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.

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYs2zJi5ZtmLDNA

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

Love,

Miranda

Unexpected Vistitors

Yesterday morning. while getting ready to go out and around town, Bre yells, "Miranda, come look at the ducks!! Come look!" I walked to the door and find a bunch of ducks standing outside our door looking at us. So of course I fed them some crackers. Well, now they love me. I hope they come back.


















It was a very rainy day here is Delft, it even rained when the sun was shining! However, the weather forecast said that was the last day of rain and the rest of the week would get warmer and warmer. We are very excited for that! We are done with the rain! Despite the weather, Bre and I managed to ride our bikes that Kendra and Dave got for us and rode them to the square. They had a pottery festival and after touring that we toured the churches, New and Old. The New church was fairly dark inside and hard to photograph. I had left my camera home to charge it and Bre's camera litteraly died while I was taking a picture. So, I'll show you what I got. The door to the church was very gothic and Mideaval that I had to photograph it. Also, the
chandeleirs were gorgeous and I tried to take a great picture of it.






Everything in the new church was entirely built by hand, even by today's standards, that's still an amazing feet. Every brick, bucket of cement, and anything else used had to be taken up by hand or by pulley. The church was built in the 1500's and later suffered from a strike of lighting, later a fire, and then in 1654 an explosion in Delft's gunpoweder factory blew out the original stained glass windows of the church. However, it was fixed three centuries later.

The Old Church is just a few blocks away and was much brighter than the New Church. This church dates back to as early as 1200. The stained glass windows were very high up it was impossible to take a good picture.

This church is also the final resting place for Vermeer. On the left is his memorial, he was a first buried here, and then moved to another area in the church which is the picture below it.

These churches were so beautiful and amazing that we had to sit in the pews to take it all in. I can honestly say that I have never been so moved while sitting in a church. I felt so close to God here, I can't explain it. You just have to visit these churches. These churches are still used today and Bre and I plan to attend a service. It was all be in Dutch so it will be quite an experience!

Later on we went grocery shopping and went home. After dinner we walked to the lake and walked along the countryside. I didn't bring my camera so I didn't get to photograph anything but I wish I did. There were three Blue herons along a stream drinking water and relaxing. Duck and Geese were off in the distance. The sky was the best part though. It was very blue, the clouds were brighter than I have ever seen them, and because the sun was setting there was a tint of orange swirled in the clouds. Bre and I didn't think it was real. It was so beautiful, as if the sky opened up and we could see the Heavens.

The Dutch Do It Differently...

We, as Americans, are finding the way the Dutch do things quite odd. Here is a list of things we have come up with so far.
1. Everything is in Military time (Good thing Aaron tought me, thanks babe!)
2. Everything closes at six during the week in Delft.

3. The phrase "Dutch Oven" means nothing here as the Dutch only have stovetops in their homes.
4. There is a switch to turn on our fridge. We, at first, thought it was our air conditioner. See below.

5. There are stalls with just sinks in them, rooms even, full of sinks. The idea of having a stall with just a sink is quite hilarious to us. No, I don't need privacy to wash my hands, thank you. There are toliets as well but in seperate rooms. They also don't have a handle to flush - just a button on the wall or on the top of the toliet.

6. Everyone rides bikes. Little girls and little boys ride bikes better than I do!

7. People park extremely close to canals without flinching.

8. Hygiene is not enforced. Some bathrooms do not have zeep (soap).

9. People here are very direct...there is no beating around the bush here.

10. People don't like it when you pet their dogs...who rarely have leashes on.

Bloem (Flower) Market

Today we heard about the farmer and flower market in the square so we packed the kids up and headed over. We had a very good time looking around and seeing what they had to offer; fresh fruit and veggies, bread, cheese, and other things like clothes, bags, and shoes. We really enjoyed the flower market though. I bought 20 beautiful long stemmed red roses for 2 euros. We also purchased a pink Gerber Daisy for 25 cents for Fiona who was very happy about it. It was quite a bargain. I am impressed at how inexpensive flowers were! Fiona really enjoyed smelling the flowers too. Tessa just tried to eat them. I was able to get a lot of sleep last night but Bre didn't get as much. She went to bed at 8:30. I'm pretty tired myself and will most likely go to bed when I finish this blog entry. We are still getting used to the time difference. After work Kendra and Dave took us out for a very nice glass of wine. We were able to sit and talk and it was very relaxing. When the girls started to get tired, however, we had to call it a night.

It rained on and off today, more of just misting than a real downpour but the dark clouds put us all in a dreary mood. The forecast is calling for rain up until Saturday. It's also been considerably cold. I hope this doesn't put a damper on our weekend. Perhaps Sunday will be a beautiful day and Bre and I can go shopping around town. We've been very careful about spending our money because everything is so expensive. I bought postcards the last time we were out and this weekend I will send them. I am not sure what to bring home as souveniers for everyone so if you have a request let me know. And no, I do not have room in my suitcase for wooden shoes.

