The Netherlands

            Let me just say this blog entry will be mostly educational as the purpose of my visit here is, after all, to school shop…but don’t stop reading!! I promise sprinklings of fun facts here and there to keep you entertained. ;)

After a 6-hour layover in Newark airport I excitedly boarded my plane for Amsterdam. Although I had previously chosen an aisle seat I lucked out and had no one sitting next to me for the whole 8 hour flight, yahoo!! (I used this extra space to store my secret extra carry on and to play solitaire) Also before I get to revved up here, I just want to take a moment and say that airline food on Europe bound international flights is waaaaaay superior to US flights.  I remember this from when I flew to Spain in high school and was again reminded of it on the flight over here. This is what they served for breakfast….yeah, it’s muesli and it even tasted good! Not a spongy two-week-old microwaved breakfast sandwich in sight, so bite me Delta/United/American Airlines with your crappy plane slop!! Ok moving on….

I arrived very early in the morning and even so, I feel compelled to mention that the International arrivals/departures area of the Amsterdam airport at 7am may possibly contain the best people watching I have ever witnessed.  It is really indescribable and must be seen in person. The variety is quite astounding.

          I took a taxi directly from the airport to my hostel and after a bit of rest and reorganization I headed out for some exploring. I must say the city is quite clean and beautiful and the canals are truly lovely.  Amsterdam is shaped like a giant pentagon with one side on the river and is enveloped in a unique system of canals that runs all over giving off the impression that the sea is a at your fingertips. At least that is how I felt coming from Idaho, where Payette Lake is the largest body of water in my life. This aside, Amsterdam is by no means a sleepy city. The constant hustle and bustle gives the place a lively hum and everything seems to be in motion.  Although I speak not a word of Dutch, people were friendly and most spoke enough English to get by. I spent most of the time wandering, enjoying the nice park areas and even ate some French fries dipped in mayonnaise…I know it’s shocking but I read in my Lonely Planet book they were a popular snack (they could put anything in those books I swear), although I am not sure why because it isn’t very tasty…

I had also read The Netherlands is the most biking friendly country in the world and it shows as the streets and bike lots seem to be packed with bicycles at all hours of the day. Side note: The bike lanes are not sidewalks and walking in them with get you sideswiped or at least yelled at.

On my outings I found many little tourist shops with cute wooden shoes (I almost got some but remembered my poor swollen suitcase back in my room and refrained…next time…), lots of pubs and coffee shops, and decent sunshiny weather. It seems the only thing that Dutch people like more than coffee and biking and beer is cheese. Like seriously…its everywhere, and it is oooohhhhhh so delicious.

Fun facts about The Netherlands:

1: It was the first country to legalize same sex marriage (2001).

2: Most of the country is at sea level or below.

3: The Netherlands was one of the six founding countries of the European Union.

4: 70% of the worlds bacon is comes from The Netherlands.

5: The Netherlands and Holland are not actually the same thing!! The Netherlands is the official name of the country while Holland is considered to be the Western costal area. Who knew!! Thanks to a friendly staff member at my hostel, now I do!

Ok back to business. The next day I took a train south to the The Hague University to have a little looksee. I went on a campus tour where I met a nice girl named Anna with whom I later had a coffee date at one of the thousand coffee houses around the campus (not exaggerating).  The tour included a question and answer session that was very helpful and I got some great info about studying abroad and what my program entails. The university itself is compact and very professional looking with big metallic shiny buildings and large throughways, not to mention it is also appears to be floating on a canal. Obviously I didn’t take the aerial photo but thanks to Google you can get a better view of the campus.

            After I had my fun in Amsterdam and The Hague, I took a late morning train north to Groningen. The largest city in northern Netherlands with a population just under 200,000 Groningen has a much homier feel to it than its famous southern counterpart.  The streets seem narrower and the buildings seem older and the whole city emits a lacksidaisical almost goofy charm.  Groningen is home to Hanze University of Applied Sciences, which I took a tour of and found myself quite taken by the campus. It is not as new or attention demanding as The Hague, but it is quite lovely and the location is very convenient to the city. After the tour I hung around for a cooking demonstration in the food court where I got to try some kind of exaggeratedly thick pea soup with vegetables in it. I think if I lived here it would be the ultimate comfort food. It was delicious.

            Ok, so here is my dilemma… As I now sit on an overnight train to Vilnius (with a changeover in Warsaw), I find I am torn between the two schools.  The Hague is very well known and nice and in a bigger metropolitan area and is slightly more expensive, where as Hanze is in a quainter city and less expensive although also less prestigious and more hidden away. What to do, what to do?! Those of you who know me best already know I will be making lists and obsessively comparing for the next few days and depending on how Vilnius agrees with me I will decide. Stay tuned!!

PS I apologize for the lack of/lame photos…my selfie abilities are terrible and I will do better in the future haha

PPS If any of you are wondering about how Mr. Charlie is doing, here is photo I received from Jason yesterday. Yeah, I think he's fine..... :)