It has been about a week and a half since I returned from my trip, and to be honest, I still haven't unpacked. Part of that is me being lazy and busy but it's also because the stuff in my suitcase and carry-on bags is pretty much all there is that says, "I was just in Europe." The jet-lag is gone, along with one of the chocolate bars and more than half of the candy. My postcard of Night Watch is on my desk at work and my skinny jeans and flats can only be worn so many times in a row. My photos have been sorted through and posted here and I've even completely finished the series of books I started reading on the return flight. There's not much left to indicate I just went on a trip other than my half unpacked suitcase.
At the end of my last post I mentioned my flights. As it turns out, Charlotte, North Carolina and the state itself got to remain on my "never been there" list. My flight out of Philadelphia was delayed (lord knows why, it was the same plane that I was on from Amsterdam and it flew fine) and I would have missed my connecting flight from Charlotte to SF, were it not for a US Airways clerk who found me a spot on a direct flight from PHL to SFO that left about the same time as my old flight to Charlotte. Of course, when I arrived in SF though, my bag was not with me. It followed my original flight path and arrived about an hour after I did. Luckily, the San Francisco baggage people are awesome and they delivered it to my house bright and early the next morning.
In terms of reflection on my trip... thinking about it that way makes me feel like I'm in high school. They made us reflect on everything. I guess it's habit or something. Anyway, generally I had a great time and I would love to do it again. I don't think I would change anything other than to make it longer. It was a great experience and I am glad I did it with the people I did. Next time, I will know how much longer I need in certain areas (Paris and Brussels in particular) and may be able to lead my companions through various others (The Hague and Amsterdam). I will probably not do much travelling alone in non-anglophone countries by myself in the future, but that's alright, because I've been to most anglophone countries already and I like them. That's not saying I won't travel, I'll just make sure when I'm going to an entirely new place that I take somebody with me. I'm braver when I'm not alone.
This blog will stay up, and the next time I go on an international adventure (which might not actually be that long from now) I will use it again. I've greatly enjoyed documenting my travels this way, and I hope the rest of you have too. Goodbye for now!
If you haven't found me already, I am on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
A'dam Good Day
Today may have been my last day in the Netherlands, but I did not waste it lamenting. I got up at 9:30, got dressed and ready and was out the door at 10 to get to Amsterdam and get my waterborne adventure rolling.
When I arrived in Amsterdam at about 11:30 (it doesn't actually take that long, I just barely missed a train and had to wait around) I had originally planned to walk my way over to the Jordaan and find Anne Frank Huis by myself, but a lot of the area in front of Amsterdam Centraal (the train station) is under construction so the way I was going to walk was blocked. As I was turning around I saw a sign for the Canal Bus hop-on hop-off canal tour. One of my tasks for the day was to go on a boat in a canal. The Canal Bus would take me to Anne Frank Huis and the Rijksmuseum and whereever else I had time for AND take care of the boat-on-the-canal requirement for my trip. It was 20 Euro, but I did it anyway. It was worth it to not have to constantly be looking like a tourist staring at a map and possibly getting pick-pocketed.
The boats were nice, open topped long boats with cushy seats, tables and a multilingual recording that recited interesting things about the surroundings and Amsterdam in general. I learned a lot of things about the canals, the harbors and even the gables on the canal houses.
When I arrived at Anne Frank Huis, there was a line that most people less determined than I might forego. I had planned for this though (having been warned by my tour book and half a dozen people) so I didn't mind standing in line. Luckily, I was only in line for about 45 minutes. I had been expecting something more along the lines of 2 hours, so I was pleased. The museum itself is very interesting. It mostly consists of the house itself, which is bare of furniture as the Nazis left it, per the surviving Otto Frank's request. The various things that were plastered to the walls in the Secret Annex, both by Anne and her Father are all still there though, and that was really cool to see. There were also video interviews with various people who survived the war that told various portions of the story from other people's perspectives. For me, it sort of made it all very...real, I guess, which was maybe the purpose? Because, well, it was real, but being an American 22 year old female in the 21st Century, World War 2 and the terrible events that happened with it were always long ago, in a country far far away. I've always liked historical fiction, and I've read a reasonably large number of holocaust books for a non-Jewish kid, including Anne Frank's Diary, but it never really was a reality until today I think. Walking in that house and seeing those actual rooms, objects, writings and people. Videos of the real people talking about their memories of what happened. It's a good museum. Go stand in line and walk through it. It's not big, but it is worth the 8.50 and the wait. Especially if you've read Anne's Diary.
