Central College Abroad

The weekend after visiting Liverpool, the Central College program set up an optional weekend field trip to Texel (pronounced Tesel), which is a large island (large for the Dutch) that located just north of North Holland. Since the field trip was optional, we had to pay a 50 euro base fee, plus the 20 euro train ticket. But in my opinion, 70 euros for an island weekend is a pretty good deal. Traveling to Texel was fairly easy, just a two hour train from Leiden to Den Helder (a northern town in Holland) and a 30 minute ferry from Den Helder to Texel.

After getting of the ferry, we all rented bikes for the weekend and took a 15 minute bike ride to our lodgings. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was that we literally biked everywhere. We stayed in a sort of large cabin that held around 30 bunks, 4 bathrooms, a kitchen, an indoor sitting area, and an outdoor sitting area. In short, I was pleased with our shelter. Almost directly after dropping off our things, we departed straight for the supermarket to get food for the weekend. That night we ate a Dutch favorite, Erwtensoep, or pea soup, which was surprisingly good. After dinner, we took a 30 minute night bike ride out to the beach and back.

For the next two days, we went biking around from museum to museum and beach to beach. For those who will enter the Leiden program in the future, I would highly recommend going on this field trip.

The following weekend I decided to stay put in Leiden, mostly for one particular reason: Ontzet! Or for those who don’t know Ontzet is the celebration of Leiden’s independence from Spain in 1574. It happens every year on the 3rd of October and Leiden is the only city in the Netherlands who celebrates this event. Needless to say it’s like a Dutch Mardi Gras. People, beer, music, and carnival gimmicks fill the streets of Leiden for the weekend. I must admit, Ontzet was a pretty good time. Although the one thing I didn’t like about Ontzet this year was that the big parade was titled “The American Dream,” which I found strange for a nationalist holiday.

Since my last entry, I have visited Amsterdam twice. The first time was with Steef and Dennis (the program directors) and they took us all on a nice trip throughout Amsterdam. What I enjoyed about it was that they showed us many places that were off the beaten path and avoided the mainstream tourist spots. First we went on a long canal tour of Amsterdam, which I enjoyed because it is always nice to be on the water. After that we did loads of walking through hidden churches, a Buddhist temple, a small museum that preserved a house from the 17^th century, the Amsterdam History Museum, and the notorious Red Light District (yes believe it or not, most of the old churches are found in the Red Light District).

The second time I traveled to Amsterdam, I took another day trip with three other friends. This time we hit up the more touristy spots on our own. First, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which I would highly recommend with its hundreds of works by Van Gogh, but also with its collection of other impressionists like Cezanne and Pissarro. After that we went to the Rijk Museum, which is the Netherlands national museum. This too was interesting with many works from Dutch baroque artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer. After getting our fair share of museum time, we strolled around the city looking at various street performers. Central Amsterdam is filled with street performers who do everything from break dancing to polishing shoes in drag.

The weekend after visiting Amsterdam, a couple of friends and I decided to take a day trip to Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Although we didn’t do anything particularly interesting (like visiting the National Clock Museum or National Train Museum) Utrecht was still a good and cheap way to kill a day. I guess to put an image into your head; Utrecht was your typical Dutch city, many canals, old buildings, a long market, and many shopping streets. I would recommend it as a day trip.

The very next week, a couple of friends and I found a cheap flight to Liverpool. So we flew out of Amsterdam on Friday morning and arrived at the home of the Beatles a couple of hours later. After taking a bus into town and throwing our things into the hostel, we set out for a couple of museums. We first visited the Walker Art Gallery which was a good and diverse museum with works from Medieval and Renaissance times all the way to Modern Art. After that we checked out a couple of old buildings and then got some damn good fish and chips. After the fish and chips, we all went over to the Cavern Club (where the Beatles got their start). And as a big Beatles fan I must say that I was unimpressed with the Cavern Club, but still worth the visit if you’re in Liverpool. After the Cavern Club, we all went back to our hostel for a big nap. After our nap we decided to check out British night life, which disappointingly enough turned out to be a lot like American night life. I.E. lots of mainstream music pumping out of generic clubs. However we did stumble upon a coffee shop that was playing jazz.

