Catching Up!

A little catching up… On Wednesday went to Zandvoort and Haarlem; minus Kari and one student who had to run hither and yon to get a temporary passport. We caught the 9:25 train to Zandvoort and, upon arrival, walked over to the beach. After taking a photo of all the students with the North Sea as the backdrop, I walked up the beach by myself. Being the weekday and still early summer, there were very few people there. It was absolutely wonderful to roll up my pant legs and take a walk in the edge of the North Sea while listening to the Indigo Girls on my iPod. Ahhh… I walked farther up the beach, past the various themed “beach clubs.” These are areas on the beach, but marked by fencing, etc. in which you can grab a beach chair or little cabana and make your home for the day – as long as you are buying food or drink. They each have their own theme; e.g., the Venice Beach Club and Safari Club. There was one that was clearly made to welcome kids. 5YO would have loved it! I then strolled through town and ended up having a snack of tiny shrimp on a crisp roll – a mini-baguette of sorts called a pistolet. Yum!

After meeting up with the students we jumped on the train to Haarlem and I again walked the town. I found a delightful little housewares store and a terrific collection of melamine bowls, cups, spoons from a Danish company called Rice. I bought two periwinkle bowls and spoons for partner and myself and green for 5YO. I later ran into two students sunning themselves at a café at the Grote Markt. I joined them for a Diet Coke Light and ordered a brie sandwich. After a really long wait I wasn’t sure if there was a problem with my order if it was just that casual European approach to dining. As it turned out, my order, having been taken on a PDA-like device, had never made it to the kitchen. I eventually got my sandwich with huge slabs of brie and was able to make it to the station in time for our ride back to Amsterdam.

When I returned to Amsterdam, I found Kari and we made our way back to Sauna Deco. It was late afternoon; the perfect time for a sauna. We paid, got our towels, robes, and locker keys, and made our way to the locker room. The eucalyptus scent wafting throughout the place was wonderful! After changing and showering we first went into the dry sauna where the temperature was about 198 degrees Fahrenheit. It was fabulous. We then went to the cold pool where Kari didn’t get in quite all the way and I went in up to my shoulders. That was enough! Then, at the foot bath we let our feet soak, soak, soak. We then went to the wet sauna for a while. As if this wasn’t enough pampering, we then each enjoyed a 15 minute hydro massage. This place is amazing! Not only are the saunas terrific, but it’s just a beautiful setting. Be sure to check out their web site for photos.

Now, for those of you who may be wondering, yes, this is a co-ed sauna, including the locker room. And, yes, people are completely nude. But, unlike my experience at a sauna in Germany many, many years ago, people were a bit more modest, wearing towels or robes to move from one section to another and while sitting in the non-sauna areas. Many people who have grown up in the United States (and other places, like Great Britain, for example), can’t quite imagine an environment where women and men are nude, but completely non-sexualized. It’s true. If you are reading and think you might ever find yourself visiting Amsterdam, make a note of Sauna Deco. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump, by foot, from Centraal Station at Herengracht 115. You won’t regret it!

On Thursday we took the train to Utrecht for a meeting at the university’s School of Human Rights Research. We met with Cees Flinterman and Hans Wermolder. They gave us a nice overview of the work of the program and we had a very enjoyable conversation about human rights as well as about some of the other issues we’ve been considering during our visit to the Netherlands. For example, as the demographic composition of the country changes, might the traditional “gedogen” also undergo change? It was a wonderful opportunity! Again, I’m not quite sure that the students understand the stature of our hosts and how incredibly generous it was of them to take the time to meet with us. For example, Prof.dr. Flinterman’s bio reads:

“Cees Flinterman was an alternate member of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (1987-1991), Vice-Chairperson of the 49th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1993) and Head of the Delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the 49th and 50th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (1993 and 1994) and to the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) . . . . Since August 2002 he is member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).” In a word, wow.

After leaving the school, we sent the students off, encouraging them to explore Utrecht, a great “college town.” After a short stroll, Kari and I were heading back to Amsterdam to conduct a recon for Friday night’s activity. But, Kari struck gold when she found a liquor store that actually carried Dutch wine. Apparently none of the “major” liquor stores carry it because so little is produced that they would require too great an amount to stock their shelves. But, this little independent shop had it and she was able to get three bottles to take home. We continued on our way, stopping briefly to see our friend Albert Heijn (aka the Al, or the grocery store) for water.

We got on the train… and sat, and sat, and sat. After about half an hour they announced that folks going to Amsterdam Centraal Station should change trains. We were fortunate to get on the InterCityExpress (ICE) and, thanks to Kari, in a compartment with great seats. The young man sitting across from us was, I noticed, wearing a Twins baseball cap so we started chatting. Turns out that he and a friend from school have been traveling here for three weeks. It’s not, I’ve discovered, original, but his comments, along with some of my experiences these last two and half weeks, made me think of the expression “Generation Whine.” More on that next time. For now, this crotchety old woman is off to bed!