Rotterdam and the Hague

I've spent the last couple of days simply exploring Rotterdam and the Hague. I didn't know you could be sore from just walking, but according to Sidney, my normal pace is that of someone power walking.

A little about the places I visited:
1. Delfshaven: This is a small area in Rotterdam that has been preserved since the days of the first Pilgrims to America.
2. Euromast: A "tall" tower where one can get a 360 degree view of the city.
3. Rotterdam zoo: The most eclectic collection of animals I've ever seen. I basically saw all the animals that were featured in "The Lion King", "Madagascar", "Tarzan", and "Finding Nemo". Pretty cool!
4. The Hague Historical Museum: This museum features paintings of the history of the Hague and its residents. It also has a really gross exhibit of the tongue and finger of the De Witt brothers, murdered by the towns folk and their bodies mutilated.
5. Binnenhof: A meeting location for the Dutch parliament since the 1400s. Within its grounds include Knights' Hall, a castle of the Earls of Holland built in the 13th century.

Instead of boring you with a lot of writing, here are pictures!

Store located within Haagsche Bluf shopping centre. It's the only building that's not a replica of Jugendstil buildings. 

A couple cool buildings I saw on my way to the Euromast tower. 

The cube houses of Rotterdam - Kubuswoning

I cooked the chicken and the broccoli. :D

The BOSS

View from the top of the Euromast

Delfshaven

The Ocenarium

The last example of this type of shopping arcade in the Netherlands. These were popular in both American and European cities in the late 1800's. 

A building that survived WWII in Old Haven, a neighborhood in Rotterdam.  Most of Rotterdam was decimated during the war and only a handful of buildings survived and still stand today. 

Euromast

Keep your old art guys! It may be worth a lot of money someday. This was done by the artist Isaac Israels. His first charcoal drawing which he created when he was 11. Not bad!

Knights' Hall within the Binnenhof

Finger and tongue of the Johan and Cornelis De Witt. Both were prominent politicians in the mid 1600s. Unfortunately, they were blamed for the Anglo-Dutch War and were shortly murdered by angry towns folk. Their bodies were mutilated and various body parts were kept as souvenirs (as well as eaten!). This is what is left...

Oldest inn in the Hague

Binnenhof

More Delfshaven

"Soft Drugs Prohibited". Does this mean I can snort my cocaine?

Escher at The Palace - the residence of Anthony Patras, a delegate of Friesland to the States General. I don't know who Anthony is but Napoleon spent a night here once when he was in town visiting his brother!

Exploring Rotterdam

For the fellow travelers out there, I've been using www.nomadicmatt.com for travel budget tips, tours, hostels, local activities, and must-see's. Unlike a site like lonely planet or other travel guides, nomadic Matt is a blog created by an avid traveler. He typically stays for long periods of time at the places he visits and he has tips to just about every place you would want to travel to.

Now back to my travels. Yesterday, I visited the windmills in Kinderdjik, a tiny little place just outside of Rotterdam. These mills, built in the mid-1700's, served to drain the land of excess water so it could be used for agriculture and settlement. Inside the windmills were also living quarters which I got to check out in one of them.

Yesterday also just so happened to be the day the Netherlands played against Portugal in a football match. I did not know Cristiano Ronaldo played for Portugal! GAHHHH he is beautiful! Why aren't people in the States more into football (soccer)? It's like the whole world is in on something that we, Americans, are excluded from. I thought watching a ball getting kicked around for 90 minutes would be quite boring, but actually, it's not that bad. Plus, there's snacks and drinks. Cristiano Ronaldo also is a bonus. :D

I'm sitting at a McDonald's right now waiting for the info center to open up so I can purchase my welcome card. This card, depending which type I buy, will give me unlimited access to the transportation and great discounts for all the museums and attractions in Rotterdam. Luckily, Rotterdam is a small city so once the weather clears up, I could potentially just walk around the entire city. I might just rent a bike to ride around as well. Anyways, I'm going to go finish my McCafe coffee and then head out!

