21 and counting

I am now officially 21. In fact, I was officially 21 two days ago now and I'm still getting over the shock of it all.

I only flew back to the UK on the 21st and woke up that day to the news that the UK was fog bound with quite a few flights being cancelled as a result. Luckily I was flying to Exeter and not London, so things looked OK. But I got to Schipol airport and joined a crowd of people waiting for the same flight in watching the departure screens as they stayed empty firstly as it went past the time for boarding, then the time for departure, then one hour after we should have boarded, then one hour after we should have departed. I had visions of myself spending my 21st birthday in the departure hall at Schipol airport, which wouldn't have been that bad as I was with some really friendly people waiting for the flight, but anyway, two hours later we were in the air and on our way home. Apparently the delay was caused by the fact that all the airports we could have landed at in an emergency were fog bound, so that wasn't encouraging, but as testified by the fact that I'm writing this now, it didn't come to that!

After all that, it was a relief to spend a quite day at home with family and friends, and as the picture shows, even at 21, I'm not too old for a balloon and a birthday cake. I even made a wish:


It's been an amazing year, so much has happened and so much has changed from this time last year that it's almost hard to take it all in. But on the whole things have been great, and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2007 will bring.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Christmas in Cologne (and Bonn)

No sooner had I arrived back in Utrecht from Paris than I found myself on a train to Cologne in Germany. Now, I have to say a word about the German ICE train I got - quite simply, it has to be the nicest train I've ever had the pleasure of sitting in. It was clean, quiet and stylish - it even had wooden panelling throughout with little LED's telling you the weather, temperature, train speed and next station etc. And all for only €38 return, so I couldn't have arrived in Cologne in better style.

Unfortunately, Cologne itself wasn't quite as snazzy. I arrived quite early in the morning and the whole place was shrouded in a rather heavy mist, something that didn't change over the three days I was there. The Allies flat tended Cologne in the war and it hasn't recovered that well. Some places have been rebuilt lovingly, especially the Old Town, but the rest makes it all rather industrial and soulless, which is a shame for a town with such a history, such a huge Cathedral, and such a wonderful position on the Rhine:



It's one of the those unfortunate cities where the main shopping street leads right to the old area and everything is commercialised. After walking around for the whole day I went to a cinema in the evening to see Little Miss Sunshine (and thoroughly recommended it is too!). In fact, after the first day I felt I'd seen about as much of Cologne as I wanted to, so on the second day I caught a rather less-swish train to the nearby city of Bonn. Bonn was much nicer and less built up than Cologne and I was very glad that I went. It's really a University town but it didn't feel like it and instead it felt much more cosy than Cologne:


The fact that the weather was nicer must have helped as well. Bonn lives and breathes Beethoven as the man was born there, so there's rather a lot of museums and theatres etc decicated to him, including a rather impression sculpture:


Bonn was just nice to walk around, and I walked down along the Rhine to the Federal Government district then across the river to a neighbouring town. I could have spent a couple of days there, which considering that Bonn is much smaller than Cologne says a lot about Cologne.

Still, I had gone to Cologne more to go to Germany than anything else. After taking GCSE German I've never been to Germany to put it into practice, so I thought it was about time I did something about it. The end result was, surprising and I managed to make myself understood the majority of the time, with the exception of a rather funny exchange in the youth hostel concerning duvets and checking out. No-way was my German good, but it was passable to the extent that I managed to give a guy directions in German when he stopped me to ask where something was. For ten minutes after I was elated, until a lady similarly stopped me and refused to speak nicht so schnell despite my protests with the consequence that I couldn't help her. So I've still somewhat to go there.

I also went to Cologne was for its famed Christmas markets, which were something of a let down. I had expected each to be different than the others based on what I'd read, but they weren't; they all had the same stalls and the same produce, just in different places. Heaven forbid, but perhaps I'm getting sceptical over this whole Christmas lark! Still, they looked pretty all lit up in the evening and the hundreds of children seemed impressed and full of Christmas cheer:


They also allowed me to sample some authentic bratwurst and a wonderful dessert called dampfnudeln which I should imagine I'll be dreaming about for weeks.

A very Parisian reunion

Last weekend I finally did something that I should have done a long time ago and got on the train to Paris to visit Sacha and Lottie. It was only when I got there that I realised I hadn't seen either of them for something approaching six months, which is quite a long time really. So it was great to put that to rights.