After that experience, which was concluded with a video of Otto Frank talking about his daughter and her diary, I walked back to the Canal Bus stop and rested by the canal for a while waiting for it. When it arrived I hopped back on and we continued our route towards the Rijksmuseum, which is right next to the Van Gogh museum I visited last week. When we arrived, I got off and decided that I was going to go into the Rijksmuseum and see the Nightwatch, since apparently it's important or something. So I did. And now I understand.
Most of the Rijksmuseum is being renovated right now so they don't have their whole collection available, but they did have all the important pieces and some Dutch finery. The bottom floor was dedicated to Dutch history and had ships, some paintings, Delftware (thats the Dutch porcelain with the blue dyes) and some metal work. Nothing too intriguing for me. Upstairs was the good stuff. I'm not normally a huge painting person, but for some reason today I was (just like the day I went to Van Gogh, maybe I'm more interested when I pay?). Anyway, while walking through the rooms, there was one artist who had a few paintings up who I liked a lot: Pieter Jansz Saenredam. I thought his composition was cool, and sort of like my photography. I looked at all the Rembrandt and Degas stuff they had up and came to the conclusion that Degas was rather handsome and Rembrandt wasn't really.
Then I walked into the room with the Nightwatch. Most people are impressed by its size, I think. Having seen many large paintings in galleries world wide (the British National Gallery, for example) that wasn't really what surprised me. What caught me was the detail! I stood staring at the thing for what must have been 10 minutes trying to see it all. I don't think I had, until today, ever seen the image before, but now it might be my favorite painting ever. The print I bought of it (on a postcard) doesn't even begin to do it justice though. I'm not sure any duplicate could. There's just no reproducing the way the man in gold jumps off the canvas, or the glitter on each gentleman's hat, or the dimensionality of the rifles. Not happening on a print. I knew that when I was looking at it, which is probably why I stared for so long. Though now, I wish I had stayed even longer.
After the Rijksmuseum, I wandered around a little and eventually got back on the Canal Bus, which meandered it's way back to Centraal, where I caught the train back to Den Haag. My last train ride... followed by my last tram ride, followed by my last time keying in to the apartment. I will miss it here, I like it a lot.
I then set about helping Peter and Jen eat all of the remaining food, before we discovered we needed to go out to get more. Then we went out to one of the restaurants and Jen and I split some pasta. Then we got some ice cream and came back to pack.
I'm all packed now, all 3 of us are taking a taxi to the airport in the morning (their flight for Boston leaves very shortly after mine to Philly). I will tweet when I return to the states. I go to Philadelphia, then Charlotte, then SFO, but we'll see if that sticks.
A reflection post will come with my photo album links in a few days :)
When I arrived in Amsterdam at about 11:30 (it doesn't actually take that long, I just barely missed a train and had to wait around) I had originally planned to walk my way over to the Jordaan and find Anne Frank Huis by myself, but a lot of the area in front of Amsterdam Centraal (the train station) is under construction so the way I was going to walk was blocked. As I was turning around I saw a sign for the Canal Bus hop-on hop-off canal tour. One of my tasks for the day was to go on a boat in a canal. The Canal Bus would take me to Anne Frank Huis and the Rijksmuseum and whereever else I had time for AND take care of the boat-on-the-canal requirement for my trip. It was 20 Euro, but I did it anyway. It was worth it to not have to constantly be looking like a tourist staring at a map and possibly getting pick-pocketed.
The boats were nice, open topped long boats with cushy seats, tables and a multilingual recording that recited interesting things about the surroundings and Amsterdam in general. I learned a lot of things about the canals, the harbors and even the gables on the canal houses.
