Hup, Holland, Hup!!
My five day middle trip between England and Ireland was to Utrecht in Holland to visit my high school friend, Canci. I have been here three times since graduating high school 12 years ago (yikes!) and I love coming back because it gives me a chance to experience a few days in the life of a European living in Europe rather than an American on holiday. Of course, Canci plays a bit of tour guide, so we do things that are a bit atypical (like touring castles and walking into town in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday) but we also do totally normal things, like shopping at the market and neighborhood grocery stores, going to the spa (yes, that's totally normal), having friends over for dinner and board games, and going out to watch Holland play France in the European Football (aka soccer to Americans) Championships.
So really, the purpose of this middle trip was to relax and be Dutch for a few days - not to see a thousand things, but to experience them.
From Wednesday mid-morning until today, Saturday, I have experienced Utrecht once again through Canci's eyes. She's a great interpreter of not just the language but the wheres and whys of what they do and don't do. Every time we speak I learn something new and have a new respect for some of the standards of Dutch life. Of course I believe we can learn something, as a country, from everyone and I find there are some things the Dutch do that we, as Americans could totally adopt into our culture and be better for it. But that's a different conversation!
So, the agenda was simply lazy afternoons spent shopping and walking, eating and talking and evenings spent cooking, hanging out with friends, and having tea and fantastic cookies!
A few noteworthy experiences that I have chronicled with photos below include our trip to Kasteel de Haar (de Haar castle), not far from Utrecht http://www.kasteeldehaar.nl/uk/index_flash.htm While the one hour tour was in Dutch, I still was able to get the gist of the castle, inside and out, with Canci's interpretations whispered in the lulls.
We made several trips into the city centre, several minutes from where Canci lives. Utrecht's most notable (I think) landmarks being the Dom tower and cathedral, the canals (present in most Dutch cities) and my favorite store ever - the Rituals bath and body store! Of course, Utrecht must be accessed by foot or by bike, to experience it like a local. We chose bike, which means, yes, I got up on a rickety Dutch bike and wobbled my way behind the crazy bikers into town with Canci at the lead. OK, so I fell off a few times and had a hard time starting up, but I blame it on the bike, not on me! Yeah right....
Another noteworthy experience was our trip to the spa. Last time I visited, Canci and I spent a few hours at Houten sauna/spa and so we went back yesterday for massages and facials. The spa system is really incredible here - little sections of city and country set aside to look and feel like vacation destinations, with pools and showers and saunas and hot tubs - a lovely way to spend a few hours or a whole day!
Lastly, and probably the most exciting for me, was to get to experience the country gone nuts for the Holland vs France football championship game last night. The whole of Utrecht, and I am sure the country, was decked in orange (the country color) and people were screaming from windows and honking horns and crowding the bars. It reminded me a bit of the first time Aaron and I wandered into a sports bar the day Clemson played Carolina in Columbia - big mistake if you have no idea what's going on, but definitely a story to tell! Anyway, we watched the game at Mark's house ( a friend to Canci and Ronald who I had met on previous trips) and of course Holland won, so everyone went nuts! Mark passed out orange shirts to each of us and, decked in country color, we made our way to a neighborhood bar where we celebrated some more. I took some photos of this with my i-phone and I've included them here, but they are really hard to see. Needless to say it was a true cultural experience! And my new favorite Dutch phrase? "Hup, Holland, Hup" (interpretation: Go Holland!).
Technically speaking, this journey wasn't so much about photography as about visiting a place and a friend and just being me for a few days, but me in a different location. And I had a wonderful time.
I am off to Ireland tomorrow, and I am not certain how much, if any, blogging I will be able to do. The place I am staying for the workshop does not have an Internet connection so it's more likely that I'll only be able to post one or two at either end of the 10 days rather than along the way. But keep checking back, there will be something to share before I come home. Onward towards more adventure!
Tommy the cat
Canci's house, downstairs
my room
de Haar castle
the Dom tower, Utrecht
Around the neighborhood
So really, the purpose of this middle trip was to relax and be Dutch for a few days - not to see a thousand things, but to experience them.
From Wednesday mid-morning until today, Saturday, I have experienced Utrecht once again through Canci's eyes. She's a great interpreter of not just the language but the wheres and whys of what they do and don't do. Every time we speak I learn something new and have a new respect for some of the standards of Dutch life. Of course I believe we can learn something, as a country, from everyone and I find there are some things the Dutch do that we, as Americans could totally adopt into our culture and be better for it. But that's a different conversation!
So, the agenda was simply lazy afternoons spent shopping and walking, eating and talking and evenings spent cooking, hanging out with friends, and having tea and fantastic cookies!
A few noteworthy experiences that I have chronicled with photos below include our trip to Kasteel de Haar (de Haar castle), not far from Utrecht http://www.kasteeldehaar.nl/uk/index_flash.htm While the one hour tour was in Dutch, I still was able to get the gist of the castle, inside and out, with Canci's interpretations whispered in the lulls.
We made several trips into the city centre, several minutes from where Canci lives. Utrecht's most notable (I think) landmarks being the Dom tower and cathedral, the canals (present in most Dutch cities) and my favorite store ever - the Rituals bath and body store! Of course, Utrecht must be accessed by foot or by bike, to experience it like a local. We chose bike, which means, yes, I got up on a rickety Dutch bike and wobbled my way behind the crazy bikers into town with Canci at the lead. OK, so I fell off a few times and had a hard time starting up, but I blame it on the bike, not on me! Yeah right....
Another noteworthy experience was our trip to the spa. Last time I visited, Canci and I spent a few hours at Houten sauna/spa and so we went back yesterday for massages and facials. The spa system is really incredible here - little sections of city and country set aside to look and feel like vacation destinations, with pools and showers and saunas and hot tubs - a lovely way to spend a few hours or a whole day!
Lastly, and probably the most exciting for me, was to get to experience the country gone nuts for the Holland vs France football championship game last night. The whole of Utrecht, and I am sure the country, was decked in orange (the country color) and people were screaming from windows and honking horns and crowding the bars. It reminded me a bit of the first time Aaron and I wandered into a sports bar the day Clemson played Carolina in Columbia - big mistake if you have no idea what's going on, but definitely a story to tell! Anyway, we watched the game at Mark's house ( a friend to Canci and Ronald who I had met on previous trips) and of course Holland won, so everyone went nuts! Mark passed out orange shirts to each of us and, decked in country color, we made our way to a neighborhood bar where we celebrated some more. I took some photos of this with my i-phone and I've included them here, but they are really hard to see. Needless to say it was a true cultural experience! And my new favorite Dutch phrase? "Hup, Holland, Hup" (interpretation: Go Holland!).
Technically speaking, this journey wasn't so much about photography as about visiting a place and a friend and just being me for a few days, but me in a different location. And I had a wonderful time.
I am off to Ireland tomorrow, and I am not certain how much, if any, blogging I will be able to do. The place I am staying for the workshop does not have an Internet connection so it's more likely that I'll only be able to post one or two at either end of the 10 days rather than along the way. But keep checking back, there will be something to share before I come home. Onward towards more adventure!
Tommy the cat
Canci's house, downstairs
my room
de Haar castle
the Dom tower, Utrecht
Around the neighborhood
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