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