Dank u vel!

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Hey everyone! I write to you via the ICE train from Rotterdam to Berlin, which is about a 6 hour journey.<span><span><span><span> Unfortunately, there is no wi-fi onboard this train so I’m writing this entry on Word and will post it once I can access some internet.<span> The flight over here was mediocre, the on-demand movies were mildly entertaining, but I felt hungry throughout most of the flight.<span> Apparently, United Airlines feels that a croissant and some fruit alone is suffice for breakfast, so that was a bit of a letdown.<span> Once we landed in Amsterdam we were greeted by Ruud, Arnaud, and Bert.<span> It was great seeing Ruud and Arnaud after 6 months, and in the case of Bert it had been 18 months.<span> Aside from the fact that we weren’t in Austin, it felt like old times as we reminisced about all the crazy times back when they were exchange students.<span> They were kind of enough to take the entire day off from school to show Alvin and I around, the highlights of the day included climbing up of about 15 minutes of stairs to the top of a church, eating this amazing carpaccio on ciabatta bread,<span>touring Delft University, lying on the grass on top of the university library drinking beer with the guys(they have no alcohol policy on campus), and to top it off eating a homecooked salmon with mash potatoes and a special mayonnaise sauce.



For much of the day, I felt like I was still in the US, partly because I spent time with people I know, but there definitely are some similarities.<span> The biggest surprise was seeing how much parking space they had in Delft, I would have expected virtually none but that was not the case.<span> However, there are some stark differences when it comes to lifestyle.<span> Biking is the most common mode of transportation in Dutch cities, and they even receive priority over pedestrians so I definitely had to watch my back because these riders have no regard for anyone blocking their path.<span> One fascinating thing I learned was that grocery stores do not provide any bags for customers, which is something that we may see very soon in Austin.<span> In fact, if you buy beer bottles at the store you have to put down a deposit and will only get that money back if you return all the used bottles.<span> Bert was even telling me that if you give back beer bottles in Berlin, they will give us money in return.



That’s all I have for the moment, I’m going to use the remainder of the train ride to catch up on some television shows and read.<span> Ciao!

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