We also have been quite impressed with the Dutch parking skills. Here, you must know how to parallel park extremely well if you want to drive. Most people park their cars along the canals and they get very close to the edge, there is no bar to keep you and your car from falling in either! We watched, in awe, a mustang attempt to park and almost go over the edge. He must not be from here.

In the picture: notice the blue car. Do you think your parking skills are good enough to get that close, without having a panic attack, of course.

Also, I haven't received very many emails and I'm getting homesick. I miss you all so please write me! We are having fun but we do like to hear from the people we love.

If you're interested in getting to know Kendra and Dave and their two beautiful little girls you can visit their blog at fiandmonster.blogspot.com

That's all for today.

Love,

Miranda and Bre

Ik speek geen Nederlands, or, I don't speak Dutch.

Last night was a very rough night for me. Bre fell asleep pretty quickly but I tossed and turned. I finally fell asleep around 4am, after cleaning our flat a dozen times, updating the blog, checking facebook and my email. Our alarm was set for 7am. This morning we woke up and poured coffee into our mugs and walked the two miles to Kendra and Dave's place...it felt very comfortable to be able to walk around with our coffee mugs. Today we spent the whole day with the girls, Fiona and Tessa. We took them to the petting zoo at our campground...they have peacocks walking around everywhere! And there are goats, sheep, minature horses, cows, and pigs and babies of all kinds. Fiona liked the goats and Tessa really liked the sheep, she started to kick her feet and giggled when we walked over to them.











They also have some beautiful birds, I caught these two kissing. I thought it was cute...lovebirds. Fi seemed to attach herself to Bre today. She wanted Bre to hold her hand and walk with her and feed the ducks with her. It was very cute. Afterwards we came back to our place, washed up real good, and set up for a picnic in the yard. It was a very nice afternoon for a picnic and we enjoyed it very much.



Bre and I are finding our way around quite easily, Delft is a pretty simple place and a good place to start with our travelling. This weekend we will probably stay in Delft and visit the local bars and restaraunts. We really do love it here...we may never come home. Only thing is a lot of people try to speak to us in Dutch and Bre and I just kinda smile and say, "Uh, English?" Today we learned the phrase, Ik speen geen Nederlands, or, I don't speak Dutch. Maybe when we feel more comfortable we will try to use that.















This is me throwing Tessa up in the air - she loves that!











Bre wanted me to post this picture of a cat.


We keep seeing Cats everywhere...all with collars so they are not strays, but they won't come to us and don't like to be pet. As with dogs they move out of your way and could care less if you pet them but thier owners stare you down if you go near them.



Bre doesn't like to write...so it looks like I'll be keeping you all updated. Maybe I can get her to write a blog or two. No worries, though, I love to write.


Oh, We have also found that it is very light very late. It's 9:30 p.m. right now and its looks as if it were six leaving us to believe that the sun never sets in Holland.

Delft

Bre and I spent a considerable amount of time sleeping today. We went to sleep around midnight and woke up thinking it was a beautiful morning. It had rained so our patio furniture was a little wet but everyone was up and walking around. I had to find a worker so he could turn on our hot water - which I found out we didn't have while I was IN the shower...needless to say it was the worst shower of my life, but I had to get clean. He spoke in Dutch and I had to use hand motions to say we had cold water and no hot water. Imagine it. It was hilarious. After that was all said and done, Bre asked what time it was. I looked at the clock to find that it was 2:00p.m. We laughed for a while but got up and showered and we were ready to take on Delft. We found our way to the square without using our maps. It was as if we lived here for years. Leave Delftse Hout, turn right, walk a mile, cross one big canal, walk another mile and we are there! When we got to the square we found a ton of little shops full of souveniers and Delftware pottery - which is really expensive. We bought postcards to send home and a few things for ourselves. We tried not to spend too much money though. We also went to the grocery store and bought a few things for our place. First on the list- wine. Haha. And we also bought apples and some other wonderful, nutrious items. Okay Mom and Dad? The Square is what we visited today. Located in the heart of Delft it's filled with 13th-Century architecture including the Nieuwe Kerk, a church and Stadhuis, the town hall. We took a dozen pictures today but you just have to be here. The gothic style of the buildings and the bridges over the canals are beautiful in a way that the dictionary can't describe. So I'll let the pictures do the talking.

This is a traditional dutch home - everyone has flowers in thier windows or flower beds outside their windows. It is truley my ideal home. They are beautiful! I love the canals and the bridges to cross them. I feel that it makes this place even more beautiful if possible. To sum it up, even though today was a cloudy day and most shops close at 6, it was a wonderful, enjoyable day! We just can't wait for tomorrow.

Love and miss you all!