I AMsterdam. It seems to be the current marketing slogan that I see everywhere here. I'm not exactly sure what it's supposed to mean, but someone thought it was grand enough for a national campaign so I figured it was cool enough for the title of this post.
It's Tuesday, December 18, 2012 and today marks a week ago that I arrived in Holland. Since then, it's been a great time filled with friends and new adventures. As I mentioned in the last blog, Tuesday night was spent catching up with everyone at a Turkish restaurant and Wednesday day I walked around all of Amsterdam with Steven. At night, I met up with Peter and spent Thursday catching up on much needed sleep while he went to work (sucker). We had a nice evening dinner and then I returned to the Dutch boys for a movie night at home. We "watched" (I fell asleep) the Bodyguard in honor of Steven and my love affair with Whitney Houston that dates back to Laos.
Steven and Jo have 3 other roommates, Alex, Hugo, and Derek (known as Merv). All of them are SUPER nice and have welcomed me into their home with open arms. They are all students studying at University and I can't help but notice how strikingly different their lifestyle is compared to the typical American college-dorm lifestyle experience and I think they are much more mature and responsible for it. Almost every night they grocery shop, cook, eat, and cleanup all together as a group, planning it around each other's schedules. I love their sense of community!
On Friday, I headed north to the city of Zwolle. It took about 2 hours door to door and was quite easy. The tram/train system here is easy to navigate, and it helps that everything is written in both Dutch and English and everyone speaks nearly perfect English as well. (We had a conversation about why this is last night, compared to other countries, and concluded it had something to do with the fact that all the tv sitcoms and movies here are shown in English, rather than translated. Could be.) Anyway, Jo had helped me figure out the train route and I made it no problem (except for my first train getting delayed en route, causing me to miss the 2nd train).
So, I arrived in Zwolle about 45 minutes late and asked some guy to borrow his iphone so that I could contact Bert and Gert, 2 Dutch friends who I met in Australia. We were all meeting in Zwolle for the day. The 3 of us met up, along with Gert's friend, and enjoyed a day walking around Zwolle catching up, taking in the sites, eating yummy food, learning about Dutch culture, and photographing unique bicycles. I really appreciated them taking the time and traveling to meet up. It was a great day and I only wish it could have lasted longer! The only thing I did not enjoy was spending half my budget on bathrooms. They charge you, even in the train stations, and some restaurants. Granted, it's only about 50 euros but when you have a bladder like mine, that adds up!
Friday evening the boys cooked dinner and we all ate and then enjoyed some "after-tabling" conversation, as they call it in Dutch. Watched movies and then around midnight, Steven and Jo and I went to a local bar where Alex works for a visit. My sleep is still a bit off for now--they are 6 hours ahead of EST and I haven't really kept to a schedule which isn't helping. Saturday I went to the supermarket with Steven and Alex and on our way home, found Peter and Andras waiting outside the door. I went to lunch with them at an Italian/Turkish place, La Dolce, across the street and had a fabulous 4 cheese pizza. After lunch, Peter and I walked around the city a bit and enjoyed some drinks downtown.
It was evening by this time so we stopped at Andras' apartment to see it (very nice) and then met up with all his Hungarian friends at one of their apartments. We didn't head out until around midnight again (pretty common here) at which point we went to a small bar. After a little bit, we "decided" to go to another club near Rembrandt Square, De Kroon. The dj was pretty good so we had a nice time dancing. It was interesting to strip off 5 layers of coats, gloves, hats, etc. once inside and then to bundle back up afterwards. Peter and I left before the others, stopped for a quick bite, and then took a taxi home to Andras apartment. Unfortunately, the taxi driver didn't know exactly where the building was so he dropped us off in the general vicinity and we had to wonder around at 3:30 am to find it. Luckily, we were in Holland where people are generally friendly (except for bathroom attendants and little old ladies who literally push you out of the way when crossing the street) and it's super safe so when Peter flagged down a guy on his bicycle at 3:30 am, the guy happily stopped, looked up where we should go on his iphone, and then even rode ahead and back to confirm it was the right way!
