Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke

Last Monday and Tuesday were amazing!  I was a bit depressed the week before.  I guess I got a bit homesick and lonely, or maybe a lot homesick and lonely.  So I was very excited to visit relatives.  And Tante Tieneke is so loving and wonderful and gezellig, with lots of hugs to give, which I was needing quite badly.

Kim and I packed overnight bags, and Monday morning Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke picked us up and drove us to Den Haag (the Hague) to Madurodam, a mini-world of the Netherlands.  It was super leuk (cute/cool) to see both things that I'd already seen in Rotterdam and other cities, as well as other parts of Holland that I haven't seen yet.  I especially loved seeing all the palaces and majestic old buildings.  Madurodam was one of the top things on my list of must-sees in the Netherlands, and I'm so glad that Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke took me there. 

Yup, lots of excitement and things to see at Madurodam!  After that educational and fun day we drove to Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke's house in Lekkerkerk and had a delicious dinner or patat (fries), frikendel (Dutch equivalent of hotdog, and don't ask what's in it), and kroketten (you have to try them to fully appreciate them, the taste is too delicious to explain).  And then we had ice cream for dessert.  After dinner we had tea and relaxed and chatted, all in Dutch of course.  The two days spent with Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke were exceedingly good for my Dutch, and Kim's.  We even caught ourselves speaking Dutch to each other once.  Oops!  And Tante Tieneke said I could call home, which was also wonderful.  It's always so good to have a chat with my mom.  Then she said I should call Oma too, and ask what day she and Opa are coming to the Netherlands.  Thankfully I have the number memorized, as well as the extra digits I need to call Canada from the Netherlands.  But unfortunately she wasn't home.  I'm so excited to see Oma and Opa when they come!  It's hard being away from family for so long.  Phoning and emailing definitely help, but it's not the same as seeing them in person.

And then we went to bed in the lovely luxury guest room.  The beds even have switches that make them sit up and down!

 

The next day we had a yummy breakfast and then headed off in the car.  The original plan had been to go to the Keukenhoff, a gorgeous flower garden, but the weather was cloudy and threatened rain.   So instead we went to Noah's Ark, which was in Dordrecht.  I was so excited to find out we were going to Dordrecht.  It's the city where the Canons of Dort were written at the Synod of 1618-1619!  After learning so much about them in preconfession class, and having to memorize large portions of it I was thrilled to be able to go to the city where the history was made.  I tried to explain that to Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke, and that proved to be the most challenging moment in our communication.  Usually we understood each other pretty well, but I just didn't have the Dutch words in my vocabulary to facilitate the explanation of a term such as 'Canons of Dort'.  But in the end, and after some laughter and much perplexity we finally all understood each other.

 

Noah's Ark was HUGE!  It's amazing that Noah managed to build that without the machinery we have today.  It's also incredible that he had the perseverance. That could only have come with much help and inspiration from God.  There was also a real kangaroo in the ark!  Kangaroos are my favourite animal.  Maybe in heaven I'll ask God if I can have a real one as a pet.

 

 

 

 

And then (yes, there's more!) we went to the Grote Kerk, the actual church where the Canons of Dort were written! 

 

There was also a little showcase (in the picture) to show what the synod would have looked like with all the men in black suits sitting there discussing. 

After that we were all quite tired.  We'd done a lot of walking and a lot of learning.  So we went back to Lekkerkerk and had some more tea.  I also phoned Oma successfully!  She's coming in just a few weeks!

And then, for one last adventure, Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke took Kim and I out to the Pannenkoe, a pancake restaurant.  There I had the most delicious pancake ever.  It was huge!  It had mushrooms, onions, and cheese on the inside, and ham and cheese on top.  I wasn't so sure I'd be able to finish it because it was so huge, but it was too delicious not to eat all of it.  Good thing I do lots of biking here in the Netherlands.

After that delicious dinner they brought us back home to Rotterdam.  We had all sorts of happy and exciting stories to tell the Macleans then!  (Over a cup of tea of course).

