Happy Birthday to Me!!

So the next day in Amsterdam was my birthday!!! Hence the entire reason that Joyce and I met up that weekend. So we got up around 9 and headed out for the day. First we went to the tulip market. I was super disappointed that I couldn't buy any to bring back to the U.S with me. Customs wouldn't like it too much... Since we couldn't buy anything we simply walked through, but there are about a million varieties of tulips and bulbed flowers. It was very cool to look at. On the way we passed by a store window that had something very familiar on the mannequin...my senior prom dress...I think it looks better on me.

After the tulip market we went to Albert Cuyp Market. On the way we passed by the home of Heineken beer. Albert Cuyp Market is a giant market probably about a mile long where all types of things are sold. Clothes, toiletries, food, everything really. This is where we found our lunch. We basically tried all the food that we came across. We had raw fish, pickle, and onions on a hot dog bun. I won't say its my new favorite food...but it was edible. We also tried This thing on a hamburger bun it was kind of like a giant tater tot with hamburger and obviously potato inside that evidently you eat with mustard since they gave us a packet of mustard with it. That was very good too. We finally had mini pancakes that in Amsterdam have a name I don't know how to pronounce and then to finish it all off we had some waffles!!! Yay food!

After Albert Cuyp Market we went to the Rejks Museum which is a huge art museum. Unfortunately, half of it was closed for renovation...but that didn't mean we got in at half the price... However, we did get to see some VERY famous pieces of art by Rembrandt and his contemporaries, for example the Night Watch (If you don't know it there is a picture below.) After the Rejks Museum we were cold and tired so we headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit and figure out where we were going to go for my birthday dinner.

So we went back to the hotel and I looked up places to try traditional Dutch cuisine. I found this place called Moeders (Mothers in Dutch) so we made a reservation and since it was a bit far away we headed out to go find it. The restaurant is fairly small and out of the way for tourists. It's decorated with pictures of moms on all the walls. You can even bring a picture of your own mother for them to hang. We got the Dutch Rice Dish which is essentially a mixture of a bunch of Dutch dishes. We did the same for dessert. It was a great way to finish off my birthday. Honestly, Amsterdam was a wonderful escape. I felt strangely at home. Thanks Joyce!!!

The next morning I got up at 4:45 to head back to my "reality" of France. My flights were rather uneventful. Though I had a hard time finding where I was supposed to check in for my flight and the TSA agent interrogated me about my bag but besides that.

Amsterdam

So I got up early Thursday morning to head to the airport to catch my train to Amsterdam. My train was late plus I got there really early so I waited in the airport for quite a while, but it allowed me to get a lot of homework done so I guess that was a good thing. I would rather be early for everything than running to catch my train.

I then took my train to Antwerp Station (I didn’t know it at the time but that is in the Netherlands) It was a huge station! Nothing really of note happened at the station itself but when I got on the train there was someone in my seat so I told him in French “I think that is my seat” to which he responded “Do you speak English?” Well that’s a first! It’s just funny that my first reaction was to speak French, forgetting that it’s not really the universal language. So I got to Amsterdam without a problem and then got to the hotel.  The hotel was super nice! It was weird going up to the concierge and not speaking French. You would think that would feel normal, but after talking to every stranger in French for 2 months, it is strange not to. The lady was very helpful and even let me go up to the room even though I was there well before check in time. After two rather stressful days in Brussels, I took the day while I waited for Joyce to relax. I even took a bath! It was nice!

Joyce got in around nine and we stayed up late planning our Friday and just catching up! We didn’t get to bed until around one. The next day we got up and got the pleasure of eating in the Club Lounge thanks to Joyce’s father being a gold member with Marriot (Alas my father is only a silver). So that breakfast was excellent!! We even took some food for breakfast the next morning when we wouldn’t have access to the lounge.

After breakfast we headed to Anne Frank Huis. It’s a good thing we got there early because by the time we left there was a huge line out the door. I walked through the very places where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. It was extremely sobering! The rooms were left empty per request of Mr. Frank, but despite them being empty there were still things on the walls that showed that people actually lived there. There were lines on the walls measuring Anne her sister’s heights. (They were taller me by the way). The walls in Anne’s bedroom were covered in pictures. It was just so sad! Even thinking about it now makes me want to cry. They also had the original diary of Anne Frank there, seeing her handwriting was very cool.

