Amsterdam, Holland: A cool car, a cool bar, a cool lady from afar

This car is a craze over here. We've seen two of them.

This bar had sawdust on the floor and a very jovial clientele. It was beginning to drizzle outside, and we sat to drink some coffee and beer while we wrote postcards. It's a little cool here - we noticed the fall air as soon as we stepped out of the airport - but still warm enough that people are keeping their doors open. The new university students sat in the square outside as it rained.

It seems strange, but I had almost forgotten about all of the canals. We read that there is an entire store devoted to mosquito nets - I imagine because of all the standing water.

Hi, Pop!

I saw this soup shop today and thought posting a pic of it would be the perfect way to offer a cyber shout-out to my father. Get Well Soon, Pop!

Putting together a kitchen

It’s tough to decide what to bring, what we’ll need, what seems necessary and what seems extravagant (but maybe necessary?). I don’t typically think of weight when I buy things for the kitchen. Now, though, I think about it a lot. Why am I bringing two very heavy pans instead of one lighter one?

(The Le Creuset pot works for searing things that I’d rather not put in the cast iron… my all clad skillet isn’t as versatile as the cast iron, and it takes up more space.)

The spices were culled down to a few that I can’t live without, and that travel well. The knives weren’t difficult – mine, Rebecca’s, a serrated one and a paring knife.

Rebecca made the roll-up case out of her old trench coat.

A grater, can opener, peeler, colander, measuring spoons, knife sharpener, spatulas, etc…

The nice thing about traveling by car is that you can bring a lot of stuff that you would never carry on your back. It’s tempting to bring too much.

There's a nice feeling that comes with simplicity and self-limitation. I was going to bring my immersion blender until Rebecca reminded me that there aren't usually power outlets at campground tables.

Moving Day

We moved out! Well, not entirely, but the big stuff is out of the apartment and into storage in Vermont: the couch, the chairs, the bookshelves, our books, all the martini glasses save two (we think ahead), etc. There's still a lot more to pack and move, which will most likely necessitate a second trip to Vermont and a few more runs to my father's place, but any day you parallel park a Uhaul truck in Manhattan and fill it with furniture carried down from your fourth floor walk-up has got to earn the title "Moving Day."

Merlin's brother Luke and his girlfriend Sarah were around to help, which was great.

Luke helped Merlin lift...

While Sarah guarded the Uhaul for hours...

And hours...

And hours...


It was a hot two days, and many Diet Dr. Peppers were had, but finally we were ready to get on the road up to the storage unit. Merlin and I were in the Uhaul with Sarah and Luke following in our Subaru.

By the time we arrived at the storage unit we were a little delirious from the heat and the magnitude of the job ahead of us.


Inspired by Luke's tanned shirtlessness (and heat stroke), Merlin began a storage unit photoshoot


which resulted in the best faux hipster rock band album cover ever:

(Again- it was hot. My dress was discarded. I'm not ashamed and, yes, I wear bloomers).

Amazingly, everything we brought fit , with some room to spare. It may have been tighter had we brought our bed, but when the boys couldn't figure out how to take it apart, they decided to just chop it to pieces and leave it behind. Of course, on around the third hammer whack, they saw exactly how it could have been dismantled... but, hey, one less thing to put in storage. We never liked that bed anyway...

The Facts

This site will be much prettier and full of things like a country ticker, map, photo albums, food blogs and more (site design coming soon from the fantastic Silka Glanzman). For now, here are the facts:

THE PLAN

We're going to Europe. The plan is to spend 2 weeks in each country in Europe. There are 50 recognized by the U.S. State Department, so that puts us a little over 2 years (with a 10 day trip home every four months).

THE PURPOSE

To write. We'll be working on one project together, along with individual endeavors. Plus, if we don't do it now... then when?

THE LOGISTICS

We will end our apartment lease, buy a car (most likely a Land Rover or small pick-up), attain necessary visas and be across the ocean and on our way by September 1st. (update: our flight out is actually August 29th).

THE ITINERARY

9/1/2010 - 9/14/2010 Netherlands

9/15/2010 - 9/28/2010 Belgium

9/29/2010 - 10/12/2010 Luxembourg

10/13/2010 - 10/26/2010 Germany

10/27/2010 - 11/9/2010 Poland

11/10/2010 - 11/23/2010 Lithuania

11/24/2010 - 12/7/2010 Latvia

12/8/2010 - 12/21/2010 Estonia

12/22/2010 - 1/1/2011 HOME

1/2/2011 - 1/15/2011 Russia

1/16/2011 - 1/29/2011 Belarus

1/30/2011 - 2/12/2011 Ukraine

2/13/2011 - 2/26/2011 Moldova

2/27/2011 - 3/12/2011 Italy

3/13/2011 - 3/26/2011 Vatican City

3/27/2011 - 4/9/2011 Malta

4/10/2011 - 4/23/2011 San Marino

4/24/2011 - 5/3/2011 HOME

5/4/2011 - 5/17/2011 Switzerland

5/18/2011 - 5/31/2011 Liechtenstein

6/1/2011 - 6/14/2011 Austria

6/15/2011 - 6/28/2011 Czech Republic

6/29/2011 - 7/12/2011 Slovakia

7/13/2011 - 7/26/2011 Slovenia

7/27/2011 - 8/9/2011 Croatia

8/10/2011 - 8/19/2011 HOME

8/20/2011 - 9/2/2011 Bosnia & Herzegovina

9/3/2011 - 9/26/2011 Serbia

9/27/2011 - 9/30/2011 Montenegro

10/1/2011 - 10/14/2011 Kosovo

10/15/2011 - 10/28/2011 Albania

10/29/2011 - 11/11/2011 Macedonia

11/12/2011 - 11/25/2011 Greece

11/26/2011 - 12/9/2011 Turkey

12/10/2011 - 12/23/2011 Cyprus

12/24/2011 - 1/2/2012 HOME

1/3/2012 - 1/16/2012 Armenia

1/17/2012 - 1/30/2012 Azerbaijan

1/31/2012 - 2/13/2012 Georgia

2/14/2012 - 2/27/2012 Bulgaria

2/28/2012 - 3/12/2012 Romania

3/13/2012 - 3/26/2012 Hungary

3/27/2012 - 3/28/2012 TRAVEL TIME

3/29/2012 - 4/11/2012 Spain

4/12/2012 - 4/25/2012 Portugal

4/26/2012 - 5/5/2012 HOME

5/6/2012 - 5/19/2012 Andorra

5/20/2012 - 6/2/2012 Monaco

6/3/2012 - 6/16/2012 France

6/17/2012 - 6/30/2012 Ireland

7/1/2012 - 7/14/2012 United Kingdom

7/15/2012 - 7/28/2012 Denmark

7/29/2012 - 8/11/2012 Finland

8/12/2012 - 8/25/2012 Sweden

8/26/2012 - 9/8/2012 Norway

9/9/2012 - 9/22/2012 Iceland

THE INVITATION

Come visit us! We would like to refrain from any visitors on our first block (Sept. - Dec. 2010) to give us time to get into a rhythm, but from then on... come on out! Also, please let us know of any favorite places, tips, contacts or opinions you may have to share.