Updates from Arnhem

The past few days Arnhem has been hit really hard with snow! If you don't have anywhere to be, it's really beautiful! I love walking around outside and seeing everything covered with snow. The downside is that a lot of my friends have been delayed trying to get home for the holidays. Many of them have been stranded in the airports for 2 to 3 days. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that right now, but I do miss my family a lot. Here are some pictures outside of my residence from yesterday morning.

I also wanted to post a picture of something I saw in the grocery store yesterday! I was so excited to see something from Wisconsin.. I never see anything here from home, so I had to take a picture. Of course, it's cranberries! It seems kind of silly, but it made me feel a little bit closer to home. :) I also got a kick out of the "Something Special from Wisconsin" logo in the right hand corner!


After walking around and running some errands yesterday, I had a dinner date with friends! A few of my friends from my Logistics class and I went out to eat downtown. We went to one of my favorite places - Ask De Chef and had all-you-can-eat sushi!! Jessie, Yuxi, Joe, Tayler, and Joe's friend Bryan all came to dinner. We had a lot of fun and so much to eat! It was delicious and we ordered three or four rounds of food. Here are some pictures from dinner.

Tomorrow I am going to Germany, I'll be sure to update you on my travels. Love you!!

XO, Sarah

Amsterdam

On Friday Lauren and I went to Amsterdam for the day to hang out before she left for India on Saturday. We left around 2 in the afternoon excited and ready for a fun day! Little did we know what was ahead of us. There was a lot of snow on Friday, (and by “a lot” I mean barely anything compared to Wisconsin) and it turns out the Dutch don’t have any clue what to do when it snows more than an inch. To be fair, it is unusual for them to have a lot of snow, but the way the city shut down you would’ve thought it was a blizzard. On our way to Amsterdam, several of the trains were delayed, and many of the trains going to Amsterdam were cancelled. We ended up having to transfer twice in Utrecht and Amersfoort, and what should have been an hour and a half ride turned into four and a half.

On the way in, several people told us they had shut down all flights at the airport and that people were stranded until early next week. There were over 100 flights cancelled and since the trains and buses weren’t running, many people had nowhere to go. The airport actually brought cots out for people to sleep in until they could find a flight. It wasn’t looking good for Lauren’s flight the next morning. But we decided to not think about that and just enjoy Amsterdam for the night.

We had planned on going on the Heineken brewery tour, but since we got there so late it wasn’t an option. Instead we walked around the city and enjoyed the scenery. Amsterdam is absolutely beautiful in the snow! There were Christmas lights everywhere and people had built snowmen all around the city. We found a “Winterland” (similar to the Christmas Market in Germany) and went in. There was an ice skating rink so we went skating too which was really great! After ice skating we started getting tired so we made our way back to the hotel. Our hotel was really beautiful and it was decorated so nicely for the holidays. Our room had a great big bath tub so I got to relax a little after our hectic day.

After a good night’s sleep, Lauren and I got up this morning to check her flight status-hoping for the best! Her flight was still on time so we made our way to the airport. Schiphol airport  was packed with very stress and angry people so it was a very hectic time again this morning. After a few hours, Lauren got to check in and we said goodbye. Even though I will see her in a few weeks, I was very sad to see Lauren go. Arnhem just isn’t the same without her! After leaving the airport I walked around Amsterdam for a few hours and came back on an afternoon train. Thankfully the trains were operating somewhat regularly so I didn’t have to wait as long as yesterday.

Even with the crazy Dutch transportation it was an excellent weekend in Amsterdam. It’s also  the last weekend I will have there! I’ll be home in less than a month :) Hope your weekend was wonderful! Love and miss you all

XO, Sarah

Done with School!

