Pinkpop + a 5K= a great weekend

What a great weekend. There were lots of things going on this weekend that kept us busy with friends, music, and running. It's good to be a resident in the Netherlands during the month of June. In the past two weeks we've had three holidays. Not bad. Today is Pinksteren, that would be Pentecost in English. Don't ask me what it means, although my mother knew. She's Catholic though. I have no idea what today's holiday is about and Jaap gave me some vague explanation, but I am appreciating having this day off to relax, enjoy, and bake chocolate chip cookies. 

On Saturday we attended Pinkpop, a three day music festival about 30 minutes north of Maastricht. It's a pop/rock festival that takes place every year over the Pinksteren holiday. We went with some of Jaap's friends. I don't think we'll go again because a pop festival is just not our thing, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We heard a bunch of bands of I had never heard of but was still familiar with some of their music. (Lifehouse, Simple Plan, Manic Street Preachers). The highlight of the night was the headliner, Coldplay. What a great concert! They were incredible. I wouldn't consider myself a Coldplay fan, but I am now. It was great and fun to 'rock out' with Jaap. 

Saturday morning I ran a 5K with my friend Angela in the Maastricht Mooiste. I wish I had a picture to post here. It was so much fun and special thanks to Angela for pushing me along. We were both happy with our time and enjoyed a nice lunch and some glasses of rosé afterwards while watching the 15K participants run by. 

Here are some pictures and videos of our fun at Pinkpop. 

Here's Jaap with his Pinkpop hat. (He forgot his baseball cap at home). :)

Waiting for Coldplay

Exploring Limburg: Valkenburg

Adventures with Jaap continues with another day trip to another town in beautiful Limburg. Two weeks ago, we took an afternoon trip to Valkenburg, a well-known and touristic town close to Maastricht. The weather was beautiful and we spent the day outdoors followed by a romantic anniversary dinner on a terrace in Maastricht. It was the perfect Saturday. 

Valkenburg has some castle ruins that are very unique to the Netherlands. These ruins sit on top of a tall hill near the center of town and from the top, there are some nice views of Valkenburg below. Our travel guide book says that the first structures of this castle started in 1087. Oh the history! It reminded us of visiting Altes Schloss outside of Baden Baden, Germany back in August.

After exploring the castle, we walked along the streets full of cafés and shops in the city center. I little too touristy for us, but I did see a Mexican restaurant. This is always good news, since there are NO Mexican restaurants in Maastricht. I know, it's tragic. I feel bad that Maastrichters are not experiencing this amazing cuisine. :(

Grendelpoort (14th century gateway)

 Here are some more shots of Valkenburg. I wish I knew more about this little castle. There are lots of pretty things to see in this cute town. 

Our Saturday ended with a nice romantic dinner at Le Courage on Rechtstraat to celebrate our anniversay. Rechtstraat is a cute street in our neighborhood with lots of nice restaurants and speciality shops. Le Courage just has one set menu each night, which makes ordering a breeze. No choices! I like that. Please note the beautiful cocktail. Lekker, lekker, lekker!!! It's a combination of Prosecco and a raspberry liquor. Everything was delicious. Thanks Jaapie for a nice romantic weekend.

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

Queen's Day & Tulips!!!!!!

Queen's Day, lots of tulips, and clogs. It's been a very Dutch week for me. Last Saturday was Koninginnedag, an official holiday that celebrates the Queen's birthday. Technically Queen Beatrix's birthday is in January, but the holiday remains on April 30th (the previous Queen's birthday) so the Dutch can celebrate in warm weather. 

Koninginnedag in Maastricht is pretty tame. The real party takes place in Amsterdam with more music, people, and drinking. However, we still managed to enjoy the day with warm weather and the largest flea market (vrijmarkt) I have ever seen in my life! On Queen's Day the Dutch government allows people to sell their goods (more like junk) on the street without paying a sales tax. It's a very kid-friendly holiday where kids sell their toys and baked goods throughout the park. We also saw a lot of young musicians performing on the streets. We threw a couple of euro cents to some beginning flute players playing at one of the vrijmarkts. It was very cute. Jaap and I bought some CDs and another kitchen good for myself. We spent a whopping 3.50. Woo hoo!

Vrijmarkt at the Stadpark. Jaap wearing the Dutch color.

The Stad park had some pavilions set up with live music and food. We listened to a big band perform while enjoying some drinks. Here's a picture of Jaap enjoying the holiday. I'm not sure if you can tell, but he was dancing in this shot. One of his signature moves. Now...on to the tulips!

When most Americans think of Holland they think of clogs, tulips, and windmills. Oh, and of course legalized marijuana. I have yet to experience the joys of coffeshops and smoking pot in the Netherlands, but I can now check the Keukenhof off my list. What a sight! The Keukenhof is very unique and like nothing you have ever seen before. Jaap's parents treated me to a day at the Keukenhof. I'm glad I was able to go there with Jaap's family and enjoy it with others. Jaap was really sad he missed it. Just kidding. :) Special thanks to Jan and Trees for the trip! Het was gezellig!

The Keukenhof is famous for large fields covered with huge blocks of color from different types of tulips. Unfortunately, we were about a week or two too late and the tulips in the fields have come and gone. However, there is still a lot of see at the Keukenhof and the gardens are really spectacular. Throughout the park there are different pavilions that house more exotic flowers as well. 

Did you know that the Netherlands is the number one exporter of tulip bulbs in the world? These people really know their flowers. It's one of the many little things I love about living here. I once bought 50 tulips at the market for 5 euros. That's ridiculous! I've gotten into the habit of buying flowers at the market once a week to bring some more color and nature into our apartment. I love that buying flowers is so affordable. 

I feel so Dutch!

Dutch people, on the other hand, keep many plants and flowers in their homes and gardens. Gardening here is serious business. Jaap is responsible for watering the plants in our apartment. I forget that we even have them. I'm pretty sure I was born without a green thumb. My former roomate and very close friend, Debbie, had a great saying when we lived together in Boston. She used to say, "Elena, this is where plants come to die." It's so true. I've killed every plant I've ever had. For now, Jaap can water the plants and I'll keep buying my tulips at the market. :)

Jan enjoying the clogs.