Scandinavian design for your kitchen

Our new interest that we brought from the trip is the love to Scandinavian design. Most of the stuff we have seen was not only intriguing and fun but also really functional. One kitchen supply company caught our eye. The brand is called Bodum and was established in Copenhagen, Denmark (more on this wonderful place soon!), but now its headquarters are located in Switzerland. Our friends Karolina and Lars from Denmark made us a wonderful gift seeing our growing interest: 2 in 1 peeper and salt grinder. That was the winner!

Other kitchen equipment Bodum came up with is this vacuum coffee maker...


...or these colorful toasters...



or bunch of other kitchen equipment.

The Netherlands or Holland?

It's time to post something about the next country we went to on our European trip 2011. But hold on... Should we say we visited Holland or the Netherlands? Which one is correct? Or maybe both? What's more interesting: where is this country’s capital?
It wouldn't be a mistake to say Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of Netherland's twelve provinces. So just to be sure that you are talking about the whole country I would recommend saying the Netherlands, which literally, and as we know geographically, means "the low country". The country capital is Amsterdam but the seat of government is The Hague. More on the topic here.

Departing London we took a night bus to Utrecht in the Netherlands. It was cheaper than a flight and saved us one night of accommodation costs. When we arrived the weather was still miserable and it was a Sunday. We were surprised to see all the stores and most local supermarkets closed. Our host (who was a foreigner himself) explained the situation: supermarkets have special operating hours on Sundays. They are open only for 4 hours from 4pm to 8pm. Furthermore, almost every shop and store we saw on Sunday was closed as well. This led us to wonder if the government actually sets operating hours on Sunday. The only place that was actually open to get a bite to eat was a small Surinamese (yes, you read that right) hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served tasty dishes from the former Dutch colony in South America. Suriname – supposedly – is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, and the food on our plate reflected this. There was fried chicken, hardboiled egg, savory pancakes, lentils, noodles, roti, and on and on in went.

Utrecht was a nice town. It is smaller then Amsterdam but only 30 min away by train. In fact Utrecht is located at the center of the Dutch railway system so it's very easy to get to other parts of the country. Another advantage of this city is a thriving university which makes the city population younger and more diverse. One more thing we liked about Utrecht was that there were a lot fewer tourists comparing to Amsterdam.

Utrecht skyline

Utrecht's old town

UFO landed in Utrecht

Ice-cream truck

bicycles

bikes and canals

:)

scan a tree

Excursion to the City of Cambridge

I need to say something about the purpose of the trip to Europe. I didn't mention it in the London post, so I'm doing it now: we are thinking of relocating to the Old Continent. We are both searching for a place to continue our postgraduate education and eventually settle down. This is the reason why we wanted to research some schools and meet with people who could elaborate on the programs and requirements. We also wanted to visit the actual cities where the schools are located to see if we liked them. While in the UK we took a train to the town of Cambridge to see the famous University of Cambridge where Tyler had a meeting with one of the department's staff member. The meeting went well and afterwards we were able to spend some time in the cute old town.

The weather didn’t make it easy for us, as it was rather chilly and rainy. Nevertheless we didn't give up and we still took a nice stroll followed by a traditional fish and chips dinner. I really liked the old town, with the University of Cambridge founded in 1209, it’s the second oldest University in Europe. Bikes are the most common form of transportation and could be found everywhere. The colleges remind me of Krakow's university district (with Collegium Maius or Collegium Iuridicum). They are well preserved, clean and look really historic. I felt I could stay there much longer if the weather would only improve. After two days in busy metropolitan London, visiting Cambridge was a refreshing change.

London

United Kingdom's capital was the first pit-stop during our trip. It welcomed us with rain and sunshine coming unpredictably one after another. Additionally I got really sick a day before we hopped on the plain so the flight and the beginning of our tour were even more miserable for me.
With time my conditions improved so I could enjoy some of the London's attractions.
Here are some snapshots.

London 2011

Welcome back!

Long time no see. Indeed, it's been a while since the last post. To my defense I'll say we have been busy preparing for the trip, then traveling and lastly, after coming back to the US, overcoming reversed culture shock.
Now we are more or less back to normal what means I can start posting again.

Just before we left the country, we have been invited to attend Tyler's friend wedding party. It took place on June 11 in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County. Kari Morton and Chris Oswald said 'I do' in front of family and friends. Their little son Anthony was there with lots of aunts and uncles supporting mom and dad's big day. I was there with my camera and took some shots. The post production part was playful so the effects are little crazy. Have a look. Any feedback recommended.

Chris and Kari's Wedding