On Thursday, March 24th, our friend Mike Giligson (aka Gil) arrived from Vancouver. John was flying out of Heathrow for Amsterdam when Gil’s plane landed so they managed a quick visit. John went to Amsterdam for a work meeting on Thursday night and an ice hockey tournament with his new British team, The Westminster Statesmen, from Friday to Sunday (you have to call it ice hockey here because “hockey” means field hockey). Teams were travelling from parts of Europe and North America for the tournament.
On the trip, we were lucky to have the company of Gil, our friend Dan (aka Dan the Man, DTM, from Van but lives in London) and our travel buddies Jess and Andrew (J&A). John’s tourney was in Zoetermeer, about an hour’s train ride from Amsterdam. John and I stayed in Zoetermeer, while J&A, DTM and Gil stayed near the action in Amsterdam (AMS).
I flew with Dan and Mike on Friday night. Our flight was occupied by two different groups of guys on stags, one of which was sitting in the row behind me. Needless to say, they were loud and obnoxious, and to add to it, the guys behind me had the morphed British accents which are like nails one a chalkboard to me. Pronunciation examples: sumfink instead of something, bruva instead of brother, “init?” which translates to “isn’t it?” but is used in any context even when it makes no sense. (I’m going to drink my body weight in Heineken this weekend, init?) I shouldn’t say anything bad though because I imagine that is what John and all his buddies will be like enroute to Vegas in August for Kristian’s stag.
J&A arrived in Schiphol on a slightly earlier flight and John took the train in to meet us all. We promptly parted ways; the AMS crew took a cab to their hotel and John and I trained to Zoetermeer. We used the time to catch up. John had a game Friday afternoon, which they unfortunately lost. He had heard from other players that in previous years after games local kids (and teenagers) hang around the dressing rooms for autographs. The tradition continued and John even signed some – keep an eye out for a hockey autograph on eBay with a negative reserve price…
The train ride went by quickly but I still had time for a little people watching. The lady beside us had the neatest fold up bike; it collapsed down to about the size of brief case. We saw them many times over the next few days. Across the isle from us was a man with a big pit bull at his feet; they lived up to the dog resembling owner stereotype.
Our hotel was right by the train station which was convenient, but it didn’t even come close to its 4 star rating (I’d say more like 2). Our TV had a message displayed for us, “Welcome Mr. and Mr. Weatherill”. We were definitely in Holland.
John was up early on Saturday to get to the rink for his 8:00 a.m. game. I waited until the second game, which was at the more respectable time of 10:40, to begin my “puck bunny” duties. I was in far better shape than a fellow puck bunny who was partying until 5:30am, but I was not nearly as devoted as one lady, Sarah, who got up for the 8:00 game, with a hangover, was losing her voice from screaming and had her nails painted in team colours. I got a kick out of Sarah’s boyfriend, also John, who lit up a cigarette on the bench in between periods! The arena had a speed skating track around the top of the stands; training grounds for more Dutch Olympians. The Statesmen were victorious in their second game which propelled them into the finals – scheduled for 8:00 am Sunday morning (same morning as European daylight savings “spring forward” came into effect).
John and I trained into AMS mid afternoon and enjoyed the passing views of green fields, canals, daffodils, and windmills. It is quite strange looking across a field and seeing a boat floating in the middle of it. After spending the morning at Anne Frank House and exploring AMS, A&J met us at central station and we walked around for a while. John and I had been in AMS before, on the last two days of our honeymoon, so we weren’t itching to hit all the sites. As we strolled, memories came flooding back and the streets and buildings felt so familiar. We made our way to a pancake house that we ate at on our honeymoon and decided to indulge again; everyone opted for sweet, not savory. We then walked through the flower market, past several public urinals, into Rembrant’s square and then found ourselves at a pub serving beer on the patio.
During this time Gil and DTM were napping at Hotel Euphemia and we figured it was time to get them up. The Euphemia was a cute 1 Star hotel, a step up from a hostel. (I thought it was cute, but I wasn’t staying there.) There were three long, very steep staircases to get up to the room, quite the hazard in my opinion, given the various activities that go on in AMS.
