Baby Has So Much To Do

Koninginnedag 2010

It’s been a beautiful Koninginnedag this year and I’m sure if Queen Juliana would have seen it she would have been very happy on her Birthday. Cora made her own crown in school and couldn’t wait yesterday to get outside. There was already a band playing outside and lots of people out an about and Cora was convinced that the Queen is coming soon too. She got to see Queen Beatrix on TV and we explained that all the children who made a crown can be princess and queen today. I took a long walk through the city with her to pick up the special atmosphere and we went to the playground in the Oosterpark close to the hospital where Cora was born. On the way home we met some goose which really impressed Cora in the middle of the city and stopped by the micro brewery close to our home for some beers outside. It was nice to be in Amsterdam again for Queensday. We had been away the last year.

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Easter Weekend 2010

A beautiful Easter weekend with lots of activity for Cora is almost over. My parents came all the way from Berlin on Wednesday and have been staying with us for the long weekend. Thursday and Friday still being work days for Cherrie and me, Cora has been out and about with her grandparents exploring the “Zaanse Schaans”. It’s a beautiful little  village on the banks of the river Zaan with characteristic green wooden houses, charming gardens, small hump-backed bridges, tradesmen's workshops and historic windmills.

We went to Den Haag on Good Friday for the “Pasar Malam” which isn’t really an evening market like the Indonesian name suggests but a small festival with Indonesian performances and lots of great street food you normally don’t get anywhere outside of Indonesia. So I spent most of the time lining up to get my parents of all the great food I love that they have never tried before. Of course we brought lots of stuff back home for Cherrie who had to work that day. Cora loved watching all the traditional dances with colorful costumes. Her favorite was the tiger dance from East Kalimantan. With beautiful sunshine outside we didn’t want to spend all day in the festival tent and being in Den Haag, of course had to go for a walk at the beach in Scheveningen. Cora loves collecting shells and when she came home in the evening after an exciting day she had shells of all colors collected for mommy.

The sunshine didn’t last unfortunately and Saturday and Sunday have been typical April days with anything from dark sky and hail showers to sunshine all within just a few hours. Nothing ventured, nothing gained so we took Cora out to the Ijsselmeer to Marken where I know she could see some little Easter lambs and search for her Easter eggs and treats. We’ve been lucky and it only rained when we were already inside one of my favorite cafes in Marken where Cora ate her Pancake with Chocolate milk. It was a beautiful weekend despite the weather and I glad we all got to spend some fun time together again.

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Cora is jarig / a birthday girl

Another year has passed and our little girl is already 4 years old. Here in Holland the fourth birthday is quite an important one as it means that creche days are over and children start to go to “basis school” (primary school you could say). Cora has been excited for the last few weeks knowing that she is soon going to be a school girl. Many of her friends from the daycare have already left and are in school. She is excited but also a bit insecure about it all. We went with her to see the new school 2 weeks ago and she liked it there, so the change will hopefully all go smoothly. Technically her birthday is tomorrow but we had so much planned she spend a pretty exciting weekend celebrating her birthday in advance. She got to choose her first real bicycle on Saturday since learning to riding a bike is just such an essential thing for children in NL and part of becoming a schoolgirl. Today was the birthday party with her friends and we took them all to a huge indoor playground and they played for hours and hours climbing and chasing, letting all that energy out. They have all been pretty tired afterward. Cora had a great day and already told me that soon she will stay over at her friend’s house since she is now a big girl. Tomorrow celebrations will continue in the daycare. I’ve baked lots of pastry for Cora to take with her for her Birthday party there. Maybe she can even ride there on her new bike….

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Bali, Pulau Sepa and Bandung

Even though we spend lots of time with the family in Jakarta this year, we did plan in some short trips to Bali, Pulau Sepa (one of the Thousand Islands in the Java Sea off Jakarta) and we will also make a short stop in Bandung where Cherrie used to live before she moved to NL with me. Here are the pictures from our time outside of Jakarta.....

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Jakarta - Dec 2009

It’s been three years since we’ve been the last time to Indonesia. In December 2009 we came to celebrate Olives wedding (Cherries sister) and to spend Christmas and New year with the family in Indonesia. It’s been a wonderful time and Cora, Cherrie and I really loved being back and meeting everyone again. This album contains all the photos taken during our time in Jakarta. A huge thank you for making this such a great time for us goes to the whole family but it particular to Bambang and Sylvia….We will miss you!

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Olive & Pieters wedding

The main reason for us to come to Indonesia this time beside Christmas, New Year and of course the family and friends has been Olive and Pieter’s wedding on 19.12. We thought this would be a huge wedding and it sure was, at least by my European standards. The Church wedding took place in a colonial protestant Church and though I could not understand much of what was said in Church, it was just beautiful to see the ceremony. Many of the guests were wearing traditional outfits and colorful dresses and the weather was just perfect. Cora has been in almost every picture and really enjoyed herself and all the attention. The evening party was themed Batavia (Jakarta’s name during colonial times) and the 1920ies. Some 1100 people came to celebrate with the newly wed’s. It was one impressive wedding to remember and certainly the biggest one I ever attended. Olive dan Pieter, Selamat Menempuh Hidup Baru.

