Photos taken by my friend Marta

Me in Delft with our bloomen purchase

A street in Delft

Dan getting the keys to the house from my realtor, CJ (Not taken by Marta of course!)

As most of you know, I have made the decision to return to Portland and my time here is growing very short. My last day at the Tribunal will be the 19th of May. Mojo and I will fly into Portland on the 25th of May and saying goodbye to Holland as a home. My return is fueled by mixed feelings fed by a heavy heart and at this time I am in two places; happy to be going home and sad to leave my home for the pass year and a half. I will have many fond memories to look back on and Mojo is going to miss the cheese! Good thing I can buy Gouda and old Amsterdam at my local Safeway, keeping the feline happy makes for a happy home indeed.

My plan is to take the month of June off to spend time unpacking and hanging out with family and friends. I will then see if I can convince KGW to take me back and start working in the real world again. Of course I think there will be a trip down to Country Fair in July.

In my last blog entry I talked about the house I was buying, well I am now a home owner again. The house closed on April 7th and Dan is now living in the home we will soon be sharing. It was quit the experience buying a house I have not set foot in and doing all the paper work by the good old fax machine. Dan signed the closing papers after getting a power of attorney to do so (Story in next blog) and my son Mike was there also to hand over the big check. As my acting accountant while I have been away, I felt he would enjoy participating in the whole closing process.

I look forward to spending time with all my old friends again and I will see you all soon.

Cheers

Kim

Photos:

My crazy family at my Papa's birthday party. my Aunts family (my Mom's sister) surrounding the birthday boy
My family around Birthday boy
Papa and my son Michael
Dan and Me
Me in front of Lievenstein Castle
Dan and me at Old faithful
Me the first day of brew fest with Ronda, Kevein, Steve and others behind me
Frank, Bilijana, Kristina and Steve on our last rainy day of brew fest
Night time Carnival at Dam Square in Amsterdam
Veiw of Delf: photo taken by Dan


This posting contains to blog entries so please forgive the length and I hope you keep reading.

I want to wish everyone a happy New Year! Hope you all had a good holiday. I did make it back to Portland/Puyallup for the holidays. Because I am so far behind on my blog, I will just continue where I left off and go from there. The summer bit bellow I started about two months ago. Please forgive how slow I have been.

The weather here in Holland this past summer was wet and mild, cold by “summer” standards. I fled to Portland and Montana to get some hot weather and sunny days. My trip back turned into another adventure. I have all but given up on Newark airport. Half the time I travel through there, something goes wrong. This time the airport was shut down for a great part of the afternoon my plane was coming in. Me and six hundred other passengers got to spend the night in beautiful New Jersey. I ended up arriving in Portland the next day, Saturday. In reality, I was only delayed by twelve hours. It could have been worse. Upon my arrival, Dan was waiting for me. It was good to see him.

Not much rest for the weary my first day because we had a full day planned with a Hillsboro air show picnic to go to and then meeting up with all my buddies that evening. The next day Dan, my son Michael and I were taking off to Montana. Meaning there was also packing that needed to be done. Busy, busy, busy.

Sunday came and the three of us started on our way. We made a detour through Yakima to visit my former brother-in-law and his family. They BBQed hamburgers for us and we were on our way again. Our journey ended for the night in Missoula. The next morning the plan was to drive through Yellowstone, then onto Billings which we did.

The trip through Yellowstone was slow going. By the time we left the park it was midnight. Dan drove us over Bear Tooth pass, even after we were warned by a local in Cooke city “not to go that way” we made it over just fine after stopping at the top to enjoy the night sky. I have never seen so many stars. We did not make it to my Grandfathers house until 2 am. My cousin Corbin was waiting up for us. I felt bad that he had to be the one on midnight watch. My Aunt got up shortly after we arrived. We said “hello”, dropped Michael off because he was staying there at my grandfather’s house and then Dan and I headed for a motel.

The next few days before my grandfather’s party, it was intense family time. My Aunt, my Mom, cousin Cinnamon, cousin Cassidy and her daughter Allie did most of the cooking for the clan. They made breakfast every morning and dinner every night for all eighteen of us that arrived days before the party. There were others that chipped in to help clean up. My grandfather’s small kitchen was run like a well oiled machine thanks to the great organizational skills of the amazing woman in my family.

We even did an outing to Little Big horn, Custer’s last stand.

The day of the party was spent preparing food and decorating the back yard for the big event. Right after the party streamers went up the wind kicked up and it started to rain some. By the time the guess arrived, the rain stopped and everyone was ready to dig into Mexican food and drink some beer and tequila. The party was a big success with only a few victims of way to much to drink. They know who they are so I won’t go into the gory details.

Dan, Michael and I had to leave the next day. After leaving my grandfather’s place and stopping by my grandmother’s to say goodbye, we were on the road by about 9:30. About four hours into the trip we were heading over the mountains to Missoula and hit one of the worse hail storms I have been in, in a long time.

We made it back into Portland I think it was close to mid-night.

I am going to end my entry here. Bellow you will find my latest entry attached

Cheers,

Kim


Dear all,

This blog entry will explain what I have been up to over the past month and a half. First off I want to start by telling everyone that the time has come for me to return home. I will be coming back to Portland at the end of May. No date of arrival has been decided upon yet, though there will be a party involved somewhere along the way!

First off, for those of you who don’t know, Dan and I are engaged! It happened during my trip home at Christmas time. There is no date set yet though the thought is this fall. It may have to wait until spring with all the other stuff going on.

