Janet in Paris getting on a tram

There is not much to report on about our Birmingham UK stay. The internet said this is a nice place to visit, and I am sure it was, but all we did was go back and forth from our hotel to the NEC (National Expedition Centre.)for a number of days, in order to do the Pharmacy Show. Our stand was nice and we made some good contacts but time will tell how successful it was. We had a very nice hotel though, for a reasonable (Europe reasonable) price.

George on a Street in Paris

On Tuesday, we left for Paris, the City of Love – at least the way I remember it from Moulin R0uge (but all I could hear was some old Pearly person saying “a city of sin!” private joke). We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport and ventured to make our way to the 36km trek to our hotel. I thought I was pretty good with languages as far as getting by. I know a little Spanish, a little Dutch and some high school French, but I had a hard time figuring out what the French were saying. While my Dutch pronunciation was getting along, my French pronunciation really sucked! Also, most French people do know some English, but they seem to refuse to speak it unless it is financially in their favour. This was our experience and confirmed by our hotel receptionist.

Janet by a canal in Paris

I asked a taxi driver how much to get to Paris, “85€” was the reply. I communicated quite effectively when I turned around and headed for the train station. I waited in line to purchase a ticket and figured out that I could buy two tickets, for three days, to go on any train or city bus for 86€. So off we went to find the RER to get to Paris and our hotel. We found it and ventured out but we realized quite quickly that we were a little lost in terms of getting used to the Subway system in relation to where we were and where we needed to be.  For one, the signs that say “straight ahead”, use an arrow pointing down instead of up. So “Nation ↓” meant “Nation go straight ahead.” They also had ambiguous signs of where to go. But after only going the wrong way, once, we did it. While it did make sense to the French, you had to always stop and think about the sign instead of just intuitively going with it.

Arcde du Triomphe

From the train station, we decided to emerge at a place we figured our hotel was. Then I took my new Samsung Note Map App and put in “France – Paris – Rue Louise Michel.” The problem was that there were about 15 “Louise Michel” streets. So after we stood there chewing up precious battery on the Samsung, we hailed a taxi.

The taxi man was nice and said he knew no English, so I handed him a piece of paper with the address and he had that look like a school boy who just played hooky and then was handed a test. So I pulled out my Samsung and showed him a picture of a map to the hotel. He then exhibited a grin like a successful pick-pocketer. Not knowing how to get to our hotel via the subway cost us 20€ for a taxi fare, but it was worth it. First of all, we were close to the Eiffel Tower and got to see that up close as we drove by, knowing that it would probably be our only chance to see it. But what made it really worth it was the traffic roundabout at de Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe Arial View

We entered this 11 spoke round-about that looked about 250 meters wide with a very large centre with the arch in the middle. There were no lanes and if you put cars side by side, it seemed like you could draw about 15 lanes. We just drove into a conundrum of cars and it seemed like we were just floating along. At one point, there was this car who also just entered perpendicularly, cutting right across, It seemed like certain carnage was about to happen at least twice, but a few brake lights and a tap or two on the horn, and the driver continued to slice through traffic like a skillful surgeon with his scalpel. Take a look at this video, while we did not take it, it is close to what we experienced. Our own experience seemed to more crowded and no room to spare, but that could have been because we were right in the middle of it.

Arc de Triomphe Map

More entertainment was to be had. A bus was also navigating and didn’t seem to slow down much and seemed to enter and exit like a super model’s lunch. It was amazing to see everyone just glide along without any sort of grid lock. It looked like a school band, with no conduct, yet somehow making music. Janet was just thankful she wasn’t driving at this particular time, as her nerves had met their limit in a 6 lane, London roundabout, with 6 streets coming and going during rush hour traffic. I’m sure that one would get used to it rather quickly, but when you are driving in a city and you don’t really know exactly where you are going and which exit you are supposed to take (and driving on the left side of the road in this particular case), with a standard and left handed gear shifting… well… let’s just say that I heard a couple of choice words I rarely hear from her).

One cab driver explained it like this.

“If there is an accident here, each driver is considered equally at fault. This is the only place in Paris where the accidents are not judged. No matter what the circumstances, insurance companies split the costs 50-50. In Paris, a good driver gets only scratches, not dents.”

Our Hotel

After we made it to the “one-of-15 rue Louis Michel” we found our hotel. It was the most expensive hotel on our trip and was only a 2 star. It did the trick though, and I always say that they all look the same when our eyes are closed. I could hear the subway cars and feel the rumble underground and it gave me a different perspective of living in a city with a good transit.

We knew that we would have very little time in Paris and so we decided to go to Moulin Rouge and could only get tickets for the 11pm show (two weeks prior).

