We're Leaving...on a Jet Plane...

Hey All!! This is my last blog entry because we are now at the end of our Holland journey! We leave Monday morning at 6 a.m. to get to a train...which will take up to the airport...and two flights later we will be in Buffalo! We are very excited to go home and actually just spent the last couple of hours talking about what we will miss and what we won't miss about Holland. So le'ts break it down:

What we won't miss:

Bells. Every hour, every half hour, every minute of the day there is a melody of the Carrilon bells in the Nieuwe Kerk. Even when you try to take a nap... Bells.

Odd toliets. We have had our fair share of odd toliets including pull chains, buttons in the wall, and slow filling tanks that won't allow you to flush as often as you would like.

Narrow streets with certains directions we can ride our bikes on...we are often looked at as dumb tourists since we are seen going the wrong way more often than not.

Not being our cell phones.

Strange hairstyles. The mullet is all the rage in Holland.

Language barrier. We have a feeling people make fun of us...and we laugh along with them.

Fish markets. Oh, the smell....

Odd showers...we can't wait to shower at home!



What we will miss:

Flower market on Thursday and Saturday.

Beautiful skies with large puffy clouds.

Acres and Acres of open land with cows and horses grazing.

Riding our bikes everywhere...its much more relaxing than you think.

Travelling to cities we've never been to before.

Seeing century old buildings that we don't have at home and really understanding History.

Calm, relaxing Delft.

Clean air and environment friendly travelling.

Beautiful, spacious canals.

Eating pancakes for dinner and stroopenwaffels for dessert.

Dutch dairy. The cows are so happy here and we believe this helps produce the most amazing cheese, milk, yogurt, and ice cream.... we've had the best here so it's going to be hard to go back to what we used to know...


Well, that's all we can think of for now. We are pretty tired from the long day of anticipation for our flight. Everything is packed and ready to go and we will arrive in Buffalo around 5:30! Give us a call if you'd like...we'll be able to answer our phones!
Please wish us luck and pray for our safe trip home!!

Love Always,
Miranda and Bre.

Rotterdam & Kinderdijk

Rotterdam is very different from all the cities in Europe because it's very "new." It was the only city that was bombed during World War II and the message was loud and clear. All the other cities surrendered and because of that they still have their rich history with historic landmarks. Rotterdam was rebuilt from the ground up...literally. Construction seems to be going on all the time there, as well. While walking out of the train station to get on a tram we noticed the construction was putting us through a maze. Even later on the way back we got off the tram too soon because the construction looked familiar. Whoops. Although it is very beautiful with its vast waters and bridges.
Today we travelled to Rotterdam and took a boat to Kinderdijk, Child's dyke, and we spent an hour in the land of windmills. Bre mentioned she felt like she was in a painting. It was rather cute. We walked along the 2 mile trail and I took a lot of pictures. Even though all the windmills were the same, I still felt their positions and surroundings were different. Plus, I love the take pictures...if you couldn't tell by the 400+ I've already taken.

Our adventure is coming to an end. We leave on Monday, August 18th and will arrive in Buffalo around 5:30. This brings about mixed feelings for both of us. We are incredibly grateful to Kendra and Dave for this experience, without them, we could not have been here. We enjoyed and loved our stay here in Delft. We did more travelling in half a summer than I have done in my entire life and were able to see a million new things. Bre loved Amsterdam and I loved Bruges...and we both loved Den Haag. We've been to 8 cities in the Netherlands and 4 cities in Belgium all in 5 weeks! It was incredible to see the things we've seen. Actually, incredible isn't the word for it but I can't think of a better one. Amazing? Once in a lifetime experience? You get the idea.

On the other hand, we are both very tired from all the travelling and miss our friends and families. We have started counting down the days until we can hug our parents again and go out with our best friends...and when I can see Aaron. We miss you all and can't wait to be home! The next blog we plan on posting is what we will miss about Holland...and what we won't miss. So stay tuned..the adventure is not over yet!

Here is the link to the pictures I took this week:
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Bicycle Journey

Bre and I set out today for a nice, relaxing bicycle ride. We headed for the Delftse Hout since they have some amazing trails all around the property. We started on a few short trails and ended up wanting to take on the bigger trails. Here are few pictures from the two hours we spent on our bikes:

Beautiful Belgium

Wow. What a trip! We were so impressed with how beautiful the weather was in Belgium and overall how beautiful Belgium was! On the train there we passed by acres and acres of open land with cows grazing over bright green grass, large houses off in the distances with smoke billowing from the chimney, all of this under a vast blue sky with white puffy clouds. It was truely beautiful and amazing at the same time. It took us three trains to get to Bruges, Belgium. We started in Delft and got off at Rotterdam. We switched to an international train two Antwerpen, Belgium. Once there, our last train was to Bruges. In Bruges, our Bed and Breakfast host was ready and waiting at the train station for our arrival. He greeted us with a smile and DROVE us to the B&B! This is the second time we have been in an actual car this entire trip (the last one was a taxi in Amsterdam that Heimrich hailed for us). So, it was nice to sit in a comfortable seat that wasn't a train, tram, bus, or bicycle.

Once we arrived at our B&B we were so happy to feel right at home. Another couple was staying in the house as well and we exchanged hello's before unpacking our things. Bre and I stayed in the "Safari Room." We think it's only called the Safari room because of the cheetah print bedspred. However, it was very cute and relaxing. After we got situated we walked the 2km walk to the centre of Bruges. It was so weird to be walking a long a busy intersection with cars, not bicycles. When we did arrive at the heart of Bruges, I was so happy! Here's the thing, Aaron rented a movie called In Bruges before I left for Holland and I fell in love with how beautiful Bruges looked. It looked a fairy tale and since most of it took place at night I wasn't sure if I would be able to see the city the way the movie portrayed it. It was so beautiful!!! Everything, just how it was in the movie...like a fairy tale. Bre loved it as well. We stopped by the tower and considered climbing the 395 steps...and then decided against it. We sat on a set of stairs in a beautiful park outside of a church. When we went into the church we couldn't help but overhear the most beautiful harp music. After making our way to the back of the church we discovered it was a harp concert. This man played the harp so delicately and classically that I can't even put into words how it moved me. I could have watched him for hours.