The rest of my week was also full of fun things to do.  I didn't have time to be homesick this week, and I'm very glad too.  It helped so much going to Oom Gijs and Tante Tieneke for two days, so dank u heel wel!

Last week I was almost tempted to go home early.  And tomorrow, bright and early at 5:00 AM, Kim and I are off to Prague, Czech Republic!  And straight from there we're going to a young people's camp, sort of like Maylong.  I still can hardly believe we're going to Prague, because I'm so excited!  So I figured I'd better catch up at least a bit on this blog before I had so many more adventures to blog about.

Oh!  And just one more thing which must be said.  I got to play on the real carillon last Wednesday! (instead of just the little practice one).  It was a bit intimidating knowing that everyone in the neighbourhood can hear me, but playing that instrument is one of the best experiences of my life.  It sounds so unique and beautiful, and I can't wait until I can play it again.  It also only hit me afterwards that I'd just been playing an instrument valued at over 100,000 euros.  What an honour to play it! 

And now I'd better get myself off to bed.  I don't want to be grumpy tomorrow and there's a very long bus ride up ahead.  So until next blog post (which won't be for over a week), goodbye everyone except Kim, and hello Prague and adventure!

Prepare to be Jealous

I went to the beach four times this week!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and reached 22 degrees on several days.  And it just so happens that there is a lovely little beach only seven minutes away by bike.  No wait, apparently in the Netherlands if you say 'beach' you mean the sea.  This was just a lake so it's not really the beach.  But Canadians will definitely know what I'm talking about when I say beach. 

Unfortunately the water is still far too cold for swimming, but that didn't stop me from having a lovely, gezellig, and more or less relaxing time with whoever I went with at the various times.  I say more or less because when people (you know who you are) keeps tickling you it is rather challenging to relax.  But it's also a lot of fun!

The first time I went to the beach was on Sunday.  Kim went to a Pentecostal church with a friend from university, but I very much enjoy Reformed churches.  Sunday just isn't the same without two good familiar Reformed services, even if they are in Dutch.  So I braced myself for a rather lonely day since Kim was gone.  But then to my delight I was invited over to a friend's house for coffee, and then went with him and another friend to the beach for the afternoon!  We had a lovely time playing Frisbee and cards, eating snacks, and just relaxing.  Heerlijk!  (That means deliciously wonderful in Dutch).  So the Sunday I thought would be lonely was actually lots of fun and very gezellig. 

The second time to the beach was on Tuesday afternoon with Kim and Rob.  It was just too gorgeous to do anything besides the beach, so we went.  Towards the end of the afternoon Rob, always the gentleman, biked us home.  We stood chatting in the alleyway behind the house for a while, and then we sat and kept chatting.  And then all of a sudden I had this brilliant idea.  Instead of sitting on concrete and having to move every so often so that we don't get run over by bikes, we should sit in the comfortable lawn chairs about three metres away from where we'd been sitting. 

We decided to drink some water in addition to sitting comfortably.  And drinking some water turned into Rob dumping water on me, which turned into Kim and I chasing Rob around the block with loaded cups.  Kim got him, but I missed.  Some days I really wish I had some hand-eye coordination.  But alas, that is a skill in which I fear I shall forever be lacking.  At least Kim had good aim! 

That evening after supper there was still plenty of daylight left, so Kim and I couldn't resist.  We went back to the beach for a beautiful jog along the sand. 

And my final time going to the beach was on Thursday with a friend from university.  Kim had an exam, so I Facebooked a few people and asked if they were interested in spending some time at the beach.  It's always fun to sit and chat with someone for a few hours, especially in a beautiful place like Kralingse Bos.

So that was my week of going to the beach many times.  And even better times are coming when the water is warm enough for swimming!  Oh, and I almost forgot pictures!

You should have special appreciation for this picture.  We had to stand in the water which was ICE COLD.  And the first picture apparently didn't turn out well, so we had to keep standing in there, and freezing, while trying to look happy and warm.  Brrr!  But on the plus side I do think the picture turned out well in the end.

Carillon: A New Instrument to Learn!

