Franeker and Leeuwarden

After the Anne Frank Huis, we went to the Museumplein to see the I amsterdam sign. We went to the Van Gogh museum, but of course, no pictures in there. So another day done in Amsterdam. Saturday we went to Leeuwarden. We got there at a decent hour, but the museum we wanted to see wasn't open yet, so we decided to go to Franeker. It's the home of the oldest planetarium in the world. Unfortunately, you can't take any pictures in there either. But when I get back to the States, I will scan the postcard.


Back in Leeuwarden, we couldn't get into the Tresoar (by that time, it was closed) so we didn't get to see too much about our family name. But we did go to the Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden where we saw an exhibit of the history of the city (all in Dutch of course) and found out some more information on the area. We got copies of whatever they had available in English, and a woman there gave me some better ideas about how to do genealogy research. As it turns out, most of our family was born in the surrounding countryside, so our records wouldn't be in this place anyway.


We capped off the day with a trip to the Fries Museum. We saw a Mata Hari exhibit (Dutch born, Parisian exotic dancer turned German spy). And a WWII exhibit which was just interesting to see from another country's perspective. There was also this special quilt exhibit. I took this picture for my Aunt. She makes quilts, and they are incredible. She gave me one, and this made me think of her. We had a delicious kaasfondue dinner at Het Leven (The Life) and took the train all the way back to Rotterdam (minus a quick detour back to the Botel Zebra to grab our stuff).

My New Friend

I wish I had asked what this woman's name was... Tim and I came back to Amsterdam early (because Volendam was so tiny, and we couldn't get to Marken) so we decided to see the Anne Frank Huis (house) and maybe a museum. This woman saw us looking at a map on the way to Anne Frank's. She did an excellent job of speaking to us in English, but she was embarrassed and kept covering her mouth saying "I can't say!" It was adorable. To thank us for helping her get there, she gave us both these tiny origami kimono bookmarks. She said she always keeps them with her, for times exactly like these. She went through the house with us (which totally made me cry by the way - and I wish I could have taken pictures in there) and she asked to take a photo with me after. She was headed to a different museum afterwards, so we said goodbye. I am happy I at least have this photo to remember her.

Volendam

Volendam is a tiny little seaside town in North Holland. It was so beautiful here. We wanted to go to Marken Island, but the ferry didn't seem to be running. That left us time for more exploring!


This is the marina at Volendam.


Behind the marina, there are still all these canals. We were walking along the canal, and came to a dam that was built in 1615!


My first windmill photo!! I took a bunch, but there was an awkward streetlamp in the frame. I like this one because you can see how mossy the roof got. I'll do some photo processing when I get home. But I can't do anything right now on Tim's computer.


Last picture from Volendam. I just love how pretty this place is!

Hotel, Botel, Holiday Inn...

One of the things I was really looking forward to was the Botel Zebra - our boat hostel. It did not disappoint. Sure, it was cramped and I think the owner opened the porthole in the shower one day so when we woke in the morning, the entire room was covered in condensation which made both of our Chucks rip and give us blisters, but it was so worth it! It makes my lifelong goal of living on a houseboat much more intense.


So, the houseboat means we are in Amsterdam for a few days! We just walked for the first night, took a few photos and shopped for souvenirs. These houses are leaning... The whole city is beautiful.


Tim wanted to take me to the Leidseplein (which is not pronounced Led Zeppelin - as much as we wish it was). We got lost on the way, and didn't have our map, so we broke down and took a cab. We ate at the Pancake House, and I had my first Dutch meal - chicken sate. It was delicious!


Since I can't survive for more than a few hours without candy, we stopped at a shop and explored the specialty candy they had there. There were all sorts of strange things including dirty sounding ice cream bars and a weird bag of a powdery candy that had a picture of a bear on it. We tried a few things, but I had to get some of my favorite "sappige peer" Jelly Belly jelly beans to make sure I was good for the weekend.

