government tried to place near schools and similar areas. The only problem with those signs was that smoking marijuana is technically illegal already. Eventually the government did relent and take those down.

Woot! Today is my birthday, so I am scheduling this post (to publish itself) as we will be too busy in New York City to get online. (Double woot.)

So far this trip we have gone to the Top of the Rock, the 9/11 Memorial, Chinatown, and Little Italy. Posts and pictures coming at a later date.

Today’s plan:

red panda at the Bronx Zoo (from http://www.bronxzoo.com)

We will be at the Bronx Zoo. It’s practically an all day event (or at least 6 hours or so).

And then out to dinner for my birthday!

Hi,

This is Marco again, taking over Niki’s blog 🙂
The past week has been a whirlwind of awesomeness as
we’ve had a lot of fun all over the area here.
We’ve been to the mall (once to catch a movie, once for some dedicated shopping)
and we’ve been to New York City twice. One time for a NY Rangers game,
the other time to visit sights and locations we haven’t really been to.

First up was the 9/11 memorial which was impressive. After that we strolled
through China town. Weird, in all our trips to the city we’ve never gone there.
It was interesting. Definitely a lot better than the “China town” near my place.
Which is really just half a street. I’ll have to make sure to get Niki some pictures
of that 😉

So today is an important day. We are 250 days away from Niki’s move to the Netherlands.
That means we’re about one third down from when we started the official countdown on January 1st.
There’s still so much to do, though I do believe we have everything under control.
The most “interesting” part is the official documentation that she’ll need.
Like a document in legalese that she is not married. It cannot be older than 6 months (I think)
So…if you get it too early, it might not be valid anymore by the time she moves or at least when she needs it (you know..the start certain legal procedures *winkwink*)
If you ask for it too late she won’t have it in time… So I gues applying for it around June will be the best moment.

Keep in mind the 250 days to go is slightly still on a sliding scale.
It could already be a few days less, it might be a few days more (the latter being very unlikely)
She knows when her last day of work will be, and we’ll stay a few more days after that but not much longer.
So we can pack in peace, visit the city once or twice more..just to unwind before the big moment.

But the actual exact flight date is still up in the air (get it? flight? air? Yeah..lame, I know)
For now, I’ve got my eyes on leaving here on the 18th, landing at Schiphol airport on the 19th.
And yes, there will be people there with a large banner to welcome Niki.
I can’t wait…fast foward please? 🙂

Today’s post is about Wagenstraat in the Hague. It’s a somewhat foggy day, as evidenced by the tall building in the background. The street is also close to New York Pizza, which I mentioned in a previous post. Like all public streets in the Hague, bikes and cars share the road.

Wagenstraat in the Hague

The advertisement on the left is for a National Career Fair which happens once a year in Amsterdam.

Wagenstraat in the Hague

The most amusing thing that I remember about those grey pillars is that Marco doesn’t even need to really move out of the way to get over them – he’s tall enough without having to expend any effort!

Hi, this is Marco.
Do not adjust your blog settings, I have taken over Niki’s blog.

Wednesday morning Roger and I flew from Miami to Newark,
following an intense week of WrestleMania action.
We landed around 1.30pm…and then we still had to wait 3 1/2 hours
until I finally got to hold Niki in my arms again.

Still…It’s amazing how fast the past 4 months have flown by.
It seems like yesterday since I was last here, at her place.
I do hope the next eight months go by as fast as well.

But being together feels so natural.
Like we haven’t just had to spend the past 4 months apart.
Already settling back in our regular routines.
I guess that’s one of the reasons we want to spend our lives together.

Wednesnight I got to enjoy Niki’s chili. It was good (as expected)
but it’s the little extras (for a Dutch guy) that make i great.
The crackers and the real cheddar. So good.
In the Netherlands the only pre-wrapped cheddar I can find is the fake stuff.
Good to put on a burger, bad for anything else.

Niki informed me Wednesday night  that I’d have to cook on Thursday.

She got one of those taco kits (including spices and tortillas)
It was a challenge to properly cook the meat on the grill.
But it worked out and wasn’t half bad. I’ve made better of course but that was at my place.

Speaking of cooking at my place,  I cannot wait to make pasta
again for Niki. 🙂

We went to the grocery store Thursday afternoon.
It’s still so much fun for this Dutch guy to see the insane number of choices
in US stores compared to Dutch ones.
Even the XL versions of Albert Heijn, Jumbo or Hoogvliet
don’t have 40 different condiments or rice flavors.
Or 50 different types of paper cups and plates.

So over the next few days I’ll soak up some more of the “US experience”
while poking Niki and reminding her that things will be slightly different once she lives in the Netherlands.
But trust me, we are definitely importing some things we cannot do without!
(BBQ sauce, I’m looking at you.)

I’ll probably ask her to let me write here a few more times.
Maybe I’ll get the bug and start my own blog *wink*