Weekend trip to the Netherlands!!!

     This entry is not about Brot u. Rosen, which is doing fine, by the way, but about my excursion to the Netherlands (Jan. 13-14). I visited a friend of mine, Amanda, who was with me in the good ole town of E. Wow, those days seem long, long ago now. Anyway, the visit was not as long as I would have liked, due to the fact that the overnight buses only run on certain days of the week, and I had to be back to help with a big crowd coming to the house church service on Monday.
      An overnight bus was my cheapest option (I hadn’t taken flying into account, Ryan Air may have been cheaper, who knows?) At first, I wondered if this was a good idea. I had heard from a credible source that there are a lot of pickpockets in the big stations in Holland. But then I thought, heck, I’ve been on an overnight bus before (Mexico), I’ve been robbed before (Mexico), this will be cake! So I arrived at the bus station in Hamburg at around ten at night, and waited in the cold with a bunch of other people until the bus came. At least it wasn’t raining, for once. Very few people were on our bus, which surprised me. In Mexico, our overnight bus to the DF was packed, but then again, that was Mexico and the DF. The people on the bus were college kids and immigrants, the poor of Germany I would guess. I had two seats to myself, up front nearish to the drivers. I could hear their conversations about how this or that colleague got fired, how their pay sucked, about the stupid things fellow bus drivers did. Awesome. Bedtime stories to help me go right to sleep! And miracle upon miracles, I slept pretty well, for being on a bus…..if the drivers hadn’t made so many pit stops at gas stations for cigarette breaks it might have been even better. Once in Amsterdam, and on the way to meet Amanda in Leiden, I was hard-struck by my luck in being able to speak the English language. It seems practically everyone in the Netherlands speaks it. If they didn’t, I’d still probably be in Amsterdam somewhere. Many kind souls helped get where I was going that weekend. So I (belatedly) found myself in little Leiden, a metro and a train ride later. It was around 8am and pitch black outside. Amanda took me to her flat, which was above a clothing store and spacious and airy, and we took a glorious nap before starting the day. Leiden is a lovely small town, and the weather was sunny and nice, excepting the half hour or so when it rained and hailed. The buildings are pretty, not like the rows of plain apartments known to one who lives on Fabrisiusstrasse. There are canals and bridges scattered everywhere, and the streets are small and narrow. We visited pretty churches, and the remnants of an old fortress, as well as the university buildings where Amanda studies. Leiden is a dangerous small town. I barely saw a car, just bikers, more bikers than I had ever seen anywhere else, more than in Germany, more than in Marburg, Germany. But don’t let that give you a false sense of security; they’ll run you over as quick as any car. No one wears a helmet. Amanda saved my life countless times that day. After touring, we went to the anthropological museum and saw the Asian and African exhibits, with their weapons and sandals and jewelry and Buddhas and scary Buddha dragon dog things. It was cool, and also very cool was the National Geographic photography exhibit, with the famous pictures by famous photographers. I remember thinking during a project dealing with the National Geographic photography in eight grade art class, that it would be awesome to be one of their photographers. Now I realize that what I really wanted was not to be a photographer, but just to go to all of the places that they went.
      We left the haunting eyes of the young Afghan girl for Amanda’s apartment. Her flatmates are a cheerful bunch from all over (the Netherlands, New Zealand, England, Denmark) mostly studying in the humanities, all masters students. (Amanda herself is studying Islamic Studies). Being around them all that weekend made me dearly miss college, yet at the same time, made me happy I didn’t have to write any essays in the distant future. That night we had a nice time hanging out, watching a movie, and spending time with two of Amanda’s flatmates and their friends, discussing books, films, and our countries. Bedtime after the long and happy day was also very sweet.
      The next day we set off for The Hague. I must say, The Hague is a really nice city, quiet and charming with its history and cute cafes. Amanda and I agree: if we were to live in the Netherlands, it would probably be in The Hague. We saw the castle and went to a museum featuring paintings detailing the history of The Hague. The museum people weren’t happy about how close I was getting to their paintings, but then again, they never are happy about that. The café where we ate featured a bagel with a sort of cream cheese, honey, nuts, and arugula. Sounds, different? Strange? Eccentric? It was delicious! And the weather was perfect! We returned to Leiden for some hang out and relaxation time before I had to head out for Amsterdam and my bus. And that sad moment came, and Amanda took me to the bus station, and off I went L A party going guy I met on the train to Amsterdam told me that there should be a direct train line from Hamburg to Rotterdam that was pretty reasonable price-wise, and he didn’t rob me, score! Other kind souls helped me get to the bus station, yet the bus wasn’t as comfy as the first one, and I only slept maybe a half an hour, which was then interrupted by the border patrol. Funny, I don’t think there was a border check on the way up. Maybe I was asleep for that part. Back in Hamburg, safe and sound, I crashed into bed.
     By the way, breakfast has always been my favorite mealtime, and Amanda’s apartment did not disappoint! She generously shared her Poptarts with me! At first, when she took them out of the cabinet I thought that Holland had Poptarts and was wondering how many I could buy and safely transport back to Hamburg, before I found out these had come from America. Also, Amanda had this cereal, like a granola cereal with nuts that was so great I bought a box for home. And what did the food bank (called the Hamburger Tafel) donate to us the day after I got back to Hamburg? (no, not Poptarts) but granola cereal!!!! Someone up there is looking out for me.