Never Ever

If you had told me 5 years ago that I'd be doing a master's in oncology in Amsterdam, I'd probably have laughed in your face and gone on my way. Looking at my life with an objective eye today and clearly seeing (and appreciating) how lucky I am!!

As you may or may not know, I started school again on Monday.  This is wonderful as it is super nice to be back in a routine, however, I can already tell that it's going to be claiming most of my free time. For those of you who aren't sucked into the deep black hole of Facebook, I cannot promise to write proper updates often enough. As a compensation, I'll be sharing snip-its via photos and quick messages.  I know it doesn't quite suffice, but I'll try my best to fill in the details as I go along.  

Part 2: Hiking

According to the famous saying, a picture tells a thousand words. However, I'm not sure a picture nor a thousand words are enough to convey the experience of hiking in the Alps.

There is no way to capture the satisfaction of hiking uphill for hours and finally reaching that spot overlooking the entire valley.  You cannot photograph the feeling of aching muscles and blisters nor the thirst and hunger.  There is no way to share the warmth of the sun, the sound of the wind rustling the grass, nor the sweet smell of the mountain air.

Pictures just don't do it justice.

And I'm not entirely convinced that words can either.

There were so many moments throughout our hikes where we stood completely dumbfounded by the beauty of mother nature.  I hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience something of the sort in their lifetime. It truly leaves you breathless and grasping for words.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my measly attempt at bringing the Alps to your computer screen.

I sincerely hope that one day I can return and continue to explore.  Due to Sander's broken toe, he was not able to join in on the last hike we did.  It was honestly one of the toughest, most terrifying and inspiring things I've ever done and I would love to relive it one day! I walked over a mountain with my own two feet.  I climbed rebar ladders and walked next to a glacier.  I somewhat regret not taking more photos and videos during this hike, but due to safety (read: I didn't want to lose my footing and tumble down the mountain to my death), I thought it was best to pack it away.  In the end though, I have my own memories of the hike and you guys will just have to go experience it yourself!!

Austria: Part One

Lucky(?) for you guys, I have a lot to say about the one week adventure Sander and I just took in the Austrian Alps.  There's no way I can get everything out in one post! So, keep your eyes on the blog for there'll be a bit more activity in the next two weeks.

If you want the short version, all you need to know is that Austria is beautiful.  Here's some proof, though I encourage you to keep reading.

Saturday, August 8: Fly to Munich
Sander and I decided that renting a car was the best option for us for this trip.  We did a little research and it turned out that it was not only faster, but also cheaper for us to fly part way rather than driving all the way from the Netherlands.  So at a respectable time of day (yay, no early morning flight), we caught our flight to Munich. 

When we arrived in Munich, we went immediately to collect our car.  If I said the airport was busy, that'd be an understatement.  The car rental area was absolute chaos.  The lines were about 50 people deep and hardly moving.  We were dreading the wait, but when we turned the corner, we saw that our rental agency had hardly any line at all! Sander and I high-fived and marched on with our 16kg backpacks and waited....and waited......and waited.  The line was a bit deceiving as it still took us nearly an hour to get our car, but that's alright.  Soon enough we were on our way to the Oetztal Valley going 150km/h on the Autobahn.

Just kidding (Mom, you can relax).  We weren't going 150km/h being that we had a little Ford Fiesta (we named it Mrs. Vroom as it had about as much punch as our 2003 Ford Focus, Mr. Vroom, that we had in Canada).  But I did have my first experience of being on a highway with no speed limit. It's still mind boggling for me.  There were even areas with the posted speed limit of 130km/h! Crazy!

It's also the only place I've ever seen the posted speed limit of 120km/h in a construction zone!

Anyway, as we tootled along and all the Audi's, Mercedes's and BMW's zoomed passed us, it dawned on us that we hadn't had anything to eat and we were starving!! Typical Sander and Kaylee move.  We also needed to stop at a gas station and get a placard for our windshield (in Austria, you have to buy a permit to drive on the highways), so we pulled off to a roadside stop and had a very authentic German meal of burgers and fries at the Burger King.  Funnily enough we did the same thing to ourselves in Seattle last summer and also ended up at a Burger King.  I think this might be turning into a tradition.  Finally, we had all that we needed and we drove into the Alps.  