Have I mentioned that I miss my violin?  Well, I do.  But now I have something new to learn and practice: the carillon!  Most of you probably don't know what that is.  I didn't either until ten days ago when I saw a notice posted outside the bell tower at the university.  It said that there were free lessons for anyone who wanted to learn the play the carillon!  The only criteria was knowledge of how to read treble clef notes, and thanks to the music I learned at home I could do that in my sleep.  So I eagerly wrote down the email address that was provided.  But by the time I got home I'd forgotten what the instrument was called.  So I simply sent a very enthusiastic email asking if I could please have lessons on 'that beautiful bell instrument' at the university.  I received a reply the next day and a date was set for my first lesson!  The carillon was quite different than I though it would be.  Since we needed to know treble clef notes, I thought it would be similar to a piano.  The keys are set up in the same order as a piano keyboard, but playing carillon is a whole different ball game.  It would be very hard to describe, so I'll just post a picture. 

 

The way to play is by slamming your fists onto the wooden keys.  Yes, this means that I currently have pinky fingers with blisters, dry skin, and bluish bruises.  But playing carillon is most definitely worth the agony.  After wincing through the first few minutes of playing each time I don't even notice the pain anymore until after I stop.  And I think my hands are getting more used to it now.  It doesn't seem to hurt quite as badly anymore.

 

 

Here is the music for one of the songs I am learning.  I don't know how clearly you can see it, but on the top there are treble clef notes which I use both hands to play.  The bottom is bass clef and that is for the feet pedals. 

 

I don't play on the real carillon yet.  I just practice on a small, quieter one in the little room at the bottom of the tower.  But eventually I'll be playing the real one!  Probably starting next month.  Every day it is played from 12:30-1:00, for all the university to hear.  Yikes! 

 

 

And finally, here's a short film of me playing part of a song.  Today I have my second lesson, and I hope the teacher is impressed by my progress.  I've sure been practicing a lot!

Brussels: Day 2

When my alarm went off at 6:30 I wasn't terribly happy.  A few hours more sleep would have been lovely.  But my annoyance didn't last long.  There were too many exciting things to look forward to stay tired for long!  So I climbed out of bed with a smile, belying my usual non-morning personality.  I managed to make myself look fairly presentable by the time 7:00 arrived and it was time to head down to breakfast.  Pretty much everyone was feeling groggy, but breakfast was still delicious!  I love breakfast.  There was bread with lots of different things to put on it, and also yogurt and fruit and granolas.  Oh, and the best part was the hot chocolate machine!  There were three different types of hot chocolate to choose from!  I ended up having two cups because it was so delicious.  Although my stomach didn't really appreciate that very much.  Next time I better stick with just one. 

After breakfast we all headed off to the metro station.  I still love metros, rather to the amusement of the rest of the group who had grown up riding them regularly.  I was talking to some guys from Germany, and just to be funny they started talking with a strong German accent on purpose.  It was so cool because it's just like the German accent in Hogan's Heroes!  I love accents, and there are so many new ones to be heard in Europe!  (Though when I speak Dutch I'm the one with the unique accent).

Our first destination of the day was the European Commission.  I had no idea that Belgium is in fact the centre of European politics.  It's such a small, seemingly insignificant, country, but it has both the European Commission and the European Parliament Headquarters!  When I think about it a little more though, it makes sense.  If the European political centre were in Britain, France, or one of
the other more 'important' countries, they could become conceited about it.  But Belgium doesn't really have much of anything significant to boast about, so it's the perfect place for the European Political Centre (and it's also quite central geographically).

Anyways, the first thing we got to do was have an official picture.  We also all got a copy to take home with us. 

After the picture we got to go through security.  I thought it was kind of neat!  I've always found going through security quite fascinating.  Then we got to sit in a room and listen to two different people talk about the European Commission and what it's all about.  I diligently took notes of course.  And we all got free stuff!  A bag, pen, notebook, and book on politics. 

