A Friday in Delft

We were given a day off on Friday to go on an exursion. My friend Allison had a class assignment in Delft to do, so I decided to tag along. After switch trains, laughing at the Spanish boys for getting yelled at in first class by an old man, and slaughtering the pronounication of all the Spanish and Italian names of those that went with us, we arrived at Delft.Delft was the stereotype of a picturesque Dutch town. Canals with lily pads floating ontop murky water separated cobblestone streets. In the skyline, I could see the tower of a large church. The serenity of the landscape quickly ended with the ringing of bike bells for being in their way. Once at the musuem, again I saw painting after painting of men and women in frilly collars, depicted with bland colors, and had to deal with humdrum of 15th-early 18th century Dutch art. Not that I don't appreciate the works of Vemeer, or the cultural and historical value of Dutch art. One just gets bored with the lack of variety. Of course there was one exception that made the museum worth seeing. The bullet holes of where William of Orange was murdered are still in the museum. The Spanish boys we went with thought it would be funny to record their own rendition of the murder, so did so in the middle of the quiet and austere musuem. I don't know how they didn't get kicked out, but the video was amusing. In the church, Vemeer was buried. It was interesting to see that in the Netherlands some people are literally buried in the church. Their tombstones are part of the floor. It was eery to walk over graves like that.

After lunch we went to visit the "new" church (the church was completed in 1496). You'll notice how the top of the church looks black. That is from it being struck by lightening, once in 1536 and another time in 1872.

We decided to climb the 356 steps to the top of the tower. That may not sound like much, but climbing the stairs quickly becomes a workout. To get to the top, you must climb up a narrow and winding staircase. At times the ceiling is low, and once I bumped my head.

Here I am almost to the top of the church.

After climbing the tower of the New Church, we went inside the actual church, where William of Orange and the royal family are buried. Here is William of Orange's grave. When I first glanced at it, I couldn't help but think Dumbledore, what are you doing buried in a Muggle church?! Ha, ok just kidding. But seriously, if William of Orange had a beard and a crooked nose, and got rid of the poofy collar, his grave would look exactly how it was described in the book.

The stain glass in the windows of the church.

This is the way they get to the graves under the church. It's creepy to think I'm walking on top of the royal family.

This is an example of what their tombstones look like. It is near impossible in some places of the church not to walk on them.

Here I am after souvenir shopping.

Allison and me wanted to take a picture in the clog, but the little boy wouldn't leave.

Weekend in Amsterdam!

Here I am when we first got to Amsterdam in front of the many canals there. We ate dinner in front of the main plaza here.

Here is a torture device, from the Torture Museum. The museum was creepy.

This is the house where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding. Despite the line it was well worth visiting.

Here Allison and me are waiting in line for the Anne Frank House.

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam. I got an island mai tai (which was very good!)

Here we are in front of the monument.

This monument was made to commemorate Dutch soldiers in World War II.

This church is right at the edge of the Red Light District. The sailors would pay indulgences here after crazy nights of drinking and being with prostitutes. I couldn't take any pictures of the Red Light district (not that I really wanted to), because the girls get mad. They will do anything from throwing your camera in the river to tossing a cup of pee at you. Also, some random trivia. The oldest prostitute in the red light district is 75!

The houses by the canals move about one inch a year!

This coffeeshop is where Ocean's Twelve was filmed. We also saw a coffeeshop down the street where Snoop Dog and Willy Nelson have been spotted smoking together.

Before there were house numbers, there would be images like this.

Here is the narrowest house in Amsterdam.

This poster made me laugh...

The Dutch love to bike!

We went to the Heinken Brewery. It was not worth the 15 Euros spent, even with the two beers they gave you.

I had to take a pictures of these urinals! To me its crazy that there are urinals in public like that - and people use them!

We spent the first night in a hostel, but Friday and Saturday night we slept in this boat. The room was small, but cozy.

School Trip to Brussels and Antwerp (July 13 &14)

Here I am in Brussels, in the European Parliament. We were given a tour and a small lecture about the EU here. It is hard to see from this picture, but there are little rooms on the walls, where translators sit. There are over three hundred translators that work here, and two hundred different languages spoken within the European Union!I didn't get to see much of Brussels on this class trip. After the European Parliament, we took a bus to "Mini-Europe," where all the European countries in the EU are represented. We then spent most of our time writing out answers to questions about Mini-Europe. Mini-Europe contains monuments and buildings that are suppose to represent each country. They are built to 1/25 of their size. Honestly, it could easily be mistaken for a minature golf course.

The Eiffel tower in Mini-Europe. To the right is the English chunnel.

So, after not seeing much of Brussels, we drove to Antwerp and spent the night. I got pizza at this Italian restaurant here. To the right of us was a huge fountain, and to the left a large cathedral.
Here is the cathedral in Antwerp. It took three hundred years to complete. They meant to have two towers, but never completed the tower that should be on the right.

Here is Rita and me in front of the church.

This statue in Antwerp made me laugh.

In between lectures at Antwerp, we went to find some Belgian chocolates. They were to die for!

Here is Allison, me, and Sarah after buying some Belgian chocolates. They even wrap the chocolate boxes for you. Each of the chocolates was hand-made.

Here is the tower during a walking tour.

This is the fountain in Antwerp, which is right next to the catheral. The fountain represents the legend of Antwerp, which means "hand-throw." According to the legend, there was a giant who controlled who could cross the river, and would often charge the people large tolls. If they refused to pay, or couldn't pay, the giant would cut off the person's hand. One day this man approached the river, but instead of paying the toll, cut off the giants hand, and threw it. The fountain shows this, and even has the giants hand squirting water.

This is the first real castle I have seen!

Of course, while I was in Belguim, I had to try a Belgian waffle. It is a lot like American waffles, except for one difference. The waffles in Belguim have large chunks of sugar that melt in your mouth.

In Antwerp, when they made houses, the doors had to be easy to recognize, so the drunk man of the house could without trouble find and unlock the door when he came stumbling home. The key hole is made large, and each door looks a little different.

A statue I thought was pretty. In the background is the tower of the church.

Can you see the heart? In front of an older church there was a stone pathway made to look like playing cards.

Again, the church tower.