Hello all…
When I awoke Sunday morning I was so excited to see blue skies! You see winter has descended upon Amsterdam in full force. It is rainy. It is cold. The days keep getting shorter and shorter. So to awaken to blue skies meant great potential for Peter and I to get out and do something fun with our day…
As I sat drinking my coffee I could see the sky darkening, and the darker the sky got, the darker my mood also became. As the first raindrops feel from the sky, the first tears of frustration feel from my eyes. Please let me please say in my defense, I enjoy the rain. And I do not mind going out in the rain. I do not mind bundling up and taking the attitude that it is me against the weather – strong, bold and ready to take on a few rain drops – I will not be stopped by a little water! However after many days of pouring rain it becomes a little less like a mere inconvenience to get past, and more like an endless barrage - a pain in the ass really. Let’s not forget we do not run through the raindrops to the warmth and comfort of our cars, but instead to our soaking wet bike seats. Regardless, I am proud to say, after indulging myself in a little pity party (with the help of my husband) we decided we were going out rain or no rain! As I am desperately missing Mt. Tam and all it’s lovely hiking, Peter and I decided to head to a “forest” on the outskirts of town for a day with Mother Nature. By the time we had bundled up and packed up our backpack for the days adventure the rain had ceased. Hallelujah!!
So Peter and I made our way to The Amsterdamse Bos. The Bos is a 2 by 5 kilometer green space home to a woodland park full of walking and biking paths, peat bogs, reed lands and lakes. In addition to this there is a restaurant, some cafes and an area where you can mingle with Scottish Highland cows. I am happy to say Peter and I rode our bikes all over the park, and took a short walk near the water. After we stopped for lunch we went and found the Scottish Highland cows which are completely free to roam their area of the park. Unlike the Bison in Golden Gate Park these cows are not behind fences and you can walk right near them. They are really big in size, with huge horns and lots and lots of fur. Pretty darn cute! After a full day here I felt I had at least communed with Mother Nature a bit. I won’t say it is like hiking Steep Ravine on Mt. Tam but I saw some trees and some beautiful green spaces. And someone must have been watching out for us because the rain stayed at bay all day long. And just as Peter and I got home and started to lock up our bike, raindrops began to fall. Just in time for us to make our way inside for some soup and a nice hot bath…
Other than that all is going well here. Peter is working away and I have started applying for jobs. In the meantime I am doing some volunteer writing for a couple English language publications (more on this when I know the details). I must admit I had a couple hard days with the endless rain and the job searching. But though I can’t change the weather, it seems my job search is moving in the right direction and I am feeling much better about it. We continue to meet people and learn more and more about Amsterdam. We will be here for the holidays and have talked about spending Christmas with some of Peter’s coworkers, which will be lovely I am sure.
Anyway, as always, we hope you are all doing fabulous! We miss and love you all very much. Please write and let us know what you are up to. In the meantime please enjoy the photos below from our day out.
Big hugs,
Ri and Peter