We arrived in Oetz just after 6pm and decided to stop at a grocery store and pick up food since the stores would be closed the next day (stores aren't open on Sunday's).  Turns out stores also close early on Saturday's and we couldn't get groceries!  We thought maybe a different grocery store would be open later so we kept driving to Umhausen-- where we had reserved a campsite where we thought we had reserved a campsite.  Despite the fact that Sander reserved a site using their online system a week in advance, they had no spot for us and they were full for the night.  We were annoyed, but not worried as there was another campsite 6km up the road in the next town, Langenfeld.

Off to Langenfeld we go.
No room.  

But "there's another campground just a few kilometers down the road".
Off to Huben we go.
No room.
But "there's another campground just a few kilometers down the road".
Off to Winkle-- the second last campground in the entire valley.

We had no food and nowhere to stay.  Let's just say the worry was beginning to settle in a bit. 

For no reason though because they had room! But they only take cash, and we had no cash.

Begged the lady to hold a spot for us.

Off to the gas station up the road.
No ATM.
"There's a bank in Langenfeld"
Back to Langenfeld we go.
Miraculously we find the bank on our first try.
Get cash.
Back to Winkle.

We register. 

"You don't need to pay now.  You can pay when you leave".

Thank you, language barrier.  That would have been nice to know before we drove around looking for a way to get cash! 

In the end though it all worked out.  We had a place to stay and we found a grocery store that was open from 9-12 the next day.  Following that adventure, we cracked a beer (that we bought at the gas station while trying to find an ATM) and settled on eating out for dinner that night.

Sunday, August 9

We woke up refreshed and ready for a nice easy hike to warm up our legs! First, we headed out to get groceries, and then we packed day packs and hit the mountain!

It was a beautiful hike in the end, though we had a rough start.  We wanted to start the hike on a side trail that met up with the main trail.  Seemed easy enough according to the map, however, there was a serious lack of trail markers, and about 10 minutes in, we were off the path!! We continued to hike for a bit before we gave up and decided to just do the hike from the other trail head.  So back to the car we went, and we drove to the other start point. That one was easy to find and really well marked.  

Between the trees, we had beautiful views of the receding villages below us and after a 3 hour ascent, we were welcomed by an Alpine hut that was, sadly, not in service at the time. We had a lovely picnic lunch looking down into the valley before we started our descent back into town. 

After hiking, we went to go join Jasper for a beer in a little village named Au.  He arrived in the area a few days before us and had been hiking and staying in huts.  He decided to come down to the valley and hang out with us for a couple days.

Monday, August 10

After hiking the day before and our muscles not being used to it, we decided to take the day easy.  I had seen an outdoor pool somewhere during our frantic search for a campground and we were dead set on finding it and spending the afternoon in the glorious sunshine. 

And we did just that. It was the perfect day to charge us up for a couple days of hiking.

Tuesday, August 11

Jasper woke up with the sun and hit the trail first thing in the morning.  He was catching the bus from our campsite to Sölden and then hiking up to Breslauer hut where he was going to spend the night. Sander and I aren't nearly as hardcore and were taking the whole holiday thing seriously so we slept in and took a different route to the hut.  

After tearing down camp, we drove to the trail head in this little village called Vent.  It's basically at the end of the valley and not too far from the Italian border.  It's also not too far from where Ötzi was found in 1991 which I thought was pretty cool!

I am going to give a more abundant summary of the hike itself in a separate post, but I'll give you this much: it was AWESOME.  I was so excited to experience sleeping in an Alpine hut on top of a mountain!

Wednesday, August 12

Another hiking day.  Details to come.


Thursday, August 13

After two days of hiking, we decided to have another relaxing day.  I heard there was a lake close to our campground and I was looking forward to laying by the water reading my book for the day. We were both feeling a little crispy from all the sun so we hid in the shade at our campground for the morning and planned some hikes for the next day.  Around 2, Sander and I packed our day packs and started walking to the lake. As we got closer and closer we realized that it was more of a pond.....and get this, it was completely fenced off and you had to pay to use it! We quickly abandoned that idea and decided to drive back to Langenfeld and enjoy the outdoor pool again.

