Andrew and Becky take Netherlands by storm!
Trains, Markets, Sunny weather, Vermeer, Couch Surfing, and More...
15.11.2006
In mid-October, I took a journey to the north, out of the dry mountain bowl that is Madrid to the green green pastures of the Netherlands. With my friend Andrew Meyer, we traversed the country, hitting five cities and towns in just four days. Andrew and I reminiced about life back in Minnesota and caught up on our new lives in Hamburg and Madrid and being a Teaching Assistant with Fulbright.
Our first stop was the Olsder household in Delft. Delft is a university town and the Olsders live right across the street (and a canal) from the campus. The Olsders are friends of my parents and it was fun to look back at their guest book and see the entry from the 1990's when we went to visit them and I was just a little girl. When I arrived at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam, I was so nervous about actually getting to Delft what with taking public transportation and signs being in Dutch (of which I know about two sentences). I shouldn't have worried though – in the end the only necesary thing was a deep pocket as the train system in the Netherlands is great but expensive! Of course, as we found out, if you're a Dutch student riding the rails is practically free. So, I arrived safe and sound in Delft, ate a delicious dinner with Elke and Geert Jan Olsder, sat by the fire, and then Andrew called from the station and he joined us too.
In the morning, Andrew and I took the train to the Hague (called la Haya in Spanish!) and checked out the old parliment buildings and experienced our first dash with death – ten seconds longer and a tram coming around a blind corner might have taken us. People would have said, “Look at those silly tourists! They didn't understand the rules of movement in this country.” The rules seem to be something like this: Bicycles rule the roost. If you're any other form of transit, refer to the previous sentence. It's a little complicated being a pedestrian because you've got to watch out for cars in the car lanes, bicycles in the bike lanes (and sometimes on the sidewalk), and trams on what look sometimes like pedestrian streets. I must say that I was in awe of all the bicycle traffic. It was lovely!
Also in the Hague, we visited the Maurtshuis, a museum that houses paintings from Netherlands golden age. We saw the famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and “A View of Delft” by Vermeer. The museum just happened to be doing construction that day but in exchange we got in for free in addition to audio tours. My favorite painting was done by the Dutch painter Hendrick Avercamp who showed a lively winter canal scene with people skating, working, and even a view of a woman's bare bottom who fell down on the ice! (Back in those days, the audio guide informed us, no one wore underwear!) It must have been pretty cold.
After visiting the Hague, we managed to cram in a tour of the university and also the town of Delft with Elke as our apt tour guide. We went by the new church, the old church, saw the side of the city with the Catholics, the side with the Protestants, looked at the leaning church tower (it looked like it might fall into the canal!) and checked out the house where Vermeer lived. At the University we saw the library, a building that appears to be a hill with a metallic pyramid on top. In reality, the library is the hill and the pyramid, with architectural features on the inside that give the place a very natural, upward-lifting feeling. Unlike many modern buildings that I see, I genuinely enjoyed this one.
We said goodbye to Delft and the Olsders, and continued on in the afternoon across the country by train. We passed by green pastures and cows, big city buildings with clusters of houses, and as the sun began to set later in the day, we saw forests and houseboats. The sun had already set my the time we reached our destination: Enschede and the Kramers house. The setting was incredibly different than Delft. The center of Enschede was pretty much bombed away during the Second World War which meant that most of the buildings had been built fairly recently. In general, too, though, Enschede had less of the hustle and bustle feeling of Delft and was more tranquil. Henny and Vim picked us up at the station and took us back to their house. At their bungalow we were treated to a delicious home-cooked meal complete with a festive ambience of classical music in the background. Henny and Vim brought out their visitors book from the 1990s and we smiled and purused a French song I wrote when I was ten in their guest book! “Mon bonne homme de neige....”
In the morning, Henny and Vim took us around the university campus – the first university to have a campus in the Netherlands! We saw the building that my parents and Henny had lived in, and various other academic (and modern) buildings around the place. Perhaps the most impressive part of the tour was Henny's garden plot (or shall I say plots) at the communal garden. So many different types of fruits, vegetables, and flowers!
After the University, we headed into town to see the Saturday market in the main square. It was huge! Andrew bought some typical fried fish to share. We also met up with Jakob Kramers (son of Henny and Vim) who when I asked how he got to town told me he rode his bicycle, “like any good Dutchman!” We strolled through the town, looking at old haunts of my parents and checking out the great modern art statues (like a yellow cement bench in the shape of a sofa with two big red hearts). The five of us enjoyed some yummy capuccinos in a local Italian ice cream shop before heading saying goodbye to our lovely hosts. This time we travelled first class!
We took a stop along the way in Utrecht, a busy city sitting just about in the middle of the Netherlands, home to Janneke Kramers (daughter of Henny and Vim) and family. We stopped by for tea and to see Franke, the lovely granddaughter of Henny and Vim. We played blocks with her for a while and climbed the steep steep stairs up to the attic to see the view from the roof. Utrecht struck me as incredibly gorgeous and cosmopolitan. It's definitely a place that I would enjoy returning to.
Our next and final stop was Amsterdam. Andrew and I were embarking on a new adventure: Couch Surfing. Before the trip, I had registered online at the website, a completely free service that connects travelers with hosts for cross-cultural exchange. When we arrived in Amsterdam Centraal I felt a little nervous. Was this a good idea? Should I be a little afraid of sleeping on somebody's couch who I've never met before in my life? Well, little did I know I read my directions from our host Hans just a little bit wrong. Instead of Amsterdam Centraal, he actually lives near Amstel Centraal. I, naive English speaker that I am, thought that the latter was just an abreviation for the former. Luckily, the difference didn't turn out to be too severe. With a quick phone call and a metro ride we soon righted the problem and met our host Hans.
And I needn't have worried in the least. Hans was a terrific host. In that late afternoon we sat around sipping tea with his English roommate Cathy and her Dutch friend Maikke, chatting about travels and all things Dutch/American/British. In the evening, Andrew and I ventured out into the city for dinner at a Thai restaurant and then met up with the three of them for a night on the town Dutch style.
The next day we spent traipsing around the city, eating Turkish food, visiting the FOAM photography museum, and seeing the sights of Amsterdam. My main goal of the day was to go canalbiking or paddleboating. I dragged a semi-reluctant Andrew along with me!We looked and looked and looked for a place to rent paddleboats but to no avail. (October does not seem to be peak tourist season I learned!) After I had given up all chance of fulling my dream, we chanced along a rental place. I was so happy. We hopped in and immediately discovered that we were horrible at steering along with having a semi-broken rudder. Of course, just at that moment, mammoth tour boats approached us on all sides, honking at us. Andrew grumbled but sprang to action and saved the day. We managed to get the hang of it eventually and paddled through lovely canals with the sun dusting its rays on the brick buildings.
We spent the evening watching a movie with Hans and avoiding the chill of the night. And the next morning, I returned to Madrid.
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