The next day in Liverpool was a day on the bus, upon which we all agreed was the most interesting activity to do. And I’m not being sarcastic; getting a day-bus-pass a ride around the city was an interesting and relaxing way to ingest Liverpool. We did make it over to the Liverpool football stadium, which was really only a gift shop, and also to the famous Penny Lane. After that we got more fish and chips, and then rode on the bus for even longer.  In the end, I would say I enjoyed Liverpool.

Interweaving in all this travel,  the rest of the students in my group and I have been attending an intensive Dutch language class. The class is only two and a half weeks long, but it is 4 days a week for 4 hours a day. With the class I have already learned a decent amount of Dutch, even though I must say that I’m not completely confident on my pronunciation. After the class is over, we will all start our normal classes.

Eating out in the Netherlands is damn expensive, so just about everybody eats in everyday of the week. That is why I’m so excited to talk about my new discovery in Leiden. I present the Kapsalon. A kapsalon is a uniquely Dutch Turkish dish, if that makes any sense. In short the kapsalon is served only at the many Turkish restaurants that inhabit Holland. The kapsalon (which oddly enough means hair salon in Dutch) is comprised of French fries on the bottom, topped with doner meat and cheese, topped with garlic sauce and hot sauce, and topped with various veggies. And only for 5 Euros! And their open till 3 a.m.! God I love this place!

Greetings, those surfing the vast ocean of the World Wide Web. My name is Ian Gillespie, and I will be your trusted blogger for the Leiden study abroad program for the Fall ‘09 semester (given that I don’t offend too many people with my tales of travel). First let me say that I was born and raised in Austin, TX and have never ventured outside of North America, so when I was given the chance to study in the Netherlands, I quickly jumped on the opportunity.

At this very moment, I have been in the Netherlands for six days. For better or worse, I have probably experienced more in these last six days than I had previously all summer. So let’s start from when I touched down in the Amsterdam airport. Immediately after leaving the plane I had a revelation that what little Dutch that I studied over the summer was utterly worthless given that I can only communicate through writing and my pronunciation is sloppy at best. Luckily for me, everybody who I have run into so far has spoken near perfect English and been very kind to help. I had no troubles at the airport. I found my bags quickly, and even when I went through customs, the officials literally paid no attention to me.

The train ride from Amsterdam to Leiden was only around 15 minutes (maybe a little longer, after taking a 12 plane ride, a short train ride seems to last mere seconds). But I’m pretty sure I annoyed the little old woman whose personal space was greatly reduced due to my large suitcase. When I got off the train, I started running into a number of dilemmas. In my little official Student Survival Guide, I was told to go directly to the taxi stand outside of the train station. Only when I got out I didn’t see any taxis, just a bus stop, thousands upon thousands of bikes, and a parking lot filled with Mercedes Benzes. I spent about 30 minutes lugging my luggage back and forth in front of the station aimlessly looking for the taxi. Finally I realized that the parking lot full of Mercedes Benzes had a big sign that said TAXI on it. So I put two and two together and thought this might be the most expensive taxi ride of my life. When I got in the taxi and told the driver to go to the address I was given by Central College, he looked at me blankly as if I told him to drive me to Egypt. So I asked him to just drop me off at Leiden University and figure things out there. The driver was very nice to me until he asked where I was from, in which I told him I was from Texas. In which he responded rather coldly, “Oh, George Bush.”