OK, now to me coming home: Some of the factors that have weighed heavily in my decision to return are it has proven difficult for Dan to get a job here and some new things are happing in Portland that hopefully will offer me a new opportunity. I will be returning to KGW if they will have me back! There are new positions being created with the construction of the new Pioneer Courthouse Square studio. I have a good feeling that things there will work out. And of course I miss my family and friends very much. Looks like Kim’s year of adventure is winding down to an end.

Oh but wait, there is more……..Dan and my real estate agent CJ Johnson have been busy combing North/Northeast Portland for houses. I have been looking for a house to buy and it looks like they have found one. Actually Dan and I have been fussing over this particular house they found for a few weeks now. I have made an offer that looks like it will be accepted and I will know if I have it or not by the time everyone reads this. It is in North St. Johns on Calhoun. It is a smallish Victorian style Bungalow that will need some of its original charm put back into it after being what I call “over remodeled”. I feel I am up for the challenge. Always have to have a project.

Hope everyone will be ready for a house warming and welcome home party some time in June!

Now to catch up on what has been missed.

The first weekend of September I went down to Brussels for their annual Beer Fest. I have to tell you there is nothing like a beer fest in Belgium! I went down with Frank, Kristina, Steve and Bilijana, Kristina’s Friend Ronda and her now husband Kevin from Portland joined us as well. They planned their Euro trip around this event.

We arrived on Saturday early afternoon and after checking into our hotel we all headed down to the Grande Place, the main Centrum Square, to start our beer tasting extravaganza. It was absolutely amazing. There was a block of tents in the center with tables all around. We started sitting up shop at an empty table, then began to sample. Oh, BTW, all the beer is served in real glasses with the brewer’s logo on it. Nice touch. We had Kriek and Lambic, bock and triples with doubles mixed in. All the Abbey’s represented.

There was entertainment as well. At one point there was a parade of men on stilts and of course there was music, Oompah-pah style. We missed the parade of beer wagons though………

As we drank our beer, other beer lovers joined us at our table and we met some fun, interesting people. There was an 85-year-old woman who joined us and because she only spoke French and a little English, Kristina and Steve were the only two who could carry on a lengthy conversation with her. Then a young couple stumbled our way and hung out chatting for a long time. Then there was a young guy from Germany who we left standing, holding up our table after a long day of drinking. We were in need of some dinner so went in search of food.

I have to say that it was so amazing to stand in the center of this grand square surrounded by historic buildings enjoying an endless supply of great beer. My thoughts wandered to how many people passed through this place that has been a viable town center for the last nine hundred years. How much beer must have soaked through the cobblestones. However we did not spill a drop.

The next day after breakfast, a proper fry up, we went back to use up the rest of our tokens. The day turned rainy and by early afternoon we were ready to head back home.

The month of October brought me a visit from Dan and a group of us going to see RUSH in Rotterdam. Yes Rush in Rotterdam, R&R DVD to follow soon.

The concert was great, though Dan was a little off kilter because he has never been to a Rush concert before where the audience sits and listens to the music. His past experiences have been with the whole audience up on there feet. I had to reassure him that everything would be OK; the sun will rise in the morning. The Dutch are very Calvinistic.

The rest of the week Dan was here we just explored areas in the Netherlands. The day we went up to Amsterdam there was a carnival in the Dam Square with rides, food and of course carny games. On another day, we went and toured and old castle.

November was highlighted by a group of us going to see the “Black Rebel Motorcycle Club” here in The Hague; they put on a great show. And of course later that month we had our ex-pat Thanksgiving feast. There were only three and a half American’s in attendance (Steve is half American Half Dutch). The rest were one Iraqi, one Macedonian, two Serbians and four Bosnians. Steve and his wife hosted the event at their house and Steve out did himself. The food was excellent! And the gravy turned out pretty dang good if I do say myself (I was the only one who knew how to or had the confidence to make it).

December was a fun filled month. First Kristina, Bilijana and I went to Munster Germany to their Christmas market. This is the same one we went to last year. This year we spent one night. We had a fun girl’s weekend of drinking and lots of shopping! I won’t even go into how many euros I spent….Though not all on me; I did a great deal of Christmas shopping☺. On arrival we did get our first gluhwein at the hotel as we were checking in. Yes they served us gluhwein. After that we headed down to the market area in the center of town. Our hotel was within easy walking distance, or stumbling distance away. Of course we stopped again at the first gluhwein stand we came to. Then some browsing, more gluhwein, browsing, shopping, gluhwein…..kind of in that order. Then at some point we were ready for food. I had found information on a traditional German restaurant so we went in search of the “Gas House”. We did find it and WOW, it was worth it. The food was fantastic and very meat laden. Vegetarians would have run screaming. If it wasn’t by the menu then it would have been the hunting décor. Everything was about “game”. Actually the interior was kind of like a wealthy man’s den/hunting lodge, very cool. I won’t go into what we ordered for the meat challenged readers.

We were in Germany from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon, and then we all had to rush back to The Hague for the annual winter ICTY staff union party that was going on in the evening. I had to be there because I was assigned as event photographer to take pictures of people as they arrived and the event itself. Kristina had to be there because she is the staff union VP. We were late getting back and I raced from the train station to home, then flew on my bike down to the event.

The party was held in the large old church in the center of town. It was strange having this big dance party in a church that was built in the 1600’s. We danced and drank until 2 am.

