Might As Well JUMP!

I got tired of the traditional posed trip pictures in front of beautiful scenery or historic sites; so I decided to start a series of jumping pictures.  You can see a few of mine (and other jumpers) on a travel site called barrelhopping.com.  I created a group on that site called JUMP Around the World; plus a few others EAT Around the World and WINGS Around the World.

I've got plenty of jumping pics from all over Europe and will eventually get around to doing something with them.  But in the meantime, here are some of my new favorite jumpers.  Taken at Gornergrat, Switzerland.  Enjoy.

What kind of crazy pictures do you take/make when traveling?

Might as well...

That's the actual Matterhorn, not the Disney ride.

Wordless Wednesday: Maui Mountains

Photo Credit: My amazing photographically talented wife. Taken: Gornergrat, Switzerland; 8 May 2013

Two Different Scenes

Arriving to the Netherlands 15 January 2013                                   Departing the Netherlands 19 May 2013

Our departure from Amsterdam airport was a  somewhat different scene from our arrival; that is except for the gray dark clouds.  I always find it easier to leave a place when the weather is crappy; you don't feel as bad departing.

Swiss Happened

Only on rare occasions will we ever purchase those quirky souvenir attraction photos.  You know what I'm talking about right?  Those photos some "professional" photographer snaps as you enter a theme park or baseball stadium.

Well, there was a guy when you got off the train at Gornergrat, Switzerland that had a St. Bernard.  Long story short, we bought the pictures. Can you see why?

What's a matta horn?

Photogenic dog.

Sneeuw in Oss

The number one gripe I've seen/heard last week was about the weather.  The "first day of Spring" has come and gone and so has Easter, yet the other day I went for a bike ride around town in a mini blizzard.  What gives.  I do love the public witch hunt for Punxatawany Phil's head.  Well, I don't have any animosity towards that rodent, because even though I'm about done with Winter, it does make for some beautifully peaceful video.  

**Sorry for the shaky camera work.  I think I need one of those helmets with a camera on it**

PHOTO BOOTHS & TRAIN DELAYS

PHOTO BOOTHS & TRAIN DELAYS

After we were somewhat settled into our apartment in Oss, my wife and I visited her plant site to obtain some of the paperwork her company prepared for us so we could continue  the residency permit process.  

Once we had obtained that documentation our next task was to get professional photos taken.  You know, we needed those oh so flattering type of passport pics where they tell you not to smile.  The Dutch requirements for an acceptable photo were crazy.  My wife received a 100 page (slight exaggeration) document on the correct way to pose for the picture.  It was also suggested that we should “have our passport photo made by a professional photographer who is acquainted with the Dutch passport requirements.”  Unfortunately, it was getting late, and the photo studio in town was soon to close.  But we needed the picture for our appointment with the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) the next day.  Then something caught our eye in the Oss train station, a photo booth.  You remember them right?  You and your grade school friends would pile into them and make goofy faces and it would print out a sheet with 4 small pics.  You know, the same things that are now all the rage at wedding receptions.  Anyway, we spotted the photo booth and decided, what the hell, let’s give it a go.

After successfully navigating the all Dutch menus and inserting two crisp €5 bills into the machine, Vicki and I had two sheets of “stunning” photos ready to go.  We made sure we packed our precious prizes with us as we prepared to catch the train from Oss to Den Hague for our early morning date with the IND.    

The snow backdrop upon our arrival sure made for some beautiful scenery but not beautiful train travel.  What should have been about an hour and forty-five minute train ride took us close to four hours due to a “defective train.”  We eventually checked into our hotel, the Hotel Des Indes after 11pm.  This hotel was definitely worth the 4 hour trip, absolutely stunning.  You can read my TripAdvisor report here.  After a cocktail in their beautiful lobby bar, we passed out in bed and awaited tomorrow’s adventure.  (15 January 2013.)

SNEEUW!

Just so happened our arrival to the Netherlands coincided with the area’s first “major” snowfall.  It was by no means a Snowmageddon or a Snowpocalyspe but it was enough to snarl some of the major infrastructures.  Lucky for us, our ride from Amsterdam to Oss was uneventful and we arrived safely at our new home.  

The snow made for some great picture taking opportunities.  This was the bike parking lot at the Oss Train Station.

WE ARRIVED! We arrived into Amsterdam Airport on Tuesday, January 15th and were greeted with sneeuw.