Two northern cities. Part two: Gdańsk

What do Polish Gdańsk and Dutch Groningen have in common? Both cities are the capitals of northern regions. You’ll find universities, bridges and historic old towns in both of them. But what will strike you the most is the architecture. It’s not even that surprising, when you realise that they are both Hanseatic cities. Tall and narrow houses, gothic brick churches and towers, impressive Town Halls. However, it seems to me that Gdańsk is a bit more vivid, more colourful, more cheerful.

I landed already after dark. After I arrived to the centre, I decided to walk the distance from the Upland Gate (Brama Wyżynna) to my hotel. And that was the best thing I could do! The evening stroll along Długa Street made me fall in love with this place immediately. Long rows of colourful buildings, beautifully illuminated. I always said that Kraków is magical, but at that very moment, Gdańsk stole my heart. I just arrived to the hotel, made myself comfortable in my cosy, pretty room and I already wanted to be back on the Long Market (Długi Targ). My stomach was also demanding some attention, so I went out to look for a cute, small restaurant. Although it was already quite late, I didn’t have much trouble finding a right spot. This city has so much to offer. 

I planned all the sightseeing for the coming two days. The Old Town, boulevard by the Motława river, the Old Mill… I simply could not stop taking pictures. Fascinated with everything I see I was not letting my camera out of my hands. At some point my hands started freezing. I needed to warm them up and mulled wine in Café Kamienica at Mariacka Street seemed like a perfect idea. While chilling in this cosy café, I was observing the street through the window. What an incredible place! It’s a relatively short and narrow street with wide stairs in front of each house. And along all the buildings there are tables with stunning amber jewelry. It’s a real amber paradise!

Before visiting the museums I bought a Tourist Card. It’s a great solution for everyone who is planning to see a bigger number of museums, galleries and/or moving a lot around Tricity. My lovely hotel was situated on the riverside, just few meters away from Granaries on the Ołowianka Island. I started my tour from there. The Granaries are nowadays the main exhibition area of the National Maritime Museum. Besides a big collection of maritime paintings, ship and boat models, you can find a lot of interesting information about sailing and seafaring, but also about Polish history. From the Granaries I took a mini ferry boat to the other riverside. Straight to the Żuraw, an amazing medieval port crane from the fifteenth century. 

After these maritime adventures I moved closer towards the Old Town changing the topic to bourgeoisie. The enormous building of the Town Hall is a must-see. Its spectacular interiors will astonish you with incredible decorating details, fantastic ceilings but also information about the rich history of Poland. The Uphagen’s House on the other hand shows how the rich citizens of Gdańsk lived years ago. I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with that last one. Although the Uphagen family came to Gdańsk from Flanders, there were no Dutch nor Belgian elements. From the House it's only a few meters to another interesting museum - the Amber Museum. Which also is a must-see. After all, amber is called the “the Baltic sea gold”. It fully deserves this name. The things people can make with amber are simply stunning. 

I was just about to call it a day, when I quite accidentally ended up by the entrance gate of the Gdańsk Shipyards. Since I was already there, I decided that I have to see the European Solidarity Centre. The new exhibition area has been opened only a few months ago. All the displays are dedicated to the history of the Solidarity movement, which led to democratic transformations in Poland and the whole of Central-Eastern Europe. I was never really interested in history nor politics, but I have to admit, that this place made a great impression on me. The events so important for my country are perfectly documented and presented in a very interesting way. I will definitely have to come back here with Maurice. And I’m pretty sure that he will not want to leave the Centre.  

Gdańsk has a lot to offer to its visitors. Not only the museums, galleries and monuments though. If you want to read about other attractions, check my blog again soon. 

Two northern cities. Part one: The connection

As you may already know on Tuesday, October 28^th Wizzair inaugurated a new route from Groningen to Gdańsk. I had the pleasure of taking the first flight connecting these two beautiful northern cities. 

The management of the Groningen Airport Eelde held of course a press conference. Local and polish media in the Netherlands were invited to this event. And guess what… so was I! I was extremely excited to take part in this meeting. For the first time I had a chance to meet the representatives of polish newspapers like Goniec Polski, Niedziel.nl and poPolsku. Which blogger doesn’t dream about a moment like that? Ok, a regular blogger, not a celebrity-blogger. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to talk. As the plane arrived earlier than planned, just after the presentation I had to go to the security gates. I was about to take the flight! The director of the airport and the marketing manager wished me a pleasant flight and rushed to the ramp to greet the first arriving passengers. 

