Day 143: Kinderdijk/Utrecht

Monday, June 7, 2010: Kinderdijk and Utrecht

On Monday morning we got a late start and took the train to Utrecht from Tilburg, this time just Karu, Bali and I as Mateja had her exam that day. Utrecht is about and hour and fifteen minutes north of Tilburg so we arrived late morning and checked the bus schedule to Kinderdijk. We had to wait a few minutes to catch the next bus to Kinderdijk. While waiting in the Utrecht Centraal Station for our bus to Kinderdijk, we grabbed snacks at our favorites: Albert Heijn and SWIRLS. Then we boarded the bus and road to Kindedijk...an hour and a half bus ride!

Once we finally arrived, we roamed around a bit and admired the windmills from afar. We decided to do as the Dutch and rent bikes to explore the area. I was glad we did, as Kinderdijk is quite an expansive area. We cycled along the dikes and admired the molen (windmills), stopping to take pictures and explore. Although you cannot go in any of the mills, it was really neat to see and read the history of former functioning mills. As we cycled back, we passes a couple taking wedding pictures. Karu also ran into someone that he knew...small world!

When we were back at the shop that we rented the bikes from, we checked the bus timing and decided we had time for a snack. We ordered tosti's from the restaurant and waited (more or less patiently) for the bus home. The bus ride back to Utrecht was a little unnerving, as the bus drove on high, windy roads. I was comforted by Bali braiding my hair during the ride. I also continued working on the soduko puzzles we had brought with us (which I am apparently no good at!).

We got back to Utrecht with little time to spare. We had only an hour or so to walk around the city  and explore. We went to HEMA, Xenos and Blokker (our Dutch favs) as well as a used book shoppe and some other small stores. Mostly I enjoyed walking around and getting a sense for another Dutch city, especially the famous Utrecht.

We had to board the bus back home to Tilburg pretty quickly (and we had to run to catch it in time) so that we could make it back in time for dinner. Mateja and I had agreed to cook a nice parting dinner for everyone, and also to thank Arlette for her hospitality in allowing us to stay in her room. We made it back in time to help Mateja finish the taco preparation and enjoy a final meal with some of our exchange friends.

Day 142: Delft and Scheveningen

Sunday, June 6, 2010: Delft and Scheveningen

Delft in all its glory!

Mateja and I arrived back from Scotland on the 5th, a Saturday. With only three days left in the Netherlands, we decided to make the most of our last bit of time in this beautiful country by visiting a few more places within its borders that we had not had the opportunity to explore yet. Next stop on our list: Delft!

Karu sleeping on the train

Bali's friend from home, Karu, joined us on this day excursion, as he had come over to NL just a few days earlier while Mateja and I  were finishing  our UK trip to visit Bali in Netherlands. We were excited to see him again and travel some with him. The four of us woke and boarded the train north to Delft and Scheveningen for a day of exploration and sightseeing.

Swirls Girls!

Unfortunately, the weather chose to be less than cooperative today, and we were stuck with a  light drizzle and clouds all day long....nothing a few umbrellas couldn't cure! We watched the rain and took turns napping as we rode the long (literally) train to Den Hague Centraal, where we had to get off and wait for another train to take us to Delft. Knowing the length of our mini layover, we took the opportunity to get a light snack and check out the route to Scheveningen, where we would go in the afternoon. We purchased strippenkaarten for the tram to Scheveningen and found some snacks. Mateja and I enjoyed a typical train station treat, SWIRLS! This is kind of like TCBY frozen yogurt mix-and-match yumminess! We blended yogurt flavors and added fruits and sweets and took our yummy treats back on the train with us.

We arrived in Delft, where the train station was undergoing some heavy reconstruction. We made our way into town and found a plethora of shops selling the traditional Dutch delftware. We had seen this blue and white porcelain throughout our travels in Netherlands  and could buy it at any Dutch discount or tourist shoppe, but we all wanted to buy real Delftware in Delft! We scoped out all the shops for deals and each bought some treasures for friends and family. I got a nice Christmas ornament for my mom, who collects Christmas ornaments from various places she visits.

We stopped at Subway for lunch where  Bali and Karu opted for a traditional Dutch snack of kibling at a local stand selling the fried fish, while Mateja and I snuck off to use the WC.  Bali and Karu met up with us in Subway and we decided to have lunch there. We were our silly selves as usual as we ate. Bali told Karu all about my "picture posing" and so we showed him how its done! (yes, at Subway!). We enjoyed our American bite to eat (and  a break from the rain) before heading out to explore some more of Delft.

We ambled through the square and noticed that a lot seemed to be happening that day in Delft. Come to find out, it was the Mooi Weer Feest (in Engels: "festival of good weather"...despite the lack there of) and so there were lots of performances and street artists. We stopped to admire and watch a few as we strolled through the backstreets looking for shops. We came across some interesting shows on our way to HEMA, where we stopped to look for a few more gifts to bring home with us for friends and family. Mateja and I  also put together a nice gift to send to Katie's family in Ireland as a thank-you for our stay in Belfast.


Our last stop for the day was inside a church, where we listened to the organs play for a few minutes. We decided to leave shortly after (as a few of us were falling asleep) and make our way back to the train station. We boarded the train back to Den Hague, where we got off at the familiar train station from a few hours earlier and made our way outside to the tram stop just outside the station. We caught the tram to Scheveningen, the famous Dutch beach!

I was sooo excited to see a beach again, and especially to experience the Dutch version! Our energy boosted about 100% once at the beach, as we were all excited for the sand and water. I clearly recall taking off our shoes and running into the sand. Next thing we knew, Karu had become photographer and was taking pictures of the three of us jumping together in the sand. What a sport!

  We made our way through the sand (not without playing in it) and walked through the cold water. There was a stretch of rocks that led out into the water, which were covered with some kind of slimy green overgrowth. We walked barefoot on those, attempting not to slip and bust ass on the rocks and cold water! (We did so successfully!) After making our way back to shore, we played in the sand some more and expressed our love for NL in the sand.

We had to wash our feet off well before we made our way back to the tram stop and into town to catch the train back to Tilburg. The ride home was far from smooth. We had to take the train to Zaltbommel, where we had to wait for a bit to get a train to 's-Hertogenbosch in order to catch the train to Tilburg. There was some grumpiness going on, but we made it! And we even caught a quick snack in Tilburg before heading back to Verbs for the evening :)Although we had crummy weather and were stressed due to leaving soon (and Mateja's upcoming final), we were able to enjoy one last day trip as the three of us (and Karu!). I am so glad we got to Delft, as it was an adorable city with lots of culture. And the beach was great...would love to go back some day with better weather!