Surprise! I spent the last week with three of my favorite people, and couldn't have been happier with their visit. Mom, Dad, and Sarah arrived on Friday, September 16 and there began our days of double-digit miles of walking and exploring Amsterdam together. Their visit began with laughs: I agreed to meet them by the apartment they were staying in so, when I arrived, I parked my bike and waved at the suitcase-lugging folk of mine as they walked down Prinsengracht (their street) in my direction. It was only until we were a mere five feet away, though, that they realized it was in fact their daughter waving at them... Dad thought I was their host, waving them down to welcome them to the apartment. We laughed and hugged and they congratulated me on looking too European to recognize me from down the road.
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| One of many bicycle photographs from the trip... |
After settling into their place, I began leading them around Amsterdam, pointing out places we would visit later and important landmarks to remember. The jetlag was certainly present and gravity seemed to be tugging especially hard on their eyelids, but their excitement sustained them until after dinner. We had a lovely Shabbat together, which I really missed. At home, Shabbat is a defining and crucial part of my week. As my friends from home know, I spent every Friday night dinner at home and only started going out after dinner later in high school. At school, I have a great group of friends who enjoy making Shabbat dinner together, which is such a blessing to have. Since I have come here, though, I haven't made Shabbat, so you can imagine how happy I was to tie together my week with the fam.
We spent the next few days touring the "must see" places, and also strolling around and enjoying the city's seemingly endless beauty. Among our art explorations was a visit to the Van Gogh museum, where we struggled to weave our way through the massive amount of people inside but enjoyed his works, nonetheless. On one of our walks, we wandered into a small art gallery near Prinsengracht and discovered an incredible artist named Rennsen who uses Picasso as his stylistic inspiration and other artists' work as models for his own pieces. Luckily, the gallery was hopping and the artist happily introduced himself, leading us through his work and method. This was especially exciting for Sarah, who has recently flourished in her art ability and is amidst compiling her portfolio to send in with college applications....WOO!
Another required trip was to the Anne Frank house, which is located right on the Prinsengracht canal, right next to the Westerkert (western church), where Queen Beatrix was married. (I mentioned this in one of my first posts.) Otto Frank's old office, where Anne hid, has been preserved incredibly well and the exhibit does an unbelievable job of retelling her story from a historical perspective through excerpts from her diary. I learned about the Holocaust extensively during my years of education both in pubic and torah school, but there really is nothing that compares to walking through a piece of history so directly tied to those years of horrid events. From the moment we entered the exhibit, everyone was silent and walked slowly through each room of her hiding space. It's hard to believe that eight people remained in so few rooms for two years, and I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been for the young children to experience their own physical and emotional development indoors, confined to so few rooms, without any external contact. As emotionally challenging as the tour was, I am so glad that the space has been preserved well and is open for visitors so her story can continue to live on for generations to come.
We also went to the Jewish History Museum and wandered through the old Jewish district for a while. I was so impressed with how much ground we were able to cover, and how much of the city my family had the chance to see in just a few days. By the end of their week in Europe, they walked over 80 miles! Super champions! Although the museums and memorials are important to see, our agreed upon highlights were certainly the simple pleasant strolls around, letting ourselves be in awe at the quaintness of the canals and bikes. We also became true allstars at bakery hopping...I now have a massive list of bakeries that are well deserving of my euros.
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| Champion traveler :) |
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| New favorite cheese shop, and my Dad exhibiting his true character. |
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Sarah became an exponentially happier camper with the purchase of this hat...the real, goofy sis I know comes out :)
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It's hard to express the feelings I had when my Mom and Dad decided to rent a bike on Monday morning...I was both excited to be a part of their experiencing Amsterdam by bike, but also fearful for my Mom's safety. After a couple accidents and far too many scary health concerns, it is understandable to be nervous about Mom hopping onto bike lanes in Amsterdam, which can easily feel like the fast lane of a highway. My parents' extensive years of tandem riding together, followed by a bicycle hiatus for my mom and recently a hilariously awesome purchase of recumbent trikes have left my mom out of contact with a single, upright bike, for over 20 years. My jaw nearly fell off when I rode up to the bike rental place to find mom giggling as she rode around...by herself...on an upright bike...in Amsterdam. I definitely had to bite my tongue a lot to keep in what feels like much validated and understandable angst about her safety but was, at the end of the ride, filled with an overwhelming sense of joy. My mom never quite ceases to amaze me with her enduring strength and bravery. Riding a single bicycle was a huge step for her and definitely boosted her confidence in her ability to, quite literally, get back on [that kind of] bike. Dad was also, as expected, incredibly excited with her comfort in the ride. Look out, rainbow tandem, they're ready to make you work again!
