A Commercial Break

So, here's the story of how it was that we traded in Granny Towanda (GT) for a new car, after a month shy of 4 years!

Unbenownst to me, in European standards when you drive a small car like ours, 50K km is the magic number over which you don't really want to drive, if you expect a good trade-in value.  Our Daihatsu Cuore was at 48K km (30K miles), so Astrid was already calculating in her head what that meant, especially with the government-required 4-year check-up coming in March.  To say nothing about the potential repairs once a car turns "that old."

Like I said, totally unbenownst to me, because I thought GT was just getting started!  So when Astrid opened her mouth in mid-January to say she was thinking it was time to trade in GT, I'm sure I looked at her as though she were crazy.

But she's not, of course.  Europe is NOT America.  The roads here are NOT American, when you consider all the cobblestones we drive over everywhere (apart from the highways).  And besides...a small car does not have the long-term durability of what we're used to in America.

So, off we went to see Pedro, the same man who sold us GT back in 2010.  When Astrid made the appointment he immediately asked, "Is Ginnie coming, too?!"  Awww.  After 4 years, he remembered...and that's worth a lot, you know.

Did I mention that Daihatsu, the oldest Japanese car manufacturer, no longer sells the Cuore in Europe...because it's not cost effective for them?

So Pedro sells Škoda's instead, manufactured in the Czech Republic.

We had already decided Sunflower Yellow would be our new color of choice before walking in.

But after driving this "silverleaf" demo car, we both exclaimed, "I like that!"

So much so that we negotiated for it on the spot, in spite of its 6,500 km!

Pedro gave us a deal we couldn't refuse.

A week later (this past Monday!) we were surpised by its unveiling when we picked it up.

Thank God for Pedro's handy iPhone!

Have YOU ever purchased or traded in a car to that kind of fanfare?

SOLD

Welcome

Ginnie and Astrid

Congratulations on your new car!!

We wish you driving pleasure.

On behalf of the De Waal workers.

And following the unveiling, we were presented with our keys.

You don't forget that kind of service!

The logo on the left was the Škoda logo til 2011.  Now it's the one on the right (Wiki image).

It means:

as straight as an arrow

swift as a bird

with an eye to the future

And now for a bit of interactive fun.  Remember when we asked you to help us name Granny Towanda?  Well, it's time now to name this "silverleaf" Škoda Citigo.  It's 100 kilos heavier than GT and with a wider wheel base, hugging the road better...and yet is "greener" than GT.  It was crowned the Auto Express Best City Car of 2013.

When you see it up close, it has a bit of a sand hue to it, so I immediately think of a sand dollar.  Surely there's a good name there?

The myth of the sand dollar.

The spiritual meaning of sand dollars.

Holland's National Glass Museum, Leerdam, NL

Back in early December, one of our friends here where we live gave us tickets to the nearby Leerdam Glass Museum. The expiration date for them was Saturday, December 28, and that's the day we went.

Leerdam is a delightful city of 20K+ people just 16 km northest of us here in Gorinchem.  We've been in or near it many times in my 4 years here but this was the first time for us to visit the Glass Museum.  Leerdam's glass industry is internationally known as Royal Leerdam...also known as Royal Leerdam Crystal.  Leerdam is also known for it's Leerdammer cheese, but that's another story.

So off we went on a gorgeous, sunny, December Saturday!

We parked by the Ter Leede windmill near the Linge River.

What a delightful walk along the inner harbor...

...to the Glassworks building, where the glassblowers give their demonstrations.

BUT...that's not what our tickets were for!  

They were for the Glass Museum, back where we parked our car.

Okay, then.  As you know, we've already seen glassblowers, so we weren't too disappointed.

 We moved our car to the Glass Museum parking lot and got our first taste.

Make that Holland's National Glass Museum.

It's two connected houses with four overlapping bridges to make one continuous gallery.

 You can see it better out back, with the one house on the left...

...and the other on the right.

Now, come inside with us...for an exhibition called "A Sea of Glass."

Many things were from the sea, of course... but there were other things as well.

 I called this the Torture Chamber!

Remember those four bridges between the two houses?  Yup.

9,000 glass objects are on display there, as part of the museum.

And yes, there's a glass shop, with many items for sale.

But we went downstairs to the café and did our thing, per normal, while out-n-about.

That's where they had a fish tank with live jelly fish and a table for interactive, artistic fun. 

Something for everyone.

Totally worth our free tickets!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On another note altogether, now that one month of a new year is almost under our belts, we've been out-n-about also in January....

...first to our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant out in the polder.

This view is across the street from where we ate.  Sister Ruth calls them "the brethren."

Down the street, in nearby Leerbroek, is a Reformed Church, ca 1500.

The pannenkoek son told us they had a new cock atop the steeple.  Indeed.

And the church chimney hosts a stork's nest.  How's that for reaching out!

In fact, not far away we found a nice stork specimen, out in the polder...

...along with a heron and some more "brethren."

Birds of a feather:  storks, herons and sheep co-existing side-by-side.

I'm sure there's a sermon here somewhere!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Today we trade in our 4-year-old Granny Towanda for a new car...but that's a story for another day.  Another day, another dollar.  :)