Janet Feeling the 'Love' at Moulin Rouge

The Moulin Rouge is a risqué world-famous cabaret, performed in a 19th-century windmill, and has been exciting audiences since 1900. It also has a lot of history in our family. There is a 2001 movie called “The Moulin Rouge” which was one of the most watched movies in our home; especially by our daughters when they were in their teens. The more you watch it, the better it gets … so my girls tell me. They love the music, the story and everything about it. I did watch it once and liked it. They also did a spoof B- rated movie for my third daughter Meaghan’s wedding. This spoof is absolutely hilarious if you a) know the movie, b) know the cast (of the B- rated movie and the Holly Wood production) and c) are familiar with the Christian culture they grew up in (and poke good fun at).  Janet and I knew that we had to visit the real “Moulin Rouge.” When I called up and made reservations, all they did was take my name down which I found interesting. I thought, ‘don’t you want my credit card info?’

So we left the security of our hotel and made our second venture on the subway that day. With a little pre-help from our hotel receptionist, we make it to Pigalle station and emerged up to the street. My GPS pointed us in the right direction and we strolled along a beautiful, but not so clean, boulevard. The first thing we noticed was a sex shop, then another and another and another. We couldn’t believe how many there were. Then we walked past this place named “Pussy.” We started to realize that this area of town was not very sanctified and probably was zoned “red light” in the by-laws. (Hmmm, I wonder if a homeless shelter would be permitted…) We eventually saw the windmill turning at the Moulin Rouge and we ventured up to acquire our tickets. It was 9:30pm and they told us to come back at 10:30 and just get into a line. Still no tickets. We were hoping that this was going to work out.

Sitting Outside at Startbucks Accross the Street from Moulin Rouge

It was a beautiful night with a Starbucks across the road, so we sat outside with our cheese cake and cappuccinos. At about 10:20pm we ventured across the road to form a line which, at this point, was about 5 city blocks long and eventually grew to about 7 city blocks long. (Janet thinks I’m exaggerating, but I guess it depends on how long I think a city block is. There just were a lot of people – and the 7 blocks makes the story sound more exciting, doesn’t it?)    Their official capacity is 1,000 but the way they shoe horned us in, I think that number is just to keep the fire marshal happy. There was very little room to manoeuvre. The price was 105€ each and included champagne (or in my case, two small bottles of seven-up.)

Moulin Rouge Dancer in Costume

The 2 hour show was pretty spectacular and included Mario Berousek the New Guinness World Record fastest juggler, two very strong hand to hand acrobatic pirates, circus characters and 80 dancers in over a 1,000 costumes of feathers, rhinestones and other gaudy materials. There were a lot of bare-breasted women, but it was well done, and not erotic – just part of the costumes. See this trailer for an idea of the dancers and costumes. At one point, a swimming pool rose up from the stage with several very large snakes in it. Before we knew it, a dancer dove into the water and danced to the music, grabbing snakes twice as long as her and twirling them around her body. It really was quite stunning to watch.

Janet at Gare du Nord Train Station in Front of the Departure Board

While we did visit Paris, we saw way more underground than above ground. The purpose of our trip was to meet Laurent, a potential distributor, along with Claude, a French speaking person who does our marketing and was to translate for us. The idea was to meet at a café on Avenue des Champs-Élysées on Wednesday. So we flew in Tuesday and flew out Thursday. On Monday, a general strike was declared by the train workers in Belgium disrupting everything. Claude was planning to come by train from Brussels to Paris via high speed train. Laurant was coming from the south tip of France (6 hrs) to Paris to meet us. So we had a problem.

Claude, George and Laurent in front of Lille Flanders Train Station

We ended up meeting in Lille, France which is on the border of Belgium. Claude rented a car and drove there. Laurent changed his final destination and we ended up having to book 2 tickets from Paris to Lille. The distance is 200 kms and took 1 hr and 4 minutes with speeds up to 300km/hr. The problem is that you have to get to the right train station, and you have to go early because you are a dumb foreigner trying to get used to all the signs. And when the system pronounces the name, it is only a close resemblance to what is written. (E.g. Malesherbes sounds like Ma-erb.) So our whole day ended up having to leave early and getting home late for a 2 hour meeting in Lille.

