Naar Het Centrum in Amersfoort

Thank God it's weekend.

I'm on a long holiday from work but I still look forward to the weekends when the hubby and I can spend more time together. We visited the center in Amersfoort last Saturday.

Amersfoort is the second largest city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. Utrecht, Amsterdam, Den Haag and Rotterdam make up the "Randstad", the four largest and busiest cities in the western part of the Netherlands. There is a big difference between the Western part and the rest of the country. There you'll find more fields, cows and flowers. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a windmill or two.

Sajoer Boontjes: Say what?

 

Autumn was coming in early when I arrived in the Netherlands. I had brought my winter jacket with me but that is too warm to use at this time so I had to buy another jacket. The hubby took me to the Centrum and we went inside a nice boutique that was selling a good black leather jacket for 40 euros. The lady at the shop asked if I was from Indonesia. I suppose Filipinos and Indonesians look similar. Perhaps there aren't that many Filipinos where we live.

Panaffle Weekend

Wat doe jij in dit weekend? 

Genieten van een vrije dag.

("What are you doing this weekend? Enjoying my free day.")

Broodjes en Rijst: A Compromise

Did you know that the Dutch people probably eat as much bread and cheese as the Filipinos eat rice? I have read somewhere that most people in the Netherlands usually have 2 cold meals and 1 hot meal a day. Perhaps NOT ALL the Dutch follow this routine but the hubby is definitely one of them. That means broodjes met kaas of pindakaas (bread with cheese or peanut butter) for breakfast and more bread, sometimes with a bowl of soup for lunch, then later in the evening, a warm meal for dinner. I was surprised to find out that the peanut butter in the Netherlands is not sweet AT ALL.

Goedemorgen, Nederland

After two flights  and 15.5 hrs, I'm finally back in the Netherlands and I have a cold. Perfect timing really with the unpredictable Dutch weather, the cold and sometimes wet summer that feels more like autumn. I cannot even go out without wearing 3 layers of clothing.

 

I'm still trying to settle into a nice daily routine while the hubby is away at work. It could be jet lag but I find myself waking up at 5:00am here (which is around 11:00 am, Philippine time). Since I couldn't get back to sleep this morning, I went to the kitchen to make a sandwich for the hubby to take to work. I'm so used to my work schedule back home that now that I have plenty of free time by myself, I don't quite know what to do around here.