Port lotniczy w Groningen (Eelde)

Polish cakes for the guests

The airport in Groningen Eelde is quite small, so everything went fast and smooth. By the way… it might be a small airport, but not an ordinary one. Did you know that the KLM’s pilots train here? At this very airport.

Although it was the first flight on this route, there was a lot of passengers waiting for boarding. Both, Polish and Dutch were checking out the landing airbus. I’m not surprised that the flight was so popular. It is a really great deal. How often can you find a flight to a beautiful city for only €20? Not only on that one day. It’s a very attractive and promising route. And Gdańsk is definitely worth visiting. 

Let’s focus on the flight. Just after getting on board we were greeted by the aircrew (as always) and offered an sweet treat. I took my seat and happily noticed that the boarding is going quite smooth without any chaos. If you’ve ever travelled with the low-cost airlines, you know that the passengers are not always well organized and cause a sort of traffic in the aircraft. Not this time! We could finally take off and start our journey to Gdańsk. I looked through the window. Wait a minute… is that the coast?? I’m so used to the view of endless fields and forests that seeing the seashore was very refreshing. However not even half as great as the lights of Gdańsk seen from above. Truly hypnotizing. We were getting ready for landing and the plane took a big turn. I felt like I’m hanging in the air staring at this marvellous web of lights. A beautiful promise of what I was  about to experience in the coming few days. 

To be continue. 

Our second COOKIE quiz

It´s been awfully quiet here lately. Yes, yes… I know. It´s my fault since I haven´t been translating much into English for a year or so. I promise to finally fix it soon.  Mean time I think you deserve a little treat. That´s why we´re starting a new cookie quiz again!

The rules are the same as the previous time: 

• You can leave the answers in the comments (they are going to be hidden for the coming month and posted only after the quiz is finished) or send to my email: Justine.in.neverland@gmail.com. Please do not leave your answers on our Facebook fan page.
• The quiz ends on October 2^nd. Till that day you have time to prove your love to Dutch sweets.
• When the time is up my adorable assistant Mauricia will choose 3 random winners.
• The lucky ones will receive from me small packages filled with Dutch sweets.

Good luck everyone and I hope you will enjoy this yummy game!

 The second edition of our 

COOKIE QUIZ

1. What is the name of a dessert made of choux pastry filled with whipped cream and covered with chocolate? (The picture belowe)

2. These big ball pastries mentioned above can make you feel really guilty because of its size (and all the calories of course). Luckily there's also a mini version of them, same delicious. What's the name of these small balls filled with whipped cream?

3. One of the more popular cakes in the Netherlands is a variety of a napoleon or mille feuille with pink icing. How is it called in Dutch?

4. Dropjes are THE candies of the Netherlands. There are hundreds of types of them. One of more popular are apekoppen. What is the taste of these monkey heads?

5. When Sinterklaas is coming to the Netherlands, he treats the children not only with pepernootjes, but also with sweet latters. What are these letters made of?

6. Vlaai is next to an apple pie the most common and popular pie. From which province is it originally coming from?

7. One of my favorite pastries in this country is a sweet, a bit sticky bread with a hint of cinnamon. Maurice allowed me to try it for the first time on my birthday (first time celebrated in the Netherlands). How do you call this pastry?

8. Dutch people love a custard-like dessert sold in carton boxes. How is it called in Dutch?

9. Bokkenpootjes means "goat's legs" and it's a cookie made of two crunchy pieces. They are glued with a cream and their both ends are chocolate covered. What are these two pieces made of?

10. What's the name of the cake on the picture below?

Why does an expat girl need an expat friend?

- Is everything ok? Why are you not answering your phone? - Maurice asks a bit worried.

- I’m sorry, I was just cycling when you called. I cannot use this phone when I’m wearing hand gloves [ah, the downside of a smartphone]. Plus I was already very close from home. I thought I’ll call you back.

- You were just coming back home? Why so late… I thought you were supposed to meet with girls for lunch at 13.00? - he sounds surprised

- Well I did… It just took a bit longer. You know we always tend to gossip for long. And we haven’t seen each other for sooo long!

