I have now been in The Netherlands for 3 days, although the first day doesn't really count since I basically arrived here in a daze and then went to sleep. I'm living on the island of Texel (pronounced more like Tessel), which is located in the North Sea. Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texel for more information... So far I've been done such fun things as going to the grocery store (it's sort of fun trying to figure out what to buy when everything is in Dutch), figuring out how to ride the bus (luckily all of the bus routes on Texel eventually end up in the same place so if you get on the wrong one, it's no big deal), and I've started on the paperwork I need to fill out for my post-doc. I get to go to the immigration office in Den Helder sometime soon, I'm sure that will be fun... I've also rented a typical Dutch-style bike to get around with for a while until I find I decent bike to buy. The Dutch bikes take some getting used to - you sit up straight on them so riding is kind of strange. I've heard numerous stories about people ending up in the canals/ditches that always run alongside the bike paths so hopefully that won't happen to me. I can definitely see how it could happen though...
A tulip field on Texel - this is one of the few with the flowers still remaining. The majority of tulip fields have had the flowers chopped off already so that more energy goes to the bulb.
These sheep live in the field right next to my apartment building, which is basically surrounded by fields. Directly across from my apartment is a large field that is currently covered with manure. I'm seriously hoping they plow it under or do something with it soon, because my apartment is not smelling so great at the moment... I'll try to remember to take some picts of my apartment soon.
More sheep... they're everywhere here!
A view from the bike path. The bike paths are almost as wide as the roads in some places, and there are bike paths on either side of the road. This morning I was at in intersection that had a traffic light and there was also a little traffic light for the bike path traffic, which was nice!
This is the ferry that takes you from the city of Den Helder on the mainland to the island of Texel. The ride takes about 20 minutes and the ferrys leave every 30 mins throughout most of the day.
A view from somewhere along a road on Texel. This is what much of the landscape looks like here.
A tulip field on Texel - this is one of the few with the flowers still remaining. The majority of tulip fields have had the flowers chopped off already so that more energy goes to the bulb.
These sheep live in the field right next to my apartment building, which is basically surrounded by fields. Directly across from my apartment is a large field that is currently covered with manure. I'm seriously hoping they plow it under or do something with it soon, because my apartment is not smelling so great at the moment... I'll try to remember to take some picts of my apartment soon.
More sheep... they're everywhere here!
A view from the bike path. The bike paths are almost as wide as the roads in some places, and there are bike paths on either side of the road. This morning I was at in intersection that had a traffic light and there was also a little traffic light for the bike path traffic, which was nice!
A view from somewhere along a road on Texel. This is what much of the landscape looks like here.
4 comments:
Isla! It's great to hear from you and see some pictures of your new environment! Texel looks very picturesque, although the smell might not be so nice....good thing that doesn't come through the computer!
Isla, great to hear from you. Love your blog! Your comments and pictures zinged me back to Texel! We too stayed in an abandoned hotel! We were the only ones there and at dinner the hotel staff, chef, his wife and their puppy joined us at the table. I had hoped to pedal the amazing bike paths while Tom was at the lab but it rained - rode the bus instead and yes it does get you where you're going no matter which one you take! The sheep - you'll be up for weeks countin' 'em! Love the barns - wonderful shape!
Got your sweet card - great view and I loved the internet 'connection' - good ole Maine!
We're still chilly here but the leaves and flowers are steppin' out and it's a glorious sight.
Missing you very much, Kate
Vey nice Isla, certainly livable.
Mother is going to be a fixture here.
I noticed that over there they give a lot more space to sheep and cows..:o ))
Whoa! That lamb looks pretty dang stocky! No wonder they make such great meat sheep. "The Texel is a heavily muscled sheep. It produces a lean meat carcase and will pass on this quality to crossbred progeny." Mmmmmm...Carcase.
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