Once again, like the usual drill it seems, we had to wake up at 3 and meet a taxi outside our dorm at 3:30 to be at the airport by 4:30.
After packing and doing the dishes and all the necessary things before leaving for a month, it was 1 before i got to bed.
So, two hours of sleep, before having to walk around a city and be interested in what I am seeing.
So, we got the taxis and to take us to the airport it was 30 euros, because in the middle of the night it costs more.
Pretty ridiculous.
We got to the airport at 4, thirty minutes before we needed to be there so we just sat down in the middle of the floor and I took a nap.
I never actually fell asleep, but I was resting my eyes.
At that point, anything helps.
Our “leaders” of the study travel go
t there just on time and told us to go ahead and check in and go to the terminal.
So we checked in and went to security.
It was really funny because there was this guy trying to take a small bottle of wine of the plane with him and they were telling him he had to throw it away because he wasn’t allowed to take it.
So, the guy just chugged it and then proceeded through security.
Keep in mind this is at 5am.
We went to the gate and
then get in line to board only for them to tell us we can sit down because the weather conditions in Amsterdam were keeping our flight delayed.
About 20 minutes later they started boarding us and when we were getting ready to take off, the pilot came on the loud speaker saying that the weather was actually in Brussels not Amsterdam so basically we were delayed for no reason.
Just miscommunication.
The plane ride was fine, about 2 hours in which I slept most of the way.
I did wake up to see the sunrise through the airplane window though.
It was gorgeous!
Like bright reds and oranges and blue all in lines…amamzing!
When we got to the airport in Amsterdam, it was the strangest thing because all the signs were in English only.
Very few had any dutch on them at all.
I mean I felt like I was back in the states.
I like it when signs have English so I can understand them, but seriously, its part of the fun to have the other language first and then English really little underneath.
I don’t k now, it was just rather strange.
We got our baggage and then all piled on a charter bus to take us to Utrecht about 1 hour away.
Once again I took advantage of the travel time to take a nap.
I wanted to stay awake to see the country, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.
When we got to Utrecht and got out of the bus I was in absolute awe.
I felt like I stepped directly into a story book or something.
It was gorgeous, and so quaint.
The cutest thing ever is everyone rides bicycles.
Everyone.
It is th
e strangest thing I have ever seen but so stinkin adorable.
The streets are lined with houses/apartments that are so cute and then trees which were losing their leaves.
Postcard?
I took many pictures.
Seriously I am in love wit
h that town.
The first building we saw was the Shroeder House which is something we learned about in Architecture History class so its cool to actually be standing in front of these buildings.
It is this modern, cubists building at the end of these quaint streets I was describing.
It definitely doesn’t fit in at all, but its cool.
Everything in the house is right angles and it is painted in bold colors like red, yellow, white and black I believe.
At the time it was built, it wouldn’t have been approved so the architect did all these tricks when making the plans like drawing on the roof of the building behind it to make it seem more mainstream.
Pretty cool stories about the design.
After that we walked to the town hall which was one of the coolest buildings I’ve ever seen.
It is like this modern building that was built conserving some of the older buildings that were there and using them to design the new building.
Its really cool, like this meshing of different buildings and materials and facades and designs and all this stuff.
We got a tour of it by this dutch guy who spoke very broken English and went off on many random tangents.
The only way to get to go in and walk around is to have a guide so that’s why we stuck with him.
It was cool because the day before they had just had elections and not enough people voted so while we were there they were counting votes
and making the decision for the new town mayor.
So there was all these tv camera crew there and people walking around excited and waiting and all this.
After that we went to the University designed by Rem Koolhaus (very famous architect) and had lunch there.
The food wasn’t very good at all, but we were hungry so we ate it anyway.
Then we toured the building.
It wasn’t anything cool or special at all, but the more you walked around and understood certain de
sign decisions, it got a lot cooler.
I liked it.
It was very raw and industrial feeling.
Then we walked over to another building that was hideous on the outside but really cool inside.
It had this thing that when it rained it collects in this pool on the roof and then goes through these pipes inside and runs down a slanted wall into a water feature inside.
It was really pretty and serene.
Opposite of this was these alcoves in the wall to sit and read or study or whatever.
Next we went to the library which was also an incredible building.
It was mostl
y black and certain things were red.
The outside had this pattern in the concrete that was repeated on the glass windows to limit the amount of sunlight penetration.
Also, the windows moved with the sunlight to keep out heat.
It was really an awesome building.
Then we went and saw some of the student housing.
Again really cool.
It was small, but chic.
Different.
