it's tuesday already?

ah, when did that happen? Also, I've already been here almost a month - when the heck did that happen??
For the sake of time and entertainment and the ever growing "to-do" list I have for tonight, I'll be recounting the weekend mostly in photographs.

Saturday: Nijmegen [n-i-may-hen]
I had originally intended to travel a little farther than this, but the Saturday night plans changed from just drinks to dinner and drinks, cutting my travel time significantly. Not that it was a problem, right now being social is more important to me than stamps on my passport. So instead of boarder hopping, I city hopped, right over to the oldest city in the Netherlands. The air was a little damp when I got off the train but lucky for me, I'm not made of sugar. I had written down directions to a museum, but got a little turned around as I exited the station and opted to wander instead. Here's what I found:

First, I stumbled across the Titus Brandsina Gedachteniskerk.
Don't ask me what that means because well, I just took a picture of the bulletin posted and am assuming that's the church's name. In the courtyard there was an Eternal Peace Flame, seen here on the right.

    

 What kind of tourist would I be if I didn't take a photo in front of the city windmill?

Inside of Cafe Frowijn

As I continued my wanderings, I came across a little cafe that seemed like the perfect place for a spot of lunch. It was pretty empty and the waitress was really friendly, so, having transcribed the phrases phonetically into my travel notebook the night before, I made her let me practice my atrocious Dutch  while ordering. We chatted for a little while over my cup of coffee about what I was doing here and living in the area, then she left me to my sandwich and copy of Dutch for Dummies.










After lunch I headed back toward the direction of the station. In addition to the phrases I had written for myself, I also looked up directions to the Museum Het Valkof, which boasts a wide variety of art and Roman artifacts - yes please. Situated around buildings that had seen more history than all my high school history books could ever begin to cover, the very modern looking museum was a perfect square of white and windows. For a mere four euro, I wandered around the interior, inspecting pottery, coins, and skeletons left over from the days of past. Since all the placards were written in Dutch, I didn't actually learn much, but it was still fascinating to see. Once my eyes had drank their fill of artifacts, I moved on to their collection of art, portraits of the Dutch landscape and people. I could've spent all day examining the brush strokes. Again, with Dutch explanations, I didn't get much of the history, but I was once again so thankful that I had taken multiple classes at Auburn with Dr. Bertolet. In her Renaissance Literature and Milton classes we spent at least one day, if not more, examining portraits and paintings, and the meanings behind different features. So even though I didn't know the exact backgrounds, I could still pick up on little, important details.

By the time I reached the massive portraits of a Jane Austen-ish looking family, I could hear a whirring from the next room. Moving to examine the source, I found the modern "art" collection. Some up-and-coming was featuring his collection: Nature Rewired. Three rooms full of mechanisms connected to the skeletons and carcasses of "nature". I watched a bronze teeter totter bounce up and down as what looked like dog skulls clicked around to face different directions. A full wing of feathers flapped up and down right across the room from a rat whose skeleton was still covered in papery dried flesh save for his exposed skull, which a correlating mechanism made bob up and down. Needless to say it didn't take long for me to flee back to the comfort of complex bush strokes and greenery.
I spent the remainder of the day wandering through the Market Square and admiring the architecture of Nijmegen. Words don't really do it justice, so my amateur photography will have to do...

found a little piece of home: restaurant called
"The Atlanta" 

Around four I got back on the train to head back to Renkum only to get back on the bus again around six to meet some of the other teachers for dinner. I met one of the other teachers, Thomas, on the bus and we made the trek to Wageningen together. Meeting the other teachers at My Asia (or something like that) where we all sat down to enjoy authentic Thai food. I swear my face is still burning from how spicy some of the dishes were, but my goodness it was good. That's when I learned that if you leave any food on your plate, your Dutch companions will (kindly) tease you mercilessly for it. Heaven forbid you leave the last lettuce wrap on the plate so that you can save room for the subsequent two courses. Cool guys, cool. With full stomachs, we popped next door to the Vlaamse Reus to continue our teasing of Thomas for being the only male in attendance and exclamations that soccer is not the real football - thank goodness Indira (who is a New Yorker by birth) was there to back me up. 

Sunday: Lost in Utrecht 

I was supposed to meet the main Netherlands COST coordinator and other interns in Utrecht on Sunday, but planning fell through. I still wanted to see the city, so after attending church at the International Christian Fellowship for Sunday morning service (they offer services in English, so I figured I would give it a try. They were a little intense for my preference, but very friendly. I'm not sure if I'll go back or not, luckily there are a lot of international students who study in Wageningen so I can kind of take my pick of English services, but I digress) I hopped on the 50 Utrecht CS bus. The sun was shining and I barely had to button my peacoat, so despite the lesson plans hanging over my head, an adventure seemed like a better use of my time. Like the day before, I mapped out the route to a museum but the day was so beautiful that wandering around the streets was calling my name instead. Up and down the cobble stone streets I crossed over canals, looking in shops, looking at people, and avoided being run over by cyclists. The Cathedral Dom was open for visitors, so I walked around the interior, trying my hardest to gawk solemnly. 

Garden attached to Cathedral Dom

Back on the street, I twisted and turned though the streets until my feet finally grew weary. Thinking it might be about time to head back, I made my way to the nearest bus stop. Finding a covered little hut, I looked at the map and had the dawning realization that purchasing the map I saw earlier in a book shop might have been a good idea after all. I studied the bus map intently, but could not find where I was nor how to get where I needed to go. I knew I was on a pretty main road, and thought that I vaguely remembered passing by the location on my way into town. So I headed further on, knowing that I was heading away from Utrecht Central Station - because Renkum was away from there and surely I could catch a bus that would head in the right direction. Cut to an hour and a half of wandering between bus stops, puzzling over bus stop maps, and cursing my still lackluster Dutch. Standing outside of the Utrecht "football" (soccer) stadium, I gave up. Like a beacon of light on a moonless night, a bus headed toward Utrecht CS. I beelined across the street toward the craft. The panic and relief must have been evident on my face, because as I boarded the bus the driver gave me a sympathetic and apologetic look. For a moment I was confused at the apology written on his face, and then the wave of sound and smell hit me. Apparently, a game had just let out. The bus was teeming with slightly intoxicated fans, chanting what I assumed was the team fight song. I couldn't help but laugh. 

(I later learned that the Utrecht team tied with Ajax [pronounced I-axe] which is apparently a big deal because nobody beats Ajax) 

Hold up. I was going to have a nice poignant ending to this blog post but this needs to be discussed. This is a photo of a public urinal in Utrecht. Like put a coin in the slot and do your business right there on the street. It appears to be designed for men. I can't.