Hello, and Goodbye!

Hello everybody!  I am very sorry for neglecting my blog, but this will most likely be my last post.  As much as I enjoyed keeping a blog, once I fell out of habit it simply became too easy not to update.  In any case, let me try to bring you up to date on some highlights of my trip:

May 17: The play!  It was a fantastic time, and (I think) a huge success.  We had a full theater, and the set was surreal, minimalist, and very well do

ne.  The only sad part of the whole thing was that it was only one night...but there is a DVD to memorialize my intestinal debut.  In fact, we later found out that this was not just the first global staging of Blood Enemies, but the first staging of the play anywhere!  The author is interested in publishing the English transl

ation, which needless to say has my directors (who translated it) quite ecstatic.  

End of May: My friend Priti, who came to town just in time to see the play, joins me on a trip to Prague and Vienna.  I enjoye

d both cities very much.  The highlight of Vienna was definitely the Schonbrunn Palace, which I can only define as sheer extravagance from inside to

 out. 

 

I was admittedly a bit disappointed by how touristy Prague has become, but it was nonetheless a beautiful city.  Priti and I took a day trip to the spa town of 

Karlovy Vary, which is known for its hot spring mineral water.  The water tasted like pennies, but I like to think my digestive tract appreciated it.  In any case, the town was surrounded by lush forests, and it felt good just to breath the clear, fresh air.

My sister arrived just after Priti left, and we went with my dad to Copenhagen.  Despite being outrageously expensive, the city itself is beautiful and one I would love to go back to (but maybe only in the summer!)  We also took a day trip to the Louisiana Museum, which has an outstanding collection of modern art and a beautiful sculpture garden, which offered some fantastic views of the sea (that is Sweden in the distance):

In my last weeks in the Netherlands, I finally travelled to the East of Holland, which I had been meaning to do for awhile.  I went with my friend to the Kroller Muller Museum, which has a collection of Van Goghs that rivals the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  The museum is in the middle of a national park, and there are free bikes at every entrance so you can ride around.  The East of Holland looks very different from the flat landscape I was used to; in fact, parts of the park looked more like an African savannah than anything else!

Before leaving Holland, I also travelled twice to Ghent, which is definitely my favorite city in Belgium.  Beautiful, very few tourists, and probably the best beer in the world!  Just don't have too many...those monks brew it very strong!

I officially left the Netherlands on July 4th, and celebrated America's independence by traveling to Berlin, where I spend an excellent week with my stepdad.  After that, I took an overnight train to Basel Switzerland, and then went on to Bern, which is where I am typing now.  Switzerland is just as beautiful as I remember it, but the terrible exchange rate makes it unfortunately expensive.  In any case, I am going to stay here until the end of the week, when I will fly to Barcelona to meet up with some friends.  After a week in Spain, I will spend a week in Italy and a week in Greece, and then two weeks total in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.  Needless to say, I am very excited for my travels to come.  It has been an extraordinary experience already, and I can't believe I still have 6 weeks left to enjoy before returning home!  

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog.  I would like to say that I will keep updating it as I travel, but experience tells me that this is a promise I just can't keep.  So instead I will say goodbye, happy summer, and I hope to see you all soon!

A Month in Review

My apologies for not updating in so long!  I'll try to go through the highlights of the past month so you can get an idea of what I've been up to:

Third Week of March:  My friend Kim comes, and we take off for Brussels the next day.  Unfortunately, this trip ends unhappily with the contents of my purse being stolen, but I'll focus instead on the extraordinary Belgian waffles we eat as soon as we arrived.  They are at least 10 times better than the one I had in Antwerp (which was great itself!), and enough to lend a bright spot to what otherwise is a rather dark trip.

Also with Kim, I go to a wonderful library of 17th century books in Leiden.  The collection is the former estate of a very rich orphan from the Golden Age who basically had enough money to do whatever he wanted, and chose to invest in books of all sorts.  Especially amazing are the Atlases and hand-written records, and even the building itself, which is specially designed to best preserve the books, is a sight to see.