First Night Out

I know I should've been doing this as I went along, but I just didn't have the time, or computer access. Our first night out in Rotterdam, Tim took me to O'Sheas. Manchester United was playing, and his friend David met up with us. Then we went to Concordia (a bar that is directly across the street from one of the Erasmus apartment buildings, and therefore very popular with the MBAs). We tried to go to another dance club later, Vie, but it was closed. So we took a long walk home.

Welcome to Rotterdam!

Here we are in Tim's apartment. It was a long flight, but it was easy to find him in Schipol. He had to go to class, so I took a nap in the apartment. Apparently, he was late, and he had to sing to make up for it. He sang "Loser" by Beck.


This is his apartment building. He lives on the 2nd floor of the part that hangs over the water. The inside is a mess (which is why I won't post any pictures of it). But, hey, it's a free place to sleep!


I can't pronounce or spell the tram stop that Tim lives near, but its something about waterway... It doesn't look like any water tower in the States, and it has all these little pools that can fill up if it rains too much (which is pretty common here). This bike must've fallen in there somehow.


I wandered a while, and found a great cafe where I got "koffie" and a "stroopwafel" - both of which were amazing. I took a picture in there and got yelled at in Dutch, so I deleted it. The place was called the Hoofdstuk, and they had a sign that said "Wij Zijn Winnaar van de Ketelbinkie Koffietroffee 2008." Which I took to mean they had some coffee trophy or something. They apparently also won this trophy in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Anyway, this is the view across the street from the cafe.

Xanadu + The Muse

I have a funny friend. She makes me laugh. The following is an excerpt of a chat I had with her the other day...

Wittygirl [9:08 AM]:
I'm probably doing popcorn for dinner
Sweetfiend [9:09 AM]:
or a quick tacobell run?
Wittygirl [9:10 AM]:
haha... you know, I haven't had Taco Bell since college
I think it messes up *Nick's* internal organs
but I might do it
Sweetfiend [9:10 AM]:
wow, we just recently reunited *Dave* and taco bell
he was pleased
Wittygirl [9:13 AM]:
Dave... I feel like this is some kind of romantic comedy where you're like a goddess from another dimension with the mission to bring some joy into Dave's life, and then you wind up falling in love, but you have you renounce your magic powers, and Dave's all mad that you didn't tell him from the beginning that you were a goddess, even though DUH he never would've believed you and probably would've been creeped out and avoided you
Sweetfiend [9:13 AM]:
bahahahaha
that is hilarious
Wittygirl [9:13 AM]:
sort of like a City of Angels/Xanadu/The Muse smashup
probably thinking this cause I just saw Xanadu
Sweetfiend [9:14 AM]:
so do you think it will have a happy ending?
Wittygirl [9:15 AM]:
wellllllllll maybe, but the ones with happy endings are kind of more predictable and boring
it'd be cooler if at the last second one of you got hit by a bus or something
no offense
Sweetfiend [9:16 AM]:
haha. thanks
Wittygirl [9:16 AM]:
hahaha, but you know what I mean?
a last second twist
maybe it turns out he's a demon from hell, so you can't be together because of some hidden stipulation like that
or just his father's a hell demon
he's innocent
yeah!
and that's partially why his life is so devoid of fun in the beginning
he doesn't know it, but he's cursed
mmm, that's gonna be good

*Names have been changed for fun, but I bet you can guess who we're talking about!

I'm Freaking Out, Man!

So, I have been saying that continuously for the past 3 days. I put an offer in on a condo on Sunday night. I leave for Holland on Tuesday. It's been a mad rush to meet the realtor, find a lawyer, sign contracts, and get things moving so that I can guarantee this place is mine. I am overwhelmed (to say the least). I have been wanting to write a personal blog for a while now, and it seems appropriate that I will be able to talk about my upcoming adventures here! So get ready, because my life is about to get a lot more interesting!