The Netherlands
Sorry I haven't blogged in ages, school work and paper writing had taken over my life. Imagine that I go on exchange for university and actually have to do school work, so lame!
I was lucky enough to travel to the Netherlands for Easter break with my amazing exchange friends; Roos (Utretch, Netherlands), Sarah (Nova Scotia, Canada), Adam (Toronto, Canada), Georgia (Melbourne, Australia), and me!
We all hopped on a KLM flight and had the absolute privilege to stay at Roos' family home in Houten, where we were spoiled for an entire weekend with homemade food, warm showers, and a real big huge bed!!! After being a traveling Uni student who lives out of her suitcase for the past few months these were little things that I sorely missed and seriously took for granted.
It was so lovely to be in a home, with a couch, eating a mommy cooked dinner - pumpkin soup, Dutch meatballs, potatoes, beans, pears, apple sauce, literally all the fixings...it was so yummy! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
We stayed in Houten and visited Amsterdam, Utretch, and Naarden.
Thank you so much to the Volker family; Kees, Marja, Roos, and Iris for welcoming us into your home and being the worlds most accommodating and lovely hosts - you truly made my Dutch experience <3
Check out some of my photos and wee little stories below!
We arrived in Amsterdam just in time for a beer and a selfie with the IAMsterdam sign before taking the train to Houten!
It is fact that there is more bikes than people in Holland! Unfortunately for me I was too wee to ride the Volkers' family bikes (as they are so dang tall-those Dutchies!) my feet couldn't reach the pedals, boo!
On a side note it was probably for my own good that I remained safe with two feet planted firmly on the ground haha.
Just look at beautiful Amsterdam! Now I am sorry because I didn't take this photo and can't remember exactly who took it but please don't be mad, I think it's lovely and wanted to share it!
Haha, this photo is the perfect example of how many times we attempt to take nice candid pictures and end up failing.
I think my favourite lines I have heard people say (I won't use any names and trust me, I know I am guilty of it too aha):
"Hey can you take a nice candid of me?"
and
"Take a picture of me pretending to not be looking at the camera."
My lovely exchange friends!
Now I truly understand what all my European friends are talking about when they say they miss "real" cheese and bread, its in Holland - seriously, you've never had anything like it.
Meet the Stroopwafle aka my newest addiction. Melted caramel goodness between two waffles...the Dutch seriously know how to do food.
I think I gained about ten pounds from all the bread, cheese, stroopwafles, party bread - bread with butter, chocolate sprinkles and jiggly bellies (THE BEST BREAKFAST FOOD EVER), and so much beer.
I tried Herring! I was informed that this was a true Dutch must - fresh salted Herring with onion and pickle, which you pick up by the tail and eat (as photographed above) it was delicious! My breath smelled awesome after that one!
A stray kitty that we met on the streets of Amsterdam, I wanted to take it home. I miss my kitties, boo.
A group of us went on the Anne Frank Museum tour, which was one of the most bittersweet things I have ever experienced in my life. I am not even sure if bittersweet is the right word. My heart filled with so many emotions as I wandered through the museum and filed up the little sets of staircases.
We stood in line for forty five minutes (a rather short wait actually) to walk through the infamous annex where the Frank family remained hidden during the War. The line to enter the museum is constantly queued down the block everyday of the year, all day long, until they close at night. Thousands upon thousands of people visit the museum every single year. At 10 o'clock at night the museum was still filled with people of all ages, races, and cultures, engaging in Anne's diary and her story, the story that was a horrific reality for so many people.
There was a quote from Otto Frank (Anne's father) that really resonated with me and summarized my feelings after touring the museum.
"To build a future you have to know the past"
Otto was the only one to survive the war, live through Auschwitz, and later had been presented with his daughter's journal. He published Anne's journal, now her story is accessible in multiple languages and has touched millions of people all over the world.
Afterwards, we met up with some other exchange students that we knew from GCU for a drink and a tour through the Red Light District - my Australian friend James brought me this Tulip! What a sweetheart, unfortunately I've lost the tulip, I'm sorry James!
Here is a #ladsontour photo of Adam, James, and Emilio - what goof balls!
We spent the day in Utretch - little Amsterdam, it was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun!
A Broodje Mario sandwich, literally one of the best sandwiches I have ever tasted. If you ever go to Utretch I recommend hunting down one of these food trucks. Soooo yummy! Salami, chorizo, hot peppers, pickled veggies, and Dutch cheese - mm, mm, mm!
We had the amazing honour to brew beer in the Moulen Windmill, here is us adding Hops to the Double Trouble batch of beer, named after Roos and her twin sister Iris. Kees (Roos' father) is a brewer and he owns a company called Brouwerij Hommeles! Their beer is amazing, I really recommend you try it if you visit the Netherlands!
This was the coolest pub ever, it was actually a Belgian pub called Olivier! It used to be a secret Catholic church that had to be hidden so it looks like a plain building on the outside, but now it serves as a pub with great food and beer!
Hey look its Double Trouble! Spent the evening dancing and drinking Kees' beers in Roos and Iris local favourite pub! Such a fun night - I even got up and did some Highland dancing to some Dutch music, it was so fun!
Here is a little taste of my favourite Dutch song (that we constantly quote now), Roos even requested it at the pub:
Easter Sunday we spent the day in Naarden!
A lovely church in Holland, seriously Europe has the most stunning architecture.
And we finished the trip off at the Pancake House! This was a heavily anticipated day for me, as Roos had been raving about having Dutch pancakes at her favourite restaurant and I adore any excuse to eat good food smothered in maple syrup, so to the pancake house we went!
I ordered a pannakoeken that was bigger than my face filled with ham, bacon, and cheese, smothered in maple syrup and covered with powered sugar. My hot chocolate even came with all the fixings -whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and even a cookie to dunk in it!
Do I need to say any more?
And finally, here is a lovely 7am shot of us after our amazing time in the Netherlands - sadly Patrick who stayed up all night to catch our 4am flight, doesn't look too pleased!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Meagan
