Friday, July 6 (Tour de France):
Due to some whining from both students and faculty, the administration here at GTL agreed to give us the afternoon off from classes, so that we could head downtown and witness the Tour de France as they finished their leg in Metz. I don't have class until noon, now that economics is over, so I got to sleep in and have a full day off from school (not that our long weekends aren't already enough...). Jeff and I woke up and did the daily routine: fart around for a while and then frantically get ready to leave. We walked over to Lafayette apartments, where the Sigma Chis live, to meet up with the big group that was heading over. On the way, Jeff and I split off to pick up some wine. We found our way to the group, perched on a small hill 10 yards from the main stretch of tarmac the riders would cruise towards the finish line. We arrived at around 2:30 and the riders weren't expected to come through until between 5-6, the appropriate amount of time for a good ole fashioned tail gate. The area was bustling with excited spectators, wearing their colors, flying flags, and showing support for their countries. We hung up two American flags in the trees where we were sitting to show our allegiances. A ton of people stopped in front of us to take pictures, so we were obviously quite a spectacle. Vendors were running up and down the road way tossing out free merchandise (hats, candy, pens, key chains etc.). The whole afternoon was a lot of fun, and it was quite an experience to witness one of the worlds most respected sporting events. Here are some photos:
(Here they come!)
(And there they go...)
We were surprised how quickly the whole thing was over. All of a sudden, everyone was saying, "Was that it?" We weathered a little bit of rain, and left the event with the herds of people. We got some Chinese for dinner and then headed back to the dorm. We immediately plopped into bed and fell asleep (at 8 pm) after the long day of bicycle extravaganza.
Saturday, July 7 (Steak for breakfast):
I awoke in a panic, "Oh shit, what time is it?" Our train to Amsterdam was leaving at 7 that morning. I checked my alarm and it read 3:30 am. I let out a sigh of relief, and decided I might as well get up and be productive since I had already gotten enough sleep. I started packing my bag, arming it with everything I could need for our 3 day weekend. I opened the refrigerator to get out some ham to make sandwiches for the train ride, and was alarmed by the condition of our steaks we had bought the day before. They weren't bad or anything, but it was time to make the decision to cook these or freeze them. I didn't want to risk freezer burn, so I left them to marinade and continued packing. At around 4:15, I slapped them in a hot pan and they started to sizzle. The smell woke Jeff up immediately. He was confused, as his return home the night before was pretty hazy and there was the delicious aroma of steak at 4 in the morning. We feasted like kings, finished packing, and headed out to catch a bus to the train station. The Sigma Chis were joining us for the trip, and we were pretty confident that a few of them weren't going to make the early train. Much to our surprise, there they were, all 5 of them waiting at the bus stop outside their dorm. We made our train with plenty of time to spare, everyone still a little sleepy. We changed trains in Luxembourg and rode 3.5 hours into Brussels. We had a small mis-communication and got off at the wrong stop in Brussels, but still easily made our connection towards Amsterdam. Once we arrived at about 3:00, our groups split up to find our respective hostels. Jeff and I stopped outside the train station to rent bikes for the two days, as Amsterdam is known as the city of bikes. The traffic there is insane. Not in the same context as Atlanta traffic, but roadways are shared by bikes, cars, pedestrians, and tram rails and it's VERY difficult to operate if you are inexperienced. We rode our bikes the short distance to our hostel and checked in. Jeff and I opted for a double room in order to avoid possible weirdos that the city attracts. Under the classic expression "You get what you pay for," we weren't too surprised to find our room to be size of my closet at home.
(Nice and cozy.)
We got our stuff unpacked and went out to hook up with the other group. There were 3 other Sigma Chis from another study abroad trip meeting them in Amsterdam for the day, bringing the whole gang to a total of 10. We followed a few twisting alleyways, not far, to where their hostel was. After we introduced ourselves, we set out on the streets, with map in hand. The main roads in the cities form an arc centering the train station and are lined with small canals in the same shape. After wandering for a while, poking our heads in here and there, we came to the Heineken Brewery Experience on the edge of the city.
We went in to see how much the tour would be and walked immediately out when we saw 17 euros. Up and down the streets we cruised, people watching and enjoying the cultural center of Holland.
We finally circled back around to the area of town where our hostels were, where each group retired for a quick nap before we went back out on the town. After some sleep and some wine we were back on the streets. We met the Sigma Chis at a bar down one of the alleys between our hostels. Afterwards, we decided to head East to the Red Light District, the infamous area of town that is the billboard for legal prostitution in the Netherlands. It is also the center of nightlife in the city and has much more to offer than dancing girls in red-lit windows. We found a bar that was advertising 70's and 80's music, so we went inside to check it out. We were there for a while until we realized it was filled with people about twice our age. It was passed midnight, so we decided to throw in the towel for our first night. The 3 other Sigma Chis had a plane out of the city in the morning, so we said goodbye to them.
