Autumn Half Term Break: The Netherlands and Belgium

This post is so grossly overdue now that we are approaching our second, week long half-term break. I can blame this partly on work consuming my life, but mainly it’s just that I take too many photos, and sorting through them takes a long time, and up until the new year I just DID NOT want to do it.

We stopped in a book store and unexpectedly were treated to a beer and food tasting. We spoke with one of the managers of De Prael, who told us about a beer festival that was happening over the weekend. We decided to check it out the following day.

 

 

 

 

 

Our second day in Amsterdam was spent exploring the Rijksmuseum after having breakfast overlooking one of the canals. It was warm enough that we were comfortable spending the majority of our time outside, and it only ended up raining twice during the entire trip.

 The museum was holding a special event called Start Drawing. Visitors were given sketchbooks and 'drawing assignments' throughout the gallery.

 While in Amsterdam we also visited the Van Gogh museum, wandered the city, ate a lot of great food, and drank some lovely beer.

We spent an evening in Den Hague and had enough time to visit the Mauritshuis where Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earning and a number of Rembrant's are on display. It's a wonderful space and very intimate. We also treated ourselves to Indonesian rijsttafel.

After spending an evening in Den Hague (which ended up being my favourite part of the trip) we took a train to Breda to visit my Great Uncle Wim (Joe) Kavelaars. He spent a day driving us around Western Brabant where the Kavelaars are from. It's a farming community and many of the roads are still cobble stone.

We spent time in the village of Oudenbosch which is the proud owner of it's very own Roman Catholic Basilica. The building of Oudenbosch Basilica was initiated by the parish priest Father William Hellemons who had a great devotion for to the Pope and the city of Rome. The church was designed to be a copy of St. Peters' Basilica in Rome, while the facade was modelled on the front of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Building began in 1865 and it was completed in 1892.

The building is a clever mix of building materials. Anywhere of spiritual importance (or just areas which are main focal points) are made of marble and precious metals. Everything else is plaster and paint to create the illusion that entire building is in fact St. Peters' in miniature.

This is the building where my Opa and his brothers attend school. Oudenbosch Saint Louisplein was formally a Jesuit College. The building is now used for private apartments.

Finally we visited cousins who own a tulip farm. While not the best time of year for a visit, it was really interesting to see how the farm operated.

The end of the trip was spent in Belgium. We had originally planned to take the train to Bruges, but decided to visit Brussels instead because it was closer. After dropping off your bags we headed into the older part of the city. It was Saturday so the Friends of Manneken-Pis were out celeberating/protesting. We needed to ask what exactly was going on. Apparently it was something to do with a milk tax... hence the papier mâché farm animals.

 Manneken-Pis was all dressed up for Saturday/Halloween.

Brussels has some beautiful buildings (and doors!) and we spent most of our time there wandering around just looking at things.

The Grand Place is perhaps one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. We visited it twice: once during the day, and then a second time at night when it was all lit up.

 

 

We stopped for some fish and wine before heading into a pub to have a few final Belgium beers before our vacation was over.

 

 

 

T

The Grand Place at night was really difficult to photograph with my weak photography skills. But trust me when I say it was beautiful.

Manneken-Pis naked once more.

Finally a museum for Alex! On the last morning of our vacation we visited The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science. Their collection includes 30 fossilized Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart. The fossils are displayed in a massive room behind glass, and are arranged in their original and now outdated bipedal posture (the one in the photo is correct).

Treats of the Place Where Alex and Genna Live

We've been in Hove for about two months now. It's surprising how quickly time passes when you're stressed and overworked. It's not all bad though! The people we work with have been very supportive and friendly, and our students (at least those who aren't in the middle of puberty) are really wonderful. We've managed to set aside a few weekends to explore and not think about work, though to be honest most of our free time has gone into getting our furniture, banking and internet sorted out. Here are a selection of photos of our time in Brighton and the surrounding area so far.

Brighton Beach

Adventure Time Graffiti

Brighton Pavillon and Gardens

 

   

Fragility at Fabrica

Pig intestine never looked so good.

Ditchling Beacon

South Downs 

South Downs

Devil's Dyke 

The last day of September.

Saying Goodbye

Keep our community clean for the children!!

Our time in Garden Hill is officially over! It feels wonderful to be back home with friends and family where we can enjoy our summer holiday.

Some of us were more eager to leave than others.

Stevenson Island

Unofficial Staff BBQ

Before we got into the last week of school, we spent an afternoon on Stevenson Island enjoying the sun, beach, and barbecue. Stephenson Island isn't part of the reserve so it feels like being in a different world.

Saying goodbye to dog friends.

Alex and I had an excellent (though stressful) last week of school at Kistiganwacheeng Elementary. We tried to pack in as much as possible to make up for lost time and to make sure we had a positive end to a difficult year. On Monday we had Sports Day. The whole school spent the entire day outside doing track and field events. I was in charge of the grade 6 girls and Alex had all the grade 6 boys. We had cheer offs and heckled each other for most of the day.

The school needs to invest in new potato sacks,

When it was uncertain whether or not we would be going back to school this year, we were concerned that Grade 6 Graduation would be put off until the fall. Fortunately that did not happen and we were able to celebrate our student's final year in elementary school and transition to high school.

MC Lindsey knocking it out of the park!

We were also able to hold the Grade 5/6 Prom. In an effort to make staff and students feel more secure, a sign in system was organised. Several of the nurses volunteered to help out with chaperoning and one even offered to DJ. Plenty of games and activities like a photo booth were set up to keep everyone engaged. The event ran really smoothly in comparison to previous proms and school events that I've been to in Garden Hill and I think all the kids had a really good time.

On the last day of school we had our end of the year party. We had snacks, watched Sozin's Comet (the finale of Avatar the Last Airbender), played gaga ball and generally tried to just say the best goodbye we could. While we weren't able to do everything we wanted to this year, I think we were successful in making the final days of elementary school something positive for our students to look back on.

It's a relief to be home and to know that next year we'll be living in a place where we feel safe and comfortable. And while I can't imagine living and working in a place like Garden Hill again, I'm truly going to miss these kids and leaving was bitter sweet.

Goodbye Garden Hill