I felt like all the architecture here is so different and eye opening.
They like to use color a lot in the buildings, and especially primary or bold colors.
Then we got back on the bus and took another hour trip to Rotterdam to go to the hotel.
It is nice, but not amazing.
There are three of us in a room, but im not complaining at all.
We cleaned up a little and then went out to see some of the city.
The plan was to go to the shopping area which we did, but everything closed at 6 and it was 6 so we were out of luck
.
Instead we just went to get a drink and some dinner.
We ended up at this little place that was reasonably priced and seemed to have edible food, which was a good thing after the lunch we stomached.
All the girls had this grilled chicken salad in a “tortilla” bowl.
It was alright, but definitely not what I had imagined it to be in my little head.
The chicken was like Thanksgiving chicken sliced in these long thin pieces on some interesting “lettuce” and random vegetable and stuff.
The best part was the “tomato” sauce that came on the side, which tasted EXACTLY like Pace Picante Sauce.
I put as much on there as I could.
The funny thing is the tortilla was like and air chip or something strange like that.
Not exactly what I am used to as a tortilla.
Still, it was a good meal, and nice to just have some chill time sitting at a table and talking.
After dinner, we stopped by a grocery store
to look for some JiF peanut butter.
Earlier in the day we had seen JIF in a store we passed and I wanted it really bad, but we didn’t have time to stop.
It is such a big deal because in Spain you can barely find peanut butter, and when you can it’s definite
ly not JIF.
Of course, the store didn’t have any, but oh well.
By this time we are all exhausted from the early morning traveling and then just jumping right into the city.
Almost the whole group went back to the hotel to go to sleep after dinner except about 5 of us who weren’t tired.
It was only like 10 at this point so we went to just go sit in a chill bar and have a drink and talk.
It
was fun and relaxing.
Of course, right in between the restaurant and the bar we went to, there was a “coffee shop” where no coffee was sold.
Its so crazy to me.
I mean, there was a marijuana leaf on the sign outside and when you walked by it was the most potent smell you can imagine.
We went back to the hotel and all crashed immediately.
Just my luck, I slept great until about 5am when I woke up wide awake and feeling like crap because a cold decided to join me.
I couldn’t fall asleep until 7:30 and my alarm went off at 8.
Talk about a bummer, and the whole time my nose was running everywhere.
I realized later that morning its because the pillows were feather pillows and they don’t get along with me well. the first pic is of the city of utrecht on a typical residential street, with trees lining both sides, and cute little houses. notice the bikers :) the second pic is of town hall and the pipe/drainage system that you can see is really cool, it follows those pipes down into a water feature. the third is another pic of the city, crossing over a canal. the fourth is of the black and red library i was describing, and the last is student living. each box is a different "apartment/dorm" for a single person.
t there just on time and told us to go ahead and check in and go to the terminal. So we checked in and went to security. It was really funny because there was this guy trying to take a small bottle of wine of the plane with him and they were telling him he had to throw it away because he wasn’t allowed to take it. So, the guy just chugged it and then proceeded through security. Keep in mind this is at 5am. We went to the gate and
then get in line to board only for them to tell us we can sit down because the weather conditions in Amsterdam were keeping our flight delayed. About 20 minutes later they started boarding us and when we were getting ready to take off, the pilot came on the loud speaker saying that the weather was actually in Brussels not Amsterdam so basically we were delayed for no reason. Just miscommunication. The plane ride was fine, about 2 hours in which I slept most of the way. I did wake up to see the sunrise through the airplane window though. It was gorgeous! Like bright reds and oranges and blue all in lines…amamzing! When we got to the airport in Amsterdam, it was the strangest thing because all the signs were in English only. Very few had any dutch on them at all. I mean I felt like I was back in the states. I like it when signs have English so I can understand them, but seriously, its part of the fun to have the other language first and then English really little underneath. I don’t k now, it was just rather strange. We got our baggage and then all piled on a charter bus to take us to Utrecht about 1 hour away. Once again I took advantage of the travel time to take a nap. I wanted to stay awake to see the country, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. When we got to Utrecht and got out of the bus I was in absolute awe. I felt like I stepped directly into a story book or something. It was gorgeous, and so quaint. The cutest thing ever is everyone rides bicycles. Everyone. It is th
e strangest thing I have ever seen but so stinkin adorable. The streets are lined with houses/apartments that are so cute and then trees which were losing their leaves. Postcard? I took many pictures. Seriously I am in love wit
