Happy Halloween!

(post by John, pictures by Jen)

Happy Halloween 2012!

We celebrated by hosting the International School of Amsterdam (ISA) trick-or-treat event in our neighborhood in Amstelveen and turning our single car garage (think small, European single car) into a haunted house!

I dressed up as the Grim Reaper using my Dad's old costume and the kids helped me put a little fright into their classmates.  We had around 300 trick-or-treaters and ran out of candy by 7:15...so it was a successful night!  We hoped you enjoyed halloween as well.

Jack-o-Lanterns

Scary kids plus a bumble bee

What a handsome couple!

Our Haunted House

 

London - Fall 2012

(post by John, pictures by Jen)

I unfortunately had to make a trip back to the US for work meetings during the kids week-long October break from school.  With me out of the way...Jen and the kids packed their bags and headed to London.  Jen's best friend from high school Nikki now lives in London so it was a reunion as well.  I will try to talk Jen or one of the kids into elaborating more in this post, but for now are a couple pictures:

The Kids in front of Harrod's Department Store

Jen and Nikki

Oktoberfest!

(posted by John)

On October 6, 2012 I attended Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with nine other friends http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest.  Most of this crew, originally dubbed the Amsterdam 8, had also attended the Scotch Whiskey tour in June. 

Oktoberfest felt like a state or country fair times 100.  Food, rides, and lots of people!  We had reservations for a table at the Pschorr Braurosl http://www.oktoberfestoktoberfest.com/about/braurosl-hacker-pschorr/, one of 20-30 beer “tents” on the Oktoberfest grounds.  These tents are more like warehouses complete with oompah bands, food, and liter sized mugs of beer!

Prost!

We spent the afternoon in the beer tent and the evening at the Hofbrauhaus.  Another great male bonding weekend!

Take care,

John

Biking up Alpe d'Huez

(posted by John)

On September 26-29 I traveled to France with four of my friends to bike in the French Alps.  I have never biked up significant hills much less mountains so this was going to be quite a new experience….

Our Hotel - They cater to Dutch Cyclists

We arrived in Allemont, France on the Afternoon of the 27^th.  We checked into the hotel and went for a “warm-up ride” to prepare for the next two days.  That warm-up ride was about 35km including a 10km climb to Col d’Orson http://www.tourdoisans.com/col%20d'ornon.asp .

On top of Col d'Ornon

  It was on this climb that I realized two things:

1.       I needed a smaller gear if I was going to survive for the next two days

2.       I wished I had done more training for biking in the mountains!

I potentially could solve #1, but I would have to deal with #2.  Luckily there was a bike shop open in town and so I was better setup for the serious mountain rides.

We left the hotel at 10:00 on the 28^th, starting with a light ride until we reached the base of Alpe d’Huez http://www.bikes-oisans.com/cycling-oisans-158.html .  Alpe d’Huez is one of the legendary climbs of the Tour de France.  And it did not disappoint.  Beautiful views and plenty of pain!  But I made it!  What a great experience.



Vouder, John, Marcel, Jaap and Zander at the top of Alpe d'Huez



We didn’t stop there.  We went on to bike up the Col d’Sarenne as well http://www.steephill.tv/2006/col-de-sarenne/ The total tally for the day…8 hours on the bike, 96 km traveled.  I was spent…

The next day was a bit easier but considering how my legs felt (not good) it was hard as well.  Another 30km or so including a 10km climb and I was back at the hotel after about 2:15 hrs.  For the rest of the evening we celebrated our accomplishment!

Take care,

John

An Autumn Weekend in Switzerland

(posted by John, photos by Jen)

We headed to Switzerland before the autumn weather became too cold.  Lausanne was our destination city on the shores of Lake Geneva http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lausanne.  Lausanne is in the French speaking portion of Switzerland (Switzerland is home to four native language regions:  German, French, Italian, and Romansh).  I originally traveled to Lausanne in 2004 while working for Medtronic and immediately fell in love with the city and region.  It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and I have been looking forward to sharing that experience with Jen and the kids.