It was the perfect rest day until Sander had the opportunity to experience the pain of a movement in full force being stopped prematurely.  As he was walking barefoot at the pool, he stubbed his toe on the edge of the shower.  It instantly turned purple and swelled up to a laughable size.

The other laughable thing encountered that day were the size of the slugs in our campground.  I was absolutely fascinated by them and enjoyed conducting stimulus-response experiments on them.

Friday, August 14

Another hiking day!! Or so we thought.  We had 2 trails in mind, but being that Sander's toe was three times its normal size and purple all the way around, we decided to do a shorter one.  So we picked a trail and headed to the start.  Nearly an hour later, we still hadn't managed to navigate ourselves to where we wanted to go.  We ended up on a really steep, twisty and narrow road and couldn't find anywhere to park.  In the end, we decided to do a different hike all together.  We figured we'd do a trail in Sölden instead.  It was perfect since we were meeting up with Jasper, Richard, Alissa and Nienke there later that day anyway.  So we start heading to the trail head, and again, steep road and nowhere to park! At this point we were both fed up and possibly a little hangry.  We quickly abandoned the plan to hike before any fatalities occurred and just drove to the campground.  We thought we could have a bite to eat there and then revisit the hiking idea once we could think clearly again.

After lunch, we were both feeling much better and were ready to hike....that was until Sander actually tried putting on his boots! His poor toe was being squashed in the most painful way and there was no way he could hike.  At the third failed attempt, we finally decided to simply give up on the idea of hiking.

Instead we did a super mini hike in flip flops to a pasture overlooking Sölden.  It was a beautiful view and so relaxing to sit in the long grass and just take in all the sights, smells and feelings.  And read, of course.

After a while of hardcore chilling, the clouds began to roll in (which was actually the first time all week despite the doom and gloom they had been predicting).  We decided to get down before the rain.  Though sliding down a muddy path in flip-flops sounds like fun, I wanted to do a pretty massive hike the next day so I was doing my best to avoid injury. 

When we got down, Jasper was waiting at the campground for us and we made a trip to get beer from the grocery store.  We visited over drinks while we waited for Richard, Alissa and Nienke to arrive and then realized that the next day was a holiday and that the grocery store was going to be closed! So, back to the grocery store to get food for the next day.  We made a third trip sometime between that one and the rest of the gang arriving, but I cannot remember why.  I do remember buying a ridiculous amount of Austrian foods and some liquor to take home with us, but I'm fairly certain we didn't make a trip simply for that.  I also bought a trail map that time, but I've already lost it.  =(  I'm 99.9% certain it made it home but I cannot, for the life of me, remember where I put it after that!

Once everyone else arrived, we went out for dinner and had the most delicious and gigantic pizzas! We then visited for a bit and hit the hay early since we were starting our hike at 8am sharp.

Saturday, August 15

Hiking day with this lovely group:

We thought our car lacked punch with two people and backpacks.  Add three more bodies and day packs and we basically were dragging the back end up the mountain! 

More details about the hike to come.

After hiking, we made dinner and hid inside the reception area of the campground since it was raining so hard. We tried to create a 5 person version of the Dutch card game Klaverjessen.  It was a bit ridiculous at first, but once we ironed out some of the rules it ended up working out alright.  At the very least, it was entertaining and was a really fun way to spend the evening! 

Sunday, August 16

Sander and I woke up early and tore down camp.  Our plan was to hit the road at 8, however, we ended up being a few minutes behind and left at 8:11.  We figured we were fine since our flight wasn't until 3pm and we only had a 3 hour 15 minute drive back to Munich. Assuming our math is right, we expected to get there at around 11:30.  We figured that'd leave enough time if something happened or if we got stuck in traffic.  What we didn't plan for though was being stuck in traffic for HOURS. At one point, we were trying to calculate the average speed we had to travel in order to get there in time.  Our math wasn't giving us very promising numbers especially since we still had to stop to fill up the rental car with gas.  Surprisingly though, we weren't freaking out.  I think it's safe to say we were properly stressed, but it was more of the pit-in-your-stomach type stressed rather than the freak-out kind of stressed.