The WastefulWives Club is reunited! God I love these lunch meetings. They always take the whole afternoon, we often discover new, cute places in our city and we can gossip nonstop for few hours and share stories called “I’m never gonna understand these Dutch…[honestly, who can??]”. It’s still nothing comparing to going for lunch with my friend Lidia (we always somehow ended up at some bar drinking vodka on the rocks somewhat after midnight), but these were different times. Student times. Now the Wasteful Wives have husbands/children/cats to feed. Nevertheless, when we meet, for these few hours nothing else matters.

We all know, that a woman need her girlfriends same as she needs an oxygen. Love is great, carrier’s amazing, motherhood… well, apparently some people enjoy it ;) You can have it all, but at some point this day is going to come, when you’re gonna want to kill everyone around you. And at this day only a good, honest girl-talk can save you. Especially if you live abroad.

If someone would ask me how do I remember my first months as an expat, I would say: long. Sure everything was new and fresh and fascinating (or terrifying). There was a lot to discover, a lot to learn and accept. But those days were quite lonely. Maurice was working a lot and coming home late (well he still is, but now I’m also busy). Me on the other hand… I was trying so much to fill my days with anything. I was desperately needing a friend. Someone like me, who has moved here and had similar hopes, worries and emotions as I did. When I finally met my Expat girls I was relived. Than at school I met more girls, who became my best friends in this country. I could finally feel like home. I had someone to go out for coffee, to meet. Someone who knew exactly what it feels like to move abroad for love.

Human is a herding animal and he needs to feel he belongs somewhere. Women need it even more. Being an immigrant who doesn’t speak the language yet kind of makes you stand out from the rest of the society. You can try to integrate 24/7  and you’re still gonna be different. And you’re gonna have these thought like “Why are they being so weird? Is this nation sane? Or… am I still sane?”. This is when your friends step in. A lost and confused girl can exchange their observations, compare the analyses and draw conclusions together: she’s not the only one that’s crazy. There’s more of us – the incoming paranoids or it’s the Dutch nation that’s not exactly normal ;) And there are hundreds  of such a social scientific topics to discuss: the Dutch savoir-vivre, struggling with learning the language and “the hate stage”, the healthcare system, the laid-back fashion and style (and why it’s pointless to even style your hair), relations with your in-laws (and why even if they are awesome, you don’t want to spend with them significantly more time than hanging on a phone or skype with your mom)… These conversations help you to feel that you really belong somewhere and realise that you’re not alone with these confusing feelings and ambivalent emotions. And if there’s more people like you, it means your mental health is still fine. So live long girlfriends and the relaxing time spent with them!

Ordinary tea and wrong coffee... other words: what to drink when in Holland

Dutch people love coffee. They are the biggest coffee-drinkers in the world just after the Scandinavians. If a coffee machine in is broken, the whole office starts to panic and everything falls into chaos. Sometimes a pilgrimage to another floor in the office building is needed ;) And of course if they have their coffee, it’s a simple, black one. No extras, weird additions, decorations or other frills. Very Dutch and pragmatic. A drink should be practical. That’s all. Same story with tea. Also black.

Sounds boring, isn’t it? Terrible… Makes me not wanna ask my Dutch guests if they would like something to drink, cause I’m too afraid to hear this depressingly boring order in answer. But there is one small, tiny detail that always makes me smile. The names. The Dutch like to give their own names and they also do it very clearly. That’s way black tea is called gewone thee (which doesn’t surprise me that much, in Poland we do the same) and coffee with milk is… koffie verkeerd. Wrong coffee. 

Wrong coffee or you want it like that on purpose? 

I can imagine how many, many years ago one Dutch saw another, pouring some milk in his own coffee and he screamed: “What the hell are you doing?! That’s not the way to drink coffee. That’s just wrong!”. And so it stayed. So that now any latte-drinker has to feel ashamed and like a weirdo, every time he orders his “wrong coffee”. He wants milk in his coffee? So shameful ;)

Speaking of ordering beverages. The first time you look at a menu in this country might be a bit confusing. What’s the difference between sinaasappelsap and jus d’orange? They both mean “orange juice” so why the prices are different? It’s actually very simple: jus d’orange is a freshly squeezed juice, while the other one is from a bottle. But why to make it more difficult than needed? Is there not “freshly squeezed” term in Dutch language? Of course there is… vers geperst. But there’s a funny thing about these Dutchies. Even if there is a perfectly correct word in Dutch to name a thing, the Dutch would use French language if they wanna make it sound more fancy. After all “freshly squeezed” sounds so ordinary and stoep so common. Wouldn’t it be nice to say trottoir? You can hear the nicety… even if we’re still talking about a simple sidewalk ;) 

