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Published: June 28th 2015
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After not nearly enough sleep, I woke up very early Saturday morning to do some last minute packing and headed to the airport. I landed safely in the beautiful country - the Netherlands! I was picked up from the airport by Frank, a friend of my friend Mike who taught music in the Netherlands the last spring. Both Frank and Mike were teachers for European X, an indoor percussion ensemble here in Europe. Frank welcomed me into his home in Hilversum, Netherlands where I met his wife, Nike, and his four day old baby son, Koan. They were the sweetest family and I felt so lucky to hold their newborn son! He had the tiniest little fingers. We visited for a while and they told me about their travels to America and what they thought. They told me Applebee's was one of their favorite places to eat and I begged them to come back to America so I can introduce them to anything better! Later in the evening, Frank made us a traditional Dutch meal of Gehaktballen (meatballs), potatoes, and andijvie (green, leafy vegetable). It was absolutely delicious! After dinner, Frank drove me to Marcel's apartment where I stayed for the
rest of my trip. Marcel is the cymbal instructor for European X along with other percussion groups.
Marcel was such a gracious and kind host! He set up a bed for me in his office and made some other Dutch meals that were also very yummy. One of the food items he had me taste was bitterballen. This is a small ball shaped, savory Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef beef broth, butter, spices and flour. The inside had a very thick texture, almost gravy-like. Marcel took me around Holland showing me his favorite places. We went to Volendams harbor that housed boats as far as the eye could see. Holland is really neat due to the fact that the land is essentially man made. The land used to be under water, but dams were built and now the water is completely controlled. After watching the sunset on the harbor, Marcel showed me the Afsluitdijk. This is a 20 mile (32 kilometer) long bridge, damming of a salt water inlet of the North sea. It was amazing to drive over it at night and see the moon shine over the water. I was very glad for
this time in Hilversum because not only did I make three new friends, but I also got to experience the calm beauty of the country.
However, Amsterdam was also an amazing experience! My first afternoon there I was leisurely walking when I heard someone call out my name. It was my friend Janani from UT Dallas! She was on a European tour with a group from the company TopDeck and happened to recognize me through the crowd of people. It was an awesome coincidence for us to end up at the same city at the exact same time! We spent the rest of the day exploring the Red Lights district, eating space cakes and fresh stroopwafels, listening to street musicians, and going to the tattoo parlor - don't worry, parents. I didn't get a tattoo in Amsterdam. The next day I woke up bright and early and waited in the never ending line for the Anne Frank House. It was definitely a must see piece of history for anyone traveling to this country! It's one thing to read about her story, but to see actual diary entries, and hear voice recordings is nothing like I had imagined. Next, I
Cheese Farm
One of the adorable calves that only wanted to be loved went to the Heineken Brewery and learned the magic behind the golden beer. Then I explored the Van Gogh museum. Wow, just wow. Every painting, drawing and sculpture was even more marvelous than I pictured in my head. Of course, my favorite painting was "Almond Blossoms" because who doesn't love a classic?
Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE bikes in Amsterdam. The car traffic was not as bad as the bike traffic! Above all, my favorite thing I did while in Amsterdam was a 4.5 hour bike tour of the outskirts of the city center. I biked along the Amstel canal, saw pretty cool houseboats, rowing clubs, people fishing, and a few remaining authentic windmills. The highlight of the tour was visiting an entertaining Dutch farmer at his cheese farm/clog factory, where he demonstrated the traditional art of making wooden shoes. The cheese was to die for and the shoe maker put on a good show for us tourists. To end this trip I happened to spot the Magnum Ice Cream store which made the ice cream right before your eyes, and I just had to go inside and try one!
The Netherlands was a great
Countryside Bike Tour
One of the oldest windmills in all of the Netherlands start to my holiday away from my Irish holiday! Stay tuned to see where I went next!
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