Advertisement
Published: March 15th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Sinterklaus 2008
A girl waits patiently for Sinterklaus to arrive! So of course so much can happen between November and December. And then again also so little can happen. Well for me it was a fair bit and let me tell you it was really good!
Resuming from the last entry;
Dad leaving was sad. Even though I have friends here in Amsterdam when dad left it made me feel lonely - like I was a little alone here.
But thats by no means true. Shortly after dad left it was Sinterklaas on the 5 December. There are some photos and videos from the parade I went to for Sinterklaas with Shetal and Alyson on 5 December in the main street of Amsterdam. Also a funny video that I thought I would include. If you want to see more photos of Sinterklaas when he was here have a look at:
More sinterklaas photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dkruchkoff/Sinterklaus05December2008?authkey=Gv1sRgCJbv4YaPqsH4aA&feat=directlink#
Sinterklaas (also called Sint-Nicolaas or De Goedheiligman in Dutch and Saint Nicolas in French) is a traditional Winter holiday figure in the Netherlands, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles and Belgium, celebrated every year on Saint Nicholas' eve (December 5) or, in Belgium, on the morning of December 6. The feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas, patron
saint of, among other things, children.
Apparently it is also celebrated in parts of France (North, Alsace, Lorraine), as well as in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and in the town of Trieste and in Eastern Friuli in Italy. Additionally, many Roman Catholics of Alsatian and Lotharingian descent in Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrate "Saint Nicholas Day" on the morning of December 6. The traditions differ from country to country, even between Belgium and the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas' Eve (December 5) is the chief occasion for gift-giving. The evening is called "sinterklaasavond" or "pakjesavond" ("presents evening"). In Belgium and the Netherlands, children put their shoe in front of the fireplace on the evening of December 5th, then go to bed, and find the presents around the shoes on the morning of the 6th. It was a fun parade and we had a really good day.
Then I had a really special surprise. Nadia came to visit me! That was really perfect actually. Exactly what I needed. I felt so spoiled to have her and my dad come in such a short period really the best present I could
get!
So Nadia came on November 20th. We traveled together to Germany and Austria together, as well as the Netherlands and she left early January - but more on that later.
A few days after she arrived we visited the Marijuana and Hemp museum. Some of hte pictures are on the website here and if you want to see more marijuana and hemp museum pics http://picasaweb.google.com/dkruchkoff/MarajuanaMusuem29November2008?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSZ1tutzIHrmwE&feat=directlink#
have a look at that link. The museum actually didn't have that much exciting stuff in it... apparently they have a big vapouriser that they put on every once in a while - i think Jared told me about this but they actually didn't have it on this time.
So after the Marianna and Hemp museum we also decided to give mushrooms a go as they were becoming illegal the next day 1 December 2008 I think all but one magic mushrooms - the wet kind have become illegal.
Besides the drugs, we saw the red light district and went into a coffee shop. I also walked the famous squares in Amsterdam with Nadia and it was nice to look at Amsterdam through someone elses eyes - it really is a beautiful
city.
A few days before this on November 27 we went to Amsterdam Amstel International Hotel and dined at La Rive - I took Nadia to this restaurant for her birthday. To see the menu and more about the hotel here http://www.amsterdam.intercontinental.com/restaurants_and_bars/la_rive.cfm but apparently it got 3 Michelin stars for its cuisine. It was pretty nice we had a 5 course meal and I think Nadia found the pigeon dish really interesting. If you want to see more of Nadia's birthday have a look at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dkruchkoff/NadiasBirthdayDinner27November2008?authkey=Gv1sRgCLvb4vrD6Pf_hQE&feat=directlink#
It was a really nice night and I think Nadia had a good time too. Well as we have Americans roomies or rather I do - and Nadia also did for the month she stayed with me... well on 27 November it was thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday. I think as Alyson told me it was like to signify the peace (or the apparent peace) that was reached
with Americans and Native American Indians and they all sat together and had a big meal of turkey - or maybe vegetarian turkey if they weren't of the carnivorous type and joined by a bottle of rum yarahahaharaa.., actually i have no idea about the rum either that was added for effect. Well since we were working and busy on thanksgiving we postponed the festivities to the Saturday the 30 November - which you can also watch on video through the blog.
And one more final celebration was New Years. We did New Years in Amsterdam - me and Nadia did along with Allie as unfortunately Al(y)son had left our presence - gone back to Chicago. That was really sad.
On new years we went to the city, to Dam square and watched the fireworks had a few drinks, partied on and met some french. To see more photos have a look here at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dkruchkoff/NewYearsEve31December2008?authkey=Gv1sRgCN23kqPqy5aC7gE&feat=directlink#
And then Nadia's visit came to an end... it was really sad and I had grown so attached to her like a married woman does. We had our fare share of arguments and domestics and our cries and laughs but letting her
go.... was not so easy...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.055s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 11; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0277s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
ak
non-member comment
please change the date 4 the blog entry
from the 6th of jan to 6th of dec -ta love u dad