Rembrandt really IS the best

Time was running out (it closes September 3rd) on a rare exhibit (about 200 [apparently, he made about 600] of Rembrandt's etchings, loaned from a collection housed in a Parisian hotel, of all places; a society owns them and is based in the hotel), so after two errands, I reported to Leiden's municipal museum, with low expectations (this is a small city, albeit his birthplace), and after paying the 10 Euro fee, was given a flyer and a little plastic magnifying glass. Up an elegant double staircase (like "Queen for a Day'', curving down on both sides; this style has a name), about 200 very fine etchings were beautifully displayed, with English and Dutch notes. They were nearly all small, and quite a few were VERY small -- about 2'' x 3''. They were astonishing pictures, all of them. The technique is so demanding, to start with. They are as fine as any of his paintings -- utterly exquisite. The detail of most faces was as clear as if he'd painted them, if not clearer. To me, the most amazing was the ''Christ driving the Money Changers from the Temple''. It was action-packed, with the Christ figure hitting people with a thick metal CHAIN (maybe it was a thick rope; they didn't have steel in biblical times), his arms raised over his head wielding the chain, surrounded by goats, horses, dogs, and full of people. For me, his self-portraits are always the best, and these were well represented. Obviously, the world has produced quite a few other fine artists, but for me, Rembrandt is it. I couldn't do without Titian's beautiful skies, Leonardo and Michelangelo, Raphael, and a few others, but it's a very short list of artists that deeply move me, and he will always head it.

Still no bank account! Tomorrow marks the two weeks during which it should have appeared. There is NOTHING to do but wait. I look for diversions.

A friend is attending the big meeting in Prague of the International Astronomical Union. I know nothing of astronomy, but it's very interesting. He works on Babylonian astronomy (the meaning of the unearthed tablets' translations; or the cradle of astronomy). I noticed today that they removed Pluto from the list of planets, to wit:

"Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."
Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.''

So, that's the day. I wondered what the etches were worth. The last time I was in London, I saw 60 Leonardo drawings in the Queen's Gallery, just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, and wondered what *they* were worth. I will content myself with my beautifully matted and framed set of Rembrandt self-portraits as set into a postage-stamp-like arrangement, that the National Gallery issued. The little perforated thing cost $2.75, and the framing cost exponentially that, but I love it, and will have my own Rembrandts back, as of next Tuesday!

In closing, if anyone has travel plans to Holland by September 3rd, the Rembrandt exhibit here is WELL worth a detour from Amsterdam.

This clever country!

I am daily more impressed with this country, in ways expected and unexpected.

One of the most innovative things starts on August 26th: the electronic travel document. All the new passports and identity cards (don't know what these are; maybe I'll have one) will have a chip in them that has personal stuff. The article mentions that on photos, one shouldn't laugh any more! The new passport will cost 47.45 Euros (nearly exactly what American ones cost (I think mine was $47).

The huge news today, is that next Tuesday, my STUFF arrives! That will make 36 days, door to door, and 36 days on an air mattress. And next Wednesday, my two little black cats arrive, doubtless terrified and sure they've been consigned to endless caged living with strangers, to a sea of paper and debris, but maybe they'll remember me (and likely never leave my ankles again). I had assumed that things would arrive this week, since the container arrived in Antwerp last Friday, but there must be heavy container traffic in Antwerp. There's no way to know. I explained to "Eddy'' in Antwerp that my street was VERY narrow, and he promised a sleek truck, so I'll hope for the best. Now, if ***only*** the bank account will appear this week, things will fall into place nicely.

I wrote of the lovely trampoline-style-affixed Rembrandt prints located around the city. Another clever thing that's done here is to hang giant scrims (those screens used in theater, which can be lit from front or back) in front of windows, in lieu of painting the window with whatever's on the scrim. The student center (from where I write these notes) has these over most of its windows. The light comes through, we can see out of the windows, and the scrims show the name of the building. They hang from poles from the roof, or trampoline-style. So, letting the light through and using space well are major themes here.

My market research continues. The shopping (not buying -- just shopping) gene has kicked in and I keep l0oking to see where ''nice'' clothing may be had, but it doesn't seem to be in Leiden. Not that I need to buy anything, but I'm interestested to see what's out there. I found a high quality shoe store for ''comfy'' shoes (and got a pair of plum suede walking shoes), but styles and quality otherwise are nasty (but they were in Washington, too). One thing that amuses me is that no one here wears the awful high-heeled, pointed toe styles that were worn relentlessly in Washington. I can't imagine those on a bike, or on the cobbled streets here! There's an ''H&M'', the Swedish trendy department store, but their quality is low.

