Tuesday, September 30
Gerard, Esther’s dad, drove us with the bulk of our luggage, the hour long drive, to Wageningen where we met with Hanny and Roy, our host, and so we could drop off our luggage. It was a good meeting and Hanny and Roy showed us all of the ins and outs of their house. Gerard hit it off with Roy, like he does with most people, and they talked the whole time. After a couple of hours at the house and before heading home, Aalsmeer, we drove the short distance to Bennekom for lunch. Walking back to the car after lunch we stopped at a bike store, Hartman, it was the same store I stopped in back in May. I looked at and rode several bikes before settling on the Gazelle Chamonix C8 L57 Metallic. They call the color orange but I say it’s burnt red and I like the color and it should be ready for pickup on Friday.

We drove back to Aalsmeer and had some leftovers at Gerard’s place. I wasn’t feeling great with maybe the beginnings of a sore throat so we went to bed early – I didn’t sleep well that night – just couldn’t quit thinking about things.

Wednesday, October 1

Gerard drove Esther and I to the Schiphol airport so we could catch a train to Wageningen – we just had our small carry-on bags. Esther spent some time showing me all about the trains, buses and how to read the schedules. Esther has gotten me a Flex ticket which means I can travel free by public transportation during non peak times (9AM to 4PM then after 6:30PM) .

I feel a cold coming on so I took a packet of vitamin C (1,000mg) and slept pretty good in our new bed. The house is very dark at night making going to the bathroom in the middle of the night a little scary especially with the stairs right by the bathroom door.
Dinner: Pan seared salmon, mashed potatoes, calliflower, salad.

Thursday, October 2
Woke up, dressed and went downstairs around 6:30 – got up twice to use the bathroom. Made some coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, did a load of laundry and rested most of the morning. I was felling better than last night but wanted to catch up on some rest.
Went out on a bike ride and to check out a new grocery store(Lidl) – it was nice and bought a few grocery items.
Came home for lunch – made a ham and cheese sandwich with lots of lettuce. Esther got home around 2PM and did her zoom meetings with students from here. I rode my bike to Bennekom to see about my new bike and when tomorrow it might be ready.

Dinner: Chicken breasts, rice, zucchini, salad, onion, and garlic

Friday, October 3
Got up at 7 this morning, dressed and went on a maybe 2-1/2 mile walk, Esther did some running back and forth and got in about 3-1/2 miles. It’s day 3 and I feel we are starting to settle in and getting a routine going. So far the weather has been perfect but I think its about ready to change.
Esther left for the lab around 9:30 – just in time for coffee – which we laugh at. The lab has a coffee time at 10AM where everyone gets together, has coffee and shares information – Esther seems to always get to the lab in time for coffee – maybe next week we will be settled enough for her to get in a little earlier.
I left for Bennekom to pick up my new bike around 10:20 and I was proud because I navigated the public transit system all by myself.
Dinner: Chicken vegetable soup with cauliflower on the side because we had a big head of it. The soup had onions, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes, puree tomatoes and a chicken breast. I made the stock with water and chicken bouillon and was very happy with the results.

Saturday, October 4
Slept in till 7:30 this morning – I still have the remints of a cold and it’s 55 degrees, windy and rainy outside – welcome to the Netherlands in the winter.
I found some very tasty treats at the grocery store.

After the rain stopped Saturday morning we rode our bikes to this small local market and got some root veggies, apples and some locally made mead. We then rode our bikes into town to a meat market and to a bakery for some fresh bread – the rain has stopped, it’s about 55 degrees and very windy outside.

After getting the beer I went for a beautiful bike ride out in the country. There was some wind and heavy gusts at times and the skies were a threatening but it was quiet and peaceful with miles to ride on roads like this. a little cool it was very quiet. On my way home a heavy storm blew through with heavy winds, rain and hail – it only lasted 10 minutes or so but I had to take refuge behind a road side building.

Dinner: roasted cauliflower with garlic, turmeric and other spices, leftover rice dish, small pork fillet and a salad.Tea after dinner and some Youtube comedians before heading to bed,

Sunday, October 5
Esther woke up coughing and sneezing this morning – I think she got my cold. We had an egg frittata this morning with all of our leftovers, rice, pork, cauliflower – I figured out how to use the broiler and used it this morning. Gerard and Menno are driving out to see us and we made a very yummy soup for them with carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, celery, bean sprouts, chicken stock and tomato puree.

Gerben and Menno drove down for a visit and had a late lunch(3PM) with us – we made a chicken, tomato soup – our first guests to host. Esther’s still not feeling great. I rode to the grocery store to get some oranges and a few other things we needed and a pizza we could have as a snack later. After our pizza and salad we were having some tea when the door bell rang – I was startled. Who would be ringing our doorbell at 8PM on a Sunday night? It was Annemieke, Esther’s friend and college roomate, she lives close by and rode her bike down to say hello and welcome us. Her mother-in-law had passed away on Friday and she and William, her husband, were busy attending to her. She had some tea and cookies with us – it was a short visit. This concludes week one.