Adventures in Euroland: Day 2

During the day:

Jetlag is a bitch. Plain and simple. Also, having not slept more than between 4 and 6 hours a night for the last week or so, I was desperately in need of sleep apparently. I slept all day. I was awake for a bit in the morning, but I slept from last night to about 6:30am, was awake from 6:30 to 7:30, and then slept from 7:30 to 5:00pm. Good grief. 

It was also very overcast and raining all day, so I think that added to the feeling of sleepiness. Again, the weather seems very fitting for this area though. 

In the evening:

I woke up shorty before Nick came back from his job. We took a short walk around town. There is a castle pretty much right next door to the hotel we are staying at. It was already dark out so we couldn't see much, but I will go look around the castle tomorrow. I think it is only 3 or 4 Euros to get in. If the castle isn't open tomorrow I will explore town a little bit. There is an old fashion windmil on the south side of town I would like to check out. 

I can see why so much mythology came out of this place. It has a feeling to it which is hard to describe and must be experienced to be understood. A feeling of weight, of age, and depth. This place has seen things, it knows a different way of life, and has seen many times come and go.

Most of the streets are all stone, either like cobblestone or flagstone or something similar. All the lights are sodium lights, which give off a gentle more orangeish glow. It doesn't have the harsh, ever bright always awake feeling of a larger city, which is nice. There seem to be very few paved streets in Bad Bentheim. The town seems to be mostly older people as well. I am looking forward to seeing more of the town in the daylight.

Dinner was next, Most of the meat served here is pork. Some of the sauces that the meat is served in are pretty tasty. The staple foods at the hotel seem to be meat and potatoes. They have had a pasta as well, with soup and fruit available. And dessert. Usually cake, which is what I think most Americans would consider to be pretty dry, but it is very tasty. 

After dinner we decided to go check out the pool. Boy was it amazing! Only pictures can do it justice. It was beautiful. The mood lighting was especially cool. The whole pool is just very modern looking and beautiful. I am finding here and there you can see a blend of historic or traditional culture meshed with modern technology. LED lights hung in the dining area across from very old oil paintings. It's a neat blend. 

Tomorrow, Plans and Goals:

Tomorrow I plan to walk around town some, get some pictures, do some sketches, etc. 

I very much want to see the castle, and maybe the windmill if the weather is nice and I feel like walking that far. 

I also plan on purchasing some bottle water that is NON-SPARKLING. I am feeling pretty dehydrated because I am having trouble forcing myself to drink the fizzy water. Bleh. :( Even if I can find juice, that would be great. I have not attempted the tap water yet because Nick has told me that the bacteria content in the water is different then back in the states and that he switched to bottled because the tap water gave him the runs. 

I think that about sums it up. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight since I got so much sleep today and tomorrow will be filled with exploring town and lots of sketching. 

Tiffani's Adventures in Euroland: Day 1

TRAVEL:

January the 17th, 10AM, All packed and ready to go.

Taxi arrives to take me to the airport. This is pretty cool considering I have never ridden in a Taxi solo before. The driver was very nice. Got to the airport and checking in at the kiosik. I had to scan my passport to do so. It was pretty sweet. Then I went through security and to my gate. Flew to Atlanta. Changed over to the inernational terminal, which is terminal E.

This is riding the escalator down to terminal E. Since I was bored and had nothing better to do than snap a picture...

Terminal E is much fancier than the rest of the airport. I didn't have to wait long. I got on headed to the gate and borded. There was a huge youth group on a mission trip to Africa flying through Amsterdam. A group of four of them sat directly behind me on the plane so I got to hear all about Jesus on the way to Europe.

The plane was very large, two aisles. I sat in the middle of the middle. (insert picture)

We got a snack, dinner, and breakfast on the flight. (insert picture)

Most people slept. I tried to, but I didn't have much luck. I got maybe two hours. I sat near a girl from Africa and her mother. The flight was about 7 hours and 40 minutes long. We went pretty close to the artic circle and I could hear bits of ice or something hitting the outside of the plane as we few through weather. It was kind of annerving. There was a lot of turbulance this flight, but it wasn't bad. Just steady.

ARRIVAL:
Finally, after THE LONGEST FLIGHT OF MY LIFE, I arrived in Amsterdam. Upon exiting the plane I discovered that I didn't active international on my phone. After a brief moment of panic, I remained calm and went to get my bags, went through customs and imigration and all that. Got a stamp in my passport book, which was really cool since I didn't get one last time I left the country. I went to the ATM and got some Euros, got my train ticket, placed a call to Nick via payphone, and headed to the train station.

 This is my train ticket to Bad Bentheim and below is the train schedule. It was about 9:00am by the time I had gotten off the plane and gotten everything figured out and out to the train station. I missed the 8:50 train so I had to wait for the 10:50 train.

I waited outside at the station. The station was cold, but it was interesting to watch the people. I noticed that it seems very common for people in Amsterdam to touch each other on the shoulder when they are talking to each other. I heard a lot of languages. Everything was announced in Dutch, German, and English on my train. I LOVE hearing the accents and the different languages. Here are some pictures I took at the train station: (Click for larger view)

This country is really pretty, its VERY green. There were still pockets of snow and frost on the ground and snow in places, but the grass was VIBRANT green. I saw sheep and horses and lots of farms. Its a very beautiful country, even for it being winter. I can only imagine what it looks like in the spring and summer. It was very overcast and chilly, but it seemed fitting.

I was able to take a few pictures of some of the architecture along the way as well as take a snap shot of a very tired, and slightly overwhelmed me:

SETTLING IN:
Nick picked me up at the train station and we headed back to the hotel. It was 1:20 local time, which is about 6:20am Oklahoma time. Needless to say I was pretty tired. I got settled in and took a nap while Nick went back to work. The hotel is cute if not quaint and there is a castle across the street from us I want to go explore tomorrow. The toilet is in a different room from the tub, which is a little weird. I will post pictures when I have a better internet connection.

I slept for a couple hours and then Nick came back and we went to dinner at the hotel. It was buffet style with pretty standard food. I had some Tortellini pasta and a dish with pork in a really yummy sauce, a cold side salad type dish with chickpeas and something Nick and I have deemed 'Potato Puffs'. There was pineapple and a slice of chocolate cake for dessert.

Everyone told me I should try the beer, but for dinner I just went with water. Apparently water in Germany is comon served sparkling. :( Nick offered to trade me, but I told him "NO! I am in Germany, I will drink the fucking German Sparkling water and enjoy it! It's part of the experience." