Delft!

Several months ago we traveled to Delft during the Carnaval break. It's been on my to-do list of places to visit in The Netherlands since we moved here and we finally made it. What a cute place. Delft is a charming and atmospheric city. We had a quiet and relaxing weekend, a nice recuperation for Jaap following a busy Carnaval week. Here are some pics of our weekend. Sunshine and blues skies! And someone celebrated her seven month birthday while we were there. Feels so long ago...

Nieuwe Kerk

Oostpoort

Strolling the beautiful canals

Nieuwe kerk

Wonderful Weekend in Den Haag

Scheveningense bosje

Den Haag

A return to blogging...I was reading through my Croatia posts and started to think about how much I miss this blog. As I reread the posts, I realized there is so much from that trip I forgot about. It got me thinking about how much I miss documenting our lives and adventures. There is so much missing from this blog and I'm sad that I can't go back and read about it again. So enough of that. Back to the blog and Adventures with Jaap.

Binnenhof

Now that we are traveling with little Flora, our family weekend getaways and vacations are slightly less exotic, but just as fun. I knew that once we started a family we would be spending more time exploring The Netherlands and that's what we have been doing a lot this year. We went to Den Haag for the long Pinksteren wekend. I was once briefly in Den Haag for my immigration paperwork, but I have never spent a good amount of time here. This city is great. Very international, full of greenery, and a 20 minute bus ride to the beach. What's not to love?

Fun at the Escher Museum

We had lots of fun at the Escher Museum. (Thanks for the tip, Mom). Here's Flora having some fun with modern art. 

Saturday was our beach day and we went to Kijkduin for the morning. Flora got to touch/feel and explore sand for the first time and we got to stick our feet in the freezing cold water. I love watching her face when she experiences something for the first time...the silent pause and questioning look. Of course she then proceeded to try and eat the sand.

Peace Palace

My favorite part of Den Haag is all the nature. The city is full of parks, "forests", and tiny squares with greenery. It's truly unique and refreshing for city life. We had some beautiful walks with Flora through the Scheveningse Forest and the Clingendael.

A delicious dinner at ZOT!

The Japanese Garden in the Clingendael was a nice treat. It's only open a few weeks every year, so we were lucky to catch the last weekend. 

Our happy little traveler

Traveling is a little different now with a baby. Dinner at 5:00 (!) and some early wake up calls, but these little smiles are worth it. I could just eat these chubby cheeks. 

Hoensbroek Castle

Hoensbroek Castle

Now that we are slightly less mobile with a baby, we're exploring Limburg, the neighboring forests of Belgium and all that the region has to offer. I guess this was the plan all along. Have fun traveling and exploring other parts of Europe before we decide to have a family. Now is the time to enjoy what we have around us locally. 

Someone's not happy

I'm an American obsessed with castles. Since we don't have any structures this old in the U.S., I'm fascinated by them. I've wanted to visit Hoensbroek Castle since we moved here. Three and a half years later...we made it!

Feeling better :)

The scientist always has to stop to do a puzzle. :)

Nap time

Weekend in Terschelling

Adventures with Jaap has taken yet another hiatus. It's been long enough and it's time to get back to the blog. I miss this creative outlet even if Jaap is the only one who reads it. :) Love you babe. Our lives have been busy the past couple of months. Busy time of year at work, traveling to the U.S., and preparing for our biggest life change, Baby Jansen. In a few short (but feels very long) weeks, Jaap and I will soon become Adventures with Jaap +1! Our household is growing and if all goes smoothly, we'll be adding another little Jansen-Pardo baby to the mix. It's not necessarily an excuse for why the blog has been neglected (yet again) because I wonder how much I will blog once the baby comes. :) As I enjoy my maternity leave and the benefits of being a pregnant woman in the Netherlands,  here's a little bit about  one of our latest adventures up north to one of the West Frisian islands. 

Making our way to the beach

My first trip to the North sea

The Jansen family gave us a weekend getaway to Terschelling as part of our wedding gift. We had the most relaxing weekend I can remember and I enjoyed my first trip to Friesland.

Terschelling via Wikipedia

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Traveling by car and then ferry forced us to get around the island by bike. A healthy choice for my 7 month pregnant self. I felt a sense of accomplishment that weekend riding around on that bike in those chilly temps. It was quite beautiful though.

Enjoying a beer at the beach

And since there's really not much to do in Terschelling except visit the beach, ride bikes, and apparently eat cranberries, the greatest sense of calm and relaxation came over me. Our hotel had this very cozy lounge area with a bar and fireplace. We spent one evening drinking tea and playing games by the fire. Can you feel the gezelligheid? 

Brandaris 

navigating through the "forest"

With Jaap as our navigator we had a lovely bike ride from our hotel to West Terschelling on the other side of the island. Riding through sand dunes and the "forest" brought me into a sense of calm before the last few busy weeks of work before maternity leave. It was so peaceful and quiet there. 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Terschelling, eat cranberries. We discovered the island is famous for their cranberry production. We found a "cranberry cafe" and enjoyed a hot cup of tea and some delicious desserts. This slice of cranberry cheesecake was lekker!

We ended our stay in Terschelling with a great concert on Saturday. Only my husband could find a brass ensemble concert in the middle of nowhere. The music was top notch.

Thank you to the Jansens for this gift and thank you to my husband for a great "babymoon" weekend together before our little one arrives. :)

Alaaf til you drop 2012: Part I

My favorite thing about living in the southern part of the Netherlands has to be Carnaval. Hands down, it's the most exciting and unique thing about Maastricht. Brabant and Limburg come alive with costumes, parades, all day long partying, and bad Carnaval music. What's not to love?

Even though Maastricht is THE place to celebrate, I really enjoy celebrating in Jaap's hometown. We went to Oirschot on Friday night along with our American-Dutch group of friends from Maastricht. Seeing the Redtband is a great way to get the festivities started. Thank you to Trees & Jan who hosted us for the night. It was nice to spend time with you. And one of the best parts, we got to see Jaap's party band live. Always a good time!

Here's some footage of our Friday night with the Redtband. 

The Redtband

Jaap's parents met us out for a drink

Pete, Jacob, Arie & Jenny ready to party

Carnaval isn't over yet. We still have one more day of partying, drinks, and good times. I'm glad that I took today off to recover. I "alaaf-ed" til I dropped. But, the fun continues tomorrow for the closing night of this wonderful holiday!