We pulled into the rental car return at 1pm and somehow made it through check-in, luggage drop and security in a mere 35 minutes.  We still had plenty of time to be bored at the airport which was fantastic since we felt like we were in first class!  The airport lounge had free coffee/tea and the most comfortable waiting area.  It was a mini library with reclining chairs!!  It was a really nice way to unwind after being so stressed all morning. 

The flight home was quick and uneventful.  We pulled into Schiphol exactly on time and made our way to baggage claim in record time.  Like usual, you hurry up to wait and our luggage took forever to arrive.  

And that's when my favorite holiday conversation occured:

Sander: hmm....I haven't seen our keys in a while.  Do you know where they are?
Me: yeah, we put them in the toiletry bag.  Remember?
Sander: riiiiiight.  Oh good.  Glad we know where they are.

[standing silently watching bags going past, waiting and waiting and waiting for ours to come when we glance over to each other, wide eyed and horrified at our joint epiphany]
Together: the keys are in our checked bags!!!!

Yup, we're the dumb travelers that put both sets of keys in the CHECKED luggage.  Annnnd The Stupidity Award goes to Kaylee and Sander!  Let's just say we've never been so happy to see our bags come out on the belt!  

We grabbed our bags, high-fived and tiredly trudged towards the trains exhausted and completely content from the perfect holiday we just shared together. 

Stay tuned for Part 2: Hiking.  It will be making an appearance next week sometime!!! 

The Forest, The Tour and a day in Enschede

The Forest

Just outside of Utrecht, there is a "forest".  I put it in quotes cause compared to our Canadian forests (that are sadly burning right now) it's more like a little patch of trees than an actual forest.  However, when in a country where the population density is 500 people per square kilometer (Canada has 4, just to put thing into perspective for you), it's hard to come by any space.  Especially since the Netherlands is a fraction (1/18 to be exact) of the size of Alberta.  Moral of the story: the Netherlands is tiny and full, so this rather large patch of trees is actually quite refreshing.  I spent the whole afternoon wandering the trails and stopped for a picnic lunch under some trees.  It was wonderful!

This one reminded me a bit of Alberta! 

The Tour

Last weekend was a bit of a whirlwind of a weekend. Saturday started bright and early for me.  I went to Maarssen to see Pippa, Pilou and Cleo's piano recital! It was so wonderful to see them again.  I cannot believe how much they have grown and matured!

They put on a wonderful performance and have taken leaps and bounds in their piano playing.  Cleo has even started singing lessons and sang while she played Mamma Mia! I was so impressed!

After the piano recital I headed back into the chaos of Utrecht for the Tour de France.  As you may or may not know, The Tour started this year in Utrecht.  It was so cool to see in real life.  The first day was a timed lap so each cyclist went one by one.  It was a shorter lap so they were basically sprinting past us going at least 50km/h.  I tried taking a video to share the experience, but as it always happens, it's not as good as real life! 

The next day, the cyclists did a lap through Utrecht and then headed out of the city.  It was really fun to watch and even more fun since they went by at the end of our block! We watched them leave the start line and then walked down to get a good view of the real action.  

I'm so glad we braved the heat and spent the day outside.  I know it's so cliche to say, but I feel like it was a once in a lifetime chance, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to see it live!


A day in Enschede

Yesterday, Sander and I took a little trip to Enschede and met up with Nora and Hannah! They're spending some time in Germany right now visiting family and friends and made the trip to the land of bicycles to spend the day with us! We shopped around a bit but mostly wandered distractedly while catching up on a couple months of news.  It was absolutely wonderful!

That's pretty much a summary of what I've been up to the last couple weeks.  I've started my Dutch class now so my days are significantly fuller. ;)  I've already noticed a huge increase in my abilities and feel like by the end of the intensive course I'll be much more comfortable with the language! 