Let’s leave the juice. What I really struggles at the beginning with was water. I mean… why can’t they just call it “water” in a menu? Or maybe universal “aqua”? No, instead of this, you’ll find spa. Seriously? Are we going to drink or relax in a pool? Ok, ok… it’s fine. That wasn’t that difficult. But what if a waitress asks you if you want spa rood? What? I don’t wanna red water. Nor blue. Thank God our good friend always drinks sparkling water and I’ve noticed that the label is always red. So spa blauw must be still water… Ahh why?? Why can’t you call it like the whole rest of the world? Go to hell with these colors ;P

Watch out for the Russian's attack

Did you get a text message last Monday? I did. Even two! And I don’t mean a normal, private text message, but the one testing the Dutch warning system NL-Alert. The government tested the system nationally last Monday at noon. The text messages are supposed to warn the citizens in case of big disasters.

These messages however are not the only form of the warning system. On every first Monday of a month at 12.00 you can hear an alarm going on in every single city in the Netherlands. The first time I heard it, I was just cycling to school for my NT2 course. Now I kind a wonder how could I not notice these alarms for the first half a year of my stay in this country… But back to the case: The lessons were held at the university, so I was already around a student campus, when I heard it.

- Damn students… They messed up again - I thought.

The whole experience didn’t have any special significance to me, nor caused any suspicions, so I quickly forgot about it. At least till the next times same thing happened. Could it be, that the Dutch students are so problematic? It all came out clear, when I heard the alarm during our casual stroll with my mother-in-law. She explained me the purpose of these alarms.

- They are testing them every first Monday of a month at noon. If we’d hear it on some other day or other time, we should quickly go and hide in a shelter.

- And where is actually the closest shelter? - I asked.

- I have no idea - she laughed.

Maurice had also a great theory about these alarms. According to him they were supposed to warn us about… a Russian aircraft raid! Whaaaat? I think it’s a different decade now, isn’t it? However the Luchtalarm was indeed created already during the Cold War. It would warn Dutch citizens in case of war or nuclear explosion. Nowadays it’s used for different kinds of danger and cataclysms. If you’d hear it (except the Monday’s testing) you should quickly go home, close the doors and windows and listen to radio or TV for more information. But does anyone actually remember about that or pay any attention?

And how did this last NT-Alert attempt go? Well, not so perfect. Many people didn’t get ant message (like for example Maurice), while others got even more than one. I got two, so our household balance was fine :D Seems like the Dutch government knows how’s in charge of a crisis management in our house ;) 

Dutchman's Anatomy: Jeans, boots and wind in your hair

- I think I’m turning into Dutch… - said grotesquely Anna – Do you remember that Swedish guy from our first language course? The Sheldon-alike one? Remember that he once said, that every Dutch woman has at least few pair of flat boots?... Well, mines are almost all flat!

The Wasteful Wives Club burst into laughter. However, after a short discussion we all came to conclusion that since we live in the Netherlands, we barely ever wear heels anymore. It was most painful to admit for Lucy, for whom heels used to be a kind of trademark. Heels might be pretty, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do!

During our ladies lunch meetings we tend to talk a lot about how Dutch women dress and compare it to the trends we know from our homelands. Every expat girl I’ve ever talked to has exactly same observations. It hit me even more, when I was reading “Pas op, Nederlanders. Over een volk dat minder gewoon is dan het zelf denkt” (“Watch out, the Dutch. About the people who are less normal than they think themselves”). The author had some interesting insights about that aspect and explained (as a Dutchman) where does it come from. 

Boots - the must-have in any Dutch closet, no matter the season

So how does an average Dutch woman look like? Most likely she’s wearing boots or ankle boots, flat or on tiny heel. The season doesn’t matter… These shoes are on from indian summer to late spring. Sometimes also in the middle of the summer  ;) Cloths are usually in muted, subdued colours. All shades of beige, grey, navy and black. White is super popular, especially on the first warmer days of May. It’s also the season for a kind of national clothing disaster: white leggings.