After Anne Frank house we went to the red light district. Yes we went; you can’t go to Amsterdam and not go. Also another thing Amsterdam is well known for is the fact that pot is legal…no we did not try smoking pot you could smell it on every corner and that was more than enough for me. Gosh that stuff smells so incredibly bad. Anyway, back to the red light district. Since we went so early in the day it was essentially empty and it looked like just about every other street in Amsterdam. But yes, we did see some women showcasing their wares in the windows even in daylight. I think Joyce was more shocked than I was to see them.

After the red light district we walked around a bit and stumbled upon the Amsterdam Museum. So we went in to learn a bit of the history of Amsterdam. Apparently the entire city is set upon pillars of wood (I don’t know why I can’t think of the word for that right now…I am actually forgetting English words here). It was pretty cool. After the museum we went to the museum café to eat. We had open-faced tuna sandwiches that were absolutely delicious!

Since we went that museum we got a discount off of another museum of our choice (from a very small list). So we chose to check out the Bible Museum since it was the closest and potentially the most interesting. The guy who opened this place made it his life’s project to create a scale model of the tabernacle. So that was really cool. He also had a vast collection of Egyptian artifacts. There was also in the basement some cool try it yourself crafts that I think were meant for kids, but whatever, I’m a kid at heart! There were also two guys at the museum who spoke English and when we left we kind of thought they might be trying to follow us, but we got ourselves somewhat turned around so we ditched them pretty fast. We then returned to the hotel to take a little rest and get tickets for a night time canal tour.

We got quite lost on our way back but in the process we stumbled upon some cheese shops and sampled some very delicious cheeses. (Including green cheese?) It’s actually just pesto cheese. 

We also stumbled upon men playing the traditional form of street music...sorry the video doesn't work but at least you can hear it! 

So we took a rest, got our tickets and then went to Subway for dinner. We then headed down to the docks to get on our boat. I descend into the boat down the stairs without a problem. But when I get to the bottom of the steps and start going farther into the boat I turn around to see Joyce falling to the ground. She attempts to grab for the door but the door slides and eventually she is on the ground. Now mind you we are at the front of the boat and there are quite a few people already on the boat. They ALL saw her fall. But Joyce, always strong, jumps up and announces that she is okay! We then quickly make our way to the back of the boat. We end up sitting across from a guy from China. He was friendly but nothing exciting about him.

Side note on this picture you can see 7 bridges of the canal! Pretty cool right?

After the boat tour we were quite tired so we headed back to the hotel (plus, Amsterdam’s nightlife is a bit more than I would want to experience). We went to sleep quite pleased with our day! And we still had another whole day to spend together, my birthday!

Brussels Day 2

Brussels Day 2

So we got up around 8ish on Wednesday for our final full day in Brussels. First we had our free breakfast. It was nothing special and it was free food so we were happy. They also have little things of Nutella like we would have of peanut butter. I liked that a lot. I think we should have those in the States. We took the shuttle to the airport and then from the airport took the bus back into the city. After exploring a bit we found this beautiful park. I found it rather amusing that there were signs that specifically said “No jogging” yet I saw probably about ten joggers. Also, if you are ever planning a trip to Brussels, go in the summer. This park is beautiful in the winter but honestly it would have been stunning in the summer. 

When we were done exploring the park we headed over to the Museum of Musical instrument (mind you all along the way we are taking pictures and looking at everything). We especially wanted to go to the museum because there was a free concert that day. So we go in and sit down in the concert hall. I look over to my right and I see a guy walk in and as I am looking at him I realize that I know this guy! That’s right people, I managed to run into the only person in Belgium who knows me. I stare at him a little longer to make sure it was actually him but eventually he recognized me so I smiled and waved. This guy was in my class when I was in level 2 at my institute in France. Crazy right? Afterwards all he said to me was “You just can’t get away from school can you?”

So anyway back to this concert. The pianist was stellar! I have no idea how she moved her fingers so fast! And she played with so much expression; it was like an actor performing. Here is a YouTube video of someone playing the same song she did.  (watch the beginning and then from 5 minutes in). There was also a bass violinist who performed with her on some of the songs but the whole time I could only think about how much I prefer the plain-old cello. 

