Kyle and Cat

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

K&C in Cologne, Germany

K&C in Cologne, Germany, originally uploaded by tingeisha.

Enjoying some sun in Cologne!

Via Flickr:
All Images are Copyright CJM
All Rights Reserved
www.agreencat.com/copyrights

Saturday, August 24, 2013

It was great spending time with Kyle in Köln (Cologne), Germany. I had lots of deliciousness and he had many birthday treats. If you are nosey feel free to check out my flickr-set. *yay*

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tingeisha/sets/72157635209875147/

Via Flickr:
Cologne Germany

Köln

Köln, originally uploaded by tingeisha.

Kyle in Cologne Germany.
We stopped by a Comic book store and saw these amaaazing murals.

Via Flickr:
Cologne, Germany

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Utrecht

Spent some time in Utrecht on Friday. It has the canal feel of Amsterdam, but not as busy. You can feel the history of the Netherlands here with their Medieval buildings.

Via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht

Utrecht (/ˈjuːtrɛkt/; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈytrɛxt] ) city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 316,448 on 1 February 2012.

Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures from the Early Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the eighth century. Currently it is the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader.[1][2] Utrecht is also the see of the archbishop of the Old Catholic church, titular head of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic), and the location of the offices of the main Protestant church. Until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht was the most important city of the Netherlands; then, Amsterdam became its cultural centre and most populous city.

One of the tallest buildings in Utrecht is the Dom. It is a beautiful church in the city center. They also have a small tea room inside. We are hoping to come back and enjoy the scenery when the gardens are in bloom. I bet the tree in the center of the garden would be extra fancy.

VIA http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_van_Utrecht

The Dom of Utrecht is a remarkable Gothic church in the center of the Dutch city of Utrecht . The church was built from 1254 built as the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht and was dedicated to St. Martin . Since 1580 the church protestant . The 112.32 meters high Dom Tower is the highest church tower in the Netherlands and the tallest building in Utrecht .

We walked around the center shops, went to the Centraal Museum, and also visited the Dick Bruna/Miffy house.

Viewed many great works of art, architecture and also the history of the buildings of the Centraal museum. There was also a handmade miniature dollhouse that I wish I photographed. Everything was handmade down to the little mouse traps!

(Not my photo!)

(Not my photo)

You can see detailed images here:

http://www.iconoco.com/en/project-17e-eeuws-poppenhuis/

via: http://centraalmuseum.nl/en/visit/locations/centraal-museum/Centraal Museum, the oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands, has been housed in this medieval cloister on the Nicolaaskerkhof since 1921. It contributes to the name Museum Quarter, given to this district in the centre of Utrecht. At one stage, the St Agnes Convent was (partially) used as an orphanage, military stables and psychiatric hospital.

Also went to the Dick Bruna house/ Miffy Museum. So cute... so amazing. We were surprised that it has only been around since 2006. The predecessor to all things cute and Sanrio-ish, Miffy is a must see as well as Nijntje Pleintje. Nice to see, and fun to say!

Nijntje Pleintje

Bunny ears. :D

When you look inside the two little holes, there is a mini-miffy inside.

To our surprise, near the department store of De Bijenkorf was the Miffy traffic signs! SO AMAZING!
Green, with walking Miffy.
Red, with arms up Miffy.

*SQUEE!*

People really didn't notice or care that we were crazy States people photographing a stop light. Or maybe they are just used to weirdo/expats standing in the middle of the street just losing their minds. HA!

For lunch we had some simple sandwiches and soup. Which were fresh, handmade, and lekker smaakt! (Tastes Delicious!)

Ham and tomato on multigrain and tomato/basil soup.

Chicken, goat cheese, apple and arugula sandwich on sourdough.

And to end our trip we had some Sweet Tea service at Keek.

They all were delicious, except Mint/Munt was my favorite!

This was a Sweet Treat! Starting with Brownies, Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, Citrus Cheescake (which resembled the taste of Lemon Bars), Dutch Taart/Apple Pie, and rasberry crumble bars.

