The Netherlands day 1 & 2

Day one

After sleeping for a solid 13 hours, we hung out around our cabin, ate Dutch goodies, and went for a short bike ride to a castle! We kept it pretty simple, since we were all still exhausted.

Audrey Hepburn's grandmother used to own this castle, and after that the last German Kaiser lived there!

We explored the grounds, and found this super cool horse made out of logs and twigs! Epic, right? 

On the ride back we admired the houses. Pretty much every single house is photogenic and gorgeous. It's ridiculous.

Day Two

April 4th

I started out feeling restless, bored and ready to go do something. And also missing the internet.

 So I ate and photographed vla. :) 

Vla is an amazing subtly sweet yoghurty pudding that is rather hard to explain, but is delicious. Why can't we have it in America, I ask you??

Sis and I took a short walk in the woods by our cabin, just to get out.

And then in the afternoon we went for our first big adventure!
Bus ride to Utrecht Centraal Station, train to Amsterdam!

 Waiting at the bushalte. (Bus stop)

It was so strange, just sitting on the bus and hearing all the passengers chatting in a different language. I knew everyone would be speaking Dutch, but somehow it was still a surprise when ... well, everyone was speaking Dutch! 

On the train I had my first thought in Dutch. It was weird, but I was kind of impressed with myself. ;)

Amsterdam! 

Waves of people, tsunamis of bikes.

Notice the special path just for bikes? Yes. Wherever there's a road, there's a bike path. It's awesome.

Trams, buses, people, mounted police, bikers, mopeds, cars! It's seriously a wonder we didn't get run over by one thing or another.

It was super interesting just wandering around the city. Crooked buildings, yarn bombing, cheese shops ... you name it! 

Dam Square:

This is my mom in front of the entrance to the first prison in Holland.

It is now the entrance to a shopping mall.

At first it seems a bit weird that such cool history should be made into a shopping mall. But really, when almost every single building you pass has incredible old architecture and an interesting history, there comes a point when it doesn't seem quite as novel or ... sacred, or something.

It's strange to be surrounded by so much history that you start passing it by without a second thought.

Cobbled streets. Love.

After a lot of walking, we had a picnic in the garden outside the Rijks Museum.

"Can we all just take a moment," I said, "to realize that we are eating cheese sandwiches in Amsterdam?!"

I had a lot of those moments that day. Moments where I just wanted to stop and exclaim, "We are really here!!" or some other such obvious nonsense. 

And then we went into the museum! We saw Rembrandt and Vermeer, among others. My favorite was the Milkmaid, or "Het Melkmeisje". The colors were so intense and the lighting was amazing in person! It almost had a 3D effect.

The Night Watch. And yes, that's me in front. :)

The painting is massive. The people in it seem to be real figures standing there in a spotlight, the shadows really receding. Incredible.

And then we walked around the city some more.

A few weeks before we came to the Netherlands, I had seen a photo of a canal with tall buildings lining it, and a bridge covered in bikes. And I thought, "I'm gonna be there soon."

And then boom! 

I was remembering that moment, and marveling, because ... there I was.

Tiny streets.

It was a full and wonderful day. On the train ride back, Sis took this photo of my reflection in the window.

Tired, and so happy.

More adventures await...

Where have I been? Oh, on an adventure.

The last two and a half weeks have been glorious, exhausting, adventurous, exciting, mind-boggling, and absolutely fantastic.

I have been to the Netherlands and back.

I can barely believe it myself. I feel like I've only been gone for a few days, and yet I feel as if I've been gone for months. So much has happened! 

And now, through blogging, I can re-live the adventure while sharing it with you!!

____

Sunday, April 1^st 2012

8:00 a.m. Wake up for church.

10:15 a.m. Sneak out of church early to get ready for the trip.

11:15 a.m. Our ride arrives. Thanks, guys!!

11:45 a.m. Arrive at airport. Suitcases rumbling behind us, the automatic doors whoosh open. This is it! The beginning of our big adventure.

1:09 p.m. The flight to Minneapolis begins! The plane begins jouncing on the runway, taxiing out. We turn a corner, and speed up! I’m pushed back into my seat, the whine of the engine intensifies. Faster , faster, faster! And suddenly *lift*!  Plane tilts, stomach drops, and I grin madly. 

2:00 p.m. Minneapolis! 

Now for the 7 hour layover …

We wandered around the airport, doing all kinds of ridiculous things to kill time.

Like riding the tram back and forth a zillion times.

Yes, we are dorks.
Whatever.

Bird watching (?).

Trying on hats.

Riding the walkways.

Trying to snooze.

And finally, after a minor exhaustion and hunger-induced meltdown (which was cured by Chinese food), we got to board the big plane! 

8:00 p.m. Minneapolis time

4:00 a.m. Amsterdam time

Same grin-making stomach-dropping excitement as the plane rushes madly into the air.

Goodbye USA!

Midnight our time

4:00 a.m. Greenland time

7:00 a.m. Amsterdam time

My sister rouses me from my futile attempt at sleeping; there are Northern lights out! We’re over the ocean near Greenland.

We are 37,728 feet above the mighty waves of the ocean. Dim clouds float in the dark, thousands of feet below us. Outside the plane it is -69 degrees Fahrenheit. The cold creeps through the tiny window and cools my fingers pressed eagerly against glass. Northern lights play among the stars, vibrant green fading into black. The light on the one visible plane wing blinks silent red. Engine roars constant. People try to sleep in the dimmed plane interior, restless, warm, stiff. Babies cry, people murmur, unaware of the hushed magic outside. I gaze at the Northern lights, Aurora Borealis, my neck craned uncomfortably.