When I arrived at Anne Frank Huis, there was a line that most people less determined than I might forego. I had planned for this though (having been warned by my tour book and half a dozen people) so I didn't mind standing in line. Luckily, I was only in line for about 45 minutes. I had been expecting something more along the lines of 2 hours, so I was pleased. The museum itself is very interesting. It mostly consists of the house itself, which is bare of furniture as the Nazis left it, per the surviving Otto Frank's request. The various things that were plastered to the walls in the Secret Annex, both by Anne and her Father are all still there though, and that was really cool to see. There were also video interviews with various people who survived the war that told various portions of the story from other people's perspectives. For me, it sort of made it all very...real, I guess, which was maybe the purpose? Because, well, it was real, but being an American 22 year old female in the 21st Century, World War 2 and the terrible events that happened with it were always long ago, in a country far far away. I've always liked historical fiction, and I've read a reasonably large number of holocaust books for a non-Jewish kid, including Anne Frank's Diary, but it never really was a reality until today I think. Walking in that house and seeing those actual rooms, objects, writings and people. Videos of the real people talking about their memories of what happened. It's a good museum. Go stand in line and walk through it. It's not big, but it is worth the 8.50 and the wait. Especially if you've read Anne's Diary.
After that experience, which was concluded with a video of Otto Frank talking about his daughter and her diary, I walked back to the Canal Bus stop and rested by the canal for a while waiting for it. When it arrived I hopped back on and we continued our route towards the Rijksmuseum, which is right next to the Van Gogh museum I visited last week. When we arrived, I got off and decided that I was going to go into the Rijksmuseum and see the Nightwatch, since apparently it's important or something. So I did. And now I understand.
The building behind the wall with the panels on the side is the Rijksmuseum
Most of the Rijksmuseum is being renovated right now so they don't have their whole collection available, but they did have all the important pieces and some Dutch finery. The bottom floor was dedicated to Dutch history and had ships, some paintings, Delftware (thats the Dutch porcelain with the blue dyes) and some metal work. Nothing too intriguing for me. Upstairs was the good stuff. I'm not normally a huge painting person, but for some reason today I was (just like the day I went to Van Gogh, maybe I'm more interested when I pay?). Anyway, while walking through the rooms, there was one artist who had a few paintings up who I liked a lot: Pieter Jansz Saenredam. I thought his composition was cool, and sort of like my photography. I looked at all the Rembrandt and Degas stuff they had up and came to the conclusion that Degas was rather handsome and Rembrandt wasn't really.
Then I walked into the room with the Nightwatch. Most people are impressed by its size, I think. Having seen many large paintings in galleries world wide (the British National Gallery, for example) that wasn't really what surprised me. What caught me was the detail! I stood staring at the thing for what must have been 10 minutes trying to see it all. I don't think I had, until today, ever seen the image before, but now it might be my favorite painting ever. The print I bought of it (on a postcard) doesn't even begin to do it justice though. I'm not sure any duplicate could. There's just no reproducing the way the man in gold jumps off the canvas, or the glitter on each gentleman's hat, or the dimensionality of the rifles. Not happening on a print. I knew that when I was looking at it, which is probably why I stared for so long. Though now, I wish I had stayed even longer.
After the Rijksmuseum, I wandered around a little and eventually got back on the Canal Bus, which meandered it's way back to Centraal, where I caught the train back to Den Haag. My last train ride... followed by my last tram ride, followed by my last time keying in to the apartment. I will miss it here, I like it a lot.
I then set about helping Peter and Jen eat all of the remaining food, before we discovered we needed to go out to get more. Then we went out to one of the restaurants and Jen and I split some pasta. Then we got some ice cream and came back to pack.
I'm all packed now, all 3 of us are taking a taxi to the airport in the morning (their flight for Boston leaves very shortly after mine to Philly). I will tweet when I return to the states. I go to Philadelphia, then Charlotte, then SFO, but we'll see if that sticks.
A reflection post will come with my photo album links in a few days :)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Hangin' in the Hague
So, the past couple days have been somewhat rearranged from plan and been a bit less eventful than planned, therefore, I don't have much to report.