Tuesday brought a different adventure: we traveled to the Hague with my CIEE group to watch the Queen parade in her Golden Carriage to read the Dutch form of the state of the union ("the Speech from the Throne"). The queen doesn't actually have any political power, but it is her role to read out the plans for the coming parliamentary session. The carriage belongs to the Dutch royal family, and dates back to Queen Wilhelmina's royalty in 1898. Prinsjesdag ("princes day") is mostly exciting because everyone comes together in huge masses to watch the crazy parade go by, and wave at the queen as she rides to her palace. It was kind of a lot of traveling for just a few moments of excitement, but definitely a unique experience worth taking advantage of.
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| She's waving! |
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| Incredible |
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| People watching was extra fun... |
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| And where would we have been without our handy dandy guide, pointing us in the right direction?? |
Mom, Dad, and Sarah headed to Paris on Wednesday morning, leaving me to my work and friends for a few days before Sarah returned on Friday for the weekend. I played homework catch up and rewarded my productivity with a day of unbelievable bike riding on Friday. Hannah, Stephan, and I left at 2 p.m. for what we expected would be a 3-hour max. ride to Marken, a supposedly beautiful island to the north of Amsterdam. Instead, we rode until 8 p.m., but every minute of the ride was absolutely worth the achy knees and grumbling tummies.
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| I swear, the happy cows and sheep just dominate here. |
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| Hannah at her cutest. |
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| True pro, total champion. |
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| We finally made it to Marken! |
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| And, of course, it was too adorable for words. |
My favorite part of the day was, beyond just getting away from the city and finding endless space to breathe, right around when the sun was beginning to set. We were on our way back to Amsterdam, riding into the falling sun, each of us silhouetted against the light, and next to us galloped three perfectly hazelnut brown horses, neighing and playing with one another as they rode alongside us. It was one of those moments when I didn't even know what to think or how to react but laugh at the beauty life has to offer. Nothing mattered at that moment except for the five of us racing into the last moments of daylight, and it was truly a heaven on earth. Shout out to Camp JRF pals: I hummed a little ma'aseh vereishit, a blessing for natural wonders.
Once we reluctantly crossed over the bridge that brought us back to the developed city area, we made our way over to Amsterdam Centraal (the train station) to pick up Sarah, who had just arrived from Paris. Boy, did she get quite the special treatment: We strapped her rolling suitcase to my bike, gave her backpack to Stephan, and she hopped on Hannah's bike. We all rode one handed, balancing and keeping hold of our various additions, but it worked great and we made it home safely. (Only one minor fall, and it was greeted with laughs.) Kyle, Hannah, Sarah, and I made a delicious Shabbat dinner and said the brachot before digging into the challah Sarah brought back from Paris. Yummy! We took it easy for the night, and really enjoyed just talking into the wee hours. On Saturday we worked at a great cafe for a little, and then spent the night out on the town... When Sarah and I decided to come home at the end of the night, it became evident that it was my time to learn how to ride her on the back of my bike. Despite a little wobbling at first, we were totally successful and it was SO fun to ride through the streets of Amsterdam with her late at night.
Before Mom and Dad got back on Sunday evening, Sarah and I wandered throughout the city, hitting markets and bakeries that seemed to have a magnetic attraction to us...okay, maybe the other way around :)
We spent our last family night chatting about the week, sharing stories and adventures, and hugging lots...I won't see my family until the end of December, which is kind of difficult to accept. I've never gone that long without seeing them, and I'm spending my first Rosh Hashanah ever without them. Growing up can be exciting and scary all in one, but it's so great to know I have such an awesome home base. Since I graduated high school, I have really struggled with the concept of home. Since the end of my senior year, I have not spent more than two consecutive weeks at home, and my visits have been far less frequent than I would like. I've lived at camp, college, in Cleveland, and in Amsterdam and making each of these new spaces more "homey" is a must. Still, my real home remains with my family, beside a cherry blossom tree in Bethesda. I miss home so much, but know that it's always there for me when I'm ready to return. Until I next make it there, I'm so lucky to be in Amsterdam, surrounded by continuous beauty and wonderful people. The history and contemporary social policy here is beyond fascinating-there is so much to soak up every day. Plus, the weather has been absolutely incredibly scrumptious for the last two weeks, and the sun is definitely getting to me--things are wonderful over here!
Dutch phrases of the week: (I have a midterm tomorrow, so wish me luck!!)
Ik hou van de koffie in de ochtend. = I love having coffee in the morning.
Elke dag, heb ik een broodje met heerlijk kaas voor de lunch. = Every day, I have a sandwich with delicious cheese for lunch.
Dutch word/phrase bucket:
groen = green (Mijn fiets is groen = My bike is green)
geitenkaas = goat cheese (Geitenkaas is mijn favoriete voedse! = Goat cheese is my favorite food!)
fiestpad = bike path
keo = cow
koffie = coffee
regendruppels = raindrops
goedenacht = goodnight