I've always had a thing about Paris. I don't quite know what it is, but of all the places I've been, Paris is the one that I like the most, and I'd go back tomorrow if I could. I've only even been in December, but it's a lovely time to go with all of the city lit up for Christmas and Paris does the cold-winter mornings very well indeed.

I spent Friday night staying with Sacha and he took me on a walk around the main sights in central Paris, and I mean all of the central sights. I think we must have walked for about 7 miles in the end! I visited the University Paris II, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triumph and numerous parks. It's all lovely:


Unfortunately, my language skills let me down again in frightful fashion when in a rather busy boulangerie failed to order a macaroon by asking in a rather unconvincing combination of Dutch, English and French. Thankfully Sacha rescued the situation and I did make up for it the following morning when I managed, on my own, to order a baguette and two croissants. Maybe one day.

The next day Sacha took me to a couple of art galleries before meeting up with Lottie for lunch whereupon I transferred hosts before I headed off to the Race of Champions at the Stade de France. Essentially this is an even that gathers some of the best drivers from around the world and puts them all in the same car to see who wins:


The setting was quite spectacular and it was good fun, but being 50 metres up in a stadium with no roof for five hours at this time of year is rather less fun and I was quite glad to escape into the warmth afterwards. Unfortunately, the French guy lost in the final round as well, which as you can imagine, led to a rather disappointed home crowd!

On the final day Lottie and I travelled around Paris a little more and visited Paris's equivalent to (and better than) Canary Wharf before heading to the Eiffel Tower:


It was a shame that I could only stay for a couple of days. I almost think that I might have picked the wrong country to spend my Erasmus year in! There's just something about France, and Paris especially, that I love. I can't speak the language though which is obviously a major drawback, but I can't do that in Holland either. Sacha said that an architect in the 19th century had pulled down lots of Paris to make way for its sweeping boulevards and avenues. Usually this would horrify me, but it might well be on of the best things that happened to Paris and it's precisely this that makes it unlike any other city I've been to before. At the end of the day though it has class and style, something that even extends to the Metro:


Can you imagine seeing that in London?

The last lie in

I really should be working on my endless moot rather than writing this, but I figure it's good to take a break sometimes. A thought struck me on the way back from town this morning - not in the life changing, eureka sense of the word though. Today was the last lie in that I'm going to enjoy in Utrecht in 2006. This has come round very quickly. When I arrived things seemed like an endless series of lazy mornings, but now I have an 08:30 meeting tomorrow, then a 09:00 train to Paris the next. I shall be back prior to going to Cologne, but I have to catch a 07:00 train to get to Cologne, and when I get back from there I'll have to get up early to pack my bags before flying home for Christmas on the 21st.

I suppose it's nice that my biggest concern at the moment relates to my sleeping patterns, but had I realised all of this while I was still in bed this morning then I might have made more of today's lie in. Alas, role on 2007 I guess!

Melua's Music

These past few days have been rather different, and quite musical. On Thursday almost everyone from the residence here went to a classical concert at the Vredenburg music hall here in Utrecht. Shamefully I haven't been there yet despite the fact that there's usually something on every day or evening. But this time, Yu (who has sadly broken his knee-cap and is now in a full leg plaster cast after an unfortunate bicycle accident) was singing in the choir, so along we all trotted. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as it's not usually the sort of thing that I'd go along to, but the line up of Mozart, Beethoven and Bruckner sounded impressive, and indeed it was. I only knew one of the pieces, but it didn't matter and it was a nice evening. We all came away saying that the classical music had finally made us feel Christmasy, even though it wasn't Christmas music...

Yesterday though I went to a slightly different type of concert. I went to see Katie Melua play at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. I found some tickets for €44 and thought 'why not?'. I'd never been to such a concert before, so had no clue what to expect, but I thought I'd better get there in plenty of time. So I arrived two hours before the start and only had a few people in front of me in the queue. The upshot of this was that I got to stand in the front row right up against the barriers. I had to wait there for two hours, but it was worth it as I'd forgotten how tall some Dutch people can be. Had I been much later and had to stand further back I fear I'd have seen little at all. There must have been about six thousand people there by the time it started in earnest which all contributed to a fantastic atmosphere.

