January 9th - Amsterdam!!

January 9th Amsterdam!

Usually, I do not edit my writings, but I did notice in the last blog, I really misspelled a lot, it must have been late, I am sorry.

Today is my brother’s 70th birthday: we had a fun party tonight and many family members were there, even the ones that now live in Spain, as well as many old friends from different parts of the country. It felt special to be there and yet, very normal at the same time. Of course I was there. It was exciting to “show off” my kids.

Coming here from Antwerp was a challenge. I think Antwerp had a gravitational pull on us, it took us a full hour to find our way out.

We traveled some into the south of Holland called Zeeland, known for its unspoiled beaches. Strange to be traveling through snow, some of it beautiful and sunny (!)

I did not know what I was looking for, but when we found it, I knew. A restaurant on the beach, unspoiled, quiet, ships going by and sun on the water, although freezing cold.
Magical and inspirational. The best coffee ever.

We decided to start for Amsterdam, it was 2pm and trying to get there before the worst rush hour.

At 4pm we had reached the airport (Schiphol) and within a few minutes it got dark. I even commented on it how early it was getting dark here.

Within minutes, no knowledge of the consequences, we drove into the “perfect storm”, snow coming from different directions at once and we, us, little people, were in the center of it. I don’t recall ever having seen such thick snowflakes and being in a wall of snow.
It conjured up respect for nature and later, being held hostage by the weather, helped us practice letting go of the idea that you are in control.

Traffic now came to a full stop almost immediately. We were 20 minutes away from Amsterdam. We were stuck for four (4) hours, whilst moving a foot or so, every minute.
We did not have a lot of gas and all had to pee. Did you ever wonder why you want to pee more and more, even when you don’t drink anything?
Never mind……what you ponder when you are stuck in traffic.

The gridlock was the longest on record, 140 kilometers (over 100 miles) and the salt/sand sprayers are out of salt for the season, yippie
I always wondered what causes a gridlock to resolve eventually, but this one took till midnight.

Meanwhile , we have all arrived in Amsterdam, unpacked, shopped, I made peasoup, we feel at home, loving it and have lots of stories to tell. The apartment is great.

It is so amazing how two countries so close together, can be so different, cultural shock all over again, but easier this time, mostly, because I know so many people here.
But navigating trams, buses and trains is a new one and somewhat exhausting. Where to buy the best bread, a paperclip or print something? And so on.

As for the immediate future, not clear and for now just experiencing the city of Amsterdam, new and old.

It is going to snow again tomorrow........