I couldn't fall asleep until around 7:30 am so I was not very well rested the next day. Peter and I went to breakfast and then I went home to hang with the boys until heading with Merv to watch Steven's hockey game. My first time watching a field hockey game ever, and especially for men. He plays pretty high up there, even getting paid so it was a great competitive game to watch! He played 2 games and won both. I also met his parents, sister, and her husband and adorable son. Peter also showed up and he, Merv, and I got some dinner on the way home. Merv drove us in his car so I've now taken almost every form of transport in Amsterdam except a bike!
Yesterday, Monday, I had a lazy morning at home. The boys all have exams and Peter is working during the days so it's a good time for me to rest a bit. I did manage to go running with Merv in the afternoon, through the city and a local park. It's fun to see all the dogs everywhere without leashes and yet under control. They are even allowed in the train and restaurants! I cooked dinner for the boys last night and made a Thai pineapple fried rice dish. It turned out great and was enough to feed 5 hungry boys--thanks goodness! After dinner, Peter and I went to the Festival of Lights; a walking tour of Christmas lights and light art shows around the city. I also got to try Gluven (sp?), the warm sangria-like drink. It was pretty good. We stopped for dessert on the way home and then caught a train from Rembrandt square.
I had been buying 1-hour tram passes all week (at 2.70 euros a pop) and didn't realize until the other day that you are supposed to swipe them in to activate them. So....turns out I have a bunch of unused passes to now use and save me a bit of money. Decided to test the theory out last night and...the first one didn't work, but the 2nd one did! The trams here are like Singapore in that you swipe your ticket in and off at your stop because it charges by distance (unless you have a single 1-hour pass like mine which you can just use as many times in an hour that you need). The only time I had a problem was on some of the older trams when there was no attendant on the train to buy a pass so I just had to ride without paying (sorry!)
So, it's Tuesday afternoon, I'm laying in bed being lazy again and will get up in a minute to continue doing the same. No plans today other than to head to the local market for a souvenir. Catch up at the end of the week when I head to Hungary!
It's Tuesday, December 18, 2012 and today marks a week ago that I arrived in Holland. Since then, it's been a great time filled with friends and new adventures. As I mentioned in the last blog, Tuesday night was spent catching up with everyone at a Turkish restaurant and Wednesday day I walked around all of Amsterdam with Steven. At night, I met up with Peter and spent Thursday catching up on much needed sleep while he went to work (sucker). We had a nice evening dinner and then I returned to the Dutch boys for a movie night at home. We "watched" (I fell asleep) the Bodyguard in honor of Steven and my love affair with Whitney Houston that dates back to Laos.
Steven and Jo have 3 other roommates, Alex, Hugo, and Derek (known as Merv). All of them are SUPER nice and have welcomed me into their home with open arms. They are all students studying at University and I can't help but notice how strikingly different their lifestyle is compared to the typical American college-dorm lifestyle experience and I think they are much more mature and responsible for it. Almost every night they grocery shop, cook, eat, and cleanup all together as a group, planning it around each other's schedules. I love their sense of community!
On Friday, I headed north to the city of Zwolle. It took about 2 hours door to door and was quite easy. The tram/train system here is easy to navigate, and it helps that everything is written in both Dutch and English and everyone speaks nearly perfect English as well. (We had a conversation about why this is last night, compared to other countries, and concluded it had something to do with the fact that all the tv sitcoms and movies here are shown in English, rather than translated. Could be.) Anyway, Jo had helped me figure out the train route and I made it no problem (except for my first train getting delayed en route, causing me to miss the 2nd train).
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| Gert and Bert demonstrating how the "Piss pole" works |
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| Kiddie carrier bikes in Holland |
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| Site-seeing in the local park with a very cold, stoic, Peter |
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| Cheering on Steven at his games |
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| Hanging with Jo |
So, I arrived in Zwolle about 45 minutes late and asked some guy to borrow his iphone so that I could contact Bert and Gert, 2 Dutch friends who I met in Australia. We were all meeting in Zwolle for the day. The 3 of us met up, along with Gert's friend, and enjoyed a day walking around Zwolle catching up, taking in the sites, eating yummy food, learning about Dutch culture, and photographing unique bicycles. I really appreciated them taking the time and traveling to meet up. It was a great day and I only wish it could have lasted longer! The only thing I did not enjoy was spending half my budget on bathrooms. They charge you, even in the train stations, and some restaurants. Granted, it's only about 50 euros but when you have a bladder like mine, that adds up!
