May 2018

It is May, one month into the new work situation in the Nederlands. I am not yet in a rental so I am living out of a suitcase, well actually 2 suitcases that are stashed in the back of my Renault Capture. The Renault is from the company pool of leased cars that I am driving temporarily until either my own car arrives in the container from the US, or I decide on a new lease vehicle here. But, for now, it gets me where I am going… zero flash.

Driving in the Nederlands is actually quite OK, once you get used to all of the pedestrian and bike lanes that pass across the motorways. In most areas, the bikes are given very wide lanes all to themselves, so, unlike in Phoenix, they are very rarely sharing the roads with you. You do need to stay vigilent. There are paths where the bicyclists have right of way to pass in front of you through the crossing, and there are those where the cars have right of ways. Stop before the crossings where bikes do not have the right of way and watch the drivers behind you loose their minds. Not stop where the bikes have the right of way and someone could get seriously injured or worse. So keep a sharp eye. One thing that is very helpful is that the bicyclists give big signals with their whole arm pointing to which direction they intend to go when approaching an intersection, so you know often well in advance if they plan to cross in front of you.

My office for work is in Amsterdam, well Amsterdam Zuid (South) to be exact. There are a series of buildings there known as the World Trade Center of Amsterdam and our offices are on the 12th floor of Tower H. The train station is about 100 meters away and I can pickup the train from Hilversum Central, about a 22 minute commute on the non-stop.

Hilversum is in the region known as Het Gooi and it is where we will settle. It is just to the south of Amsterdam and is a cluster of villages, that today, surround the media parks which serve as the production centers for Dutch television and film post production. It is also the location of an international school for the kids to attend. Mike and I toured Het Gooi in March and really liked the area. Hilversum is a  good size city with a small town feel.

In between my international travels, I have been staying at hotels and Air BnB’s in the area to get familiar with what is here. One such hotel is the Fletcher Hotel in Loosdrecht. Loosdrecht is the lake district of the area where the warm late spring temperatures have lured many Dutch from around the country to come early and take advantage of the sailing, kayaking and other water sports. The hotel also has bikes for rent and I take advantage by going on evening bike rides after work. With the sun not setting until 10 PM, it is easy to lose track of time and find myself not back at the hotel before nearly 9 PM.

One favorite bike ride takes me 6 kilometers to the east to Loenen aan de Vecht. A lovely sidewalk cafe is just the place for nice glass of Pinot Grigio, a cheese plate and a view for people watching, though not many of those about.

Later in the month, it is time to travel for work again, this time I head to India and then back to the US to see the family again! Mike and kids are not due out until at least mid-June, so we decide that having Reid leave with when I head back would be a nice distraction for Reid, keep me from being all alone out here and allow Mike to get the house packed up with one less kid in tow.

As a result, Reid heads out with me to Amsterdam via Singapore where I need to travel for work. He and I spend a week in Singapore. I spend most of it at the DSM offices, Reid spends most of it on his computer playing games online with some of his friends back in Phoenix. The hotel where we stay is quite lovely, with a typical Asian great breakfast buffet and a nice infinity pool that Reid is able to take advantage of, but I do not get the opportunity.

We stay over on a Saturday and have the opportunity to visit Sentosa island. A 3.5 mile hike from the hotel leads us to the top of hill where we are able to take the sky lift over to the island. Warm and humid, but a nice day without rain. On the island we visit the Universal Studios park. Sorry to have to say to our Singaporean sisters and brothers, but the park is no comparison to the original. Still, a nice way to spend a day before we head to the airport and back to Europe.