Yesterday Jen and Peter returned in the morning from their trip to Georgia. After a chill morning Jen and I ran some errands, went out to lunch at one of the restaurants on the boardwalk and then went out to the water to put our feet in. For something called the North Sea the water was warm! I mean, it was still cold, but compared to the usual temperature of the Pacific at home it was much warmer. It may be because it's late summer, so I'll have to go to the beach again at home and do some comparison.
Last night we went to a dinner party with the interns at one of their apartments. It was a good time :)
Today Jen and I went to Leiden and Wassenaar (aka places Jen has lived in Holland). In Leiden we went to her favorite Pannekoeken house. I think the pictures will speak for themselves:
Said pancake as large as my torso had cheese and ginger in it. I know that sounds like a weird combination, and I was skeptical at first, but actually it was quite tasty! Which was good, because I never would have been able to decide between the two separately.
Anyway, after the pancakes, we walked around the center of Leiden a bit. There were windmills.
Then we caught a bus towards Wassenaar, which is situated between Leiden and the Hague. We got off first at a place near the house that Jen lived in when she was in 6th grade. (Bethy also lived near there in her youth, for those keeping track). We walked around a bit and passed by Jen's old house, and then sat in a park for a bit. Then we got back on the bus and went to the center of town where we walked through the shopping area and stopped at the famed candy shop that Jen has brought me candy from. I got a whole lot, so those of you at home can have some. We then returned to the apartment and rested for a while before we went out to dinner with Peter and an old intern who is currently living in the Hague. We went to a really tasty chinese restaurant (it helped that said intern is from China and knew the restaurant well). After eating, Jen and I had a meeting with a friend at a nearby Irish pub called O'Casey's, where they were having a trivia night. It was a lot of fun! We met a lot of other interns from the various tribunals in the Hague. It was fun :) I sort of like hanging out with lawyers to be. I still don't want to be one though... too much rule following I think.
Tomorrow I am going back to Amsterdam tomorrow to go to Anne Frank Huis and possibly also the Rijksmuseum. We'll see. Going to try to be brave and get a water taxi too. Then I have to pack :( I'll be all trip summary in my post tomorrow night.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
A Tour of the EU Capital
Brussels, that is.
Today I woke up around 9, got myself ready and got on a 10:30 train to Brussels, Belgium. Yes. I went to another country and came back in the space of 8 hours. The middle of another country, even. Much like my experience in Paris, the amount of time I had really didn't let me actually do very much, but I did see a lot of things and I can legitimately say I have been to Brussels. I even have 25 euro worth of Belgian chocolate to prove it! And a few train and bus tickets. And some photos.
Before I tell you all about my day in the capital of the EU though, I'd like to discuss something I have learned about myself. I am a very shy tourist when I'm traveling by myself. I want to be completely inconspicuous all the time. I either do this by not looking like a tourist in areas where there aren't a lot of tourists OR by looking completely like a tourist where there are lots. I don't really much enjoy looking like a tourist at any time, since it limits where I am comfortable wandering. Unfortunately for me, speaking the language is part of blending in, so when I'm in a country where I don't speak the language I have to stay where the tourists are regardless of how local I may look. I had this problem to an extreme degree today, where I did not have it yesterday in Delft.
In Delft, while they do mostly speak Dutch, I could avoid talking to anyone and wander about looking normal (with my skinny jeans, cute flats, scarf and side bag I looked plenty Euro) along the quiet streets. I didn't need to go into any restaurants and could just get some frites from a fast food type stall. Easy. Quiet. Inconspicuous.
In Brussels, everyone speaks French and talking to them is somewhat necessary as you're bouncing about from shop to restaurant to tourist attraction and back again. And while they're definitely not snippy about it like the French are (they want you to at least try to say things in French in France, much like Americans are about foreigners speaking English) it's still a pretty large language barrier that it takes a lot of bravery for me to deal with. And that's even with my background in Spanish AND when they all speak English anyway. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, back to the beginning!