Combined with the beauty of the church it was amazing. Inside this church was the only Michelangelo sculpture to ever leave Italy, the Madonna and Child. It was blocked by an alter and covered with glass...so getting a great picture of it was almost impossible. We entered another church, The Basilica of The Holy Blood. Legend has it that this church houses and protects a vial of blood of Jesus Christ from his crucifiction. When you enter the church you will see statues and seperate alters. On the far right of the church there is a stage. On this stage, a Priest sits with the vial covered with glass. You can walk up the stairs and get very close to it. He told us we could touch the outside of the vial. I cried, but I wouldn't let Bre see it. She was more freaked out by it. I was amazed... and shocked ... and amazed. This trip has brought me so much closer to God that I could have ever imagined. it's incredible. From there, we walked the city again, marvelled at its beauty and strolled over the the Lake of Love, also known as Minnewater. It's a large lake surrounded by a peaceful park. We sat down on a bench and took in the beauty of the bridge over it and the buildings around it. The sky was also filled with large puffy white clouds with the sun shining through them. Relaxing.

When we arrived back to the B&B, Andre, our host, told us that we must go out for a Belgium Beer. He gave us ideas of what to order, how to get to the closest pub, and even told us if we couldn't make it home he would come pick us up! How sweet! We walked a little ways to a pub that seemed a little funny to us but we went in anyway. When we went to order, the women behind the bar laughed at me, I guess she thought I was Dutch when I walked in because of my Blonde hair...but then I spoke. We got the local favorite, Jupiler, which was the best beer I have ever had in my life. I have never, ever liked beer as much as this particular kind. I was so impressed...and I couldn't wait to tell Rachel and Aaron!! And yes, Ryan, you were right Belgian Beer is amazing and you have every right to miss it dearly!! Bre just thought it tasted like any other beer... but I could taste a large, very sweet, difference. After a beer, we went back to the B&B and showered. Since there were people downstairs, I thought I would go and mingle. Andre was hanging out with the German couple we met earlier, Sylvia and Frank. They were very sweet and offered me some chocolate. Andre said he was waiting for an Italian couple that were checking in tonight. I want you to picture this. I'm sitting on the couch, my hair is wet, in my pajamas, no makeup...I looked exhausted as well. Who should walk into the house but three, not two, but three very handsome Italian men. Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I wasn't embarassed. After Bre got out of the shower she heard me downstairs talking to everyone and came down...looking just as I was...and turned around and walked back upstairs. She had to compose herself before these men saw her. When the guys went upstairs to get their stuff setteled in Andre told us we should go get dressed up and hit the town with them. Bre and I looked at each other and said...."um, no." We were already embarassed we didn't need to poke it even more. We spent the rest of the night playing, "try to guess the word Sylvia is trying to say in English." We had a lot of fun even though our German friends spoke broken English and we had to speak slow. They showed us pictures of their kids and their home. They were very sweet and we stayed up with them until midnight. That's when Bre and I had to call it a night.

Our bed was so comfortable and we fell asleep almost immediately...

Here is a link to all the pictures I took in Bruges,
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The next morning we woke up and boarded a train to Ghent. I have heard wonderful things about Ghent so I was very excited to see what this fairy tale city had to offer. Sint-Michiels brige was the first stop as recommended by Ryan. And yes, Ryan, you are right. It was breathtakingly gorgeous! Although, pictures didn't do it justice...I think this one is pretty close.

The next stop was Gravensteen, the castle that once was home to the Count of Flanders. It's mostly original but was fully restored in the 1990's to it's true form. This castle had it all; torture rooms, dungeons, a moat, and towers. The only thing missing was a dragon. We overheard a little girl telling her mom, "And that's where the dragon lived..."

I was mainly impressed at the thought of being in a real castle! The view of the city was also really nice and we stayed in the castle for a few hours. Bre had fun pretending to shoot people with imaginary arrows.

Once we had done everything we wanted to do in Ghent we decided to go to Brussels. Take the train ride with us.

We thought it was pretty cool that we were going to see two cities in one day. That was until we got off the train and found ourselves in a train station that looked shady, dirty, and dangerous. After Bre made a comment about it being like New York we heard sirens go off in the distance. Then outside there were masses of people. People people people everywhere!! It was sheer craziness! The map we had did us no good and we were pretty much lost the entire time. We managaed to see Mannekin Pis, a statue of a boy peeing, as well as Jannekine Pis, a statue of a girl peeing...we don't understand why Belgium has such weird statues. Our main goal while in Brussels was to visit a lot of chocolate shops. In every one we got free samples so we were full of chocolate by the end of the day.

My favorite chocolate shop was Chocopolis. Here, I picked out each piece of chocolate I wanted to fill my box. I was very happy when I left the store. It was very fun but very expensive.

After two cities in one day, Bre and I just couldn't wait to get back to the B&B where we slept like babies after a 15 mile walk day.

Sunday morning, we got up, ate breakfast with Andre, and headed to Antwerp. Here's the thing about Antwerp... we didn't like it. Maybe we were tired...maybe we were overtravelled...or maybe it really was "quirker than a bag a raccoons." Thanks, Lonely Planet Guide books for that phrase. We just didn't feel comfortable and it didn't feel like Belgium. We felt like we were in a busy area of California...with old buildings and a castle. It was just weird. The map, again, did not help us and we wondered around for a few hours carrying everything we had with us for the weekend. Our backs hurt and our bodies ached because they had enough of our walking. I believe over the course of this weekend we had to have walked about 20 miles in total. Of course, I don't know for sure but its not far from it. The walk to the train station from the B&B was 3 miles and we did that there and back twice. Then walking around each city. Wow. We are just exahusted! When got back to Delft we still had to walk back to the house...where we dropped our things and sat for a while. Tomorrow we do not plan on doing anything... let's see how that works out.

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures from Belgium:
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Belgium Bound

Hey All!!
We are travelling to Belgium first thing in the morning! We need to check out of our place by 7:30 a.m. (We will be staying at Kendra and Daves for the remainder of our trip since they are on vacation). So we hope to be on a train to Belgium by 8:30/9:00.

Our plan is as follows:
Friday; visit Bruges and check into our Bed and Breakfast.
Saturday; take a train from Bruges to Ghent and spend the day there... back to Bruges in the evening.
Sunday; check out of Bed and Breakfast and take a train to Brussels to visit all the chocolate shops and the chocolate museum...it's going to be a chocolate tour! and then after we are done there visit Antwerp since we are leaving from the train station anyway.

