Weekend Fun, Summertime

View of the Maas from the John F. Kennedy Bridge

Four more days until I'm officially on summer holiday! It's one of the greatest perks of being a teacher. :) I can't wait. In the meantime, we're getting into summer mode here in Maastricht. We've had some nice weather here the past few days. ("Nice" weather by Dutch standards, i.e. I don't have to wear a coat to work). I still have to get used to not having warm summers and weeks on end of sunshine. On the other hand, New York is practically a tropical climate these days. I can't say that I miss riding the subway in 100 degree heat. Ick.

We had possibly the most relaxing weekend we have had in a long time. Dinners on the balcony, a party with my colleagues, and drinks with friends at a terras. 

Friday evening was a quiet evening at home with dinner on the balcony, games, and good wine. Jaap and I have decided to break into our stash of German wines that we brought back with us from our vacation along the Mosel & Rhine. (See here). I've been saving the bottles for special occasions, but really...isn't the start of summer a good enough reason? It was the perfect way to end our week.

Delicious Riesling from the Mosel region

And the fun is just beginning. Jaap's birthday is this Wednesday, book club on Thursday, last day of school on Friday followed by our joint birthday celebration with friends at night, Saturday with the Jansens, North Sea Jazz on Sunday, and then my birthday on Monday. Whew! Quite a week, but all fun things. Shortly after that we'll leave for our vacation to Croatia followed by a visit from some of my Boston friends. YES for summer!!!

Fish tacos on the balcony. LEKKER!!!

Our little herb garden

Ardennes with Friends in St. Hubert

Two weeks ago we enjoyed a weekend away in the Belgian Ardennes with friends. It was a weekend full of relaxation, walks, cooking (and drinking), and of course games. We rented a house in St. Hubert with four other couples and friends of ours that live in Maastricht. It was an international weekend of American, British, Dutch, and French-Canadian fun. 

First night of games...Cranium!

Our walk into town

Basilica in St. Hubert

You know you've had a good weekend when you don't have many pictures to show of it. I was having too much fun with my friends to pick up the camera and capture the moments. Oh well! 

Dutch guys having fun

My favorite thing about Belgium...beer!

Along with our friends, we rented this house in the Ardennes region in the province of Luxembourg. 1.5 hours from Maastricht and we're surrounded by beautiful forests and big rolling hills. It's a nice change in landscape from the Netherlands. 

We spent our weekend cooking for each other, playing board games, walking, hiking, and lounging on the couch. 

We had some great weather on Sunday, so a group of us decided to do some light hiking. 

My favorite photo of the day was four of the guys posing for this shot in the trees. I love the pose.

Times flies when you're having fun and this weekend went by way too fast. We're looking forward to our next weekend trip with friends!

Vacation!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We're still in NY for a few more hours, but here's a few photos of our December Kerst festivities in Maastricht leading up to the holidays. See you soon, back in Nederland! 

Our monthly game night get together with our Dutch/American friends

Our Kolonisten cheer ritual

Celebrating Christmas with the Jansens a week early

Weekend with the Jansens

My weekly blog update schedule is starting to become difficult to keep up with. Perhaps it's a good sign that I have other things to do, but I do miss writing about our happenings in Holland. I'm starting to feel more settled in Maastricht and like I actually live here, as opposed to just visiting. Hanging out with friends, different projects at work, finishing my third Dutch class, and even learning how to drive stick has kept me very busy. With that said, here is my very belated post about some recent happenings we had in the north. Jaap's parents rented a vacation house for a weekend away with the Jansen clan in a small town called Lemelen. It's in the province of Overijssel, in a northeast section of the Netherlands. Het was gezellig! Thanks again Trees & Jan!

The nephews, Frans & Annabel

Happy birthday Trees!

Jaap came home Friday morning from his conference in Montreal and a few hours later we were up and on the road! It took about three hours to get to our vacation house in Lemelen, which is about 25 km from Zwolle. When we arrived we were greeted with some lekker tapas, drinks, and dinner. It was so nice to show up and relax! 


Of course, no Jansen event would be complete without games. After dinner we played a round of Kolonisten, my new favorite past time. The good news is.... Ik sprak Nederlands met de familie van Jaap. Maybe just a little bit here and there, but it's definitely getting better. I always wish that my Dutch was more advanced at this point, but there's only so much my brain can handle. I'm just happy that it's improving, even if it is at a slow pace.

Jaap's sister, Mieke, with the nephews

Tijn, Mieke, Mees & Annabel

Our weekend was very relaxing complete with a walk in the woods, visit to a park, and some rounds of Sjoelen. (See the pictures below). We also celebrated Trees' birthday with some nice vlaai and of course singing. Gelfeliciteerd Trees! And dank je wel to Jan and Trees for hosting a great weekend with the Jansens. 

Jasper & Jan concentrating on a game of Sjoelen

These photos below were taken by Jaap's brother, Frans. 

Willem & Mees

Mieke, Mees & Trees