Put in on Credit: The Rabobank Way

Dan and I made it over a year with only a Dutch bank card, but after a close call at the car rental office, we decided it was time to get a proper credit card. Our bank card is a Maestro card, and while we can use it at the ATM and to make purchases in store and restaurants, it can be very limiting online. Here’s what our process was with Rabobank.

Bank Cards vs. Credit Card
Bank cards and credit cards (from banks at least) operate differently from the ones in the United States. Bank cards can be used like a debit card in person, with a PIN number instead of a signature. But because they are not associated with a credit card brand or number, they cannot be used to make purchases online without iDEAL; a special banking payment method. Annoyingly some services, like car rental agencies, also require a credit card instead of a bank card.

To make up the difference a credit card can be obtained via your bank and can be used both on and offline, typically with a PIN number as well, but are still tied to your bank account. At Rabobank (and probably other Dutch banks), you can choose to have the credit card balance automatically paid each month or you can carry a balance (plus interest). This decision has to be made when you apply for the credit card and can only be changed at the bank itself and well in advance of the end of the month. Not being fans of credit cards to begin with, Dan and I opted to pay off the balance monthly and avoid the extra charges.

Applying for a Card
Obtaining a credit card was fairly simple with Rabobank. Since Dan is the primary wage earner in our family, the bank insisted he be there with ID, a paystub, a copy of his contract, and our lease. The card also had to be in his name rather than mine.

After the bank reassured itself that we had income, a representative ran us through the paperwork in a quick 20 minute meeting. After that it was all over but the waiting. The new card and PIN number were delivered separately several days later in the mail.

Now that we have a credit card, it operates just like a normal Mastercard, except we use a PIN number instead of a signature to ‘sign’ for our purchases. Having 2 cards is a little cumbersome, but that’s how it’s done. Good luck working out your own purchasing options.

Source: Originally written by myself for Maastricht Region: to Live.

Dag Uit met Fysiologie

I’ve never been on a nice office trip like this, but since a yearly “Dag Uit” is a tradition for Dan’s department, I thought I’d share a little about what we did last Friday. I have no idea if this sort of thing is common or not, but there you go.

This year’s Dag Uit (or “Day Out”) was here in Maastricht. I guess in previous years they’ve gone as far afield as Brussels, but the more local Days make it easier for people to participate in a partial day and for spouses like me to attend as well. It’s always a big secret, made a bit more mysterious by trying to understand whenever someone made an announcement during the day.

We got a reasonably early start with a tour of the Kazematten, the underground section of the ancient city walls. Even through it was in Dutch, several people were kind enough to explain the more important and interesting stories to us. Since Maastricht doesn’t lay on a flat plane, parts of the city could not be protected behind a traditional moat. The Kazematten made up the difference by serving as dry one. People could stand inside and shoot out at places, plus they could fight within the walls themselves. Strangely, there is no evidence at the Kazematten was ever used for defense. A small nuclear bunker was built during the Cold War, but that too, fortunately, was never used.

After the Kazematten we enjoyed a broodjes lunch followed by a “Rat Race”; a scavenger hunt arranged by the event planning company. Personally, I’m not fond of these sorts of contrived icebreaker activities. We were all split up into groups and competed for first place. Hunting down obscure images of statues and plaques in Maastricht was interesting, but the constant interruption of “rat” questions was annoying. Ultimately neither my team, nor Dan’s one the race, but it still wasn’t as bad I feared.

Fortunately that activity was followed by one that I really enjoyed: a cocktail workshop! Everyone got the make two drinks, a mojito and an espresso martini. My mojito needed work, bu the martini turned out perfectly. Not many people drink cocktails in the Netherlands, so we don’t either. But occasionally, they are a lot of fun.

We wrapped up the day with a tapas dinner. Quite tasty.

Klik! Animation Festival Starts This Week

The Klik! Animation Festival in Amsterdam is coming up soon and we can’t wait!

Just like this guy.

Dan & I attended the Klik! festival last year and had a really good time. Plus we got to see some wonderful, awful, and seriously weird shorts and feature length films. This year we’re only going to be there for part of the festival, but I’m looking forward to catching “Quantum Quest”, a full length animation, as well as the various shorts offerings.

We’ll also be doing some costuming shopping while in Amsterdam, but that’s another story.

The Klik! festival runs from Sept. 15th-19th in several film houses in Amsterdam. Check our their website for more information and if you are attending, please let me know. I’d love to meet up with a few people.

, The “desperate for Klik!” dancing dude above is part of Klik’s Gif Alert and is used here in exchange for props.

Why I Didn’t Blog This Week

I just realized that several days have gone by with nothing on the blog. I’ve been bad. But I have an excuse!

Instead of blogging this week I have been…

Eatting the rest of Dan’s birthday cheesecake.

Sending Walking the Lethe Volume 1 to the printer. Our first book! Terribly exciting.

Trying (and failing) to design a new Walking the Lethe website.

Building a prop rifle so I can cosplay as Ignorance, the demonic huntress from chapter 4 of Walking the Lethe, plus ordering other bits for the costume.

Cleaning my chompers (clean bill of health at the dentist!).

Yeah, no real excuse, but tomorrow we’ll be off for a “Dag Uit” with Dan’s lab, so don’t expect much more.

(Tooth image is by Jen SFO-BCN via Flickr. Licensed under CC.)

Places Around Maastricht: In Den Ouden Vogelstruys

Type of Place: Cafe

Location: Vrijthof 15; 6211 LD Maastricht

Website

We always call it “the ostrich place” because I can’t pronounce the name, but In Den Ouden Vogelstruys is actually a famous cafe that some believe is the oldest in Maastricht. The building with the golden ostrich on it has been around since 1309 and it is believed that some sort of food was served out of this building as early at the 1700s. The name itself comes from an ostrich egg reliquary that was kept in the St. Servatius Church. Exotic in its day, the shell drew pilgrims from all over to see it.

In Den Ouden Vogelstruys is a typical Dutch cafe located directly on the Vrijthof. It is very popular with locals and tourists alike, which can sometimes make it difficult to find a table. I’ve only been there for coffee, but it has a nice atmosphere and the inside is cozy and dark for those days when it’s too cold or rainy to be outside. It is also the only cafe on the Vrijthof with a menu in the local dialect rather than Dutch. Fortunately it isn’t too difficult to figure out. Next time I visit, I’ll be sure to try the vlaai.

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