Spring has officially sprung here in Val-de-Travers. I swear Mother Nature decided overnight to stop punishing me with snow and below freezing temperatures with beautiful blue skies and beaucoup sun. I am back to my own devices as it has been one week since Hardy left for the states. I'm not eating as well as I was the past few months but I learned a thing or two so it's not just pasta every night. Since my last post, Hardy and I made one last trip together to Holland which preceded his trip to Spain. I think the biggest thing that came out of our trip was the learning curve we experienced when visiting places that have more than just monuments and sightseeing. Take notes people.
Thankfully our trip started less stressful than the morning before our train to Paris (no heels this time which helped). What was entertaining about just the journey to the airport and on the plane were the abundance of young teenaged couples going on trips. Looking back I guess it makes sense with it being Valentine's Day weekend. Instead of an inflight movie, we got to watch and listen to teenagers suck face in front of us for an hour and a half. Now I am all for PDA but really I just felt bad for the grumpy looking gentlemen who sat next to them. Oh hormones.
When I wasn't watching to the show, my view from the plane was incredible
So was his obviously
So excited!!! One of the reasons we chose Holland for the weekend getaway is the family friend connection Hardy has. While his dad was in the Air Force, him and his new bride lived in small village called Amerongen near an American Military base. They lived their in the first two years of their marriage and happened to meet the people who would play host for us, Wim and Grete. I was looking forward to meeting them because since I've been with Hardy, I have heard many stories about them as well hearing his mother speak Dutch on the phone which is really cool in my opinion. I finally got to put faces with the stories. Amerongen is about a 45 minute train ride from the Amsterdam main station followed by another 20 minutes by car from a place called Driebergen and finally by nine we made it to the small Dutch village.
My first encounter with Wim I didn't realize who I was talking to. As we waited at the last station I was looking at my phone when an older gentlemen walks past me and says Hello! Me being startled from my phone trance, I replied with a friendly hello but confused as to why a random person would know to speak English to me. He kept walking and it took me a good 30 seconds of confusion as he started talking to Hardy to realize it was Wim! Sometimes I take on a self fulling prophecy of what some might describe a blonde moment. The night ended with a huge home cooked meal by Grete which would be a sign of things to come. Side note: I learned early on that Hardy as a child was the pickiest eater you could ever meet. Which to me is funny because my kid nickname happened to be Miss Picky. Anywho, the last time Hardy visited Holland all he would eat was buttered pasta and french fries. At the end of our dinner, when we really couldn't eat any more food, Grete brought out fresh fries with mayo and they both regaled me with memories of Hardy's previous eating habits. Surprising now if you know the present man who is a human garbage disposal.
Our first full day was spent in the country's capital Den Haag. I wasn't really sure what to expect but in our usual fashion we set off to wander the streets of this quirky city. The first thing I noticed was the variety of architecture. Unfortunately I am just now realizing most of those pictures are on my computer which Hardy took back to the states so instead I have this picture of what was a little town square that was filled with people. As I was taking this picture, Hardy needed to keep watch because there were bikes everywhere! And while in the Netherlands, I was told numerous times they are known for running over unsuspecting pedestrians.
With the little research we did, Hardy found a place called the Humanity House. It's somewhat of a museum that gives visitors a first person look as to what it's like to be a refugee. Each person is recommended to walk through the experience alone to get the full effect as to what it's like being on the run so to speak. We had our picture taken and were given a piece of paper with our personal details which would be used during the simulation.
I went first and as I walked from room to room, there were displays of living spaces with half packed suitcases, a disrupted dinner, and rooms torn apart with audio that simulated sirens and announcements of evacuation.
I was extremely out of my comfort zone because it felt like a haunted house and someone might be waiting around the corner ready to care me. The organization of this experience is supposed to put you on edge and I was definitely on high alert. Another part of the demonstration is sitting in an interrogation room and being aggressively interviewed as to why you want to enter the country. Even knowing this wasn't real, I felt defensive and stressed because even though I was given "proper identification" it seemed as if I was being treated like a criminal.
The first half of this experience was eye opening to say the least, and the second half was reading and listening to real stories of refugees from all over the world. The reasons for departure range from natural disasters to war torn countries. Genocide survivors and those escaping religious persecution. Incredibly heavy but at the same time uplifting to see those who managed to find safety after their ordeals were brave enough to retell their stories. Indescribable for someone who grew up in a place where my freedom and safety are taken for granted in stark contrast to these people's experiences.
This was in the restrooms. Water didn't work with each faucet to emphasize th e"little things" many people live without.
