I almost didn't want to go to church, but Erin thought it'd be a good idea (which is ironic, as I am a Christian and Erin is an atheist). She was right. The church was beautiful, but more importantly, God was more present to me in that Belgian cathedral than He had been in a long time.
The cathedral also had a great view of Brussels:
Brussels is a pretty business-oriented city, so it was pretty unbusy (what is the word for the opposite of busy?) on a Sunday. That was great, though; it was nice to get away from crowds and to not have to wait in line for our waffles-with-chocolate-and-strawberry lunch. (Yum, I know.)
Erin and I stopped in the Grande Place, which is big and grand and impressive:
We also visited that famous statue, the Mannekin. It was not big or grand or impressive, but there you go:
The highlight of our day in Brussels was the Atomium. This is the Atomium:
Seriously cool, right? It was built for the 1958 World Expo, and it has been in Brussels ever since. Here's what was even cooler, though: there were two random days when people could zipline from the top of the Atomium (335 feet tall), and Erin and I just happened to visit on one of those two days! I did not zipline (not because I was afraid, but because I was broke), but she did! Seriously cooler, right?
And here is the Belgian Arc de Triomphe:
And Anne Frank used to live there. Erin and I visited the Anne Frank Museum, which is just amazing. Here's another book shout-out: The Diary of Anne Frank. I feel like everyone has to read this in eighth grade, but if you, like Erin, somehow missed out on that part of education, go read this book. And then maybe visit Amsterdam to drive the whole thing home. Here's where Otto Frank's business and the Frank family's hiding place were:
Okay, like I said earlier, there were bikes everywhere in Amsterdam. There are also lots of pretty colors (of which I am a huge fan) and people who like happy things. This is how bikes like this come into existence:
Please look closely at the kickstand: it has wooden clogs on. Amazing.
Our second day in Amsterdam, Erin and I went on a windmill hunt. We rented bikes, which was so fantastic, and we rode all around and outside the city. We found things other than windmills, too:
It has a really nice park, where Erin and I ended our day in Brussels.
The next day, we went to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam is now one of my favorite cities. The 'coffeeshops' (where you get pot, versus cafes where you actually get coffee) are sort of whatever, and the sex trade is pretty gross (the Red Light District is honestly one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen), but minus that five-block area of whateverness and grossness, Amsterdam rocks.
The next day, we went to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam is now one of my favorite cities. The 'coffeeshops' (where you get pot, versus cafes where you actually get coffee) are sort of whatever, and the sex trade is pretty gross (the Red Light District is honestly one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen), but minus that five-block area of whateverness and grossness, Amsterdam rocks.
The buildings are awesome, there are canals running through the whole city, and there are bikes everywhere:
And Anne Frank used to live there. Erin and I visited the Anne Frank Museum, which is just amazing. Here's another book shout-out: The Diary of Anne Frank. I feel like everyone has to read this in eighth grade, but if you, like Erin, somehow missed out on that part of education, go read this book. And then maybe visit Amsterdam to drive the whole thing home. Here's where Otto Frank's business and the Frank family's hiding place were:
Okay, like I said earlier, there were bikes everywhere in Amsterdam. There are also lots of pretty colors (of which I am a huge fan) and people who like happy things. This is how bikes like this come into existence:
Please look closely at the kickstand: it has wooden clogs on. Amazing.
Our second day in Amsterdam, Erin and I went on a windmill hunt. We rented bikes, which was so fantastic, and we rode all around and outside the city. We found things other than windmills, too:
The first windmill we found was the most impressive. It was also someone's house:
The second windmill was actually impossible to get to and kind of run-down, but...hey, it was a windmill:
And the last windmill had a restaurant in the bottom of it, which, in this picture, is covered up by Erin and me.
Like a lot of European cities, Amsterdam is beautiful. I think it seemed more beautiful to me, though, because these buildings aren't as iconic (read: I've seen pictures of them so much that they're almost common) as the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or something:
We took a free and fantastic tour later that day, where we found another icon of the Dutch:
And the last windmill had a restaurant in the bottom of it, which, in this picture, is covered up by Erin and me.
The bike rental place was by Amsterdam's library (the largest library in Europe and one of the newest-built), so Erin and I stopped in to use the Internet after our bike-riding adventure. And, lucky day, we saw royalty! The Swedish king and queen were in The Netherlands to promote peace and goodwill throughout the earth (or something like that), and the Queen was in the library to help open a show of children's books illustrated by Swedish artists. So, of course, Erin and I stayed in the library until the Queen left, because, seriously, royalty from a socialist country (how does that work, exactly?) is still royalty!
The Queen is in pink. I never got a picture of her face, but if you want to see it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Silvia_of_Sweden
Like a lot of European cities, Amsterdam is beautiful. I think it seemed more beautiful to me, though, because these buildings aren't as iconic (read: I've seen pictures of them so much that they're almost common) as the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or something:
I don't even know what this is, but it's just there, functioning in Amsterdam as if it's not totally big and awesome.
Our final day travelling, Erin and I visited the Van Gogh museum. It was fine, if you like Van Gogh. On the way, we completed our Dutch trip by finding a giant wooden clog:
We took a free and fantastic tour later that day, where we found another icon of the Dutch:
The next day, we went back to Oxford.
Dear Readers, we've finished with my spring break travels!! (Hey, it only took three months...) I loved nearly every minute of my trip, and don't regret a bit of it. I saw God in so many places and so many people, and I learned so much about His amazing world and my role in it. I discovered that tours are nearly always good ideas, most museums are not really my thing, ice cream always makes the end of a long day perfect, Italian men are the funniest flirters, it does no good to worry about money unless you're actually going to make a budget, you should always carry chocolate and apples, hikes to views are always rewarding, the beach at night is so lovely, overnight trains make you feel like a little kid because they're so cool, books are necessary to a good travel experience, there is rarely a need to wash clothes (unless it's underwear) between wears, you should always give a city at least a day before judging it, and it's better to travel with people, especially those people you love.
Though my continental adventures have come to a close, my European adventures aren't over yet! Check back soon for an update on my last term in Oxford and my time in Antibes!