We all had a really fun dinner; put Mike, John, Dan and Andrew together and hilarious conversation ensues. We went to In De Wildeman pub for post-dinner drinks on Andrew’s friend’s recommendation. What a great spot; very old, neat posters on the walls, over 200 different kinds of beers and perfect for more fun conversations. Unfortunately, John and I cut the evening short so we could catch the train back to Zoetermeer. We arrived at our hotel at 12:30 and wished our 5 hour sleep could have been longer.
John was up, raring to go for the big final! I was moving very slowly (I managed to nap in the arena bar before and after the game). The first period was evenly matched, point for point, but then things got scrappy and turned for the worse for the Statesmen. They lost, which put them 2nd place overall in the tourney. Not bad for John’s first hockey tournament ever, eh? John has a new plaque to put beside his previous “man of the match” plaque in the bathroom.
We spent the rest of the day with our travelling companions in the adorably cute town of Delft. Before we left on our honeymoon several years ago, a customer of mine who was from Delft recommended going there. We didn’t make it at the time so I had t
o do it this trip. What a highlight! I highly recommend. Delft is like a mini Amsterdam but more rural. It has really neat old buildings, including several churches (one with a leaning bell tower) and a huge town hall. Vermeer, the painter of The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Milkmaid, is from Delft, and so is the famous blue and white pottery.
We had a very yummy lunch of savory and sweet pancakes in the warm sun in the town square. Heaven! Then Jess guided us on a walking tour past all of the town’s architectural highlights. I just loved exploring Delft! It shouldn’t be a big surprise that we stopped for a beer after the walk.
We all took the train back to Schiphol airport and had dinner there before our flights. John, Mike, Dan and I were faced with a huge line up at customs in Heathrow but it was nothing compared to the over two hour delay A&J had leaving AMS.
I know I keep saying this, but it was another great weekend away! I’m so grateful for these experiences and for having people to share them with. Have a look at more photos on Andrew and Jess’s blog from March 26th on http://www.fushmush.net/. Thank you to all our traveling companions – you made it a great time! Thank you John for organising (your Christmas present). I hope you enjoyed it :)
John and Mike headed to Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday, the home town of Mike’s parents. Mike brought a DVD with him of film footage shot by his Dad in the late sixties of Vilnius and area. We watched it on Monday night. It was fascinating to see what the city used to look like, but even more fascinating to see the people and how they lived, and hear their stories. I’m sure it will make going to Vilnius even more meaningful and interesting for Mike and John after watching this.
On the trip, we were lucky to have the company of Gil, our friend Dan (aka Dan the Man, DTM, from Van but lives in London) and our travel buddies Jess and Andrew (J&A). John’s tourney was in Zoetermeer, about an hour’s train ride from Amsterdam. John and I stayed in Zoetermeer, while J&A, DTM and Gil stayed near the action in Amsterdam (AMS).
I flew with Dan and Mike on Friday night. Our flight was occupied by two different groups of guys on stags, one of which was sitting in the row behind me. Needless to say, they were loud and obnoxious, and to add to it, the guys behind me had the morphed British accents which are like nails one a chalkboard to me. Pronunciation examples: sumfink instead of something, bruva instead of brother, “init?” which translates to “isn’t it?” but is used in any context even when it makes no sense. (I’m going to drink my body weight in Heineken this weekend, init?) I shouldn’t say anything bad though because I imagine that is what John and all his buddies will be like enroute to Vegas in August for Kristian’s stag.
J&A arrived in Schiphol on a slightly earlier flight and John took the train in to meet us all. We promptly parted ways; the AMS crew took a cab to their hotel and John and I trained to Zoetermeer. We used the time to catch up. John had a game Friday afternoon, which they unfortunately lost. He had heard from other players that in previous years after games local kids (and teenagers) hang around the dressing rooms for autographs. The tradition continued and John even signed some – keep an eye out for a hockey autograph on eBay with a negative reserve price…
The train ride went by quickly but I still had time for a little people watching. The lady beside us had the neatest fold up bike; it collapsed down to about the size of brief case. We saw them many times over the next few days. Across the isle from us was a man with a big pit bull at his feet; they lived up to the dog resembling owner stereotype.
Our hotel was right by the train station which was convenient, but it didn’t even come close to its 4 star rating (I’d say more like 2). Our TV had a message displayed for us, “Welcome Mr. and Mr. Weatherill”. We were definitely in Holland.