Dutch women like to feel cool and comfy. And you can see it just going through their wardrobe. Even when they are going out to a pub or a party with their friends, they don’t overly dress up. They keep it simple and casual. I always had a problem with it, when we were going to some bigger family event. In Poland it’s easy: whether you’re going to your aunts tea party, grandma’s birthday, festive dinner with your family or a theatre, you always dress smart. In the Netherlands? What difference does it make? Jeans and tee’s are fine. An exam, a job interview, a wedding? Same jeans and maybe a shirt (so you won’t look sloppy). Hair down or loosely tied and light, natural make-up (or no make-up). After all what’s the point of  styling your hair… the wind is gonna ruin it anyway while you’re cycling :) 

For the Dutch the surfice is not the most important... but the beast that's inside you... ;)

So why do Dutch people pay rather little attention to their looks? What’s wrong in getting fancy dressed up once a time? Nothing… It’s just not their highest priority. Of course it doesn’t mean they look sloppy and totally careless. Simply in this country it’s more important WHAT you represent and have to say, rather than HOW you represent it. And since they love to talk and discuss for hours, it’s easier to show their “inside beauty”. “All that glitter is not gold”-saying has reached another level here. It’s a very pragmatic nation. If clothes are not comfortable, why would you wear them? Now let’s be honest: does wearing a tie and a suit make you an expert in your field?

This attitude fits perfectly to a popular Dutch saying: “Doe maar normal dan ben je gek genoeg”… Act normal and you’re already crazy enough! ;) 

A trap for job seekers

Looking for a job can be a bitch. Especially if you moved to another country and you don’t speak fluent their language. Even worse if you live in a province. That´s why I decided to change my qualifications and learn something new and more useful. I started a year-long professional training (in Dutch!). Few days ago I also updated my CV on one vacancy website. Soon after that, my phone rang.

A very nice lady from a recruitment department of a company I have never ever hear about called with an offer. She started complementing my skills and job experience (oh, all those languages and previous jobs…) and I felt really pleased, that after so many rejections someone is finally appreciating me. Than she enthusiastically moved to describing the vacancy. When I heard word “sales” I shook in disgust. I seriously dislike this particular kind of job and hate when someone intrudes the potential clients trying to sell them what they don’t need, while implying  that it’s absolutely essential for their existence.  However, after two years of studying a new language and abasement by doing several random (and crap) part-time jobs, this sounded like they are throwing me a bone. We agreed for a meeting. I also immediately got an e-mail with confirmation of our appointment.

I happily shared this news with Maurice and checked their website to do a little research. Quite surprising, there was not many information there and definitely nothing specific. Luckily Maurice also did his little investigation. He called me back with some very disappointing news. I quickly checked it myself by typing the name of the company into Google.

Appco (that’s how they’re called) definitely doesn’t have a good opinion. On internet you can find a lot of stories of people who got caught into their trap. It always starts the same way: a nice lady finds your CV on a vacancy website and calls you with a job offer. Of course she’s extremely positive about you. You make an appointment, where they give you some papers to sign as soon as possible. Later it’s hard to get out of the whole deal. No the worst parts: they don’t give you a contract, but force you to register your own business as their partner (in this moment they are already violating the rules of using the vacancy websites). The job itself is indeed in sales… door to door sales! There’s also no basic salary, just a commission if you manage to sell something. So to see some actual money, you’d have to knock to many doors. Terminating the agreement is also not so easy. Many people who have signed it got into big financial trouble because of it.

To make it sound even more ridiculous, the negative information like this are to be found as well on Wikipedia. I mean, how bad it has to be, that it’s even on Wikipedia? Not only there actually. A Dutch TV show “Trosradar” investigated the company. Unfortunately there are too many partners registered to fight with all of them or sue them in court.

As you may suspect, I didn’t go to the meeting. I preferred not to take a risk (and not to waste my time). You also watch out! For me it was yet another proof that a passive job seeking can be nothing but useless (or in this case even harmful). 

Budget stay in Nijmegen

- We had over here one of your readers few weeks ago! - said Paul enthusiastically.

- What? How do you know? – I asked totally surprised.

-Well, there was this Polish guy, who came here to study. We were sitting once on a terrace talking, so we asked him why Nijmegen. And he said there’s this polish girl writing a blog,  who lives here. He simply liked what she wrote about the city. I don’t know how many Polish women are writing about Nijmegen, but I guess he meant you.  

It was such a cool feeling, to know that I encouraged someone to visit this city. I just sincerely hope he didn’t get disappointed. Now it’s time for the rest of you to come here, especially that since a few months it doesn’t have to be that expensive anymore. Some of you might have read about it already on our Facebook… Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m happy to present you the very first and only hostel in Nijmegen: Barbarossa!