After getting out at Leiden University, I went through a string of events that eventually landed me at the Central College office in Leiden. Where I was kindly greeted by program directors Steef and Dennis. They gave me the keys to my dorm and sent me off. I spent the rest of the afternoon settling in and wondering around town with one of my new neighbors. At 6 p.m., I met the rest of the students in the Central program, and then Steef and Dennis introduced us to Dutch cuisine. Which believe it or not, are pancakes for dinner. Now I’m at home. The Pannekoeken (or Pancake house) is an old Dutch restaurant that serves pancakes that are over a foot in diameter filled with all sorts of fruits, veggies, and meats. Needless to say, it was pretty damn good. According to Dennis, there are restaurants like this throughout the Netherlands and the average Dutch person probably eats pancake dinners once a week. After 24 hours without sleep, I hit the hay right after I got back from dinner.

Over the next two days, Steef and Dennis helped us all get acquainted with the Netherlands, giving us a full tour of downtown Leiden and explaining various customs that make life in the Netherlands different from life in America.  To finish the week off, we were all introduced to our new Central College professors with a Dutch tradition called a “Borrel.” Pretty much we just drank a couple of beers with our future professors, which is kind of cool because I couldn’t imagine having a couple of cold ones with my American professors.

Over the weekend, my classmates and I decided to explore our new environment. From Friday through Sunday, the city of Leiden was hosting a small music festival on one of the many canals just a few blocks from our dorm. In general, the music we saw was mediocre, but it was still cool to be outside alongside a canal listening to music at night.

Probably the most enjoyable part of my first week was on Sunday when a couple of friends and I biked out to the North Sea in Katwijk. The bike ride is only a handful of kilometers and takes about an hour each way. The biking lanes are fairly open and the land is always flat, so you don’t have to be an avid biker to enjoy the ride. When you get there you are greeted by surprisingly sandy beaches, an abundance of waves, and loads of kite surfers. After walking along the beach for a while, we made camp and watched the kite surfers and the nice beach sky. I would highly recommend this to anybody visiting the Western Netherlands. I imagine that I will bike back out there at least once more during my stay. 

Despite being in the Netherlands for only six days, I can already see the subtle differences between here and America. Maybe it’s because I’m still on my “Honeymoon” period, but so far I unanimously take the side of the Netherlands as opposed to America. The main difference between here and America is how fantastically energy efficient the Dutch are. Almost everybody rides bikes, takes a clean energy train, or walks around town. And what few cars there are, you don’t see the gas-guzzlers like you do in the States. The Dutch also do so many little things to conserve energy. For example, in your dorm room, the constructors made it physically impossible to leave the lights on in your room after you leave the dorm, because you need your keys to turn on the lights. Also there is almost no water in the toilets and the refrigerators are small (especially for five people). These small acts that are non-existent in American life make a difference overtime.

 The other difference that I’ve noticed is that people are not nearly as stressed out about daily life as they are in America. Shops close when they want to as opposed to staying open longer to squeeze out a couple extra pennies. People on the streets aren’t speed walking with a cell phone attached to their ear, but seemingly walking coolly taking in the day second by second.

In short I have had a great time so far in the Netherlands and look forward to future adventures throughout the rest of the Netherlands and the rest of Europe.

I can’t believe the semester is over already. It seemed to fly by. At the time I am writing this, I have been home for about three weeks. People ask me how my experience was and I am not able to put it into words other than it was wonderful. I was very fortunate and had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling. I ended up traveling to 11 different countries. Traveling was one of my goals for the semester and I was happy to see a lot of Europe. Even though I experienced a lot of things, there are still many places I would like to see. Hopefully, some day I will have the opportunity to go back to Europe. I would love to return to Leiden.

This semester in Leiden was unusually small. Since there were only four of us my classes only had two or three people in them. While at first this seemed weird, we quickly discovered that it had some advantages. We could discuss things that interested us and got individualized attention. Before leaving, I was worried that we would not get along. But fortunately, this was not a problem.

I learned a lot while abroad both in and outside of my classes. All of my classes were very interesting. I was able to learn about and experience the culture in the Netherlands. I also became more confident in myself because I had to rely on myself in a lot of situations.