We departed The Netherlands on Thursday, September 20 by plane and about an hour later we arrived in Geneva.  We immediately boarded a train and headed to our hotel in Espresse on the shores of Lake Geneva.  No car this trip, we intended to take full advantage of the Swiss transit system.  Many believe train rides are the best part of any Swiss adventure http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/en/home.html

On the shore of Lake Geneva

 

We headed into the Swiss Alps on a beautiful Friday morning.  After multiple train connections we arrived at Schilthorn, a 10,000ft peak on which a rotating restaurant has been built http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schilthorn.  Ryan chose this as our destination as he "definitely wanted to eat in a rotating restaurant that sits on top of a mountain.”  The restaurant was featured in the James Bond movie “On her majesty’s secret service.”

The ride getting there and the destination were wonderful!  Train rides through beautiful valleys with gorgeous mountain views…

Swiss Valley viewed from the Train

 

Snow-capped mountains…





Switzerland at 10,000 ft.

 

And a rotating restaurant!

A Rotating Restaurant at 10,000 ft!

 

We stayed on the mountain for about an hour and a half before beginning our decent toward our hotel.  Early into our journey back we had a 30 minute wait for our bus connection.  As luck would have it, we were entertained by 6-7 sky-divers jumping off a cliff into the valley where we were waiting!  Very entertaining indeed!  Ryan’s curiosity was peaked by this display.  We may have an xtreme sportsman in the making.

Waiting for our bus...

 

We arrived back at the hotel quite late that evening but what a wonderful day it was

We awoke the next morning and traveled to Lausanne.  Just a short train ride from our hotel, we toured the Olympic Museum http://www.olympic.org/museum.  Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee and thus has a museum of many famous Olympic artifacts.  Unfortunately, the museum was under construction, but they had a very nice temporary exhibit where we viewed medals, torches and memorabilia from the entire modern Olympic era.

The Olympic Museum

We spent the rest of the day playing at a park located right on Lake Geneva, shopping, and eating dinner at a Lausanne restaurant famous for its cheese fondue.  The Restaurant was recommended by our Swiss neighbor Sylvie and we all enjoyed it!

Playing at the Park

 

On Sunday we took the train to Chateau de Chillon, a historic Castle located on the east end of Lake Geneva http://www.chillon.ch/en/index.cfm.  The castle is located on a rock island just off the mainland shore.  Believed to have been first occupied as a military outpost by the Romans, the first castle structure was built in the 1100’s by the House of Savoy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Savoy.  The Castle guarded a key north/south trade route from France to Italy and thus was a tax making money machine!  The House of Savoy kept control of the castle until the 1500’s when it was conquered by the Bernese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bern.  The castle lost its importance as other European trade routes developed, but it still retained its strategic military importance.

Chateau de Chillon was definitely one of the better Castles we have toured.

Chateau de Chillon

 

From the Castle we took a boat to Montreax, a lovely lake side town in between the castle and Lausanne.  We enjoyed a nice lunch in the sun before boarding the train to pick up our bags at the hotel and head to the airport.

We continue to enjoy our European adventures, in many ways they keep getting better as the kids become more experienced travelers and we start to visit sites and places that are a bit off the beaten path. 

We hope you are well.  Take care,

John





Normandy

(post by John, pictures by Jen)

We returned to Europe in mid-August, the kids started school on Thursday, August 23rd.  Sounds like a great time for a weekend trip!  We must have missed traveling throughout Europe during our summer in the States because we hit the road August 24-26 for a trip to the Normandy region of France http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy.  We learned that Normandy was settled by the Vikings from Scandinavia over 1,000 years ago!

The primary purpose of our visit was to visit the site of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings.  I had seen the invasion immortalized in the movies The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, and Band of Brothers.  I had also read accounts of the invasion.  So to stand on Omaha Beach http://www.omahabeach.org/ knowing what happened here 68+ years ago was quite a surreal experience.  Many believe the events of that day served to change the course of world history. 

Standing on Omaha Beach

We learned that they will never be able to remove all the metal from the beach.  We walked the hills that the Allied soldiers rushed to overtake the Germans.  We climbed in the bunkers that were still left on the site.  It was quite an amazing experience

Matthew in one of the German Bunkers

Omaha Beach Memorial

We also visited the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.  The site feels in some ways very similar to other military cemeteries I've visited (Fort Snelling, Arlington), but the fact that it is located overlooking Omaha beach makes for quite a stirring setting.

