Friday, May 4, 2007

May 4, 2007: My apartment

I am currently living in temporary housing at a place called Tubantia, which can best be described as an abandoned hotel. I'm not sure why anyone would build a hotel in this location to begin with - the place is literally surrounded by sheep fields on all sides.
Another view of Tubantia. My room shares the top balcony on the left. I'm hoping that I will be able to move somewhat closer to the lab by the fall since the winds are incredibly strong here and I'm pretty sure that biking between this place and the lab would be miserable in the winter. Yesterday it was quite windy out and it took me about 3 times as long to bike home from the lab as it took to get there in the morning...

My apartment is tiny but has two floors. This is the downstairs. There is a small deck outside of that door.
Another view of the main floor. You might think the brown thing on the left is a closet...
but in fact it is the kitchen...
Cooking in this kitchen is an experience. I definitely won't be making anything complicated here. The sink is so small it can really only fit one medium-sized pot. And there's no dishwasher so I'll actually have to wash my dishes. Yuck.


There is an incredibly steep staircase to the upstairs of the apartment. Actually, I've seen a lot steeper staircases than this one in The Netherlands but it's definitely a lot steeper than any typical staircase in the US. Let's just say it's not the type of thing you could quickly run down... At least this one doesn't require using your hands and climbing it like a ladder - however, you do need to hold on to the railing or the wall. These pictures don't do a real good job of showing how steep it is.
This is the upstairs of the apartment.This is the view of the manure field from my window. Last night the manure field was plowed so I'm hoping that will improve the smell..
I discovered that Texel has more than just sheep - there are also cows! And those tulips I took a picture of yesterday have now been all chopped off.

3 comments:

Bek said...

Your apartment is cute! It certainly looks livable, if a little different...

I'm so glad you started this blog, it was a great idea (hmm...I think I might have been the first person to suggest it...) anyway, it's awesome to see what's going on in your life even though you are so far away! I can't wait to see you again and come visit!

Rachel Pilling said...

Isla, it's great to see your surroundings and your apartment. I agree with bek, it's very cute. I think it looks very European. They have great solutions for small spaces. How long do you think you'll stay in your temporary apt? Are there many apartments for rent on Texel?
I am bookmarking your blog to come back to often!

Unknown said...

Hi Isla, We love your blog and thanks bek for suggesting it. I'm really getting into this computer tech stuff. washing dishes is not that bad and it looks really pretty and green there.this is actually sarah writing . xxooxxoooMooogie....