Before leaving Holland I made sure to take some pictures of what my daily life was like. Things like grocery shopping and transportation were such a different experience for me in Holland than in America and I wanted to remember as many details as possible.
Sometimes I walked to the store with the stroller and sometimes I rode my bike. I usually had to go to the store every other day because I could only buy as much as I could carry in the stroller or the bike. I did most of my shopping at Albert Heijn which was about a 4 minute walk from my house and even quicker on my bike. I would usually go to the store after dropping Jimmy off at school so that I had one less kid with me and thus more room in the bike for groceries.
After locking up the bike I would get a cart for me and a small cart for Glade. He loved putting the coins in all by himself. If I came with the stroller instead of the bike then I wouldn't get a cart but would get a basket instead and just carry it, since I coudn't push both a stroller and a cart. Then I was limited to whatever groceries would fit in my little basket...and I usually filled it to the brim and my arm would be aching by the time I checked out. It got heavy once I loaded in the milk and juice. On the days I would buy diapers and wipes I had even less room to buy groceries because the diapers took up so much space.
You have to bag your own groceries and of course bring your own bags as well. I felt so wasteful coming back to the US and using plastic bags.
After done shopping I'd push the cart out to my bike and load it up with food and kids...put back the cart...unlock the bike and we were on our way.
All strapped in and ready to go!
It's strange to shop in the grocery stores in America because they are all SO much bigger! It's kind of annoying because it takes much longer to do shopping when the store is so big. But it is nice to be able to shop just once a week (or less) and be able to buy as much as I need and not worry about carrying it home. I have to say that I still feel lazy driving my car to the store though!
Here we are riding into the pathway that leads to our backyard.
I'd usually ride the bike right up to the house to make unloading easier.
I really do miss my bike, but I have to say it's nice to be able to drive when it's raining or cold.
4 comments:
Erika you look so sweet and lovely. It's good to have you back home...I know everyone missed you and the family, me included. Love you lots. Aunt Glenda
What memories. I agree, I miss my bike. It was great riding to work every day, even on the rainy days...as long as the wind wasn't blowing to hard.
You can still bike now that you're in the US! Only difference is now you don't have to.
Keep using your own bags--some stores will pay you for each bag of your own you use.
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