I am beside myself with happiness!
That’s not why I’m writing this post, but it happens to be my mood right now.I had an oral exam today, where I prepared 2 theses about Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” and Robert Matheson’s “I Am Legend” novel. I was actually really excited to do this exam because I was interested in these subjects, and I was talking about race in both of them. I felt really good during the exam and my teacher seemed interested too. One thesis was about how Kubrick instills the Gothic terror and horror into the viewers and how the Gothic return of the past is scene in the hints about the genocide in Native Americans, and then for I am Legend I was talking about how the vampires are a metaphor for Communism and African American struggles in the 50’s in America. I analyzed the first opening scene in The Shining, picking it apart so thoroughly I think my high school film teacher would be proud. The I Am Legend talking went well too, especially comparing the vampires to the Soviet Communists and African Americans. And…
I got a 1,0!!
That’s the highest possible grade in the German system, “sehr gut”, given for an “outstanding performance”. So, I am pretty stoked!
It’s a change from last week, when I got the results back from another exam, for British Literature. That was a bummer because the entire class’ grade is based off of this one exam. This class’ exam is notoriously hard, and many Germans warned me about it, that it has to be retaken.
Anyways, enough about the depressing grading system.
This last weekend was wonderful, and I journeyed out of Germany for the first time since being here!
When I was a senior in high school, a girl from Denmark was an exchange student at my school. We came good friends, and I even visited her for about 3 weeks last Christmas! And last week, I met up with my Danish friend, Ellen, in Amsterdam!!
It was so cheap to travel there from my region. A bonus was that on the train to the station where I would get on the train to Amsterdam, my Tandem partner was randomly taking the same train! It was so good to catch up. I hadn’t seen her in a couple weeks because she’s been busy with her thesis. The train ride to Amsterdam took 4 hours, and I loved looking out the windows the entire way! It was funny how the Dutch farmhouses looked different from the German ones, even though they were so close to each other. My first impression of the Netherlands was that it was really green. It was beautiful and reminded me a little of the Danish countryside I saw last year, I would love to bike in the Netherlands! The smaller towns we passed by/through definitely tempting me to hop out and explore.
I arrived in Amsterdam in the afternoon, and Ellen wouldn’t get in until 11pm or so. I was greeted with seriously gorgeous weather! Not a cloud in the sky and sunny! I went to the tourist info point and bought a map and a tram ticket. I was so happy with myself-I was alone, but wasn’t feeling scared or intimidated. I just started from the train station, walking straight. I wanted to explore Amsterdam on my own that day, and I did! It was a really great feeling to feel so comfortable being alone in another country-I wouldn’t have had that peace of mind 5 months ago. I truly felt confident in myself and wasn’t scared at all =)
the main train station
the back of the Flower Market from the other side of the canal
I heard SO much English in Amsterdam! I ran into other groups of Americans and British people, and heard English on the street. The shopkeepers frequently approached us in English. Outside of the main squares, I was approached a couple times in Dutch, but everyone spoke such perfect English!
While wandering, the sun was starting to give the late afternoon a wonderful glowy atmosphere. I was so enjoying the beautiful weather. My region, and Germany in general, is pretty landlocked, without many rivers and lakes. That’s odd for an Alaskan girl! As soon I was next to the canals, I felt indescribably happy to be next to water. As I was walking, I noticed the sun behind one canal/bridge and the dreamy lighting it was giving the entire area. I walked over and across from it, and the scene was perfect: the sun, gauzy and glowy behind the bridge, the water, and next to the edge of the canal, some students were playing guitar. It was as wonderful as it sounds.
^I LOVED the lighting and the bridges.
And there were so, so many bikers. And bikes, just everywhere! It was awesome and looked so fun! You could definitely tell who wasn’t a local by the way they rode the bike and knew the traffic courtesies. Also, another thing I noticed: unlike Germans, who faithfully wait for the pedestrian light to turn green before crossing, the Dutch people paid those silly lights little mind! They were crossing streets in front of bikes, cars, and even the trams! I would be so scared to drive there, because of all the people running across the road on the red lights. Not that Ellen and I were much better. When in Amsterdam…do as the Dutch and do not wait for that silly green light.
I took a tram (another yay-inducing feat for me, I fearlessly found what I’d hoped was the right tram and hopped on!) and found the street that the bed and breakfast that Ellen had booked was supposed to be on. I couldn’t arrive before 7pm, but the Vondelpark was literally around the corner so I went and strolled around there to catch the fading day’s last rays.
