Friday, January 31, 2020
On Friday, we all went to work as normal. After lunch, we had a meeting with Mark Martecchini for an overview about Stolt-Nielsen. After a very nice meeting, however, I was given the day off to go meet up with some Webbies. Juliette Lehman '22 and Sasha Kritsuk '22 were in the Port of Rotterdam with the Stolt Effort. I went to meet them at Heilige Boontjes, a little cafe near the metro station they got off at. When I arrived, they were busy writing postcards to send back home (they were really cute and had cows on them, although I haven't seen any cows yet). We hung out at the cafe for a little longer waiting for the other parties to arrive. Rob got off of work early and was taking a train to Rotterdam, and quite luckily he arrived at the cafe at the same time as Linda and Duane who also got off of work early (just later).
After we all arrived we went to the Markthal. This time it was open! So Rob, Juliette, and Sasha got to see the inside for the first time. Although, our main goal was stroopwafels, and I think everyone would agree. We did, however, also make it back to our favorite cheese stand and Sasha and Juliette made sure to take some wheels for on the go.
Juliette and Sasha had to make it back to their ship fairly early, and dinner in Europe tends to be an extended event so our next item was to get some food. We went to Restaurant Bazar, a nice Iranian restaurant on Witte de Withstraat. When we entered the host said we could only have the table until 7:40, it was only 6 and Juliette and Sasha were trying to be back by 8 so we took the table. Four out of six of us ended up ordering the dish of the day, so we aren't entirely sure what it was. It was delicious though, I think it was like a beef stew of some sort.
When we wrapped up dinner, we decided to walk back towards Linda's and my apartment so they can see the Erasmus Bridge and De Rotterdam from across the river. On the way, however, we did stop at Albert Heijn to make sure they can get their gum fixings after Singapore. We then enjoyed a nice hour or so sitting on my apartment floor and catching up before they had to run back to ship (we definitely missed the 8 o'clock deadline, but luckily that was flexible to 8:30).
After Sasha and Juliette left, Linda went to study for a video interview (those time zones) and Rob, Duane, and I hung out for a bit more. Linda eventually came back from her interview and during the time we had almost finished the whole slice of cheese that Duane had just bought today. Regardless, we still stayed up a bit more until we all parted ways a little before midnight. I stayed put, Linda walked across the landing, and Rob left with Duane for his apartment (Rob was heading to Cologne to meet up with Max the next day).
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Duane's Day Out
[Duane] Felt like going to the Hague today. Ate brunch in Rotterdam and took the subway to the Hague. It was nice that there’s a subway system connecting the two cities; it only took like 30 minutes to get there.
I went to the Mauritshuis; my primary objective was to see some nice Vermeer paintings. They had a lot of nice paintings from the 1600s era, which I didn’t know much about. I saw a lot of cool Vermeer paintings; I also really liked Rubens' paintings. From my Mauritshuis visit, I feel like I gained more appreciation for Dutch paintings
After the museum, I just walked around the Hague. I walked through parks and walked by a couple of palaces. This park had a nice playground with a skate park. I climbed a couple of play structures to reminisce about my youthful years. After walking around the Hague, I got a sense that the city is less modern but more pleasant compared to Rotterdam; the Hague had a nice vibe.
After walking around a bit, I met up with Linda. We ate at a restaurant. I had a nicely cooked cod. It was pretty bougie but very good. After that, we were still kind of hungry so we got some fries. Fries were very nice and filling.
After our two meals, we took the train back to Rotterdam. It was a very pleasant day.
Linda's Day Out
[Linda] Saturday morning, I took the train to Den Haag. The weather was (unusually) pleasant, so I decided to spend the majority of the day walking around parks, enjoying the rare sunshine. I first visited the Haagse Bos (The Hague Forest). While there, I saw the Dutch royal family's home, Huis Ten Bosch (unfortunately, there are no tours in the wintertime). I then grabbed pancakes for lunch at Chalet ten Bosch. Afterward, I visited Landgoed Clingendael and Huys Clingendael. Before it got dark, I visited the Binnenhof and then stopped by the Mauritshuis. After they closed, I wandered around the historic district for a bit and then met up with Duane to have dinner at Palmette. We grabbed fries at Frites Atelier before hopping on the train back to Rotterdam. Once back in Rotterdam, we met up with Will Wiley '19, who was passing through on his way to Paris, for drinks at Mad Mick's Breakaway. We then split off, and I explored the Rotterdam bar scene for a bit before returning to my apartment.
