<-- What better place to spend Valentine's day weekend but in Amsterdam? They say that the term "Going Dutch" comes from the reputation that the Netherlands has for "etiquette". I'd never heard of Dutch etiquette before but I was willing to go explore the city and find out! A friend and I left Thursday and spent the weekend exploring the "Venice of the North." Amsterdam is nicknamed as such because of the extensive canal system the city is built on. I was blown away by the vibrant culture and beauty of the city! And exhausted by the time we returned on Sunday from all of the sight-seeing.
<--The only thing that would make this picture better if there were a canal running through the middle instead of a street. It would have captured all of the aspects of the city. Other than the canals though, there were bicycles everywhere! Even in the freezing temperatures most everyone got around on their bikes. They even had a bike lane and light system for the bikes! This picture also captures the narrow streets and pretty brick buildings.
<-- Most of the touristy places we went to didn't allow picture taking. The Heineken brewery did though! In addition to seeing Amsterdam's native brewery we also did a canal boat tour that stopped at the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank house. Both of these musuems were really cool. Van Gogh has always been one of my favorite artists, and seeing the Anne Frank house, the secret annex that the family hid in for over two years during WWII, made the story real. We got to go through the passage to the annex hidden behind a bookshelf and although the room isn't currently furnished, you can still things in the room like markings on the wall documenting the growing heights of the kids while in hiding. Knowing that I was going to being seeing the house I started reading the diary on the plane to Holland. The experience was very touching. And there was so much more that we didn't get to see! Amsterdam is home to heaps of street art, ethnic restaurants, the Rembrant house and several significant art musuems. Cross my fingers I'd love to find time to go back some day!
<-- Once in Amsterdam, we came across the opportunity to take a daytrip tour bus to Brussels... We just couldn't help ourselves! Saturday we hopped aboard a tour bus mid-morning, stopped in Antwerp, Belgium for lunch and were in Brussels by early afternoon. Brussels is home to the European Union and NATO headquarters. This particular picture is of Manneken Pis, a famous Brussels landmark. I couldn't help but giggle a little when I first saw it. Its a little statue of a naked boy peeing on the street corner. But what makes it famous is the legends surrounding it and what it stands for. There are several legends, but my favorite was the one about a little boy who was awoken by a fire and able to put it out with his urine and a statue was put up in his honor. Other legends we different variations of parent losing sight of their son in a crowd and how the people of Belgium helped search for him, finding him on the corner peeing in the street. Mannekin Pis as since become a symbol of tolerance in the city, as normally it would be unacceptable to have a naked boy peeing on the corner. The last extraordinary thing about the statue is the traditions that have developed. The statue is dressed in costume that is changed a couple times a week. The collection of costumes, which we saw in a nearby museum, numbers over 700 and continues to grow! The oldest one is from the 17th century, and they are often given to the city of Brussels by visitors from other countries. The costumes usually represent the native dress of the visiting country but there were fun ones too!
<-- And of course the sweets that Belgium has made famous... chocolate and waffles! I was willing to sacrifice my diet in order to do some first hand research on these matters! And let me tell you-- they didn't disappoint! There were chocolate shops on every corner and outdoor and indoor waffle vendors in between! It was like having mini donuts at the state fair for the first time. The waffle was so sweet (nothing like a breakfast waffle) and so yummy! MMmmmmmmmm
<-- "High tea" is an English tradition that I've come to really enjoy. Its a little bit expensive to take part in the entire tradition: sandwiches, scones, cakes and tea... But sometimes its nice to just have tea in the afternoon with friends. It's a great excuse to get together and chat. This last Saturday afternoon, when the sun was shining, a couple of girl friends and I decided to walk to the marina here in Swansea where they recently built a super tall building with a restaurant at the top! We took the lift to the 28 floor and sat by a window to drink our afternoon tea and chat. It was a really cool view of Swansea! This photo is a view, looking west towards the neighborhood where my house is and where the university campus is. The next photo is a bit of a crooked view looking down into the marina.
<-- I was visiting a friend in the dorms the other day and got into a discussion with some of her flatmates about something that wasn't even important enough to remember-- I'm sure we were comparing accents or British and American culture as that is how most conversations go.. but at one point the conversation turned to the topic of tea. While most discussion points had been dismissed as unimportant, this one was taken seriously and the quote to be remember was, "People disagree all the time, but any conflict can be resolved over a good cup of tea." I'll never forget this because it is the perfect reflection of the British view on having tea. They drink tea ALL THE TIME! With every meal, mid-morning, as an afternoon snack, as an excuse to meet with friends, during their 15 minute break from work... all the time! I'm really beginning to enjoy it too! I've decided that I'd like to find a tea pot sometime before I go home to remembered my time here and how much I enjoy having tea (with milk, like everyone here does). Maybe I'll even convince some friends at home to have a "high tea" with me from time to time.
<-- I had to include a photo of playing basketball to prove that I'm actually doing it. I've talked about it a couple times but realized I have no real proof. A couple things to note from this picture: 1.) I am the one shooting the free-throw and I hope that, Dad, you notice that I still remember how to shoot a ball with good fundamentals! 2.) The lines from the free throw line to the baseline are at an angle rather than perpendicular like ours- I don't know why they have it differently, and 3.) They only allow 5 girls to line up during a free throw at a time. Again, I don't know why the rules are different than at home, but they just are. None of the rules were significantly different enough to inhibit my playing- the ball is still round and the basket is still 10 feet from the ground, but its kind of funny that there would be such subtle differences!