The next weekend was another concert event. Steve’s God is Aphex twin and he was performing in The Hague as part of a weekend electronica music fest. Of course a group of us went. Aphex did not even go on stage until 1:30 am; you read it right, 1:30 am. After Aphex, Mogwai took to the stage at 3:00. One of our fellow group members, Bart, complained about all the transy-dancing going on. Kristina and I looked at each other and laughed thinking “how else are we going to make it through the night” and continued dancing. We made it to about 4:30 am then headed for home. A good fry-up was again needed when I woke up before noon mind you.

A week later I was in Portland enjoying family and friends. Dan, my friend Gayle and I went and saw The Dandy Warhol’s. For New Years we went to the Doug Fur with Gayle and her husband Joel and saw Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker. What a great New Years Eve, good music and good friend.

Of course the rest of my time was doing holiday stuff. And of course as I stated above, Dan proposed to me during this time.

I will end here for now.

Cheers,

Kim

Photos

My cabin on the Ferry
Dougless's house from the front
The Castle
Inside view of the Pump house.



I am so far behind….sorry.

I will write about another interesting figure here at work that I recently had the opportunity to get to know a little better.

A few months ago I completed my beginning Dutch course and I feel luck to be able to say “hallo” and tell people where I live and work. Dutch is a very hard language to learn, mostly because of the sounds. It is easy to read once you build up your vocabulary, but the sounds when spoken are difficult to pick out.

There was a nice mix of people in the class and one of my fellow students is a judge from South Africa. He was the main judge for Martic and is now the main judge for Delic. His name is Justice Moloto; yes his first name is Justice.

The last Dutch class my instructor had us all over to her house to celebrate the end of our course. We were treated to Champaign and savory Dutch snacky food. Afterward a group of us meet up for drinks at a nice wine bar toward the center of town. Justice was brave enough to join us and we were all glad he did. After a few drinks he treated us all to stories of what it was like growing up black and attending collage in the late 60’s early 70’s in South Africa.

Every black person had to travel with identity papers and could not travel outside of their home area unless they had papers stating otherwise. Even so, it was not uncommon to be hassled by police. Justice told us a story about how he and a friend were traveling from one area to another during a school break and were stopped by police and asked for their papers. One of the police decided to give them a bad time and clamed their paperwork was not in order. The officer then proceeded to call Justice names and compare him to a baboon. Justice stood tall and gave it right back. In the end, the police let them go on their way.

After this story we all joined into a philosophical discussion on Apartheid, pro/con. And just enjoyed getting to know each other a bit better. At the end of the evening there were hugs all around and we all staggered and stumbled our way home.

The main thing I leared about Justice Moloto that night was the man before me was not much different from the young man several years before who stood up to two police officers hasseling him and a friend. He is a person of conviction and he will hold others to it. In court he fair and sets standards of conduct high. He will pull individuals back in line if they stray. He is one of my favorit Judges as you can tell.



OK, the above entry I started months ago and now it is time to tell you about my summer

August turned out to be a month of travel. Frank and Kristina went to the south of England for their three week summer holiday with the pups. I traveled over to spend a long week-end taking a night ferry over on Thursday night (Aug. 2nd) and arrived early Friday morning. Frank and Kristina were there to pick me up and we headed off to Stokes by Nayland to a nice little cottage be a creek.

The weather was great and the three of us spent part of the day laying in the sun on cozy loungers reading. Frank shared one of his many Zombie books with me so if we ever have a Zombie attack, I am fully prepared to defend myself and those around me.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting the neighboor across the street. His name is Douglas and he is the owner of the cottage we were staying in. The place is called “The Pump House” because it was the water pumping station for the area at one time. Douglas invited us over to his place the first night I was there for drinks. His house was built in 1590 (if I remember right) and then there were two more sections added over the next two hundred years. He took us on a grand tour of the main rooms. It is an amazing place. During our tour a “small world” encounter happened. I have shared this story with a few of you so just bear with me……….After entering the dinning room, Douglas pointed to a small door at the courner of one wall and he called it his “secerat passage way”. Kristina asked where it lead and wondered if we could take a look inside. He said” Oh you want to know all of my secerats” and Kristina said “yes”. We laughed and he went over and opened the door to reveail a small narrow passage way that lead back to the main living room. Kristina and me walked down the short, low cielined hallway past boxes and a large wine rack to the end where there was another small door. We then turned around and headed back. After a few steps I stopped and stared in amazment at a poster that was hanging on the wall. It was the Bud Clark “exposs yourself to art” poster. I nudged Kristian and pointed at the poster. We both stood there dumb fowned for a moment, walked back into the dinning room and ask Douglas what he knew about the poster. He told us it was a gift from his Daughter years ago and thought it was taken somewhere in France. We told him the story of the poster and explained to him that the man was a former Mayor of our home town, Portland Oregon. We all basted for a moment in the glow of commanality by coiencadence and then went out into the garden to enjoy a glass of wine and naush on goodies.

The next few days were spent sight seeing, playing with the dogs and walks in the country side. Of course there were pub stops with beer and fish&chips. On one of our walks we went to a seaside community close to Ipswitch (I can’t for the life of me remember the name) where King Henry II’s castle is. Remember the movie “The lion in Winter”? That’s the one. We spent the day walking along a marsh with the castel in the back ground.