I stepped out of Brussels Centraal onto a city street and was promptly baffled. I had half decided on the train that I was going to hop on the nearest touring bus and use that as a way to see the city (because I wasn't sure how walkable, or not, Brussels would be) but the street I stepped out onto had no touring busses. I looked around and walked towards the nearest large looking street and turned the corner to find a bright green double decker bus with a big sign saying "City Sightseeing!" Naturally, according to my plan, I hopped on. A bit steep at 20 Euro, but honestly at the end of the day I saw a lot more on the bus than I would have trying to navigate my own way through the crazy streets of Brussels. Seriously, I did some of that later and nearly got lost a couple times. Anyway, the bus also had a very interesting audio guide that pointed out various buildings and parks along the way from place to place. Conveniently it was also hop-on hop-off, so if there was something I wanted to see closer, all I had to do was get off the bus and I could get back on the next one 20 minutes later.
The first place I got off was, I think, the Palais Royal. (I have to guess because there are about a dozen palaces in central Brussels alone.) I stepped off the bus and walked through the building (which was free!) and saw all manner of royal rooms, portraits and chandeliers. It was like Napolean III's apartments in the Louvre, only Belgian and a whole building. There was a ballroom too! and what was once I think a dining hall of some sort with beautiful paintings on the ceiling, that for some reason the Belgians had decided to use for a science exhibition? They even had a room, a very palatial looking room, with green fabric detailing on the ceiling, filled with Exploratorium type science games. I was very confused. I don't think the Belgians quite get it...
Anyway, some time later I hopped back on the bus for most of the rest of the tour. We went past the Atomium and the Justice Palais (spelled in french on purpose) and the other remains from the 1958 Worlds Fair, the inland harbor and the EU parliament. Along with a bunch of other EU buildings I couldn't name. Eventually we came around to the shopping district (Sablon) and I got off to see the Mannekin Pis (a tiny statue of a boy... well... pissing) and buy my chocolate. Here he is... and me with a dopey face.
So I bought my chocolate and then proceeded to wander about trying to find a place I felt comfortable getting some food/ maybe run into the Tintin museum. I didn't succeed at either really, until I looped back around and went to a place on the same street as the chocolate shop and the Mannekin. That was after I'd bought a Fanta at one place and crossed the same street about 6 times. It was especially hard for me to find a place because it was both an odd time to be eating (about 3:30p) and I was stupid hungry. But, I did find a place, sat down, ordered some spaghetti and ate. I felt much better afterwards, and slowly wandered my way back to the train station. I sort of wish I had actually found Tintin, but it was late and the museum closed at 5 and I knew I probably wouldn't have had enough time in there anyway. It's alright. On my next Europe trip, I will not only have a travel buddy at all times, but I will be spending a night or two in Brussels and will definitely have time to find and see Tintin AND go to mini Europe. This trip just made me familiar with Brussels. I just had enough time to get my bearings, and not really enough time to really be there. But it's really alright, it was a good trip and I know what to do for next time :) I had to mess up at some point on this trip, and if today was it, I've done quite well. I even got chocolate out of it!
Today I woke up around 9, got myself ready and got on a 10:30 train to Brussels, Belgium. Yes. I went to another country and came back in the space of 8 hours. The middle of another country, even. Much like my experience in Paris, the amount of time I had really didn't let me actually do very much, but I did see a lot of things and I can legitimately say I have been to Brussels. I even have 25 euro worth of Belgian chocolate to prove it! And a few train and bus tickets. And some photos.
Before I tell you all about my day in the capital of the EU though, I'd like to discuss something I have learned about myself. I am a very shy tourist when I'm traveling by myself. I want to be completely inconspicuous all the time. I either do this by not looking like a tourist in areas where there aren't a lot of tourists OR by looking completely like a tourist where there are lots. I don't really much enjoy looking like a tourist at any time, since it limits where I am comfortable wandering. Unfortunately for me, speaking the language is part of blending in, so when I'm in a country where I don't speak the language I have to stay where the tourists are regardless of how local I may look. I had this problem to an extreme degree today, where I did not have it yesterday in Delft.
