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