From there, we wandered more through the old town of Den Haag and Hardy was able to indulge in his childhood memories getting fries by the bushel.
Happy guy and his fries 
A little anticlimactic they way it was presented but pretty cool nonetheless. This museum taught us our first big lesson if you decide to visit an art museum. If there is a media guide available, do it! This particular one was free and I downloaded it from the App Store which was really cool. Without the history and background of the art, Hardy and I find ourselves not really engaged in the experience. Along with the many pieces of art that permanently stay here, there are exhibitions that stay for a limited time. We visited right after the unveiling of the "Frick Collection" which was more fun to say then see because we were tapped out with just looking at paintings and whatnot. This led to some serious shenanigans....
Ayeeee. By the time we exited the museum, most places to see where beginning to close down so we made our way to the last place on our list, the Peace Palace. Getting lost is our forte and with some directions from a friendly local who spoke English, (just about every person we encountered could speak English really well) we finally came across a gated area with this gem. Due to our expertise of getting lost we were 15 minutes too late to go inside but this place was pretty spectacular to look at. And our sunset...equally spectacular.
The remainder of our evening was spent with more of our hosts' family who Hardy knew from years past as well. We had dinner at one of the best Italian restaurants ever with appetizers upon appetizers and a meal where they set a giant cheese wheel on fire and mixed pasta with truffles inside of it. Quite the show. After some bar hopping and conversation, our long day finally came to an end and I was pleasantly surprised how entertaining the day's events had been. The best parts of my traveling experiences have been the ones with no expectations and having way more fun than I thought possible.
Now, before I get into the next part of our trip I have a disclaimer. Before you go on a trip, particularly a place with a huge concentration of museums, DO YOUR RESEARCH. With some advice from Tanja, we bought tickets ahead of time online to the Rijks museum because it is known for long lines. We tried to find tickets to the Anne Frank house but all online tickets were sold out. Didn't bother with looking for other reservations because we are the masters of winging it. This unfortunately would be a desicion I still kick myself for now. All my time with Hardy has chilled me out so much I don't feel the need to plan every little detail of our adventures. Most of the time that works out just fine. Live and learn was my lesson this weekend. Saturday we set off to Amsterdam, a city filled with art, history, and legalization of pot and prostitiution. Quite an interesting mix of people and culture and I immediately decided I liked the quirkiness of this place. One thing we did right from the start was buy an all day public transport pass. Otherwise you end up walking a lot more than is really necessary. In Paris, there were so many monuments and landmarks that using the metro constantly wasn't always best. Here we had a time crunch trying to arrive to the right place by the right time. First stop, the Rijks Museum. It is a monster.
There is literally everything you can think of here, except maybe mummies. I'm not exaggerating when I say thousands of paintings live here as well as mid evil swords, minature replicas of 15th century ships, airplanes, statues, and a lot of grandfather clocks. Rembrandt was the selling point for this time of year as hundreds of his paintings would be displayed for a limited time before going back into private collections. People have told us you need a few days to really enjoy the Louvre in Paris and I would recommend at least two if you wanted to explore every single floor and item here. We were able to download a media guide again but there was so much stuff after two hours we couldn't keep up. 
Creepy painting of a 14 year old prince and his 11 year old bride
Sorry we act like 12 year old boys
Creepy painting of a 14 year old prince and his 11 year old brideSorry we act like 12 year old boys His favorite part
We were able to wander over to where the Anne Frank house hoping to get lucky but St. Valentine did not want us to enjoy such amenities on his day. The line to get in was a football field long and with just above freezing temperatures we decided to nix that plan. Instead we spent the next few hours of our evening trying a very popular cuisine in Holland, Indonesian food. Years ago, Indonesia was a Dutch colony, therefore many immigrants came to the Netherlands and the food has taken hold for years. One word I can describe it as....spicy. Very good flavor but unfortunately for me I'm wimp and couldn't eat everything. But Hardy may have a new favorite cuisine because he ate his whole setup and half of mine. The menu includes a few different meal combinations that include appetizers, entrees, main course and desert. They bring out heated plates and then you go to town on a lot of food. Similar flavor to Thai but presented in away I had never experienced so definitely a worthwhile thing to try.
Though it was dark, we weren't finished yet. One of the main tourist things you research while looking at Amsterdam is the Red Light District. You can visit anytime during the day as it is a public area but we decided for the full experience might as well see it when...all the magic happens? Saturday night+RLD= SO MANY PEOPLE. As you enter the area, the first things you come upon are sex shops blasting techno music. Really nothing too crazy as you see these in America as well. But the similarities end there. We were one street too far so we made a right down an alley and all of sudden there were doors with glass windows with a little red light at the top, sometimes off, mostly on. Some had the curtains drawn, others right there in the doorway were women patiently waiting for their next client. 