Eiffel Tower at Night

We decided to see the Eiffel tower on our way home and arrived just in time to see the last few minutes of a light show which they do on the hour at 8,9, and 10 o’clock. When the entire tower is lit up, it really is very beautiful and so we felt blessed that we got the opportunity to see it at night. The tower itself is pretty impressive especially because it was built in 1889. It was originally built for the purpose of being the entrance to the world fair held in 1989 in Paris and to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the French revolution. That is quite the fancy gate for a fair. It currently receives more visitors per year than any other attraction in the world; more than 250 million to date and that doesn’t include a pair of tightwad Dutch bred tourists who don’t like waiting in line or parting with their Euros (not necessarily in that order ☺.) We were so glad that we took the opportunity to go out of our way to see the tower that night. It really was more impressive than we could have imagined. After that, we submerged once again and 3 trains later we were back at our hotel. We never did get a chance to see avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Janet in front of the Eiffel Tower at Night

We left the next day (Thursday) for Dublin so we could fly home Friday morning. I booked a Travelodge hotel for 40€ close to the airport. We hailed a taxied and showed him the address. He had a hesitation and I asked him if he knew where that was. He said, “Yes” and then proceeded to leave the cab and converse with a friend. When he came back, I asked him, “Are you sure you know where you are going?” and he assured me. So off we went and arrived at the Travelodge €10 poorer. We go up to the counter only to discover that we are at the wrong Travelodge. This Travelodge is full and 60€ so we ask her to call a cab and we venture to the “other” Travelodge. Sure enough, 20€ later, we arrived at the correct hotel. So the 20€ I saved on hotel fees, gave me the opportunity to forgive and bless a taxi driver. This hotel was actually much nicer but in a very rough neighbourhood. After a nice dinner with a few new found friends at Bon Appetite, we are ready to go home.

Drinking Cappuccinos at Gare de Nord Train Station

Getting back to the US was a bit of a security conundrum as there were at least 5 security points and 2 security (x-ray your bags, etc.)checks, but all the US customs happened in Ireland, so when we got off the plane in Washington DC, there were no more checks and no more customs to go through, which was really nice. After another two and a half hour wait in the Dulles, Washington airport, we got on our final plane for our final leg of a long journey.

Janet said if she could sum up this trip in three words it would be “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”.
I would add to that, “Waiting, walking, subways and cappuccinos.” It was a great trip and I felt like it was really good for our “already tight” relationship in that we got to spend constant quality time together working on the same goals. The object of our trip was strictly business, but we felt so blessed to be able to seize opportunities during that time to see some of Europe, meet a lot of great people, and meet up with old friends and family. As far as our business goes, we believe that we got to meet a   number of very key people, some of them unexpected and some of them planned. Only time will tell how successful this trip really was in terms of our business, but we are hopeful and believe that this is a year of jubilee for us.

After 8 flights, 2 car rentals and numerous taxis, trains and subways, we arrived home 5-Oct-2012 9:30pm.

Eerbeek Fletcher Hotel Eerbeek

Jan Peter on the streets of Amsterdam

Janet by one of the Many Canals in Amsterdam

George and Janet at the Volendam Harbour

George and Janet eating Salted Herring with Raw Onions in Volendam

Enjoying Paling (Smoked Eel) in Volendam

The next day we had to leave Holland and fly to the UK. More about that in another post.

Tante Gerda and Janet op de fiets heading for Dinxperlo

Dinxperlo - Netherlands on the left and Germany on the right

Dinxperlo is right on the Germany border with one side of one street in the Netherlands and the other side in Germany. I am not sure how this worked during the war but my understanding is that it was this way before the war.

Germany - Janet, George, Mark, Julius and Matthias in front of the Harbour Temple in Xanten Germany

Matthias wilderness camping

A few years later, Matthias asked if he could stay a couple of months in the summer. We were delighted to have him and it ended up being a pivotal point in his life. He ended up becoming a Christian on that trip along with some other life shaping experiences. Again he just got sucked up into our whirlwind and we dragged him along. One memorable trip was when he went with us on our annual wilderness camping trip.

George, Janet, Melissa Hettinga and Carlos

Janet, Julius and Matthias at Oma's Table

Oma, Carlos and Melissa at Oma's Place

She lives only a half a kilometer from the Rhine and we ended up talking a bit about the war and the trauma that everyone went through, including the Germans, who didn’t like at all what had happened. It was made clearer to us how the average citizen there was also a victim of what was going on. They spoke about the fact that all of a sudden, in one day, they had to be enemies with people who were their friends for years. It is not something that the people chose to do, but it was chosen for them. It felt good that we could sit around a table together and be friends and feel love and affection for each other, where there has been a lot of pain in recent history with the 2 people groups. Our three young German friends, Mark, Matthias, and Julius, hold a special place in our hearts, that’s for sure!
It somehow even felt like a time of healing for us, as just days before our visit, I stood before my uncle’s grave in Bergen-op-Zoom where all the Canadian soldiers who died in the war are buried, and cried tears over what had happened to him. I am named after him and am honoured to own his war medals and personal paraphernalia.

Well it was time to head back to the Netherlands as we had to be in Apeldoorn the next day to meet people who were going to help us market the product in the Netherlands.

