Virpi's family came to visit

Virpi's mother, father, littlest sister and grandmother came to visit :) it was nice to be able to meet them even though they spoke little english they were all so lovely and virpis little sister and i only played and played and played. i even led her around on this little pony while we went out picking flowers and walking around. i only wish my lovely family would come over for a visit so i could have as much fun as virpi did... Hint Hint :)

I AM GOING TO PARIS!!!!

since this afternoon i have booked both my accomodation and transport.

Look out France im going to turn you inside and outside and photograph the shit out of you!

After paris. Im back to Holland for two and a bit months and then IM OFF TO SPAIN!
I get to see my lovely aunty cass and hear all about her and my mum and aunty lindy's adventures in Vietnam!
then...

From spain i fly to my new life in LONDON.

Im excited, Im saving, Im nervous and im Impatient and Im just a little Homesick!
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Bevrijdingsdag and

The 4th and 5th of may are special days in the Netherlands- the 4th of may is Nationale Dodenherdenking- Like our 11 november its the national memorial day for those dead in the wars. The day was a quite and reflective one for me, i walked through stavoren in awe of all the dutch flags flying at half mast for the fallen. I also saw the parade and par took in the commorative silence much to the amazement of the community. If only they knew how special ANZAC day is back home.

The 5th of may is the polar opposite of the day before- Bevrijdingsdag marks the day that the Germans left The Netherlands, stealing bikes, cars and anything the moved as they retreated back home. The day is celebrated by going to uplifting music festivals and having a good old time. I dont think too many people realise the significance of their freedom at being allowed to have a good day out, especially when thinking about how controlled and regulated the lives of the Dutch were during WWII.

Mike and I went to the music festival in Leeuwarden where we met lots of friends and had a great time listening to funky jazz bands, it was not so fun having to crowd onto the train home a 9pm and listening to the young ones talk crap in another language- somehow people talking shit is even more annoying in another language than i ever could have imagined.

The rose mike gave me for a half year anniversary- i forgot. He thought i would be mad if he didnt remember, we ate crossiants, listened to the 'emily song' and spent the day being happy. What a special boyfriend i have :)

My day trip to Workum

Since arriving in the Netherlands i have wanted to trip two towns over and a measly 30km round trip to Workum and see the Jopie Huisman museum- Jopie was a man born and bred in the surrounding areas and a fantastic artist and collector of trinkets. His artworks are all very familiar coming from the surrounding area and as such i was not content with just flipping through books, i wanted to see the works for myself.

 

 Workum centrum

I decided to ride my bike to Workum and make the most of the warm sunny weather- I had one euro in my pocket after paying off my bills for the winter and i was determined to prove that i could have a fantastic day out on so little money!
So thats exactly what i did.
I rode my bike against the wind and took along my lunch plus water bottle. I stopped first in a small coutryard in the middle of workum where i sat and ate an apple. It was here that i met the loveliest cat with half a tail who kept me company and ate my apple core when i left.

 My new friend, with only half a tail the cheeky devil!

I loved riding through the countryside towards the town centre. All the baby lambs and cows in the grassy green fields, the tulips blooming and sun shining. It really was a picturebook sight.

 view from a  much needed pit stop under a shady tree

Now that i was in Workum i discovered that the museum wasnt open for another hour which wasnt a problem at all, i took a walk along the street and looked into all the cosy little decor shops. It was also great to discover a little bit of street art amongst the hidden alleyway and with the backdrop of a grassy field. I also stumbled upon another hidden gem, an antique store devoted to collecting local art and every book under the sun. If only i could have had everything for my future library!

 The netherlands is very big on art, every town has at least 3 art galleries or workshops. My kind of place eh :)

Once at the museum i took my time walking around, rediscovering my passion for art and remembering all the critical terminology from my HSC days.
After a few hours of wandering i bid the lovely curators goodbye and rode home- again agaisnt the wind which hadnt as i had hoped changed for the better.
I felt quite proud and very tired after my marathon bike ride lol and i dont think anyone shall think any less of me for having slept right through the afternoon and long into the night after getting home and showering.

I was especially proud that all my efforts cost me 74 cents, for a postcard. Im defintely in love with the frugal lifestyle!

koninginnedag 2011

Koninginnedag & konininnenacht are celebrations of the Queen and nation. It is usually held on the queens birthday however the current queens birthday is in the middle of winter and as no one likes to move from their homes in winter it was decided to leave the date of the public holiday on her mothers birthday for the good of the nation. Little bit of trivia, right there!

The celebrations are similar to that of Australia day, wear the national colour (orange) and don the flag in anyway possible. Then proceed towards the music and canals with a beer in hand and you have yourself a fantastic day off work!
Virpi and I tripped down to amsterdam for the day- we were told that it was a crazy idea because of how budy it gets but i was so excited for crowds and music and fun that i spent 6 hours on a train for 4 hours of revelry in 'The Dam' as Amsterdam is so fondly known.