We then walked around the museum and I saw so many instruments that I didn't even know existed!! I took so many pictures but I won't bore you with all of them! Just a few of the strangest instruments I encountered. I honestly have no idea how these are played!

And here is video of me attempting to read Dutch...I think I'm a natural!

After the museum we were starving!!! We spent a lot of time in there looking around at all the instruments! So we decided "When in Belgium...HAVE WAFFLES!!!" So we went to a waffle van around the corner from the museum.

We then went to buy some Belgian chocolate and see the famous Mekken Pisse (I don't think I spelled that right) On the way we encountered a street band. They got rather mad at us when we watched them (for all of thirty seconds) and then didn't give them a tip. Oh well...

Mekken Piss turned out to be a disappointment since it was covered in this stupid costume! But I guess I can at least say that I attempted to see it...

I know I am super far behind in updating you all about my life. I have been so very very busy! But even more happy!!! So much to tell you! Hopefully this weekend I will be able to catch you all up!

Brussels Day 1

So the next morning we got up (a little later than intended) and took that stupid taxi back to the airport where we took a fairly expensive bus to Brussels. We even had trouble finding where to buy the tickets and you had to have exact change. But we did it!

45 minutes later we were finally in Brussels! Now because we couldn't leave our luggage at the hotel we actually dragged our luggage around all day with us. We looked like such tourists it was unbelievable. The bus dropped us off at Midi station (which isn't exactly in the city but more on the outskirts). So we found the information booth and figured out how to get to city center which turned out to be the metro. We also had some lunch at Subway. We then got our 24 hour passes for all the city transportation (that was definitely our best purchase by far!) Then we got on the metro to get into the city center. Overall, getting to the fun part of Brussels was extremely complicated. 

When we got off the metro we walked up onto the street to see this

Beautiful already right? So then we walked a bit further and found this

Walking through such an old church made me wonder who else walked the isles. What did they pray about? What did they confess? Who were they? We then continued on to the Grand Place. Which was gorgeous. There was also a random group of people walking around in a circle chanting something and pulling down their pants...yeah that was lovely. (No pictures of that). 

Then we went into the tourism office to get directions to all the places we wanted to go that day. Starting with....THE CHOCOLATE MUSEUM!!! So, literally the best museum ever because they gave out free samples throughout the entire thing. Yum yum yum!! Did you know that the United States consumes 33% of the worlds chocolate? There was also a demonstration on how to make pralines but all I really remember was that the chocolate needed to be melted at 31 degrees Celsius. Although I do remember how good they tasted! 

After the chocolate museum we headed to the Horta museum. Victor Horta was the founder of the Art Nouveau style of architecture and design. (This was Grace's choice in museum by the way) Based on what I saw I decided I really like that style. While I don't have any pictures of my own from the museum (you weren't allowed to take pictures) I will show you some pictures I found on Google.

Then we went to go find some food for dinner. We ended up eating at Central Station at this place called Ekki. It was nothing exciting but it was certainly filling! Then we took the metro in an attempt to find the "Streetlight Museum." This was Sarah's pick so I don't really know much about what it was supposed to be. All I know is that we ended up in a semi-sketchy part of town and we didn't know exactly where we were going. So we decided to stop at this small bakery place and ask. Sarah and Grace went inside but since it was so small and with our luggage and everything I wouldn't fit, but I could see them through the glass store front. The store owner didn't know so he asked this guy who decided to call all his friends over. They were being rather loud and boisterous. But thankfully there was a nice lady who worked for the transportation system who calmed my fears about them. She said the guys in Belgium are like that, but they are harmless. She also told me that I speak French very well. We never did find the museum so we just decided to start our trek to our other hotel.

We got back on the metro and then walked to the bus stop and then took the bus to the airport and then from the airport the actually free shuttle. When we got to the hotel I told them my name and yet again they couldn't find the reservation. I could only think to myself "This cannot be happening" but they thought I was already checked in since I had had a reservation for the day before. Because of the misunderstanding they gave us free breakfast for the next morning which was ever so nice of them. (We like free food). And so ends day 1.