Older back roads with trees lined up on both sides

We arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday but have been too busy to write. Not because I couldn’t squeeze it in, but because we are taking this as a rest. We get to sleep in, drink coffee and Nederland spreken (speak Dutch.)

We flew from Ireland to Eindhoven Netherlands via Ryanair which is a low cost carrier. It is so low cost that you have to have your boarding ticket with you before you arrive at the airport, or they charge you €35 each to print it up. It only costs €16 euro to fly, but by the time you add 1-20Kg bag (€35) and various sundry items it still adds up. There are no seats assigned, so when you get on, you just find a couple of seats as it is similar to a bus.

Bert and George Esser

We were picked up by a distant relative, Bert Esser whom I met around 10 years ago. There were 2 brothers in the 1800s and from one brother came my father’s side and from the other brother came Bert’s side. It is amazing how similar Bert is to my father in looks and mannerisms. From there we went to see my Uncle George Esser’s grave site in Bergen op Zoom. This was a moving experience and I will write about it separately.

Next, we travelled to the Achterhoek where Janet’s parents are from. We are staying on the farm where her mother was born which is now owned by her mother’s brother and his wife; Henk and Gerda Tolkamp. The farm is between Aalten and Dinxperlo on 149 Dinxperlosestraatweg. The farm is right on the German/Netherlands border as you can see on this satellite photo. I think it is really different how jagged the border is.

The Farm is "B." Notice how jagged the Netherlan/German border is.

Former pig pen, now a bedroom where Janet and I are staying.

The farm is a varken boerderij (pig farm) and the house was originally built in 1924. In those days the one side of the house was the living quarters for the people, and the other side was where they kept the animals. Janet and I are sleeping in a former pig pen. They built separate barns for the animals around 1980 so there is no evidence that we are sleeping in a former varken hok (pig hutch). They now have more than 3500 pigs on the farm.

Janet Esser and her uncle Henk Tolkamp

Horse and buggy on a horse only road

Her relatives are all very nice and hospitable. The feed us well and let us feel right at home. We went for a walked out the back of the farm, through the bush and crossed the German border which consists of just another farm.

Horse and buggy ride through the bush

We also went out for a horse and buggy ride. Her uncle has a Friesian horse and took us for a long ride through the back of many farms. Janet was in control of the reigns for a while and then I had a turn dictating commands to the old hay burner. It was very leuk (low’k i.e. nice) seeing all the countryside by a walking/trotting horse.

We leave Saturday morning to meet up with 3 young German guys, (Matthias Schuster, Mark Wehrmann and Julius Se) who stayed at our house for various lengths of stay. (Melissa Hettinga may also join us).They are all somehow connected with our son Joshua’s German exchange program a number of years ago. We plan on going to Xanten and meet up at the Roman Museum.

So that is all for now.

Janet on the Tram in Dublin Ireland

George in Dublin Ireland

Yesterday we arrived in Dublin after missing a night of sleep. While we did catch a few zzzz’s on the plane, it was not very restful. We arrived at 10am Dublin time; five hours ahead of our time at home. We found a taxi and got to our hotel where we ended up taking a long nap. We had trouble getting to sleep after that and I finally went down around 1:30am and got up at around 10:30am.

Today we took a train and a tram to Dublin City Centre. My goal was to get my Vodafone SIM card to work on my cell phone and find a printer to print up our brochures. I can now receive calls but my data plan doesn’t work yet. It seems like it always takes hours for things that should “just work.”

Dublin has some great spots including places like Grafton St. It is a street with lots of people and no vehicles. There are also lots of shops and street entertainment.

Here is a video link of some street performers playing music. There is another street performer who did a little jig and was very worthy of capturing on video. You will see her at the end. For some reason, I cannot get this to be an embedded video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC1Lh-nknP0

statue-street-performers

There were also a selection of statue-street-performers who made it very difficult to tell if they were real or fake. They were dress in all gray and also had gray leather face and arm masks on. If you looked very close, all you could see is the odd eye movement. After throwing a Euro in their basket, which caused them to make a “thank you” hand gesture, we figured it out.

Janet in Dublin

Another interesting thing that happened was this homeless lady who was pushing a baby stroller with two babies in it, on a much crowed street. As I was passing by, she picked me out the crowd asking me for me for help while ignoring the others around us. I.e. I seemed to be the only one she approached for help. It was like there was a sign on me “Willing to help homeless people,” at least that is was Janet perceived. I did reach in and give her a few Euros.

We finally did find a print shop and get our brochures in the queue to be printed tomorrow.

Health Matters Dublin Ireland

We went to “Health Matters”, a health food store which was our first retail store in Europe that carried our products. They still sell our products consistently and the customers seem to love it and come back for more. It was great to see our product on the shelf.

So tomorrow will be a chill day to enjoy.