Well I am officially done with classes in Arnhem! I’m SO happy to be done especially after this week. I had 2 papers and 4 presentations due within the last 6 days – it was so much work. I ended up getting A’s in all of my classes so Mom & Dad can be proud :) Now that class is done I will be traveling for the next month. I’m going to Germany on the 22^nd to stay with friends for Christmas. After that I’m heading to Berlin for New Year’s Eve to meet up with my friends from Arnhem. Then I have to come back and take an exam for Dutch on the 3^rd. After my test I am leaving for Paris for 4 days!! I can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower! From Paris I am flying to Morocco and staying there until the 13^th. On the 13^th I’m heading back to Arnhem and then leaving for Wisconsin on the 15^th. I’m so excited to be home!! Can’t wait to update you on my Christmas and traveling adventures. 

Love you! XO Sarah

Christmas Market in Germany

Saturday we went to a Christmas market in Oberhausen, Germany. JoDee and her boyfriend Erwin picked Lauren and I up at 9:30 and we headed to the market. Christmas markets originated in Germany, but now have spread to lots of other countries in Europe. But Germany still has the best ones! Here's a picture from the car as we were leaving the Netherlands and heading to Germany!

When we got to Germany, we walked through the shopping mall before going to the market. It was decorated beautifully for Christmas! There were hundreds of wreaths, trees, garland and lights everywhere! Once we got to the other side, we walked outside into the Christmas market. The market basically had a bunch of little stands with food or gifts in. There were ornaments, wood carvings, blown glass, and a lot more. There were also a lot of food stands. We saw tons of bratwurst of course, but also a lot of stands had grilled mushrooms.

However, our first stop was for Glühwein (mulled wine). It's a delicious hot drink that's common in Germany! Here I am drinking the Glühwein in the market. We got to keep the cute mug too :) After drinking our wine, we walked around the market for a while and looked at all the handmade products. I picked up some great ornaments to bring home. Below you can see a picture of the market and some of the stalls. It looks even more beautiful at night!




After looking around and having a bratwurst at the market, we went back into the mall and shopped there for a while. Around 3 we decided it was time to leave, and when we got outside we had a nice surprise - it was snowing! Seeing the snow really completed our perfect day in Germany and helped get me in the Christmas spirit. I'll also be spending Christmas in Germany, so I hope to visit another christmas market before I leave. I heard they're even more beautiful at night!


Hope you all had a great weekend!

XO Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving! How was your Turkey day? Mine was quite interesting being in Europe for Thanksgiving instead of at home. I sure missed seeing my family and eating Mom's DELICIOUS stuffing :) Let me tell you about mine. I spent my day with my American friends (2 Canadians and 1 Australian too!) and we went over to Joe's and Tayler's to cook dinner. None of us have an oven so Turkey was out of the question.. But Tayler made a delicious pot of chili, Tad made homemade chicken soup, the girls brought mashed potatoes, and Lauren and I brought rolls and dessert!  Here Tayler is making dinner.. Thanks Tayler! :)

Here are some more pictures from the night. The first is all of the girls, the second is the chili, soup, and mashed potatoes. The third is us eating the dessert!

I had so much to be thankful for this year.  I tried uploading a video of me saying what I was thankful for, but it didn't work so I'll just write them here :). First I'm thankful for God for sending me SO many blessings this year and for keeping my friends and family in good health - as long as I have them I am happy! My parents and brother Tom, I don't think I could ever say how grateful I am to have them in my life, my best friends, my new friends, my amazing aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., Holly and Cameron for video chatting me (I love you!), and finally I am thankful for this amazing experience and all of you that helped me get here! Thanks for your support and love!

Missing you!

XO Sarah

Sight-seeing (September 20)

A few weeks ago in Dutch class we visited a windmill and a cheese shop! I LOVE cheese so I was really happy to learn how the cheese is made and taste the samples! All of it was delicious. Here are some pictures of me in the shop. The giant cheese was SO heavy! Next are pictures from the windmill. The first is Lauren and I in front of the door to the windmill. The second is me standing outside of the windmill where the blades spin. It was a nice view of Arnhem from up there!

My Weekend in Leiden

This past weekend I went to Leiden in The Netherlands to visit the city. One of our friends told us it was a "really cute" city so Lauren and I decided to take a trip there and see for ourselves!  Above is a map of the Netherlands where you can see my city Arnhem and Leiden as well. 

