First of all, an apology for all of those few who actually read my blog. I strive for one a week but sometimes I’m late due to distractions such as Dutch homework or more recently my burning desire to re-read all of my Twilight books. The lack of vampires in my real life experiences has prevented me from sharing more of our Dutch adventures. Working through my addiction, here is an account of a long weekend we had a couple of weeks ago.
I spoke to my Dad on Memorial Day weekend and he boasted to me about how they had Monday off. “Do you have Monday off? “he slyly asked. My response was something like, “Well actually, I have the entire week off and Gearoid has a four day weekend because apparently Jesus ascended to heaven this week.” And it was true. Gearoid had a long weekend to celebrate the ascension of Jesus. For a non-denominational country, there are a lot of holidays that are because of something Jesus did. I think mostly, the Dutch like to have days off when the weather is warm so they cluster the federal/bank holidays during one time of the year and give Jesus the credit.
To enjoy the ascension of Jesus we did the following:
Thursday- We each “enjoyed” a run and then relaxed in our landlords’ pool. They were at their campsite for the weekend and asked us to water their plants. In exchange we got to use their pool. Private pools are not too common in Netherlands but it turns out that our neighbors on both sides of us have pools. When it’s actually hot outside, I usually sneak envious glares at the people enjoying the pools and wonder how I can befriend them. Turns out I just have to water the plants when they’re away.
Friday- We were invited out into the country to visit our landlords’ campsite. They have expressed that we need to spend more time outside and invited us out. It was a nice 13 kilometer bike ride and we only got lost twice. The sun was out and everything was bright and summerlike. Their campsite is actually on a farmer’s field who rents out plots to people who want to park their caravans. They are right on a man-made lake and it’s pretty peaceful. After a couple of hours we headed home only to realize our easy ride out to the country was made easier by the wind blowing with us. We rode home against the wind the entire way. The arduous journey was made more enjoyable by the views of the river and a field of Shetland ponies.
Right behind this beautiful view was a crazy busy and loud highway.
After the bike ride to the country, we met some colleagues of Gearoid’s for ice cream and bowling. After a normal serving of ice cream (at that moment I missed the outlandish American portion sizes) we visited the nicest bowling alley ever. We didn’t just show up either. A few days earlier we had to make reservations to go bowling! Gearoid and I joked that in the States you only make reservations for fancy places- restaurants, golf, etc. Bowling alleys are supposed to be smoke filled, grungy, and greasy. So when we saw the bowling alley, we realized that it made sense to make reservations because this place was fancy! It was clean and smoke free, there was an outdoor terrace, a waitress came to our lane and took our drink orders. No pitchers of beer or fries here. Gearoid had a cappuccino before he had a Belgium beer and the menu boasted of having steak, paninis, and other non-traditional bowling alley food. The game was pretty much the same and I can say that my Wii professional bowling status has helped my real life game. Also, instead of playing by the game you play by the hour. So we were unexpectedly cut off during the middle of our third game. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
Saturday- We started the day early again and took a trip to Rotterdam where we met up with some friends we knew from Africa. The morning was cool and it was exciting to be standing on a train platform about the visit a new city. The trip was about 2 hours and with some promotional tickets we were able to enjoy the ride in first class which basically meant more leg room. We met our friend Ellenoor who gave us a tour around the city. Rotterdam is the most modern looking city in the Netherlands. It’s not bad but it lacks the charm you find almost everywhere else in the country. During WWII bombs practically destroyed the city and everything had to be rebuilt. We walked through retail lined streets, visited the harbor, ate lunch at the market, and enjoyed almost too much sunshine. Gearoid and I also took a tour of one of the cube houses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cube_house). They are quite interesting to look at but I found them small and the illusion of having to watch out for sharp corners distracted me. Gearoid thinks we could lively happily in one but I think it’s better as a one person house. After our Rotterdam tour, we spent the rest of the day visiting with friends and took a late train back to Nijmegen. We got home even later after we had to get off the train, take a 30 minute bus ride to another station, and then hop on the train again. Of course, we then had to ride our bikes home.
People actually live in these cubes. It was like a little city in itself with cafes, shops, and museums among the apartments.
Sunday- After 3 days of nonstop sun exposure and a lot of walking and bike riding we were exhausted. I slept in and Gearoid got some work done/watched Human Target. After “enjoying” a long run, I finished a book and enjoyed my latest addiction- episodes of Castle. For an unemployed person, I really enjoy my weekends.
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