Quiz Night in Delft

---

Quiz night in Delft
Last night I joined the guys in Delft for 'Quiz Night' (they insist on 'quiz' and not 'trivia', by the way) at a quaint little pub off the town's main square. This was my first time to Delft, so I got there a little early to soak up the Great Market square, which is a football sized field of cobblestone with ancient ornate churches at each endzone. I plan on going back sometime to tour the churches and the pottery factories, so I'll have pics then.

I could go on and on about how Vermeer was from Delft, and about the church with the broken back, but then if you really wanted to know, you could just go here: http://www.delft.com/

As I'm sure these touristy little adventures of mine are getting old hat by now, I thought I'd spice it up with some of the ideas that crossed my mind over the course of several high-alcohol content beers at Quiz Night: Here's some of the things I've learned so far from being in Europe:

1) High fives are prohibited. In moments of correct quiz answer celebration, I insticively went for the '5' with my teammates. Instead of a hearty smack on the palm, I got blank looks and the feeling of being very, very tiny....it's like how they don't know what a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is because of the metric system; these guys just have no concept of 'Gimme 5'

2) American beer really does suck. Part of picking a beer here involves noting the hefty alcohol content which often tops 8%. When you get said beer-with-alcohol-content-that's-two-to-three-times-an-American-beer, you normally get it in a hella cool glass, which obviously is the type of thing that impresses me. Can you get a banana beer in the states on tap? Didn't think so.

3) Ice water makes America great. Sure, freedom and whatnot is cool too, but I really miss getting endless supplies of ice water with dinner. Here, you only get chilled bottled water, and you only get it in tiny, expensive bottles. I've heard you can get tap water, but ordering tap water here is viewed in about the same light as if you went to the toilet and took a face-first dip.

4) I need a bike. Yes, even a dinky funky European bike with curved handlebars, and huge wheels that looks like maybe the 2nd or 3rd bike ever invented. It's ridiculous how much more ground you can cover and how much more sense it makes to have a bike here. I'd equate walking in Europe to having a bike in the states, and having a bike here like having a car. The main reason I know I need a bike is because of the humiliating feelig of getting a 'backie' and riding on someones rear luggage rack. Just take a sec to picture it and see if you can feel my shame.

---