The Big Trip #13

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Week 25: Day trips in The Netherlands Route: Amsterdam - Edam and Volendam, Amsterdam - Arnhem and Hogue Veluwe, Amsterdam - Haarlem 210 kilometers

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, I didn't feel like doing much of anything. It didn't seem important or appropriate to go sightseeing anymore, so we spent time close to our temporary home in Amsterdam.

After a few days, we were anxious to get back on our bikes, so we took a day trip to Edam, a small town where Edam cheese was marketed and sold, and Volendam, a fishing village now relying heavily on tourism. We didn't even mind riding in the cold, wet, windy weather because we knew we had a warm, dry place to go to at the end of the day. It made all the difference in our attitudes.

Our friend Jason came from Switzerland to visit, and we took the train to Arnhem where we rented big, single-speed bikes for the ride to the Hogue Veluwe, The Netherland's largest national park. The last time I rode a bike like that, I was eight years old. Forgetting that I had to push the pedals backward to break, I nearly crashed into Bob more than once.

The park was beautiful. Narrow bicycle paths wound through wind-swept fields of purple heather and brown grass. We stopped at the Kröller-Müller Museum to check out their excellent collection of Van Goghs, and managed to pedal back to the train station before dark.

A few days later, Bob and I rode our bikes through Haarlem and then to the North Sea coast. We still felt remarkably fast and nimble without our cases rolling behind us. At the coast, we saw one lone surfer trying to paddle out before getting swept too far down the beach by a strong rip tide. The deserted beach and cold, rainy weather reminded me of our trips to Westport, Washington last winter when we learned to surf for the first time.

Both of us started to miss home.

Week 26: The job search Route: Amsterdam - Amersfoort, Amsterdam - Delft 0 kilometers

Bob and I had wanted to see a soccer match in Europe, but we never planned ahead enough to time our arrival in a big city with a scheduled match. Now that we were staying put in Amsterdam, we had a chance to go. I was impressed with the enthusiasm the fans exhibited for their home team, Ajax, and the number of security guards and police that surrounded the handful of fans cheering for the visiting team.

It wasn't much of a contest - Ajax won easily - but the game was too fast-paced to be boring. We noticed a surprising lack of marketing and general entertainment. Compared to a professional sports game in the States, which typically has big screen televisions to show video clips, animated graphics, music and frequent commentary, the Ajax soccer game was subdued. But here, the fans cheered nearly constantly, without a moment's rest. The point was the game itself and the team, not the superficial entertainment. It was a nice change.

At our friend's house in Amersfoort, we met a neighbor who worked in the computer industry, and Bob had an impromptu interview. The neighbor set up a meeting with his brother-in-law, who owned a biotech computer company in Delft, and after a long interview and some socializing at a company party, they offered Bob a job.

Nothing would be official until the lawyers secured a work permit, but it was exciting to see that Bob's hard work had paid off, and that we might soon realize our dream of living in another country.

With that prospect in mind, we began to look forward to returning home, knowing that we might soon be back in The Netherlands.

Questions? If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.

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