Thursday, June 24, 2004
Blown away by the winds of Rotterdam
The weather has been behaving really well with great sunshine on my first 3 weeks in Rotterdam, where I supposedly have come in at the end of Spring. With summer around the corner, the winds have changed its moods and decided to shower its bad temper through heavy rains and whirlwinds. An umbrella seem useless as the wind just blows it away, and makes me think that with that strong wind I might end up blown by the wind and fly like Mary Poppins. Bikes vastly used here in Netherlands, the cyclists are even more challenged in maintaining that balance with the very thin wheels of their mountain bikes. I’ve never appreciated so much sunshine that I had in the tropical island of the Philippines, but I am still hoping that the winds will have a better mood this weekend as I try to explore more of the beauty of Netherlands. Although my hopes have easily gone down as soon as I found out that this is actually the normal weather here in Rotterdam and it can actually be worse during the winter since you’ll need to add colder weather and snow. But then again, I am appreciating the beauty of the rain showers as this can be actually the blessings that are given to us. I definitely would not lock myself inside my room over the weekend even if a great weather like this cradles you to a long sleep. What beauty this raging weather will bring, I’ll find out soon….there should definitely be a gold at the end of the rainbow.
Monday, June 21, 2004
A visit to Amsterdam
I can say that I have actually been to Amsterdam several times.... only that I was always limited to the airport and at the train station. Three weeks have passed since I arrived Netherlands, and this was actually my first time to go around Amsterdam and visit the historical city in Netherlands. Compared to Rotterdam, where there are lots of experimental architecture, Amsterdam is the old city with so much preserved houses. Home to famous museums such as the Van Gough Museum, where I actually spent 3 great hours appreciating art. Not because it actually cost me around 14 euros to get in, but the audio guide made it more meaningful since it actually described what the paintings really meant in relation to the artist's feelings and emotions at that time.
Amsterdam is also known for the Red Light District, which isn't just one street but more of one block of different bars and pubs. In this area, you would also be able to see the gay street, where everything in that street is targetted for gays... and also for those curious like me who wants to find out where these guys have been hanging out all these time. On Saturday night, we went to this disco called EXIT... it's a 3 level disco with a different kind of music at each floor... enjoyed the music and the view of course, imagine being in a room filled with guys.... except that they were not interested with curious women like us. hahaha
Amsterdam is also known for the Red Light District, which isn't just one street but more of one block of different bars and pubs. In this area, you would also be able to see the gay street, where everything in that street is targetted for gays... and also for those curious like me who wants to find out where these guys have been hanging out all these time. On Saturday night, we went to this disco called EXIT... it's a 3 level disco with a different kind of music at each floor... enjoyed the music and the view of course, imagine being in a room filled with guys.... except that they were not interested with curious women like us. hahaha
Censored!!!
This is the portable toilet that is all over Amsterdam.. unfortunately it's only for men, while for women, there are also some but you'll need to pay 30 euro cents for that service.
The cultural center of Amsterdam where most of the operas and grand concerts are held. On the right hand side of the photo you can see a hill like field which has a grocery store below it. Netherlands is pretty much flat country so there aren't that much hills around... so if you don't have 'em, build 'em!
just before the soccer match of netherlands and czech republic... anything orange represents the Dutch culture, so you'll never miss them in a crowd, not unless you're in a street filled with people all wearing orange shirts
an interesting house... as they really want to preserve most of the old houses in Amsterdam, this one seems to be one of those that will remain to stand until it falls down. hehehe
Amsterdam Square
A busy saturday afternoon at the Dam Square in Amsterdam.
aside from the bridge, another landmark for you to find my apartment... The tall building is known as the KPN Telecom Building, and the small brown building beside it is actually our apartment. The purpose of the white pole slanting from the building is still a question for me as well, but at least you won't miss to notice this building when looking for my place.
The house that looks like the house-more popularly known as Cube House... just one of the experimental architectures of Rotterdam.Interesting how people can actually stand up straight in these houses...
and did I say that this bridge actually goes up when a big boat passes by....
if ever you visit me here in Rotterdam, just look for this bridge and my apartment is just across this bridge.
monday morning outside my apartment. The dutch usually have monday mornings as rest time and just open stores at 12 noon. Unfortunately, we are not working for a dutch company, so monday mornings are still working hours for us.
A very spacious kitchen that has hosted several dinners with the rest of the team... a furnished apartment that provides pots and pans, plates and utensils, and a nice dinner table to share a couple of meals... I am still in the process of learning to cook for myself before I share my expertise to the rest of the group...
May 28: greatest tram misadventure
When I arrived in Rotterdam, guess what, I made the funniest mistake in riding a tram. I always get lost around multiple train systems, but this time it’s about this stripenkaart that happens to be their national transportation ticket(trams and buses) that you have to punch depending on the number of zones that you’re passing by. Being the innocent or rather ignorant me, I had this long card numbered 1-15 and I knew that I was supposed to punch 3 numbers so I just randomly punched 9-12. That led me to become the entertainment of the inspector as that actually meant that what I punched actually enables me to go 11 zones, which can bring me to The Hague already. I guess I forgot what I learned in kindergarten, where you should actually start counting at 1, thus punching the stripenkaart at 1 and not number 9...
Cozy and funky apartment
Finally transferred to my new apartment. Nice and sleek, at a very cheap students price of 240 euros per month. Well I can say cheap as per standards of living here in Netherlands, so you could just imagine how expensive most of the commodities here are.
May 27: Leaving on a jet plane
All my bags are packed, ready to leave for Rotterdam. Still have the uncertainty of how long I would be able to stay there, but would only find out once I leave the country. It was my first time to fly via China Airlines, and I’ve never really appreciated the services of Emirates until I was able to compare it with China Air. Yet, I was able to enjoy such a great trip when I was able to take care of an old Filipina who was on her way to Norway to visit her son. With China Airlines not so friendly service or maybe not being able to converse in English very well, she was lost as to where the connecting flight should be from Taipei. With great opportunity of finding her, I get to provide her with that service with extreme pleasure and share her life long experience of hardship and now able to enjoy the success of her children.