Virpi and I arrived, bought ourselves some crazy sunnies at one of the road side stalls (today is also the day people flock to sell their old junk to the drunken passers by)- we then headed right into the crowd and jumped on a canal cruise to check out the parties along the way. It was so much fun, The water was filled with boats, the boats were filled with people and beer and giant speakers with every kind of music playing, during the traffic to pass through the canals we danced with the other boats and took in the sights.
After a bit more walking round/dancing virpi and i headed home on the train falling asleep thanks to the night before's dancing and partying in Leeuwarden.

Picturesque canal, Traffic jam and impromptu meeting/ party/ dancing centre all in one!

my 19th birthday!

Today was truly fantastic, with the addition of Virpi and Mike the family and i all sat down to a birthday lunch where the cake was made by Barber and Annemijn and the whole family sung my Happy birthday.

I was very lucky to receive a frog prince statue which i got to kiss and make a wish upon, a beautiful delft blue bag hanger, a lovely smelling soap set, a crazy orange cowboy hat for the coming Koninginnedag and a 100 euros towards my future travels! I felt very lucky especially when Wende remembered that my favourite disney character of all time is Ariel the mermaid and so she made me a card with her on the front.
We also managed to squeeze in some pancakes before Mike, Virpi and I headed off to Harlingen for the day.

Mike was so lovely that he took me to the beach so i could smell the salt water, it didnt smell like home but the thought was so lovely that i was happy to have him all for myself.
We walked through the Harlingen centre stopping in shops and taking in the sites while eating icecreams before we made our way to Leeuwarden.

Harlingen is all about the boats, the canal houses and the beach, its the ferry point for the friesland islands and on the otherside of the Ijselmeer Lake meaning its salt water baby! sometimes if the wind is blowing the right direction, the sea salt from just off the coast is carried to Stavoren. It the best smell in the world :)

Here we met up with Joanna and we all had Mexican, played pool and went to the movies as a final treat for the day. I was so happy that night when i blissfully fell asleep in my wonderful boyfriends arms, who by the way, treated me for all of the day out and supplied the wheels for the journey! Arent i lucky :)

 Mike and I being silly and our mexican dishes. Big and spicy just the way i like it!

joint birthday party

In Stavoren, a town so huge you would hardly believe that there were five or possibly more of us with our birthdays all within two weeks. Apey, Gerrit, Virpi, Cees and myself were all growing old around the same time and we decided to throw a joint birthday party.
Virpi and I didnt much mind about the guest list or the beer brand or even the food that would be available our only pre- requisite was that we were going to dress up and celebrate our birthday with a little bit of humour... and so we did.
I went as Minnie Mouse and Virpi went as a cat. We also brought along a Snow white wig for the birthday boys to wear in turn. At first everyone was very shocked to see our outfits, but our night in shining armour apey and his lovely sister came to the rescue both donning the wig and laughing along with us.

Virpi, Apey aka Jelle and I, those drinks are not all ours either. haha

The night passed in a blur, my mentality being 'god im 19 soon, lets get down with it' and drinking my corona's too fast (courtesy of barber for whom i was working the whole weekend, apart from a few hours on this night). Virpi and I also dressed the towns statue in my bikini- shocking i know- after we heard the lively debate about how boring she had become and if it would be better for the tourism to liven the town up... so we did. because we love stavoren, and didnt the vrouwtje look hawt! haha.

Me, Vrouwtje and my Bikini= priceless

My night ended with me riding my bike home a little wobbly and not seeing a table in the middle of my caravans lawn. My lovely neighbours decided that after having a bbq they would leave the dark wooden table in the middle of the grass to clean up in the morning. I who ride through there almost everyday thought nothing of riding home without a light and i have not made such a silly assumption since.  The table provided me with a quick stop and a muddy dress. And i think i lay on the ground for a few minutes wondering what had happened before jumping up, grumbling about cleanliness and a shared lawn and climbing into bed ready to begin work in a few hours.

But do not fear loved ones. The germans were very understanding about me not seeing the table and we are now all fast friends on account of my ridiculous adventures :)

sloten

Mike suprised me by taking me to a new forest one day after work. It was a nice warm day and we were going to see a war monument for two men who were lead out into the field and killed for unkown reasons. As macarbe as it was to ponder on what they must have been thinking whilst wandering the same path we were it was so fantastic to be out and seeing the fresh new leaves and smelling the rain on its way.

