Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Water is Free Again
After paying $20 for water in Frankfurt last weekend, John is pleased to find that water is still free in the United States. He sat down to breakfast this morning at his Orlando hotel and within seconds a tall glass of cold water (with ice) was sitting in front of him. He drank it all, and the waiter came by to fill it up again without even being asked. It is nice to have a full breakfast in the U.S. for less than the price of two small bottles of water in Europe.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Jenny's Visit
If anyone has ever moved abroad they will be familiar with the fact that about 80% of those you know in the U.S. get excited about the possibility of having free room and board in an exotic (in our case, European) location. Numerous people promise they will definitely come visit. As it turns out, life happens and only a select few actually make the trip over the pond. We have enjoyed a few visits from friends and a couple visits from family members in the past 14 months of living in Amsterdam. Our friend, Jenny, from college got to come recently for a week. We had a great time!
We have to commend Jenny, not only on saving for this trip, but being the only visitor (for one reason or another) to experience Amsterdam by bike. As Jenny can attest, it is the best and most fun way to get around the city. Well, fun but for the one incident when she fell off the bike while surrounded by a mass of unpredictable, drunken pedestrians in the Red Light District on a street where major construction was taking place. (This is honestly our fault for even trying to lead her by bike down this particular street – don’t ask.)
The three of us went to Maastricht one day followed by an evening of museum hopping back in Amsterdam until 2 a.m. It happened to be Museum Night the first Saturday Jenny was in town, so we took advantage of the €14 tickets to see as many museums as possible. Of course, the special programs, food and drink, and music made it the coolest possible way to visit the museums. We didn’t get to the Van Gogh museum that night, so Jenny and Erin ended up making a trip to see it another day.
Erin gave Jenny a tour of regular, “everyday life” kind of stuff: Vondel Park by bike, street markets, the grocery store, the Ministry Center where Erin works. However, Erin also got to see a couple things she hadn’t seen before. Jenny and Erin visited the Heineken Experience (which, by the way, used to give out unlimited free drinks and now only gives out three, and also used to give away free souvenir glasses and now gives out a lame noise-maker). The Heineken Experience is highly entertaining and definitely geared toward English-speaking university students; they had a fun time! Erin also got to see a medieval castle not far from Amsterdam: Muiderslot. It is a great castle to visit – surrounded by a moat and everything!
Erin got the car from John one day so she and Jenny could drive to Germany since Jenny has always wanted to go to Germany. They just drove a few hours to Düsseldorf, but Jenny can now say she’s been to Germany. (And she has boots and a bag from Germany to prove it!) Besides the shopping, the other highlight of the trip was a stop at the Neanderthal Museum near Düsseldorf. That’s right. A Neanderthal skeleton was found in a cave near this very spot, so there is now a museum dedicated to the Neanderthal and the evolution of man. It was an interesting museum and Jenny got her Venus of Willendorf keychain (the replicas were too expensive), so the trip was a success! The lowlight of the trip was when Erin rear-ended a trailer hauling a boat on the way back home in Amsterdam. Thankfully the license plate reattached without a problem, the trailer wasn’t too damaged (expect for the plastic coverings on the tail light being broken out), and the boat was untouched. Oh, and Jenny was extremely happy that at least the guy driving the vehicle was “hot.” This did not in any way make Erin feel any better about the whole incident, but, Jenny, you’re welcome.
All in all, the visit was a perfect blend of resting, catching up, seeing the sights, and experiencing life in Amsterdam. Oh, we have to mention that this might have been the first time in our history of visitors where the weather was actually good! It only rained once, slightly, and it wasn’t too cold or windy. The sun was actually shining a lot of the time!
We have to commend Jenny, not only on saving for this trip, but being the only visitor (for one reason or another) to experience Amsterdam by bike. As Jenny can attest, it is the best and most fun way to get around the city. Well, fun but for the one incident when she fell off the bike while surrounded by a mass of unpredictable, drunken pedestrians in the Red Light District on a street where major construction was taking place. (This is honestly our fault for even trying to lead her by bike down this particular street – don’t ask.)
The three of us went to Maastricht one day followed by an evening of museum hopping back in Amsterdam until 2 a.m. It happened to be Museum Night the first Saturday Jenny was in town, so we took advantage of the €14 tickets to see as many museums as possible. Of course, the special programs, food and drink, and music made it the coolest possible way to visit the museums. We didn’t get to the Van Gogh museum that night, so Jenny and Erin ended up making a trip to see it another day.
Erin gave Jenny a tour of regular, “everyday life” kind of stuff: Vondel Park by bike, street markets, the grocery store, the Ministry Center where Erin works. However, Erin also got to see a couple things she hadn’t seen before. Jenny and Erin visited the Heineken Experience (which, by the way, used to give out unlimited free drinks and now only gives out three, and also used to give away free souvenir glasses and now gives out a lame noise-maker). The Heineken Experience is highly entertaining and definitely geared toward English-speaking university students; they had a fun time! Erin also got to see a medieval castle not far from Amsterdam: Muiderslot. It is a great castle to visit – surrounded by a moat and everything!
Erin got the car from John one day so she and Jenny could drive to Germany since Jenny has always wanted to go to Germany. They just drove a few hours to Düsseldorf, but Jenny can now say she’s been to Germany. (And she has boots and a bag from Germany to prove it!) Besides the shopping, the other highlight of the trip was a stop at the Neanderthal Museum near Düsseldorf. That’s right. A Neanderthal skeleton was found in a cave near this very spot, so there is now a museum dedicated to the Neanderthal and the evolution of man. It was an interesting museum and Jenny got her Venus of Willendorf keychain (the replicas were too expensive), so the trip was a success! The lowlight of the trip was when Erin rear-ended a trailer hauling a boat on the way back home in Amsterdam. Thankfully the license plate reattached without a problem, the trailer wasn’t too damaged (expect for the plastic coverings on the tail light being broken out), and the boat was untouched. Oh, and Jenny was extremely happy that at least the guy driving the vehicle was “hot.” This did not in any way make Erin feel any better about the whole incident, but, Jenny, you’re welcome.
All in all, the visit was a perfect blend of resting, catching up, seeing the sights, and experiencing life in Amsterdam. Oh, we have to mention that this might have been the first time in our history of visitors where the weather was actually good! It only rained once, slightly, and it wasn’t too cold or windy. The sun was actually shining a lot of the time!
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