3 days, 4 cities. Think we can do it? I have no doubt in my mind! I am so excited for this trip. It's going to be so great to relax in Belgium and also stay at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast. Here is a link to the place: http://www.andresbandb.tk/

Unfortunately, Bre doesn't want to bring her computer to Belgium so you all will have to do without daily updates from Belgium and won't see pictures until we return. The internet at Kendra and Dave's has been kinda funny so hopefully I will be able to upload all the pictures I took and write the blog.

Wish us luck and safe travels!!

Postcards...

Hey all! I have sent out A LOT of postcards and when I ask people about them, they say they have yet to receive these postcards. I'm concerned because I spent a lot of money just mailing internationally so if you have gotten a postcard from me please email me or leave a comment, just so I know.
Thanks,
Miranda
mlk319@psu.edu

Lazy Day in Delft

Yesterday our new friend Sarah came to visit us so we could show her our sweet little town of Delft. Unfortunately, we all were sore from climbing the tower the day before, and we were also tired. So it was a lazy walk around Delft but we did a lot of sightseeing. We showed her all around the town and then stopped at souvenier shops and the Delft history museum. That museum, by the way, was free on the first Sunday of the month...so we lucked out. We got to see where William Of Orange was shot and killed and in this place, there are still holes in the wall from the two shots fired. Outside this lovely place, on St. Agathaplein, was a beautiful garden so we popped in for a stroll. Afterwards, we just had to show Sarah what the dutch mean by pancakes. She was shocked at the size of them but nonetheless happy she ordered it! It's a dutch thing, you know! Bre and I ordered crepes with cinnamon ice cream. Wow. It's amazing that the dutch stay so thin! All we hear about is pancakes, crepes, waffles, ice cream, chocolotes, and the ever so popular french fries and mayonnaise! Here is a picture of Sarah at the pancake house.

After all was said and done we took Sarah back to the train station and waited with her. We didn't want her to go. It's nice to be around someone new and someone as nice and interesting as her! We really hit it off and I hope I get to see her again if I'm ever in Flordia, where she lives.

As far as today, we were really, really lazy. I took a slight nap cuddling with Fiona. Bre finished another book. We didn't go out and do anything, mostly because today's schedule was off due to Tessa's doctor appointment. Even Fiona took part in reading quietly to herself.

After work, I went for a walk around the campground. It's amazing how an open pasture with a bright blue sky can take your breath away. Or how white and fluffy the clouds can be. I just took it all in, breathed deeply, and hoped to remember every part of it for as long as I could. I took pictures just in case I ever forgot...but you know how pictures can be, sometimes they just don't do justice.

My bruise from my fall a few days ago has turned green. It actually matched the pants I had on today (which, by the way, don't fit anymore because I'm losing weight!!) If you connect your thumbs and forefingers together you can see how big it is. Yeah, its big, and it still hurts. I've been pretty careful riding in the streets since then.

Now, we are just getting ready for our trip to Belgium this weekend. We plan on seeing four cities in three days...think we can do it?

Utrecht & Gouda

Even though I woke up feeling not so well, Bre and I still got on our bikes and headed for Utrecht. Considering the last time we left our bikes at the train station we decided be to EXTRA safe. We not only locked our bikes together to a railing but added a second lock through our wheels and attached it to the railing. I asked Bre if it would be enough and her response was, "Well, unless someone comes by with the Jaws of life, I think we are good." We only had to wait for a few minutes for the train and when we got to Rotterdam Centraal we had to switch trains. To kill time before the train came Bre and I headed for the bathroom. When we got there we realized, like most touristy places in the Netherlands, that we had to pay to go in. We looked at each other and said forget it. I think I said something along the lines of "I'm so tired of having to pay to use these bathrooms." On our way down the stairs to get back a man said he'd give us money to use the bathroom. Bre told him no thanks and I just kinda looked at him. Uhh, thanks for offering but I'd rather not use your money. Plus, is buying someone an entry to the bathroom the same as buying someone a drink at the bar? What did he expect from us in return? Ew. So we caught the train from Rotterdam to Utrecht. We went the wrong way out but before we turned around I needed to find a bathroom. We stopped in this little cafe inside the train station. However, when I went to leave the restroom, I realized I couldn't. I was locked in! I completely panicked. I tried to jiggle the handle and jiggle the lock and there was no way that door was opening. So, what else could I do. I banged on the door! Bre finally heard me and told the waiter I was locked in. All I heard was laughing but I didn't think it was funny.

However, I did make it out and that's all that matters. The train station in Utrecht is like an airport with a giant mall and this mall...never ends and when it does finally end you forget where you are!

Utrecht is gorgeous, however! We were so happy to be there and surprised at how busy it was. We found our way around without a map and found this cute little haven for Gerber Daisy flowers called Ten Kate Flowers. The perimeter had been weaved entirely with flowers. Inside there was a giant sand castle that had been ruined in the middle. We thought maybe some kids had done it until - out of nowhere GODZILLA CAT came out and showed everyone who was King of that castle. Someone actually climbed up and took him off but was reprimanded because the cat belongs there.

Then we stopped at a church, Domkerk. It was so beautiful inside! We worked our way around it and I marveled at the architecture. When we had made our way to the back we noticed that we could light a candle for a loved one so we did and said a small prayer. As we did this, a choir had started to sing. Imagine being in the right place at the right time to witness something beautiful. You just had to be there. And since you couldn't be there, I videotaped it. Enjoy.

After we saw all there was to the Church we got tickets to climb the DomToren. This is the tower I referred to before as having some 500 steps to the top. It is 112m high and houses 50 bells. I learned that this tower used to be connected to the Church we visited across the street. However, the middle section wasn't built as strongly as the tower and the end. So after a storm rolled in and demolished the middle section, they kept it that way.