Freedom!

It's been a long couple of days with A LOT of traveling starting early Friday morning. That morning, the tour guide (who's name btw is Leon so I don't have to keep typing out tour guide) had us on the road by 7:30am. The drive to Paris from Luzerne took most of the day. In true Leon fashion, he can't go a day without doing something completely weird or inappropriate, so during one of our rest stops, he purchased the movie, "Taken", for our viewing pleasure. After dedicating the movie to me, he started the movie which is basically about a father played by Liam Neeson who goes to Paris to search for his 17-year-old daughter who has been abducted and sold into sex slavery. GREAT movie to watch while en route to Paris...ESPECIALLY GREAT movie when you're an American girl about to travel alone. Thanks Leon!

After arriving to Paris, we did an extremely rushed tour of the city, stopping at all the major tourist landmarks in 10-minute increments to snap photos. After sundown, we took a boat tour on the Seine River. It would've been nicer if we weren't all so exhausted from the 10-hour bus ride, cold from the rainy weather, or actually knew what we were looking at. Thankfully, I'll be back in Paris towards the end of my trip to meet up with local friends and actually get a more authentic experience. (We ate Chinese food that night as well)

The next morning, we woke up bright and early so my family could catch their flight back to the States as I set out to Rotterdam, Netherlands. I got a ride to the airport with my family thinking that my ticket was for the station at the Charles de Gaulle airport. Of course, that was not the station so using the little French I could remember from my language courses in high school, I was able to get enough information to figure out how to buy a metro ticket to the correct station, and from there, figure out where to go. For anyone that ever travels to Paris, just know that the Paris Nord station which is near the center of the city is quite confusing. I tried my best to not look like a tourist, but I was still approached by a girl who wanted me to sign some sort of form. I quickly walked away now knowing all the things I've learned from the movie, "Taken."

After reading and sipping my "large" cup of coffee for 4 hours, I was on the train finally on my way to Rotterdam. However, due to "an accident involving a person", my train was delayed for another 1.5 hours. I was later told that there are frequent suicides on the rails, quite similar to Caltrain back in the bay.

So a little about Rotterdam: It's a modest-sized city with quite a diverse population. Besides the Dutch Caucasians, there are large numbers of Moroccans and Chinese. The Dutch language sounds like a mixture of German and English, and during my immensely long journey over, I was able to study and learn a few Dutch phrases. "How are you?" in Dutch sounds a lot like "I hate you." The buildings here definitely have that old-European style that I've seen in a lot of the architecture in England and France but less pronounced. My favorite part of Rotterdam, however, is the lack of tourists. Finally, I'll get to live like a native Dutch person! :D

At night, my friends and I went to a local Dutch restaurant and feasted on meatballs, fries, and Dutch beer. Yummy but very heavy. Afterward, we all headed to Hong Kee's house to watch football (soccer) and hang out. So I can just use people's names in future posts, I'll introduce my friends in the Netherlands. Sidney - She was my dormmate and classmate when I lived in Shanghai back in 2009. Brandon - Sidney's husband. I went to their wedding last year in Las Vegas. Hong Kee - Brandon's brother who I met last year at the wedding. Lindsey - Hong Kee's fiancee who I met last year as well. Geana - Brandon's sister. And finally, Nate and Alan - old family friends of Brandon and Hong Kee.

Picture time:

Brandon's cacti - He claims to have the green thumb although to my understanding, cacti don't require much care...haha.

My brother sleeping during the tour on the Seine River in Paris.

Lindsey and I with the famous flowers of the Netherlands. 

Hong Kee and Brandon imitating how girls pose.

My Popo and I

A replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty but is now used to honor Princess Diana. The tunnel where the accident happened is very close to this spot. 

Sidney, me, and Geana

Dutch appetizers

Messing with the tour guide.

Vending machines to buy sausages and hamburgers in Rotterdam!

Nate and Brandon