Ryan and Matthew in the Cemetery (English Channel in the Background)

The visit provoked many feelings.  Pride for being an American for the sacrifice made by our countrymen, righteousness that this war and our victory was in the name of Freedom, and sadness for the deaths of so many men on both sides of the conflict.

Omaha Beach Memorial Cemetery

A quote is displayed in the memorial museum that I thought accurately captures the American sentiment of WWII.  I think this quote is even more poignant in the wake of American participation in conflicts since that have been related to fighting communism or securing oil:

"If ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not for conquest, it could be found in these cemeteries.  Here was our only conquest, all we asked...was enough soil in which to bury our gallant dead." - General Mark W. Clark

On Sunday, we traveled two hours south to see the abbey at Mont St. Michel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint-Michel.  The island just off the mainland coast was originally build as a monastery in Roman times, with the existing structure being erected in the 11th and 12th centuries.  It was quite a site to see.

Jen & John in front of Mont St. Michel

Thank you for keeping up with our adventure as we enter our third year in Europe!

Take care,

John

Summer 2012 in the States

Lots to write...will get this one completed soon but wanted to get you up to date on our other adventures!

Tour de France

(posted by John)

I've always wanted to watch a stage of the Tour de France live and in person and this year I got my chance (http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html).  The prologue is the opening day of the three week event and it took place on June 30 in Liege, Belgium, a 2.5 hour drive from Amsterdam.  Overall the tour participants will ride 3,500 kilometers during the three week event.  During most of the race stages, all the riders ride in a pack together.  The opening prologue is different in that it is an individual time trial that covers only 6.5 kilometers.  The 200 or so riders leave the starting gate at two minute intervals and finished the course in 7-8 minutes.  This format makes it an especially good stage to watch in person.

I watched the stage for about 1.5 hours at a prime location.  Unfortunately, Jen and the kids had already gone back to the US for the summer so they didn't join me, but I still enjoyed the day.  

One of the riders in the Tour de France

Take care,

John

Denmark

(post by John, pictures by Jen)

We celebrated the end of our second school year in Amsterdam by traveling to Denmark for a long weekend.   I had traveled to Copenhagen on two separate occasions for business when I worked for Medtronic and I thoroughly enjoyed the city http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen.  The city itself is small and compact, much like Amsterdam and thus it is quite easy to see most of the city during a short stay.

The Kids on the Hans Christian Andersen Statue

We arrived on Thursday, June 21^st, the longest day of the year!  Copenhagen is not quite as far north as Norway, but it was still light out until well past 11pm.  We rented an apartment quite close to the city center and found a trendy local eatery for dinner where we were treated to Danish cuisine and a wonderful Danish desert...but I can't remember the name :(. 

Beautiful Seaside Houses

Friday morning we awoke to rain…so we went to a museum!  This museum of Danish History was highly rated in our guide book but it did not live up to our expectations.  We continued to dodge the rain for the afternoon until it finally stopped around mid-afternoon.  At that point we started a hop-on, hop-off tour of the city in an open-top, double decker bus.  It was during this tour that we saw Copenhagen’s most famous landmark, the little mermaid statue by the sea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_(statue).  This statue is dedicated to the story written by Hans Christian Andersen.

The Little Mermaid

That evening we discovered a great Indian restaurant and a park!

Saturday was the first of two amusement park days.  In the center of Copenhagen is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, the original Tivoli Gardens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens.  I wasn’t expecting much from the “old amusement park,” but we were all very pleasantly surprised!  Modern and clean yet retaining a nostalgic feel throughout, Tivoli Gardens was awesome!  We spent the entire day at the park.

Tivoli Gardens

Early in the evening we boarded a train for Billund, Denmark http://www.legoland.dk/en/.  Why Billund?  Because that is the world headquarters for Lego! [insert link].  Yes, Denmark is the birthplace of Legos and WE LOVE LEGOS!!!.  We arrived Saturday night and met the Kopps, our friends from Amsterdam, for a full-day at Legoland Denmark on Sunday.

Our Second Legoland Adventure!

