Mercure Hertogenbosch Rosmalen

So this is an incomplete version of events with no pictures while I am using up time in an internet café - I will update it when I can.

Revellers coming into the dorm at 3.30am made for another disturbed nights sleep so I decided not to rush myself out in the morning. Had breakfast and prepared stuff for check out at 10.30...

Not quite well enough as it turned out - it was 11.20 by the time I finally handed back the key cards - this was primarily due to trying ...

De voorbereidingen zijn in volle gang en verlopen voorspoedig. De reisroute is vastgesteld (althans, voor zover dat kan bij een trip als deze), de tickets zijn er, inclusief tickets voor alle treintrajecten. Het zal straks in de praktijk vast wel anders gaan, maar ze zijn niet zo duur en we hebben nu in elk geval een gereserveerde plaats. Meestal is het 2nd AC, op de eerste trajecten 3rd AC. Ook het visum hebben we nu. Volgende week krijgen we de typhusvaccinate, de rest was nog in orde.

... program and things that would happen throughout the semester. She's pretty hilarious and kind of a beast. She lives here in the Netherlands for half the year, and the other half she spends in Italy with her husband. They are both art history professors/know-it-alls. So basically...her life in super awesome and I want to be her. She is actually co-teaching my art history class, so I'm ...

... to the largest group of functioning windmills in Holland. There were 19 in all and we were allowed to climb inside one of them. Some pretty rickety stairs took us to the top but it was interesting. Families still live in the other ones. Apparently during WWII the windmills were used to communicate vital information to the resistance movement by using the rotation of the sails. All for now, Love, Mary/Mom

... shortcut to walk and cycle through but we were the only ones going wow...........it was incredible! How cool that we can just walk through the courtyard of this amazing building! Walked around and saw the outside which was even more beautiful. Unfortunately my camera battery was running very low so we couldn't take many photos but you'll see what I mean about the building when you see the pictures. We hadn't experienced anything like that before - well john has briefly ...

... to be pecked to death, they just want to have a little of the good cheese and see some canals. So the Dutch are a little crazy. They hold back the sea to make land. They walk 200 km for fun. They consume mayonnaise in enormous volumes. They teach their children just two words of a song, so I'm still singing Maxi Miao here in Berlin. And you can't turn around without seeing a wind turbine. And with that all that duly considered? Sign me up, I want in ...

... ten Donck lies in the souvenirs of a single family that has inhabited the house over three centuries: the guest book signed by Rotterdam movers and shakers of the 1700's, the sleigh by the front door that was a gift to the present owner's grandmother from Queen Wilhelmina. And on a counter in the vast Delft-tiled kitchen overlooking the English gardens, there's a Cuisinart food processor. As Grada, Nora and I meandered along the dykes I commented on the sheep ...

... nog overeind te staan. We maken de boot schoon, halen de zeilen er af, maken de motor winterklaar, selecteren wat mee kan en kan blijven en eindigen met 5 volle tassen die eigenlijk niet te tillen zijn. Vrijdag is het dan zo ver, de boot wordt uit het water gehaald en bij een loods, 2 km verder neergezet. . Wij slapen die nacht in een hotel waar we de volgende ochtend bepakt en bezakt om 6.45 uur de bus nemen naar Quimper. Om 20.15 ...

... and two other friends, Anno and Ralph. We had a great time hanging out with them and just exchanging a bit about our different countries and cultures. Germany has been my favorite place, just from the point of view that it has been the place where we have had the most interaction with the students there. So, I will leave you there for now...and maybe I will have time to fill in more details of this trip leter (with the free internet we have here at the hostel!)

... to get along with any of us. It was shortly after 8pm when we finished eating, and Laura, the Sullivans and I decided on taking a little walk. We had heard there was a mall nearby, so we went in search of it. We couldn't find it, so asked a local couple we saw walking on the street. The couple was very nice, and told us where the mall was, but also informed us that it closed at 6pm. So we eventually headed back to the hotel and our rooms, and I had another great night sleep.