A post worth reading!

I realize that I've been a bit absent from the blog lately, and I do apologize and have a wonderful excuse! I have been tirelessly working on a video blog entry and the final product is finally ready for viewing! Enjoy!!

One Month Musings

One month ago, I embarked on one of the biggest adventures of my life.  Sure, I've lived here before, but never without a return date.  The emotions evoked by boarding a plane with a one-way ticket and no return date in mind is  a bit a lot different than a one year detour to live abroad.

The achy goodbyes still grasp my heart, but as each day passes I'm more accustomed to not being around.  Technology is an amazing thing and has made life so much easier.  Between Whatsapp and FaceTime, I've been able to keep up with the personality changes in Carter and Cash as well as the blooming flowers in Mom and Dad's yard.  It makes the distance simply an inconvenience rather than a debilitating factor of living a 9 hour flight away.

There are a few things I've noticed that I love here and miss at home.  I think it's time for a list!

Things I love in the Netherlands: 

The Newness: everything is still novel and beautiful to me. When I walk down the streets, I see it with the eye of a foreigner. I see the small details that we lack in Canada like small finishings on brick houses or simply brick houses for that matter!  Last weekend I shared this picture: 

A lot of Dutch people laughed and thought I was crazy for calling this is a cute street.  There are traffic signs everywhere and there were so many more beautiful spots I could have taken a picture of along that road.  But that's the beauty of the newness! Even the most ordinary things are different to me.  When I see this picture I see cobblestone streets, with bike lanes!  I see character houses with beautiful windows.  The street signs add to the feeling along with the bicycles on the side.  It's not ugly or ordinary to me.  Not yet, anyway!

Bicycles: I absolutely love taking my bike everywhere and how easy it is to get around.  Not once in the last month have I thought to myself "I wish we had a car".  I think we'll be perfectly fine without a vehicle.

Our Apartment: Sander and I had a beautiful place in Edmonton.  We really lucked out on finding it and it was everything we wanted.  In a very short amount of time, we got very comfortable living there.  It was heart-wrenching to leave it all behind.

I had this small fear that we'd never ever find another place we loved as much.  In truth though, I could not have been more wrong! Our apartment here is awesome!  I won't go as far as saying it's better, but it is definitely a perfect replacement! In even a shorter amount of time, we've both come to love it and have gotten quite comfortable.  It already feels like home, right down to the decorations.  I love the abundance of natural light, and even the shower in the kitchen isn't that odd anymore.  When I walk in the door, I can actually relax and feel like I am "home".

Cheap Food: groceries are so INSANELY cheap here.  Every time I go to the grocery store, my mind is blown. For example:

I suppose I should translate.  I bought 4 apples (which were actually really expensive! What kind of apples did I buy!?!), 4 bananas, a box of cherry tomatoes, a pack of mushrooms, 3 peppers, 4 beets, milk, tomato sauce, beef bullion, bread, granola bars, a bar of dark chocolate and 500g of ground beef.  Grand total: 13.16 (translation: $18.26 CAD).  You know what you can buy in Canada for that amount? Not even half of the stuff on that list.  And don't even get me started on how amazing and CHEAP beer is.  I'll just give you a hint, a six pack of the best Belgian brew you'll ever taste goes for about 5 euros.  YUP.

Dutch Dairy: Okay, so you know how Alberta beef is a thing.  It's famous in a way?  Well, I'm going to give Dutch Dairy the same fame because man o man, it is sooooo goooooood. I haven't yet pinpointed what the difference is, but it is indeed different and definitely for the better. It doesn't matter what type of dairy it is, the Dutch do it the best. Right now, my favorite dairy product is quark.  Technically it is cheese (it is made the same way as cottage cheese but quark has no lumps), but in my mind it is like Greek yogurt without the sourness.  It is thick, rich, high in protein (even higher than Greek yogurt) and even the 0% fat one is creamier than any fatty yogurt you've ever tasted.  I thoroughly enjoy mixing just plain quark with granola for breakfast.


