Monday, March 06, 2006

Gezellig!

As you know, Orange-X and I left the office around 3pm last week Thursday to go to Holland. I just love that country! Sure, we got caught in a traffic jam - what else is new? - around Karlsruhe for over an hour! The rest of the ride went pretty well and we arrived in Nieuwegein (close to Utrecht) around 10 pm (including our must stop for a Whopper at the Burger King in Veenendaal). Our dear friends, Patricia and Jaap, greeted us at the door. Once inside, we were shown to our room, had a drink together, chatted the usual musts and went to bed around 2 am.
After a good nights sleep and a couple of coffees, I came down and saw this picture: Jaap and Orange both sitting on the couch working on their laptops.

Orange-X and I then made our way to Ede, where he (Orange) had to get some documents, stopped by his old office and dropped in to say hello to his old colleagues, then went off for other document requests. After that, we off to Amsterdam to get Orange's birth certificate – Ahhh! I see. You guys must be getting curious by now... ;-) We stopped at one of the brown cafe's for a typical Dutch lunch, close to one of the oldest markets in Amsterdam: the Albert Cuyp, named after the Dutch painter who was known for his paintings of landscapes. Doesn't that look yummy??


After getting his birth certificate (took about 15 minutes including waiting time), we drove to Orange’s Ex (I/she finally go t to meet her/me in person) to pick up some photos of their daughter (itchin’ to ask, already?? –Hehe.) Anyway, we left for Orange’s parents for dinner where we were also to meet my lovely sis and bro-in-laws. Here’s a picture of his little sister.

OrangeX is already 1.88 meters (6”2’) and Brenda is about 1.85 meters (6“). And Harry, her husband, is approx. 1.93 meters (6” and 3.3 inches). Now that’s what I call a BIG family and I adore them all. I’m the shortest by far with only 5”5 (165 cm). Ma cooked a wonderful dinner for us. I’m not used to anything else wither her. She’s just divine!

Pa wasn’t feeling very well, so he went to bed early. He’s been fighting with some kind of lung disease where that lung capacity shrinks and a cold to go with it. He was too “proud” to do his exercises to expand the lungs and get more volume in there, but a couple of weeks ago, he got a real scare, so he’s doing them for now. I just hope he continues. He’s a bit fragile at the moment and it makes me sad and helpless to see him like this, but I think it was only that evening.





Here are a couple of extra pictures. meet the family: Harry and Ma, and Ma and Pa.


We left around 9 pm and drove back to Patricia’s. It was a very ”gezellig”** evening and we decided to hit the sack a bit earlier to cope with the next day. I’ll let Orange finish that part in Den Bosch. So, more to come.

**Gezellig can be all of the following. There is no equivalent in any other language I know: Homey, intimate, good company, enjoying the time chatting & eating & drinking with friends, enjoying time on your own in the tub with a glass of wine, etc. Get my drift??

21 comments:

Kirk said...

Something that requires a birth certificate, involves family, hmmmmm... :-)

CanadianSwiss said...

Buuuzzzzz! Wrong. No kids. Neexxt! :-)

Michael Lehet said...

Oh you are terrible having us wait like this.....

Unknown said...

CS - I don't think I'm aloud to answer on this one because I totally KNOW the Answer. I'll give a hint - it involves airplanes and stuff.

That was such a great story!!! How tall are Oranges parents? His dad looks so wee... I'm wondering where all that height came from???

Unknown said...

Oh I think I've driven through Den Bosch. And it was semi near where I once stayed... Too many villages...

christina said...

Wow, that sounds fun. And what a tall family. I'm only 5'5" as well and my husband is about 6'4" so you can imagine how we look together.

And yes, you really can't translate gezellig. There's just no equivalent.

Rob7534 said...

I have solved the riddle!

You are getting your documents in order, because you are flying to Las Vegas, USA and meet Elvis, who by the way is a licenced to perform many diffrent "ceremonies"!

Then you will skip in Hawaii, snorkel in Indonesia, swim with the sharks in Austrailia, peel ciniman in Madagascar, climb to Machu Picu in the Andes, back to Canada to meet your parents, then back to the Swiss Homeland.

Will you be taking the pretty kitty?

Mark said...

Aha, Rob, you're getting so close! I meeant close in a totally wrong direction...I have to say I admire your sense of imagination though.

Expat, yes you know. That's the bond between us ;-) Stay tuned for the Den Bosch story. I'll be on it tonight. My father is about 1.70m, so 5'7", and he has gone through a lot of difficult times in his life.

Michael, don't worry, one of those next years you'll find out. Can you bear with us that long??? ;-)
Christina, if you can relate to "gezellig" you must be a very warm hearted and "gezellige" person yourself.

CanadianSwiss said...

Hehehe. No ceremonies, Rob. You do have two countries right, though. :-)

Christina - About the same as Orange and I look? I'm also 5'5".

Expat - Orange's Mom is about 1.75m (5'7")

Michael - We won't let you wait that long.

Ginnie Hart said...

Such a feel-good story, CS. Pictures are worth more than a thousand words, of course. What a sweet pic of Ma and Pa. Ohh. He's such a wee, frail thing. Hope he's better soon. With all that family love, no wonder you're so happy and full of life. You attract it!

Unknown said...

Orange X - hehe I feel special... smiles. :) I'll be sure to check in later on ( a few hrs of course)

Haddock said...

Well I haven't worked it out.....I guess the tall people will do that :)

I'm with Pa at 1.70m :)

CanadianSwiss said...

Dn't worry, Haddock. You'll be reading about it in a couple of weeks I guess :-)

CanadianSwiss said...

Expat- Yup - we're linked. ;-)

Ginnie - Thanks. He is a bit frail. I hope it gets better too: We all do. I'm just so glad he realized how important it was to do his exercises. He's very shy and lives a bit in his "own world", but he's happy like that and I (we all) respect it.

They're all such wonderful people.

Unknown said...

hey - I think Orange X slipped on his part of the deal. ;-)

CanadianSwiss said...

Hey Expat! Orange ended up working on Tuesday eve and was in Germany on Wed/Thurs. I'm sure he'll catch up on his bit ;-)

Anonymous said...

In Danish we have a word that may be just like "gezellig". We say "Hyggelig". It sums up a nice cosy atmosphere with fun and joy. A comfortable feeling in a special way that can normally only be experienced with friends...

Unknown said...

Gotcha! - Is it possible to catch the flu from each other through osmosis?

CanadianSwiss said...

Jarl - Nice that you finally leave a comment on our blog! And yes, looks like there is an equivalent for gezellig elswhere. :-)

Expat - Hehe. Don't know, but sometimes I really wonder :-)

The Big Finn said...

I hope Orange-X doesn't eat that "typical Dutch lunch" right before the 5-hour drive home!

CanadianSwiss said...

TBF - Nope, he had another couple of days to digest the whole thing :-)