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Autumn 2009 in Berlin

After a pretty busy summer at work with no option to take time off, I finally got to be out for a 10 day break. I wanted to go to Berlin with Cora to see my sisters new house and her little boy, visit my parents and just spend some quality family time with Cora. October 3rd is also a National holiday in Germany where the German reunification is celebrated each year. It’s a special day for me to go to Berlin  this years since it’s been 20 years exactly that my life changed drastically forever when the Berlin wall was opened over night bringing lots of new possibilities but also allot of uncertainties. I had some time to reflect on things like, what would my life have looked like if history would have been different. I still wonder sometimes what I would have done in East Berlin if 1989 would have turned out completely different. Back then my plan was to go to the merchant marine as it seemed to be my best option to have a chance to see the world. Things turned out different and looking at my little girl I know I’ve been lucky several times in my life. 

On October 3rd we went to the Brandenburg gate to see the festivities but the children soon got scared by the amount of people flocking there to celebrate. We decided to just do lots of things that are fun for Cora and the following days. We went to an eco farm where children can pet the animals, we went kite flying, collected acorns, chestnuts and lots of colorful leaves in the woods around my sisters new home in the north of Berlin. Cora loved to have so much attention from all the people around and picked up a bit more German once again. It’s been a really nice few days in Berlin. Cora even was a good girl on the 7 hour train ride from and to Amsterdam. I admit I was a bit scared going on such a long ride with her. She is just really becoming a big girl now.

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Birthday at the beach

It has not only been a perfect summer but it also seems to become a beautiful autumn with warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. Usually my birthday is already the turning point where summer really is gone and jackets have to be pulled out. I don’t remember having more than 20 degrees and walking around in shorts and t-shirt on my birthday. So what better way to make it a special day then going to the beach and enjoy the weather outdoors. Cora was so excited to drive in her new big girl car seat and watching her being so happy playing with in the sand, running around and just being her bubbling self was all I could wish for on a perfect birthday. Egmond aan Zee is one of my favorite places on the NL North Sea Coast. Its far enough from Amsterdam to feel like we are on a mini vacation and it has wide beaches with perfect soft sand. In Egmond aan Zee is also one special restaurant we discovered in recent years. It’s called Zilte Zoen. Its where we finished the day with great food watching the sunset. It’s been a perfect day. 

Link to the pictures.

A summer weekend with the grandparents

An absolutely perfect weekend comes to an end and even though I can already feel the muscle ache I will have tomorrow, I loved all the fun and action we had. Yesterday cycling the 25 kilometers up to Monnickendam, lots of swimming with Cora and then ...the same way back across the beautiful country side. A perfect summer day all together. Today, Cora the grandparents and I sailed up to Hoorn an old VOC city with lots of historical buildings and just a really charming atmosphere. The sailing itself was a bit rough at times as the wind freshened up quite a bit in the afternoon and the sun was away all together for a few hours. Most of the day the weather was beautiful.

Cora has been really sweet but needed a long hug when it all became a bit scary towards to the end. She’s quite used to the boat by now but the kind of waves and strong gusts from today where new to her too. She will be staying with my mom and dad for the next few days and was really excited about her vacation from us. I guess it’s also a bit peer pressure from the day care. All the children talk about their vacations and Cora wants to tell a story too. So we told her she will have a small vacation with Oma. She’s been telling everyone for days.

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Vlissingen 2009

With half of their children and grandchildren living in the Netherlands,  my parents decided to spend their summer holidays here this year to explore North and South of the country for three weeks. They strapped their bicycles on the back of their car and are first staying in the most South-Western part of the Netherlands in Vlissingen for two weeks and then coming to stay in Monnickendam to spend another week close to us. They have been cycling around, exploring Zeeland and since Cherrie and I have never made it that far South, we thought it’s a good opportunity to make the trip down to Vlissingen and meet up for a family day at the beaches. 

I always wanted to go to Vlissingen anyway. I’ve learned allot about the place during my Nautical and Radio License courses and know about its rich maritime past. The city is at the last large port on the way down to Belgium, the Bretagne and of course to make the crossing over to the UK.  Its maritime atmosphere is also determined by shipping and pilot services at the roadstead just off the seafronts.

We’ve had a great lunch of fresh fish together and then went down to the beaches. It’s just such a joy to swim there watch the wind, water and clouds continuously at play. The huge commercial ships are passing by so closely you hear their engines if you dive. The grandparents, Cora, Cherrie and I had a great time but were literally washed away from the beach by the strong incoming tide with its currents. Within half an hour the water level went up so quickly that we had to pack up and leave quickly. We found a fantastic playground with lots of things to do for our little girl and finished the day with a dinner at the harbor. By pure coincidence (really!) one of my sailing friends put in with his boat coming from Oostende in Belgium. It was great to see him but unfortunately sooner then we liked a great day came to an end and we had to catch our train back home to Amsterdam. Cora was a real trooper the whole day. She stayed up until we came home but collapsed completely exhausted in her bed and fell asleep immediately. She is already looking forward to see Oma and Opa again next weekend.

Here are the pictures