Things I Miss in Canada:

Family and Friends: I feel like it's time for a family dinner on Sunday.  Mom and Dad, can I request marinated steak?  We had steak here last weekend and it was good, but not nearly as good as yours!  Al and Nora, Wine Room on Friday? Anybody up for a walk down Whyte on Saturday afternoon? Maybe we could hit up the farmer's market! I miss these random things and the friendships!  I miss the company of our family and friends in Canada.  It feels like it has been way longer than a month and I feel like we have so much catching up to do already!

Summer Weather: Okay, so it has been pretty solid here the last week, so I really shouldn't complain, but our summer weather here has been more like "yay, we broke 20C" instead of "wow I need to buy an air conditioner". I love the heat, and hearing of the +30 weather at home makes me really jealous!  I could really go for a weekend lounging on the boat and swimming! Often, the sky here is clouded over (again, the last few days have been an exception to this).  It is mostly threatens rain but never actually does anything, and that is what drives me nuts.  If it's going to rain, just rain.  If not, I want clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine.  None of this half in, half out nonsense.  And please, no rain for days.  It's just depressing (though I believe that's more of a winter thing because we've only had a handful of rainy days since we've moved).

My Job: {Hello cytology peeps! Hope you are all doing well!}  I really enjoy cytology and miss looking at cells (as dorky as that sounds).  I also miss the whole having a job part too.  Having places to go and things to do make me feel productive!  I'm really looking forward to starting my Dutch classes in July.  Hopefully it will help me gain the confidence to speak Dutch to people other than Sander!


That's all for now.  This weekend we're heading to a music festival in the south part of the country.  I'll leave you with a song to listen to.  I've never heard of these guys until I saw their name on the program list, but based off this one song, I'm pretty excited to see them! On the list of artists performing, we'll be seeing Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, One Republic, Rise Against and many others!  Should be a good time.  Fingers crossed the predicted rain stays away!

 

A good day for a bike ride

Well, it appears that we've been hit with a wave of SUMMER.  There are a few wisps of white, but other than that, clear blue skies and glorious sunshine all day long.  I swear, I'm solar powered.  When the sun is out, my energy peaks!

Anyway, I was feeling a bit restless studying all day, so I decided to take a little trip into the center of Utrecht (as it is called in Dutch, Centrum) to hand in the last form for my residency application.  I took the scenic route along the canal and enjoyed the warm breeze as a tootled along.  I usually bike with purpose because I have places to be and things to do, but today, I just enjoyed the sights, smells and sunshine!  

On the way back, I made a wrong turn near central station and ended up at the entrance to the monitored bike racks.  It never ceases to amaze me how many bikes are in this teeny little country.

This goes on for rows and rows and rows

While I'm talking about bikes, I feel this is an appropriate time to share my forever scarring bike experience in Amsterdam.  Sander and I were on our way back from our appointment at the Immigration Office and had to pass through a busy part of Amsterdam.  Let me sum it up for you: there are cars, buses, trams, bikes and tourists everywhere!  Each mode of transportation has it's designated area to drive in-- a concept tourists have a really hard time understanding as you're almost always ringing your bell at someone who is walking on the bike path.  Basically, it's annoying and for an non-native Dutchie like myself, quite stressful.  There are too many things to be aware of all at once.  In these situations, I usually like to follow Sander because I get overwhelmed.  However, it so happened that we were waiting at a light to turn left and I was in front.  I was kind of nervous as it was super busy but I figured it would be okay.  I was the first person and the lane was clearly marked on the road.  There was no way I could end up going the wrong direction.  Well, guess again.  As I was crossing the intersection (which has bike lanes, traffic lanes, and tram tracks) I got a bit spooked by the big van next to me.  I was 100% focused on what was happening around me that I forgot we were crossing the tram tracks at a shallow angle and BOOM-- my tire gets stuck in the rut of the tracks!  I fell off my bike, and instinct kicked in.  By some miracle, I managed to stay on my two feet, albeit some flailing, run my bike to the corner of the intersection and hop back on like nothing happened.  

It was terrifying at the time, but now it'll always be the funny story of Sander and I biking in Amsterdam.  Never ever will I forget about tram tracks!