Blog Post 1 - Ikea, Transportation and Thai

Well...so begins my tales from the tulip fields. I hope that you will enjoy my stories and find some humour in my adventures...
Today was a long day... I managed to sleep almost eight hours last night...waking up at 6 am (1 am in NS) and lazed for a bit and even managed to find people to chat with on Facebook...who is up at 3 am? (Jody and Lucas)…thanks for chatting and listening!! Down for breakfast at the hotel and you have to admire Dutch/continental breakfast where you can eat chocolate and pickled onions on the same plate!! Alas I passed on both of these and surprisingly I also did pass on the chocolate sprinkles!! I had fresh butter and tasty bread, which had unidentifiable things in it, kwark, fruit salad and fresh grapefruit juice. After my good start to the day I wandered over to Den Haag Centraal Station to catch a train to Delft. I had mastered the ticket machine, but unfortunately I haven’t got the right type of bank card yet and the machine didn’t take change so I had to buy een retourtje naar Delft graag (a return ticket to Delft) from the nice ticket wicket ladies. The only problem with this is that there is an extra € 0,50 Euro charge to use the live person…oh well the journey was only €4,10. I hopped on the sneltrain, I thought it meant snail or slow train…but no it is the fast train. Just one stop at one of Den Haags’ other three train stations – Holland Spoor and then straight to Delft…only a ten minute journey as Delft is sort of a suburb of Den Haag.

After getting off of the train (double decker one) I walked past the hundreds of bikes parked and locked at the train station. I wanted to start a domino effect of bike tumbling, but did not think that that was a good idea!! So off to find the train, I knew that I was looking for either bus 80 or 82 to Delft Ikea. I was excited to see a number 82 at the bus stop, so jumped on board and asked the driver for a ticket. Thankfully I asked if this was the bus to Ikea, just confirming, as it was indeed the number 82 but in the other direction…so off that bus and on to the right waiting area. A single ticket was €1,30 so a pretty cheap ride and I didn’t have to wait too long for any of the transport. The bus wound its way thru the narrow streets of delft; along side canals and past bike riders, until there loomed the blue and yellow of the mecca of Ikea!! My heart raced and my palms were sweaty as I rushed off the bus with seniors and a young Dutch girl. I looked for the ingang (entry) and was on my way. Little did I know that I was about to start a five hour adventure. I really wish that I just won the lottery as I wanted one of everything Thank goodness there was an English map and explanation of what to do as it is a massive store. The store is two floors with arrows on the floor to show you where to shop, incidentally my housing agent’s father designed the arrow layout!! There is several things you have to know about shopping at Ikea – all the descriptions are in Dutch and English (), you have to assemble everything, you can pick up small items but the larger furniture items you have to load in the self-serve furniture section and they don’t have bags for packing small things So picture me after four hours trying to haul a 100 pound box off of a shelf and onto a cart that doesn’t have brakes on it. I wish I knew how to swear under my breathe in Dutch…will have to learn to do that. I went looking for a man in a yellow shirt (Ikea worker) but it really was self-serve. I couldn’t even flirt and ask for help as I don’t know enough Dutch. I did help one other lady and her daughter, but they didn’t get my hint and reciprocate. So sweating and pushing a 400 kg cart load of boxes and a shopping cart full of other fun stuff…I made it to the checkout. Please please work credit card, four hours and happy purchases later I did not want to have my card decline…it worked I then made it to the friendly customer service representatives to arrange delivery of my goods – Monday is the day that my stuff areas. Stuff aka – bed, bedframe, coat rack, sofa bed, mattress and two wardrobes. I spent long enough in Ikea that I had to of course have lunch. There is an absolutely huge cafeteria serving all kinds of Swedish treats and a vegetarisch pasta just for me. The cost for this experience €2,95. Then out the door and out to the bus back to the station.