Have you ever spent a full day at an outdoor amusement park in the pouring rain?  We have!  The rain didn’t dampen our spirits as we enjoyed a day of rides and viewing Lego structures.  One significant advantage of touring an amusement park in the rain is there are very few other people at the park which means no lines for the rides!  We had a wonderful time with the Kopps at Legoland.

The Feriancek & Kopps kids in front of Mini-Legoland

We woke up early Monday morning for a 6am flight back to Amsterdam after a great trip to Denmark.

Take care,

John

Scotch Whiskey Tour with the "Amsterdam American Men's Club"

(posted by John)

I have developed a number of new friends in Amsterdam.  A number of my friends are American and have kids that attend ISA.  We typically get together on Sunday evenings in the fall to watch American Football and at other various times during the year.

In early June, me and seven of my friends traveled to Scotland for a Scotch Whiskey tour.  Now before this trip, I couldn't stand the taste of whiskey.  But I was all-in for a three day weekend away with the boys...

Scotland is the only place in the world that distrils "Scotch" and there are many rules that dictate how the whiskey must be produced to be officially called Scotch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky. 

Well, it turned out that a three day Scotch Whiskey immersion helped me "acquire" the taste for Scotch!  We only drank single malts during our tour of six different distilleries.  We learned a lot about the process to make Scotch and tasted a lot of samples!

We had such a good time that we have decided to keep getting together in Amsterdam as a means of continuing our Whiskey education.

The Amsterdam Eight

The "Boss"

(posted by John)

On Monday, May 28 (a national holiday in Holland), Jen and I traveled to the Southern Netherlands to the annual Pink Pop outdoor music festival http://www.pinkpop.nl/2012/programma/maandag/.  It was a beautiful day and night which unfortunately has been rare this year in Holland.  Jen, I and 60,000 beer drinking Dutch music fans watched Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  It was our first time seeing him live although we have always heard about his outstanding live shows.

The show was outstanding.  Bruce played for 2.5 hours without a break!  Not bad for a guy in his early 60's.  I would definitely recommend seeing him live and will do so myself if given another chance.

The Boss

Best,

John

Playing at the Park

(posted by John)

The weather in Amsterdam this spring and summer has been downright lousy.  So any day that the sun is shining is a day to enjoy.  One May Saturday Matthew, Bella and I went to our park (the one on our street) to play baseball.  A sunny day, lots of smiles, and playing ball.  Who could ask for more?

Matthew at the Bat

Bella the happy dog

Betty comes to visit Amsterdam and Paris

(post by John, pictures by Jen)

Grandma Betty made her second trip to Europe to visit us in early May, 2012. 

When she arrived, we began her trip with a tour of Amsterdam that included visiting the Anne Frank house and a canal cruise.

Later in the week, we visited Kokenhoff to view all the flowers in bloom.

But the highlight of the week was Betty’s first trip to Paris.

We left for Paris on Thursday evening, May 10.  Our road trip took a little over five hours before we arrived at our hotel in the heart of Paris.  We stayed in a hotel right on the river Seine overlooking Pont Neuf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Neuf.



Allison and Bella overlooking the Seine

 

We brought Bella with for the first time on this trip.  In the heart of Paris with a dog…why not?  We’re not rookies anymore J.  We awoke Friday morning to a partly sunny and windy day.  The weather forecast was much better for Saturday and Sunday so we made Friday our indoor day. After sleeping in (we needed some extra sleep after the late night car ride) we went to the Lourve.  Now, dogs are very welcome in Paris, but not in the Museums.  So Betty, Jen and Ryan went to tour the Lourve while Allison, Matthew and I hung out in the parks in the grounds of the Lourve.  The park team actually found a dog park for Bella to stretch her legs.  We also did a little window shopping on one of the trendy Paris streets (Allison thoroughly enjoyed this). 

In front of the Lourve

In the Lourve, Ryan showed Grandma the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and a number of other museum treasures.  Ryan is a big fan of museums so he enjoyed this immensely.

Ryan and Grandma in front of THE Mona Lisa

Friday night we found a great seafood restaurant that has been frequented by the artisan crowd for over 100 years.  The food was excellent and it was fun to dine in a restaurant that previously was frequented by Picasso among others.