The great thing about the English country side is there are all these markted walking paths that whind through private and publice lands allowing the publice to take long walks just about anywhere. At one point the three of us walked across a field wheat field while the farmaer was out bailing hay.

My four days in England went by quickly, then I was back on the ferry towards Holland only to be on a plane to Portland three days later.

I will end here. Look for my next inslament soon!

Cheers

Kim

Photos are: guard dog out side of shop. Jay and
I at lunch. The Old Town Square, View of west Prague at night from The
Charles bridge, Me and Melissa on The Charles bridge.


I have been bad, very bad at keeping up with my blog. I’m going to start with
what has been going on the past week and work my way back.

This past weekend I went to Prague with my friend Jay. We meet up with
another friend of mine from Portland, Melissa. The three of us had
quite the adventure…..first our flight was delayed, I put Jay on the
wrong plane, we went on a quest to find the hostel Melissa was staying
at and discovered “slum Prague”, I was pick pocketed on the metro, we
spent an hour at a police station, went to the Opera, had great beer
and food, saw great art……….

Jay was traveling in Norway and planned on coming to see me on the 20th
of September. Then his travel plans changed and he decided to travel to
The Hague a week early. I had already made plans to go to Prague to
meet up with my friend Melissa who was already there and I invited Jay
to come along. He was keen to add himself to the party.

Thursday the 13th Jay and I were scheduled to leave at 5:10 pm from Schipol
airport. Once at the airport we discover that our fight was an hour
delayed meaning we were going to miss our connecting flight in Munich.
We werere booked and were going to be getting into Prague almost three
hours later then originally scheduled. This set off a change of events
that affected our ability to meet up with Melissa that night. I wrote
her an urgent email (she does not have a cell phone) and hoped she
would get it. She was also in the process of switching hostels and I
did not know where she was staying. Then next I changed the time our
driver was picking us up at the airport.

After all that was done, Jay and I headed for the gate. We had a bit of time to kill so we sat across from our gate and enjoyed a sandwich and beer. I told Jay
that I wanted to buy a bottle ofJenever (Dutch gin) at the duty free
shop down from the gate. Then the boarding announcement came. I headed
down to duty free and told Jay to wait for me at the gate and I would
be right back. I was gone for about ten minutes and once back at the
gate there was no Jay so I figured he just got on the plane. I walked
up to the gate and gave my ticket to the lady at the door. She looked
at my ticket and said I was an hour early, that my flight was the next
one an hour later. I told her that my traveling partner was let on the
plane by mistake because he was no longer in the waiting area. She
assured me there was no way he would have been boarded. I insisted that
he was on the plane. We discussed this for a while longer and getting
nowhere, I gave in and sat down; and waited. About ten minutes later I
saw a red faced Jay getting off the plane. He came over to me and said
“you evil woman you, putting me on the wrong plane”. I told him that I
argued with the lady at the counter knowing he was let on the plane.
Gee, I guess the imposable is possible after all.

Who knew there would be two flights going to the same place at the same time,
just one hour apart from each other? I told Jay that I got theJenever and once in Prague we were going to break it out.

At 19:10 we got on the right plane and made it to Prague at 23:05. Our
driver was right on time. We were then taken to the apartment I booked
for us by an enthusiastic driver who was pointing out all the sights
between the airport andKarlova 32. As we drove past the former KGB
training center, Prague castle and all the other grand sights. Jay and
I sat back with our mouths open. All lit up, the city was breath
taking.

Once at our apartment we were greeted by the manager.
She showed us up to our home for the next three days and nights. To my
surprise, there was only one bedroom and one bed; the couch was too
small to sleep on. I had requested two beds from the booking agent,
however this request did not make it to the manager of the apartment.
She quickly remedied the situation by taking the top mattress off and
pulling the twin beds apart. I looked at Jay and said I feared our
friendship might be taken to a level we were not expecting though the
manager saved the day. After settled in, I opened up theJenever and poured us both a much-needed shot.

The next day we went on a trek for an ATM machine. We were told there was
one 30 feet down from our apartment. We could not find it and circled
around two blocks looking for it. Just before giving up Jay stood in
front of a store window right down from our place checking out a cool
rocking horse, then he saw the ATM next to the window staring at us,
taunting us. We were able to get our first CzechKrouna.

After breakfast of a cheese filled bread pastry for me and sausage for Jay,
we were off to try and find Melissa. She was not at our morning meeting
point so I was hoping she got my email the night before. We decided to
wander around the town square, watch the Astronomical clock do its
thing at the top of the hour, and then head to the hostel Vesta were
she could be staying.

The Astronomical clock is the big draw in The Old Town Square and can be found on the south wall of the old Town Hall. It was constructed in 1410 and I have to say it is
impressive. At the top of every hour a skeleton hits a bell to ring in
the new hour. Then there are Apostle’s that dance past a window that
opens up at the top of the clock. To learn about the clock I encourage
you to read about it onWikipedia.

Anyway, after seeing the clock do its thing we were off on our quest to find Vesta. Along the way we did some window shopping. Prague is the place for amber and
garnet jewelry. The crystal in every form is amazing and they have
puppets everywhere. There was also painted eggs, painted lacquer boxes
andmatrioshka nesting dolls in every size. And of course souvenir shops are overflowing with Russian style hats and the usual fair.

The architecture on every street was overwhelming at time. We walked past the Municipal House that had its exterior done by Mucha, the famous Czech art nouveau artist. We stopped to take some pictures, then continued on.