The tour up the DomToren took about an hour. Half the time is how long it took to climb all those stairs. We stopped every couple hundred steps so the tour guide could show us inside the tower. It helped but it was still an enormous feat to climb. It took us a little bit longer to catch our breath, we think, than the other visitors ...or maybe we just imagined that. When we got to, what I thought was the top, we were able to hear the Carillon bells. After the presentation, she informed us that we still had a little ways to go and if we wanted to climb up that high we could. Bre saw the fear in my eyes but did not give me a chance to voice my concerns. She was on the steps in no time! I was shaking the whole way up, not because I was tired, not because I was sick, but because I was completely sure that at any time this tower would come down... When we got to the top it was gorgeous and completley worth it. Wow, what a view. I had to try as hard as I could not to look down but of course, I did. Bre, however, was running circles around me. She enjoyed being as high up as she was. She even leaned over the edge and said, "Does this scare you?" Yeah. It did scare me. Bre wasn't scared until we started our decent down but we made it easier by making jokes. Something along the lines of what our moms would say if we went running down the stairs and how Bre's mom would tell her that she is always trying to be funny and wounds up getting hurt or how my mom would tell me I was being innapropriate in a place where I shouldn't be, you know, because we were kind of running down the steps. We didn't really have a choice though because it was so narrow and hard to walk down. Then Bre took off her shoes to make it down easier. Those stairs seemed to last forever!! All winding so if we went any faster than we did we would have been dizzy. We took comfort in the fact that we had the entire tour laughing at what we were saying.

We met a wonderful person today as well! Her name is Sarah and she was visiting the Netherlands doing research with lasers as a Grad student. She lives in Flordia and we all got along great. When we told her where we were staying she said she'd like to visit! We told her we'd show her around so that is on the plate for tomorrow but in the meantime we thought we'd hop on a train and head to Gouda.

Yes, Utrecht and Gouda all in one day! We all are going to sleep very well tonight.

The three of us had a wonderful time in Gouda. We visited the Cheese market and then went to 'tKaaswinkeltje to sample some of the famous aged cheese that the Dutch keep for themselves. It was fantastic! I don't even like cheese other than Velveeta but Gouda is very good! Another thing we noticed about Gouda is that instead of hanging lights across the pathways...they have hung cheese, large wheels of cheese. We hope, for the sake of the smell, that it's not real cheese. After we saw all there was to Gouda...not very much...we sat down for a lovely dinner in the square. Sarah and I indulged in waffles while Bre had soup.

It really was a beautiful day today! The sky was clear blue and the clouds were big, white, and looked like cotton candy. It did start to rain on the way to the train station though...but it was fine because the day was over and we had conquered two cities we wanted to visit...in one day.
Sarah's train comes in tomorrow around noon and we can't wait to show her our little sweet town of Delft.

If you want to check out all my pictures from Utrecht and Gouda you can click this link:
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Love,

Miranda

Love to the fans across the lands

So I have noticed all the comments that we have been getting and most exspecialy my mom!! I just want to say thanks mom for using a computer for me!! Im so proud of you!! I miss u lots and tell sophie I love her. Sorry to hear about the basement.. :(

And thanks Laurie for reading everyday!! I hope I can make that cup of coffee at work that much more enjoyable. Tell mom I said hi and that I love her! Ill try my best to stop by with pictures before I go back to school.

To everyone else (Miranda's family included) thanks so much for your comments, thoughts, prayers, and love. They make the homesick nights and long days easier to get through. We miss you all and we will be home soon.

Much love and respect,
Bre

P.S. I just finished reading Ishmael and everyone should pick it up. Great read!!

Botanical Gardens

Today we packed up the girls and headed to the Botanical Gardens. It wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Flowers kind of spilled everywhere and there wasn't a real purpose to the design. The greenhouses, however, were more interesting. It housed several species from the rainforest and one had giant lilypads. Pretty cool! We bought a few great gifts for people at the Garden shop before we left.

We saw a beautiful building today at Oostenport, a large canal. This building dates back to the 14th Century.

That's really all there is to report. The weather has become beautiful but very warm. Bre and I don't know what to do with ourselves! One day it's rainy and cold and the next it's warm and sunny. It's as if there were an Erie in Europe! We, honestly, feel like we are home but then we remember that we can't go out with our friends because they are not here!

This weekend we are visiting Utrecht because my friend Ryan lived there for a while and insisted that we go! We plan to climb the 495 steps of the Dom Tower. Bre is not too ethused about this. We also may visit Gouda, the city of cheese!! After we saw pictures of this place and their cheese market in the square we knew we just had to go. Although, I am still partial to Velveta cheese, Gouda is becoming another favorite!

Miss you all! We only have 19 days left so we are making the best of it!

Boo-boos and Strawberry Shortcake

This morning started out as usual. Get up, eat breakfast, shower, get our bikes and ride to work. On the way to work, Bre insisted we ride our bikes in the street because locals looked at us funny when we were on the sidewalk. Since bikers have their own slab of road and rules I just thought it would be best to play it safe and not get lost in the crossroads. I did however, attempt to use the biker path in a busy intersection. Big mistake. At the last minute I panicked and turned back to the sidewalk. An old man was walking very slowly so I had to either go the other way or slow down. Picture a small ramp and then imagine what happens when a person goes up it really slow. Yes, you're right - you just go back where you came from because there isn't enough force to push you. I lost my footing and went over the side of my bike. I layed there for a minute, sprawled out between the sidewalk and the street, laughing out of sheer embarassment. When I got up I noticed the very large patch of broken skin that the bike crash had left behind. Kendra and Dave's face looked horrified by it. Fiona kept asking why I fell off my bike, I just keep telling her I didn't do it on purpose. Anyhow, it's going to turn into a nice big bruise and to use Bre's words, "turn into a rainbow of colors."



Today, Fiona was such a wonderful girl today that she got to make strawberry shortcake with me in the kitchen. She could barely contain her excitment or her hunger because she wouldn't stop eating the custard that we put on the cakes. She'd scoop it up on her finger and lick it off. It was very cute though. I asked her what she was making and she said, "I'm making my birthday cake." Her birthday was in June



Tessa also learned something new. The other day when I went upstairs to get the girls up from their afternoon nap, Fiona was very loudly coming down the steps. I said, "Fiona, please use your inside voice" and I ended it with a "Shhh" putting my finger to my lips. Tessa picked up on this and will now do it on command. All you have to do is make the motion and sound and she follows you. I recorded it but you might have to turn the volume up to here her make the "shhh" sound. It's very adorable.



Kendra and Dave also took us out for pancakes tonight! On Oude Delft there are bunch of little boats turned into cafes. It was a beautiful night for a dinner out so we couldn't really resist. The girls were great, too. Part of us going out for pancakes was because Fiona earned her third star today and that meant she got a special surprise. "Cake" is what she wanted so she got strawberry shortcake for a snack and pancakes for dinner!

Bre's Blog Dos

Miranda is making me write the blog today.