In Delft, while they do mostly speak Dutch, I could avoid talking to anyone and wander about looking normal (with my skinny jeans, cute flats, scarf and side bag I looked plenty Euro) along the quiet streets. I didn't need to go into any restaurants and could just get some frites from a fast food type stall. Easy. Quiet. Inconspicuous.
In Brussels, everyone speaks French and talking to them is somewhat necessary as you're bouncing about from shop to restaurant to tourist attraction and back again. And while they're definitely not snippy about it like the French are (they want you to at least try to say things in French in France, much like Americans are about foreigners speaking English) it's still a pretty large language barrier that it takes a lot of bravery for me to deal with. And that's even with my background in Spanish AND when they all speak English anyway. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, back to the beginning!
I stepped out of Brussels Centraal onto a city street and was promptly baffled. I had half decided on the train that I was going to hop on the nearest touring bus and use that as a way to see the city (because I wasn't sure how walkable, or not, Brussels would be) but the street I stepped out onto had no touring busses. I looked around and walked towards the nearest large looking street and turned the corner to find a bright green double decker bus with a big sign saying "City Sightseeing!" Naturally, according to my plan, I hopped on. A bit steep at 20 Euro, but honestly at the end of the day I saw a lot more on the bus than I would have trying to navigate my own way through the crazy streets of Brussels. Seriously, I did some of that later and nearly got lost a couple times. Anyway, the bus also had a very interesting audio guide that pointed out various buildings and parks along the way from place to place. Conveniently it was also hop-on hop-off, so if there was something I wanted to see closer, all I had to do was get off the bus and I could get back on the next one 20 minutes later.
The first place I got off was, I think, the Palais Royal. (I have to guess because there are about a dozen palaces in central Brussels alone.) I stepped off the bus and walked through the building (which was free!) and saw all manner of royal rooms, portraits and chandeliers. It was like Napolean III's apartments in the Louvre, only Belgian and a whole building. There was a ballroom too! and what was once I think a dining hall of some sort with beautiful paintings on the ceiling, that for some reason the Belgians had decided to use for a science exhibition? They even had a room, a very palatial looking room, with green fabric detailing on the ceiling, filled with Exploratorium type science games. I was very confused. I don't think the Belgians quite get it...
Anyway, some time later I hopped back on the bus for most of the rest of the tour. We went past the Atomium and the Justice Palais (spelled in french on purpose) and the other remains from the 1958 Worlds Fair, the inland harbor and the EU parliament. Along with a bunch of other EU buildings I couldn't name. Eventually we came around to the shopping district (Sablon) and I got off to see the Mannekin Pis (a tiny statue of a boy... well... pissing) and buy my chocolate. Here he is... and me with a dopey face.
So I bought my chocolate and then proceeded to wander about trying to find a place I felt comfortable getting some food/ maybe run into the Tintin museum. I didn't succeed at either really, until I looped back around and went to a place on the same street as the chocolate shop and the Mannekin. That was after I'd bought a Fanta at one place and crossed the same street about 6 times. It was especially hard for me to find a place because it was both an odd time to be eating (about 3:30p) and I was stupid hungry. But, I did find a place, sat down, ordered some spaghetti and ate. I felt much better afterwards, and slowly wandered my way back to the train station. I sort of wish I had actually found Tintin, but it was late and the museum closed at 5 and I knew I probably wouldn't have had enough time in there anyway. It's alright. On my next Europe trip, I will not only have a travel buddy at all times, but I will be spending a night or two in Brussels and will definitely have time to find and see Tintin AND go to mini Europe. This trip just made me familiar with Brussels. I just had enough time to get my bearings, and not really enough time to really be there. But it's really alright, it was a good trip and I know what to do for next time :) I had to mess up at some point on this trip, and if today was it, I've done quite well. I even got chocolate out of it!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Delft!
Today was another relaxed day. I woke up at around 11:30 and slowly got myself together to go out to Delft, which is the town just south of the Hague known for it's pretty buildings.
