I am writing this from an internet cafe in South Ealing, London. I have been here in London since Sunday night and will be leaving next Sunday night. I am staying with Mel and Jem who are, as always, being great hosts. I was a bit scared before the flight over here, as my ear… Continue reading cold and dreary London
Tag: travel
Dutch customer service: postkantoor
I am shipping a box of stuff back home, so I went to the Post Office (postkantoor) to pick up a good box. I waited for 20 minutes to buy the box. When I got to the counter, I asked the lady how much it would cost to send the box to Australia. She grudgingly… Continue reading Dutch customer service: postkantoor
decision
My lease runs out in eight days and I have not found anywhere acceptable to live. I was walking down the street pondering this when it hit me: there is somewhere that I can easily find a good place to live. Sydney. I have now given it some thought, and invited Adam and Mel to… Continue reading decision
New New Street
I just got back from checking out my new house. I have to move out of my current house on Keizersgracht by Feb 1, and I have been lucky to find somewhere to go. My new place is on Nieuw Nieuwstraat (New New Street, not to be confused with the nearby Old New Street), near… Continue reading New New Street
Never boring
I haven’t posted for a while, nothing new has happened, but things are evolving, and this post is about one of them. I don’t have any friends in Europe. My nearest true friend is Mel in London, and everyone else is in Australia, 21,000km away. This is not a sad story. I am not lonely.… Continue reading Never boring
Mum’s first “dat kan niet”
My Mum has come to visit me for Christmas, she has been here nine days and is returning to Australia tomorrow. We have had a great time together as I showed her my city and some of the surroundings. Today we went to Den Haag to see the Vermeers and Rembrandts at the Mauritshuis. Afterwards… Continue reading Mum’s first “dat kan niet”
job opportunity
On Saturday night, as normal, I went out to meet new people. I went to the usual places on Marnixstraat and met a few good people. At about 00:30 I decided to go and check out Pianobar, a piano bar in the restaurant area near Leidseplein. I was briefly there the week before but I… Continue reading job opportunity
ABN Amro: dat kan niet
On Friday I went to the local branch of ABN Amro (a bank) to open an account. It was 16:30 and almost empty, with plenty of idle employees. There were 2 people at the reception area and I spoke to one of them, a man. I explained the situation: I want to open an account… Continue reading ABN Amro: dat kan niet