My Journey To Europe

I am living in Europe because the Dutch government gave me a working permit with my company, ServiceNow. ServiceNow created a video of my journey and I think it makes me look pretty cool. 

The reality is, I made this dream happen by setting a goal, giving that goal lots of energy, and never giving up. 

Click here to watch the ServiceNow video.

Geneva, Switzerland

My Anna is here! Three months ago she graduated from the university and now she will live in the Netherlands for a year, as an au pair. I’m so excited for her. 

Anna is with me for a month before joining her family so she is doing some traveling. She went on her first solo adventure to Brussels. My kids are world travelers with tons of experience but traveling solo, in my opinion, is the most difficult. It isn’t about the navigating and planning but things like eating dinner alone. I am so proud of her for stretching her comfort zone and making it happen. 

She went on a trip to Scotland with a friend and I am now joining her in Geneva, Switzerland. I am on a two week ‘staycation’ which has filled up quickly with adventures. 

The first day we visited the Red Cross Museum. The Red Cross was started (1863) by a Swiss businessman on his way home from a work trip when he came across horrific suffering following a battle. He wrote a paper that convinced others that everyone should receive medical treatment following a war. The Red Cross eventually expanded to communication during crisises and ensuring prisoners are treated fairly. Below is a photo of children orphaned following the Rwandan Genocide.  

The evening included a nap followed by drinks at an Irish pub with non stop talking. 

Day two was lots of walking and chocolate! We went on a walking tour where I learned a lot about the Swiss history. Calvinism (Christianity reform) played a huge part in shaping the culture. Wearing jewelry was forbidden so goldsmiths created watches convincing the church they were practical. Hence, the watch industry is big here. 

The first Geneva Convention was held here (organized by the same guy that started the Red Cross) where leaders from all over the world came together and agreed on the standards for how humans are treated during a war. Below is the building where it was held. How is it leaders can get their shit together in 1864 but not 2025?

The banking business is also big here because Switzerland is known to be neutral and not fight in wars, which makes their money safe. As a host of the Red Cross and United Nations, it makes sense. 

Our next adventure was walking to nine chocolate stores picking up samples at each. A ChocoPass allowed us to do this which was a great investment but after we finished we realized we should have bought only one. Holy chocolate! 

Our day ended with a meal of fondue (which the Swiss are famous for), wine, and an intense conversation on how landlords tend to screw over tenants in America and how to fight them. 

Day three took us on a train ride to Montreux where we visited the Chillon Castle. It is amazing to think about how much work it took to build this structure and maintain the simple life in medieval times. 

Day four we took the bus to France and rode a cable car, Telepherique du Salveve. Here was our view from the top. 

We knew when leaving in the morning the weather would be crap. But sometimes with travel, the unexpected experiences are better than those expected. 

But, we walked into France and had a great day simply transversing the city before going to the airport. 

This was a nice little adventure with Annelies. She is a great travel companion. 

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A couple of months ago I entered all my trips into Polarsteps and realized I have now visited 39 countries, so I have updated my blog. I have been to many, but it is so little compared to what is out there. 

 

Return to the States: Anna Graduates!

I spent two weeks in the States. It was my first return since I moved to Europe twenty months ago. The main reason was to celebrate the graduation of Annelies from Mankato State University. I am so damn proud of her. Stay tuned to see what she does next. Hint: I will be seeing more of her. 

I got to see Paradis and Parker and their furry family  

The first week I stayed with Lina and connected with friends. It was so great to see everyone. 

I flew to California and again, visited friends. Michelle was kind enough to host me and Henry was my airport chauffeur. I am so fortunate to have such great people in my life.

Annelies and I went through my storage unit. I only have three totes filled with photo albums which I cannot part with yet. I took apart my license plate map and plan to recreate it in Den Haag. I also brought back all my collection jars. The Netherlands feels like home so I want to have my favorite things around me. 

In all honesty, it was a bit of a cultural shock. It is hard to explain, but it felt like a ‘foreign country’. I guess it is. I think it is part of my ability to transition to whatever world I am immersed in. 

It was hard to get on that plane to return but I was also excited to get back “home”. Life is good. 

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Final Japan Post

This will be my final post for Japan. I have to say this was the most interesting country I have ever visited.