And well, I went there and saw just that! Unfortunately the famous windmill was down for restoration/ construction, but I did walk through a good deal of the town and it was quite pretty. Very quiet as well, in comparison to the noise of Amsterdam, Paris and even The Hague. It's a nice, residential, rural sort of area. A suburb really. But with some quite pretty cathedrals and official looking buildings. Lots of canals as well. I took many many photos with my nice camera, but none with my phone (partly because I was alone) so I haven't anything to post here. But I did go, and it was nice. I even had some more frites while I was there :) Several swans and other birds approached me to try to steal some, but they weren't brave enough to go after anything I was still holding. Pretty swans though.
On the way back I got off at Kneuterdijk, which is the name for the stop that the Binnenhof is closest to (thats the royal seat in the Hague). I walked through the Binnenhof and past the Maurithuis Museum (which houses the Girl with the Pearl Earring, I plan to go back there Wednesday morning) and along some streets on my way to the Peace Palace, which is about 2 tram stops up. I wandered into a series of outdoor sculptures on the way and finally photographed a church I had seen from the tram half a dozen times. My feet were quite tired and it was about closing time when I arrived at the Peace Palace, but I did get some photos of the outside to go with my photos of the mini version in Madurodam. I then hopped on the tram to Keizerstraat, where I found a post office and mailed my 3 Parissien postcards. I bought another 3 in Delft that I will write sometime later this week and then pop into the nearest bright orange mailbox before I leave. After all that I returned to the apartment and rested for an hour or so before discovering I needed somethings from Albert Heijn (which I spelled wrong last time I think) so I took the bike out there quickly to grab the things I need. I eat a lot of cheese here, but its SO DELICIOUS. I also got some wine on this trip. The bottle claims its a Bordeaux Rosé. It's alright, a bit drier than I like though. Goes well with the chocolate I bought.
Speaking of chocolate, tomorrow I go to Brussels, Belgium! Just for the day. I already have my walking route mapped out on my travel book's map. I will be buying lots of chocolate. I'm excited. Next blog will be either tomorrow night late, or Wednesday. I can't believe I've been here a week!
And well, I went there and saw just that! Unfortunately the famous windmill was down for restoration/ construction, but I did walk through a good deal of the town and it was quite pretty. Very quiet as well, in comparison to the noise of Amsterdam, Paris and even The Hague. It's a nice, residential, rural sort of area. A suburb really. But with some quite pretty cathedrals and official looking buildings. Lots of canals as well. I took many many photos with my nice camera, but none with my phone (partly because I was alone) so I haven't anything to post here. But I did go, and it was nice. I even had some more frites while I was there :) Several swans and other birds approached me to try to steal some, but they weren't brave enough to go after anything I was still holding. Pretty swans though.
On the way back I got off at Kneuterdijk, which is the name for the stop that the Binnenhof is closest to (thats the royal seat in the Hague). I walked through the Binnenhof and past the Maurithuis Museum (which houses the Girl with the Pearl Earring, I plan to go back there Wednesday morning) and along some streets on my way to the Peace Palace, which is about 2 tram stops up. I wandered into a series of outdoor sculptures on the way and finally photographed a church I had seen from the tram half a dozen times. My feet were quite tired and it was about closing time when I arrived at the Peace Palace, but I did get some photos of the outside to go with my photos of the mini version in Madurodam. I then hopped on the tram to Keizerstraat, where I found a post office and mailed my 3 Parissien postcards. I bought another 3 in Delft that I will write sometime later this week and then pop into the nearest bright orange mailbox before I leave. After all that I returned to the apartment and rested for an hour or so before discovering I needed somethings from Albert Heijn (which I spelled wrong last time I think) so I took the bike out there quickly to grab the things I need. I eat a lot of cheese here, but its SO DELICIOUS. I also got some wine on this trip. The bottle claims its a Bordeaux Rosé. It's alright, a bit drier than I like though. Goes well with the chocolate I bought.
Speaking of chocolate, tomorrow I go to Brussels, Belgium! Just for the day. I already have my walking route mapped out on my travel book's map. I will be buying lots of chocolate. I'm excited. Next blog will be either tomorrow night late, or Wednesday. I can't believe I've been here a week!
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