Farewell and Hello

Well the time has come to post my final entry for my 6 months in Amsterdam, my adventures, and my travels. There are a number of people who befriended me during my stay, other expats and some Dutch, who I will miss and hope to keep in touch with. And I must give a big thanks to those who came to my rescue and who were a great help navigating the Dutch healthcare system for my emergency hospital stay. The Dutch must be tolerant as they had to put up with me and I haven't heard any complaints, well maybe the one flower merchant.

So what have I learned during my stay? Cheese is a separate food group from diary, be careful of the type of soy sauce you buy, shop the Turkish markets for produce and grains, and that the Dutch can be very blunt about their opinions but not in a hurtful way. I have confirmed that I enjoy living in Europe and can adapt to my environment. The one thing I do wish that I could take back is cycling culture. Yeah back home Davis is a cycling community and it is very flat here but still it is a great alternative transportation mode. As are the trams, buses, and trains which Americans once had but have now moved to the automobile culture.

So here are a few final photos:

Yes, there are windmills in the Netherlands 

Bench at Zorgvlied

Globe made from recycled plastic drinking bottles

Entrance to the Hermitage in Amsterdam

Blauwburg

Low bridge just high enough for canal tour boat

Merchant sign in Amsterdam Nord

The EYE film museum

Tulips anyone?

Little elf at the local cake shop

For those of you in the US I will be home soon and hope to be able to say hello to everyone shortly but first there is my son's wedding to attend. So what will the next adventure be? Not certain yet but I am sure it involves travelling to a far off location so stay tuned.

Could some on please explain to me how I gained so much stuff while here?!? But I didn't lose any socks, hmmm very interesting ;-)