It's been six months since I went to Paris to visit him and Lottie, which is rather too long to between seeing friends, so it was great to host him for a few days. It's always really interesting to see the place you live from the perspective of someone visiting. I felt the same way when I researched Penzance for Emma and Laura who are visiting this summer - I guess you see 'home' in a new light, which can only be a good thing, especially when you're reminded of things that you now take for granted. The sheer number of bicycles here for instance, or the sheer oddness of the way Dutch traffic lights (don't) work.
We spent the Friday exploring Utrecht after I tried to prepare a semi-Dutch, semi-Scottish breakfast. Friday was ridiculously hot and humid, but it was a lovely day to see the city at its best. We started off by visiting all the University buildings, which were all oddly open to the public, even the administration block which is usually access by appointment, and the Academy building which is usually in some form of lock down. Quite a contrast to Panthéon-Assas in Paris where you need ID just to get into the faculty! After that we went for a walk along the canals before deciding to climb the Dom Tower. I've climbed it three times now, but the view from the top still amazes me. On a clear day you can see as far as Amsterdam where you can see the Ajax stadium, but alas, it's never been clear enough for that when I've been. After a lazy lunch we hired a canalbike despite the lady's warning that it was 'very hot'. Indeed she was right and one hour later I was indeed feeling the heat just a little. That evening it did the usual thing of pouring down after such a nice day, but that didn't stop a trip to the ice-cream place, where we were confronted by another impromptu music stage on the Neude. It never ceases to amaze me how often this happens here, and how many people go along despite the fact that there never seems to be any warning beforehand.
On the Saturday we headed off to Amsterdam where the weather was happily much cooler. We did pretty well in avoiding the tourist packed areas until the end of the day. We had intended to visit a few of the museums there as I've only seen a few, but unfortunately many seem to be undergoing renovation at the moment, so a walk down to the museum district was slightly wasted, but provided a good opportunity to see the canals. We eventually visited the Museum het Rembrandthuis and the Stedelijk Museum, both of which were slight let downs. I did however finally buy myself a musuemjaarkaart which gives me free access to most museums in the Netherlands for a year. The fact that I only have 6 days left in the country (eek!) just means that I'd better get a move on!
Sacha made the interesting remark that it was odd for him being in a country where he couldn't read anything. I guess I don't think of it like that any more; not understanding signs and sentences just seems to be routine now and I don't think anything of the vast gaps in my awareness. That's actually quite worrying, but quite normal at the same time. I was at lunch with a Dutch friend today who started reading the menu to me before I pointed out that I could in fact read it. She seemed surprised, which makes me wonder how much more clueless some people here must be when it comes to reading Dutch. I don't rate my Dutch at all, but I have to confess to feeling quite content after ordering two stroopwafles for Sacha and I at the market, in Dutch, to Sacha's seeming approval.
No comments:
Post a Comment