Recap, Reflection and Comparison

I am ashamed.  When was my last post?  Like, a month ago?  Crap.  That was NOT supposed to happen!  I've been busy with, as I like to say in German, "Zeug, Kram und Sachen."  Those are pretty much three different words for "stuff."  I may have also gotten a tad bit lazy.  Just a bit.  It's summer, after all!  And I do have to admit, I was getting a little burned-out from writing almost every day.  But yes, a month is definitely long enough of a break to take!  Since this is my last post probably EVER (gasp!) I know I should have posted sooner and gotten it done with, but instead I've left you hanging for a loooong time.

Let me begin with a recap.  I'll try to sum everything up as best I can, but I'm not promising that I'll remember everything.

Holland: A Story in Pictures

Let me just give you a brief summary of yesterday, and then I'll show you all the pictures of the past couple of days!

Yesterday we drove home, making a two-hour trip a four-hour one by stopping to look at castles and things.  We also looked at some castle where Germany's ruler lived in when he was banished from Germany.  There were a lot of bikers out, which makes me just want to tell you something that has applied to our entire stay in Holland: there are bikes here outfitted for whole families!  I've seen bikes with a tiny kid seat screwed to the bike in front of the rider (it's not a tandem), windshields for bikes, tandems with an added kid seat, and special bikes that have a big compartment in front of the wheel where you can store goods or kids. There will be some pictures of just a few varieties in the picture section of my blog. :)

And now...  what you've all been waiting for....  Picture time! :D Warning: there are a LOT of pictures.  As in 55.  They're also, unfortunately, not in order because I downloaded from my mom's camera and mine. :/ Mine are in order, and my mom's are in order (I think), but together it's kind of humble-jumble, so read the descriptions. ;)

Market and Marken

We were all very excited today when the sun showed its face.  Woohoo!  We got to wear capris!  I know, it's sad.  I've probably had a total of a week of summer so far this year because it's been rainy and cold in Germany so often, and apparently it's even colder here!  I'll only have about four or five weeks of summer this year, unfortunately. :( But, as my mom pointed out, that's four more weeks than the people here! :)

Boat Tour, Flowers and Art (Oh My!)

Today was a very long day in Amsterdam.  We left at about 10:30 by car and parked near a train station, then took a train into Amsterdam.  That took about a half hour, and we arrived in Amsterdam shortly after eleven.  We spent about five and a half hours in Amsterdam before taking the train and car back home.  As you can imagine, my feet hurt really badly by the time we made it home.

Say Cheese!

Today was awesome!  I told you yesterday we were going to Amsterdam today, but we're actually going there tomorrow.  Today we went to Gouda, home of the famous cheese market.

We drove about an hour, and then parked near a canal.  That is one thing we haven't seen in a Dutch town so far: Gouda, like Amsterdam, has a lot of canals, which I think is really cool.  A lot of the railings along the canals had flower boxes of red flowers, which really added to the quaint atmosphere created by the old buildings, cobblestone roads, the canals, and the bikes.  Unlike Nijmegen, where we were yesterday, ALL the buildings were old and adorable instead of just some.

The Dutch Adventure Begins

I am currently writing to you from the laptop in our rental in the Netherlands.  The laptop has the same keyboard as in the US, and I am having a little trouble typing. ;)

We left at about 9 this morning to drive to Naarden, the Netherlands.  We made a few stops along the way, the first being a city called Nijmegen.  We walked around and took lots of pictures.  As far as I could see so far, buildings were made up of adorable old buildings, ugly middle-old buildings, and interesting-looking new buildings.  The shopping street, however, still had old buildings and an old church.

Babies: You Gotta Love 'Em

This late morning to early afternoon was pretty miserable.  I had a stomach ache and was laying in bed for about two hours, writhing and twisting from the pain.  Then I puked. :P But after that I fell asleep, and when I woke up I felt fine again, so thank goodness for that.  I have plans for this weekend after all! :)

My aunt, uncle and two cousins came last night, and they'll be here for the long weekend. (no school Thursday and Friday!  Yes!)  Finja and Louisa, my twin almost-two-year-old cousins, are pretty much the cutest things ever.  I haven't seen them in a year, and they've changed so much!  They actually respond to what people are saying now.  I played with them a lot with blocks and stuffed animals, and also went down the slide with Finja on my lap when we were at the playground.  I think they like me! :)

A Day in Cologne

Sorry this post is a day late.  I was exhausted yesterday and would rather read for two hours than write a blog entry. :)

Yesterday morning I biked down to Aldi, which is kind of the German equivalent of WalMart, except smaller and awesomer.  I wanted to get some scarves that their magazine displayed.  It took me a lot longer than it could have.  I found the scarves I wanted right away, but then I was sucked into being an old lady's fashion consultant. :) I had been wearing a cream and white scarf that I had gotten from Aldi last year, and an old woman asked me about it.  She was looking for a neutral scarf like it.  She kept asking me to open the scarf boxes so she could see the scarves better and also asked my opinions.  I guess I did a good deed. :)

Going Back in Time

Today my grandparents went to check out a 250-year-old house with a mill and a workshop.  It was super cool!  It's not in use anymore; it kind of functions as a museum, just minus all the boring information everywhere. :)

We drove through a really pretty, lush forest to get to the mill.  SO.  GREEN.

The Ultimate Friend Day

Here I am, writing to you on a Monday afternoon, not being in school.  Why?  Well, I have Monday and Tuesday off from school–again.  May is an awesome month to go to school in Germany because there are so many days off!  Thursday two weeks ago, last Monday and Tuesday, this Monday and Tuesday, and next Thursday and Friday!  Yeah, it's pretty awesome. :)  This week we don't have school because of a holiday called what sounds like Finxen.  I have no idea how to spell it. :)

But my post isn't about all the days of school I have off, it's about the awesome day I had yesterday!  I commence:

A Day of Thrills

Here I am writing to you, satisfied with the day but utterly exhausted.  I spent eight hours at an amusement park with Lisa, Celina, Celina's younger sister and her two friends.

Movie Park is an awesome amusement park about an hour away from my grandparents' house.  Despite what the name suggests, it is not a movie theater.  One section of the park, called Nick Land, has rides based on Nickelodeon shows, but there are other sections as well.  (If you click on the link, you'll see the page is in English.  Click on the tab 'attractions' and you can see great pictures of almost all of the rides.)

A Day Off From School

We had off from school today, so I can't complain about my anti-socialness or school problems or anything. :)

This morning we had brötchen for breakfast. :) I guess we have them every day there's no school.  I remembered to take a picture of them for you!

Last Day of School in PC

The papers have been signed, the laptop has been returned, the locker has been cleaned out...  School is officially over!  At least, for the time being.  I have three months of school in Germany, but for now I can pretend that spring break is summer break. :)