John was up early on Saturday to get to the rink for his 8:00 a.m. game. I waited until the second game, which was at the more respectable time of 10:40, to begin my “puck bunny” duties. I was in far better shape than a fellow puck bunny who was partying until 5:30am, but I was not nearly as devoted as one lady, Sarah, who got up for the 8:00 game, with a hangover, was losing her voice from screaming and had her nails painted in team colours. I got a kick out of Sarah’s boyfriend, also John, who lit up a cigarette on the bench in between periods! The arena had a speed skating track around the top of the stands; training grounds for more Dutch Olympians. The Statesmen were victorious in their second game which propelled them into the finals – scheduled for 8:00 am Sunday morning (same morning as European daylight savings “spring forward” came into effect).
John and I trained into AMS mid afternoon and enjoyed the passing views of green fields, canals, daffodils, and windmills. It is quite strange looking across a field and seeing a boat floating in the middle of it. After spending the morning at Anne Frank House and exploring AMS, A&J met us at central station and we walked around for a while. John and I had been in AMS before, on the last two days of our honeymoon, so we weren’t itching to hit all the sites. As we strolled, memories came flooding back and the streets and buildings felt so familiar. We made our way to a pancake house that we ate at on our honeymoon and decided to indulge again; everyone opted for sweet, not savory. We then walked through the flower market, past several public urinals, into Rembrant’s square and then found ourselves at a pub serving beer on the patio.
During this time Gil and DTM were napping at Hotel Euphemia and we figured it was time to get them up. The Euphemia was a cute 1 Star hotel, a step up from a hostel. (I thought it was cute, but I wasn’t staying there.) There were three long, very steep staircases to get up to the room, quite the hazard in my opinion, given the various activities that go on in AMS.
We all had a really fun dinner; put Mike, John, Dan and Andrew together and hilarious conversation ensues. We went to In De Wildeman pub for post-dinner drinks on Andrew’s friend’s recommendation. What a great spot; very old, neat posters on the walls, over 200 different kinds of beers and perfect for more fun conversations. Unfortunately, John and I cut the evening short so we could catch the train back to Zoetermeer. We arrived at our hotel at 12:30 and wished our 5 hour sleep could have been longer.John was up, raring to go for the big final! I was moving very slowly (I managed to nap in the arena bar before and after the game). The first period was evenly matched, point for point, but then things got scrappy and turned for the worse for the Statesmen. They lost, which put them 2nd place overall in the tourney. Not bad for John’s first hockey tournament ever, eh? John has a new plaque to put beside his previous “man of the match” plaque in the bathroom.
We spent the rest of the day with our travelling companions in the adorably cute town of Delft. Before we left on our honeymoon several years ago, a customer of mine who was from Delft recommended going there. We didn’t make it at the time so I had t
o do it this trip. What a highlight! I highly recommend. Delft is like a mini Amsterdam but more rural. It has really neat old buildings, including several churches (one with a leaning bell tower) and a huge town hall. Vermeer, the painter of The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Milkmaid, is from Delft, and so is the famous blue and white pottery.We had a very yummy lunch of savory and sweet pancakes in the warm sun in the town square. Heaven! Then Jess guided us on a walking tour past all of the town’s architectural highlights. I just loved exploring Delft! It shouldn’t be a big surprise that we stopped for a beer after the walk.
We all took the train back to Schiphol airport and had dinner there before our flights. John, Mike, Dan and I were faced with a huge line up at customs in Heathrow but it was nothing compared to the over two hour delay A&J had leaving AMS.
I know I keep saying this, but it was another great weekend away! I’m so grateful for these experiences and for having people to share them with. Have a look at more photos on Andrew and Jess’s blog from March 26th on http://www.fushmush.net/. Thank you to all our traveling companions – you made it a great time! Thank you John for organising (your Christmas present). I hope you enjoyed it :)
John and Mike headed to Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday, the home town of Mike’s parents. Mike brought a DVD with him of film footage shot by his Dad in the late sixties of Vilnius and area. We watched it on Monday night. It was fascinating to see what the city used to look like, but even more fascinating to see the people and how they lived, and hear their stories. I’m sure it will make going to Vilnius even more meaningful and interesting for Mike and John after watching this.
I should also note that Mike made us an awesome dinner on Monday night and even got John to eat spinach! Thanks Mike!!
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