My sister arrives the last week of May, and we go to Paris with my Dad.  We'd been there as a family several years before, and this time we arrive after an amazingly comfortable first-class train from the Hague.  We go all around the city in the next few days; highlights for me are L'Orangerie, a museum with two rooms lined with huge, custom-designed Monets, and San Chapelle, a chapel with an amazing display of stained glass on the second floor.  I also get to meet up with my friend Sam, who is studying in Paris and directs my family to an excellent, Rick Steves-approved, restaurant for dinner (Rick Steves is everywhere in Paris!), and our last night I meet up with Sam and my friend Dave, who is coincidentally also on vacation in Paris.  Overall, Paris is great, and the pastries unparalleled, but when it comes to overall friendliness, I'll take Holland hands-down.

Back in Leiden, it's finally feeling like Spring, and I've been trying to take advantage of the good weather.  The city itself seems to feel the same way; as soon as the sun is shining, the streets are crowded with tables for people to sit outside.  The Hortus Botanicus, a large botanical garden near my academic buildings, is free for students and a great place to go and read during the day.  Last Saturday, I biked to the beach with my friend Alex.  It was a very pleasant ride and the beach itself is nice, a little windy (like the rest of the country) but generally calm and pleasant.  I also went to the Keukenhof with my Dad last week, which is billed as the world's biggest flower park.  The Dutch consider it strictly for tourists, and I guess I can see why - it's a beautiful collection of flowers, but also filled with touristy shops and stands, and the admission fee is probably enough to keep a Dutch person away.

Alas, as my camera was stolen in Brussels, I have no photos to post for this entry.  Don't worry, though - I've semi-hijacked my Dad's camera, and as soon as I get a cable to connect it to the computer I can show you Spring in Leiden in all its beautiful colors.  That's all for now, I promise the next update will come sooner than this one!

Antwerp Uncovered

Last weekend there's an organized trip to Friesland, but since I, along with four of my friends, are too late to sign up, we organize our own trip to Antwerp.  We leave after a leisurely Saturday morning, during which we buy fresh stroopwafels at the market, eat said stroopwafels with fresh coffee at my house, prepare cheese sandwiches for lunch, and power up with a little qigong.  The trip is only around two hours, and we arrive at Antwerp Station just after noon.  The station itself is absolutely gigantic, and worth a look even if you're not taking a train.

We set out to find a hostel, and are turned down by the first two we check.  Fortunately, the woman at the second hostel is kind enough to call another for us, and secures us a spot at the Boomerang.   

As you can see, it's quite unobtrusively marked, and we have our doubts as we climb the steps to enter.  We need not worry, however, as the owner is very kind and lets us into the somewhat exotic common room.  "Eclectic" may be a better word; huge plush couches, art from around the world, and naked female mannequins are scattered throughout the room, yet it somehow comes together to create a comfortable, homey atmosphere.  

After a brief rest (my stomach has a harsh but fortunately brief period of revolt), during which Alex and Mike play chess and Mike is constantly harassed by an Australian musician watching his moves over his shoulder, we leave the hostel to explore Antwerp.  Our first stop is the largest Gothic church in Belgium, the Cathedral of Our Lady.  It's closed right now, but we admire the architecture and try in vain to take a picture which captures the entire building.  

We pass through the main square and past the magnificent 16th century Stadhuis (town hall).  Next we head to the Schelde River, on which a medieval fortress, known as the Steen, is located.  The Steen houses a maritime museum, and there are several boats and barges to check out on the adjacent harbor. 

We wander from the river through the old part of town, ending up back at the main square.  By this time, we decide it's time for a beer - after all, Belgium is the beer capital of the world, and Antwerp is known for its hundreds of pubs.  After dinner at an Irish pub (oddly enough, Antwerp is known for these, too), we continue on a mini pub crawl, checking out the diverse range of pubs the city has to offer (to those of you who think I'm much too small to handle any sort of pub crawl, you're right; but don't worry, I know that, too, and didn't overdo it).  Back at the Boomerang, we are shown into our room, which is blessedly on the second floor (the narrow building seems to spiral upwards to infinity), and get a good night's sleep.  

The next morning, we have many plans, but one which takes extreme precedence: Belgian waffles.  The owner of the hostel advices us that the best place to find waffles is the main square, so that's where we head.  Unfortunately, it's Sunday and many places are closed, and we are starting to get desperate when we find what we need: Belgian waffles, served with sugar, whipped cream, chocolate, or ice cream, and a little slice of heaven on the side.  

