Last week I visited Rotterdam and Amsterdam. While I've been to Amsterdam countless times, I made my first and last visit to Rotterdam. I think the former is the best dam city.
A brief history: Rotterdam was officially made a city of Holland by Count Willem IV of (you guessed it) Holland in 1340, and shortly after a shipping canal was constructed, making the area a key port for access between northern Holland and England and Germany. The city was therefore able to urbanize and become one of the most important in the country, remaining significant through the centuries, including the magnificent "Dutch Golden Age" in the 17th century. All of this Golden grandeur could be seen throughout Rotterdam...til the German's bombed them to bits in 1940. This statue, inscribed with "Unbroken Resistance" is one of many landmarks in Holland memorializing the spirit of resistance the Dutch had during their occupation/the war. Not much of the original city remains, and instead it is now a "modernized" city. But since it was modernized decades ago, it just looks like a dumpy 70s concrete-and-glass jungle. Beautiful.
There is one true gem of the city, the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. It's incredibly well organized, so that each room takes you through art history from the middle ages to modern day, and placards on the walls of each room explain the period and artistic significance. I found the evolution of art fascinating, especially since there were not only works by famous Dutch painters (I've seen so much Rembrandt the past few weeks I think we're technically involved), but Degas, Monet, and Dali. I really appreciated the way this museum is organized, and I encourage anyone who is going to Rotterdam (sorry) to visit this museum. Oh- and it's free on Wednesdays!
On the opposite end of the pleasant scale, Rotterdam has a lot of random modern art laying
around. If you're not aware, I loathe modern art. So to have a city littered with it was not my kopje thee (cup of tea). I also saw this odd trailer-thing painted with what I imagine is supposed to be a traditional Dutch scene, but this picture has the most diversity I've seen in the whole of the Netherlands. It is cute though...
Back in the pretty parts of the country, I decided to pop back into A'dam for an afternoon and do 
a tour of Jewish Amsterdam. Many people don't know this, but Jews have been in Amsterdam for nearly 400 years, which is much longer than the country of the Netherlands has existed. It has always been Holland's main Jewish community, and the history of the Jews there is very rich. Holland had the highest percentage of Jews killed in the Holocaust of any country, except maybe Germany itself. At least 80 percent of the Dutch Jewish population was killed in the Holocaust, including Anne Frank. It is why I am so grateful and proud that the Dutch have protected and retained their Jewish history, and why I had to go visit it myself. Most of the old Jewish quarter is based around Jodenbreestraat, or Jewish Broad Street.
Oh Rembrandt, I cannot escape thee. In case you doubted the seriousness of our relationship, I 
have been to his house! Easily one of the most fascinating places I've visited in the country, Rembrandt's house has been restored and reconstructed into what it looked like when he lived there. While the painter himself wasn't Jewish, most of his neighbors were and a good amount of his paintings are actually of these neighbors. I'm posting many of my pictures so you can see for yourself inside his home. They include his bedroom, his halls filled with paintings (ones by him and his students), his etching studio (with the big wheel thingy), and his painting studio, which had windows facing North for optimal lighting.
The next stops on my self-guided tour were of monuments. The remnants of the Jewish quarter are marked in various ways, and these markers are often all that is left. The Dutch are very proud to have helped the Jews as much as they could during the war/occupation. The Jewish Resistance Fighters Memorial is dedicated to the Jews who tried to evade Nazi control and to the Dutch citizens who helped. It reads (I think) in Dutch: "As a reminder of the resistance to the fallen Jewish citizens." I'm going to guess that's what it says in Hebrew, but I'm not the rabbi of the family.
On a similar note, "The Dockworker" is a bronze statue in one of the areas where Jews were to wait before being departed for the camps. In February 1941, Amsterdam workers held one of Europe's largest anti-Nazi strikes to protest the persecution of the city's Jews. This statue, which simply says the date of the strike, commemorates this event. You can see the pained look on the dockworker's face...it's both touching and painful at the same time.
