We (finally) made it to Bruges!

I have an exam on Wednesday.  I leave on Thursday morning.  Therefore, I am feeling like procrastinating studying...so I am writing a new post!  (don't worry parents, i am studying...just not at this specific moment)  Before I came to Europe, I asked various people for recommendations on places to visit.  One of the suggestions was Bruges.  This past Saturday, I finally made it there.  I don't say finally lightly here...  On Wednesday, I impulsively decided to plan this trip with my friend Shannon.  I purchased our train tickets on Friday night (the WHOLE journey only cost 18 euros!!).  I woke up early on Saturday to print the tickets off...only to remember that nothing opens until 10 am on Saturdays.  That is a big problem.  I told Shannon the bad news, but we decided to persevere.  We thought that surely the train station ticket desk would print the tickets for us...lies...we tried twice.  We also briefly jogged around Tilburg looking for a hotel to print from...also no luck.  With our hopes high and our hearts beating from jogging and nervousness, we boarded the bus to Turnhout, Belgium.  From there we planned to get on the train (the one that we needed to print the tickets for) to Bruges.  We made it to Turnhout with 5 minutes to spare before our train left...needless to say we missed it.  We did however finally get our tickets printed out at a lovely Best Western.  With a great sense of relief, we went to wander about Turnhout for 30 minutes before our train left.  Now, funny thing about our day... all in all, we spent about 8 hours in transit and only 4 hours in Bruges.  But, what a productive (and worth it) 4 hours it was.  When you walk out of the train station there isn't much to see...but that doesn't last long.  Soon, we walked over a bridge, saw a park, and began walking to the city center along the most adorable street ever - cute houses, cobblestones, cafes, y'all Bruges has it all.

Can all houses look like this?

On a whim, we decided to walk down an alley and into a courtyard area...this is what we found.  There was green space, a church, a canal, and the most picturesque bridge I have ever seen.

This is me sitting on the above mentioned bridge.

Have I mentioned that the map we had of Bruges was not very helpful?  Well, I printed it off of the internet...onto 4 front and back pages...which meant that we had to hold several sheets together to find out where we were.  No worries though, wandering was the best approach to Bruges.  Oh, by the way this building is in the main square.  Pretty snazzy, huh?

These are also on the square.

According to our map, this is the best place in Bruges to get ice cream.  I believe it.  Also, this was the one thing that I wanted to do in Bruges besides see things.  Culturally deprived?  Maybe.  Lover of ice cream?  Definitely.  

Bruges is beautiful.  All of the houses that we saw were cute, very very well maintained, and old.  I wouldn't be surprised if every resident of Bruges has to pay a fee so that a crew can come and clean the town every night.  Everything just looked so spectacular.  Many doors were decorate (though not all were as elaborate as this one).

Yet another picturesque spot!  Also - I'm not wearing a jacket!!!  Finally!!!  But it is like 70 degrees and it is June...what a treat for this Georgia girl!

Bruges, you have my heart.  I will be back.

photo contest

Hello all!  If you are a facebook user, then I need YOUR help.  I am one of 100 finalists in a photo contest.  I am trying to win the "crowd favorite" award.  People are allowed to vote once a day until June 20th.  So, if you could vote for my photo that would be excellent!

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/ISEPStudyAbroad?sk=app_451684954848385&app_data=view-vote%2Cfor-716113

Thanks a million!

cheese, windmills, and pancakes

At the end of May (yes, I know this post is late) me and a few girls from my floor went to Zaanse Schans.  This is quite the tourist trap filled with windmills, adorable houses, canals, a cheese shop, a pancake house, an antique shop, a wooden shoe shop, and THE original Albert Heijn (the grocery store chain that I frequent).  So, I'm pretty sure that we didn't have the most authentic Dutch day, but we loved every minute of it.  We wandered around the place snapping pictures every step of the way (I spared you and only included the best shots).  We took so many pictures because everything was adorable, but also because we are leaving soon.  Slowly but surely, my floor is emptying out because people are leaving to go home or travel.  My journey comes to a close in exactly one week - super strange to think about.  Well, that's enough talk of endings - enjoy the pictures!

The group! (countries represented: Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Australia, US)

Look how cute everything is!

Rani and I.

Like I said, pretty touristy...

We saw wooden shoes being made - they do it by machine now...but it was still cool.

The windmills.

Time at Taize

I have been thinking for a while about how to talk about Taize in a blog post.  This is not the only reason why this post is so late...it can mainly be attributed to laziness.  After having a whirlwind adventure in Paris, I headed to the train station to make my way to Taize.  At Taize, the day centers around prayer and the prayer centers around silence.  Because of this, the experiences that one has at Taize rely almost completely on the individual.  I was at Taize from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning - kind of a strange period to be there.  If possible, it is best if one goes for a week.  