We left on a train at 6 pm on Friday and arrived in Leiden around 8. We stayed with two friends Tommy and Jordan who lived right in the main shopping district of the city. Their flat was so great and they were very accommodating. Friday night we decided to stay in because we were really tired, but then three Polish people arrived so we decided to stay up and chat with them. It ended up being really fun and we got to learn about each other's culture and also share a few drinks. Turns out the Polish really enjoy their vodka! Here is a picture of Lauren and I with our new Polish friends.

On Saturday we got up and our new friend Pete made us all breakfast! He was Hungarian - I'm not sure if the dish was from Hungary as well, but it was really delicious! After breakfast we went to the general market in Leiden which was amazing. They had fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, meat, fish, bread, flowers, clothing and tons of other stuff! We walked around the market for a long time and it was so much fun. I tasted a few different cheeses, including Wasabi cheese which was green and absolutely awful tasting. 

After the market we visited a windmill and took a tour of it. The Dutch operated windmills (and lived in them) and used them to grind flour, pump water out of low lands, and many other things. The mill we toured was really tall and we had to climb 8 sets of stairs - scary ones - to finally get to the top. About 2/3 of the way up we got to go out and walk around on the windmill and saw a beautiful view of the city.

After that we took a canal tour of the city and saw a few landmarks. The canals in the Netherlands are breathtaking and a wonderful way to sight see. We were hungry after the canal tour so we ate at a Pancake House where we had some traditional Dutch pancakes. The pancakes there are different than what you find in the U.S. The batter isn't as sweet and there are a bunch of different ingredients added to it. Mine was bacon, mushrooms, onions, and cheese and it was HUGE! It took up the size of a very large plate and was really tasty. I'm definitely going to keep ordering those! 

Saturday night it was Jordan's birthday and he had a big party at the flat. There were people from everywhere - Poland, France, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Taiwan and more! I made a ton of new friends and had a great time. Here is a picture of me singing karaoke at the party and the French guys behind enjoying the tunes! After the party we went to a local bar in Leiden to keep celebrating and we met even more people. We got to dance a lot and listen to some great music too. Here is a picture of us and Jordan the birthday boy. Lucky guy! :-P

Overall our weekend was absolutely perfect! I had an amazing experience and it was so much fun to meet people from all over the world. I can't wait to go back again! And now we are planning to visit our new friends in Paris and Poland! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well! 

XO Sarah

My city - Arnhem

Yesterday I went to the city center to run a few errands and ended up walking around for a while and getting some great pictures. I wanted to show you what my cute city looks like :) Arnhem is the capital city of the province of Gelderland in the Eastern part of the Netherlands. Its name was derived from the Dutch word meaning "home of the Eagles" because there used to be many eagles in the forests of Arnhem. Now the metropolitan city has around 150,000 residents. The picture on the left is Eiusebius Church in Arnhem. It's under construction right now which is why you can see all the scaffolds up around the tower. Near the church is this large fountain which is in the picture on the right.

As I was walking around the city I found this small park. It had a few statues and some beautiful landscaping. It would be a great place to spend an afternoon. There was a bike path through the center of the park. Looking into the city there were great views of buildings along the road. Here are some pictures of what I saw. 

This is me on a bench in the park in Arnhem!

This weekend Lauren and I are heading to the city of Leiden for some more adventures in the Netherlands. Can't wait to tell all about it!

XO Sarah

Weekend in Amsterdam

This weekend Lauren and I traveled to Amsterdam for Openmonumentdag (Open monument day). Openmonumentdag is two days a year every September when many museums and other monuments are free for the public in Amsterdam. We packed our things for a day trip and took the train from Arnhem to Amsterdam. It was about an hour long and we arrived in Amsterdam at 11:30 am. We were starving when we got into the city so our first stop was a restaurant. We ate at the "Wok to Walk" which is a chain of restaurants all over the world. The concept is that you pick your own type of noodles or rice, a sauce, and meat, and then the chef cooks it for you. It was delicious and didn't cost too much!

