Farewell Leiden

Well, it's all over. I flew out yesterday morning and now I'm back in Orlando. It was a heck of a trip and I feel blessed to have been able to do it. Thanks for reading my first attempt at blogging and I hope to see all of you soon (unless weird random strangers have been reading this, in which case, my name is Mike Stadler and I live in Palo Alto).


75 and sunny on my last day

Keukenhof

In Lisse, just outside of Leiden, is the world's biggest flower garden, the Keukenhof. I have zero interest in flowers but I heard about it. I definitely didn't go yesterday by myself and walk around for 3 hours taking pictures. That's just not me.


I didn't take this


Found this one online


I'm ashamed.

Maastricht

For the weekend, I went to the tail of the Netherlands and the city of Maastricht with my buddies Henry (Australia) and Curt (South Dakota). The city was pretty impressive and felt nothing like the rest of the country. The streets were wider, no canals and there were ruins from way back when all over the place. I did not know until I received a text from my mom that there are more bars per square kilometer in Maastricht than any other city in the country. Thanks mom, but I'm all about experiencing history and culture, not sitting in some bar and drinking gross Belgian beer.

The biggest difference between the tail and the rest of the country were the elevation changes. Leiden and other parts of Holland that I've been to are flat, and I mean completely flat, much more so than Florida. Ant piles are the most they have. But there were legit hills in the tail and on the train to Maastricht, we passed a little town with ruins up on a hill. We went back the next day to check it out and the ruins turned out to be the only castle to be built on a hill in the Netherlands, built to be more secure than others. It was destroyed three separate times and eventually burned. Not much was left but the views were good.

Saturday, we went to an old fort on the outskirts of Maastricht. From the top, you could see Belgium and we decided to walk across the border. The walk turned out to be a massive trek but the weather and scenery made it worth it. We eventually made it to the town of Kanne, just inside the Belgian border. It was a great time but thankfully, we caught a bus back to Dutch-land.

The trip was one of the highlights of my time here so far despite Easter Sunday brunch being train station Burger King. Now, I only have a few more days left before heading back to the US of A. Time flies, especially when you're 6 hours ahead. Terrible joke.


Maastricht


Valkenburg Castle


Walking to Belgium


Who could say no to more raw herring?

UF reunion

I finished exams last Friday and somehow, my European legal education has already come to a close. Oh well, hopefully I passed.

My buddies Mike and Taylor from college flew in for the week and they were waiting for me when I got out of my last final. As I hoped, they were both decked out in Gator gear from the moment they arrived. Our first outing was Amsterdam on Saturday where Holland was playing Scotland in a World Cup qualifier. The streets were packed with Scots in kilts and Dutch in bright orange but both sides seemed to get along fairly well. The atmosphere was pretty nuts and it seemed much more acceptable for the three of us to sing Gator songs amidst all the chanting Scots.

Sunday, we went to the Hague for the day and then set off for Prague on Monday. Numerous people had told me Prague was a must-see and I have to say it lived up to the hype. The city is beautiful and more importantly, cheap. Our meals were usually $5-7 and drinks were around $1. I enjoyed the goulash, which is basically beef stew minus the vegetables. How can you beat that?

A couple random stories:
We went in a hotel to get directions when we crossed paths with a fairly famous American rapper. I've never listened to him but somehow recognized him and said "Method Man?" to which he responded "of all the people right?" Well said, Method, well said.

Later, we were exploring a hill that overlooked the city when we heard a voice coming from a loudspeakers down below. It was pretty loud so there must have been speakers all over the city. After the voice stopped, what sounded like an air raid siren started blaring even louder than the voice. This was a tad disconcerting and we figured it was either a test, a giant April fool's prank, or the Germans were back and we needed to hide. It eventually stopped so option 3 was eliminated.



No caption necessary


Peace Palace in The Hague


Prague from the Old Town Hall tower.


Prague Castle from St. Charles Bridge

Dublin

Earlier this week, I went to Dublin with some friends for my birthday and more importantly, St. Patrick's Day (24 is just old). First off, it was extremely nice to be in a country where the language didn't sound like everyone had a chest cold. Dublin seemed a lot like what I remember of Boston, not exactly picturesque but still cool. The weather was great, sunny and warm, relatively warm but I'll take it. I also enjoyed the food, much more than in Holland. It was basically sausage, potatoes, sausage, repeat for 3 days and I loved every minute of it.