Today she got her bike back!! After walking to the train station to try and rescue it we find out that in fact that they will fix it! It could have been that we were both babes, "dumb Americans", or with children, but the sexy bike store owner told us that for a small price he would saw off the lock. Good deal. So no more bike problems for now. But i think i have a crush on sexy Vin Diesel looking bike shop man.

We are both reading a lot to pass time. That seems to be good for us. However I think the home-sick bug is biting again :(

Miranda saved us from neighbors that were going to set up a pop up camper into the space that would be our parking space if we had a car. Meaning their tent would be RIGHT outside of our bathroom window. Apparently Americans like more than average privacy. Who would have thought? All Miranda did was talk to the campground office and they were more than helpful and understood the severity of the situation. We like our privacy, you know? No one wants to take a shower and know someone is RIGHT outside.


The girls were good today. Fiona now cuddles with me and it makes me smile. But I don't like reading the same books over and over again. I also feel bad for her because we have a feeling that her bike was stolen... Who could really do that??!?!?!?

I made the best cheese samich today. 3 types!! I love Holland for their dairy.

That is all. Please send love. Specially my family. I feel like they have forgotten about me.
Miranda thinks that her family has forgotten about her as well. So emails, letters, cards...whatever - would make us happy again.

<3 us

Everyone Has Bad Days...Even in Holland

My bad day just happened to be yesterday. It started on the train ride home from Amsterdam. At a stop to switch trains I bought some raisen bread. I misjudged the strength of the bag and the bread went flying. 2 euros wasted, I decided I could just ask if they might give me another, no? Okay, thanks. No, I will not buy another one. My entire meal of the morning and afternoon consisted of a bottle of water..yum.

Then when we got off the train I was so happy to be back in Delft. That was until I unlocked me and Bre's bikes and mine wouldn't move. Turns out I forgot to lock the wheel and just left the key right in there. So, this is the best guess; Someone locked the wheel, took the key, and is banking on me abandoning the bike. Sorry, jerk. I will lock it back to the railing with this hefty duty bike lock and call a locksmith tomorrow. However, the locksmith might not work considering bike theft is an industry here so they may refuse to help. I can always try. I am going back up to the train station Tuesday to visit the bike shop around the corner and see if they can do anything for me. Otherwise, I have to buy a new bike. This bike wasn't even mine, Kendra and Dave borrowed it from a friend who wasn't using it. If the locksmith can't do anything for me then I have to pay for this bike. Bre thinks she is just going to return her bike because there is no use in us just having one between the two of us. Besides, we do not need the stress of worrying about other people's bikes. If they were ours, different story, but I don't feel like stressing out about someone stealing or ruining another bike that doesn't belong to me.

The whole way home from the train station I was cursing myself for not remembering the wheel lock. The way it works is that it will only unlock if the key is still in there and you can't remove it unless you lock it. So instead of locking it every time I went somewhere, I used the hefty duty lock to lock up both our bikes and left the wheel lock alone....thinking no one would come along and lock my bike for me....

I also tripped on my own feet while walking home.

I just knew something horrible would be waiting for me when we got back to our house, considering this day wasn't going to get any better. Yep, I was right. Right next to our house is an open space, not really big, but big enough to park a car if we had one. Delftse Hout allowed someone to set up their camper and tents there. I guess the worst part wasn't that they had screaming children or they were very loud themselves, no, the worst part was that their main area where this whole family (and the extension of the family) sat most of the day was right outside our bathroom window. Needless to say, window was closed, blind was shut, and we still felt uncomfortable with it.

At this point, Bre decided to go to sleep. I decided to upload all my pictures from Amsterdam and write the blog. Then, I thought, OMG I'm hungry - I haven't eaten all day. There was no food in the house. We cleaned most everything out before we left because we didn't want our fruit or veggies to go bad...and we mostly eat fresh produce and bread, along with soup and other breakfast items. I went to the grocery store to pick up the groceries we needed for the week and right as I turned the corner to walk into C1000 they closed the doors. First, I thought that they were just chilly and wanted the doors shut...nope. Closed.

The walk home was filled with hunger pangs and I just couldn't believe that this day was going that bad. What else could go wrong, I thought. Not really a question, more of a statement because I knew something else would be around the bend. I arrived at a corner shop where a man was standing outside. I asked this man how much a sandwich would be and he looked at me blankly. No, it wasn't because I was speaking English. It was because he didn't work there and didn't know why I was asking him. Ugh. I bet you can figure out just how dumb I felt.

When I came home I checked the fridge again. Salad that had brown leaves and a pepper. Bre woke up and cut up the pepper for me so I at least had something to eat and she ate the salad. But that's the reality here, if you can't make it to a store when its open...you don't have many options. You can't go out to eat because places close early.

I went to sleep last night thinking I would wake up to a new day. I have the day off, I thought, it will be a good day to relax. Bre and I woke up to rain so that was a negative. The positive, though, the people next door were packing up and heading out. So I went to the store in Delftse Hout and bought some breakfast for us. Pastries and yogurt. Mmmm. Afterwards we went grocery shopping. It got very hot when we left the grocery store so we were very excited to get home to jump in the pool. I guess everyone in Delftse Hout had that idea because the pool was packed, much too packed for Bre and I to want to jump in. Bre layed out and I just pretended I was in the pool when I took a shower.

Kendra called to let us know she got back from France and that she got my message about the bike. She also wasn't feeling well. So Bre and I headed over and let her take a nap, give Dave some time to run errands, and take care of the kids. I made some amazing burrito's for dinner when we got home and thats when my bad day went away. Bre complimented my cooking skills (Yes, Rachel and Aaron - I'm cooking!!) and enjoys the fact that I cook and she cleans every night. It works for us and I'm learning to cook because we don't want to eat soup every single night.

One of the positives of my day today was that we got very close to a Blue Heron today so I snapped a great shot of it. Also, the cows in the open pasture outside Delftse Hout were at the front of the field so I got a good picture of authentic Happy Dutch Cows.

That's really all there is to say on my part. Bre doesn't have anything she wants to add either.

We hope you enjoyed the pictures from Amsterdam and the long blog to make up for the lack of posts this weekend!!