Mike then took me to Sloten, one of the eleven cities in the Elfstadentoch iceskating race. We had no idea how to get there so we randomly drove through small farming towns until we saw a sign pointing us the right way. One of the biggest things i love about my life here is driving past all the quaint houses with perfect flower gardens and flat green fields as far as the eye can see.
I was so happy by the time we reached Sloten that i didnt think the day could be any nicer but wandering through the town was just beautiful. As per usual on a tuesday everything was closed except the local cafes and fish and chip shops. The biggest thing i enjoyed however was all the childrens artworks displayed in the house windows. almost one to everyone house. Mike and I shared a plate of chips and then went home for a yummy dinner and a movie. Such a nice way to end a work day!

(the pictures in the windows were almost in every house we passed, my curiosity defintely got a work out wondering about all the artists in this little town)

de efteling

De Efteling is the answer to the english speaking Disneyland... Need i say more?
I was ecstatic to be finally going to de efteling and more excited to have roped in Mike, Joanna, Hessel and Johnny.

We screamed and laughed as rollercoasters threw us from side to side, spun us up, round and back down before we were spalshed through dark tunnels and into channels of water.

We took sickening pirate ship rides where all i could do was pray i wouldnt throw up on the annoying girls screaming infront of me.

 

The sprookjesbos aka, Fairytale forest and the Sprookjesboom. The storytelling tree. I was so excited to listen to him :)

 We wandered through the fairytale forest and stumbled upon a magical world during a gondola ride.

 The fairy and castle scenes filled with gremlins, trolls and wizrds from our gondola ride.

We ate to much and we enjoyed the sun, out for the first time in what felt like forever.
If only all days were filled with such fairytale fun!

 Coloured birds- real as they flew away before i could get a better shot, hopefully De efteling obtained permission before giving these dudes a makeover!

last days: Budapest!!!!

How does one describe the appreciation they have for a foreign city?. Budapest is my foreign city. I spent just under two days here and i cannot wait to go back again. I found the people to be so warm and good humoured, especially when they didnt not speak english and i just smiled and nodded at their hungarian.
It is said that Hungarian is one of the most poetic languages in the world and also one of the happiest cities around. I dont doubt it either claims. I did not see one unsmiling face the entire time i was here and many locals were more than happy to ask if i needed help while staring blankly at the metro map. Including the charming young boy who lost my money in the vending machine i already knew how to opperate haha.

We arrived in Budapest sometime in the afternoon. The sky was very grey and threatened snow and our hotel was huge!. The first thing i noticed at the said hotel was the giant swimming pool and sauna. I was the first one in both and the first one out of the sauna at the arrival of the old man in budggie smugglers. A real shame seeing as the Russian polo, the French ping pong and Italian soccer teams and I were just starting to communicate (my God they were amazingly gorgeous. and then there is me with my netherlands tan and sauna hair!)

View from my hotel room

The following day began with a bus tour with our local guide, she was a great asset seeing as every monument and building in Budapest has multiple historical significance.

 Heroes square featuring me :) so excited i forgot to cross at the pedestrian crossing as i ran here!

Our first stop was the Heroes Square-  The sqaure features the statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century as well as the Arch-Angel Gabriel holding the crown of the first King of Hungary. The memorial was created for the one thousandth anniversary  of Hungary in 1896 but like any job site was behind schedual and finished later in 1900. There were many more figure such as the Greek gods of war and Sun. It was very intricately designed and heavily laden with metaphors. I really enjoyed our tour guides descriptions of it all.

We moved on quickly from the Square and took a bus tour through the city, we passed the jewish synagogue- heavily damaged in the war, the world class Opera house where many well to do and fancy persons have been seen over the years and finally we found ourselves ascending a look out point from the surrounding mountain. This part of the day was fantastic- despite the poor visibility (and photo quality) Buda and Pest (the city is divided by the Danube river creating the two sides) were lain out below us. It was fantastic. The Old fort during WWII had been built here with a perfect view over the surrounding coutryside and many old machine weapons were left for historical preservance. 

 The view and my very unclassy stradle upon the machine gun- and yes im wearing a soviet union hat. Not one of my finer moments...

After many slips and slides on the way down we were once again on the bus and off to our next stop. The Fisherman's Bastion, Castle District and Church of St. Matthias. This place was something out of my wildest dreams. Gothic teraces, cobblestoned streets, the old palace, WWII bullet holes a tiny community wthin the old palace wall complete with own school, shops and police!

 Fisherman's Bastion... isnt it fantastic! i could have spent all day walking through here.

Again the monuments here were riddled with history (god i love history!) The Fisherman's Bastion is named for the guild of fishermen responsible for defending these city walls in the Middle Ages and the seven towers upon this wall again represent the seven Magyar tribes who founded the Hungarian state. 

 Statue of King Stephen I and the St. Matthias, you can also see the snow on my camera lens, frustrating! haha

Inside the courtyard there is a Statue of King Stephen I the first King of Hungary and as you pass him you are confronted with the amazing sight of the Church of St. Matthias. Having been rebuilt many times after countless invasion their was once an incredibly old statue of the virgin mary discovered hidden in the walls when a cannon blasted through the interior.