I was getting worried because I found the address of the bed and breakfast, but all it was was a door on a long street, and I was looking for a legit bed and breakfast. There was no sign or anything , so I walked up and down this really long street looking for it. I asked a nice couple on the street if they’d heard of the bed and breakfast, and they hadn’t. But, the woman was so kind and offered to look it up on her iPhone and call for me! (My German phone wasn’t working). We reached the bed and breakfast owner, and she told me to go back to the seemingly random door I’d found and wait for 5 minutes, when the owner would be there. So I went, and waited. 5 Italians who didn’t speak much English showed up as well. The owner arrived, a large black woman with tons of fake hair and fake eyelashes. She unlocked the door, and led us into the apartment that she was selling as a bed and breakfast. She explained, in English, that our rooms were actually in a different part of the building and that they were being renovated and were in behind schedule, so the furniture wasn’t in them. But she assured us that she’d get the furniture back in them. Then she disappeared, assumingly to fix our rooms. A Dutch couple showed up, saying they’d made a booking , but she wasn’t there. When she DID return, though, it was obvious that she wasn’t expecting them to actually show. There was a HUGE miscommunication between them, and I think I understood both sides of what had happened, but the owner-lady didn’t. They spoke in Dutch,and I was surprised by how much I could actually understand because of how similar it was to German. The Dutch couple left in anger to find another place to stay.
She led us to the part of the building where our rooms were, going back outside and through another door on the street. The moving men were putting our furniture back in our rooms. She told us the shower wasn’t in working condition yet in the Italian’s bathroom on their floor, and in mine and Ellen’s, there was uncovered electrical lighting, so we wouldn’t be able to shower either. The shower was only reachable by leaving the building and going to the other set of apartents in the other building. I was starting to feel nervous.
I sat for two and a half hours, waiting for my room to be ready. Meanwhile, the moving men were bringing our furniture in, and then one of them worked on the electrical wiring in the Italians’ room that was also uncovered (“I’ll send my electrical man to fix that”, she’d said.) I heard her arguing with the Italian group’s leader and then telling them that she would find them another hostel since it wasn’t satisfactory or safe here, if they had problems. They refused, explaining that they didn’t have problems but since their rooms weren’t even ready, had merely wanted a discount. I was feeling really uncomfortable, sitting in a small hallway watching these clearly illegal “handymen” fixing electrical problems and moving furniture into the building at 9:30 at night. All of her arguing and EXTREMELY unprofessional manner and establishment was super sketchy. Finally, they finished my room, and I dropped my stuff in. At this point, without a shower and all the strange things that had happened (and then she told us the building didn’t have wifi) I wasn’t sure if I should pay for our room or just get Ellen from the airport to find somewhere else. But by the time I would pick her up and we would look for a room, it would be midnight and we’d have no place to stay…so what could I do? I had been expecting a legit bed and breakfast, but this was some woman renting out rooms in a random apartment and requiring us to pay in cash. Bed and Breakfast? There had been no bed when I’d arrived and there certainly would be no breakfast! I decided it was better than wandering around at midnight, and decided to stay. I couldn’t pay her in cash, but she said she would get the money tomorrow.
I went to the main train station, feeling a little weirded out but BEYOND excited to see Ellen. I had called Felix earlier that day (my phone would only call) to ask him to facebook Ellen that I would pick her up from the airport. To my delight, train tickets to the airport were only 4 euros. I asked a woman about the ticket and the train I was allowed to take, and she was so nice! She took me all the way to my platform and showed me which train to take, I couldn’t believe how friendly she was! “It’s always nice to have someone help you in a foreign country.” She said, and I have to agree J
I got a call during the 20 minute train ride from Ellen, saying she was there. She was relieved that I’d pick her up, otherwise she would have taken a taxi to our address…I cannot fathom the cost of such a taxi ride, when it was a 20 minute train ride!
I found her in the Amsterdam airport and we hugged and laughed and hugged again. It was so good to see her! We excitedly talked all the way back, and I felt so good being able to navigate!
We went back to the bed and breakfast and crashed, excited for our full day in Amsterdam.
The rest of our time is best told in pictures!
We started our day early, walking around in the Vondelpark. There were so many people running, walking, and doing other active things, it was inspiring! And we were lucky enough to have more gorgeous weather!
Then we headed to the famous I “Am”sterdam sign. We saw the outside of the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum at the Museumplein, but we didn’t want to waste our only full day inside.