My next two stops housed Jews. Megadlei Yethomin was an orphanage for German and Eastern European Jewish boys for over a hundred years before the war came and sent all the orphans and their caretaker to Sobibor concentration camp. After the war, it became an orphanage for Jewish boys seeking placement in Israel, and was successful until its close in 1955. Now only the facade remains while a new building is below, but this frame stands to commemorate the orphans and their caretaker who were killed in the camp. My other stop was to a former Portuguese Jewish seniors residence, which had its own Synagogue inside. The threshold is still in Hebrew, meaning something I'd like one of my Heebs speakin peeps to fill me in on. (Toda).
Okay, I know this is a very long post, but if I don't do the Jewish quarter justice I will hear it from family members in this life AND the next. Only two more stops on the tour, and then you 
get a gold (Jewish) star. The Jewish Historical Museum- the name says it all. Incredibly rich with artifacts from Jews who came from all over the world, this house of Jewphernalia also encompasses an old four-synagogue complex built by German and Polish refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries. It remains intact despite the war and includes Europe's oldest public synagogue. Nearby is the Portuguese Synagogue, which I've been to many times but never been IN since I always seem to make it after closing hours. 4pm, what is it always Shabbas? Anyway, Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal fled to A'dam in the 16th and 17th centuries and built this synagogue, where they were free to worship freely for the first time in centuries.
And there you have it, Jewish Amsterdam. There's more to see (the Anne Frank House is on the other side of the city), but I'm hoping that's enough to get me out of going to the High Holidays this year. Thank you for reading, it's dam appreciated.
xoxo
kosher waffle
Yesterday I went to the Hague. Voluntarily and with a return ticket. When you're not being held inside one of the historic and terribly important structures, it's a lovely city to visit! One of the many things that makes Holland unique is the fact that while the capital is Amsterdam, the seat of government is in the Hague (Den Haag). As the Netherlands has a very long and rich history (and by rich I mean they've been ruled by everyone from the Roman Empire to Austria to Spain to Napoleon), the Hague is an epicenter of this change.
One of the most important and impressive places to visit is the Binnenhof and Ridderzal, 
literally translated to the "Inner Court" and the "Knights' Hall." The Binnenhof is where the
government meets, and its history goes back to the 13th century, before the country even existed. Fuedal lords, counts, and conquerors (including Napoleon's brother) have used this space as a central location from which to rule, and subsequentally be accessible to the people. The structure(s) reflect the long and often jarred history- many of the buildings are from different periods and were built in different architectural styles, so that the Medieval Ridderzal is juxtaposed with a French-style wing of the Binnenhof. 
It really is a fascinating place to visit, especially knowing how much has happened on those grounds, and how much this area means to the country as it is their symbol of democracy.
Coming into the modern day, I took a tour to see part of parliament, and was able to sit in the Tweede Kamer, the Second Chamber. The tour was all in Dutch, and I realized how friggin good I am at faking it til I make it! Wow, I am quite something at pretending I'm listening and showing understanding, and I'd like to thank North Farmington High School for this life skill. Anyway, from what I gather, their parliament system is similar to England's and this chamber is the lower of the two, but the most representative of the people. It was humbling to sit in the chamber, see how the seating was arranged, 
and feel patriotic toward a country of which I am not a citizen. Unfortunately they don't allow pictures inside, but I DID see something very cool I'd like to share. On any given day in NL you'll see two things: the tallest person you've ever seen in your life, and the most efficient thing you've ever seen in your life. This building has motion-sensitive escalators. As in, they're just stairs, not using any energy, until you're about to step on and then they move. How cool! Yes, I know, I'm easily amused...
The next stop on the Hague tour was of course the Mauritshuis. Built in the 17th century and 
restored in the early 18th, it's a special and homey feeling museum adjacent to the Binnenhof that holds many Dutch/Flemish treasures, including Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and a dozen or so Rembrandts. Instead of being a large, white-walled, cold museum, the Mauritshuis is of the older museum traditions and is small, cozy, and has as much focus on the frames, wallpaper, and layout as it does on the paintings. One of the painters showcased was a deaf-mute Dutchman named Henrick Avercamp. During his time (early 17th century), people with disabilities were institutionalized. But by learning a skill and proving his talent, he became one of the foremost painters of landscapes. Much of his work is now on display at Windsor Castle, rounding out this touching story.
