A quick drive around the city

Downward hond

So I finally have all this time to drink wine and eat cheese... Errr all this time to do things that have been neglected like look at art, write and do something active.

Before I came here I did a bunch of research and there is a fitness studio only 2 minutes from my family's place- so they got me sorted for yoga.

I think it's been about 7 years- and it only really dawned on me when I saw my yoga teaching friend this summer and told her of my plan, that the class would be good, but also be in Dutch.

Lucky for me people are friendly, willing to help and translate and understanding that I am pretty pathetic in any speaking/understanding skills.

The teacher was good at peppering in comments like "knees up" or "stretch arms" and even once had other students pipe up when she (obviously) had to ask the WHOLE class for the translation of "belly button"

Those poor other students.

But good for me! I will try to go to 2 classes per week while I am here. The only 2 things I totally understood were: pose for kinder (child's pose) and downward hond (hond means dog)!

Considering I had not ridden a bike at all in about 3 years, going on a 20km bike ride was a bit crazy. But when you're cruising along and riding by canals and fields and cows and sheep.. And the wind in your hair. It's pretty perfect. Here they do it really well- looking stylish, reading, texting or listening to music- or all 3 while still navigating a bike.

Impressions

So all is well on this side of the water. I start with water as I have a point I think I should clarify from yesterday: one of the stories from my mothers childhood that I think of often, but especially when I am here (and every time I see a canal) is that of a story where her brother fell into a canal in Amsterdam. I think it involved something about having one foot on land and the other on a floating surface and the distance got too great. Needless to say, 60 years ago you did not want to fall in a canal and 60 years later I thought this was still the case and no one in their right mind would CHOOSE to swim many kilometers in it for fun. So I was in total disbelief of seeing en masse group loving it!

Last night we had a family dinner and this morning we went into Amsterdam for some errands including a market and a famous bakery. Bread was super delicious!

Btw... Here is the view from my lovely attic room... That is the back yard and the canal right behind where the swimmers where yesterday:

Weesp, Netherlands triathlon September 2 1:10pm

Canal swim anyone?

Odd

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

Thanks air transat. Good flight but I read this as an actual warning for children. Nope it's the movie description listed:

Here we go