Weekend In Amsterdam

Our weekend in Amsterdam started with a mission: get to Gerke's place. To get us acquainted with the area he gave us landmarks to either look up on the map or ask someone how to get to it. When we made it to Leidesplein he was very proud of us and greeted us with hugs. We went from there to the beautiful Vondel Park. This park takes you away from the business of the city and immerses you in a beautiful landscape of ponds, fountains, trees, and large open spaces. There was also a lovely gazebo and when the sun was shining on it just right, I had to take a picture.

We sat in the park for hours and drank a few beers, well, I only had one since I don't like Beer very much. From there we went to Gerke's apartment where his roommate Heimrich had made us a dutch dinner. I guess the best way to describe it would be a salad on top of mashed potatoes. It was fantastic!! He gave us a very large portion but Bre and I couldn't finish ours so we put it in the fridge for later.

The first night we were there we had reservations for an Evening Canal Cruise with the Blue Boat Company. It was well worth the money! We started cruising around 10:15 just as it was getting dark. We were able to order drinks if we wanted but Bre and I just sat and relaxed. About 20 minutes later the sun left the sky for good and became very dark. This is the best part, you see, because the cruise was by candlelight and the canal waters were filled with beautiful dancing lights. It was the combination of the street lights along with the lights strung across the canal archways made the water gorgeous. Pictures just didn't do it justice. Bre kept saying, "This is so pretty." The only downside was that there were a few young men who were drunk and kept trying to ruin this beauty for everyone. Anytime we went under a canal archway (which was every 5-10 minutes) they would start screaming or singing because of the echo. Oh well, what are you going to do?

Gerke had told me to call him when the boat tour was over so he could give us directions back to the apartment. Gerke had told us to get on the no. 7 tram, which we did without a problem. It was a very weird experience, though, because the seats are faced differently than on a bus. So it was like the tram was going backwards. I watched out the window to make sure we were going to right place and I felt as if I was rewinding my life. We decided we didn't like to sit facing backwards.

The next day began with breakfast made by Heimrich. He made us both croissants and jam because "isn't that what girls like?" He also made some green tea with lemon to go along with it. Bre commented that it was better than a bed and breakfast! How wonderful it was!

Then we went on our way to The Van Gogh Museum, which Bre and I loved! Van Gogh is my favorite artist so I was very excited for this particular Museum. Although they did not have Starry Night, it was still a great museum that housed over 200 of his paintings. Each room was a different year in his life and the paintings done at the time. On the walls they listed information for those who didn't know Van Gogh's background. By the time we had made it to the third floor we were both in awestruck. It truly was an amazing experience to get so close to his work. We were lucky that we went at the time we did because as we left we noticed a line that went all the way down the stairs and onto the street. We wouldn't have liked to wait in that line.

However, when we started walking away from the museum we noticed the bright and warm sun of the morning was gone and it looked as if it were going to rain. When we hear thunder we knew for sure! We decided to get something to eat, but what? Oh yeah! We haven't had traditional dutch pancakes yet! Pancakes in Holland are very popular and can be any meal you want it to be. We found an adorable little Pancake House and sat down just before it started to rain. Bre and I decided to split a pancake fearing it might be too big or too sweet for each of us to have our own. It was a great idea because when our pancake came out we both looked at each other and thought, "How are we going to eat this." However, we demolished this poor pancake! The ice cream on top was better than any ice cream I have ever had. Doesn't it look delicious?

After we were done eating it was still pouring so we thought we would wait it out. It seemed as if it was never going to end. I checked the tickets I reserved for the Anne Frank Huis and I noticed I read the time wrong, we litterally had a half hour to make it there or our reservation would be cancelled and we would have to wait in a line longer than the Van Gogh Museum. Bre quickly pulled out the map but I was too concerned that would waste time. We walked/ran to the nearest tram and asked someone for help. They told us the no. 1 tram would take us close to Prinsengracht, the street the house is on. Unfortunatly, we missed the stop and were three blocks out of our way. At this point I was walking really fast, Bre on the other hand was having difficulties because she was slipping out of her flip flops. I had not noticed this until I heard Bre yell from a distance, "Miranda, slow down! I can't keep up with you." It was raining though, so I didn't want to slow down too much. We arrived at the Anne Frank Huis with 2 minutes to spare. We were soaked from head to toe and immediately went to the bathroom to clean ourselves up a bit.

"In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death." - Anne Frank

If you have been keeping up with the blog, you would know that this is what I was looking forward to the most. It was much different from what I had imagined. The building next door is where it starts. You walk into a room that if full of large pictures of Anne and then another room where a video is played to explain more about Anne, again, for those who didn't read her Diary and don't know her story. Then you walk up a set of stairs and you are in the actual house, but the office part. If you remember correctly, the house they hid in had an annex not visible from the front of the house and was used for Otto Franks business. After walking up another set of stairs you arrive at the bookcase. The famous bookcase the made the annex "really become a secret," according to Anne in her Diary.

It gave both Bre and I the chills. We were told by a video in the previous room that all the furniture had been removed from the annex and that even when the house became a Museum, Otto Frank wanted it to remain that way. He allowed the rooms to be furnished for pictures and to make an accurate model of the annex to display. So when we walked up the stairs to the first room we took our time to take it all in. Despite the rooms being bare it still was a different experience. It was very small, much small than I had thought, and the people inside were all bumping into each other. Imagine if it was still furnished and then imagine that room having 8 people in it. Crowded, I would think. Anne had decorated her room with magazine cutouts and pictures to make it more fun for her and those decorations were still there. Amazing. The bathroom still had the original sink and toliet. The ladder to the attic was cased in glass making it very clear that we could not go up there. The attic is where Anne spent a lot of her time getting a bit of fresh air and looking at the maple tree in the back yard.

"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. " - Anne Frank

Although, this museum was amazing and would have made Anne proud, I don't believe she would have liked the people there that day. Take for example, the women who brought all three of her very young children who screamed and cried the ENTIRE time and upset just about everyone in the room. She also let them run around freely. Or the other people who felt they needed to carry on conversations making every room very loud. Don't these people understand that this annex used to be very quiet and during the day they could make very little noise. I feel like Anne would have been telling everyone to be quiet and that someone might hear you. It upset both Bre and I because we felt that there was nothing worth talking about while inside. Bre just mentioned that you don't walk around a cemetery and speak loudly, you are very quiet. Which is how everyone should have been to pay their respects.