Soon we knew finding the hostel was going to be a challenge. Jay popped into
a book shop and bought a better street map and the book seller pointed
us in the right direction. After asking about ten more people we found
the hostel above the train station in a really bad location. I was
relived to find that Melissa was not staying there. Then our next step
was aninternet café and lunch.

After getting a message off to Melissa we went to the Old Town Square for lunch. Jay got pork with dumplings and sauerkraut and I got goulash and dumplings. And of course
we both had beer. The food was pretty good and the people watching was
better. After lunch we did some more sight seeing then headed back to
the apartment to hang out for a while before venturing out again. We
were going to try and connect with Melissa one more time.

Finally at 6 pm that night we meet up with Melissa. It was really good to see
her. She was stowing away with some friends in the hostel she had been
at and never found the Vesta so she abandoned that idea. This is why we
could not find her earlier. After meeting up we decided to see if we
could get tickets to the Opera and headed to the ticket office. We were
too late for that night so bought seats for Saturday night to seeRusalka. From here we headed to the Charles Bridge.

We got there right as the sun was beginning to set. The three of us were
snapping photos and enjoying the sights. There was an air balloon going
up and down in the distance offering riders high altitude views and
people on the bridge good photo ops. Melissa and I did a bit of
souvenir shopping from some artists selling there wears on the bridge.
Then it was off to dinner.

Jay and I tried to find a place around the corner from our apartment that the driver pointed out to us as a good place to eat. But we were so doe eyed that we could not
remember exactly where it was at, so we settled on a place that had a band playing jazz. We made rough plans for the next two days and Melissa introduced us to the Czech drinkBecherovka. Jay and I each bought a bottle at the airport on our way home. If you are lucky and ask nice, we will share.

The next morning Melissa came by our apartment and after a quick breakfast
of doughy wrapped filled goodness, we went to the Jewish quarter. To
our disappointment the old Jewish cemetery was closed due to a Jewish
holiday. We wandered for a while then hopped on the metro and went to
the museum where we were treated to some great Czech art. On the way to
the museum we wandered into aquaint little coffee shop with a name that Jay pointed out looked very close to “dunken doughnuts”. After our museum experience we went back to the same coffee shop for something to eat before heading back to get ready to go to the
Opera.

Back on the metro and it was really crowded. We were rushing to get back and ready to make it to the Opera on time. Jay and I once ready left to meet Melissa at theMuzum stop so we could walk to the Opera building. We walked up to the Metro ticket machine and this is when I discovered my wallet gone. Jay and I debated whether or not
to go back to the apartment and check to see if it was sitting on the
table. Given the circumstances of needing to meet up with Melissa and
making to the Opera on time I just decided to deal with everything at
the end of the night, feeling that what ever damage was going to be
done was already done and there was nothing I could do. I was not going
to let this wreck my trip.

We made it to the Opera a little late after all the rushing and had to set in the “late seats” until the first break. The Opera house was amazing and just to be able to set in such a classic building was a little like being in a fairytale, which
oddly enough was the subject of the story we were watching that night.
The Opera was about a water nymph who fell in love with a human and
made a pact with the wood witch to become human herself to be with her
love. Of course it did not work out and the guy died in the end because
of his own foolishness. Tragic ending, nobody won. I know you are all
surprised. Melissa and I enjoyed it more the Jay, though all of us had
a good time.

After the Opera we went back to the apartment to find that my wallet was no where in sight. I know that my wallet was taken when I was on the crowded train on our return from the museum. There was a man standing close in front of me with his backpack between us. This allowed him to slip his hand into my bag and take my wallet.
Even though it was snapped closed and I had my arm across it and
clutching the bottom, he was still able to work his hand in using the
crowded conditions and the movement of the train to his advantage. The
rest of the evening was spent on the phone with the banks. What I
discovered is that fifteen minutes after my wallet was taken they used
my Euro bank credit care and charged about two hundred euros, then for
some reason the bank suspected fraud and blocked the card. My other
cards were untouched. I guess my initial thought was right. By the time
I discovered my wallet was gone, the damage was done. Jay really saved the day after this happened. He helped me every step of the way and help me keep my spirits up. He also floated me the trip. You are a great fiend Jay, thank you.

We were unable to meet up with Melissa our last day so Jay and I were on our own. The plan was to go to the Mucha Museum and do some shopping. If time permitted we wanted to also try and see a Salvador Dali exhibit or the Prague Castle.

The Mucha Museum was not disappointing, it was inspiring. It is a small museum
and I felt it did a good job at showing the progression ofMucha’s work and career over the years. After leaving the museum all I could think about is how I want to do my next house in art nouveau style.

From here Jay and I found a police station so I could report the theft of my
wallet. After forty minutes of filling out paper work, waiting, and
talking to a police officer. The one thing Jay and I learned is how
ramped pick-pocketing in Prague is. We saw four other people besides us
coming in to report the same thing. After leaving there was only time
to do some shopping. Everything else would have to wait for another
trip.

Prague is a lovely place and an interesting mix of old and new, peppered with former communism. Jay talked about trying to put together another trip some time next spring. Anyone interested in
joining us?

Cheers,

Kim

Because my last blog was all me me me, I thought it would be more interesting to tell you all about my college Armin who is from Mostar Bosnia. He was a teenager during the war and he has shared some amazing stories with me that I will now share with you.