The red lighting to the left are the rooms. Really, I was flabbergasted. This was actually happening. As a child I wasn't particularly sheltered but this was really something I had never seen before. As you walk the Main Street, there are rooms upon rooms with women waiting at the door advertising their product. Light on with curtains drawn means the woman has a client with her currently. No light means no one is using that space. In between the working women were many theaters where you can see a live show. The lines for these places were almost as long as the Anne Frank museum! Apparently there is a erotica museum you can visit but we weren't sure where that was so we ended up just following the masses along the canal. Even after all my shock, it still wasn't a reality until I saw men actually going inside and negotiating with the women for what services they wanted. Truly something I think you can't understand unless you see it in person. Reading more about this online, there are many precautions and rules to help protect these women so they can make a living and tours you can take during the day with a former "lady of the night" who helps answers questions and informs the public what it's like to live this lifestyle.
When our evening had finally come to a close, we took the train back to Amerongen hoping to get some much needed rest for our last full and busy day of Amsterdam. But first, when we arrived at their house, Wim and Grete stayed up as we decompressed and told them of our adventures. Still full from dinner I might add, around midnight Grete asks Hardy if he has ever tried a certain Dutch snack which is basically fried cheese balls. At least that's what he thought she said, but really she was offering to make them, at midnight! Another experience where we were stuffed to the brim. She probably thought Hardy was too thin and needed some fattening up.
It was the same story the next morning as she made us Dutch pancakes or pankooken. Such a fun word to say. You don't say no to seconds or thirds of pankooken. But really when the food is so good you don't mind gaining a few extra pounds. Nutella and Dutch pancakes are God's gift to Earth if you were curious. Before we took the train, Wim (who is a human history book) took us to the village castle of Amerongen. I really wish we had set time to come when it was open because it was a gorgeous day and the castle was really cool to see from the outside. Wim told us that long ago,a German king or Earl, someone important, came to visit this castle for so long, they practically went bankrupt while trying to entertain their guest for so long. Talk about a moocher. We saw the house Hardy's parents lived in 30 years prior and learned where all of Wim's 8 brothers lived within this small village. Like I said, human history book.
There was an actual moat surrounding it. The rest of our day was somewhat of an emotional roller coaster for me. Hoping on a Sunday there would be less people, we tried the Anne Frank house again but the line was worse so that was one thing on my list we didn't get to see. Kind of a bummer. I later learned from a teammate who is going to visit there in June that online tickets for that time were sold out already and that was weeks ago when she looked. Like I said before, do your research and book things in advance. Not sure what to do next, we made our way back towards where the Rijks museum was because there are many other museums to see as well. One I was interested in, Van Gogh. The lines for this place, Ri-dic-u-lous. You have to book reservations for time slots here which I had no idea about. It was past noon by this point and Hardy and I were limited for time because we had tickets to see an Ajax soccer game which we had to catch a train to get to. I was in a foul mood for each plan we had seemed to be foiled at every turn. As we sat for some lunch at a food truck nearby (really frickin good food which was nice) I spotted from a far what looked to be a ticket office. We got in a much shorter line and sure enough were able to buy tickets to the Van Gogh museum. Spirits uplifted instantly! Almost missed an incredible opportunity if I had continued to wallow in self pity and not keep trying to find ways to make this damn experience a reality. Perseverance people!!
We skipped the museums' hour long wait of a line and began our tour of what is now my favorite art museum of all time. Media guide in hand, (totally worth 5 euros) we spent three hours browsing and listening the life long brilliance and struggle of one history's greatest painters. I geeked out so hard when I saw my favorite painting, "Sunflowers" and now have many new favorites that I hope to accumulate prints of over the years to have in my house. I spent entirely too much money at the gift shop but have some pictures that need hanging when I get back.
Not actual size of painting. Interesting fact about this piece, the flowers in the picture are actually dying which I never bothered to notice before. It really is an amazing contrast between what is happening in the picture with the bright living colors he used. Up close with the original, (no pictures allowed), you can see the layers upon layers of paint sculpted and scraped. I could visit that place over and over and never get tired of it. 
Van Gogh's letters to and from his brother (over 800) are a huge part of this museums glimpse into his life. Also, I had no idea he was Dutch. I feel like this is a well known piece of information that I missed out on for 22 years but now I know.