Rejuvenated by our breakfast, we head to the Rubens house, the form home of artist Peter Paul Rubens.  It's an excellent collection, as well as an amazing 17th century townhouse, and for just 4 euros we also received free entry into the nearby Mayer van den Bergh Museum, which is a reconstructed 16th century townhouse filled with an amazing assortment of Medieval and Renaissance art, as well as jewelry, antique (hand scribed) books, and other tokens from the period (including some impressive, huge, and extremely elaborate iron keys).  By this point, we are hungry again and head back to the main square, where the convenient "free map for young travelers" we picked up at the hostel has highlighted where to find the last thing we must try before leaving Belgium - frites.  Actually, this is a lie, as we later realized we must also sample chocolate, but at the time our minds were pretty focused on comparing Belgian frites to ours in the Netherlands.  Our place of choice is Frituur MAX, which houses a tiny fry museum on its second floor (mainly cartoon sketches involving fries, hard to describe but cute and funny) and offers an impressive range of over 10 types of sauce.  Needless to say, the fries are delicious, as were several of the sauces, but I am sorry to report that the sauce labelled "American" was a funky orange color sprinkled with green flecks which I'm pretty sure most Americans would avoid at all costs.  We enjoy our fries outside, where a street performer somewhat unimpressively rides a unicycle while juggling.  

Did you know Antwerp sits atop of a city under the ground?  Neither did we, until this morning when our friend at the Boomerang suggested checking out the sewers.  We thought he was kidding, but it turns out that there's an underground city, known as Ruine ("covered sewers"), originally dating from the 5th century and open until the 18th.  Since we haven't planned ahead and don't have a reservation for a tour, we can only go down and take a quick (but free) look at the entrance to the sewers...apparently, on the tour, which lasts three hours, you see old street signs, samples of architecture, the remnants of 62 bridges, and some type of cathedral.  You are also outfitted in full protective dress and boots, which is amusing to see as a spectator above ground, but I'm the first to say I plan to suit up and go under next time I'm in town.  

From here, we head back to the Boomerang (with a quick chocolate detour) for the last time, and set out for the train station.  We are concerned that there might not be any Sunday evening trains, but we needn't worry.  After almost departing on a train not meant for us (we knew something was wrong when we everything looked really, really nice), then being oddly forced to evacuate the next train without explanation, we manage to squeeze (just barely) onto a severely overcrowded third train.  I am standing shoulder-to-shoulder with several large adults and pressed against a seat for half the journey, but I've just discovered Sudoku on my phone, so it's not that bad.  Eventually, I get a seat (the kind man exiting it strategically warned me ahead of time), and suddenly I'm enjoying one of the most luxurious, comfortable cushions I've ever sat on - at least that's how it feels right now.  Arriving back in Leiden at around 10pm, we say goodbye to each other and go our separate ways.  Antwerp is a fascinating city, and one I plan to return to; it has much more to offer - both underground and above - than I was able to see in our short two-day trip.

Amsterdam and Collision, Two Ways

Last Saturday I'm in Amsterdam - it's my first trip back to the city since our family vacation there 5 years ago. We spend the day touring the canals, which are much bigger and grander than those in Leiden, and probably most of the Netherlands in general. On the way, we stop to check out the
 apartment we stayed in on our first trip (third picture), which is high and narrow, and I remember the tiny spiral staircase we used to brave each day.  We also visit an old canal house, which has been reconstructed according to its traditional style and houses a nice collection of Dutch Renaissance art.  It was interesting to see some of the strange architectural details of the house - for example, in the master bedroom a false door is placed into the wall design to create symmetry when the room is closed!  After that, we head over to Nieuwkerk, which is holding a special exhibition on ancient art from Afghanistan (you may have guessed this, but the Dutch aren't very religious; they tend to find other used for their churches).  The exhibit has drawn a huge crowd, and I can see why - it's an excellent display of pottery, carvings, and jewelry ranging from 3000BC or older to around 1000AD.  The intricate designs on the jewelry, recovered from ancient crypts, are especially splendid, and overall it was well worth braving the crowd.  