After eating, our first stop was St Nicolaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church). The church is recognized for its two large towers on the outside and also a very dark interior. The church also holds the crown of Maximilian, which is a symbol for the city. Maximilian came to Amsterdam in the fifteenth century and stayed to recover from an illness. "The burghers (middle class) funded many of his military expeditions and in return he let the city use his crown in its coat of arms." The church was very unique on the inside, and I have never seen such a dark interior in a church before. It was very black, yet beautiful.

Our next destination was the van Gogh museum. On the way there we stopped at a beautiful garden in the Rijksmuseum and also found some delicious ice cream! Once we arrived, we picked up a pamphlet for our self-guided tour and started making our way around the VERY large museum. The museum was built by van Gogh's nephew after his death. In case you don't know, Vincent van Gogh is a famous Dutch artist known for his unique painting style. He was only an artist for 10 years, mostly self-taught, and his work started at average sketches and developed into incredible masterpieces in that short period of time. Unfortunately he was very depressed and shot himself in 1890. Van Gogh's story was very interesting and also dramatic. It was cool to read about his life and see the paintings as they developed. His oil paintings were absolutely amazing up close. They look almost glittery in the light. My favorite painting was a self-portrait of van Gogh.

After van Gogh, we went to the Anne Frank Huis. This is the factory where Anne and her family hid out for two years during the War, and where she wrote her many diary entries. It was incredible to see the actual building where the family lived. It helped me to understand the Holocaust better and its effects on the Jews. The experience was amazing, yet sombering. I'd like to read the Anne Frank story again now that I've seen where she had written her story. If you ever get the chance, please go visit this. It was very moving!

We left the Anne Frank Huis around 10 pm and we were exhausted from a long day of walking the city. We took a bus back to Arnhem and got home around Midnight. The trip was great and I can't wait to go back again. The next time we are there we want to take a canal tour of the city and visit Madame Tussaud's wax museum! I posted some pictures below so you can see the fun we had :)

XOXO Sarah

My Birthday in Arnhem

Today I turned 22 in Arnhem! My birthday started when I got a surprise at midnight when my friends came to sing Happy Birthday to me. There were even balloons on my door :) After some much needed sleep, Lauren cooked breakfast for me this morning (French toast and eggs!) and also bought me flowers. It was so wonderful and even though it rained, my morning was perfect. I had class until 3 today, and after that we went to dinner at one of our favorite places in town. The restaurant is called Ask De Chef and it's Asian cuisine with a really great atmosphere - it's decorated in hot pink and black. After dinner about 15 of us hung out downstairs and played card games and had a few drinks. Lauren bought me a chocolate mousse cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday again. My friends here are so great and Lauren really made the day special for me. The only thing that would've made it better is if my friends and family were here from home, but I was thinking of you all.

This weekend we are keeping the celebration going by heading to Amsterdam. It's also 'Open Monuments' weekend which means there is free admission to monuments throughout the Netherlands! I will be sure to take lots of pictures and update you.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! Love and miss you

XO Sarah

First Day of School

Today was my first day of class at the HAN Business School in Arnhem! I had one class from 8:45 - 12:00 and it was Dutch Culture and Language. Obviously classes here are very different from the U.S. since I only have each class once in a week, but it is 3 to 4 hours long. I got to speak some Dutch today and learn very basic phrases. They make a lot of noises with their throats which is a difficult sound for me to make. Still need some practice!


After class Lauren and I went with some friends to the city center to walk around and get dinner. The center is about a 10 minute bus ride away and it has tons of shopping, restaurants and bars. We've been going there a lot to hang out and for the nightlife on the weekends. Today we were really looking forward to getting ice cream there - but it was closed after dinner! We've been on a mission to find good ice cream so we plan on going there tomorrow to try again. Tomorrow I have class from 12:45 to 5:30 - Business to Business Marketing. Four hours of the same class might be rough.. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Off to bed now. Good night!

