Total Recap: Part 1

With my tear stains still a little too fresh on my face after dropping off my parents at the train station, I figured I would set to blogging about their visit.  We had a fantastic time, but it was really hard to say good-bye, not knowing when I'll get to see them again.

I am also hoping that they manage to get on their 2pm flight this afternoon out of Amsterdam. Hurricane Sandy sure seems nasty, and she's messing up lots of flights. And since my parents fly stand-by, they are not guaranteed a seat.  So we're hoping that no one decides they'll just get to the U.S. and fly to Detroit (thereby stealing a potential seat for my parents), instead of NYC or another east coast city as planned.  Here's hopin'!

We took many photos this past week, so I figured it would be best to make the recap a 2-parter.  This post will include our days in Amsterdam and our first day in Eindhoven.

To begin, we picked my parents up at the Amsterdam airport and made our way into the city.  We stayed at Hotel Alexander, which was near the Museumplein (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, etc.).  It was a great little hub of a location. Our first stop in our tourist adventures was eating at a Pannenkoekenhuis, aptly named Pancakes!.  We had some delicious grub, and felt nourished for lots of sightseeing.  Next we wandered around the city, taking in the beautiful views. Canals, cheese shops, flower markets, oh my!

We had reservations at the Anne Frank Huis that day.  I had been there before, but it was a first for Todd and my parents.  The museum is very well done and incredibly moving.  Definitely a must-see on any Amsterdam trip.  We also did a small amount of ogling in the Red Light District on our way to and from the many cathedrals and churches located in the same neighborhood.  The ladies were working it at 3 in the afternoon - crazy (and completely legal)!

Our second day began at an adorable breakfast place around the corner from our hotel called Friday Next.  We had some yummy breads and spreads.

Then we headed over to the Van Gogh Museum, which is temporarily located in the Hermitage.  The museum is undergoing extensive renovations and doesn't open again until next Spring.  I feel a certain affinity with Van Gogh.  He's lived both in Provence and in Nuenen (which is a neighboring village to Eindhoven) - like me!  I love seeing the paintings he created in both of those places.

A canal tour was also on our agenda for the day.  It was great fun to see the city from their famous waterways.  

Good times had by all in Amsterdam, but we were looking forward to getting to Eindhoven. It just so happened to be Dutch Design Week from the 20th to the 28th, so we checked out that out on Friday.

In many ways DDW is similar to ArtPrize in GR with artwork displayed throughout the city.  They focus on all types of design from fashion to furniture.  Here's a few shots from our time checking it out.

That evening we found a tapas restaurant for dinner that Todd and I had never been to.

And I'm so glad we rented an extra bike so that we could all travel around town in true Dutch fashion!

I'll be back soon with Part 2 of the visit!

Well Hello, Mr. Prime Minister

On Saturday, we ventured to the far away land (1.5 hours, far by Netherlands standards) of Den Haag. We met up with Brad (EY-er) and is wife Mindy who live in the Hague, and Amanda (EY-er) who lives in Amsterdam.  It was a great day, and Brad and Mindy were great hosts.  Perhaps the biggest feat of awesomeness they pulled off was that we ate at the same restaurant as the Dutch Prime Minister.

Mark Rutte

Todd spotted him sitting in a booth by the window with 3 other people. No security whatsoever from what we could tell.  Apparently he's lived in Den Haag his entire life and just does what he wants!  I couldn't believe that Todd picked him out, but we confirmed his identity via Google.  Not bad for our first trip to the governmental hub of the Netherlands!

Lunching with the Prime Minister at this cafe (he's inside)

We also did a lot of sightseeing, Den Haag is a rather large city with lots to see....

The crew, minus the photographer

Dutch Parliament

Inner Courtyard of Parliament

The "working palace" of Queen Beatrix

Peace Palace, houses the International Court of Justice

The eternally burning World Peace Flame, without a flame, not sure how to take that

Den Haag is also located right on the coast, here's the beach district called Scheveningen.  Try to say that 3 times fast.

Little boy eating a herring

It was a great trip!  We definitely enjoyed getting to hang out with other Americans, it's been awhile. It was comforting to talk about our lives here now and hear how our experiences are similar and different.  Our next get together with the expat group is for Thanksgiving in Amsterdam.  I hear we're even having a real turkey!

My parents are flying out from Michigan today. I can't believe they'll be here tomorrow!  We are beginning our time in Amsterdam on Wednesday and Thursday and then returning to Eindhoven to show them our city. I couldn't be more excited!

Whirlwind Trip to Dublin

I'm baaaack....from my whirlwind trip to Dublin.  Todd and Jack survived at home without me for 2 nights.  Jack tells me she had a great time playing with a tennis ball at the park around the corner.

My Dublin adventure was a success.  Although, I must say that traveling alone isn't really my cup of tea.  It's a bit boring to have no one to talk to when you're out and about.  But I did have lovely hostesses to meet with at the EUSA offices for one of the days there.  EUSA hosts internships abroad throughout Europe, and one such site is Dublin.  GVSU is offering Dublin as a site for internships starting this summer.  I learned a lot, and I'll be typing up a report and creating a Powerpoint to show to students who are interested.  I was shown the student housing and then we met with internship supervisors at 2 companies that host interns.  It was a packed day, but really fun.

I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours of sightseeing, and snagged a few photos of the city:

Authentic fish and chips....

Christ Church Cathedral

Trinity College

Trinity College was fun to see, it was founded in 1592.  The Long Room in the library was my favorite part of the campus.  Here's a photo (from the web since no photography was allowed):

This library is amazing.  The room is 65 meters long.  I think I could have stayed in there all day.  You're not allowed to touch anything, but it's pretty awesome just to stand in the middle of the room and look up.  I also checked out the National Gallery and the National Museum of Archaeology, both of which have free admission.  After checking out a Van Gogh, a Vermeer, and some intricate Irish Treasury findings, I felt like I had successfully fulfilled my tourist obligations in Dublin.

Tomorrow, Todd and I are meeting up with some fellow EY-ers doing the Global Exchange program, in Den Haag (the Hague).  It's going to be fun to catch up with our fellow expats!

Pot O' Gold

Mornin' ya'll!  I am up and at 'em this morning getting ready for a very last minute trip to Dublin, Ireland.  I found it to be quite an auspicious sign that when I glanced out the window this morning, I saw this:

I'm pretty sure there's a leprechaun with a pot of gold waiting for me in Dublin right now at the end of that rainbow.

My trip to Dublin is actually for GVSU, which I am really excited about.  I will be doing a site visit to EUSA, which hosts international students for study and internships.  For 2 days, I get to think like a study abroad student again.  I'll be meeting with representatives from EUSA and touring the University, student housing, and internship sites.  When I return, I will then put together a PowerPoint of all of the photos and information which will be used to recruit GVSU students to do this program.  This kind of thing is right up my alley, so I am definitely looking forward to the next 2 days.  I'm glad it all came together, because I didn't get a chance to book my flight until last night at 11pm and my hotel at midnight!  I wish I could say I thrive on last minute things, but the truth is it stresses me out.

This past week, I have been a travel booking fool.  My parents are coming to visit next week (!), so I booked a hotel in Amsterdam for a night.  Todd and I are taking a vaca on November 11, so we've booked flights to Italy and hotels.  We are flying into Pisa and out of Rome, with lots of train travel through Tuscany!  We are very excited.  Those budget airline  prices are pretty awesome.  Todd has also been doing his fair share of traveling, going to Germany and Spain within the last week.  In. Sane.

Well, I'm off to pack up my backpack for the trip!