We head home after the church and get dinner at an Indonesian restaurant I've been dying to try in Leiden (since any place that's over $10 for a complete meal is generally out of our price range, my friends and I tend to stick to the elegant simplicity of a good cheese sandwich - and, of course, falafel).  I'm not disappointed - the food is great - but I have to admit, I sometimes find myself longing for a nice plate of Thai food.  In any case, no sooner do I return to my apartment than I get a call from George, Hole in the Wall's infamous front man, who is in Amsterdam!  I knew he was coming at some point with his friend G.I., but I didn't realize it was this weekend; of course, I need to see him while he's here, so I make plans to head back to Amsterdam the next day.

Sunday, I meet George and G.I. at the station.  They are, not surprisingly, extremely hungover from the night before, but they've definitely been having a good time and they're in good spirits when I arrive.  We get a quick lunch (George, at first claiming he wanted to try something "new, and really Dutch," orders a plain cheese sandwich and then complains that it's boring - good to see George hasn't changed a bit) and make a plan for the day.  Most of the museums are closed on Sunday, which is a shame because I had hoped to take them to the Van Gogh museum, but I find some options in the "Alternative Amsterdam" section of the day trip book my dad has lent me.  First stop?  The Erotic museum, which is 5 floors of erotic art and oddities, including a wall of drawings by John Lennon (which are pretty much exactly what you would expect erotic art by John Lennon to look like, if you have an idea).  At under 3 euro per person, it's a good value if you have any interest in the subject.  We then check out the Marijuana Hemp museum, which is mainly a collection of photos, posters, and magazines relating to "cannabis culture" and the uses of hemp.  There's also a room filled with marijuana plants in various growth stages, with an employee on hand to explain anything you'd want to know.  Overall, it's a fairly interesting museum, but not altogether riveting.  At this point, George and G.I. are ready to hit the bars, so after a quick coffee (you can't leave Holland without some good Dutch coffee) and a stroopwafel (I brought them with me - you can't leave Holland without those, either), I say goodbye and let them experience that side of Amsterdam without me.

So there you have it, Amsterdam two ways - overall, definitely a good weekend.  Now, you may be wondering - what about collision?  Don't worry, collision comes, but not until Tuesday.  I'm out on my bike early, heading to the post office to mail some things back home.  It's a beautiful day, if a bit windy, and I start thinking about how it's only a matter of time before I crash my bike.  I know, you see, that it's impossible for me to make it a whole semester here without crashing it at some point, and this is what I'm thinking as I turn off the street towards the post office, hit the sidewalk the wrong way, and sprawl to the ground, much to the surprise of several onlookers.  I'm fine (I have a very high pain threshold), but the fall must have looked pretty bad, and it's some time before I convince the good samaritans around me that I really am ok.  By far, the worst part of crashing your bike, apart from any serious injury, is dealing with those who see it.  But as far as crashes go, this is a relatively mild one, and in a way I'm relieved to have gotten it out of the way.

This is what I'm telling my friend Alex in class later, and he laughs and tells me he hasn't had any serious crashes yet, but he does tend to bump into the stone poles which block off pedestrian streets with some frequency.   I head out for my night class a few hours later, thinking that although I may have crashed my bike, at least I haven't run into any poles.  No sooner do I think this, of course, than I smack directly into the pole in front of me, making (I must admit) quite an impressive noise.  I sort of jump into the air about a foot before amazingly landing on my bike, and steadying myself against the wall next to me, I escape this crash without even falling down.  And, after assuring the two startled girls in front of me that everything was fine (they turned when they heard the noise, and were probably as surprised as I was to see me half-standing, half-leaning against the wall but otherwise ok), I'm back on track.  I think the moral of the story is: if you start to think about something going wrong, it definitely, definitely will.

So there you have it: Amsterdam and collision, two ways.  For sure, there are many more ways to experience each of these, and while I plan to enjoy the former several more times, I'd like to think I'm done with the latter, at least for awhile.

Fresh Bread...A Swim...And a Large Intestine!

Friday is an exciting day for me as soon as I wake up.  The yeast starter I've been faithfully feeding for the past week is alive and ready, and I celebrate by preparing one of my favorite loaves, buckwheat cinnamon-raisin.  The bread rises beautifully and I'd like to think I'm done with instant yeast forever.  I think the smell of fresh bread baking in the morning, especially a sweet bread like that, is enough to put anyone in a lasting good mood.  

