‘back in the apartment in Maastricht for the week, Christmas  Ball out and the Dutch Star lit.  Beyond the star, lights are shining along the ‘skade and across the Stone Bridge.  There are few signs of Christmas Markets outside of the Vrijthof, but workmen are bringing in huts and decorating trees, so there may yet be celebrations.

The clock is running down towards my visa conversion, so I flew into Amsterdam to meet with the accountants and attorneys who would be documenting my case. Official stamps, company letterheads, original bank statements, current uittreksel: I know the drill.  The upside is that I get a little time to walk Amsterdam’s canals, too early for the Festival of Lights, but the still waters and reflected townhouses made for a good stroll.

 

Central Maastricht is filled with sparkle and colour, despite the rain and freezing temperatures.  I’ve been out for zuurvlees and herfst bier with business associates, putting final touches onto plans and partnerships for the coming year.  I need cards and gifts from the department stores, Dutch Christmas treats for the folks in the UK and US.  I want time in the main square for Gluhweijn while watching the skaters.  I wish there was time to go to Aachen or beyond, but it will need to wait for another year.

 

Mostly, though, its nice to be back among familiar scenes and people, the city’s movement and warmth.

I was back among the Dutch this week, finalizing my accounts and raising funds.  It’s a beautiful autumn along the Maas so far, warm and colorful.  I took a long evening bike ride out towards Eijsden last night beneath a clear sky and among warm winds.  The lights shimmering off the river and the glow of the sunset over the fields were picture perfect – it’s always nice to find the charm of the countryside waiting when I return.

Work has been progressing on the apartment during my absence.  The wall has apparently dried and the new plaster is up.  A lot of cleaning is ongoing, fabrics and pillows, carpets and counters.  The radiators are off the pipes and laid out in the hallway being repainted.  Hopefully everything will be operating before the colder weather hits, sealed before the winter rains.  But it is encouraging; I’d thought it would take months.

I closed the 2013 accounts and taxes with my financial folks in Amsterdam.  There were, as always, a lot of details to confirm, a missing invoice here and an unmatched payment there.  But the annuals look complete and we agree on the bottom line numbers.  We should have the Dutch business taxes out next week, which means that the US 2013 personal taxes can begin.  The United States is one of the few countries that insists on filings for income earned outside the country, and it always adds a month of work and a thousand dollars of expense to comply with all of the requirements.

Still, it was a nice day along the ring canals as well.  Strolling the waterways, reflecting on another year in life and business, I wonder if it isn’t time to think about life’s goals more in terms of aspirations than ambitions, meer balans en aspiratie, minder grenzen en ambitie.

 

In contrast, the meandering walks through my airports just get worse and worse.  The commute is complicated to both plan and price: Stansted is the jumping-off point for Eindhoven; Southend connects to Maastricht , and Gatwick / Southampton through Amsterdam.  From Cambridge, Stansted is the only option, but the airport’s refurbishment is a real nuisance. 

Security has been relocated to one end of the terminal and takes twice as long to exit, then the walk to the gates is limited to a twisting hallway through all of the duty-free shops, a circuitous trek worthy of Ikea.

The public waiting areas beyond have few seats, few amenities, and are generally a wreck until the remodel is done.

The repurposing of airports as shopping malls is not making flying any easier.

Setting that aside, though, we had good meetings with the folks at the Limburg Investment Agency (LioF) and with the development groups working at the Medical Center. 

And it was nice to watch the sun rise behind the steeples over coffee, enjoy a bierje by the river in the evening, and to catch up with the local news and a few friends.

One recommendation: A bok bier is especially nice this time of year: here is a guide to a few that might be good selections.

My core legal and banking activities still base in Amsterdam, 2 hours train ride from Maastricht, but the ride north is always a welcome break.  In this case, the visit started with a dusk flight capping a Director’s Meeting in Hungary, but  the t’huis feeling returned on landing, seeing fading Dutch light reflected from the wet fields and incandescent greenhouses.

My colleague signed us up for a night in an AirBnB apartment ear the Centraal Station: the scruffy suite turned out to be a block off the Red Light district along a busy back street of bars and head shops.

