Those damn stairs again!

I had my first month off with the new apartment. Things were looking a million times better since I left it a month prior, with mountains of moving boxes piled in every corner, and a cheeky “see you in a month” to Mirjam as I head out the door.

Mirjam did an exceptional job of making the place liveable. Now I was back, and priority one was to organise a bed for the impending visit from mum. Lack of planning you might say….. well no not this time. I had ordered a sofa bed 12 weeks prior, and it was delayed. Mind you, regardless, I woke up one night in a sudden panic proclaiming “the sofa won’t fit up the stairs!!”. Well a few minutes with the aid of a measuring tape and the truth presented itself.

A few days earlier, I ordered a refrigerator, and after much excitement about my new beer chilling device, it turned up to the apartment building door and the deliverers could take it no further. If I couldn’t get a fridge up the those hellish stairs, the couch was a definite no-go.

The Dutch are no strangers to getting out of tight spots, and given the proliferation of high density living, it is not uncommon to take furniture through the window. So the solution was to hire a lift, and take the fridge and the couch up the same time.

So one afternoon, a crew turned up with an elevator, blocked off my street, took the couch up, took the fridge up, and we gone in about 15 minutes. Excellent service and problem solved…until I move again.

OK, enough on the house, what else did I do during my month off….

Keukenhoff Garden

You’ve all seen the postcards, fields of tulips as far as the eye can see, all in neatly planted rows, producing a rainbow of colours. Keukenhoff is a large botanical exhibit for the thriving flower industry in Netherlands. Well, we lucked out. Given the carbon footprint of all the non-kyoto participating countires, the flowers has bloomed early and the show was over. We saw some nice gardens, and I got to race Mirjam in a labyrinth, but no tulips. Next year, we go earlier.

Nordic Walking

I have got to admit, I’ve only ever seen old people do this. However, I said the same thing about lawn bowls, and that is now seeing a surge of younger people take up the “sport”. Mirjam and I joined a group going Nordic walking in the dunes of Wassennar, an affluent region near The Hague. We started with an introductory training session in the carpark, with a guide who was on a mission to convert us all to Nordic walking enthusiasts. And to be honest, he certainly whet my appetite. We walked for about 3 hours, and I was surprised how much of a workout it is – since the walking is also via the arms, using the poles to push the body forward. We had a good group, lots of laughs at the stares we got from people who I’m sure were thinking “are you too young for that?”

Mum comes to visit

A few days later, mum arrived to begin her 4 month junket around Europe. We took her to Delft, the gorgeous little town 10km south of The Hauge. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon walking around in the glorious weather. We enjoyed a drink at the Belgian Beer Café (yes the same as in Perth!), took in some local culinary culture and ate raw herring, and had dinner at a cute canal-side restaurant. It was funny watching mum turn green after attempting her second raw herring, in fact it took several hours, and a bottle of soft drink to bring the colour back into her face.

Mum also has a knack of engaging with locals like i’ve never seen. Many a time we’d be out shopping or for a drink, and she would strike up a conversation with a local resident and minutes later there are fits of laughter and we are getting invites for coffee. She certainly has no trouble making friends.

Wine Appreciation

Mirjam and I were invited to attend a wine appreciation evening in the city of Groningen (northern Netherlands) being held by our Dutch friends Remco and Caroline.. In a test of my social acceptance, I said “Can I bring my mum?”

Well, it was a hit. Remco had arranged a wine appreciation professional to tutor us in the fine points of recognising the “full bodied forest berries and smokey overtones” in a selction of wines from around the world. This even included an Australian wine – Oxford Landing Chardonay – a terribly poor example of the fine wine making skills of my fellow countrymen.

The night was fun, we polished off at least a few cases of wine – and I learnt a few points on the differences between wines. And that it is cool to bring your mum to parties.

Boating in Fryslan

The next day Remco and Caroline treated us to a guided tour of their home city of Groningen. A very cute town with its own charms, and with a lot more space than The Hague.

That afternoon we took a drive to the lakes in the Frysland region, to the holiday home owned by Remco’s parents. His dad had recently purchased a new boat, and he was allowed to take it out for a spin. We sailed around the lakes and pulled up anchor to enjoy some snacks and wine. This area is very popular for the Dutch and Germans to holiday, and lots of people were on the water. We stopped at a café to introduce mum to another dutch delecasy – Bitterballs. A deep fried snack of unknown origin, they are a favourite of the Dutch and Mirjam and I had adopted it as a favourite accompaniment to beer. Mum wasn’t particularly impressed.