I am really glad I had the opportunity to study abroad. I enjoyed my time in Leiden. While it is really nice to be home, there is a part of me that wishes I was still there.

As a part of the program, we went to Belgium for a few days. We met Steef and Dennis at 1:00 and took a train to Den Haag. We switched trains and were off to Brussels. We arrived a little late since a train before ours had some problems. When we arrived in Brussels we walked to our hostel and checked in. We were given an hour to relax and get settled in to the room. Joel, Kyler, and I shared a room. It was almost like a hotel room.We had our own bathroom and we each had our own bed.We even had a TV with a channel in English.

We met Steef and Dennis and went on a city tour. Steef was very knowledgeable about the sites. We saw the Grote Market which is a large square with many very fancy buildings. We then went to see one of the most visited sites in Brussels, Manneken Pis. This fountain is a little boy peeing. When the feminist movement went through, a female version, Jeanneke Pis, was created. We also went to visit this site.

By this time it was time for dinner. We went to a Pizza Place. After dinner, we continued our city tour. We went to the Grote Market to see it at night. We also went to the Cathedral to see it at night.

The next morning, I got up and ate breakfast at the hostel. They had cereal, bread, or toast. One interesting thing they offered was a Belgian Chocolate spread for the toast. I tried it but it was a little too rich for my breakfast tastes. We continued our tour of the city. We first went to the European Union Complex. We toured the European Union Parliament. After that we went to the cathedral. We saw the inside which was very nice. This completed our tour of Brussels. We had lunch on our own and were given the afternoon to explore the city on our own. Kyler, Joel, and I walked around the city. We also stopped at a chocolate shop and got Belgian waffles. I splurged a little and got a waffle with chocolate and strawberries. It was very good.

We decided to return to the hostel and rest for an hour. We then met Steef and Dennis or dinner. Tonight we went to a Chinese restaurant. It was very good.

The next morning I again had breakfast at the hostel. I met with the group and we checked out of our hostel. We took the train to Bruges which took about an hour. Steef showed us around the town. Bruges is a beautiful city. I wished we could have stayed there longer. We went to the Church of Our Lady. Michelangelo’s statue Madonna and Child is located here. This statue is the only piece of Michelangelo’s work that left Italy during his lifetime.

We then went to lunch. After lunch we went to the Basilica of the Holy Blood. This chapel contains a relic of Jesus. According to Legend, after the Crucifixion Joseph of Arimathea wiped blood from the body of Christ. He kept the cloth which remained in the Holy Land until the Second Crusade. The cloth is now kept in a glass cylinder. After this we went to a museum. However, it was closed since they were setting up a special exhibit. So, we went to an old hospital which is now a museum.

It was then time to leave. I went with Steef and Dennis back to the Netherlands. Kyler and Joel headed off to London. Steef, Dennis, and I took the train to Antwerpen. When we arrived, we discovered that our next train was canceled. So we had to take a different train. The trip took an extra hour. It was frustrating because we could have done more things in Bruges if we would have known the train was canceled.

We had spring break March 6-15.  For the first part of my spring break, I went to visit my friend Sara who is studying on Central’s Granada program.  I flew to Madrid since it was a cheaper than flying to Granada.  Sara met me at the airport and we took the Metro to our hostel.  We checked in and then walked around the city and took pictures.  The next day we went on a free walking tour of Madrid.  We saw numerous sites including the Royal Theater and Palace, the oldest restaurant in the world, the Plaza Mayor, and the house where Miguel de Cervantes died.  After the tour, Sara and I went to the bull fighting ring.  We missed the touring time so we just walked around the outside.  We learned that at certain times of the week some of the museums offer free admission.  We were lucky enough to go to the Reina Sophia Museum and the Prado Museum.  After a long day of touring, we took an overnight bus to Nerja.