The best thing I saw, though, was at lunch. While I was sitting in a very lovely cafe facing the window, I noticed the boy on the other side of the glass had a disability. I'm not positive, but my educated guess would be he has mild mental retardation. In any case, I sat there watching him, amazed. He was so precious and I just wondered what was going on in his head, what was he thinking as he played with the palms of his hands? Observing this very special child got me incredibly excited for my project in Belgium, and I can't wait to meet all the special children who are waiting for me in Brugge.
Next I passed by the Vredespalais, a building donated by Carnegie which houses the 
International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration. I had the weirdest sensation while on the tram- it was like being in DC, but on the OTHER side of tourism. I was passing by these noteworthy monuments and historic buildings and statues, and I was the only one on the tram looking up to take notice. In DC, I passed Arlington Cemetary every day, walked with my friends by the Capital, and lazed on the National Mall, always noticing every tourist and thinking "wow, I'm definitely not like that!" And yesterday I was! Weeeeeird
Latest vocab words:
kade: quay
roer: rudder
bieslook: chives
haaitanden: shark teeth. They are also these white triangles painted on the road to indicated "yield."
naai: sewing
pers: the press
valk: falcon
echt waar: really. Such as: Mom, "After 41 years, I finally understand your father!" Me, "Echt waar!"
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
kosher waffle
ps- this miniature model of the Binnenhof made me want to race a toy Delorean down the main street to see when the lightening would strike the clocktower:
After a week of adventure, I need to downshift. It was a great period of new people, new language, new experiences... and now I'm kinda pooped. So I'm taking a step back and pacing myself. I don't want to burn out or get so emerged in new-ness that I start to resent it. Balance, as Mom always says (see, I listen! sometimes.)
Fortunately, I'm able to spend the next week in Leiden, which is a home away from home for me. There are many things I like about Leiden, but what I love is that it doesn't feel so foreign to me and I can just be. Or as Dad says, its like studying abroad without the studying. I'm okay with that. Emily's family is again incredibly giving, and I'm staying at her step-brother, Folmer's, while he's on holiday for the week. I am watering the plants and getting the mail, so I'm earning my keep. We'll see if I throw any kermisborrels while I've got my own place.
With one week left in Nederland, what will I be doing with myself? In addition to possibly seeing the latest Harry Potter (en de halfbloed prins) at the theater, I'll 
probably take some day trips around Holland dotted with plans with friends. Leiden has a lot of summer activities, in addition to a year-long Leiden-Japan relationship celebration, so I should have an interesting and culture-filled week. I hope to spend much time outdoors as the weather has been BEAUTIFUL! I resolve to not get sunburnt, as red only looks good in my hair.
A few random thoughts:
-I can't watch Law and Order here. I mean they get it on tv, but without the "BUM BUM" sound edited in. How can you call that L&O?
-Upon meeting me, most people my age will respond with "why don't you come on over Vaaaalerieeee" and continue to sing it whenever they see me. For you AARP members, its a song about a girl with ginger hair named Valerie, which is apparently very popular here. Glad I could have my reputation precede me.
-I friggin love Dutch bathrooms. They are the most efficient use of a square meter that ever existed. They are the size of a bathroom stall (and not the handicapped ones) and have a toilet, shower, sink, mirror, storage, calendar, hooks, shelves, and garbage. They are the water closet equivilant of a clown car. I think they're magical.
It's really beautiful here, but again I've confirmed that it's not where you are but who you're with that matters. It gets lonely on my own sometimes, which I know will get better when I start my program. But in the meantime it can feel lonesome being in a wonderful and picturesque place without people I love to share it with.