So yummy! The people there were so nice and reminded me so much of Lovejoys in San Francisco. We highly recommend this place as well as taking some walking tours in the lovely Utrecht.

Hopefully we will be back to their International Collectors Fair which is purportedly the largest in Europe! VIA: http://www.verzamelaarsjaarbeurs.nl/default

International Collectors Fair Utrecht spring 2013 Europe's biggest Vintage Collectors Fair!

Next event – 13h and 14th of April 2013 at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Over 2000 exhibition stands showcasing an amazing range of vintage, retro and antique collectibles and memorabilia. The International Collectors Fair takes place twice yearly at the famous Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. This spectacular event includes a complete range of collector interests and showcases special feature exhibitions – attracting high levels of publicity and record numbers of visitors. The exhibition complex is next to Utrecht Central Station which forms a central hub to the Netherlands transport system (with frequent express rail links to main destinations). The International Collectors Fair at Jaarbeurs Convention Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, is Europe’s major vintage event with an incredible 2000 stands - spreading over five halls and offering an inspiring and diverse range of collectibles.

To help visitors find their way around the vast fair – the exhibition space is divided into specialist topics including – Antiques, Books, Coins, Postcards, Stamps, Toys, Music, Glass, Archaeological finds, Furniture, Art, Design, Fifties etc. The Fair continues to attract visitors who love to browse as well as serious collectors and buyers in specialist fields; combined with the Mega Record & CD Fair, the Collectors Fair is an unmissable event in the collectors’ and enthusiasts’ calendar.

The International Collector’s Fair takes place on Saturday, 13th April from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, 14th April from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

***

Please ask permission if you would like to use any of my personal images or postings.
Unless noted, all images and content are Copyright Catherine Maske.
All Rights Are Reserved.
www.agreencat.com/copyrights

Friday, February 1, 2013

Miffy & Kyle

Just in case anyone forgot... Vegas Licensing Expo 2009 xoxo

Monday, January 28, 2013

Getting Settled:

Last week or we looked at apartments and worked on all our expat paperwork. We registered for residency "bevolkingsregister" and with immigration "vreemdelingenpolitie." So we can get our BSN (similar to SS#) or "Burgerservicenummer." It will identify Kyle and I when we live here or if we leave and come back. It will be the same number.

Now we can get credit cards, bank accounts and most importantly cell phones with plans. GAH!!! It's been such a hassle trying to live without a proper phone. O_____O

We fortunately got an apartment on Brouwersgracht. Right on the canal. We weren't even planning on having such a view everyday, but I suppose we got lucky. Photos at the end of the post.

Cold Days:
Last week we had a major cold snap and many canals/lakes were frozen over. Some people were able to skate on the surface. Or at least slide around.

Gentleman skating on the canal.

Pieces of ice.

Birds and Ducks relaxing ontop of the ice.

Seagull all by himself. He was very vocal about his lonliness.

Frozen Canal near our current aparment.

Kyle on top of a frozen lake at a nearby park.

At the end of a cold day, Kyle got to hang out with one of the Lanksroon kitty at a local bakery.
This kitty was very stubborn. She didn't want to just sit on a seat by herself. She demanded warm lap.

Lost in Translation:
One of the hardest things I've had to deal with is not being able to just talk with people. Yes, most people do speak English here, but there are little things that just don't translate. Buying shoes, chatting about San Francisco, an old lady makes a joke about something she's reading and looks at me.

I'm always like, "Sorry, spreekt u Engels?" (Sorry, do you speak English?) Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. When they don't, we laugh and I try with my little knowledge of Dutch and get by.

I hate missing an opportunity to know someone new, or exchange some kind of information. I hope, hope, hope to learn dutch this year so that I don't miss as much as I have.

It's been easier by just watching translated English - Dutch shows, translating Dutch streets and reading as much free Dutch language websites and picking up what I can from podcasts.

All In all I think we're doing alright. I am loving the little things we run into, the moments of joy and delight we have with strangers, and the caring community there is here.

* * *

Apartment Photos:
(FRONT)