Mostar is the capital of Bosnia and was named after an ancient bridge built during the Ottoman era and it was the pride of the city, symbolizing the link between east and west. During the war it was destroyed and has since been rebuilt. The order to destroy the bridge came form one of our accused, Mr. Praljak. During the war this bridge was also a favorite target for snipers, shooting people as they tried to cross.

Armin is Muslim and lived in the east part of the city. During the war, all the Muslims in Mostar were pushed to the east side in what was viewed as an attempted at ethnic cleansing. This area could be compared to the Jewish ghettoes that had been set up during WII. These people were constantly sniped at and the area was bombed on a regular bases. These people suffered through what is called the 1,000 day siege.

There was no where to go so people learned to survived. Most of the time there was no running water and no electricity, or it was spotty at best. People would travel down to the river for water used for washing and travel to the town square where there was a pump supplying drinking water. Snipers choose these places to target because of the high volume of humane traffic. It was risky to be out at any given time during the day, but these places were the most dangerous.

Every morning Armin would travel to the river for water. Then in the afternoon he would go to the square close to his house where there was a pump that supplied drinking water. This was the only place that had drinking water so people were forced to go there. One afternoon Armin was heading to the square and his older neighbor was waiting at the street corner getting ready to cross the road. He turned to Armin and said he was going to run and for Armin to follow close behind. The neighbor stepped out into the street and before he could take another step the ever familiar sound of a rifle being fired echoed through the air. The next thing Armin remembers is being covered with brain fragments and blood that use to be contained in the man that had lived next to him for years. He stood there without moving for an undetermined amount of time. Then walked over to the pump and washed him self off. Then went home and never said a word to his parents about what happened.

Another time Armin escaped death was when his family was staying with cousins. His cousins lived in an apartment building with a basement that was used as a bomb shelter. During times of heavy bombing it was a safer location. Armin was asleep in his cousin’s room and did not hear the air raid sirens go off. His family made there way down to the basement and soon his Dad was looking for him and could not find him. Armin was not with the rest of the family. Then bombs started to hit the building.

When the bombing stopped, his Dad ran back up to the apartment and rushed into the bedroom to find Armin lying under the window that had been blown out of the wall. Also part of the ceiling had collapsed onto the bed. His Dad was sure he would find Armin dead. Once everyone pulled the debris away, Armin lifted his head and asked what was going on. His Dad yelled at him and asked him why he did not leave to the basement. Armin was in such a deep state of sleep he did not hear the sirens or even the bomb that hit the building and destroyed the apartment next door.

These are only a few and after telling me these stories Armin says that he really doesn’t know why he is still alive. Today he is thirty-one and to look at him you would never guess he experienced such trauma. He has such a great sprit and attitude toward life. He reminds me a lot of my son Michael, very easy going and always in good spirits. He takes his job very seriously and there have been a few times during court that were difficult for him. During the Milosevic trial there was video evidence presented showing the execution of several Muslim teenage boys. They were blind folded and marched out into a field, then shot one at a time. He was working the day this video was played in court and needed someone to come in and take over for him. Another day during the Prlic trial which deals with Mostar, there was an old neighbor of his that was a witness in court and he was worried that his presence would compromise the testimony.

One day I was working the Prilic case and the BBC reporter Mr. Peter Burdin testified about his experience in Mostar. Mr. Burdin produced a documentary for BBC about Mostar during the 1,000 day siege and it was aired in its entirety during court. I could not believe what I was seeing and most of all it was hard to believe that I knew someone who had lived there during that time. When I came back into the office after my shift, I talked to Armin about the documentary. I was in shock and pretty much speechless for the rest of the day. What he had gone through, and the person that I see today just doesn’t seem to add up.

He is one of my favorite people. I look at him with a high degree of respect. Armin is a walking testament that people can experience trauma beyond what we think we are capable of surviving and can come out the other side, whole. He looks at the world in a practical way. There are things we can change and things we can’t. The part that we cannot control or change will not bring us down unless we choose to let it.

Following are audio links to a two part BBC follow-up, ten years later in Mostar.

http://odeo.com/audio/318212/play http://odeo.com/audio/319028/view


Cheers,
Kim

Photos: Jenn and me dressing Kai
Kai ready to go

I have been back in The Hague for two weeks now after my whirlwind trip home. I had a very good time seeing everyone and I have to say, the trip was great. In this blog I will talk about my trip and thought I would also do something else a little different. I want to take turns telling you about some of the people I work with. This will be a break from my normal dialog of eating and drinking my way across Europe. Well at lest until there is something so amazing that I just have to share.

OK, there is one food thing I do need to share. This past weekend was the arrival of the “new haring”. This is a big deal for the Dutch community. There are celebrations here in The Hague and Rotterdam. Down by the harbor, close to my house, the boats were adorned with colorful flags and there were some amusement park rides set up as well. And of course the haring stands with cloggy's cueing up for fish on a toasty bun with onions or just alone ready to slide down an awaiting throat were everywhere. I did not take part, though it was fun watching the local’s line up the same way Washingtonian’s line up for scones at the western Washington state fair. Then to my surprise when I went to Dutch class this past Tuesday afternoon, my instructor brought in new haring on little biscuits along with some Dutch gin to accompany it. I was a little hesitant because the haring I tried before was very strange. I put that out of my mind and grabbed a biscuit. Down it went and I have to say, it was good. The only haring to eat in this country is “new haring”. There is nothing like it.