No hassle getting back to Den Haag on the train. With two large bags in tow, I did not want to walk from the station to my place, so thought I would brave the trams. While waiting in line to buy a strippenkaart (get your minds out of the gutter) I met a nice German lady who had also moved to Den Haag from Austria. She was too beginning to decipher life in a Dutch town. She was working in the field of pharmaceuticals and had just moved from Kitzbuhel and she will be missing the snow and mountains. She gave me some handy hints for setting up a bank account and registering with the municipality. A kindred spirit of sorts. Off to tram 17, I just about missed getting on board but with some nods I got through to the driver who had closed the door that I wanted to board. My strippenkaart was stamped and then off to my stop Elandstraat. This is a very convenient ride as it stops right in front of my door of my new apartment.

I love my place even more than I did when I first saw it. I unloaded my purchases – curtains, pillows, toilet brushes (you have no idea how important these are in the lives of the Dutch), bath mat and a lamp. The lightbulb was even different as it had a halogen center but an old fashioned incandescent outside; I guess comfort in the familiar? Then off to Albert Hiejn XL which is a huge grocery store and it brought even more new experiences. I had been there the day before to explore, if you know me, you know that I could spend my life in a grocery store, even more enjoyable then shoe shopping. So my aim today was to get a bonus card and learn how to work the scanner thingies and shopping carts. I headed to the guest services counter and tried my spreekt u Engels (Do you speak English?) and was rewarded with a blank stare. So plan B – Do you speak English? I just moved here and want to learn how to use the scanning things. Bonus card in hand I went over to scan the card and wait for a scanner thingie to light up. With red light flashing a scanner had been dedicated to be my pricing gun for my shopping trip. The deal is, everything that you want to buy you scan as you place in your shopping cart. The scanner records each purchase and the price so that you have a running total of what you are buying. I watched other people packing their bags as they shopped…so when in Rome, do as the Dutch do. I shopped for staples and delayed the end of the scanner hurdle as long as possible. While pretending to read the Dutch Cosmo I watched others deal with the check out – Step 1: place scanner back in a slot, Step 2: scan bonus card, Step 3: insert card for payment, Step 4: get receipt, Step 5: scan receipt to show you have paid and Step 6: go on your merry way. Step 1, check. Step 2, check. Step 3, malfunction. I tried my MasterCard, my bank card, my Bermuda credit card and got an error message each time. Thankfully they had call an attendant button on the touch screen so I sucked up my pride and summoned help. A cylindrical red light began to flash atop the touch screen. I felt I was back in the Halifax casino and had just won the jackpot. A nice young girl came to my rescue and informed me that I did not have the right type of card (note to ask when I go to the bank on Monday) but thankfully I could pay with cash.

The three minute walk home from AH takes me past two flower shops, a cheese shop and Vondel café. I unpacked my groceries and opened a bag of light potato chips with I think 20% less fat than regular chips…much better than low fat chips in Canada. I went off to explore my neighbourhood and I was super excited to find a yoga studio a block from my apartment. I have been missing my regular exercise routine so this was a welcome find. I wandered down lots of small side streets that were quaint and quiet and filled with lots of little stores. My mission at this point in time was to find a restaurant that was actually serving food. I passed many tables with people who were drinking but not eating, this seemed to be a common occurrence in the city. I meandered my way to a Thai restaurant that I had spotted on my first trip to Den Haag – See You at Noon. I was so impressed with the beautiful and beautifully dressed Thai lady who spoke to me in Dutch, understood my English and who knows how many other languages. I practiced my two Dutch phrases that I am working on today Danke u wel (Thank you much) and Dat hat goed (That was good). The food was excellent, I think some of the best Thai that I have ever eaten – Tam Yam Hed (spicy red soup with mushrooms and lemon) and Phad Kruang Keng Phak (red curry with vegetables and bean curd) along with a glass of rode wijn. A quick two minute walk in the rain to my hotel. Spent the night watching BBC and writing up the day’s happenings; I sure managed to pack a lot into one day. Can I go back to Ikea tomorrow?