As for the big holiday, I thought it would be best to list the day's events chronologically, although the order is probably off.

• ordered the "full Irish breakfast" which should have been called "you might not make it to 25"
• went to the St. Patrick's Day Festival parade, I heard someone say they were expecting about a half a million people and I believe it. The parade was impressive, as parades go, but it went on a little long so we left after about an hour.
• commenced pub tour of Dublin
• was called gay by a 7 year old after I declined to put down my Irish flag after he told me it was illegal to carry if I was not from Ireland
• went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, bigger than the NYC version, but less impressive
• met a former Stanford football player, discussed coaching differences of Walt Harris and Jim Harbaugh
• got lost, began search for friends
• met some Auburn girls, ended search for friends
• got in an argument with a Miami fan who didn't like the word 'irrelevant'
• found friends, ate more sausage

All in all, a great day.

Wednesday, we were able to do some quality sightseeing which culminated with a tour of the Guinness brewery. Now back in Leiden, its exam-cramming time with all 4 next week. Not good.


O'Connell Street - the main drag


Not sure what this is


Waiting for the parade


St. Stephen's Green

Finally

Hello all, I apologize for the long post drought. I hope that you mananged to find wildly amusing entertainment elsewhere for the past two weeks. Nothing too mindblowing has happened over here but I'll share a few things. I've taken a few day trips, to the Hague and Delft. The Parliament buildings and embassies made the Hague a worthwhile stop plus being a fairly large metropolitan city, was a nice change of pace to being in Leiden. Delft is another university town that is comparable in size to Leiden but I would say is a little nicer. There was a three-day costume party that was just ending when we were there so throughout the city there were students with smeared face paint, stumbling around, mumbling incoherent Dutch (more incoherent than normal). It was kind of like sightseeing during Dawn of the Dead.

Other random notes:
Yesterday, I went to get a much-needed haircut but bailed when I saw the gelled-up mullet atrocity that the "barber" was sporting. Eighties nightclub owner, I do not want to be.
In the last two days, I've snapped a hand brake cable and gotten a flat tire on my bike. I'm praying that thing makes it a few more weeks.
It's much warmer here now with temperatures near 50 during the day. The wind has gotten intense and it still rains alot, but I no longer have to wear layers to bed.
I'm basically finished with classes after today and exams are rapidly approaching. Yikes.

My home away from...everything

After the electricity went out as I was showering tonight, I thought it would be good to document the various "features" of my Dutch home. First, the power. This was about the fifth or sixth time it has gone out since I've been here. It's not a big deal to get it turned back on, just takes some fiddling with the box, very safe I'm sure. My landlord said that she had an electrician take a look but everything was fine. She said the problem was most likely having too many things plugged in. I thought I should be fine, I barely use anything. After one blackout, one of my roommates came into my room, looked around, and said she thought I had too many things running. Computer. Heater. Light. At that point, I could have argued and live in fear of my toothbrush going in the toilet or I could comply with Greek Bob Vila. Lights out.

I can't really complain about my roommates, they have been pretty nice and considerate. The rapid fire Greek banter gets old sometimes but everything in this house seems loud because the walls are ridiculously thin. I'm not talking poorly built Gainesville apartment thin either, I mean put your fist through the wall thin. Which coincidentally, I did. No, it wasn't Gators/Magic loss related. I went to brace myself as I was leaning over my bed to reach something and crack -- right through. Luckily, there are some otherwise useless Dutch pictures hanging in my room. Problem solved, deposit saved.

Now, the clothes washing situation. There is a washing machine, probably the smallest model ever made and takes about 3 hours per cycle, but it's there. There is no dryer, however, only clothes lines in the garage. The not exactly warm temperatures are not too conducive to drying so it takes a good 2-3 days for everything to become wearable again. Right now, I have two weeks worth of boxers hanging by the door. I'm guessing at least part of the banter today will be dedicated to the American flag pair greeting the girls as they get home from class.

I've never seen the show (lie), but I think the house should be featured on an episode of Antiques Roadshow. The entire house is full of things that appear to be older than the United States. There's also an attic filled with random old stuff that my roommates said they thought was used to hide Jews during the Holocaust. I said I thought King Arthur may have hidden Excalibur in there. No response.