Sunday, July 8 (My nightmare):
I woke up to my alarm at about 9. I had planned for us to do bike ride in the morning through the afternoon, through an area north of the city called the Waterlands. You had to take a 5 minute ferry ride across the channel from behind the train station, and from there pedal your way through the rural wonders of Dutch villages and field of flowers. Unfortunately, when I woke up and checked the weather, it said 90% chance of thunderstorms all day. It seems that all my talk up to that point about how great the weather had been on all of our trips did in fact come back to bite me in the ass. And this was what I was most excited about doing in Amsterdam. So I woke Jeff and up and briefed him on our situation. We decided to go return the bikes, since we hadn't ridden them once and that way we would only get charged for one day. As we unlocked the two tangled chains linking our bikes to the rack, we decided we might as well take the "scenic" route back to the rental shop so we at least get some money's worth out of them. I mapped a route toward Vondelpark, a solitary green area tucked in the southern outskirts of the city. Just as we started to navigate the bike lanes, it started to drizzle. A few minutes later, full on rain. We had planned ahead and wore rain jackets so we decided to press on. It kept my torso dry, but that's about it. I ditched my hood because it was blocking my peripheral vision, and all the rain the jacket deflected was then diverted down to my shorts which were soaked in the first ten minutes. But we are men, so we kept going. We rode all over, for about an hour and half, combating the crazy road ways and soaking in many sights and rain drops as we could. The novelty of it was fantastic, riding our goofy red bikes absolutely drenched in rain. It was the highlight of the trip for me. We got back to the Mac's bike rental and paid our fees, then made a bee line to the hostel to get on some dry clothes. It reminded me of those days, no so long ago, when Sorrell, Mclean, and I would go out and just be silly in the rain when we were home alone. Nothing feels better than a dry pair of boxers. We got in touch with our counterparts, who were just getting out of bed. We met them for coffee, and then set out for another adventure. The rain was still coming down a bit, and none of the turkeys had rain jackets, so we were hasty to find lunch. Jeff was dead set on finding the "all you can eat sushi" place that he had seen advertised in our hostel, so after wandering through the rain long enough we stopped somewhere offering the same deal. They wanted fifteen euros for the meal and I wasn't that hungry, so Andrew and I went out to find a kebab (the cheap meat sandwiches, much like a gyro). After our quick meal, we went back to check on the other five, who were just starting their first round of California rolls. They urged us to go on ahead as they planned to be there for a while getting their 15 euros worth. So Andrew and I wandered this new and unfamiliar part of town, darting in and out of souvenir shops when all of a sudden... my nightmare (I bet you were all waiting for this part). There was a market with tons of vendors, tightly packed underneath tents to keep their merchandise dry. We went in to see what they had for sale, and that's when I realized. "Hey look, a box of records. Cool! Another box of records. Wow, there is some really good stuff in here," I thought. Then I looked down the row of tents. There were 25+ separate tents all filled with boxes of collectible LPs just on that row. I started frantically flipping. Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Byrds, Donovan..... I black in and realized I've had my head buried in these things for ten minutes while Andrew has just been standing around. I felt bad, so I pulled my self away, my fingers still flipping as my feet moved. I just knew that the super rarity 1979 Relatively Clean Rivers self-titled LP, was in there somewhere and I was going to miss it. The thought has plagued me since. Anyways, Andrew and explored for while, found cheap bottles of wine, and went back to Jeff and I's room to watch the Wimbledon final. After about an hour, the sushi turkeys texted me and we met back up with them. The reunited 7 of us then wandered back over to Vondelpark, since the rain had let up. We spent about two hours exploring the park, had a beer at a small cafe, and then moved on to see the museum plaza and "I amsterdam" sign. Here are what few pictures we got that day.
(Van Gogh Museum)
It was a long walk back to the hostel, but we made it just in time for nap. We rejoined our comrades for our last night out. We back into the red light district where we found a cool bar kind of underground. They had really cheap beer and we played pool. Of course, I dominated everyone. Afterwards we wandered the streets, and had a midnight kebab near our hostels. We then parted ways, and said good bye to Amsterdam.
Sunday, July 9:
We got up and packed our belongings, and caught our train back through Brussels at 11. A little bit disappointed by the weather, I was wishing we had one more day. All in all though, we had a great time.
Now my bags are packed, and the 7 of us are headed to Berlin to get a taste of East Germany. Let's hope I don't end up on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. Until next time!
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