I'm a bit nervous about being a student here. The first year, particularly, is tough. I'd wondered what the ''propedeuse'' diploma was, and it's a diploma for passing the first year. Apparently, students often stop after the first year. While looking at the student list from last year's final exams yesterday, I saw only Dutch names (in the Dutch studies program) and figured I was doomed, but then remembered that language placement tests go on for a full week, and that the whole first year, aside from an art history course, is devoted to language acquisition, so there MUST be others whose mother language is not Dutch. Having a review of my grammar books couldn't hurt, though.

It's cocktail hour again (18:43; I've moved into the 24-hour system), so I'm off.

Pamela's School Days

Patience (not a virtue of mine)

For foreigners settling in here, things happen in a particular order (one of the few times when one feels a Germanic influence). I have violated this order, in a bank's agreeing to open an account for me, based on two letters from the University on my behalf. The bank told me that I'd have what I needed in two weeks, in the mail (this Friday is two weeks). One must have a bank account in order to:

* Pay bills (cash is not accepted)
-- Pay overdue utility bills, so one can have wireless at home, not to mention a landline
* Get insurance, both for health and house
* Avoid paying cash for everything!

Normally, we foreigners aren't permitted to open bank accounts until we pass 'go' at the Town Hall for our residence permits (my appointment is ''soon'' -- 29th August, made two weeks ago), and in my case, also become fully registered at the University. While I completely agree with tight control of bank accounts (no money laundering here), being visibly honest and upright is wearing very thin. I've had to postpone a key medical appointment twice, since I still don't have insurance. I know that I will look back on this period with amusement, but it's very frustrating right now. (And one has to do the Town Hall registration for a residence permit annually!)

No solution yet to the tiny piles of dirt, which appeared again this morning in the rear garden, after the deluge last night. Worms were suggested, but I haven't seen any.

I don't think I've mentioned one of Leiden's municipal contributions to Rembrandt's 400th birthday year (he was born here, in 1606). Throughout the city, affixed to sides of large buildings in the same style as trampolines are laced to their frames, are enormous reproductions of quite a few of Rembrandt's paintings. It's thrilling to round a corner, or come down a bridge and see a beautiful, enormous reproduction of one of his pictures. When I visited the ''Hortus'' last week, just at the entrance is one called "Saskia as Flora''. Saskia was his wife, and she's holding a staff that's covered in flowers, and wearing a large hat, made all of flowers. The reproduction is about 20' high, by about 10 feet across -- very large. I had forgotten the very high quality of Dutch printing, publishing, graphic design (stamps are amazing) and other visuals. For a country as tiny as this is, the culture is extremely refined and organized.

Another ''visual'' is the poems that are painted onto walls around the city. They actually are (I think) stencilled, so that it looks as if someone has used the wall as a piece of paper. They're beautifully done, and one stops to read the poems (although I have yet to be able to translate any of them). They're done by (I assume) the city, and not in any way as graffiti (of which I've seen none).

Yet another clever visual is how many ground-level windows are treated with a sort of frosting, for privacy's sake, so that one sees the eye-level part of the window as sort of etched, which doesn't keep out any light, but gives privacy to the inhabitants. I've also seen beautiful etching in vertical floral patterns, on my luxe neighbors' rear windows. This ''frosting'' is new to me since I lived here in the '70s.

Food (again). My dinners at home so far have been stir-fries. My little supermarket has lots of pre-packaged sliced/chopped/minced veggies and labels them as Asian, Mexican, Indonesian-style, etc. It's mostly the same veggies (onions, bell peppers, leeks, cabbage, sprouts), but cut differently. It's all healthy and quick to prepare.

"Tasty Toms''!!! Very important. My Amsterdam landlady's daughter's husband, Onno (who's a food journalist here and has authored food books, but is still lollygagging with Juliette and Charlotte (wife and daughter)) in France, alerted me to these wonderful small tomatoes when I stayed with them in April. They're the size of large golf balls and perfectly ripe and delectable -- the best I've ever tasted.

