So, tonight is the Super Bowl. Start time 6:29PM EST. Since the New York Giants are in this one, there is a definite buzz in the air. The grocery store has the usual display right by the front entrance, including chips, dips, and similar snacking items.
But further in, I found something even more amusing…
Near the area which houses Buitenhof and Binnenhof is the Grondwetbank (lit: Constitution bench). Upon it is inscribed the first article of the Dutch constitution:
Allen die zich in Nederland bevinden, worden in gelijke gevallen gelijk behandeld.
Discriminatie wegens godsdienst, levensovertuiging, politieke gezindheid, ras, geslacht of op welke grond dan ook, is niet toegestaan.
Het is vrijdag! (It’s Friday!)
Go on, click the link. You know you want to.
Possible weekend Dutch plans:
1) dutchgrammar.com -> Prefixes and suffixes
2) Rosetta Stone. That thing is so finicky with pronunciation I had to set it to the easiest level and tell it I was male! Of course, my pronunciation needs work, too.
3) Watch some more Dip en Dap videos from Uitzending Gemist (lit: missed broadcasts, I think), a television programming website. This children’s show would be a lot less annoying to watch if they wouldn’t laugh/snicker so much.
Non-Dutch weekend plans:
Prepare chili in a slow cooker – about 10 hours, hopefully – for Sunday’s dinner, and enjoy it in front of the Superbowl. The start time seems later and later each year. 6:29PM EST.
For fun, let’s take a look at Raamstraat (lit: window street) in the Hague. It’ll be a graffiti post similar to this one.
Still doing the “back to the basics” route for learning Dutch. At least it is a lot more fun than learning cursive back in elementary school! Yes, I will write within the lines, stop badgering me . . .
I actually pondered posting this type of post for a while, but was too embarrassed. But when it comes to learning Dutch, there’s nothing more embarrassing than trying to pronounce the hard “g” (pronounced kh). Which I can do semi decently now, after a year of practicing. Of course, semi decently for a buitenlander (foreigner).
But I’ve had my share of embarrassment learning Dutch…
Compared to last year’s weather, this winter has been remarkably mild. So far New York has averaged about 4-5″ of snow total — nothing to write home about. In fact, last year during the snowstorm that dumped 2 feet of snow on my town, I was thankfully in the Netherlands spending Christmas with Marco and his family.
Today it was about 60F (15.5C) in my town, whereas Monday night it seems to have snowed in the Hague! A bit . . .
I met my fiancé Marco in October 2006. We first knew of each other for some years before that through an online game called Avatar MUD, a text-based medieval fantasy game similar to Zork.
But the first time we met in real life was at a gaming convention in New Jersey, USA. I was working the help desk at the time. To be honest, to me he seemed a bit unapproachable online, playing a character that tended more towards evil than good.. yet I had no idea that that night would change everything.
The grocery store of choice near where I will be living is Albert Heijn. Although it’s nowhere near the typical size of an American grocery store (maybe 12 or so aisles) it works for most things. The store itself is on the lower level, with escalators allowing access from street level. When the escalators are functioning of course; one time they were broken for about 5 weeks straight. I considered taking a picture of the negative comments a customer left on the official “We’re sorry” note but didn’t…
Entrance to Albert Heijn via escalators
My short time in Amsterdam was accentuated by the sheer amount of tourists that clustered in the streets. Of course, being a tourist myself, this meant that my friends and I were mostly doing touristy things as well, from taking a canal boat ride to visiting the Rijksmuseum.
The comparison (in my mind) between Amsterdam and the Hague is striking. By my third trip to the Netherlands, I began to feel more at home in the Hague for many reasons, not the least of which because I found myself with some time alone during the day when my fiancé had to work the first week. Thankfully I was able to maneuver around without too much trouble thanks to a phone with Google Maps, though I did find myself glancing at the screen a lot – Must not get lost, must not get lost . . .
Near the Restaurant de Roode Leeuw (Restaurant of the Red Lion), Amsterdam street
The last remaining gate of Delft, Oostpoort (Eastern Gate) was built in the 1400s. The other seven gates have long since disappeared. The official Delft website has a nice drawing of what the city looked like when it was surrounded by walls.
The view from entering the city through the eastern gate
Note especially the dog at the feet of the watchman. This is what you would see if you entered Delft from this city gate — two very imposing figures watching your every move, judging you.
View of the Eastern gate from the inside
Here is the gate from the inside looking out. This shot is actually close to the lake where I took the picture of the ducks. Interestingly, the structure also seems to partly be a private residence — and there is also an art gallery inside. The two shots don’t do justice to how big it is – more like a castle.