Keep in touch.
xoxo
kw
Leiden. One of my favorite places in the world. Name sound familiar? It could be because that's where Rembrandt and the Pilgrims are from (I still contend that Rembrandt and the Pilgrims would make a kick-ass name for a band.) Or it could be because that's where I studied abroad in the spring of '06. It is one of the most beautiful and fun places in Holland, kind of like a smaller, cleaner Amsterdam without the tourists and plus the academics. Very me-type city. Emily and I went down there (it's about 2/3rds of the way to the Hague from A'dam) to hang out for a few days and see some old friends. It ended up being an incredibly pleasant and wildly entertaining trip 
(as usual in that city!)
There are two very very important things to do in Leiden other than see friends, who technically you can see anywhere so these possibly take precedence: get my favorite meal in the entire world at India Way, and eat a fresh stroopwafel at the Saturday market from Tony, my favorite man in all of Leiden. Emily and I first went to India Way, where I scared most of the waitstaff by continually telling them they made my favorite food ever and nearly kissing their shoes as they walked by. I can be frightening when I'm passionate about food. It's this Indian dish called malacyen that I can't find ANYWHERE else in the world, and it must have crack in it cause it's so addictive (can't be ruled out here...) I don't know what it is, but I crave it.
It is absolute perfection on a plate. Emily gets the same thing, but has them add chicken. I really, really love that place. I might build them a shrine.
One thing I love about Holland is that twice a week there are open air markets, kind of a mix between a farmer's market and a flea market, where everyone comes out and spends the day and shops. Leiden's Saturday market is spectacular, and from what I've heard one of the best in Holland. I think it's the best since you can get a large, fresh, warm and gooey stroopwafel from a man named Tony Vergunst, who is also shrine worthy in my opinion. So Saturday morning, Emily and I had stroopwafels for breakfast. Cause when in Rome, eat Dutch dessert waffles.
We ate, we walked around the beautiful city on a perfect sunny and warm evening, and we finally wound up at the British pub, where the very cute Oxford-ian bar tender didn't know what a hot toddie was. We met up with my friends Esther and Hilal, who are just such sweet and incredibly fun girls, and had a great night on the town!! We ended up at this bar called the Cow (it used to be a butcher shop. fun!) and made friends with a very nice group of guys! It was student weekend (when all the students come back to school) so the bar was packed, but it was very enjoyable and it's always great talking with Dutchies. As I've mentioned, they're incredibly friendly, and not in a sleezy "how-YOU-doin" sort of way. It really is lovely.
After partying til the early morning, we crashed at Hilal's place, which is ADORABLE, and has such a great view I have to share:
The next day we continued on our mission to appreciate the cultural and gastronomical gems of the land, i.e. we stuffed ourselves with pannenkoeken. For those of you who don't know, Dutch pancakes are not like our version. They are very flat and so large you could roll up a small child in one (bringing new meaning to "you're so cute I could just eat you up!") You can also put anything in your pancake you want. Some people get ham, tomatos, and cheese, and some of us get different fruits (my favorite is pineapple and raisins with powdered sugar). They are quite an endeavor, and must be treated as a marathon, not a sprint. And so we sat on a terrace next to the canal and talked, ate, and forgot to apply sunscreen. My right arm is still sporting some lovely shades of pink and red. But it was in the name of pannenkoeken, so well worth it.
Burns and food comas aside, Leiden is always a wonderful place to be, and I'm excited to spend some more time there with my good friends in the next week and a half before I go to Belgium!
Until next time...
xoxo
kosher waffle
I've been staying in a Dutch trailer park, or as Mom puts it, "a trailer park without white trash." Let me explain...
A popular way to vacation in Holland, where there isn't much space for a sprawling summer home or endless B&Bs, is to stay in a "caravan." Caravans are kind of like trailers- they are semi-permanent structures that are small, attached to the ground (no wheels, platforms, or tornado worries), and kind of a mix between a double-wide and a cottage. Many people keep theirs in a large park with 100-150 other caravans, and most of them have small canals that run through for people to keep their boats on, as it is the un-Dutchest thing to not have a canal and access to boats. That would not be a vacation, that would be torture. Anyway, I've included a few pictures to prove that I have not, in fact, been staying with the Hollish equivilent of bumpkins, but an efficient yet cosy Dutch holiday home.