The BBC World News: Ah! I always chafed at Washington's coverage of world news (they shouldn't have bothered), so it's a daily joy to listen to the BBC and hear coverage from countries I barely know to exist. It's a double joy to hear of whatever Bush is up to, through the distance and perspective of people outside the U.S. I've only had to explain to one person so far that "I didn't vote for him!'', fortunately. It appears a given here that he's a joke, but still. This all said, the coverage of opening football (soccer) matches around the world over the weekend was suffocating. I was thrilled to hear that wiretapping and other governmental prying has been called unconstitutional by a judge.

And the weather (you know you're done, when the weather comes up) is LOVELY, except when it rains, which occurs at some point, nearly every day. Think of San Francisco on a bright, breezy day. It's perfect weather. I love it. The temperature range is about 55-70. I don't even mind the rain, much. Last night, on the way home, I got soaked, having left the trusty rain poncho at home, but never again.

'bye for now. Someone, please, figure out the tiny piles of dirt after heavy rain thing. They're very neatly done and truly are dirt (I moved one today, to see).

Pamela

Flora and Fauna

What started as a minor ivy-trimming effort became a major ivy-stripping process, after I did my first Dutch housewife window-washing number, yesterday morning, and realized that my rear garden had virtually NO light in it (when ivy, or ''klimop'', translated as ''climb up'', won't grow in a spot, it's time to thin it out).

I'd seen very tiny piles of what seemed to be wet dirt and wondered what they were, having eliminated cat and bird deposits. Then I started spotting SNAILS amidst the ivy and generally on wet soil. Could it be? The little dirt piles, though, didn't seem the right size to have been left by snails. So, that mystery remains unsolved, but there are lots of snails out back.

After visiting Leiden's famous botanical gardens today ("Hortus Botannicus'', a/k/a ''Hortus'') and seeing LOTS of snails (and consulting Google, which was inconclusive), I'm not sure that snails are a bad thing. That said, there's no way that I could move them from the garden to the saute pan!

What else? Oh! A goodie. While washing my front door and transom window yesterday, I spied a brass knob that I'd thought was purely decorative. It's my door bell! One pulls it out and the bell sounds inside the little vestibule, a bit like "Upstairs, Downstairs''. Now, I'm eager to have a real visitor, and see if he/she/they realize it's a door bell!

Being a rental, the house hasn't had much TLC in quite a while, other than fresh paint upstairs. The tiny strip of land by the front door is void of anything but a rose, which I pruned back to near-stump, and the area cats apparently have used the area for their purposes for years, but no more. Most other houses on the street have covered their strip with bricks or paving stones and then put plants in pots on top of the stones, and now I see why. While buying lavender plants yesterday, I explained the situation to the lady vendor, and she recommended some sort of pellet available at the garden center, which the cats hate, so we'll see.

Next week should be very exciting: my STUFF arrives! It won't fit very well into the little house, but at least I'll have a bed again. Three weeks on an air mattress has been nasty. My things piggy-backed in a container box with a Belgian's belongings, and the shipper is hopeful that my load will clear customs along with the main load, so the customs process will be expedited.

Oh, another win: there IS central heating! Having left Washington in heat of about 103 degrees, I haven't been eager for more heat, but some nights have been nippy, and I hadn't been able to get any heat. I tried and tried, turning all possible knobs, looking at all meters and the thermostat, and gave up. Finally, I called the rental agent, and two days later, they called back, with the solution being to turn the thermostat all the way up and leave it to warm up. I did this, left the house, and voila! Heat. No more wearing socks to bed and shivering.

I haven't met any more neighbors, and still wonder who the gentleman is on the west. He is rarely at home. His house and garden are a bit of a mess, so his interest and time lay elsewhere.

It's 5:15pm. I should go and replenish the pear popsicle supply, and the ''Spanish orange'' yoghurt, and the OJ for the Campari, and see what's tempting at the little supermarket. I need to find a neighborhood bakery (haven't looked), since the market's bread is mushy, believe it or not. I continue overwhelmed by the dairy products' quality. While I rarely use butter, I bought some (full-fat, as long as I was buying butter), and it comes in a cake, about 3x5'' and about an inch thick, and is VERY rich.

Did I say that my oven has no degrees? It seems to be either on or off. I'll ask the realtor, but may have to just get a thermometer. I'd like to recreate my biscotti recipe and at cook a lamb roast, at some point.