XO Sarah

Traveling

Hello from Arnhem! Sorry I haven't updated for a while, it's been a busy week! After our 8 1/2 hour flight from Chicago, we made it to Amsterdam around 6 am. I had originally planned on sleeping on the plane, but our plane had personal tv screens in every seat so I ended up watching movies! :) Once we got to Amsterdam, we walked around the city for the day and spent the night in a hostel. We needed a nap after all that traveling, not to mention lugging around 130 lbs of luggage. After that, we got to experience a (small) part of what Amsterdam has to offer for nightlife.

The next day we set off for Arnhem and it was another very long day of traveling. We took a train from Amsterdam to Arnhem, but there was construction at the station so we had to take a bus from that train to another train station. Then we waited for about 4 hours in a train station for our "shuttle" (a small car) to come pick us up and bring us to the school. That day was pretty awful! However, getting here made it all worth it :)

That's all for now, I'll update you all later today on my events from this week! Love and miss you!

XO Sarah

Doei! (Goodbye!)

Well, it's one of my last nights in Green Bay and I am reflecting on the fun I had this week with my best friends and family, and feeling truly blessed. Preparing to leave for 5 months really helps you appreciate all the time you get to spend before you're gone.

I just want to say thank you to everyone in my life for wishing me well and being supportive of my trip. I am so grateful for all of you! To Mom, Dad, Tom, my best friends Rachel and Holly, Kevin, Lorena, Great Uncle Bob and all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc. you have each helped me get here and I'm glad I can share all of my excitement with you! I will miss you so much while I'm gone. January will come before you know it and I'll be back home again sharing memories of the trip.

My plane leaves Tuesday at 4:20 PM so the next post you will see will be from Amsterdam! Eight and a half hours on the plane will give me lots of time to think of you all :)

Love, Sarah

WOW I can't believe I leave 2 weeks from today! The time is flying by and I'm trying to make the most of every day I have left in the States :) I'm still in Whitewater right now, but I'm excited to be done with work and make it back home to see my family & friends in Green Bay. I can't believe I won't be here for my Mom's birthday or Cameron's birthday! :( But I'll be wishing them lots of love from the Netherlands.

In other news, I've been reading up on the Netherlands in my guide book and it looks so beautiful there. I'm also trying to learn Dutch, but I'm still waiting for my "Dutch for Dummies" book to come. I'm hoping to learn some before I go. I've read basic words already, but I have NO clue how to pronounce anything! If any of you know how to pronounce these words - let me know ;)

XO Sarah

Hello: Hallo
Goodbye: Tot ziens
Nice to meet you: Aangenaam
Thank you: Dank u wel

Housing

Update on housing! I will be living at "Honigkamp 2 K.011, 6826 PN ARNHEM." You probably have no idea what that means (as I didn't), so I'll explain. The first line, "Honigkamp 2" is the street and street number of my residence. "K.011" is probably my room number. "6826 PN" is a postal (zip) code. Arnhem is the city!


Although Lauren and I requested to live together, they didn't have any double rooms left for us. We are each in single rooms with our own toilets, and we share living spaces (kitchen, living area, shower) with 7 other people. Lauren is one floor above me! The rooms are similar to dorm rooms here, but we will be living alone.

Here's a link of what my room will probably look like.

My room is the first type of housing, labeled "1. Student hostel ‘de Honigkamp’"

Click here > http://www.vivare.nl/international_students/types_of_housing.aspx

Studying Abroad

Thanks for visiting my blog! I'll be in the Netherlands for 5 months this semester, August 17th-January 15th, and I'll be studying business at HAN University in Arnhem.

I'm so glad I can share this experience with my friends and family. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my experiences and travels throughout the rest of the year. I'll try to post pictures and blog entries as much as possible :) Feel free to keep in touch by leaving comments on my blog or e-mailing me at herlachesk07@uww.edu.

I can't believe my plane will be leaving Chicago in just 27 days~! I will love and miss all of you!

XO, Sarah