I was fascinated to learn about how challenging it can be to govern the European Union.  Although democratic process prevents situations such as what's happening in Ukraine and Russia, it also makes taking any sort of political action an exceedingly slow and tedious process.  Thus it's very difficult for the European Union to decide now what exactly to do to help Ukraine.  All they've really been able to do so far is declare over and over that they are very concerned about the situation.  Ukrainians are getting extremely frustrated, and losing hope that the EU will help them.  Really, there's not much the EU can do besides start economic sanctions against Russia. 

There are also 24 different languages in the European Union, and important documents must be translate into all of them.  In order to work in the European Parliament, even if it's just an office job or internship, you have to be able to speak at least three languages, two of which must be French, German, or English, which are the three most important languages in the European Commission. 

 



Then we got a bit of a tour of the building.  This is where short speeches for the press will be done after negotiations, meetings, and discussions.  Obama also spoke here this week.  Last week he was in the Hague (a city in the Netherlands) for the Nuclear Summit, and this week he is in Belgium.  All the Europeans seem to think it's such a big deal.  With the amount of money they spent on security, it must be.  Over 24 million euros were spent!  Plus they shut down the entire city.  No one was allowed in or out of the Hague while he was there. 

 

This is the press conference room.  Every day the European Commission explains what they did that day, and their new plans for the future, and answers any questions the journalists have.  That would have been very neat to watch, but unfortunately we were there on the one day that there was no press conference.  The reason for the lack of a press conference: all the journalists were in the Hague taking pictures of Obama.  Well, almost all.  One journalists showed up and was extremely surprised to see that there was only a group of students in the room.  When he found out that all the other journalists were in the Hague he got very frustrated.  Journalists can't afford to miss a good story.

After the press conference room we headed to the film studio.  This is where important interviews take place (such as with Obama, as was pointed out yet again).  The European Commission also provides these facilities free to TV stations, as well as good editing software.  Not all TV companies choose to use it though, because they can get more unique footage on their own.  Also, organizations such as BBC have their own facilities in Belgium.

 

But it was still pretty cool to see all that fancy equipment.  The only problem was that our tour guide for this particular room was a little overenthusiastic about his work, and talked about it for almost an hour longer than the scheduled 15 minutes.  We weren't allowed to be late for the European Parliament, so that meant that our 1 hour lunch break became a 5 minute lunch break, three minutes of which were spent finding a bathroom.  At this point I was feeling rather information overloaded.  Everything was very fascinating, but I was quite in need of a break to let it all absorb and to relax a bit.  I probably also didn't help that I got so little sleep the night before.  But trek onward we did.  A brisk walk in the fresh air on the way to the European Parliament did help to wake me up a bit. 

 

At the European Parliament we had to go through security again, twice.  I was a bit less enthusiastic about it this time.  It's kind of annoying to have to take my coat off and put it back on again over and over.  And I happened to be wearing one of those coats with several buttons and a complicated belt.  So it's no small ordeal to get it on and off.  The European Parliament is quite different from the Commission.  They also have different opinions, which was kind of funny.  For instance, in the Commission they kept talking about how important it was to keep the world informed and make lots of news resources available and be extremely open to everyone. 

 

Then in the European Parliament they said that they make sure they give journalists only the most useful information, rather than bombarding the poor journalists daily with whopping amounts of virtually useless information to wade through.

Our next stop was the Parliamentarium.  This is a super cool museum with free entry.  (Though we had to go through security AGAIN).  Going through security is no longer exciting for me.  I could easily have spent an entire day there soaking up information.  Everything was so fascinating, and it was also very interactive, with headsets and games and movies, and other things. 

 

If you're ever in Brussels I highly recommend going to the Parliamentarium.  I couldn't enjoy it nearly to the fullest potential because my brain was already on information overload, and because we had to leave on time for the train ride back to Rotterdam.  History is a fascinating subject when presented in the right way.  I just don't like the way it's taught in Canada.

 

After about an hour in the Parliamentarium (not nearly long enough) we headed to the train station, only to find out that the next train for Rotterdam didn't leave for another hour and a half.  So we walked around the city centre for a while, and bought waffles and fries!  Yum yum!  I was told I couldn't go to Belgium without getting a Belgian waffle.  So I was pretty excited to try one of those.  I got one with chocolate on it of course!

