Tuesday, January 27, 2015

#Blizzard2015

Living in New York City is precarious at the best of times, but when the weather turns bad, it can turn REALLY bad really quick, apparently. We've heard the stories of hurricane Sandy, we've seen the cleanup that is still going on. So when we were being warned about a horrible blizzard that was coming our way, we took that shit seriously. Well, pretty seriously, considering the  American news channels have a penchant for fear mongering that is unrivaled across the world.

But anyway, with this horrible end-of-the-world blizzard coming our way, traffic and public transportation would come grinding to a halt, running water and electricity may even go out, so we stocked up on drinking water and candles just in case things really went south.

Since we had also been getting some inquiries about our well-being during this, the one storm to rule all storms, we ended up taking a lot of pictures to show people what it looked like out there and to assure them we were still ok. After having miraculously survived the night, I took it upon myself to brave the elements and go out to report on the state of the city. You know, for the sake of mankind and the history books, being the noble and heroic person that I am.

The following is a visual representation of the storm as it raged and the carnage that I found in its wake. Some of these pictures may be extremely shocking, so be advised.


Things were getting real.






You can see one poor soul who hadn't made it home in time, desperately scurrying through the street, clinging to dear life as he was looking for shelter. While it is only human to hope for a better outcome, we'll have to assume the poor man perished in this horrible meteorological onslaught


Soon enough, nightfall darkened the city even further. Things looked bleak, but my nerves of steel enabled me to continue filming and taking pictures for some time.







The snow quickly covered the bodies of those who hadn't made it home in time, making this a deceitfully peaceful view. Don't let the apparent silence fool you though!








Having to witness all of this eventually took its toll on me, so I decided to turn away from the window and go make some traditional Dutch split-pea soup to take my mind off the horrors that were going on outside.








The taste of this smoked sausage came surprisingly close to that of the real Dutch "rookworst", so it was a wonderful substitute :)

Not bad, considering this was my first time making pea soup, ever.


All of this provided us with the nourishment and comfort we needed to make it through the night.


After a good night's sleep I opened the window again to see if the city was still here. In the morning light the true scope of destruction was clearly visible, and I decided I couldn't contend myself with taking pictures from a safe height anymore. I had to get out there, get in the midst of it and see it for myself. (I also had to get some groceries so I was going out anyway)


A few brave survivors crossing the street, one even managed to commandeer a vehicle to make an escape from the city.

Some others were not so lucky...



I could hardly stand to hear the heartwrenching screams of children playing in the snow..



Most of the parks had been reduced to barren wasteland.

These guys were just waiting, like vultures, for their chance to reign supreme over the city. Their time will one day come, but not yet. Not today.





How long until a poor, starving soul will decide the yellow snow actually looks appetizing?



Simply apocalyptic. Thank goodness the supermarket was still open, though that's probably because the people working there had been snowed in all night.
Despite everything, the sun sets over the Manhattan rooftops once more. 






Never forget.







Monday, January 12, 2015

Avontuur in the Efteling

Exactly six months and one week ago I married this sweet goofball





To celebrate this we went to the Efteling, which, by pretty much all standards is the best amusement park in the entire world.

We had been so busy with all the emigration stuff we still had to take care of that we were happy to just take one day to go out and relax. The park was nearly empty, so we didn't have to wait in line anywhere, which made it even more awesome :D


We were greeted by this old wizard, who guided us through the Fata Morgana


"Ey psst, uhr kaufen?"



No wait I have to instagram my pictures!!! (oh no, that was me..)



This is where they're building the new themed rollercoaster



The Flying Dutchman rollercoaster was closed, it was a bit icy there..



I tried stealing a potato for my brother, who is so poor that he can't afford one.



We decided to eat our lunch in the Gondolettas, but we're obviously not the only ones who eat here, and the seagulls have caught on to this trend.



Bram thought being followed and assaulted by more than 30 seagulls was hilarious, so he started feeding them. I was overjoyed.





Yeah, thanks sweetie.. 




Selfie-time in the Pagode!


Vogel Rok was still celebrating not getting stuffed in an oven over the holidays.. ;)


Bram loved all the old mechanical displays in the Efteling Museum, I was captivated by this old map. Anyone else remember what the park used to look like?




Next, I dragged Bram into the Diorama, which he apparently hadn't seen in some 20 years, so he was thrilled. So was I, because despite being built over 40 years ago, it's still a gorgeous sight.




























Most of these attractions are based on the work of Anton Pieck, including this next picture














Angry beasty...






Bram picked and lost a fight with the dragon, too bad, because I kinda had my eye on the golden crown..







Kleine Boodschap!

































Yeah, yeah, very abominable...

























What a gorgeous sight on our way out... I hope to come back soon!


Bram flew back last friday, I stayed to attend my grandmother's 94th birthday party which was last saturday. And now I'm staying a little longer to have a drink with my cousin who is coming back in a couple of days after being abroad for six months, we certainly have a lot of catching up to do :)


My parents are kind enough to let me stay with them, Ringo is happy most of the time and I'm trying to use my time here to catch up with people and take care of a lot of things that I still needed to do. Oh yeah, I still have a car to sell...

I loved that bringing Bram to the airport wasn't the dramatic experience it always used to be, knowing I'd see him again in less than two weeks, instead of two months.. Much better this way!