In order to save this from being a rambling post, I will comment on one observation that I made about Taize.  Taize is all about waiting.  I waited to catch the train there, I waited two hours to catch the bus there, I waited an hour to check in once I arrived, I waited for my room to be unlocked, I waited in line for food, I waited for prayer services to begin, etc.  I think I did more waiting during those few days than I have done in a while.  Usually, I am very concerned with remaining on time and ready to tackle the next item on the schedule, but at Taize things move at their own pace (but things still occur relatively on time).  In addition to physical waiting, mental waiting also occurs.  Since I was one of the few native English speakers there, I had to slow down my words and wait for my fellow friends to form their words.  Thank goodness Europeans usually know English - I have never felt more inspired to learn a new language!  Because of language barriers, our small group discussions about the bible passage for the day were very elementary and simple.  One of the 60 brothers at Taize told us that this is how it is supposed to be - we are not at Taize to become scholars, we are at Taize to understand and listen, there is no need to make things more complicated.  At Taize, you experience this religious time at your own pace...which I think is the hardest part.  There are no inspiring sermons, elaborate metaphors, or show-stopping moments - there is silence.  During the silence you must wait and come to your own understandings about God on your own.  

The welcome sign.

I was there at such a beautiful time of year - everything was green and in bloom.

The surroundings look like they came out of a picture book.

Trekking Alone: Paris

Well, I can officially say that I am a big girl now - I planned and went on a trip ALL BY MYSELF.  I left the night of May 7th and returned the morning of May 14th.  I took the night bus to Paris (terrible terrible idea, but I'll get to that later), stayed for one day and one night in Paris, then went to Taize from Thursday to Monday, then went to Paris for and evening, then went back to the Netherlands.  Paris was my stopping over point between the Netherlands and Taize.  Since writing Paris and Taize in one blog post would be overwhelming, I'm going to just write about Paris right now.

So, on Tuesday night, I rode the train to the next town and boarded a night bus to Paris.  It left the Netherlands at midnight and arrived in Paris at 6 am (ouch!).  Sleeping on those busses is impossible...there is so little space.  Also, I was freezing!  After I arrived in Paris, I took the metro to my hostel.  The sentence that you just read seemed ordinary, but it was really an extraordinary sentence - that sentence told you that at 6 am I successfully navigated Paris' metro system AND followed a map to my hostel - this is a big deal.  I stored my backpack at the hostel and freshened up a bit, then I was off to find breakfast.  I wandered around the area that my hostel is in, but I was struggling to find the perfect Parisian cafe...also, it was raining.  I was starting to get frustrated, so I decided to hop on the metro and get off at a more central location in the city.  The stop that I picked was Concorde, and it was the perfect stop.  When I emerged from the metro stop into the cloudy, rainy day, I saw it, I saw the Eiffel Tower.  It was a beacon and a sign, telling me that my day in Paris would be good after all.

First Sighting!

I wandered around the streets a bit until I found a cafe.  Really, I went into the first cafe that I found - I was feeling very done with the rain.  For breakfast, I had a creme coffee and a pan de chocolat (basically a pastry with chocolate in the middle).  I picked an expensive place though - 7.50 for my breakfast - but I was willing to pay to escape the rain.  After breakfast, I walked around a bit in the rain.  My raincoat held up for a while, but then it started to get a little leaky.  At this point, I walked to one of those tourist stands and purchased an overpriced umbrella.  It held up all day long, but I was quite afraid that it would quit on me at any moment.

Walking along Champs-Elysees - there's the Arc de Triomphe in the back!  I never made it to the fancy shops on this road...

The parks are so beautiful!  

There were many tourists around this fountain, so I asked a nice old asian woman to take my photo...it's a little lopsided.

After buying my umbrella, I wandered around Paris some more.  There isn't much to do prior to 10 am while it is raining...  At 10 I went to the steps of the opera house to go on a free walking tour of Paris.  On the tour, there were 5 Canadians and myself.  One of the Canadians was a boy that just finished an exchange in Scotland.  He was also in Paris for only one day and had the same goal as me "see as much as possible" - so we joined forces after the tour and took on Paris together. 

View of Paris from the steps of the Opera - this used to be the cultural center of Paris.

The sun was starting to come out!

We walked from the Louvre, to Notre Dame, and then to the Eiffel Tower.  So so so so much walking, but it was worth it to see Paris!

The sun is starting to peek out!

After walking all the way to the Eiffel Tower (Paris is definitely not a small city) we were feeling pretty tired and hungry.  We had lunch in a creperie near the Eiffel tower - so great!  After that, my Canadian friend had to leave to catch his flight.  We parted ways outside of Musee d'Orsay.  I am so glad that I was able to find a friend to walk around with!  The Musee d'Orsay was wonderful!  I waited for an hour to get in, but while in line I made friends with an older couple from Canada and another couple from Long Island - I suppose that I was feeling rather friendly that day!  The museum is inside of an old train station so it looks really neat on the inside.  While there, I saw SO MANY MONETS, some Van Goghs, and Degas' dancer.  At this point in the afternoon though, I felt like I was close to dying so I didn't even see one quarter of the museum.  I pulled myself together though, and decided to go to the Louvre as well.  Unfortunately, I was there on a holiday, and the Louvre closed early that day.  I did get some great pictures though because the sun came out while I was inside!