 

Another interesting thing: they eat fries with little plastic forks in Belgium.  Stabbing a fry with a flimsy plastic fork takes some skill- a skill which I haven't acquired very well yet.  I think North Americans are smarter by just eating them with their hands.  Sure you get a bit greasy, but it's a lot easier!  (And for me less embarrassing).

I hope everyone reading this knows Tintin.  If you don't, you should seriously start reading Tintin comic books.  They're good!  What I didn't know though, was that Tintin is based in Brussels, and was written by a Belgian author.  Many of the streets had two different street signs on top of each other.  One is the real one, and the other is from the Tintin comic books!  There is also quite a lot of Tintin art to be seen.

 

(Sorry this picture is sideways, but that is Tintin and the Captain on the stairs).

 

And then at last it was time to go to the train.  I was extremely excited about this since I've never been a train before.  This quite amused the Europeans who have been on trains a lot.  They apoligized for finding my excitement rather funny, but it's my own fault for being so excited.  And I've never been able to do poker faces, so my eagerness was probably written all over me.

 

So here they are: pictures of my very first train ride!  There wasn't much to be seen out the window because it was dark, but it was so exciting just to be on a train.  We also had some very good discussions on the two hour ride to Rotterdam.  It's so hard to believe that less than 30 hours previously I didn't know anyone in the group.  Now we were all so close.  I love making new friends!

In Rotterdam I had the challenge of figuring out how to take the metro home from Centraal Station.  Thankfully the guys from Germany helped me to find the station and figure out which way to go.  I am very grateful for that because although I tried not to show it, I was super nervous about getting home.  I've had many a blog post about getting lost.  But it's one thing to be lost during the day with Kim.  It's another thing entirely to take the wrong metro and be lost alone at night in a part of the city I'm not familiar with.  But thankfully I managed to get off the metro at the right station and transfer to the correct metro, and it all went very smoothly, despite my rapidly beating heart.  I was so worried the whole time that I'd end up lost in the wrong place.

But at last I arrived at wonderfully familiar Hesseplaats, and to my delight Tante Joke was there waiting for me!  I though I'd have to walk home (about a kilometer or so) and when I saw her there I was so happy.  We chatted in Dutch about how the trip went, and then had some tea and delicious boterkoek, and then I went to bed and slept very well.

So that was my adventure in Belgium!  I think it's one that I will never forget.



 

 



Brussels: Day 1

I may not be a huge fan of Brussels Sprouts, but the city they're named after is incredible!  I was there for a brief busy extremely busy two days, and I will never forget the adventures I had there.

Thursday dawned sunny and beautiful.  The sky was utterly devoid of clouds and promised a deliciously warm afternoon for both the Netherlands and Belgium.  I carefully packed my trusty backpack with the things I would need during the one night field trip.  I wanted to bring as little as possible because everything I brought I'd have to carry with my all day.  After double checking and triple checking, and thinking things through again and again (everyone who knows me well is aware that I'm rather detail-oriented) I felt ready to go.  I debated between walking to the university and taking the metro.  10 km is a fair distance to walk, but what a waste of gorgeous sunshine it would be to sit in the metro! 

But then Kim made a generous and adventurous offer.  We could ride double to university on her bike.  This is something that people do more often in the Netherlands.  One person pedals while the other sits on the back.  All the bikes here have a flat trap thing over the back wheel to strap things onto, or occasionally to sit on as a passenger.  This is easier said than done though.  There's a certain balance required- one which is not instantly acquired.  But after several shaky starts accompanied by laughter and loud exclamations we managed to get moving.  Kim pedaled for the first half and then we switched.  By the time we made to it university I'd say we were pretty good at riding double.  A lot better than when we began, that's for sure.

After all the biking in the warm sun I figured we deserved a treat.  So I bought a cinnamon frozen yogurt at the new university food court and we shared it.  Delicious!  Ice cream sure hits the spot on a sunny day (and actually on non-sunny days too). 

