On Saturday, Alice's friend Johanna took me to Holland for a few hours. Just about an hour train ride from Munster, Enschede is a smaller city so it didn't take more than a few hours to see most of it. We walked around the city and marketplace, looked through the stores and had a coffee. There were lots of fish and cheese vendors and fresh flowers in the market--getting around was really easy since most Dutch people speak English and German, so we were set. When we first arrived we went to find some real "coffee shops," but it was too early for them to be open. Its probably a good thing, so I had an excuse not to go in. While the concept of the Dutch coffee shops, with people smoking weed and eating hash browning, is exciting, I can't imagine there would be much to do if you didn't want to partake in the festivities. I was happy to see them from the outside.
Even though Enschede is so close to Munster, the differences between the people and the city were definitely noticable. Germans have a flare for architecture and design that the Dutch just can't compete with...or at least in this particular city. I always like to compare the people in different places as well--I'm a big people-watcher. Comparing between the countries, the Germans seem to also have nice style in dress; they're always neatly put together in a simple way. The Dutch were much more random, probably more like what someone would say about Americans. And the people themselves...how do I say this so I don't sound rude? Oh screw it, there aren't many attractive people in Holland. Once I noticed that, I kept looking for someone to change my opinion...but alas, no one did. They also seemed a great deal shorter than the Germans. Anyways, I'm not saying there aren't any attractive people...this is just conjecture.
After we returned, Alice and I rode our bikes to the wine store where she worked a tasting that evening. Her boss was really friendly and allowed me join the tasting for free...all the german wines, serrano ham, and antipasto I wanted. It was really an awesome experience; Alice really went above and beyond for me. Then we went a birthday party for Alice's friend Nina, where I had a really interesting view into German university party life. Once again, everyone was really accomodating (language wise), I had an amazing night that I will most definitely remember.
Today was laid back; Johanna and Alice prepared quite a spread for a traditional "German breakfast." Lots of bread, cheese, jams, an egg, and some great fruitspread called something like rote griste (sp?). Then we swam in the channel (a little weird for me since its an industrial passage way, and big boats went through carry their loads...my instinct was to believe it wouldn't be clean, but it was), laid out, then watched the soccer game. It was soo unbelievably hot, I can only imagine what it will be like in Spain. I leave tomorrow for Spain and while I CANNOT WAIT(!!!!), I'm also sad to be leaving Alice. We only get to see each other every other year or so, and its been great seeing her. Its crazy to think I have such a good friend from so far away, but there is no one in the world like Alice.
P.S. I'm getting used to riding bikes in town; its much better than walking (One of Alice's roommate left for a few days and let me borrow hers. Unfortunately, my legs were too short to ride it, so Alice let me use hers.)...and I didn't hit ANYTHING. Okay, I did once. Well actually, I ran into parked bikes twice and knocked over three other bikes when I wasn't even moving. Who woulda thought......