h that town. The first building we saw was the Shroeder House which is something we learned about in Architecture History class so its cool to actually be standing in front of these buildings. It is this modern, cubists building at the end of these quaint streets I was describing. It definitely doesn’t fit in at all, but its cool. Everything in the house is right angles and it is painted in bold colors like red, yellow, white and black I believe. At the time it was built, it wouldn’t have been approved so the architect did all these tricks when making the plans like drawing on the roof of the building behind it to make it seem more mainstream. Pretty cool stories about the design. After that we walked to the town hall which was one of the coolest buildings I’ve ever seen. It is like this modern building that was built conserving some of the older buildings that were there and using them to design the new building. Its really cool, like this meshing of different buildings and materials and facades and designs and all this stuff. We got a tour of it by this dutch guy who spoke very broken English and went off on many random tangents. The only way to get to go in and walk around is to have a guide so that’s why we stuck with him. It was cool because the day before they had just had elections and not enough people voted so while we were there they were counting votes
and making the decision for the new town mayor. So there was all these tv camera crew there and people walking around excited and waiting and all this. After that we went to the University designed by Rem Koolhaus (very famous architect) and had lunch there. The food wasn’t very good at all, but we were hungry so we ate it anyway. Then we toured the building. It wasn’t anything cool or special at all, but the more you walked around and understood certain de
sign decisions, it got a lot cooler. I liked it. It was very raw and industrial feeling. Then we walked over to another building that was hideous on the outside but really cool inside. It had this thing that when it rained it collects in this pool on the roof and then goes through these pipes inside and runs down a slanted wall into a water feature inside. It was really pretty and serene. Opposite of this was these alcoves in the wall to sit and read or study or whatever. Next we went to the library which was also an incredible building. It was mostl
y black and certain things were red. The outside had this pattern in the concrete that was repeated on the glass windows to limit the amount of sunlight penetration. Also, the windows moved with the sunlight to keep out heat. It was really an awesome building. Then we went and saw some of the student housing. Again really cool. It was small, but chic. Different. I felt like all the architecture here is so different and eye opening. They like to use color a lot in the buildings, and especially primary or bold colors. Then we got back on the bus and took another hour trip to Rotterdam to go to the hotel. It is nice, but not amazing. There are three of us in a room, but im not complaining at all. We cleaned up a little and then went out to see some of the city. The plan was to go to the shopping area which we did, but everything closed at 6 and it was 6 so we were out of luck
. Instead we just went to get a drink and some dinner. We ended up at this little place that was reasonably priced and seemed to have edible food, which was a good thing after the lunch we stomached. All the girls had this grilled chicken salad in a “tortilla” bowl. It was alright, but definitely not what I had imagined it to be in my little head. The chicken was like Thanksgiving chicken sliced in these long thin pieces on some interesting “lettuce” and random vegetable and stuff. The best part was the “tomato” sauce that came on the side, which tasted EXACTLY like Pace Picante Sauce. I put as much on there as I could. The funny thing is the tortilla was like and air chip or something strange like that. Not exactly what I am used to as a tortilla. Still, it was a good meal, and nice to just have some chill time sitting at a table and talking. After dinner, we stopped by a grocery store to look for some JiF peanut butter. Earlier in the day we had seen JIF in a store we passed and I wanted it really bad, but we didn’t have time to stop. It is such a big deal because in Spain you can barely find peanut butter, and when you can it’s definite
ly not JIF. Of course, the store didn’t have any, but oh well. By this time we are all exhausted from the early morning traveling and then just jumping right into the city. Almost the whole group went back to the hotel to go to sleep after dinner except about 5 of us who weren’t tired. It was only like 10 at this point so we went to just go sit in a chill bar and have a drink and talk. It
was fun and relaxing. Of course, right in between the restaurant and the bar we went to, there was a “coffee shop” where no coffee was sold. Its so crazy to me. I mean, there was a marijuana leaf on the sign outside and when you walked by it was the most potent smell you can imagine. We went back to the hotel and all crashed immediately. Just my luck, I slept great until about 5am when I woke up wide awake and feeling like crap because a cold decided to join me. I couldn’t fall asleep until 7:30 and my alarm went off at 8. Talk about a bummer, and the whole time my nose was running everywhere. I realized later that morning its because the pillows were feather pillows and they don’t get along with me well. the first pic is of the city of utrecht on a typical residential street, with trees lining both sides, and cute little houses. notice the bikers :) the second pic is of town hall and the pipe/drainage system that you can see is really cool, it follows those pipes down into a water feature. the third is another pic of the city, crossing over a canal. the fourth is of the black and red library i was describing, and the last is student living. each box is a different "apartment/dorm" for a single person.
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