Then we parted ways and I set off, alone but trying to remain confident.  I was still a bit early, but eventually found the group.  I didn't know anybody, but some of the people looked familiar since I'd seen them in the lectures for my classes.  We were a group of about 20: 14 from the class, and 6 international students tagging along.  We crowded into the bus, which had exactly 20 seats, and happily set off for Belgium.

The two hour bus ride gave me time to admire the scenery out the window, and become acquainted with two of the other international students- girls from Spain and Singapore.  After some time I commented that I was very excited to go to Belgium because I haven't been in very many countries so far.  Then I was told to my great astonishment and delight that we were already in Belgium!  I never would have guessed, because there was no border guard or anything.  It's sure a lot more efficient than going to the USA.  And I have now officially set foot in five different countries (though Britain hardly counts because I was only in the airport).

We arrived in Brussels about half an hour early, and thus had a bit of time to stretch our legs before the lecture we were scheduled to attend. 

 

I dutifully took some pictures as we walked.  I am definitely not a photographer for three main reasons.  First, I am not very good at taking pictures.  Second, once I do take the pictures I don't have the technical skills to efficiently put them onto the computer and deal with them from there.  Third, because I'm so excited to see new things that I often completely forget to take pictures of them.  But I promised my family I would take pictures, so I did.  And as much as I'm complaining now, I am glad I have pictures to remember my experiences here in Europe.  I'm always glad I have pictures after I've dealt with them.

 

I walked with a group of five other people down the road for a bit, and then we saw this off in the distance and decided to walk to it.  We're still not sure what it is, or what it's for, but it was indeed very beautiful.

 

We walked back to Maastricht University just in time for the lecture.  It was by a Ukrainian woman who is involved in European politics.  I learned a lot more about the social and political unrest that is going on there, as well as the sneaky tactics Russia uses to convince Eastern Ukrainians that the West is bad.  Propaganda in a isolated part of the world is a scary and powerful tool indeed.

 

After the lecture we took the metro to our hotel.  We had to walk down three stories underground!  I wish there was a metro in Chilliwack.  It's a lot more exciting than driving in a car.  And you're allowed to stand up and hold onto a pole instead of sitting down with a properly fastened seatbelt.  Pretty exciting!

 

The Meninger Hotel wasn't fancy, but it was very nice, and just the thing for a group of students.  I was in a room with four other girls.  The top bunk was the least popular, so I happily took it since I didn't mind at all.  A bed is a bed whether it's two feet above the ground or six.

 

After dropping our stuff off in our rooms, we all met in the foyer.  We had already been applying the parliamental knowledge we'd learned that day by concluding that a 20 person democracy makes it difficult to make decisions.  We were free for the evening, but there were still so many decisions: where to go, what to do, whether to stay together or split into smaller groups.  But despite a lack of quick decision-making we all were having a lot of fun getting to know each other better.  We decided eventually to walk to the city centre and get some dinner there.  I was already past 7:00 and most of us hadn't eaten anything since lunch time before we left the university. So we were pretty hungry, and some of us were on the verge of grouchiness due to rumbling stomachs.

 

 

 

Once we reached the city centre we split up and agreed to meet again at 9:30.  I went with a group of girls to buy some Doner Kebabs.  It's not specifically Belgian since they also have them in the Netherlands, but it was cheap, fast delicious, and one of the things on my bucket list of things to try.

It's basically a wrap with veggies and meat in it.  And, much to our surprise, fries.  The meat is rather interesting.  It's on a spinning stick thing inside the restaurant and they cut slices off it.  Here's a picture of the spinny meat stick thing:

 

 



I was very puzzled the first time I saw one of these.  I had no idea what it was until I finally asked someone.  It tastes pretty good too, I discovered.

 

We ate, chatted, and relaxed until it was time to meet with the group again.  We headed out and found a cozy little bar together.  It's kinda neat being old enough for that here in the Netherlands!  Normally I don't drink beers, as I've said before, but this time I decided to give it another try since Belgium is famous for its beers.  My new friend from Spain also gave me a sip from hers so I could see if I liked it, and it was pretty good.  So I got one for myself. 

