A lesson on size

The trip to the Netherlands helped me get size in proportion. The grocery stores were small, neighborhood stores, although there were some supermarkets around as well. But the grocery store, the corner bakery, the little deli down the street helped me to see examples of our excess in the US. Packages of lunchmeat were about 6 thin slices rather than 2 lb pkgs., a loaf of bread was about 1/2 the size of our normal loaf, cream cheese, honey, ... you name it and the packages were more personal. Now if you had a big family this wouldn't be too economical but for two people, looking to have food for one week, the portion sizes were just right. I can't help but think we would be better off at home if we could find more products packaged for two. There are no bags in the store. You either bring your own or buy one each time you go to the store. Also, since bicycle is the primary mode of transportation, you simply bring your goods out of the store and place them in the basket, no need for a box or bag. It would be easier to carry a few small items rather than the large bags we bring home from the weekly shopping.  Now, I did not do a scientific study but from just general observation the people seemed to be smaller, weight wise at least. They were tall people,  some of the tallest, long legged women I have ever seen in my life.

Roads, at least in the city, were very narrow. Not enough room for two cars to pass either meeting each other or going around each other. And on this narrow street you shared with cars, bicycles, walkers, trucks, and mopeds. The doors to homes were right on the street and in some cases you had to be careful not to fall down stairs since the opening was right through the sidewalk. On one excursion we witnessed two truck drivers battle for space on the narrow street - one driver came in from the north and one from the south. Since they couldn't pass there was quite a bit of horn blowing and gesturing until finally the one from the south gave up and backed out of the street and went on his way.

Stairways are very steep and narrow and are everywhere. Since the land area is so small everything must go up. One guide explained the stairways being so narrow because in early times the people were taxed on the square footage of their buildings and so they made the stairs narrow so as not to take up too much space. The houses and stores were built so that you entered at ground level and most all had what we would consider a basement and then at least two floors above. Out on the farms the multi-storied home acted as barn and home. Since there was no heat in the home, the hay was stacked in the upper level, the family living in a middle level and the animals housed along with them on the middle and lower level. They all lived together to keep warm.

Travel size containers...if any of you have experienced air travel since 9/11 then you know you are limited on size of containers and number of bags you are allowed to carry. Since we were traveling internationally I was especially concerned about sticking to the rules and did a fair amount of research. I found you can pack through creams, gels, liquids, etc but only in 3 oz size containers and each person is allowed only 3 oz of each product and these must be placed in a quart bag (I used gallon bag and combined ours, fortunately we didn't get called out on that). Fortunately, we were not targeted either going or coming for "strip" search to our person or our bags. As most of you know I am of the philosophy that if a little bit is good then a whole lot must be better and I never dreamed I could exist on 3 oz of anything for one week. Boy was I surprised! 3 oz of shampoo will last about 1 1/2 weeks. I would never have thought I could survive with less than a 15 oz bottle. The side benefit is your luggage weighs less which we found to be a huge benefit when we landed in Amsterdam since you are walking with your luggage to your train, to your tram, to your apartment managers office, to the restaurant because you can't check inyet, back to the apartment managers office and then finally to the apartment. I learned you do not need to pack the house to be away for one week - you can get by on less. Who knew?