January 2007 Archives

A couple of days after New Years, we were back in London again. The original plan was to go just for the weekend, with a management getaway/meeting the reason for going over. It became clear, however, that we needed to put some more effort into making sure the house sold, taking care of the last paperwork regarding the building of the loft.

So we went over on the thursday on a one way ticket, not planning to fly back until it was done, or there was nothing we ourselves could do anymore. We got the paperwork quite quickly, but as usual communication with the solicitors was problematic. On Wednesday we were confident we had done all we could and, after speaking to the buyer who was still very keen to complete soon, we decided to fly back the next day.

Alas, we arrived in Amsterdam with a voicemail waiting - it was the buyer saying he had pulled out. Some crap about his solicitor not being happy about the way the deeds were worded, but we never found out what exactly was wrong with them. Oh well, within 48 hours we had found a new buyer who paid 15 grand more - thanks to a once again stronger market after Christmas, a chronic housing shortage in London and all the building work being completely done; what they saw was what they would get.

Fingers crossed this time there won't be any more problems and we can have our cash by the time we get to Adelaide.

The 16th was Kylie's birthday, which we spent in Amsterdam. We didn't do much to celebrate it, but we did end up going to d'Vijff Vlieghen, a very nice restaurant that servers up haute-cuisine based on traditional Dutch food. I can't say it was the best food ever (despite some moments of brilliance) but it certainly was creative cooking with excellent service. But the main reason to go is the building; it spans many rooms in a very old building full of exposed oak beams and wooden walls adorned with old books, paintings (including some original Rembrands) and other artifacts from simpler times. On top of that they went smoke free from this year, a rarity in Amsterdam.

Last thursday, the day of the worst of the recent storms, Kylie and I boarded a train bound for the Belgian town of Brugge. It seems we were lucky to get there as later that day train and other travel in this part of Europe descended into choas with lots of people being stranded. There was a fair bit of wind and some rain, but we had a look around town for an hour or two anyway - sampling some fine chocolates along the way - before heading back to our hotel, "De Tuilerieen", a place we can really recommend for those going to Brugge. It's not the cheapest, but the room was just perfect; comfortable, beautiful and romantic. Unfortunately the pool was out of action for maintainance which was dissapointing especially on a day like that.

The next day we woke to mostly clear skies, perfect for some more exploring, chocolate and finally tucking into a Belgian Waffle with chocolate and ice cream before boarding a train back to Hilversum to stay at my mums place.

If you want a nice relaxing two-day break, we can really recommend Brugge; there isn't a whole lot to do - especially if you feel that if you have seen one old master painting, you have seen them all as that is what all the museums offer - but there are many wonderful (now smoke free!) cafes and restaurants and it's a pleasant, pretty, city to just walk around in and relax.

Just one more week in the Netherlands now before moving on to New York. We plan to spend it by going to Amsterdam for one more day tomorrow, then spend a day with my brother, followed by taking Kylie to see Rotterdam and learning how to bake a perfect applie pie from my grandfather. Finally, we will spend a day in Zeeland. I have never been there myself yet and it should be impressive to see the massive flood defences there and see some picturesque old towns.

After celebrating Christmas and various birthdays with my family in the Netherlands, Kylie and I boarded a train for Berlin on Wednesday. The just over 6 hour journey was made a bit nicer by shelling out for first class tickets. Mind you, these tickets bought from bahn.de were half the price of the 2nd class tickets ns.nl was trying to sell us. As usual, it pays to shop around.

A quick taxi ride along the still christmas-lit Ku'dam brought us to our home for the next four nights at Louisa's Place. A bit of a splurge too, but it was very nice to have a suite with proper lounge and kitchen.

Kylie always wanted to go to Berlin, and I didn't mind seeing it either. But both of us were left a little dissapointed by the city. I guess this is mostly because there isn't a heart to it, there are interesting places here and there, but no real town centre like you find in places like Prague or Budapest. Finding a nice place to eat becomes a real challenge as restaurants are scattered throughout the city and there is no real entertainment area like Duesseldorf has its Alt Stadt.

I always can't help but wonder about the obsession with the Holocaust; of course it was a terrible chapter in history and should never be forgotten, but looking at the memorials and museums about that time in history that's about the only thing that happened. What about the tens of millions of men, women in children of random nationalities and faiths that met their end in horrible ways because of Nazi policy? A little recognition to all the horrors of war would be appreciated.

Even that relic of the cold war era, Checkpoint Charlie, is decidedly unimpressive. In fact, what little you see there of the point that was the only border crossing between east and west is a replica. The hoardings around the building site it is now have some nice historical facts and photos on them, but the site really isn't worth visitting.

We had a good time, though, viewing some of the main sights but staying out of most of them. This place is way too popular and lining up in icy wind and snow behind another hundred or two people to see the insides of the Reichstag was just to much to ask. So we did what we usually do when we go somewhere, just walk around, enjoy some breaks in coffee shops and do a little (mostly) window shopping.

We did manage to meet up with one of our friends from London, Anne-Christin, and went for dinner with her and two of her friends at a restaurant we would have never found on our own. As usual in mainland Europe, it was too smokey, but an otherwise nice atmosphere and good modern-Asian food that's mostly Thai and Indonesian influenced.

On our final full day there we took the S-Bahn to Potsdam - historical playground of Germany's aristocracy and thus adorned with many, many palaces and stately homes. The main palace park is a very nice place to stroll for a couple of hours and so is the pedestrianized Brandenburger Strasse. Nice restaurants seem to be hard to find here too, but we managed to find "Zum Fliegende Hollander" in the Dutch quarter that has an excellent menu with many items that had a lot of vegetables - something we sorely needed after the Christmas extravaganza!

If you are going to Berlin, consider basing yourself in Potsdam; it is only a quick S-Bahn ride away from Berlin to see the must see sights and probably a much more relaxing place to stay.

Our next stop will be back to London this Thursday; we need to sort out a few things and make sure that the sale of our house goes through properly. On the weekend there will be a management get-together of my company there as well to talk about our strategy for this year, which includes the soon to be opened Australian office. Exciting times for all involved!