My flight home was fairly uneventful until I changed planes in DC. Most of you heard the story so I will give the cliff note version: Once at the gate I found out the plane had been down sized and twenty people were losing their seats. Lucky for me I had an assigned seat that still existed on the shorter plane. All the confusion delayed the flight by almost forty minutes. I don’t know how the pilot did it, but we were only fifteen minutes late landing in Portland. Dan was waiting for me at the airport right outside the security area. It was so good to see him. From the airport we stopped at Fred Meyer because I needed to get a few things, then it was off to Amnesia to meet a group of friends for welcome home beers.

I have to clarify that the significance of this trip was for Dan and I to meet each other’s family and mutual friends. He had already met a number of my close friends, thou I had not meet his. On Saturday Dan and I took my sons Michael and Donald out to lunch. Afterwards, Donald had to leave to get ready for work and the rest of us went bowling. We had a good time. I had not been bowling for years and I was a bit sore for a few days after. Meeting my two sons went well and Dan survived.

That night it was “game night” with a group of Dan’s close friends, or I should say with two other couples. Game night is a long-standing tradition with this group of friends and it was my first time. They play a card game that has a real name though with this group it is known as “and this mother fucker makes five”. It is also a time for everyone to decompress, meaning a fair amount of drinking and lots of joking with each other. I felt very welcomed into this group.

Sunday was a big day for me because it was the day I met Dan’s parents. His Dad and step Mom had us over for brunch. I was a little nervous, though they made me feel at home. After a few hours we said our good byes and then went to meet up with Dan’s son Tim. Both meetings went great. Dan and I were both amazed at how comfortable this was for everyone.

Sunday night was dinner at Bombay cricket club for Michael and me, and then drinks with my friends Pam and Andrew. Donald and a few of his friends showed up after they got off of work. After a few hours we all said goodbye, then I was off to Pam’s. I stayed with her Sunday night and we hung out all day Monday. We did some shopping and went out to lunch. That night we both meet up with Gayle for dinner at Wild Abandon. Then the drinking continued at Pam’s where Dan joined us after he got off work. Ok I just noticed that this is another blog with nothing but food and drinking. Sorry about that, I guess it is the nature of things when traveling.

Tuesday I hung out with Michael and Donald, we tackled my storage unit. That night Dan and I met up with my KGW pals. Wednesday Michael and I went out to lunch with Vicky and Donna. Then that evening Dan and I went to “beer night” which has been a Wednesday night ritual for a group of my Portland friends for years. Later, there were more beers with Gayle and Daniel.

Thursday it was Dan’s turn to meet the rest of my family. Early afternoon we drove up to Puyallup. The plan was my family made arrangements for all of us to get together for dinner. Because there was going to be about fifteen of us, my aunt made arrangements for us to take over a meeting room at the VFW where she works. It was hamburger night and my mom was making sure there would be stiff drinks available, she felt Dan might appreciate one.

We first drove to my Mom’s place where my daughter and grandson were. Kai just turned two a few days before and I had presents to give him. One was a fireman’s raincoat with matching boots and the other was a pair of lederhosen I bought in Austria. Of course we had to put Kai in his new little outfit. Dan took pictures of Jenn and the grandma’s dressing him so he would know who to blame when the pictures are past around when he brings his first girlfriend home to meet mom.

We then headed down to the VFW to meet up with the rest of the family. After we walked in my Aunt was at the door to greet us. Soon everyone else trickled in. My dad and step-mom, Brother, sister, and my cousins were all there. The dinner went off without a hitch. After wards Dan and I went over to my sisters were we where staying.

The next few days were just spent hanging out with my family. One day we went to the park with my mom, step-dad, Jenn and Kai. That night we went out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law. Then there was a dinner at my dad’s. Sunday, the day we were heading back to Portland, my aunt cooked Dan and I breakfast. My cousin Cinnamon and her husband Doug from Denver were there as well and I got to meet their new baby (my new cousin) Cade. Dan was able to meet my entire immediate family except my cousin Cassie’s husband Gregg. It was intense family fusion time.

Sunday night back in Portland there were last drinks with good friend. Then it was on the plane and back to the Netherlands Monday morning.

My trip home was fantastic. I did not get to see everyone; however there will be a next time. The main objective was accomplished. Dan and I were able to be immersed in each others families. I must tell you this was a bit scary, this was new ground for us both. I have come out of a twenty-five year marriage and Dan’s was twenty-one years. Both of us have been out of the single realm for a long time and did not know what to expect. What we got was warm support from all sides. Of course everyone knows that the priority of this trip was family and friends, and everyone knows that we plan on being together for a while. No wedding bells as some have asked, just moving forward slowly.

I want to tell everyone “thank you” for being so supportive and accepting. I have the greatest family and friend in the world. I have gained a new family and circle of friends, and so has Dan.

Cheers and all my love

Kim

Photos: Bridge in Paris, open air market in Vienna, Demel cake display and at the request of my friend Pam I have also added the two photos in the photo exhibition

April has been a busy travel month. Dan came to visit for a week over Easter and we went to Paris for four days. Yes Paris in the springtime……it was great, though in my true fashion, I over scheduled the itinerary and walked our legs off.

Dan arrived in Holland on a Friday and we took the Thaleys train to Paris on Sunday (Easter) Morning. We stayed in a hotel between the shopping street Rue Clare and Hotel invalid, or Napoleon’s tomb. After checking into our hotel we went to theRodan museum and then went for a long walk along the Seines River to the Latin Quarter. After strolling past St. Michelle, Notre dam and the Pantheon, we had dinner then went back to the hotel.