 Bullet holes in the old armoury and a quaint archway on my wanderings

It was a delight to wander through the castle district, stopping to look into the quaint self surviving shops and warming ourselves with a coffee in a cozy cafe. After coffee we stopped to quickly look at the Buda Castle which was not as impressive close up as from below the city, what was cool though was the vertical rollercoaster lift from the city upto the castle district. No time for trying that out however, i was once again beign roused on for being late and rushing for the bus to the parliment house. something about offical appointment times and all that jazzzzzzzzzzzz.

Parliment house from the riverside and the carpark side. it gets even more impressive on the inside :)

Parliment house was by far one of the most impressive buildings i have ever seen. It is on the waterfront of the Danube river and is three separate buildings all joined together and as in typical hungarian style the outer facade has statues of its founding tribes, kings and historical figures, coat of arms and shields feature on the stained glass windows and there is/ was mountains of gold in laid into any surface possible in the interior. Apart from watching one of the boys stumble into a dignified parlimentary figure my favourite site of the day was the the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall in which the The Holy Crown of Hungary is displayed amidst james bond style laser security and fancy red ropes!

 Historical figures keeping guard upon the 16 sides of the chamber and THE crown...

The Crown was the first in Hungary and worn by around 50 kings up until the 12th century- after hearing this i realised the great importance of the crown and hence the crazy security measures.

After our tour ended we were lucky to have some free time to ourselves. after many days of being herded about i was glad to be finished with rushing to the bus. I set of with Nikki and James towards St. Stephens basillica. Home of the mummified hand of St. Stephan aka. King Stephan I.

 St. Stephens basillica- interior and exterior. Inside was very peaceful and very grand, the two dont often go together...

The church inside was beautiful, one of the things Nikki had said that really struck a cord with me was to do with Pagan farmers entering a place like this in the middle ages and being told of the wonder of god. No wonder religion was seen as a salvation to them. And that must be sort of similar to all the brothers now preaching in rural and destitute places in Africa and Asia.

 The casing over the mummified hand, I could see the hand but we were only allowed one picture, to preserve the sterile conditions of the hand... you can imagine though that the hand had shrunk, it was brown, and quite unimpressive. although still looking great for a 1200 yr old hand

The mummified hand was quite something, im kicking myself for not remembering how this church came about to have such a hand in its reliquary, although seeing as St. Stephan was responsible for converting the kingdom to christianity i believe this is probably the reason. After a very thought provoking trip round the church i left Nikki and James in the hands of a friendly local (who i later found out took them all the way across town to the giant market hall, the opposite way to which he was going) and headed off to the Szechenyi Bath house- The largest medicinal bath house in all of Europe and one of the oldest in Budapest.

 The outdoor thermal pools where i spent most of my time, i met the loveliest british tourists here. they kept me company and talking when i thought my mouth would freeze haha

The best part though is that the water for the baths is all natural, it comes from the two springs underneath the building and the water must be cooled from 75 degrees to 38 degrees before we are able to use it!!! i know right. the british tourists couldnt believe it when i told them either haha.
i had a truly fantastic time here. i enjoyed my lounge around in the outdoor bath, i sunk all the way upto my neck and was glad to escape the snowy -5 degrees. although at times i would get out and use this snow to cool off before going in for another round. my only complaint about my time here was that some jerk stole my hotel towel and i was left to walk around in the cold looking for it before paying for a new one. Luckily the gentlemen at the desk was understanding and gave me the towel for free! just like i said. I love Hungary and its people. I couldnt stay long to thank my new friend however as i was required on the farwell dinner cruise along the Danube.

    

 The spread... and the dining crew, Alister, Jeremy, Paigey and mwaself :)

 
Budapest from night is beautiful im kicking myself for not taking any photos myself. The parliment house and Castle district were beautifully lit up and mangificent in the clear night. The food was also excellent and before i knew it we were once again wandering the streets looking for another watering hole to dance the night away. We found a dingy pub with grumpy bouncers and a lively crowd. I was also amused that after travelling to Hungary i should find myself watching a football game featuring the local team from friesland. I cant escape this place i tell you haha!
Many of the group departed earlier than expected after a cat fight erupted over someone not wanting to take someone else to bed. not mentioning any names guys! I was glad to be away from the drunken tourist in that bar however and fell quickly into sleep, ready for a speedy run through Budapest in the morning to grab some traditional souvenirs and my last sights of the city before my flight out......

And so ends my contiki tour. with a speedy drive to the airport in Budapest, final goodbyes and a big kiss from mike at the amsterdam airport  :)
a holiday i will never forget!