We found some breakfast and coffee (I drank so much coffee in Amsterdam?!) and continued.
We walked around for a good part of the late morning/early afternoon and also did some shopping. We saw the flower market (with flowers for sale, even in February! It was kind of funny, we ate at an Italian restaurant next to one canal, so hungry that we decided any nation’s food would be good, and all we wanted was some free wifi! We decided to take a canal boat tour around 4, and I loved it! Seeing Amsterdam from the water was a great perspective and I loved hearing about the history of the city. Apparently Henry Hudson sailed from Amsterdam! Also, we had noticed that the houses along the canals tipped in odd angles and seemed leaned over and bent forward. The tour guide told us that it was because of the way the houses had been built, some leaning forward to look bigger and more impressive, and the ground it had been built on. They looked so fun, I loved the leaning, crooked houses! Our tour guide told us that the Dutch refer to them as the “Dancing Houses”, which I think is perfect.
At Dam Square
Canal boat tour!
The Dancing Houses!! My favorite!!
Our tour guide was really hyping us up, telling us to get our cameras ready because this was the most photographed place in Amsterdam-the place where you can see the 7 bridges..and a boat was in canal. Boo!
At night, we explored more and saw the canals lit beautifully. After eating dinner, we walked back home, stopping at a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop. The famous Leidseplein was active, like the night before, but we didn’t go out after our exhausting day. We were about a 10 minute walk from the nightlife of the platz, but we were ready to sleep by 11. Shortly after we arrived at our room, a man knocked on our door and said we needed to pay for the room. I thought this was really strange, and sketchy,but I remembered the woman ran the place with her boyfriend. We paid him, and Ellen slyly took a picture in case the woman hadn’t sent him and we needed to identify him later.
Later, a little after 1am, we got a knock on our door from the woman who owned it. She told us we needed to pay. I told her we’d paid a man, and then she calmed down. She asked us why we hadn’t called HER (I had been expecting a call from her all day) for the payment, and why we hadn’t called when the man came. It was extremely unprofessional and rude…it was past 1am!? At least in the morning, the electrical wiring in our shower had been covered so we didn’t have to leave the building to shower.
We left the next morning quite happily, and had a great yogurt/muesli breakfast at a café. We only had time to see a bit more before our train left, but it was a lovely morning.
Amsterdam is definitely a must-see-again for me! It was a beautiful city, and I felt so comfortable there! It was a city that I immediately knew I could see myself living in, and I haven’t felt that before. Maybe it was the nice weather or the short amount of time, but I was completely enamored by Amsterdam. I liked it sooo much more than Berlin.It was a small city, really, I only used my tram ticket on the first day to get to the room and on the last because we didn’t want to walk with Ellen’s heavier bag. The entire city was accessible on foot, and the canals added a special something to it. I am dying to see it in the summer time! And the dancing houses, I just couldn’t get over them! I loved them so much! There was so much character in them. We had no interest in the coffee shops (where you can buy and smoke marijuana, legal in Amsterdam) or the Red Light District, so we didn’t see those parts of Amsterdam, but I still had a great time and can’t wait to go back. I must admit, I’m kind of jealous of the guy who studies in Juneau that is doing his exchange in Amsterdam!
I excitedly turned to Ellen to tell her that we had just crossed the border back to Germany and…she didn’t quite share my enthusiasm ;)
Ellen came back to Bielefeld for a couple days and it was fun being able to show her around. In one way, I’m glad that I don’t hear English on a daily basis in my city, so that I can learn and use more German!
It was so crazy to be with a “Palmer” friend and a “Bielefeld” friend!! Love these two dearly!
We took Ellen to the cafe through the woods at the German Baurnhaus museum with all the cute German houses :)
Ellen and I at my favorite platz in Bielefeld, so wild :)
This week, some of my friends I’ve had since September will leave to go back to their home universities and won’t be back next semester :( It’s a surreal feeling to say goodbye to someone you’ve seen often, and know that you might not see them for a long time. Very surreal and very sad. The European students have the comfort that they’re on the same continent…I can’t imagine how I will feel when I leave to go back to ALASKA. I won’t even think about it. I’ve been here for almost 6 months, how did that happen?!
This may well be my last blog post before I travel for the month, so please keep me and my friends in your prayers! I can’t wait!
Love,
A girl very much enamored with Amsterdam and ready to fall in love with other cities.