And the EURO. The coins are:

2 Euro (nickle, with a brass center, a little bigger than a U.S. quarter)
1 Euro ( smaller, but the same, I think)
50 cent (brass, about the size of the 1 Euro)
20 cent (brass, smaller than the 50 cent)
10 cent (brass, smaller than the 20)
5 cent (copper, bigger than the 20 cent)
2 cent (copper, smaller than the 5 cent)
1 cent (copper, very little)

Paper:

50 Euro (earth tones, lots of colors, sporting a map of europe, some arched bridges and a few portals)
20 Euro (don't have one now)
10 Euro (same, but red and pink)
5 Euro (same, but blue and grey)

I miss the beautiful Dutch guilder notes, which highlighted famous Dutch culture and technology (Sweelinck on the 10, a gorgeous huge sunflower on the 100, I think, and can't remember the rest), and each bill had tactile dots on it, enabling the blind to "read'' their money. I'm shocked that the Euro bills lack this.

While I'm on money: proving again how very sensible a country this still is, credit cards as America knows them are mostly unusable here! One can pay with U.S. plastic at hotels, major restaurants, car rentals and the like, but for daily things and most other, one pays either in cash or with one's bank ''pin'' or ''chip'' card. The explanation given me several times is that the fees are too high on the plastic for vendors here to accept. So, this is a cash-and-carry country, for the most part. The chip cards' money is cash transferred from one's checking account, and has to be replenished. The ''pin'' card (I **think** I've got this right) is like the U.S. debit card. So, so far, I've just withdrawn cash with my debit card from the ATMs. Even at department stores, one cannot pay with a credit card.

Right: off to the food survey. Here's to a lovely weekend.

Tuesday

Hi, dear group!

Well, today's goal is to buy either an ironing board (and transport it home on my bike) or a computer printer (faxer, copier, scanner). And also, to download a story to read, digest and be able to discuss its aspects as part of determining where we all will be placed, language class-wise. I have to rev up, since am a bit bored, likely due to having to wait for things to happen and not being able to expedite them at all (''hurry up and wait'' mode).

Off to ask the IT guys about the virtues of a "Brother'' printer (virtually unknown in the States).

PB

Lazy day: 14 August

Day 11 or so, in Leiden

The day started with pouring, horrible rain and hail, which was incredibly noisy. I could not rouse myself to the idea of getting soaked on my bike, so waited for it to finish and got a very late start.

Once again, I saw that until my bank account is open here, I can't get computer wireless service started, much less t.v. or landline. It will be open this week. I'm determined not to be overly impatient, but it's hard not to be.

I celebrate little victories, such as starting this silly blog today, finding a huge computer room with printing access in the student center, and again, nothing awful happening. I keep waiting for the shoe to fall (as it did repeatedly, just before I left Washington), but so far, so good.

I planted a pretty little flowering plant (lavender blooms, but no scent) in the heavy metal bucket that's between my house and my so-far unknown gentleman next door. He's a phantom (seen twice, in nearly two weeks). He doesn't seem to have regular comings and goings, and I wonder if he sleeps at his office.

Another neighbor is a very attractive (but sort of standard Dutch attractive: tall, long-legged, blond, blue-eyed and cheerful) KLM stewardess who's partnered with a very lean, very Dutch-looking American from Iowa, who teaches at an American school in The Hague. He seems to come and go erratically, as well! She's very sweet, outgoing and helpful.

Also in the tiny street lives a chubby, cheerful lady who walks numerous dogs, but mostly snub-nosed chestnut and cream-colored spaniels (at least four at a time). Otherwise, I haven't met anyone else. At one corner is a Turkish restaurant, but it's closed for vacation. There are a few children, but my immediate block is very quiet, which suits me perfectly. The other next-door house is under construction.

I try to imagine how life was in the street when the houses were built, in 1620, but have no idea, other than that they would all be cleaner than they are now. The street is pretty and relatively tidy, but could be neater. My windows, in any case, need washing. No one has lived in the house for several months, and the windows show it.

Yesterday, I again fruitlessly took the train to Haarlem, to try to meet a man who conducts a Saturday Evensong choir in Amsterdam's largest church, the St. Nicolaas Kerk, very near the Central Station. However, I will have to make an appointment, as he wasn't there, and it was nearly a wasted trip. I did salvage some of it by seeing the ''Big'' or St. Baavo Church, which has an enormous and famous pipe organ, made by a Danish company named Muller. It was huge! The church itself, though, was a disappointment, as all churches so far have been, with a fraction of its nave used for services, and clear signs of nice things having been removed, centuries ago, in what seems to have been a far more severe reformation than in England.

It's cocktail time (7:20pm), so will sign off for today. I hope this thing works!

PB