When we left there we walked along the canal in this very historic district. Bre stopped and said, "How weird is that we are walking on the streets that the Germans took over?" It was very weird as I had not noticed this or thought of it. We know not to talk about this too loudly, however, because the Dutch still hate the Germans for taking all their bikes. Gerke's girlfriend Yasmin informed us of this.

Later we met up with Gerke and Yasmin and walked the Red Light District. We only did because it's a touristy place but we were not expecting to see what we saw. Most windows under the red light had the curtain closed which meant, uh, the prostitute was busy. Then we ended the night at a local bar where Yasmin, Gerke, Heimrich, Bre and I stayed under awning and relaxed.

And now we are back home in Sweet, Sweet Quiet Delft.

My impressions of Amsterdam are as follows: If you enjoy living in an area where every night is a constant party and all day long you bump into people because it's overcrowded. If you enjoy smelling pot just about wherever you walk and almost getting hit by one of Amsterdams many transportations: bike, car, tram, and bus on a regular basis. Then this is the place for you. For me, Amsterdam is simply not my cup of tea. Yes, the historic district was beautiful and the canals are gorgeous, especially at night but I enjoy peace and quiet in small hometowns.

Bre's impressions of Amsterdam are as follows: This was my favorite city in the world. Over New York City, over Rome, over Anywhere. It may as well be my favorite place in the world. Here's why; Like New York anyone whose anyone or anything thats anything will be there but unlike other big cities, Amsterdam has a very deep history and other cities don't have that. Everyone there is very proud of this. There is no skyscrapers, no trash littering the streets, and most anything that was around in the past is still around today. I just love how everyone rides bikes and public transportation is superb. I felt entirely safe no matter where I was, no matter red light district, wherever. It's safe. People there can't buy guns, tourists are always around. I was fine. It wasn't like in Rome where I had to worry about pickpocketers. Well, of course I worried about people pickpocketing here but the fear wasn't as strong. On top of anything over that, it's an apsolutely beautiful city. Holland is a beautiful place and Amsterdam is no exception.

That sums up our weekend in Amsterdam. We just can't wait for the next adventure.
If you are interesting in seeing more pictures from our Amsterdam Adventure you can click this link:


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Beautiful Day In Delft

The days have been getting warmer and warmer and Bre and I are loving it!! Today was an exceptionally beautiful day as we rode our bikes to Kendra and Dave's flat. We decided to visit the market in the square again as well. Thursdays are our favorite because we love the market so much. Cheese, bread, vegetables, fruit, and flowers. It's a good time. Last Thursday we noticed an older man buying a dozen red roses. He then got on his bike and brought them home to his wife, we think. It would have been a beautiful and sweet picture but I missed the opportunity. Lucky for us, however, men in Delft buy flowers alot as we noticed many carrying flowers on their bikes today.

We also love the market because of how wonderfully everything is displayed. It makes me want to buy everything!

And since it was such a beautiful day, we took the girls over the Delftse Hout pool which wasn't as packed as we thought but still busy. We first started out in the baby pool and then moved to the "big girl pool." Fiona swam around in the pool with me until Bre got in with Tessa. Then Bre carried Fiona around for a few minutes and the Fiona said, "Okay, I want out. I want to go back into the baby pool." Tessa, however, loved the big pool. She was kicking her feet and laughing. She was even laying on her belly and trying to swim. This is weird since she doesn't like baths and lately has been screaming when she is in the tub. Fiona later layed on a beach chair and "got a tan just like Bre." Of course, she was covered in sunscreen so she didn't get a tan.

After Kendra and Dave got out of work we went to a barbeque. Yes, people in Europe barbeque! We had a lovely time getting to know their friends from the University. We even, get this, found a ride home from Germany! Which means we only need to pay one way! How exciting! Kendra's friend Christine has family there and travels back and forth quite often! At first we were just thinking about Germany but since we have a ride we can most certainly afford to go! We plan to go during the last week we are here.

This weekend is Amsterdam weekend! Bre and I are very excited for this trip. We will be staying with my good friend Gerke from Penn State who has a flat in the city. So don't worry about us staying in scary hostels! He's going to show us around Vondelpark and all other major attractions of Amsterdam, including Red Light District...woo! Friday night we booked a canal cruise at 10:00 p.m. Which will be great to see Amsterdam's lights at night. How amazing! Saturday we plan to visit the Van Gogh musuem, Rembrants House, and then the Anne Frank house. The Anne Frank house I am most excited about. After reading her Diary my sophomore year and writing a paper on her, I just thought it would be great to see where she wrote this. I never thought I would get the chance.

However, the fun for us means no blogs for you. We are not sure if we will have internet access or the time to write every night like usual. So we will just have to write a very large blog detailing our Amsterdam adventure when we get home which will be Sunday.

We are pretty sure that we will make another photo album with all the Amsterdam photo's so we thought we'd upload the photos from this week and send out the link. We didn't do as much as last week but don't worry more pictures from other cities and countries will be coming up!

These pictures are mostly the kids but they are just so cute, how can you resist 'em?

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Love,

Miranda and Bre

Bre writes a blog.

"A blog is frog, and frog is dog, and dogs say woof."

-Breanna Elizabeth Miklos in response to her having to write a blog.

No, everyone this isn't Miranda, ITS BRE! I have been getting requests on the daily to write a blog, so here it is. WARNING: The next few minutes of your reading will most likly have many misspellings and consist of topics not of your interest...

So today I got to play Sussie Puss. She is the Hopstraat kitten. Hopstraat being the street that the girls live on. Shes really cute and fun. This is one of my highlights of the week. Holland is FULL of kitties.

Have your ever spun wildly on one of those child play merry-go-rounds at a park? Well today I put Fiona on one and pushed with all my might. She then screamed out "NAY! NAY!" (which is dutch for no). I then took her off where she face planted into the sand as if she were drunk. HILARIOUS!! She layed on the ground a bit very confused as if she had never been dizzy before. Too cute. Then we played the day away in a childs fantasy land type play ground with zip lines, peacocks, and fake pirate ships.

I get to ride a bike everywhere. Thats cool. Sometimes cars dont obey the dutch law of "bikes have the right away". Thats not so cool. We have almost gotten hit a few times when we ride in the street and get made fun of when we ride on side walks... what to do!?!!?

