Settling in to Groningen

Hello to all from The Netherlands!

Excited to be on our way despite waking up at 3 am and knowing that we will be in masks for almost 30 straight hours.

Excited to be on our way despite waking up at 3 am and knowing that we will be in masks for almost 30 straight hours.

I know this update is a bit overdue, thank you all for your patience as we have been settling in to our new lives here in Europe. Naturally, the travel here was long and we had additional obstacles to navigate with moving across the world during Covid-19, but we were so grateful when we finally arrived to our beautiful apartment on June 23. The increased challenge made it that much sweeter to land in our new home. We got some food and pretty much slept on and off for that week, adjusting to the 9 hour time zone change as well as catching up on rest after how much work we put in to make it here.

Our sweet kitty, Friday, got sent over through a pet shipping service so we were finally reunited with her on that Friday June 27. To say we are happy to all be together again is a massive understatement! Friday absolutely loves our new apartment too, especially the ladder up to our loft. I will share some more images or maybe a video clip of our home here in my next blog post.

Upon arriving to the EU during Covid-19, we are required to be in a two week quarantine. We decided to make the start date for our quarantine when Friday arrived just to be safe, so our quarantine will be over on Friday of this week and we are so thrilled to go explore this beautiful city more. So far, we have left our home to get groceries and essentials. It feels good to be respecting the quarantine, especially since Covid-19 is very under control here and we would hate to have contracted it on the flight unknowingly and spread it somewhere that has made such immense progress. Plus, with the exhaustion we certainly have needed a couple weeks to catch our breath anyway!

Friday allll snuggled up in one of her favorite spots: under the kitchen table!

Friday allll snuggled up in one of her favorite spots: under the kitchen table!

The view from our balcony during sunset of our first evening here.

The view from our balcony during sunset of our first evening here.

Grocery shopping is already proving to be more joyous, sustainable, affordable, and community oriented here than it was back home in Seattle. Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday there is a huge market in the square right outside our apartment building. The market always smells so delicious with fresh produce, cheeses, bread loaves, fish, cured meats, hot coffee, warm roasted nuts, and of course the famous Stroopwafels! You can bring your own containers to most of the market stands, and for those of you who know me well know that this excited me greatly to learn. I will share some market images soon, for now I only have a few to share. (We haven’t felt it would be right to linger to much at the market for photos until quarantine is over).

The infamous Stroopwafels, Paddy’s favorite treat! Luckily we found some gluten free ones elsewhere so I can enjoy without an allergic reaction!

The infamous Stroopwafels, Paddy’s favorite treat! Luckily we found some gluten free ones elsewhere so I can enjoy without an allergic reaction!

Healthy home made meals with market fresh produce have been so grounding. Here I made us some potatoes, bok choi and carrots, with some tahini lemon garlic tempeh.

Healthy home made meals with market fresh produce have been so grounding. Here I made us some potatoes, bok choi and carrots, with some tahini lemon garlic tempeh.

The cheese here is just the best. This is a shot from one of the cheese stands at the market.

The cheese here is just the best. This is a shot from one of the cheese stands at the market.

Hot fries from the market certainly did not disappoint!

Hot fries from the market certainly did not disappoint!

I love the different pace of life here in Groningen already, so different from Seattle. Rather than hearing congested car traffic, I hear footsteps on the cobbled brick and bike bells ringing past as I enjoy a cup of coffee on our balcony. Biking and walking are the ways people get around here largely, and I have already noticed a palpable shift in my nervous system as I have not driven or had to deal with owning a car. The culture here seems to be punctual, yet no one is in a frantic hurry. Everything we need is in walking distance, including groceries, home ware, a computer repair shop, my art supplies store, music shops for Paddy, my school… the list goes on! People are friendly, yet also refreshingly direct and to the point. Everyone here has been incredibly kind and welcoming, and people we are just meeting for the first time in stores even try to teach us a few words in Dutch! (We have a looong way to go in the Dutch language learning realm.)

Not the best photo, but this is Der Aa-Kerk, a church we can see from our balcony that was built in 1247!

Not the best photo, but this is Der Aa-Kerk, a church we can see from our balcony that was built in 1247!

I have an old friend who happens to be here in The Netherlands named Kelly. We were friends when we were weeeee preteens, and it is so special to have her here. We are excited to connect more with her once our quarantine is over. She is definitely one of those friends that many years can pass since seeing, and it can feel like no time has passed at all.

I have been recording classes for my online yoga membership again and it has been such a blessing to be able to stay connected to my yoga community, even as I am almost 5,000 miles away. If you want to learn more about my membership, send me an email through the contact page. It’s super affordable on a sliding scale, and there is truly something for everyone on the platform.

A screenshot from one of my online yoga classes.

A screenshot from one of my online yoga classes.

Other than that, we are just acclimating still. Making delicious home cooked meals, taking it all in. Continuing to stay engaged with the Black Lives Matter Movement back home and all over the world. I am starting to draw and make some more art casually again in preparation for grad school starting in September. I will share that on here and on my Instagram as art making continues and progresses.

I think that is all from me for now! I will share some images of the city and our lives in it once we are out of quarantine.

Sending love to all,
Dulcinea