Shannon's Day In
[Shannon] So my life was really boring, I stayed in all day. I basically just did chores around the apartment, including cleaning up all the cups from the day before (I think we managed to use all of my cups, obviously my apartment is not meant for six people, oops). Although, I did go out for a little. Will Wiley '19 was passing through Rotterdam on his way to Paris and we all met up briefly. We met up at Mad Mick's Breakaway for a couple drinks and caught up. This weekend was really nice to see everyone, but unfortunately, we had to part ways, at least until the Webbie Regional Meeting.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Shannon's Second Day In
Sorry, guys but I'm really boring this week. I originally planned to be in the Hague and Utrecht, but my laziness got the better of me. That and I had a decent amount of chores and no free weekends coming up: next week is Berlin!!! Yep, that's my update for Sunday.
Duane's Day in Rotterdam
[Duane] I felt very lazy today. I went out to eat brunch with Linda near Witte de Withstraat. After that, I did some grocery shopping on my way back because I felt too lazy to go out for dinner.
After grocery shopping, I camped by my heater and stared at my white wall. From my stay so far in my company apartment, I somehow developed a deep appreciation for staring at white walls. I can’t fully explain, but it’s really calming just staring at a white wall.
Linda's Day Out in Utrecht
[Linda] I began my Sunday by grabbing brunch with Duane at a pizza parlor called Gusto. I then hopped on a train to Utrecht, a city about 50 km northeast of Rotterdam. In Utrecht, I first visited Jacobikerk and then the Dutch Museum of the Working Class Districts, which I had found online. The museum curator, a nice older woman, couldn't speak English very well; when asking me if I was alone, she said "oh, you have no friends" (oof). Upon paying my ticket, her instructions to me were "go through that door; some people want to talk to you." It was interesting and very terrifying - the museum was a dimly lit and constricted maze set up like the alleyways and homes of the Dutch working class during the Industrial Revolution. It was filled with creepy dummies with sound reels describing (in Dutch) their living and working conditions. One dummy's sound reel, that of a little girl, was just coughing sounds . . . super creepy.
After I
I then passed by St Catharinakathedraal, grabbed a muffin from a cafe called Stael, and visited Nicolaïkerk, which had a neat archaeological display. Running out of daylight, I passed by the Nijntje Museum and Centraal Museum - I'll have to go back to visit. I grabbed a very tasty dinner at Uitspanning Boslust before catching my train back to Rotterdam.
Monday, February 3, 2020
[Shannon] Monday wasn't too eventful. Although I am making it a point to separate it so I can mention that I got my bike! So be on the lookout, I will be starting my architecture series.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Tuesday night Rob came into town again. Duane was set up for a chess duel, so he did not get to join us on our night in. At my apartment, Linda, Rob, and I enjoyed a very nice dinner followed by some oil painting. Please do not judge, this was my first time using oil paints I know it looks like a blob.
February 5-6, 2020
Wednesday night we tried to go to the Euromast. The plan was to watch the sunset from the observation deck and then enjoy a fancy meal. Our plans shortly fell apart upon arrival. First, it was cloudy (but it was sunny like 20 minutes before), and the restaurant was booked. So we decided to shift those plans to a future date, sadly. Instead, we ate in at Duane's apartment. Then Thursday we didn't really make any plans, so they went off without a hitch!
Links to the places we visited:
The Hague
Mauritshuis: https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/Paleistuin: https://denhaag.com/en/palace-garden
Vredespaleis (Peace Palace): https://www.vredespaleis.nl/
Scheveningen Bosjes (Scheveningen Woods): http://www.netherlands-tourism.com/scheveningen-woods-hike-bike-ride-way/
Haagse Bos: https://denhaag.com/en/the-hague-forest
Huis Ten Bosch: https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/onderwerpen/paleis-huis-ten-bosch
Clingendael: https://www.denhaag.nl/nl/in-de-stad/natuur-en-milieu/groen-en-bomen/parken-bossen-en-duinen/landgoed-clingendael.htm
Binnenhof: https://prodemos.nl/english/visitor-centre/
Utrecht
Jacobikerk: https://www.jacobikerk.nl/Volksbuurt Museum: https://volksbuurtmuseum.nl/
St Martin's Cathedral: http://www.domkerk.nl/
St Catharinakathedraal: https://www.katholiekutrecht.nl/geloofsgemeenschappen/catharina/
Nicolaïkerk: https://www.nicolaikerk.nl/
Nijntje Museum: https://nijntjemuseum.nl/
Centraal Museum: https://www.centraalmuseum.nl/en?set_language=en
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