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| Bruges |
All semester I had wanted to see the tulip festival in Holland. I had gotten several laughs at this, but I was stoked to make this little dream a reality. I left for Brussels (yeah that's not in Holland, but I might as well make this into an extended trip) on Wednesday night and arrived at the Hello hostel. The taxi driver told me to watch out for prostitutes at night so that was a nice little welcome. Thursday I left early to catch a couple of trains to go to Bruges. There were a few girls speaking English before we got on the train so I asked where they were going and they invited me to join since I was alone. Bruges was a fairytale. It was absolutely stunning. I felt like I was walking around scenes only dreamed about but not actually real places. I had a Belgian waffle and fries for lunch, classic. The day was spent walking around the canals with Medha, a new friend from Clemson. Bruges is famous for beer, lace and the singer Gotye. It is the most charming European city I've visited. Check out the movie "In Bruges" and you'll see why I loved the city so much. Look for the dog who is claimed to be "the most photographed dog in the world" because he perches out a window along a canal all day long.
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| Bruges, Belgium |
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| Meredith and I at the Autonium |
I met up with Meredith and her friends in Brussels Thursday night. I haven't seen Meredith in almost 5 years since we met at HOBY WLC in Washington DC after sophomore year of high school. We go to schools on the opposite side of the country, but she is studying in Spain
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| Julie and I at the Keukenhof Gardens |
for the semester so we worked out a trip together. She's one of those people who you don't have to talk to more than a couple times a year, but you know you'll be friends for life. We spent Friday touring a chocolate factory, taking pictures at the Atomium (CNN named it Europe's most bizarre building), and walking around the city center. Brussels is a nice city. I think it'd be a very livable, international city as it the houses the European Commission and pretty much everyone speaks English. No trip to Brussels is complete without going to the Manneken Pis, better known as peeing baby statue, which has been a landmark since the early 1600s. For 25Euro I took a series of trains for 3 hours to Amsterdam! The train ride was beautiful through the Dutch country side. Julie and I met up at the train station and headed to Leah Smith's apartment. Leah was gracious enough to let us stay with her for the weekend and she made an excellent tour guide. We indulged in Stroop Waffles, Bitterballen, and french fries. Of course we had to see the Red Light District. it's an interesting experience to see women selling themselves and to watch men walk out after a session. I don't really know how I feel about it, but when in Amsterdam.
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| land of all things Dutch |
Saturday was tulip day!!! We took a trip outside of town to the Keukenhof Gardens. We joked this was like an adult Disneyland, because besides kids with their parents we were the youngest ones there. The gardens were immaculate. I was soooo happy to see the hundreds of different types of tulips and other flowers. We found an open field of tulips that we ran through only after we successfully jumped across a canal. There are tulip festivals around the world, but the source of many of those bulbs comes from Holland. If you ever get a chance, go check out the tulips in the Netherlands. Of course we took pictures at the seemingly random but famous "Amsterdam" sign and then had Dutch pancakes at Leah's favorite restaurant, The Pancake Bakery. I opted for one with cheese and chorizo thinking back to the endless amounts of chorizo we ate in South America. It certainly was tasty. Julie and I toured the Anne Frank house that night. Another place I've always dreamt and read about. I think I've read Anne's dairy at least 3 times and she continues to be a source of inspiration to me. The museum was simplistic and well done really taking you back and imagining what her life was like. Definitely a must see in Amsterdam.
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| Julie, Leah and I |
Sunday was spent walking around town and then catching our flight back. Amsterdam is my favorite big European city. It's liberal, but has something for everyone. The canals make the city's design intricate and like a maze. The food is incredible both sweet and savory and the people are happy go lucky. The also have peanut butter and cookie butter (which I learned is called Speculous)That was my experience there and in the future it is one place I think I could live. I know you're all wondering if I smoked weed in a coffee shop and the answer is.......no. haha But if you are someone who is into that there are plenty of opportunities for you.
What a great weekend it was especially right before finals. Three of my worlds collided; Meredith from HOBY WLC, Leah from High School, and Julie from abroad. How fortunate am I travel to beautiful places with beautiful people?
"Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin,
but in truth it is a city of freedom.
And in freedom, most people find sin."John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
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