First 2 Weeks

Tomorrow marks two weeks since I arrived in Amsterdam. I have been very busy getting acclimated to the city, my groovy high tech apartment, my project, new modes of transportation, new money, sights, sounds, a funky Dutch oven, grocery, the weather....ok you get the picture. Everything is new. After being here in July, at least I am in the same general area, so I feel like I do know my way around and where I'm at.

I decided to blog about my assignment to Amsterdam to document my experience here and to help stay in touch with family & friends back in the US. I've learned from my travels that if I don't write it down, I forget the details. I want to remember the details. I need to document some of my past excursions as well. Since 90% of the TV is in Dutch or something other than English, I should have some time when I'm not out exploring!

My apartment is two buildings away from the Accenture office, which is in a very nice group of high rise buildings. But, we don't go to the Accenture office for work. The apartment is located within a 5 minute walk to the Zuid train station, which is a great central hub location. It seems like 'Grand Central' on a busy weekday morning. Most people are commuting into this area for work each day. We get on the train and ride for about 10/15 minutes out of the city to the Hoofddorp train station. We then walk about 20 minutes to our office near our client's location. Each morning as we go over the bridge to the train station there are two men (in the dark) playing a clarinet and an accordian...serenading the bustling workforce as they pass by. Charming. It appears most people take the train or bike to work even when the weather is cold, windy & rainy. I am amazed at the Dutch people. They bike everywhere...in suits, heels, skirts, on dates, young, old you name it. That explains why you don't see any chubby people here. We are looking into getting bikes. We've been told it is cheaper to just buy a second hand bike and donate it when we leave rather than rent one for our stay. I'm going to check it out this weekend. I'll try to post some pics of the apartment this weekend. Lot's more to tell, but it is time for bed. Good nite!