Monday morning we walked down the Champs Elysees to the Louver. The streets were mobbed with people. On arriving at the Louver, we entered fairly quickly. The museum was swamped with more people. Of course because of the over whelming size of the space you have to pick and choose what to see. Most people want to see the great
pieces in the collection so every person entering the building heads to
see the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo. We did the same.

The Mona Lisa was marked off with crowd control ropes allowing only a hand full
of people at a time to stand in front of her smiling face. It took
about 15 minutes to get close enough for a look. Of course there was a
sign “no photos”, thought some people felt it did not apply to them and
insisted on taking a picture even with museum staff holding up a sign
stating the same in front of their cameras. It was amazing to watch a
couple trying to push forward with their camera out trying to get the
people in front to move out of their way so they could snap a picture.
They were acting as if they were in a race.

Net we were off to Venus De Milo, and then rounded our museum day off with a tour through northern European masters from the 16th and 17th century. Of course including some great Dutch masters. This section of the museum was less crowded and we were able to linger a bit. After the Lover it was off toNotre Dom and the heart of Paris.

The next day we wanted to go to the Picasso museum and discovered it was closed on Tuesday. Miss read the guide and after finding it closed, we headed for the D’Orsay museum instead. The D’Orsay is filled with more impressionists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir and they had one Klemt. From there it was some shopping, a picnic dinner in the park in front of the Eiffel tower and a tour of Sacre Coeur at sunset. Then walked down “pig ally” and past the Moulin Rouge.

Our last day we did make it to the Picasso museum and after four days of
museum viewing we both were in “art overload” and our eyes began to cross. The museum was small and after and hour we headed to the Arcde Triomphe. From here it was shopping for a picnic lunch of cheese, crackers, tomato’s, good beer and the most amazing chocolate tart ever made for desert. Then it was off to the train station and back to The Hague.

The rest of Dan’s visit was spent exploring The Hague’s beach and hanging
out with friends. Sunday morning he was on a plane heading back to Portland.

Now on to other stuff: A few months back I joined the local English speaking photo club that has been in existence here for about ten years. Every year they have a photo exhibition where members can show the work that most reflects their individual talent. This year the museum where the club meets gave the club space for this
year’s exhibition. The museum has a photo section and there is a bar/restaurant attached to this section of the museum. We were given space set aside next to the restaurant dedicated to limited special exhibitions. Each member was allowed to submit two photos and with much reluctance I decided to participate. The two photos I submitted, to my surprise created a great deal of excitement with a few of my club
members. I think because they were very different from most of the
others.

The exhibition opened May 1st and there were thirty-six photos displayed in all. The club had an opening party at the museum restaurant and it was really exciting to see all the photos hanging up. I was asked by one of the club organizers if one of my
photos could be submitted to The Hague on line magazine for ex-pats. The magazine wants to do a write up to advertise the exhibition. Of course I said “yes”. We will see if they us it.

At the end of April I went to Vienna for a long weekend with Frank and Kristina.
Kristina had to go as a representative of our staff union for some meetings at the UN headquarters located there. The meetings followed a holiday weekend for us so the timing was good and we decided to take advantage of the extra day. The three of us flew to Vienna early on Saturday the 28th, Then Frank and I flew back to The Hague Monday evening leaving Kristina behind for the week to attend her meetings.

I have to say, Vienna is great! It is an easy place to get around and has a lot to offer. The architecture is a real cross between eastern and western Europe. The old center of town is very Germanic in its feel, though the people are much more posh. The food is also wonderful.

Kristina rented an apartment for us to stay in east of town. It was between the
center of town and “UN City” located on a small island on theDonau River. The area where we were felt a lot like the Balkans. The buildings looked like the ones Frank and I have become familiar with through evidence video showed in court. The trams were even the same as used in Sarajevo. The first time we got on, there was a slight urge to duck because these trams were a favorite target of snipers during the
war.

There is much to see and do. On Saturday night we had a Schnitzel dinner that was excellent. The schnitzel had to be a foot in diameter. After that we walked through town past the Oprah house and everyone we saw was dressed up. In front of the Oprah house we caught tram #1 which is one of two trams called “the ring trams”. These trams follow the old city wall footprint that use to ring the old part of the
city and gives you a ride past all the major sites.

Sunday was museum day and we got to see several Klemts’ and other Vienna greats. We wandered through the Hapsburg Places grounds and had coffee and cake at an amazing place called Demel. After our sugar overload, we toured the Hapsburg crypt and saw the resting place of Franz Ferdinand whose assassination started WWI.

Monday morning Kristina and I got up early and headed out to the open air food
market. Then we headed back to the apartment and picked Frank up for an
afternoon at “UN City”. We all meet the staff union president for lunch
and had a tour of the facility. Walking in you feel like you are at
“Federation Headquarters” and almost expect a Vulcan or Klingon to
round the corner at any moment. It is really strange. The facility is
like a mini city. There is a bank, travel agency, hair salon,kindergarden and duty free shopping available on sit for all staff member employed there.

Then after our UN day was over we all wandered around the old town center
for a few hours, then it was back to The Hague for Frank and me. I have
to say, Vienna is a place I could live.

As most of you know I will be seeing you all in a little more then a week. I will be back in Portland for a week from the 18th of May until the 28th.

Cheers,

Kim