Aurora and quiet stars, seen above the clouds in the unlikely everyday miracle of a plane, on the way to Amsterdam. I thank God quietly; the perfection is overwhelming and aches of beauty. 

1:00 a.m. our time

8:00 a.m. Amsterdam time

The sun starts rising 6 hours after it set. Magic is happening this day.

Through holes in the clouds we see the ocean, mighty waves appear as pin-sized wrinkles. 

We are approaching Holland!

Tulip fields in bloom.

Canals everywhere.

4:30 a.m. our time

11:30 a.m. Amsterdam time

We land!  This still seems unreal. But we’re really here! I can tell, because as we taxi in I see a billboard. It’s in Dutch.

Notice the Dutch flag!

5:00 a.m. our time

12:00 p.m. Amsterdam time

We pick up our suitcases and rumble them through Schipol airport. My teeth chatter with sleep-deprivation, excitement and nerves. I'm about to meet my dad's brother and sister, who I haven't seen for 10 years! 

This is so strange. I know them, my aunt and uncle, and yet I know them not at all. Aunt gives me a hug, and Uncle greets me in true Dutch style. Kiss left cheek, right cheek, and left again. 

Welcome to Holland!

11:00 a.m. Monday April 2^nd our time

6:00 p.m. Monday April 2^nd Amsterdam time

27 hours awake. By this time we were all going loopy. I stood up to go outside and stumbled.

“Did the house just move, or is it just me?!” I yell.

Mom: “It’s just you.”

“OK, just checking.”

Then we went out to eat with my aunt, her new husband and his little daughter, Zoe. More wonderful family, not yet truly known.

By the time we got back to our cabin we had gone a full 30 hours without sleep. We went to bed at 9:00 p.m. Amsterdam time. Two in the afternoon our time.

I found out some very interesting things about 30 hrs sleeplessness. It is rather like being drugged …

For one, it makes you high. My sis made me do the “drunk test” by trying to walk a straight line. I nearly fell over. Twice.

And everything seemed hilarious. We were giggling rather dopily at everything, and couldn’t seem to stop! Which of course … we thought was highly hilarious.

And secondly, Thirty Hours No Sleep (as I’m calling this new drug) works as a wonderful sedative.

Cures sleep apnea, no problem! Take this drug, and 13 hours deep sleep is a cinch! You’ll sleep so hard it’s a miracle if you don’t stop breathing, never to wake again! Yes folks, this is the wonder drug of the century. Take it now, be happy and sleep well!!

*Cough*

Sorry. I think I’m still a little loopy …

Pardon me while I go headdesk something.

So there we were. In the Netherlands. Mind boggling and glorious.

Long post. More later. Expect millions of pictures.

:)

A little cute for your day.

This is what happens when we get french fries and the dog is in the car ...

The lady at the drive through was right; those big brown doggy eyes are irresistible. You have to share.

::lately::

Little gifts that have been making me happy lately:

Laying on the floor at my dance studio and feeling it throb with dancers' feet.

A row of newly washed Converse.

 Dirty toes and knees, signs of spring.

Spring green creeping over weeping willow tree.

Staying out til 12:30 with a group of friends.

Reading The Return of the King.

A Sunday nap.

Cheeks that lift softly so you know the person is smiling, even from behind.

Watching Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers and feeling all nostalgic, remembering watching them years ago at my grandparent's lake house. :)

These lyrics:

Hot knefla soup on a cold day.

Ballet lifts.

A stranger asking if me and my sis are twins. O_o

Ummm ...
We're 11 years apart.
LOL!
Totally made my week. :D

Good hair days.

Trader Joe's gummy bears.

Reading through old journals.

Brown eyes.

Laughing so hard in ballet class I couldn't dance properly.

Waking up in the middle of the night to the CRACK! KABOOOMMM!!! of thunder. Panting, heart racing adrenaline. And then laughing out loud. :)

Goodness, I love thunder. Even when it skeers me half to death!

Rain clouds, layered shades of grey.
Flock of birds swoop black against rain-filled sky.

Wind.

A robin's feathers ruffled.

Pine boughs lift and sway heavily.

A friend calling me her "little ladybug". :)

And this video.
Makes me ridiculously happy every time I watch it.

What about you? What's been making you happy lately?

Just another ordinary miracle

Yesterday something miraculous happened to me.

My sight is really, really good for close up things. I can read without glasses. But when anything is more than 5 feet away, it starts looking like this. Blurry blurry:

This is my sight with glasses. Clear, but with the frames always in my peripheral vision, and smudges always on the lenses. I feel like I'm behind a window, not really in the world somehow.

And yesterday, my sight:

I got contacts! :)

It's magical. Everything is so clear and happy.

It reminded me of this Bible passage:

Mark 8: 22-25

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”  He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

I feel like I appreciate that story much more now. The value of seeing clearly is something people take  so so much for granted. 

If someone born blind can finally see, we call it a miracle.

But why would that be so much more of a miracle than the fact that any of us can see at all??

We couldn't see, before we existed. And now we can. 

I'd call that miraculous...

See that little blue line? That's the edge of my contact, a macro shot. That little tiny piece of gel is where my magic happens.

Which brings me to another thought. What kind of {brilliant} dummy came up with the first contacts anyway?? 

"Look, Mom! See this piece of glass? I'm gonna stick it IN my eye, and I'll be able to see!!"

Ummm ... sure kid. Whatever.

I'm sure it didn't happen at all like that, but hey. That's how it goes in my head. ;)

And ALSO {Sheepers, these contacts made me think of a lot of stuff!} this is a good song. And methinks it applies.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

-Albert Einstein