Firstly the support-act came on, I can't remember what they were called but their music was pretty decent, if a little bland and warbley:


Finally Katie Melua came onto the stage and the Hall exploded. I have to confess that I only know a few of her songs, and I felt like an imposter and slightly guilty standing right up against the stage in front of people who probably had more right to be there:



I had a fantastic evening. Hearing music sung live like that was incredible, and being so close to the stage only added to that. I can't believe how quickly it was all over, but it felt like a lot had been packed into the time and I wouldn't hesitate to go and see her again, or perhaps, buy her CDs!

In more mundane news, I've got to write 5000 words in the next four days for my moot. So after a nice and relaxed four months, everything has suddenly come down to the final week. Why does that always happen?

It's a strange world

Yesterday marked my first attendance at badminton practice for three weeks. Unfortunately, in between my last visit, Brussels, Maastricht and then laziness got in the way. I was quite surprised when I got there for a new period had started and hence I was confronted with a sea of new faces and the realisation that after not playing for three weeks, I wasn't very good. Still, I had fun.

Two things though have not changed. Firstly, it's the 7th of December, yet yesterday I cycled back from the Sports Centre wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. I've been doing this since my first lesson, and each time I've thought to myself "I won't be able to do this next week", but then the next week, I've done exactly the same. Secondly, on my way back I cycle firstly to the east, then to the south, then west, then north, then west, then north, then west and finally south. Now, aside from being inefficient, that means I follow all four points on the compass. So can someone please explain why, no matter which direction I'm cycling, I'm always cycling into the wind? Surely that shouldn't be possible? Trying to be aerodynamic on a bicycle isn't easy with a badminton racket sticking out of my backpack.

I've also finally broken my aversion to hot drinks by conditioning myself to stomach hot chocolate. So no longer do I have to go for a coffee with friends and order an orange juice or similar. This also means that I now join the legion of people who get a free biscuit with their drink.

Dank u, Sinterklaasje!

Today is a special day in both the Netherlands and Belgium, for this evening is Saint Nicholas' Eve, the evening when Sinterklaas visits every house in the Netherlands and Belgium and sends his Zwarte Piets down chimneys to deliver presents to those children who have been good throughout the year. What happens to the bad children is frankly scary, for they are taken away to work in his factories in Spain for a year. If I were a five-year old I would have been terrified at the prospect, but maybe that's the idea. That today is Saint Nicholas' Eve also had an unexpected side benefit. I had intended to spend the afternoon in the library and was naturally devastated when I got there to find it closed. Sinterklaas, I owe you one.

Thankfully I have been good this year, and hence, this evening after being forced to sing traditional Dutch songs, I, along with about 30 others, was visited by Sinterklaas himself:


(Un)fortunately, I, unlike Richard, did not get to sit on his knee and have my yearly exploits recounted. Although I did later learn that had I been so lucky stories of my alter ego 'Bucks', from one of my vacation schemes, would have been told. So, my thanks to Sabs for that one!

The theme of the evening was quite simple, but fun. We all had to buy three presents totalling €5. These were distributed out to everyone, with people then taking turns in throwing a dice with potential outcomes such as stealing a present off someone else, exchanging a present, or (horror) giving one away. Alas, the dice did not swing my way and no sooner had I had a present stolen off me (the hat below) then I had to give one away. Thankfully I managed to recover and ended the evening with a bag of flumps, a little zebra shaped paper holder, and a little bottle of shower gel swiped from the NH hotel by someone who seemed to miss the point somewhat. Still, at least I shower for free tomorrow. I was very sad to lose the hat though, with a little black face paint I could have been a true Zwarte Piet:


I've now eaten far to many flumps and pepernoten than can possibly be good for me. It's traditional to write a poem to go with the gifts, but what little poetic skills I had left me for good after year 11, so instead, I'll quote the song that Dutch children are supposed to sing to get Sinterklaas to come along. Who knows, maybe this year if enough of you sing it, he'll find his way across the English Channel? In a capitalist society it's hardly far that Santa Clause has a monopoly, is it?

Sinterklaas kapoentje,
gooi wat in mijn schoentje,
gooi wat in mijn laarsje,
dank u, Sinterklaasje.
Sinterklaasje bonne, bonne, bonne,
gooi wat in mijn regen-, regentonne,
gooi wat in mijn laarsje,
dank u, Sinterklaasje!

I'm working on the translation.