Since I shelled out the money for a fitness card, I decide to stop being lazy and finally go to the pool.  At home, I've been trying to swim since last fall, but the inconvenient Free Swim hours prevented me from establishing any sort of routine.  Here, I don't know if the Free Swim hours are more convenient, but I certainly have more Free Time to work around them.  There are two pools to go to, each on the outskirts of the city.  It's about 3.5km (according to Google Maps) to the pool I go to, a nice ride despite the strong winds.  The pool is part of a bigger sportscomplex, presumably privately owned and in partnership with the University.  The locker room is one giant co-ed area (with some gender-marked spots), and the pool can be roughly described as the same.  Though there are no lane markings, I realize soon enough (ok, I admit, I got reprimanded by some Dutch kid) that the right side is for lap-swimmers.  Somehow, I seem to be swimming always against traffic so that I am in constant danger of running into another swimmer, but perhaps the Dutch like to break up the monotony of swimming laps with a little bit of chaos.  In any case, I do a respectable if not overly ambitious 50 laps and call it a night.  About halfway through, I remember that I'm a former competitive swimmer and that this shouldn't be difficult - and, in fact, it becomes much easier and more enjoyable after this thought.  On the ride home, which is as equally pleasant (and windy) as the way there, I realize that for all my complaints, I could ride to the pool at Busch or Douglass in just as much time.  The popularity of biking here has really changed my entire mentality on transportation - and is slowly eliminating any excuses I have to be lazy back home.  

In other news, to those of you curious about my play auditions last Sunday...I am happy to announce that I will proudly play the role of Large Intestine in our upcoming production, Blood Enemies!   I also know the people playing Small Intestine and Right Kidney - we actually all read together at the audition, so I suppose they liked our chemistry.  I have yet to obtain a copy of the entire script, but from the scene's I've read I can promise it's as absurd as it sounds.  Set inside a man's body as he is being rushed to the hospital (drunk driving accident, I think), the organs are trying to figure out what is wrong - and determine their chances for survival.  Needless to say, I am extremely excited, not just to be on stage again, but also to finally interact with some Dutch students, who are running the production end of the show.  We should start rehearsal next week - I'll keep you posted (and let you know if we survive!).

Den Haag on €0.00

Rachel and I leave for Den Haag around noon (Brian backs out), armed with a map, some sandwiches, and, of course, stroopwafels (if you've never had these, you are missing out on possibly one of the best edibles on earth).  The first half of the ride is familiar to me, as it takes us through Wassenaar, where my dad is staying.  We then bike a ways along a major highway into the city.  Although it might not sound nice to ride next to a highway, don't think it's like pedaling alongside the NJ Turnpike.  The highways here are never as busy as back home, and on top of that the carefully planned bike lanes make it enjoyable to ride almost anywhere.  The highway cuts through some woodlands, in which we are able to catch glimpses of some absolutely fantastic houses.  At some point, we also see what looks like a domed observatory, set on top of a hill.  These woods seem like a great place to go back to and explore once the weather gets warmer, but for now we pedal on to our destination.

After about an hour, we victoriously reach Den Haag and (somewhat ironically) pike our bikes and eat lunch at the train station.  We then walk through the city, past a statue of Willy the Silent (first picture), to our prime destination, the Mauritshuis  It's a mansion from the Dutch Renaissance that now houses an amazing collection of 16th and 17th century art.  We have museum cards, so we don't pay to enter, and we happily discover that the audio guide is also free.  The house itself, with its lavish staircases and ceilings, is something to marvel at, but the art is truly spectacular.  We spend a good three hours in the museum, checking out Vermeer (The Girl With a Pearl Earring is here), Rembrandt, and several other artists I was previously less familiar with, such as Peter Paul Rubens.  The detail and life-like quality of the paintings, as well as the extraordinary lighting effects created within them, enrapture us.  

