Much has happened over the last few days, but I haven't had as regular access to a computer. So, I'll try and write what I can about the days :) I will surely have forgotten some details...but that's life.
On January 18, we slept in and then drove to the dike nearest Esther's home (about 20ish minutes away). We walked up on it and saw the North Sea. I had no idea how big dikes were! She said that you could walk an hour either direction (so 2 hours across) on it. The dike was a large "hill" between the mainland and the sea. It wasn't really what I had pictured, but when I saw it it made sense.
It began to rain some, so we headed to town and did some shopping at their local grocery stores. They have some pretty unique food. For example, they have a Heinz (usually ketchup) brand of curry sauce that you use just like ketchup. They also have pre-made hamburgers inside a bun. Hot dogs in buns, too. Their pumpkins look different than ours, and much of their milk comes in paper containers on the shelf (not in the fridge).
After shopping, we went home and hung out for a while. I can't remember what else we did :).
On the 19th, we walked around Esther's village. It's a small place, and we were able to walk on a walkway surrounding most of it. Because the town is small, many of the people we passed were people Esther knew. Many people were walking their dogs. After we walked over a tiny hill (more like a mound in the path), Esther told us we had just been on the tallest point in her village. Haha. We saw the one windmill in the village (not in use) and a large community outdoor ice skating center.
We did a bit of shopping (I bought a pastry at one of the shops and a postcard, too), and then headed home. Then, we went back into town, got on a train, and headed to Groningen. It's about a half-hour away from Esther's village. It's a nice city with lots of shops and buildings. We each got a waffle (not like waffles at home) that was delicious—gooey inside and crisp on the outside, dusted with powdered sugar.
We met Esther's best friend and went out to eat at the Pancake Ship. I got a cheese and onion pancake. It was pretty tasty. The drink I got, called Rivella, was delicious. It was not what I was expecting (I guess the kind I had intended to try in Switzerland, also called Rivella, is milky). It was like a fruity soda that was light on the fizz. We don't really have anything like it at home.
After dinner, we three headed back home and watched the movie "A Time to Kill" and ate black currant sorbet. It was tasty and the movie was exciting! It was a great day.
The 20th was our day to leave Amsterdam. We took a train with Esther's brother, Tim, and his girlfriend, Stephanie, into Amsterdam. We found out while on the train into the city that Emily's train (we had to take separate ones) to Germany had left earlier than she thought, and so when we got into Amsterdam we got Emily a bus ticket for a night bus to Germany. We walked around town a little bit more (saw the University of Amsterdam—went inside to use the Internet—Tim used to go to school there) and then parted ways.
I got on my train and was happy to sit with five students from Harvard who were traveling Europe. We all hit it off really well, shared lots of stories, food, and laughs. I was surprised when they told me their ages—we were all in our early 20s. I guess they came across as older to me—I was thinking 24-25 years old. They were really friendly. They are studying various subjects (each different) and are just seeing Europe before going home and starting up school again on Monday! I'm glad I don't have school on Monday :) haha. When we parted ways, they went north to Munich and I continued on to Frankfurt.
After arriving in Frankfurt, I caught my next train to Darmstadt. It's where Lukas and his family lives. He met me at the station and took me home. I met his family, ate some food, and then went to bed.
Emily arrived in Darmstadt around 5 a.m.ish and Lukas went in to pick her up. When I got up, she was at the house and we all ate brunch together with Lukas' mom and step-dad. After that, we three went into Frankfurt again and saw the sights. We saw some beautiful cathedrals (Europe has so many!), city hall, and the old and new opera houses. I actually bought a ticket to go see the opera "The Tempest" (based on Shakespeare's play) on Saturday night for under 15 Euros! Emily and Lukas didn't want to go, so I'm going on my own :) I don't mind—I'm just excited to go to a real-deal opera in a huge city!
After seeing Frankfurt, we headed back to Darmstadt. We shopped at their "fake Walmart" for supper. We bought pasta and salad fixings. At home, we prepared a delicious meal of pasta with pesto/marinara/red pepper pesto, a scrumptious salad, bread, and juice.
Now I'm in bed about to go to sleep 'cause I'm so tired from a busy day! And another busy day awaits me tomorrow! :)
Until then!