On our morning walk today a man passed us and yelled back at us loudly in Dutch. (Not a very pretty thing.) Luckily many people speak English here including the other man walking infront of us. We were just going to laugh it off but instead asked him to translate. He responded with "You don't want to know." This made us want to know even more. He then proceeded to tell us that the angry man was screaming things along the line of "You started the war, end it! Horrible Americans!" Take it how ever you like...but this is the truth. Americans are not #1 on favorite countries of many Europeans.

We are going to Amsterdam this weekend. Wish us luck and many prayers :)

Untill next time,

xoxoxoxoxoxoooooxox

Bre

p.s. We ate Subway today (yes they are GLOBAL and also where me and Miranda fell in love) and it was a 4 on a 1-10 scale. Good, not that good. And yes, I told the samich artist i worked at Subway, to INTIMIDATE her. The subs are the same..

p.s.s. I really like riding a bike everywhere. The thought of exercise along with no pollution is great. I also enjoy knowing the fact that everything I need is in my backpack. Its inspiring...ya thats the word. So GO RIDE YOUR BIKE!

p.s.s.s. Click the play button on the bottom of the video of Fiona singing at the table from yesturdayish's post entitled "Finoa sings in Dutch". It really works folks!! And its SUPER cute!!

Holland Yoga

Fiona and I have agreed on a new schedule for her. So for the past couple of days we have done yoga in the morning. Fiona loves it! We spend about 15-20 minutes stretching and posing and then have quiet time, or, contemplation time. Today, Bre took some pictures of us. The first picture is Fiona showing me where to place my hand when doing the Triangle Pose (Kendra and Dave do yoga with her often so she knows exactly how to do the poses). Later, we did the Bicycle and then, of course, the Frog, which is Fiona's favorite position. See, Yoga is fun!

Later today we went to the Delftse Hout Water park...which is, litterally, a kid heaven. This place had it all, a boat in the 2 foot deep canal to play, a zip line, slides, and a playground. Fiona wanted to get wet...of course! Tessa, who is just learning to stand on her own and will walk soon, wanted to put her toes in the sand. Then she had to touch it and play with it...and then, OH NO! Eat it. Her face afterwards was an expression that can only be described as, "Oh my god what did I just do?!" But she was adorable playing in the sand.

We are having a great time in Delft. It really is a charming town and we feel very much at home here. If I were to live in Holland, it would be here. The buildings are gorgeous and today while walking home we noticed the sky looked like a painting. With the Gothic tower it almost looked surreal. It makes us wonder how often we take Erie for granted. I don't think I've ever looked up at the sky and felt like this was a wonderful world...but I feel that way here.

Fiona sings in Dutch

Today we had a rather interesting day. Fiona, who I put on a new chart system tried very hard to earn her star for the day. Part of the bribe for her star, singing me a song in dutch. We are guessing that it's, "I'm a little teapot." Or something close to it.

After Fiona and Tessa's nap today we decided the venture into Ikea. It was actually very close to me and Bre's house. It must have been a maze because we got lost in there a few times. We even read the map of Ikea and it kept spinning us in circles. That was the largest Ikea EVER! Also, it had a cafe in it with very, very cheap food. Bre and I will frequently go there for dinner.

We were relieved to have wonderful weather today. For the last couple of days all it did was rain. Even when the sun was out...it rained. Dave and Kendra thought Bre and I were just going to want to go home. We are just happy we are in Europe...who cares if it rains. It just meant we were cold and wet all day - no big deal. But today was beautiful!! Bright, sunny, and warm. So it wasn't a really interesting day but a nice one no less!

Bre and I decided that we are going to go to Belgium for a weekend and visit Ghent and Bruges. We hope to stay in a nice Bed and Breakfast for a night and then walk around the cities and take in all it's beauty. These cities, according to others who have been there (Thanks, Ryan) are very fairy tale like. Castles and beautiful scenery that would make one feel as if they were part of a story that begins with Once upon a time... Of course we will drink Belgian beer and bring home some very amazing chocolates. So, I'm very excited at the upcoming trip.

This weekend we are visiting my friend Gerke in Amsterdam. We plan to see Anne Frank's house, The Van Gogh Museum, and Rembrants house. We also are going to take a Canal cruise during the evening and drink wine and eat cheese. It's normally for those in love but Bre and I just want to enjoy the beautiful city and it's lights. We just can't wait for this weekend!

Den Haag, The Hague

Bre was going to write the blog tonight but at the last minute decided not too. It's understandable. We are very tired from our adventure to Den Haag, The city of the Dutch Aristocracy and Parliament. When we got off the train it was raining so we opened up the umbrella and headed towards Mauritshuis, the famous museum that houses the Vermeer painting, The Girl with the Pearl Earring. I literally went to the museum just to see this painting. Bre, being a former art history major, could not take it all in! She was overwhelmed and amazed! She had a constant look of confusion on her face as if to say, "How is it possible to paint this? How could they have done that?"

While inside the museum it was bright and sunny and looked very warm. As soon as we walked outside, however, a very cold downpour occurred. We stayed underneath our umbrella and the roof of a building with an elderly women. The women left before we did and walked into the rain...we decided that she was much braver than us. After the rain slowed down we made our way to the Passage, the only covered shopping center left from the 19th century. It was very pretty inside and we looked around in the shops.

After that it was off to the Escher Museum where over 8 rooms on three floors housed the original artwork of the great artist. The museum was amazing! We were allowed to take pictures and Bre wanted all of them. They also had a different chandelier in every room. Dolphin, Spider, violin, & seahorse were all part of the collection. I've never seen chandeliers like that. We spent A LOT of time in this place as it was the most interesting place we have been. Escher, for those of you who don't know, is most famous for his geometric scales and optical illusions in his work. The most famous piece is a sphere of bats and angels specifically designed so that there is no unused space.

Around 4:30 is when the sun finally came out and warmed our cold selves. We decided to leave the Escher Museum and head to where Queen Beatrix has her offices off of Longe Voorhout. On the map it looked like it was a good twenty minute walk but it really was only 5. We stood outside the gold trimmed gates and gazed at the beautiful building, looked around at the amazing old buildings and streets, and then decided it was time to head home. What a day, though! Bre literally was beside herself the entire time. She was able to see the works of all the famous painters she had studied. A smile is plastered to her face which made the whole day worth the train trip.

Also, to celebrate our first full week here, I have uploaded all the pictures to shutterfly. If you have been following along with the blog you should be able to follow us along our journey!

Here is the link to access the pictures.

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If this does not work please send me an email! mlk319@psu.edu

Love,

Miranda