When people talk about Japan they absolutely love it. When I ask why I hear a few themes:

• Everyone is so nice. This is true. Not only are they helpful but they are quiet and considerate.
• Everything is so different. I completely agree. See below.
• The food is great. To be honest, I struggled with Japanese food. I have always been open to trying new foods but found myself craving the basics. I have never liked sushi or 'fishy' flavours and eat a ton of vegetables. Nearly everything is flavoured with fish (e.g., salad dressing, broth), and fruits and vegetables are rare.
• The shopping is amazing. Although I purchased a ton on this trip for my girls because they love Japan, I hate shopping, so this wasn't a turn-on for me. 

Below are a few things that are so different in Japan:

• There is order to everything they do. They queue up after leaving a metro car and they have arrows on the ground showing the direction of the foot traffic.
• Every city is very clean. They do not have many garbage cans throughout the city as they expect you to take your trash home.
• Their physical appearances are very important. Everyone is dressed very nice and they have so many beauty products.
• They take going to the bathroom seriously. Bidets are everywhere including on the metro stations and trains.
• There are free public bathrooms everywhere. I tend to avoid drinking while I am out during the day as bathrooms are rare but that was not the case in Japan and I loved it!
• They have a ton of vending machines and convenience food stores. They require you to buy a plastic bag (encouraging you to bring your own) but have so much plastic from these convenience foods.
• When it rains, they all use umbrellas. Living in the Netherlands, I see many rainy days, yet umbrellas are rare. My thought is that they do not want their clothing wet.
• Everyone is so quiet. Yes, Americans are loud but there is no talking on public transportation and you rarely hear conversations while walking.
• They walk fast! I walk fast and yet I could barely keep up.
• You do not see children much. I never saw a buggy (stroller) on a metro and rarely saw one on the sidewalk. In a city of 14 million, that seems odd.

My return flights were uneventful. My strategy for managing time changes is to stay awake as much as possible so I am exhausted when I return and sleep. I kept busy by doing some work, which allowed me to credit a day of PTO.

 

I went on this 12-day trip with only my backpack. I bought so many things for my girls that I returned with an even bigger bag! And yes, I carried all this through three airports because I hate checking bags.

 

The only thing worth mentioning was I think I ate a dog sandwich on my final flight. The flight attendant was hesitant to give it to me and I had to ask to repeat “It is dog”.  It was much better than sushi.

 

Thanks for following my adventure.

 

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Japan: Days 8 & 9

Leilani, Connie, Laura, and I made our way to Kamakura for a guided tour hosted by KWGA, a non-profit that wants to share the history of Kamakura. There continues to be Sakura staggered throughout the cities.

We started at the Tsurugaoka Hachimango shrine. It is now just a shrine but for almost 700 years it was also a Buddhist temple. The mixing of the two was common until the Meiji government decided, for political reasons, that was to change. 

We then made our way to lunch where I had some rice and chicken combination, miso soup, cabbage salad and I have no idea what else. Food is a mystery to me here. 

The next stop was the Great Buddha of Kamakura, at the Kotoku-in temple. It is dated back to 1252. We were able to walk inside as well. 

The next stop was the Hase-sera Buddhist temple that houses a massive wooden statue of Kannon (of which the Cannon camera was named after). These little statues were outside in massive groups, representing children that died. 

We returned to Tokyo where we did some shopping (I cannot believe how much I am buying for my girls!), saw the Tokyo Tower at night, and had some awesome Italian. 

Day nine was my last full day so I started with some packing and then visited the Yasukuni Shrine which commemorates those that died in service to the country. 

I then spent a couple of hours at the Yushukan War Museum which covered all wars throughout the countries history. It was interesting to see how countries represent wars with the United States. It is always good to learn about history so we do not repeat the bad shit. Some Americans could use a repeat of their school history. 

I didn’t have anything else I really wanted to see in Tokyo so I walked the city in search of a scarf, which I sometimes collect during my travels. Japanese women do not wear scarves much, but I did find one made in Japan. I then connected with the ladies for our last night. We ate at a famous udon restaurant that had an huge queue (thanks Yuki for the reservation) and went out for karaoke. 

I have only done karaoke in a pub with a ton of people I have never met and liquor onboard so I was a bit skeptical about this ‘rent a roommate and sing only with your friends’ approach. But we had a great time. 

I stayed up until around 01:30 visiting and watching the other perform magic tricks to get all their purchases into the luggage according to the airline rules. It made for a short night with an 04:00 wake up call. 

Steps: My watch did not charge the night prior so it shows zero but I did get in some great steps thanks to my healing ankle. 

Speaking of, here is the sign all over the metro telling me not to use my phone while walking. I am so grateful it wasn’t too serious. It was stupid.