When I met Maurice the plans of opening a hostel were already there. It is one of his friends who made this dream come true. I assume that most of you is familiar with the idea of a hostel. However, in case some lost soul wouldn´t know the difference  between this type of accommodation  and a hotel, here´s my quick explanation. A hostel  is a kind of a guest house. There´s no room service, no stiff receptionist. Instead you’ll find there a very laid-back, friendly ambience, equipped kitchen and living room and a cheerful, helpful staff. The rooms are usually multi-bedded dorms (in case of Barbarossa it’s one 5-person dorm), but often small private rooms as well (again, here there are two double/twin rooms). Bathrooms and toilets are also shared, but you have to remember that staying in a hostel it’s not about the luxury. It’s all about meeting new people, about this unique atmosphere and the feeling that you’re a traveller. And the most important thing: it’s much cheaper than in any average hotel or B&B. 

Though Barbarossa is located just in the centre of the city, it’s super quiet and calm in there. Hidden in a cute yard, surrounded with trees, will let you relax and make feel like home. At the same time it’s a perfect base for visiting Nijmegen. Super close to the Valkhof park (with cool festivals through the whole spring-summer season), the main square Grote Markt, the boulevard by the Waal river and many, many cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.

But what does actually set this place apart from other hostels and guest houses? The first thing you may notice is the original furniture in retro style. Second: it’s located in an over 160-year old building. In the close proximity there’re more building like that. Some of them are actually considered the local monuments. Third: a kind of artsy atmosphere. In the attic above, a few young artists have their atelier and you can often see them hanging out in the hostel’s kitchen or terrace with a cup of hot, black coffee. Even more, same often they greet the guests and check them in ;) 

The hostel is very young and is still improving. New elements shows up, others are getting changed or fixed. In the future it might get bigger. There are also plans to adapt the basement into a gallery. It’s already very cheerful there and a bit… vanguard, so if you’re planning to visit Nijmegen, don’t forget to check out this place!

A walk through Hees or other words "how I was taken for the world's worst burglar"

From time to time we like to go with Maurice for an evening walk. Our favorite goal is a nearby neighborhood Hees. Why do we like it so much? Keep on reading.

Nijmegen as the oldest city in the Netherlands was built on a hill and for ages surrounded with city walls. It's because of that the center is so packed with narrow streets and houses. At the same time Hees was an old village located just outside the city walls. This lovely settlement is full of monasteries, churches and beautiful old houses, enormous villas and cute farm houses. Many of them are municipal monuments. When the city started growing outside the walls Hees quickly became a part of it. Now it's an adorable neighborhood.

This "bench" is a symbol commemorating the opening of a tram line connecting Hees with the center of Nijmegen

It's so close to the center of the city, but you can't feel it at all. It seems like the life goes here very calm and relaxed. Full of green, surrounded with lovely old buildings. Some of these even have its own name.Hees was clearly a very religious village. There are two churches - catolic and protestant and few monasteries. We love to wander here and imagine how would it be to live in such a cute tiny old house or big mansion.

Believe it or not, but this purple hovel apparently is a monument..

Unfortunatelly our great mood and pleasant stroll was disturbed by some older man. When I was taking the last picture of a beautiful big mansion, the man run outside of his house (which was by the way on the other side of the street than the mansion) and started angrily staring at us.
- It's fine, we're not doing any harm here, right - Maurice informed him calmly.
- I damn sure don't trust you! - he shouted.
We just shrugged and kept walking our way holding our hands. The man however didn't stop. He started walking behind us and yelling:
- The police is informed! And I'll recognise your faces!!
Informed? About what?... A couple that is strolling in a nice neighborhood and taking pictures of the monuments? I didn't know it was forbidden...
- That's great you have nothing better to do! - answered annoyed Maurice and we left away, shaking our heads.
Honestly? Us, robbers? Even if we'd be ones, that would be the worst example of it. Taking pictures of the houses and standing very officially on the middle of the street? And at the time when everyone is at home, eating dinner. Not even mentioning that it was still very light and you could see eveything. That indeed would make the worst burglar ever. Same well I could just give this man my card and a photo joking "Here, very good you'll remember my face. Maybe one time you can recognise it when I'm already famous". However I'm afraid the man would not get the sarcasm or be still alive by the time I'm famous. With this attitude his ulcers would finish him before.