The top picture is Emily, one of my favorite people in the world. She and I met at college in a Dutch class and became fast friends. I even visited her last year when she was studying abroad in A'dam. We happened to be in Holland at the same time right now, so I was fortunate to hang out with her and stay with her family (that's her mom at the kitchen table, one of the nicest ladies on both sides of the pond). Emily's dad and step-dad are both Dutch, so it's a lot of fun being here with her and seeing her family. Listening to her two teenage cousins speak in Dutch is an exercise in keeping my brain from spinning too fast. I can barely understand American teenagers these days, let alone in Dutch! They are very nice though, and treat me like family when I'm here:)
One plus of staying here with Emily is that I get to meet a lot of her friends and do crazy Dutch things, like attend a "kermisborrel," or as I like to call it, a non-carnival non-kegger. Kermis is kind of like a county fair- they are little carnivals/festivals that occur in the smaller towns and villages of Holland for about a week in the summer. A borrel is a kind of like our keggers, except they don't have kegs here. So, while the families attend Kermis during the day and go on the rides, get faces painted, etc, the adults of the surrounding villages get drunk off their clogs. They pregame, but without attending the game. This goes on all day, and later in the night people often decide to actually go to Kermis, which by this point means joining all the other drunk villagers at the bars NEAR the Kermis, as the carnival has long closed. So it's a non-kegger that goes on all day and leads into not attending the carnival at night. Naturally.
Here are some pictures from my first kermisborrel:
No, I have NO idea why those people are in a large birdcage.
A few interesting points from the kermisborrel- Dutch people are really friendly! At parties, oftentimes in America I feel like people aren't as welcoming and friendly, unless its toward someone of the opposite sex they want to score (points) with. Here, everyone was coming up and introducing themselves, guys and girls alike, and when they talk to you it's very genuine. It was really a pleasure meeting such down-to-earth people at this strange and drunken event. Also, many people asked if I was from England, America, or Australia. Maybe it's cause I was out in the country? I don't know, that's never happened to me before in Holland! I always thought it was quite obvious...
A kermisborrel can be summed up with how the night ends: with about 7 or 8 completely trashed Dutchies shouting along to "Hey I'm from Holland! Where the f*** you from?!"
So that's trailer parks and kermisborrels!
Dutch words learned during this adventure:
aangeschoten- tipsy. literal translation is "grazed", like by a bullet
bezopen- hammered
op de bonnefooi- play it by ear
drempel- speedbump. literal is "threshold", i think
de mazzel- guys say it to each other when they say goodbye as "best" or "success"- from our mazel!
wel trusten- sleep tight
what the f*ck- said by the Dutch in otherwise completely Dutch sentences. Example: "De kippen zeiden what the f*ck, dieren kunnen niet spreken." (The chickens said wtf, animals can't talk.)
That's this adventure, thanks for reading! de mazzel:)
xoxo
kosher waffel
Hello Friends and Strangers!
Welcome to my blog, thanks for visiting:) I've never had a blog before, so I hope you come with really low expectations so I can impress and entertain you easily. I'm embarking on a wonderful journey to enchanted Belgium where I will be volunteering with children with special needs, and wanted to start a blog for two reasons:
1) So my friends and family can stay updated on where I am/what I'm doing/my adventures
2) My beautiful and excellent mother has a way of...inventing the truth...so instead of her leaving half of Michigan and the Jewish parts of Chicago, New York, and Florida with the completely wrong interpretations of my stories, she can simply pass along this link to her friends (Good luck at Mahj this week, ladies!) Nickel for every time one of them tries to tell me about their Jewish son/nephew/deli grocer who's "in Europe, cute, and gonna be a docter/lawyer/bagel factory owner."*
What exactly am I doing in Belgium? Well, I'll be speaking Dutch, eating waffles, connoisseuring chocolate, and taking pretty pictures. But mainly, I'm working at a center outside Brugge for people with developmental disabilities. I don't know my exact possition yet, but I know I'll be working with autistic kids. I am beyond excited since Dutch, food, and kids w/ special needs are pretty much my favorite things in the world.