 

 

 

 That beer was actually really good.  Maybe it's because it's a Belgian beer, or maybe I'm starting the acquire the taste.  The first time I drank a beer was last month, and that one was disgusting.  But don't worry, I'm not going to turn into a drunkard or anything.  I'm a good girl and I intend to stay that way.

 

After most people had two or three beers (though I was quite content with just one) over half of the group decided to head back to the hotel and get to sleep on time.  But I opted for the group that was going to do a bit more exploring.  I was only in Brussels for one night, and I definitely wanted to see everything I could!

 

I definitely wasn't disappointed.  La Grande Place is the big town square surrounded by gorgeous buildings.  It took my breath away because it was so stunningly beautiful. 

 

Yeah, these pictures really aren't that great.  I guess that means if you want to see how beautiful Brussels is you'll just have to go for yourself.  Part of the amazingness is that it's not just one beautiful building.  It's everywhere you look, and there are brick roads and alleyways lined with shops and more gorgeous architecture going off in every direction.  The more I looked around the more incredible things there were to see.  It was delightful!  It also made me really wish we were allowed to go exploring in the buildings.  All around there were parapets and balconies and fancy windows and towers.  I bet some of them also had secret passageways!  But alas, exploring was not allowed, and I had to content myself with gazing around La Grande Place, which I did with sheer joy.

 

One of the guys in the group was ALWAYS hungry.  (Kind of reminds me of some of my brothers).  So we eventually decided to set off on a fries hunt.  Fries were invented in Belgium, and apparently the best fries in the world can be found there.  It was quite late at night by this time though, so the first several fries shops were closed, but at last we found one, and were not disappointed.  Those fries were indeed the best I've ever tasted.  Fries in Canada do not compare, and McDonald's isn't even in the running.  (It never was to begin with because tiny salt sticks are hardly fries).

 

 

Our next tourist attraction was Jeanneke Pis.  There's a very famous little statue in Belgium called Manneken Pis.  Legend has it that a naughty boy peed on a fire and ended up saving the town, or something along those lines.  And apparently someone also decided it was a good idea to make a girl for Brussels too.  So we went down a crowded alleyway to see this Jeanneke Pis.

 

That's Jeanneke Pis behind the bars.  A bit hard to see, but I promise she's there.

After that excitement we headed back to the hotel because it was fast approaching a very late hour- or early, depending on how you look at it.

 

At the hotel we went to the bar.  One of the guys offered to buy me a beer, and I said yes.  I guess I was feeling a bit crazy and spontaneous due to all the excitement of seeing so many new things.  When I got the beer I think my eyes just about popped out of my head.  It was HUGE!  I drank about half of it and then recruited some help for the second half.  The guys from Germany didn't seem to mind.

 

Here's me with the beer, and my new friend from Bulgaria. 

 

 And then eventually it was time to head off to bed.  Here's a picture of some of the beds in the hotel room where I slept.  Cozy and very nice!  There was also a double bed on the right which isn't in the picture, and a bathroom on the left. 



 

I had brought along a toothbrush (actually a free one from the airplane which I hadn't used yet).  It had a cap on it, which was being exceedingly stubborn.  I couldn't get it off the annoying toothbrush.  After a minute or so of trying I could just picture the newspaper headlines: Teenage Girl Needs Dentures due to Inability to Remove Toothbrush Cap.  Yeah, my thoughts can be a little overdramatic when it's really late at night.  But going to bed just isn't the same without brushing my teeth first.  Finally that silly cap did come off though, and I happily brushed my teeth, hopped into bed, and fell asleep almost instantly, after quickly thanking God for the wonderful day He'd given me. 

 

Unfortunately though, my alarm was set for 6:30.  There was a long and busy day planned to start early the next morning. 

 

But what a wonderful first half of the Brussels adventure!  I loved every moment so far, and there was so much more to learn and see the next day!