We arrived in Nerja sometime between 9:00 and 9:30 Sunday morning.  It was a beautiful day.  The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and it was warm.  Nerja is situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains.  For most of the day, we were at the beach enjoying the sun.  Monday morning, we went to the caves.  Five men discovered a large cave system fifty years ago.  Since then, the site has become the third most visited site in Spain.  That afternoon we took a bus to Granada.  When we got there, we walked around the town for awhile.  We climbed a very large hill to the Mirador de San Nicolas.  This location has a great view of the Alhambra and the city of Granada.

On Tuesday, Sara and I went to the Alhambra.  This amazing site is an old city or fort that was once inhabited by Muslim rulers.  It was amazing.  That evening, Sara’s host mom invited me to dinner at their home.  The language barrier was a bit of a problem, but I got an idea about what was going on.  Sara’s host mom was a wonderful cook.  She served us some type of chicken soup, pork, and Spanish tortilla.  Wednesday morning, Sara and I had chocolate and churros for breakfast.  I don’t know if I would order them again, but it was fun to try another Dutch treat.  I took a bus back to Madrid and stayed in a hostel there that night.  I had an early flight back to Amsterdam Thursday morning. 

This morning Joel and I had Dutch 2. Lately many people have been asking me whether I feel comfortable using what I have learned. Honestly, I am pretty good at speaking Dutch in class but everywhere else I tend to shy away from speaking the language. Since most people speak English, it is too easy to stay in my comfort zone and speak in English. When I go to the market or grocery store, I try to use my Dutch if I can. However, these interactions are very limited since I mostly say hello, please, and thank you.

This afternoon, we had a museum trip to Utrecht. This city was probably one of the most beautiful I have seen in the Netherlands. Our first stop was the Dom Tower which is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. The tower was built in the 14^th Century. It used to be connected to the Cathedral of Saint Martin or the Dom Church. However, in 1674 a wind storm (probably a hurricane or tornado) caused the connection to be destroyed. People are allowed to climb the tower for a fee of course. Due to a lack of time, we did not do this. If I were to go back on a clear day, I would definitely consider doing this.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Saint Martin. We were able to go into this amazing building. It was originally a Catholic cathedral but the Reformation changed this. Many paintings, statues, and other objects were damaged or removed. So we are not able to see it in its full glory. However, I was still impressed. After our visit to the cathedral, we walked through the city. Steef pointed out a few things as we walked.

There were many paintings here. After the museum, Kyler and Joel decided to head south to see Carnival. This is a celebration before lent. People party and dress up in costumes. The people of the northern part of the Netherlands are too sensible for these kind of festivities so the activities are only in the southern part of the country. I thought about staying in Utrecht for awhile to look around but decided against it. This was probably a good thing because something was wrong with the train track between Utrecht and Leiden. Steef and I had to take a longer route home. Without his help, I would have struggled finding my way home since the announcement was in Dutch.

 Dom Tower

 Inside the Cathedral

Our second school related excursion was to the city of Rotterdam. The weather did not cooperate. It was cold, dreary, and misting. This put a damper on touring. We took the 9:04 am train and it took us about a half hour to get there. Rotterdam is very different from the other cities in The Netherlands I have visited. The city center was bombed by the Germans in 1940 at the start of World War II. Because of this, most of the historic buildings are gone. Some were spared though. The city hall and an art museum were not bombed because they believed that records were important and the leaders, including Hitler, had a passion for art. Because the city center was leveled, new, modern architecture now fills this space. When walking you can actually see the line of what was destroyed by the bombing and what remains. We walked down a street and to our left were new skyscrapers and to the right were the typical brick Dutch buildings. The city takes pride in its modern architecture and design. People are constantly tearing down and rebuilding structures. Personally, I like the charm of the historic buildings rather than the center of Rotterdam. In some ways, the city center reminds me of Chicago.

For most of the day, we walked around and Steef pointed out sites of interest. We did stop at a couple of museums. The first museum we went to was the Boijmans van Beumingen Museum. The museum had many different types of art including mediaeval artifacts, modern objects, 17^th Century Dutch art, and international Impressionist art. I saw pieces by Rembrandt, Van Gough, Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Monet. We were at the museum for probably two hours.