Many have asked how exactly I'm doing this. There is a wonderful international organization called International Cultural Youth Exchange whose mission it is to exchange volunteers internationally, creating a global community with increased cultural understanding. ICYE has affiliate non-profits all over the world. I applied through the US affiliate, United Planet, who connected me with the Belgian affiliate, VIA Belgium (if you'd like their site I can send you it, but you need to have gotten at least a B or higher in Dutch 201 to be considered). So, off I am to Belgium, to live with a host family (family tbd) and do my favorite kind of work ever. Yay!
First, though, I'm going to the Netherlands. There's one thing you can get there, out in the open market or at various shops, that you can't get anywhere else in the world. I just absolutely crave it and can't wait to burn my fingers and lick my lips....I'm talking about stroopwafels, of course! Mmmmmmmm. So in and around Amsterdam I shall be until the end of the month.
I hope you found my first post satisfactory. Thanks for reading it:) And thanks so much to all of my friends and especially my family who have been incredibly supportive of my dream to volunteer with special needs abroad. You will be rewarded with chocolate. Or, when I run out of money, inappropriate postcards from Amsterdam.
xoxo
kosher waffle
*all nickels go to the person who explains to my dad what a "blog" is
Last week I visited Rotterdam and Amsterdam. While I've been to Amsterdam countless times, I made my first and last visit to Rotterdam. I think the former is the best dam city.
around. If you're not aware, I loathe modern art. So to have a city littered with it was not my kopje thee (cup of tea). I also saw this odd trailer-thing painted with what I imagine is supposed to be a traditional Dutch scene, but this picture has the most diversity I've seen in the whole of the Netherlands. It is cute though...
a tour of Jewish Amsterdam. Many people don't know this, but Jews have been in Amsterdam for nearly 400 years, which is much longer than the country of the Netherlands has existed. It has always been Holland's main Jewish community, and the history of the Jews there is very rich. Holland had the highest percentage of Jews killed in the Holocaust of any country, except maybe Germany itself. At least 80 percent of the Dutch Jewish population was killed in the Holocaust, including Anne Frank. It is why I am so grateful and proud that the Dutch have protected and retained their Jewish history, and why I had to go visit it myself. Most of the old Jewish quarter is based around Jodenbreestraat, or Jewish Broad Street.
have been to his house! Easily one of the most fascinating places I've visited in the country, Rembrandt's house has been restored and reconstructed into what it looked like when he lived there. While the painter himself wasn't Jewish, most of his neighbors were and a good amount of his paintings are actually of these neighbors. I'm posting many of my pictures so you can see for yourself inside his home. They include his bedroom, his halls filled with paintings (ones by him and his students), his etching studio (with the big wheel thingy), and his painting studio, which had windows facing North for optimal lighting.
My next two stops housed Jews. Megadlei Yethomin was an orphanage for German and Eastern European Jewish boys for over a hundred years before the war came and sent all the orphans and their caretaker to Sobibor concentration camp. After the war, it became an orphanage for Jewish boys seeking placement in Israel, and was successful until its close in 1955. Now only the facade remains while a new building is below, but this frame stands to commemorate the orphans and their caretaker who were killed in the camp. My other stop was to a former Portuguese Jewish seniors residence, which had its own Synagogue inside. The threshold is still in Hebrew, meaning something I'd like one of my Heebs speakin peeps to fill me in on. (Toda).
get a gold (Jewish) star. The Jewish Historical Museum- the name says it all. Incredibly rich with artifacts from Jews who came from all over the world, this house of Jewphernalia also encompasses an old four-synagogue complex built by German and Polish refugees in the 17th and 18th centuries. It remains intact despite the war and includes Europe's oldest public synagogue. Nearby is the Portuguese Synagogue, which I've been to many times but never been IN since I always seem to make it after closing hours. 4pm, what is it always Shabbas? Anyway, Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal fled to A'dam in the 16th and 17th centuries and built this synagogue, where they were free to worship freely for the first time in centuries.
