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Published: April 11th 2007
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Back from a whirlwind tour of the Netherlands. Left on the 4th with Richard, Morgan, and Kristine and flew to Dusseldorf, Germany for the night. In the morning we left Kristine who was on her way to Paris and got the first train to Amsterdam. We were met by our friend Venk at the train station who took Morgan with him to the house he shares with his girlfriend Priya and our other friend Jon in Den Haag. Morgan stayed with them for the four nights we were in Amsterdam. Richard and I once again brought our tent and sleeping bags. This time we added a couple of sleeping mats which I made from a found piece of foam and the sleep was much more comfortable. Amazing what 1/2 inch of foam can do for you. We took an hour to get to our campsite which it turns out is about 7 minutes from the city centre if you go about it the right way. But, we nevertheless got there and set up our tent in tent city between the river and the... petting zoo? I climbed out of my tent the first day and was greeted by a couple
Hunting tulips
camera at the ready... here they come! of ducks and a rooster peeking in the door. Soon after a goat on a leash walked by. The neighbours were sprawled on the grass surrounded by heinekken bottles and a cloud of smoke and someone was playing a drum... definitely the hippie life is still alive in Amsterdam.
The evenings in Amsterdam were spent with Venk, Jon, and Priya catching up and seeing the town. The red light district was interesting but not as seedy as I had imagined. It was very touristy and the window girls looked apathetic. We saw a few bars and coffee shops. It's really hard to find a restaurant however as most of the eateries are snack shops to satisfy your munchies. We saw some amazing Dutch paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt in the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank house during the daytime.
One day we took the train to Utrecht to see the Schroeder House by Gerrit Rietveld. It was smaller than I thought it would be but really comprehensive as a concept. We missed the tour unfortunately so we never got to see the inside but we listened through the walls to the tour going on behind closed doors (and
Tulips!
red ones, yowza open windows). Utrecht was my favourite city by far. The canals were surrounded by small streets filled with bicycles and small shops. There were boats going up and down the canals, and the atmosphere was so relaxed. We were ready for a night to relax by this time so Richard and I caught a movie while we were there at this tiny theatre/restaurant. The seats are numbered so you have to sit in your assigned seat and I was almost stuck behind a supertall dutchman but he took pity on me I think and moved over one spot.
The fourth day we trained it to Rotterdam which was named City of Architecture 2007. This city has exploded with experimental architecture and it reminded me almost of Disney World in the way that it's jampacked with eye candy. Our friend Euro is in Rotterdam right now, just starting a new job and living with his girlfriend Aliisa who is studying there. We were hoping to meet up with them during the day but we didn't get a hold of them in time. We did a four hour walking tour of the city and by the time we got back to
the train station we had sore feet and drowsy eyes. The plan for the evening was to have a big easter dinner with Jon, Venk, Priya, and their two Swiss friends at their Swiss friends' house in Lieden. We got off the train in Lieden and were surpised when we turned around and saw Euro and Aliisa getting off the same train! We had a happy reunion then ran into Morgan and Jon and had another happy reunion!
Easter dinner was a potluck: I made meatballs, Morgan made two kinds of potatoes, and our Swiss friend... (Didier?) made a third kind of potatoes and chicken salad. Add a few bottles of wine and a didgeridoo and you have one good night. Slept over in the guest room as Richard's train left at 6:30am for Hamburg to catch a flight back to Dublin.
I spent the last two days of my trip in Arnhem and Nijmegen where a friend from school, Peter lives. I stayed one night at his parents' house and had dinner with his family. He also gave me an amazing guided tour of historic Nijmegen which was once occupied by Romans!. I was very impressed by
his extensive knowledge of his city until I found out he used to give tours as a job. Still I learned a lot.
Favourite things about Netherlands: Bicycles, bicycles everywhere. Tulip fields, windmills, canals. Vermeer.
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Auntie Baffy
non-member comment
Thank you
Okay, what can I say, tulips and friends and adventures all beautiful. thank you for letting me live this vicariously!!