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No matter, the late summer evening was warm and still, the strolling crowds good-natured, and the borrel conversations  (bierje en bitterballen) were relaxed and insightful.

 

The morning light, the reflections in the canals while strolling across town to the accountant’s offices, was exceptional.

   

We arrived 10 minutes late for meetings, but who wouldn’t understand?

The Netherlands celebrates its 200 year anniversary in Maastricht today.  It feels a bit strange to say that: so many of the stories of the Golden Age (and a lot of the city-core buildings) are much older.  But the Kingdom as it currently exists started with independence from the French at the Prince of Orange’s return in November 1813 and his investiture in September 1815. 

We’re in the middle of a 2-year celebration of that founding, and the Royals are visiting Maastricht for a day of celebration. The Dutch King and Queen are being joined by Belgian and Luxemburg royals (the Kingdom was all one country uniting the Netherlands and Belgium 200 years ago) and the Federal President of Germany.

  

Plans begin this afternoon with a musical fashion show, “Everything Flows”, in the Markt Square in front of City Hall.  A lecture on Dutch foreign policy follows (lending some balance?), leading to a lavish dinner and musical theater on the Vrijthof this evening.

‘No sign of favorite son Andre Rieu on the agenda.  But Pruvenemint, the annual food fair, is also filling the Vrijthof this weekend (and the royals are dropping in for a full ten minutes to sample the food), so it will be a busy evening in the city center.

The military has set up a staging area outside my apartment along Kesselskade, communications trucks and tents, armored vehicles alongside police and emergency responders. 

  

They all compete for space and attention with the cafes, spilling tables out across the street and along the river, drawing crowds that security folks would hold at arms length.  A warm rain drizzles over the entire assemblage, huddled beneath tarps and umbrellas and eying one another across the glistening street.

I was up early to wander the venues, looking for a pastry and a coffee and a good seat.

It’s been an uncharacteristic month away from these pages, I know.  But I needed a vacation to focus on various bits of life that needed attention and to recharge my thoughts.

Thanks to those of you checking in to see what was up.  Business and life are going well: no major issues to report.  I’m looking forward to sharing stories, photos, ideas (and the occasional biertje) with you all once again.

Entrepreneurship has many dreams.  I want to improve patient outcomes, lower hospital costs, return a big profit to my investors, work with good people, build a lasting legacy.  And, perhaps, achieve one of those Big Exits that pave the Golden Road.

The FT offered several Emerald Cities,  five waterfront homes in reach of a modest win.  I’ve been to Henley-on-Thames, and the boats moored by the house had appeal, but the villa on Lake Como was the one that caught my eye. Not too big, a lovely veranda overlooking the lakes and mountains; lots of wood interior and a lovely breakfast gazebo for plants and painting.  It evoked a lot of good feelings.

At the moment, though, I have to deal with a different sort of water.

Heavy rains fell on Maastricht earlier in the summer: gutters in our roof overflowed and water drained down the inside front of the building.  I wasn’t home at the time; the students downstairs had moved out.  When the basement of the restaurant at street level started to fill, they called the landlord. The drainage was quickly fixed, but the interior damage remained.

I arrived back in Eindhoven, passed the souvenir stands (below) and took the train south to start the fixes.  Its still disheartening: paint discolored, plaster peeling.  The walls have to be opened so that the structure can dry.  The workmen arrived this morning, armed with axes, and set to work.

The plaster flew, the wall opened.

 

I’m the sort who tends to see these things symbolically: the destruction of my home echoing problems in life.  But the workmen made a good effort to clean up, leaving only a few tools and a patina of dust over everything. 

 

In the end, the bare brick was actually sort of warm, giving a bistro-ambience to the front room beneath the incandescent bulbs.

But the moisture was pretty severe.  The bricks were soaked, and I could push a finger into the big structural timbers across the front wall. 

My guess is that this will turn into a much bigger job than anticipated, likely not finished before winter.  Everyone says that things will be made right, and I’m trying to get assurances that my belongings will be safe while the parade of carpenters and plasterers comes through.

in any case, it’s not forever.  A year to market; a year closer to Lake Como…