Typical Dutch

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After 2 great days of Christmas in Sweden (we celebrated the 24th, and all day on the 25th) we went to the Netherlands for their second day of Christmas, to be celebrated with my friend Nicole and her family. Upon arriving from the airport her family greeted us with a champagne toast, I could tell it was going to be a great trip! Next we all opened presents and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner that lasted until nearly 1 in the morning.

Since we were staying with a family we had a car to drive, and Nicole acted as our personal tour guide, making this one of the easiest and best trips I have been on so far. While in Amsterdam we took a canal tour in order to see all of the building in the city, as well as the older and nicer neighborhoods. It is a very pretty city because of all of the bridges and old homes, many of which are visibly slanting to the side and forward because of the way they were built.

We also were able to visit the Anne Frank house, the main place that I wanted to see while in Amsterdam. I had read the book along time ago and it was amazing to see how they really did live and how small the area was. Its amazing to think that so many people could live in such a small place for years. To anyone who visits Amsterdam, you must take the time to see it.

We traveled to the traditional town of volendam, where some people still wear the clothes from the early 1900's. Its a very touristy town, but fun nonetheless. From there we went to the small island of Marken, where one of my other Dutch friends is from. It's a tiny village (about 1,000 people) all the houses are the same, and everyone knows everyone. I think Marken was one of the most unique places I have been, I would have never guessed that such a place would be located about an hour from Amsterdam.

I had a really great trip. The country is completely different from the States, and not just in the culture. This was the perfect place to go for my last trip in Europe. I have had a great time traveling over here, and will definitely be back in the next few years to see all the places I didn't get to, and to visit the amazing friends I have made in the last 5 months.

Thanks to everyone for reading my journals, I'll put an update up when I get back home. I leave Sweden on the 19th. I'll miss the country and my friends like crazy, but I'm ready to be back in sunny California. Right now its -1 celsius and snowing, making for a beautiful day, but also making me anxious for home!

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Photos

Christmas Dinner at Nicole's
There were even menus on the table of what we would be having for dinner!

Being a tourist
I was later told that you are supposed to stand in the shoe, as if you are wearing it...oh well!

Coffee?
One of the many "coffee shops" located in Amsterdam

The magic wall
This is a wall lined with little windows and for a euro or two you can get a hot sandwich, or croquette (typical dutch food...delicious!). We had heard a lot about the "magic wall" from all our Dutch friends

Dutch Clothes
This is one of the main things people go to Volendam for, to dress up in the traditional outfits and take a pictures!

Dutch Stairs
These are the stairs in most of the dutch homes, and most houses are three stories! However, they were not nearly as bad as the 'leg-breaker' stairs in the Anne Frank house, which were almost like a ladder.

canal tour
This is one of the older homes in amsterdam, the doors on the bottom were for the service people, the ones on top were for the family

Bike Parking lot
Everyone here rides a bike, even nicole's grandma who is 83 rides!

Olebolen and Appleflappen (spelling??)
The night before we left we made a ton of these. They are a tradition to have on New Years. We carried most of them back in a suitcase for our new years party in Orebro.

No trip is complete without starbucks
I was told ahead of time that the only starbucks in the Netherlands was in the airport, so that was our last stop before boarding the plane. In this picture is Nicole, our other dutch friend Rianne and Becky.