Now, remember I said this trip was one with a learning curve? Aaaand we still had those soccer tickets? Well while Gabbi was so wrapped up in her own world filled with sunflowers and self portraits of another favorite redhead, my real redhead was incredibly patient but more aware of our time crunch to get the hell out of there. I spent too much time at the shop, but he was finally was able to drag me out of there so we could get to the train station. Already by that time, we were bound to be about 15 minutes late to our game but no biggie right? That is when you do finally get on the train, you don't get off one stop too early and have to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Then when you do catch the next train, you're going in THE WRONG EFFING DIRECTION! I am now crying because even though he won't let me believe it, I know it's my fault we have already missed half of the match. Not only are we late, it's so cold and I'm carrying all my souvenirs which are quite awkward to bring to a soccer game, that all I can do is say sorry over and over again. But I swear I found the best man in the world because not one moment did he let show any frustration or anger about the situation or make me feel bad. The phrase opposites attract really was my saving grace that day as he saved me from my extremely emotional self. When we did make it to the game, 20 minutes were left, tied 2-2. Teased from the fans who had been there the whole game we watched the end and ended up seeing the last two goals and win for the home team! Very cool but I think this was a sign that I should stick with my Bears and not mess with soccer anymore.
Really fun atmosphere though.
Our return home was a solemn silent one, but we were once again greeted with a feast which helped ease my ache a bit. I am my own worst critic, have been for as long as I can remember. I still cringe at stuff like this because I hate when things go wrong knowing I had a part in making it happen. Grete fed our sorrows away with some specialties. Traditional Dutch food is delicious, lots of savory sauces on meat paired with sweet fruits like pears soaked in port. And the tarte she made was ginormous.
This was a giant bowl of heaven With only the weekend to visit, we were up bright an early the next day for the airport. But not without a huge breakfast where you guessed it, we left fat and happy. The sightseeing was great, but I really loved when we were at their house relaxing and exchanging stories while gorging ourselves on free food. I can't wait to go back, not just for the people, but Holland really is a beautiful country. Very different compared to Switzerland, no mountains hills or elevation whatsoever. Next time, we know better but still left with some great memories to last a lifetime. Something that I didn't necessarily learn, but had reinforced was my view on love and relationships. Being with someone who brings the best out of you is important, but I think it's even more so when they have the ability to make you feel stronger in moments of weakness. Cue the laughing/crying girl at a random train station. Really I couldn't be luckier.
The next 12 days would be spent alone back in Switzerland while Hardy was living it up in Spain with his BFF Taylor. I forgot how miserable I am living alone with nothing to do all day. All my life I have been busy going from one thing to the next, and this free time by myself is just not my style. Thankfully, I was able to make a trip with my teammates Liti and Vanessa to a town called Bale near Basel where they were celebrating Carnivale, better known for starting in Brazil as a way to celebrate the end of winter. Once again, because the Swiss are crazy about it, confetti was everywhere. Two weeks later I'm still finding it in my clothes. Kids are the culprits and anyone is fair game. Older generations to toddlers, no one is safe.
The game is, get hit with confetti then receive candy as a sort of apology. Some of the donators were quite aggressive reaching into my clothes to spread the cheer. Confetti is like the STD you receive for the candy you were so eager to indulge in. Sometimes the advances are unwanted and you have to find ways to dodge prowling suitors. Yes you can use that as a metaphor to play it safe. Wise words from the daughter of a sex Ed teacher. The streets are filled with tourists, locals and bands playing instruments in super creepy masks.
I managed to find Waldo though. Like super creepy. Hot wine helps.
Fast forward to the first of March, and Hardy returned back to sleepy Travers. We only had a few days left before we'd go back to the old long distance grind. Hoping to make another trip, we thought maybe a jaunt to Zurich would be a nice send off. That was until we realized the entire season 3 of House of Cards had been released. Nothing kills motivation like a Netflix addiction. Instead we enjoyed making fondue and chocolate covered strawberries.
Fondue is sooooooo goooooood.
I definitely need a set for the states.
I'm in for the home stretch now with only two more matches left in the season. If we win both of our games we have a chance of being champions if all goes well (and if the current leader also happens to lose both of their matches, one of the. Being against us on Sunday) Cross your fingers people! I
am more than excited to come home but before that, I have so much to look forward to. After the season ends, I have trips booked for Spain, Italy and Ireland! Really trying to make the most of my opportunity to explore this side of the Atlantic. 40 euros for a flight to Madrid, yes please! I've got 44 days to milk this time for all it's worth and when it's all said and done, I'll be broke to help show for it. Time flies when you're having fun and I'm about to be moving in fast forward.
Miss everyone back home but you'll be seeing me in no time, until then...
The slightly older but much wiser American.
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