Hallo Sint! Hallo Piet!

It's that time of year again!

The time when everyone, especially the little ones, go out to the local canal and wait patiently for someone to come sailing past.  Yes, it's the time for Sinterklaas to come to town!

Of course, Sinterklaas is always accompanied by his cadre of friends - the Zwart Piets.

The Zwart Piets arrived in all sorts of boats, including repurposed cars.  They all hailed the Spanish flag because that is where Zwart Piet lives.

Apparently,  if you are bad, Zwart Piet will hunt you down, put you in a sack of potatoes, and bring you to Spain!

Honestly, it's not that bad of a punishment, really.

Finally, Sinterklaas himself arrives on the last boat in the flotilla!

Once docked, Sinterklaas and his friends go on a parade through the streets of the city.

The Piets hand out goodies to the kids, small circular cookies called pepernoten.  It's something that would never happen in the US - letting your kids accept unwrapped cookies from a stranger.

Waiting patiently for the Pepernoten

Most Dutch buy pepernoten in the stores, but you can also make them at home.

More Piets arrive by unicycle.

A common form of transportation in Spain.

Then the paddywagon arrives, toting gifts for children with typical Dutch names.

Sorry, I didn't see any for Bram or Sjaak.

This Piet arrived with his sheep.

Also black, oddly enough.

 Finally, I can see Sinterklaas above the heads in the crowd!

Go Sint!  Go Sint!

Sinterklaas heads to the university.  Nearby, sniper Piets keep a lookout for danger.

Just kidding!  Not snipers, they actually repel down the university building.

Piets hand out pepernoten and other treats to the wall of children that has formed.  Sadly, they won't give any to adults.  *sniff*

But we did catch one long enough for a photo-op!  Thanks Piet!

Cruising the Canals with the French - or - the Differeneces between France and the Netherlands

Recently, I went to a conference in Amsterdam.  The conference dinner was on a boat, and we cruised the canals of Amsterdam.  During the dinner, I sat with some French scientists, and they made two interesting observations about the differences between French and Dutch society.

The food:

France: You might remember one of my first blog posts on food in France - particularly, the spread of food provided at a work party.  When food is provided, food is provided.  Chefs to grill whole shrimp before you, and foie gras, chocolate fountains, cocktail glasses filled with various flavored moose, macaroons, and crates of wine are in great supply. 

the Netherlands:  Food is provided.  Great!  You walk into the lunch room, to be greeted with sandwiches with meat.  Next to that are sandwiches with cheese.  (Never, ever both.)  If a Dutch sandwich  had meat and cheese actually touch, the world would collapse.  Then there are these packaged raisin rolls (which seem to be everywhere) and pitchers of milk.  Milk?  Yes, milk.  The delegates of the conference commented the only thing that changed with the spread day to day is the order of the trays.  They also said, "Normally when I go to a conference, I'm so full from eating all the time - this is the first time I go to a conference I'm actually hungry before dinner."  Yes, welcome to the Netherlands.  Here, as my Spanish friend so eloquently put it, people eat simply so they don't die.

Shutters:

France: Every house is equipped with shutters, whether they be metal or wood.  As soon as the sun goes down, the shutters swing closed.  I've never seen inside a French house from the street before.

the Netherlands: The Dutch have nothing to hide.  Take a walk at night and you can see inside half a dozen houses - either they don't have curtains or shutters, or they simply don't care.  While on our canal trip, one of my colleagues was able to see inside a houseboat, where a completely naked woman casually strolled around her house.  Yes, welcome to the Netherlands.

Horses on Halloween

Perhaps this Halloween you have found yourself wondering: What do horses do for Halloween? Well, I have the answer for you - they have a costume contest!  This Halloween,  I had the chance to see one of these costume contests in person.

Zorro and her trusty steed.

This horse dressed up as a witch, complete with little broom.

No, the horse did not try to ride the broom.

I'm not sure exactly what this horse is, but it had a cute shiny purple hat, that moved whenever the horse twitched its ears.

A Trojan horse!  Get it?

A horse of a different color.

My grandma and husband, watching the show.

This horse dressed up in 2-D.

Bet you've never seen that before!

This horse won for "Best Accessory" - a little mermaid!

Even the dogs got in on the action.

A Native American with horse.

Horses attempting to line up for judging and a photo opportunity.

This horse dressed up as his namesake - a point if you can guess it.

This dog also got dressed up - as a hobo with a little pack tied to a stick.  Needless to say, the stick didn't last long as the dog went bounding through the house, using his stick to knock over everything.

Not the best thought out costume...

So now next Halloween, when you find yourself wondering where all the horses are - you will know.

Uneven Steps

The last city we visited on our grand Croatia tour was Split.  We first saw Split from the sea, as we kayaked into the main port.

The center of the city is surrounded by high walls.

The main church, surrounded by small cafes and people enjoying the early summer weather.

A restaurant makes clever use of the old steps, setting up a unique place to rest and eat.

The main church is one of the oldest I've ever been in (it's actually the oldest in the world!  A point if you can guess what year it was originally built in - whoever is closest, no google!).  The center of the church is not a rectangle or a T shape, as many others, but rather it's circular, and coated in gold!

Next up - climbing the tower of the church!  The steps were high- each step was more or less a foot high, and highly uneven.

The views on the way up.

Halfway up, we notice this kiva-like structure on the adjoining building.

Climbing the tower!  This tower was unique - we could easily see where we were going and outside for views!

View from the top!

We visited these little guys in their home.

Back on the ground, we discover the origin of the "kiva-like" structure.

City streets of Split.