Saturday afforded us the best weather of the weekend so when we woke up (which wasn’t too early) we went directly to the Eiffel Tower.  Although I have seen the Eiffel tower many times and have now seen many other European landmarks, the structure built for the 1889 World’s Fair is still my favorite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower.

The Eiffel Tower

Grandma, Jen and Matthew went up in the Tower while Allison, Ryan, Bella and I relaxed on the grounds in front of the Tower.  I was very happy to enjoy a siesta in the sun.

We enjoyed dinner near the Tower plus a stop at our favorite Gelatoria in Paris!

Gelato!

Sunday included a tour of Notre Dame and some shopping!  Allison was more than willing to lead the shopping team of her, Grandma and Jen while I led the boys and Bella to the park for some play time.

Notre Dame

We departed for home Sunday evening and had an uneventful ride back.  We are constantly amazed at how much there is to see in Paris.  We look forward to our next trip!

Betty left for the U.S. the day after returning from Paris.  We enjoyed her stay and look forward to her next trip!

Take care,

John

Queen's Day 2012

(posted by John)

We celebrated Queen's day for the second time in 2012.  The day is a national holiday that celebrates Queen Beatrix' birthday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens_Day.  We celebrated with the Manbecks, Lodicos, Reynolds and a number of our other friends that live in Amsterdam Old South.  We spent time in Vondelpark, at the Reynolds's house party, and at a block party on Valeriusstraat in the Old South.  A fun time was had by all!

Queen's Day with our friends, Jay and Courtney Lodico

Spring Break in Italy

(posted by John, pictures by Jen)

Jen's parents John and Jeanne came to visit us in mid-April this year, coinciding with the kids week long spring break at school.  The timing of their trip was also ideal for the spring flower bloom in Holland.

John & Jeanne in the Holland tulip fields

We also had the opportunity to take a night time boat cruise of the Amsterdam canals.  Jen and I have taken such a cruise a few times during the day, but this was the first time we had done so at night.  It was a beautiful night and the experience was quite special.

The Amsterdam canals at night

After spending three days adjusting to the time zone, touring Amsterdam, and enjoying the flower bloom in Holland, we departed for the Amalfi Coast of Italy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalfi_Coast.  

We flew into Naples, Italy and drove to the first stay of our trip in Sorrento.  Sorrento is located right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorrento,_Italy.

Ohhhhhh the food!  We have been fortunate to visit Italy on a number of occasions and for me the food and the wine are always the highlights of any Italy trip and its what keeps bringing me back.

Meatballs...sans Spaghetti

John & Jeanne with Sorrento in the background

Sorrento is known for lemons which are used to make lemon cello, a favorite drink of ours! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_Cello

Enjoying our Lemon Cello

Now that's a Lemon!!!

Our three days in Sorrento included a boat ride to the island of Capri, an often used retreat for Roman emperors 2,000 years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capri.

A gorgeous view from the island of Capri

The Feriancek's in Capri

Back in Sorrento for dinner, Grandpa John is really enjoying Italian wine...

Love those big glasses of wine!

Our last day in Sorrento consisted of a day trip to Pompeii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii, the city that was buried by the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Vesuvius.  Pompeii was completely buried but preserved by this explosion so when it was excavated in the 1700's and 1800's, we learned much about everyday life in a Roman city 2000 years ago.  We hired a tour guide for the day and what a history lesson we received!

Main street in Pompeii

The kids and our tour guide in Pompeii

One last evening in Sorrento was as enjoyable as the rest.

The whole crew in Sorrento

Grandma and Allison shopping in Sorrento

More meatballs!!!

Halfway through the week we moved to Positono, about a 45 minute drive from Sorrento http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positano.  Our plan was to relax and enjoy the sun but unfortunately we received a fair amount of rain.  So aside from one day of sun, we passed the time playing games, doing a little shopping, eating great food and drinking wine.

The terrace of our villa in Positano

The view from our terrace...breathtaking

The beach in Positano

Dinner in Positano

Lemonade and clams...Mmmmmmmm

We had another outstanding trip and it was great to catch up with John and Jeanne.  We hope you and your family are well, we are doing great!

Take care,

John