For lunch we were given 10 Euro for lunch money. We were taken to an area of the city that had many choices. We were given an hour for lunch. Sara, Kyler, Joel, and I decided to go into a small pub which was advertising warm sandwiches. We sat down and ordered our drinks. After we received our drinks our waiter seemed to disappear. We asked for a menu which took a half hour to get. After a lot of frustration, we paid for our drinks and left since we only had twenty minutes left for lunch. Kyler and Joel went to Subway and Sara and I went to a small sandwich shop. I ordered a toasted ham and cheese sandwich which was very good. The service at this small shop was fabulous. The man was willing to translate the entire menu for us, which I told him was not necessary.

We met Steef and Dennis and once again began to walk around the city. We saw more special architecture. We were shown a section of really interesting condos. They are really hard to describe. They are yellow cubes tilted on their sides. One of these condos is a museum so that people can see what it looks like to live in one of these unique homes. It was interesting. Steef and Dennis guessed that each one would be about 200,000 to 250,000 Euros to purchase. Rotterdam has either the first or second largest harbor in the world depending on who you talk to. The Rhine River goes through most of Europe including Rotterdam. Many goods enter the Rotterdam Harbor and are then sent throughout Europe. We did not see the harbor but did see a part of the river.

Steef, Sara, Dennis, Kyler, and Joel in the unique condos

The unique condos in Rotterdam

            For the first two and a half weeks, everyone is required to take Elementary Dutch 1.  While I am very glad we had this course, it was very intense.  We had class for three hours every day and I studied for a few hours after class to prepare for the next lesson.  To celebrate the end of the course, we decided to travel to the city of Delft.  Delft is similar to Leiden.  Both cities have universities, have a similar population, and are full of history.  Delft has two very large churches of historical importance.  These are the Nieuwe Kerk and the Oude Kerk or the New Church and Old church.  The old church’s tower leans about 2 meters or 6.6 feet past vertical.  We decided against paying to go to these.  It was interesting just to look at these enormous buildings. 

            With our museum card we were able to visit the Museum Het Prinsenhof for free.  This museum about the eighty year war with Spain is a former convent.  It is also the location where William of Orange was killed.  He was a prince of The Netherlands and helped lead the revolt against the Spanish.  He was assassinated on July 10, 1584.  There are still holes in the concrete walls where he was shot. 

            After the museum we decided to explore the city a little bit.  We walked through the open air market.  I was hungry and Sara recommended I try patat.  These are basically thicker french fries served with mayonnaise.  At first I thought they were very good.  But as I continued eating them, I decided I liked ketchup better.  But I would definitely be willing to eat them again. 

            Our final stop for the day was the Royal Delft museum.  This is the factory where Delftware is produced.  It was a little expensive but worth it.  It cost 6.50 Euros to tour.  Unfortunately, the factory was closed for the day and guided tours were not available either.  They did give us a nice book that explained everything and it was nice to go at our own pace.  There was one man doing a painting demonstration.  Every piece of Royal Delft is painted by hand.  The painters paint on a product that has been fired once.  The paint looks black and contains cobalt oxide.  A glaze is then placed over the entire product.  When the product is fired again, it changes into the well known Delft Blue.  In the museum, there were many examples of products made throughout the years.  It also showed the different styles of Delftware.  We were also able to walk through the factory where everything, except for the painting, takes place.  I would highly suggest going on a day when the factory is operating.  Even though no one was there, it was still very interesting to see. 

