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Published: November 16th 2008
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Pretty Mommy :)
Although slightly jet-lagged... I admit, it's been too long! And I don't even have the excuse of midterms any more...
It's difficult to decide where to start. I guess I'll begin my tale about two weeks ago, in the city of Amsterdam. I was excited, when I woke up at 5 in the morning (side note: when I wake up at 5 in the morning, you know that something important is happening) on Friday, the 7th of November. I was seeing my mama today! Months previous, my parents discussed the possibility of one of them coming over to visit me towards the end of my stay, and, during the same trip, visit our friends who lived in Switzerland.
I'll skip the rest of that story, but to make a long story short, I was to meet my mom at the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel in Amsterdam, and we'd go out for a leisurely day of sightseeing. I arrived in Amsterdam by 9:35, checked us in, and waited (im)patiently for mom to walk through the revolving door. I was starting to get worried by 10:15, but no sooner had my worriedness started to build that she appeared, in a new coat that I
hadn't seen before, and a very distinct carry-on, that nobody else in the world owns. I didn't let her up the stairs before I grabbed her and hugged her. It felt so good to see the real mom, and not "Skype Mom". Of course, seeing her begged for her other half, who was sadly about 4,000 miles away. Anyway, we hugged, and cried a little, and settled into our room. Of course, she had a headache, but this didn't stop her from telling me about the no less than 4 people she had met on the flight/shuttle to the hotel and now knew by name. Ah, mom 😊. I guess you always know when your parents are around, because you're settled into a nice comfy HOTEL bed, with a cup of pomegranate tea brought from home, and a new pair of woolen socks are on your feet...
After I let her nap for about 20 minutes, ma and I set out on the town. The only thing she had really wanted to see was the Van Gogh Museum, which I made sure to buy tickets for ahead of time (again, always a good decision!). We were both a little
hungry, though, and decided to grab a quick lunch at a promising-looking little Spanish restaurant at the edge of the Red Light District. The food wasn't that good, but neither of us really cared, I think. We found a good Canal Tour, and after grabbing some ice cream, and a belgian waffle with warm cherries, we boarded, and floated around the canals, getting off at the Museum stop. Ma loved the Van Gogh Museum, and I gained new respect for his work, and those who influenced him, or were influenced by him. She was so tired, though, that after a little stop at a souvenir shop, we decided to head back to the hotel. I fell asleep, not realizing how tired I was, and when I woke up, we headed down to the hotel restaurant and enjoyed a surprisingly delicious dutch meal. The next day was to be a long one, so we went to sleep fairly early. We called dad to wish him goodnight, and as soon as both of us hit the pillow, we were fast asleep.
OK, I'll skip all the details of the train trip to Zurich, because there aren't really any details to talk
about. Suffice it to say that we caught our train at 7 AM, and arrived in Zurich at around 5. We had to catch subsequent trains to get to our destination, and no sooner had we stepped off the train at 6, that we were greeted by our friend, Sarah. Brief backstory: Mom had worked for a German couple who had moved to the US, and were living in Buttonwoods (our old neighborhood) in 2001. She walked the dog, and did some light cleaning for them. Soon, they became very good friends, and the woman, Sarah, used to take me with her to the barn, where she kept her horse(s). Rainer, Sarah's boyfriend, was working for APC in the States. They left to return to Germany a couple years later, which was very sad for all of us. Sarah came to visit us one other time, when I was a freshmen in high school, but I hadn't seen her since. Now, Sarah and Rainer are married, and have two children, Nick and Max. So, when Sarah came up to us on the platform, having not changed a bit, and with a little boy in her arms, mom and I cried
in excitement! Nick, her older son, presented us with chocolate hearts, and we walked to the car, so happy to see each other. We talked and talked on the short drive home, and when we arrived at their beautiful Swiss house, it was very surreal. We gave Rainer a big hug, and met Max, who was very wary of us for the first day (but warmed up to us by the second day!). After Nick and I played with his new hot wheel cars that mom had brought him, Sarah and Rainer put the kids to bed, and when they were asleep, Sarah made us dinner; we talked for hours, catching up, and it seemed that no time had passed at all. The weekend was full of things like that; going on walks in the woods, visiting a tiny Swiss bakery, taking a ferry over to Germany with the boys...before I knew it, the weekend was over, and I had to return to the castle. Sarah and Rainer were busy packing for their move to Germany later that week, and mom was staying with them to help, so it was only I that was to return to the Netherlands. However,
I had planned to journey to Munich the following weekend, to help paint the new house!
But that's for the next entry. This is already too long, and I know that lots of you who read this have legitimate work to do.
Love you all.
T
Munich entry to come within the next few hours, most likely!
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Mom
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Pretty Mom w/jet lag
Your sweet Theresa but that photo actually looks like I walked passed too many coffee shops in Amsterdam. We did have fun together the whole day. I'll always remember the incident with the cashier at the VanGogh Museum. funny.