Monday 3 November 2008
Finally settled in...
As you can see from the video, we have now settled in quite well. We hope you like our video. We've even included some of our own artwork! :) Andreas incorporated some of his Nepalese background with the prayer flags as well. I just need some beautiful Peruvian artesania and tapestries to complete it.
This is a recent picture of our weekend trip to Bern a few weeks ago, the two men in my life...
We hope you all enjoy our little video of our home away from home in Biel and hope you'll all come visit soon.
With love,
April
Monday 22 September 2008
Pictures of Biel from the Mountains
Andreas, Guapo and I have now moved into our apartment in Biel and have been in the process of unpacking a million things, meanwhile, commenting on how much we seem to have newly accumulated. And to think, we came over with just two suitcases each!
Now we have a completely new household, a new dog and a new place to live! Who knows what the future will bring. I thought I'd share some pictures of the area, it's really beautiful. Especially when the sun is shining. Enjoy!
Wednesday 17 September 2008
Our move to Biel, Switzerland
Most of all, I will miss my colleagues who were so welcoming and so great. I really enjoyed working with my Dutch, Scottish and Spanish colleagues in Hengelo and will always remember their generousity and their kind goodbye.
Biel/Bienne is a small bilingual French/German town, about the same side as Hengelo, with 70,000 people. It is a small Roman city with a beautiful tiny old town and a very diverse population. It is located about 30 minutes North West from Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
Andreas is working in Olten and I am working in Morges, Switzerland. While they are quite a distance from each other, we opted for a location in the middle, therefore Biel.
We found a great 2 bedroom apartment on the top floor with a beautiful, private atrium and a large living room. Today we got all our stuff from the movers and have spent the afternoon unpacking everything and trying to find it where we packed the darn dishes! haha!
Other than that, work is going well. Andreas started a week ago and has enjoyed his first corporate job so far. I started officially today at Eaton and have enjoyed meeting my new colleagues that come from all over the world, France, Finland, Netherlands, Germans, Italy, Poland and the UK. I will post pictures soon of our new place and the beautifully small watch town of Biel.
Until then! Ciao! Tschuss!
Monday 5 May 2008
Queen's Day a.k.a. Koninginnedag
This day is known for it’s “free market” (Dutch for vrijmarkt) all over the country, which is basically like the entire nation holding one extremely enormous garage sales or flea market on all the streets while wearing orange ( Royalty of Orange- think of saying it as a French man- Orannngee…) and drinking incestuous amounts of beer and eating great dutch treats all day long. It usually starts the night before, called Queens Night, and follows through to the next day. You are likely to see the Dutch…all the Dutch wearing orange, including children, elderly and even dogs!
This year was great- My dad flew in from the US to join in on the festivities and Niels and his sister, a local, took us through the town- through the great neighborhood of Jordan. We bought all kinds of 2nd hand things like bags, shirts, hand painted Delft mugs and lots of English books that were on sale. Marjolein, my language exchange partner and her friend Astrid joined us there too. They say..one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. We definitely all found something there. It was a great time…and I think the Dutch riding on the boats- all wearing orange and drinking beer- also had a great time.
Tot ziens! ( Until I see you later (English), Tschuss (German), Hasta luego (Spanish)Any other languages…hmmmm- I’ll learn!)
Running in the oldest Dutch Marathon
Sunday 13 April 2008
Find a band, find a food, find a culture…the secrets to living abroad
I realized that the secret to living abroad was not as simple as people believed or perhaps not as hard as people believed but that for me, it consisted of obtaining and integrating three things into my life. Find yourself a band you love, a food you love and a cultural aspect that you love…and whoa la…you’ve got yourself – my secret to happiness living abroad.
I was introduced to it- a basic version of it at the work cafeteria. It was basically the only made to order warm dish available besides the standard fired goods and do-it-yourself sandwich bars. I took my husband to one of my favorite little restaurants in
A culture- or in correct English, a cultural aspect. The Dutch are infamous for their flat land and love of bikes…they adore their bikes and to prove it- they ride them in the rain, sleet or snow…no matter what! I love it, I really do, it’s great to see the young and the old riding their bikes around town to get their groceries or just for a “stroll” around town. Bikes are so prevalent here that there are barely any sidewalks…why walk when you can ride? There are bike garages where there are hundreds upon thousands of bikes all locked up at stations, at supermarkets, at stores etc. You name it, you can’t find a single place in the
They all know how to ride their bikes with no hands, can maneuver between crowds, throngs of people at farmers markets and all while a child in the front, a child in the back and a dog in one hand…oh and flowers in the other! Ok a little extreme but I bet it’s been done! And this is why I love this cultural aspect of the
Ta-ta until later!
April
Wednesday 9 April 2008
El Guapo First Few Days with Us... Introducing El Guapo!
I picked him up on Friday afternoon, April 4th,to take him to join his Daddy in Hannover. He was born on February 10th- so he is 8 weeks and counting…that is, of course, if Andreas and I can keep from killing the poor puppy for all his crying.
He has proven to be a handful and full of surprises for both his Mommy and Daddy. We truly feel like parents right now as he is constantly in demand of our attention, cries all the time, eats, drinks and takes dumps all the time and did I mention- pees everywhere! At times, it is extremely stressful having a little guy that depends on you all the time!
He has proven to be a great traveler, as he was as calm as could be in his little carrier on the way from Hengelo to Hannover on Friday. He is already paper trained which is nice but he has some accidents from time to time. Bladder control can be an issue when they are so small. But at least he isn’t pooing and peeing in his bed or on us or guests.
We are slowly training the little guy, Andreas took him out the first night around 2 am and while the little guy followed him (with out a leash or collar!), Andreas tried not to step on him. He likes to chase our feet and likes to walk in the middle of us if he can keep up. After trying desperately from stepping on the little guy, Andreas brought him to a tree where Andreas looked down at him and said, “Do it.” Naturally El Guapo looked up at him with his beautiful puppy eyes and cocked his head. I’m guessing he was thinking, “Do what? Why are we up at 2 in the morning standing in front of a tree in the dark?”
So, Andreas proceeded to show him what to do. Andreas peed a little then the little guy caught on and peed himself as well. It was pretty cute- and hilarious if you ask me. He’s a smart puppy!
We’ve been trying to train him to let us know when he needs out and when he needs to go, it’s a learning process to say the least, but I think he’s catching on.
Walks exhaust the little guy but he thrives on other people being around. He tends to cry when we put him in the bathroom when we have to leave but I think he will eventually learn that crying will lead to nothing. Though he will let you know when he’s hungry and Andreas will tell you that this little guy eats a lot…and takes plenty of dumps to show for it!
Needless to say, he definitely picked us as he tends to follow the two of us back and forth and at times get so confused on whom to follow when the two of us go in opposite directions. His favorite place to cuddle is between my neck and shoulder where he proceeds to snore. Who knows how loud that is going to get!
Ohhh! And his little cow Mumu which you can see in the picture- he likes to hump her- already!!
A little humor for your day. We thought you all might get a kick out of hearing about the trials of being a puppy owner of a Frenchie!
Hope everyone is well.
With love,
April (and Andreas)