The Netherlands

Tulips are red, Pottery is Blue, Windmills are turning, Holland I love you!!!

I was so busy seeing the sights in Holland, I didn't have time to write on my blog at all. And I know you've all been dying to hear about my experiences in the Netherlands. Trying to write about all the things I saw and fun I had would be as impossible as sneaking up on someone in a pair of wooden shoes, but I'll do my best to fill you in.

I have a whole bunch of friends in Holland and they are all a total blast to be with. I met a couple of them in New Zealand, Michar and Coen, and the rest in Thailand. Michar's Mom, Loes, was extremely generous to me all week. She welcomed me into her home and took the whole week off to spend time with me and show me around. Not to mention that Michar, his dad Peter, and Loes drove all the way to Brussels to pick me up from the airport at 11:30pm!! Apparently being extremely kind is typical Dutch. Along with pretty much everything else on the planet if you ask Peter... :-)

First of all, there are more bicycles than cars around in Holland. Everyone rides their bikes wherever they possibly can. It's really fun. But I just want to announce to all the Dutch people out there that Americans also know how to ride a bike. Everyone thought they would have to teach me to ride a bike because I wouldn't know how! Silly Dutch people. So Loes and I went for a couple bike rides around Schoonhoven, where they live, and saw some windmills and really cute Dutch scenery. Schoonhoven is known for it's silver, so we shopped in a few silver shops as well. I really enjoyed their little town. It is the cutest town ever!

I spent a day in Utrecht. Loes and I visited a museum about music boxes and organ grinders. It was really fun. Then I spent the rest of the day with my friend Carla. We shopped, both of our favorite sport, saw some of the sights, shopped some more, and then made dinner at Carla's cute little house. The next day Carla was attending a sing-a-long Sound of Music at a theater in Amsterdam. She had a costume and everything. Doesn't that sound super fun? I'm thinking about having a sing-a-long Sound of Music at my house when I get home. If anyone is interested in coming, please let me know!

Amsterdam was pretty fun because it's so famous. Michar and I went to the Van Gogh Museum and I of course know more about Dutch painters than the typical Dutchman, Michar, so when we made a bet about whether or not Van Gogh cut his ear off, I got some free dinner. :-) I also got to see the "I Amsterdam" sign and Dam Square (did I spell that correctly? How embarrassing if not) and some nice streets for shopping if you're a millionaire. We also went on a canal cruise when it got dark out. We got to see the city all lit up and it was quite nice.

Delft was also lovely. Loes and I toured the Delft Blue factory to see how the famous pottery is made. It was really interesting. At the end of the tour we looked around the showroom and our jaws dropped at all the ridiculous prices of the pottery there. Holy Gouda! We left the factory and saw the Old Church, which is leaning. Hopefully you can see it in the pictures that it's visibly not standing straight up. We also saw the old monastery where William of Orange was killed. You can still see the bullet holes in the walls. I fell on the steps where he died in a dramatic reenactment (see photos.) If you want to know what William of Orange was famous for you'll have to look it up or contact Peter Breems because I'm not totally certain I remember the story. Something about religious freedom and Spain and something typical Dutch...and maybe tulips... Anyway, the Dutch people sure liked him before he died on the steps I saw.

The whole group of people that I met in Thailand got together on Saturday for some typical Dutch sport. I got to see Ronny, Maarten, and Coen again, which I was really excited about. (By the way, there is a picture on this blog of me with the spitting image of Paris Hilton, but it's actually Maarten believe it or not.) We had a canoe race and tug-a-war and rolled big barrels across a field. It pretty much reminded me of an Anderson Family Reunion. Except no one was wearing a hat that said "Old Fart." Anyway, it was a ton of fun and of course my team won. And we totally didn't cheat or anything...

We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner to complete our little reunion. It was so good to see that group of people again. I would go on another vacation with them any day! But only if they brought the new additions to the group (their significant others) who I had a blast with and thought were just lovely!

On Sunday we went to church in Amsterdam, which was international and in English. Yay! Then we went to an old fishing village that was protected from the water by a dyke! So exciting! We got to walk on the dyke and everything. And I want everyone to know that had it sprung a leak, I totally would have put my finger in it to save the village.

I timed my trip perfectly for 2 reasons. The first is that the weather was amazing while I was there, but rained both before I got there and after I left. The second is that I got to see Michar's older brother, Giliam, for at least one day before I left. I could not have left the country without seeing the Miffy dance. :-)

We had cheese fondue for dinner on Sunday night and Michar's grandma came over. She gave me a present and everything! She's super sweet! We had a great time at dinner that night and I was extremely sad to leave. Michar's younger brother, Nathan, even got up early to say bye to me the next morning. Holla Nate. :-) Holla in Holla-land. (It's really late at night as I write this.) So as much as I didn't want to leave, I had to wake up and smell the tulips and head off to my next adventure. Thank you to everyone in Holland for making my stay there absolutely wonderful!

Oh, and to everyone in America: Remember that joke about which one is bigger, Holland or the Netherlands? Yeah, I've got some shocking news on that one. They really aren't the same thing. Holland is technically only a region of the Netherlands. So that joke is just not funny. Can you believe that? Oh well, off to Switzerland.