    Painter working on a Delft Blue plate

   The Leaning Tower

   Kyler and Joel at the Royal Delft factory

Our first excursion was to Amsterdam. Our train left Leiden at 9:01 AM. With a few stops, it took about 35 minutes to get to the Amsterdam Central Station. We began our day with a canal boat tour. The tour first went into the harbor which has the second largest amount of ships arrive in it each day. Along the canals we saw many homes and businesses. We passed by a Dutch West India Trading Company warehouse. We also saw the Magere Brug or Skinny Bridge. Apparently this is the most famous bridge in Amsterdam. The bridge opens to allow boats to pass through. The canal tour took us past the Anne Frank House. Our boat operator must not have had this job very long. He was not very good at navigating some of the canal turns. He even ran into one of the bridges. After our canal tour, we had to go through part of the red light district to get to a museum. It was “interesting” and I think I will leave it at that.

We went to Amsterdam’s second oldest museum, which translates to Our Lord in the Attic. We were told that the building we were in used to belong to a wealthy merchant. The merchant purchased three neighboring houses in 1661. He had his store on the ground level and his family lived above. There was one room that was used for entertaining guests. This room was very elegant. It had a pattern on the ceiling, a marble floor, and a beautiful fireplace. The fireplace was the focus of the room. The merchant had twisted marble columns imported into the country for this room. There was also a painting above the fireplace. In fact, there were many paintings throughout the house. During this time, Catholic worship was banned. This is where the story gets interesting! As we climbed up a flight of very narrow and steep stairs, we came upon a between room. This tiny room was between two floors and had no windows. It may have been a Catholic priest’s bedroom. We then continued to climb up another flight of very narrow and steep stairs. When we got to the top, we found a Catholic church. Even though Catholicism was against the law, people came together in hidden churches to worship. The Protestants in Amsterdam knew they were there but ignored the situation. The attics of the three buildings that were purchased by the merchant were transformed into a beautiful church. There is even an organ in the attic which is located opposite of the alter. The alter looks like marble however it is really what Steef calls “Dutch Marble.” Since there are no natural stones in the Netherlands, the Dutch would paint wood to look like marble. I have seen a few examples of this and it really does look like marble. There were other rooms in the museum many of which had paintings of Christ. There were also two kitchens which were set up to look like they would have in the seventeenth-century and nineteenth-century.

After the museum, we continued through the red light district and suddenly we were in China town. There were numerous Chinese restaurants, which I am told are authentic and very good. We entered a temple there and looked around a little bit. I found it interesting that a sign said only vegetarian food was allowed inside the temple. There was also a warning sign that said if we were with a tour group our guide may not know what he or she is talking about, so if you had questions you were to ask the temple volunteers not your guide. After the temple, we walked around the city. It always amazes me about how much Steef, our program director, knows about the history of the cities and buildings. As we continued exploring the city, we walked through Dam Square which is the center of the city. Dam Square is full of history and has now become a site where tourist and pigeons flock. On one side of the square, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam is located. It was originally built to be the city hall, but now it is one of the three Palaces the Queen can use. It is mainly used for official state functions. Also in Dam Square was a monument that serves as a remembrance of the lives lost in World War II to the present day.

After lunch, we continued walking around Amsterdam. We saw Rembrandt Square which actually wasn’t too exciting. The Dutch originally did not think too much of Rembrandt but other countries found his work fascinating. A select few decided that the city needed to do something to commemorate his achievements. So they built a statue of him in what is now known as Rembrandt Square. Originally the statue was supposed to be made out of bronze, but the Dutch are cheap and the statue is made out of cast iron. We continued on our walk and saw another hidden church. This one however was a little more obvious, just not out in the open like most churches. Near this was the oldest wooden house in Amsterdam. There are actually two remaining homes that are made out of wood and we were able to see both of them.

We ended our day by going to the Amsterdam Historical Museum. The buildings used to be the city orphanage. The museum was set up in chronological order from the beginning to modern day. It contained many paintings and other objects. There was so much information in the museum it seemed like we only skimmed the top of it. At around 4:40 we left Amsterdam by train. We arrived back in our rooms around 5:30 and we were all exhausted. So after a long day of learning and walking, we spent the evening resting.

Amsterdam Royal Palace & Bridges on the Canal