Rotterdam!

So, the next day, we decided to explore Rotterdam. We brought along Amy, the girlfriend of another Erasmus guy. We met up around 10, and had a few places on our list to explore; specifically, the World Museum and Schoonord Park (the secret park). First, we had to go back to Paddy Muprhy's because Maggie lost her camera. Unfortunately, we didn't find it. Then, the World Museum was closed (and will be till 2010) for renovations. Luckily, we found the Natural History Museum. That was interesting because everything was in Dutch... and sometimes you just don't know what things are. For example:



We had a lot of fun pretending that was a liopleurodon, showing us the way to candy mountain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus) but it's just a dolphin. We were disappointed, lol.

Schoonord was pretty, but since it was March, nothing was really in bloom. I took a few good pictures of ducks and birds, but nothing really worth posting. Then we went to the Euromast!



It's nice that you don't really have to climb it. You just take the lift up to the observation deck. Then, you go outside and climb up a flight or two so you can catch another lift. This one has 360 degree views, and holes in the floor. It takes you all the way to the top, and then rotates as it comes back down so you can see all of Rotterdam. In the souvenir shop, I bought a button that says "Euro Must."

After that we spent an hour or two chatting at a cafe, and walking around the nearby parks. Amy headed back to campus while Maggie, Bets and I waited for Tim. Tonight was the big night: De Pannenkoekenboot!! Tim was cutting it close. While we waited, a family asked me to take wedding pictures, and the bride gave me her bouquet as a thank you. She said the other girls wouldn't let her toss it to them. Pancakes in Holland are very different from pancakes at home. But they are yummy. Apparently "all you can eat" = 2.




That's my dessert pancake. Yum!


Sunset over Rotterdam

St. Patrick's Day!

Ok, so technically, this is the same day as the Delft day. But meeting up with Maggie and Bets deserves its own post. They were right on time at the train station. I took them back to Tim's so we could grab him before dinner. But he was like 2 hours late because he had a team meeting after class. So his neighbor Rohit invited us over to watch some Dutch TV. We were totally satisfied with the news, and then Lingo, and then whatever music video channel was on, but clearly he wasn't because he kept changing the station. Finally Tim got back! We were heading to Paddy Murphy's for the night, but needed cheap dinner first. David decided to come with us to Donner Kebab. But first, we all had to try the bear powder candy we bought in Amsterdam. The consensus? Disgusting. We proceeded to get very drunk and have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. Here are a few of the best photos:


Maggs and I


Brother


Maggs and Betsy


MBA Boys: Kristian, Hugh, Geoff and Traavis

Holland Flashback

Mom and Dad came home on Monday. I finally saw their pictures tonight, and realized I just sort of trailed off around here. And some of the best parts are missing!



Delft was easily my favorite city in Holland. This is Nieuwe Kerk. I climbed to the top of the tower and got a good view. Then I shopped around and bought some beautiful handmade pottery. I even found a girl who was working in her shop. She let me take photos of her workspace.



This is one of my favorite photos from that day... it's a tombstone in the floor of Oude Kerk. I don't think pictures can really do the city/country justice. The churches are incredible. And the city was so peaceful. I wandered around the walking tour, and went to see Vermeer's work in a small museum. I had a beer at one of the oldest cafes around, and then it was about time to head back to Rotterdam to meet up with the Scott sisters!