Friday evening the boys cooked dinner and we all ate and then enjoyed some "after-tabling" conversation, as they call it in Dutch. Watched movies and then around midnight, Steven and Jo and I went to a local bar where Alex works for a visit. My sleep is still a bit off for now--they are 6 hours ahead of EST and I haven't really kept to a schedule which isn't helping. Saturday I went to the supermarket with Steven and Alex and on our way home, found Peter and Andras waiting outside the door. I went to lunch with them at an Italian/Turkish place, La Dolce, across the street and had a fabulous 4 cheese pizza. After lunch, Peter and I walked around the city a bit and enjoyed some drinks downtown.
It was evening by this time so we stopped at Andras' apartment to see it (very nice) and then met up with all his Hungarian friends at one of their apartments. We didn't head out until around midnight again (pretty common here) at which point we went to a small bar. After a little bit, we "decided" to go to another club near Rembrandt Square, De Kroon. The dj was pretty good so we had a nice time dancing. It was interesting to strip off 5 layers of coats, gloves, hats, etc. once inside and then to bundle back up afterwards. Peter and I left before the others, stopped for a quick bite, and then took a taxi home to Andras apartment. Unfortunately, the taxi driver didn't know exactly where the building was so he dropped us off in the general vicinity and we had to wonder around at 3:30 am to find it. Luckily, we were in Holland where people are generally friendly (except for bathroom attendants and little old ladies who literally push you out of the way when crossing the street) and it's super safe so when Peter flagged down a guy on his bicycle at 3:30 am, the guy happily stopped, looked up where we should go on his iphone, and then even rode ahead and back to confirm it was the right way!
I couldn't fall asleep until around 7:30 am so I was not very well rested the next day. Peter and I went to breakfast and then I went home to hang with the boys until heading with Merv to watch Steven's hockey game. My first time watching a field hockey game ever, and especially for men. He plays pretty high up there, even getting paid so it was a great competitive game to watch! He played 2 games and won both. I also met his parents, sister, and her husband and adorable son. Peter also showed up and he, Merv, and I got some dinner on the way home. Merv drove us in his car so I've now taken almost every form of transport in Amsterdam except a bike!
Yesterday, Monday, I had a lazy morning at home. The boys all have exams and Peter is working during the days so it's a good time for me to rest a bit. I did manage to go running with Merv in the afternoon, through the city and a local park. It's fun to see all the dogs everywhere without leashes and yet under control. They are even allowed in the train and restaurants! I cooked dinner for the boys last night and made a Thai pineapple fried rice dish. It turned out great and was enough to feed 5 hungry boys--thanks goodness! After dinner, Peter and I went to the Festival of Lights; a walking tour of Christmas lights and light art shows around the city. I also got to try Gluven (sp?), the warm sangria-like drink. It was pretty good. We stopped for dessert on the way home and then caught a train from Rembrandt square.
I had been buying 1-hour tram passes all week (at 2.70 euros a pop) and didn't realize until the other day that you are supposed to swipe them in to activate them. So....turns out I have a bunch of unused passes to now use and save me a bit of money. Decided to test the theory out last night and...the first one didn't work, but the 2nd one did! The trams here are like Singapore in that you swipe your ticket in and off at your stop because it charges by distance (unless you have a single 1-hour pass like mine which you can just use as many times in an hour that you need). The only time I had a problem was on some of the older trams when there was no attendant on the train to buy a pass so I just had to ride without paying (sorry!)
So, it's Tuesday afternoon, I'm laying in bed being lazy again and will get up in a minute to continue doing the same. No plans today other than to head to the local market for a souvenir. Catch up at the end of the week when I head to Hungary!
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