Sacre Coeur and Paris.

Casually standing by the Seine.

When trying to take a picture like this, make sure that the tourist you asks speaks english...I didn't think that one through...so my picture isn't quite right - haha!

After my failed attempt at going to the Louvre, I headed back to my hostel.  There, I regrouped and researched a place to have dinner.  I wrote down directions for how to get to the restaurant, and headed on my way.  Somehow, I failed to notice that it was a mile walk to the restaurant...oops.  Also, in typical Emily fashion, I had trouble finding it.  I even sat down at another restaurant!  I left though, because they didn't have any traditionally french meals.  I found my restaurant though in the next five minutes - I was so happy!  For dinner, I had duck confit and a baguette.  It wasn't my favorite meal...but I was in a restaurant that I picked that was in Paris..so I was  happy.  The area of Paris that I was in was lovely - windy cobblestone streets, window boxes, and balconies.  After dinner I walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur (the church on the hill pictured earlier), where there is a lovely view of the city at night.  I stayed there for a bit, but it was 10 o'clock, and I was feeling very done.  With that, my day in Paris came to a close.  I absolutely love Paris, and hope to return again someday.

A Dutch Day: Trains, Bikes, and Tulips

On this most recent sunny Sunday morning, I put on my tennis shoes, filled my backpack with supplies,  grabbed my trusty bicycle, and headed for the train.  Taking your bike on the train is an experience, especially if your bike wobbles a bit when propped up on it's kickstand.  Needless to say, I held on to my bike the whole way.  In Den Haag, I got off the train to go meet my camp friend Kimmi (the one who currently lives in Brussels).  We went in search of a bike for her to rent for the day.  The first time she asked in the rental shop, they told her they didn't have any bikes.  So, we walked around Den Haag for a bit looking for a rental place.  Finally, we headed back to the Central Station, unsuccessful.  Kimmi went back to the bike rental shop again, and asked if someone had turned a bike it.  Miracle of miracles, they found a bike for her to rent - a kid's bike, but it still worked!  Pleased beyond belief, we hopped on the train and headed to Hillegom - tulip country.  

We stepped off the train with grins on our faces that stretched from ear to ear.  You could see the tulip fields from the train station (which is in the middle of nowhere).  With the sun high in the cloudless sky, the wind in our faces, and the scent of flowers filling our noses we mounted our bikes and were off on a 20 mile journey.

Tulip fields right by the train station!

So many so so so many!

The smell of hyacinths is overwhelmingly wonderful.

Silly red ones, what are you doing?

A field of daffodils.

The name of the trail that we loosely followed.

Riding through the tulip fields has been one of my favorite experiences abroad.  Also, I read aloud the directions the whole time, and we never got lost lost once.  This is a huge accomplishment.  Biking beside the tulip fields was truly magical though; I don't think I ever stopped smiling.  The unpredictable Dutch weather was also very kind to us, the sun was always out, the sky was blue, the wind wasn't too awful, and the temperature was perfect.  It was an excellent day that I will remember forever.

Koninginnedag (Queen's Day)

Yesterday, the 30th of April, myself and seven others from my floor donned our orange apparel and headed to Eindhoven via train to celebrate the last Queen's Day for a while.  Queen's Day is a huge celebration of the Queen's birthday, but this Queen's Day, she abdicated her throne to her son - so next year they will celebrate King's Day on April 27th (his birthday).  Needless to say, just like Carnaval, the Dutch did not disappoint on Queen's Day.  We went to Eindhoven to celebrate - it has the second largest celebration I think (Amsterdam is first).  The entire town shuts down, and the streets are filled with people.  There were stages with music and djs set up all around the town.  The night before is a big celebration as well, but we decided to just celebrate during the day.  I was glad that we went to Eindhoven instead of trying to make it to Amsterdam - Eindhoven was so crowded that I can only imagine how crazy Amsterdam would be!  After just one stop on the train to Eindhoven, there was standing room only - thankfully we were the first stop and had seats!  I felt safe during the entire day - there was plenty of security around as well as anti-riot gates around the train station to manage the huge increase of traffic.  There was a lot of trash everywhere though (people weren't allowed to carry cans or bottles of beverages with them.  there were stands though where you could pour your cans into plastic cups for free.  I thought this was a brilliant idea...except there were not enough trashcans around the stations.  If you wanted to play kick the can or spin the bottle though, there were ample materials. ha).  All in all, Queen's Day was a success!

The lads - Reservoir Dogs style.  My camera has an awesome setting where you can isolate one color, so I picked orange for a lot of the photos!

Orange is the official color of the Netherlands.  On the train - yay for seats!

A whole lot of orange!

Group photo!

THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE.

Posing in front of the masses. (I used the orange setting on this picture!)

In case you want to know more about Queen's Day, here is a short video from NPR.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/30/180013890/orange-is-everywhere-as-dutch-welcome-new-king