Pinkpop

Forget Big Day Out. That is small scale stuff. Pinkpop is the reason I wanted to live in Europe. Pinkpop is a 3 day music festival held in the south of Netherlands. Near 40 acts, including headlines such as Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Sissor Sistors, Snow Patrol, Linkin Park, Korn, Evanescence, and many many more. It was cool.

We camped, as that’s what you do at a European festival. Its all part of the experience. There were 3 camping areas – paddocks converted to temporary cities with shops, toilets, showers, and even a disco for those who wanted no sleep over the long weekend.

It was huge. It was tents next to tents stretching on and on over the rolling hills. And so tightly packed, it was hard to find a spot to pitch ours. But we did, and after setting up we enjoyed two days of great music, beer, coffee, hot dogs and kebabs. Ahhh, the festival life. We grooved along to Scissor Sisters and Snow Patrol – two particular highlights. Special recognition to 30 seconds to Mars, Smashing Pumpkins and Muse who put on great shows.

Even though I didn’t get a descent shower for two days, and ate a mountain of junk food, it was a whole load of fun and the atmosphere was really great. It was a lot more chilled than Big Day Out – no crushing crowds and people respect your space.

That is it. A month packed full of fun and it was hard to drag myself onto the long haul flight back to Sakhalin, but at least I went to work knowing I had made good use of my month off.

Steve

Is this the end of the earth?

No, but I think I could just about see the edge.

Wow, what a journey. I don’t think there could be many other spots on this planet that take this long to reach. It took me the good part of 3 days, on 3 forms of transport crossing 9 time zones to get from the door of my apartment to the gates of the OPF site. And I was shattered.

To explain, I was starting a new project-engineering job at the Onshore Processing Facility (OPF) for Sakhalin Energy in the far north of the Russian island of Sakhalin. And getting there was not straightforward. It took 17 hours of flying to Yuzhno, the capital of Sakhalin, then a 15 hour overnight train to the northern town of Nogliki, then a 3 hour off-road drive to the OPF.

The train ride was kinda fun. But in the way you’d describe a trip across the Nullabour Plain. Interesting the first time, but you don’t enjoy it much the second time. Let alone the many more times I will have to make this journey. I was lucky to get a cabin to myself, which proved comfortable enough. Dinner was a scary sight, it consisted of 2 minute noodles, which I now realise forms the staple meal of these train journeys. Whilst not a totally uncomfortable trip, it certainly wasn’t luxurious being stuck on the train for such a long time. I may now reconsider my dream of undertaking the Trans-Siberian railway journey one day.

With 3 days travel and crossing 9 time zones, I was suffering badly from jet lag. In fact, I hardly remember much of the first week - I was a walking zombie. But after a week I started to get into it. I met a lot of Aussies on site. And ironically enough, a lot of them were from Perth. It was the most Perth people I have been around, well since I left Perth! I met a guy called Dean Finlayson who was at UWA same time as me, and we keep each other motivated and occupied on site.

The site is located near the sea-side, as it connects to an offshore facility 7 km from the coast. I took a trip down to the beach one day, and was very interesting to see a frozen ocean. You could do a JC move, and walk on water.

I also took a climb up the flare tower of the plant to get some good views. I thought I’d take the opportunity because once the plant is commissioned, there is no way you can get up there. Its not often one can climb a flare tower, they are usually producing an enormous flame, so I was keen to make the climb whilst I could. It really highlighted how isolated we were, as there is not another man made structure in sight. The nearest town Nogliki is about 180km away. The view was amazing. I could see the mountains on one side, the frozen ocean on the other, and forests all around. It reminded me how beautiful and natural this island is.

As for accommodation, I live in a caravan. If you’re like I was when I found out, I thought that was crap. I imagined it to be a cramped trailer with a wind up roof and fold out bed. But in fact it was an enormous RV camper from the States. Complete with a separate lounge room with TV, DVD and surround sound. I was happy with the choice, since it was a marked improvement over the dormitory style accommodation that is the norm on site.

As for wildlife, I’m always interested to “meet the locals”. I’ve seen many artic foxes, as they come into the camp in search of food. I’m still the see a bear (from a distance I hope!) but they should just be waking up from hibernation now so maybe next rotation I will spot one. There are majestic sea eagles nesting near the site, which I have yet to see, except from a distance – they are amazing birds with up to 2m wing span.

Well I write this as I travel back home to Netherlands. My first rotation up, and so far I am happy with the job and the site. The travel is tiring, but it gives me time to catch up on some reading and watch a few movies. I hope to have a busy month at home, decorating the apartment, seeing friends, and showing my mum around when she arrives end of May.

So I will have more to write about soon… including how I will get the L-shaped sofa I ordered up that damn staircase! Stay tuned for that adventure.

S