 

A Not-So-Science Lesson in Delft (Part 2)

After seeing that fascinating Delft Blauw Factory, Kim and I decided that after biking almost 20 km, and with almost that many yet to go, we deserved a treat.  McDonald's in the Netherlands has this exclusive McKroket Burger.  And although Kim and I aren't huge fans of McDonald's food, this Kroket burger was definitely something on our bucket list of things to try in the Netherlands.  So thus we decided that this was the day would we try it.  It was definitely delicious!

 

It's actually a pretty genius culinary invention if you ask me. I think I shall have to teach myself how to make Krokets when I get back to Canada.  I'm sure going to miss them.

 

So after that, Kim and I set off toward home on our bikes again.  And unfortunately it wasn't long before we were on a different track than we'd taken on our way to Delft.  Naturally getting lost on the way to Delft was not enough.  We had to get lost on the way back too.  Otherwise it just wouldn't be typical.  But we soon found some signs pointing to Rotterdam and decided to follow them.  We weren't sure where in Rotterdam they would lead us, but we figured that wherever we ended up we'd be able to ask directions to Ommoord.  Rotterdam is quite a large city though.  My guess is that it's over 20 kilometers to bike across it. 

 

Anyways, we were less than blissfully biking along, lost but thankful to have the wind at our backs, when suddenly the road changed directions and we had to bike into the wind.  Well, if you've ever biked headlong into the wind on a gusty day in the Netherlands, you'll know that it sort of resembles biking through a brick wall.  I'd pick biking uphill over biking into the wind.  But anyways, we huffed and puffed our way along that stretch of road at a speed of about 3 km per hour.  After several minutes of this I commented to Kim that it would probably be easier to walk our bikes.

 

But we kept pedaling along just the same.  Then, much to our disappointment the road ended at a construction zone.  I suggested we bike back to the main road and follow that, but Kim wanted to try getting past the construction zone.  So we did rock paper scissors, and she won.  After Gouda I was done with construction zones, but Kim won fair and square, so we bravely biked our way through.  We may have gotten yelled at in Dutch once or twice..  But we  got through... only to find out that we were in a mucky field surrounded by ditches.  I really have to work on my rock paper scissors skills because this was ridiculous.  We toyed with the idea of leaping on of the ditches and then passing the bikes across.  But after circling the perimeter we finally found a way of getting back to the main road (where I do wish we'd gone in the first place) without having to do any acrobatics.  Biking along the main road, we soon saw a plane take off from nearby and realized we were very near Rotterdam airport.  That helped us to know where we were at least.

 

But then things got worse yet again.  Remember when I'd suggested early that we walk our bikes?  Well, my wish came true when I didn't want it to, because Kim's tire all of a sudden went flat. *sigh*

So we walked our bikes, and when we asked one of the locals how far exactly it was to Ommoord, we found out we were WAY off track and still had a long ways to go.  So our new plan B was to walk our bikes to the nearest Metro station and just take the Metro back to Ommoord.  It was just over a kilometer to the station.  But as we were walking a kind man was just leaving work and wanted to help us.  So he drove Kim and her bike to the nearest bike repair shop.  Apparently the Metro would have been a long ride because there is no Metro to Ommoord from the city we were currently in.  We would have had to go to the train station, then to Centraal Station in Rotterdam, then to Alexandrium Station, and then taking the Metro to Hesseplaats.  So we decided fixing the bike was probably the better option.  Thankfully it was just a missing valve on the tire which only cost 1,50 to replace.  Then a bit of air and we were set to go again, though getting rather tired by this time.  We were biking along in the general direction of home when suddenly to our right we saw our beloved Rotte River!  It was immensely relieving to see familiar territory once again.  I can hardly describe how good it felt to finally know we could confidently find our way home.  Twenty minutes later we wheeled our biked into the shed, went inside, and enjoyed a lovely warm cup of tea.

 

Yes indeed, we'd had quite the adventure.  I might need to rethink taking this course in Delft.  It would be fantastic if I knew the way, but I still don't.  So now I'm not sure what I'll do.  But this afternoon I'm going to Belgium, so for now I'll just be excited for that and not worry about hard-to-find cities like Delft!