Central College Abroad

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!