We don't leave the museum until it closes at 5:00, when all the other museums are closed as well.  We take some time to check out the Binnenhof, a beautiful courtyard of the former castle which is now used to seat the Dutch Parliament (third picture - I'll be seeing the inside of Parliament on March 7, when I take a tour with my dad and some other NIAS fellows).  We also try to find the gardens of the Paleis Noordeinde, a 16th century palace now used as the Queen's office (what she does in her office is beyond me), but since we can find nothing but a closed gate near the palace, we assume they must be closed.  So after checking out yet another statue of Willy the Silent (second picture - how could I have known, all those times I walked through Voorhees Mall, the importance of this man?), and admiring the beautiful architecture of the city, we head back for the station.  Briefly considering the merits of taking the train home, we gain some resolve and head out on our bikes.  The ride home is a bit more challenging, since we are riding against the wind, but we reach Leiden in just over an hour, pink-faced and triumphant.  

Overall, I'd say it was a great day trip.  There's a lot more to discover in Den Haag for sure (I'm still holding out for the M.C. Escher museum), but we have plenty of time to revisit -though it's an hour by bike, it's a mere 10 minutes by train.  And perhaps best of all, we didn't spend a single euro!  Though I can't say I wasn't quick to stop at my favorite falafel place on the way home...

Some LIght Traveling

Last Thursday, after my Archaeology course, I embark on my first long-distance bike journey, to visit my dad in Wassenaar.  Although I am a bit worried about navigating the main roads, I reach my destination with surprising ease after a leisurely 45-minute ride.  My destination, NIAS (Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study), is a beautiful building set among other equally beautiful buildings (mostly large houses).  It's night by the time I reached NIAS, so I don't get the chance to really look around the neighborhood, but next time I'm there during the day I will definitely make it a point to explore.  In any case, at NIAS I meet several of the fellows my dad is spending the year with, and I get to see my dad fulfill his weekly role as bartender (somewhat comical, but I think it suits him well).  I take a different route back to Leiden with Wim, the Director of NIAS, and he points outs some highlights of the landscape along the way (he also shows me that my bike does have gears after all, accessible by a mere turn of the handlebar!).  It's Valentine's Day, but having no particular sweetheart of my own and feeling a bit tired after all that biking, I take a quiet evening to myself.  

Saturday I visit Utrecht with my dad, which is about 40 minutes by train.  Definitely more bustling than Leiden, but not nearly as busy as Amsterdam, it's filled with churches, museums, and other buildings to discover.  It's definitely a place I plan to return to, and since transportation is so easy here, I don't need to worry about going back.

Other than that, I've mainly stayed in town, exploring the city with my friends.  The hardest thing for me to adjust to here is how early everything closes - my street all but shuts down at 6:00pm every night except Thursday (most stores stay open late once a week in the Netherlands, and in Leiden it's Thursday).  Likewise, stores don't tend to open until 9:00 or 10:00am.  The only night scene, as far as I can tell, is comprised of the bars (even the coffee shops close at 10), and so I've started to reevaluate my night-owl lifestyle.  It's amazing, really, how much earlier I go to bed when I know there's nothing "awake" around me, even though I used to stay up late without leaving my room.  This may also have to do with the fact that I have a LOT more free time here - for the first time in years, I can actually sleep as much as I want every day.  As my friends and I are finding, the hardest part about having free time is motivating yourself to be active!  

 Tomorrow I'm biking to Den Haag (The Hague) with friends Rachel and Brian for a day trip.  I'm especially excited for the Mauritshuis, an old mansion with an excellent art collection, and for the M.C. Escher museum.  It feels good to be making travel plans - I think now that we're starting to really feel settled in, we'll be seeing the sights and moving around much more easily.

In other news, on Sunday I auditioned for a play!  Those of you who know me from my pre-college days understand my background in theater, but I haven't been involved with the stage since I sacrificed my last year of Arts High School for the We the People competition my senior year.  The play is a black comedy called Blood Enemies; it's set inside the body of an alcoholic man, and the three main characters are Large Intestine, Small Intestine, and Right Kidney.  A few of my friends who also auditioned started to second-guess themselves after seeing the script, but I personally think it's great (this coming from a girl who proudly played the role of Cereal in the ninth-grade play).  I'll find out later in the week if I have a role, but it felt great just to audition.  I've definitely missed the theater, and it's great to have the time to go back to it again.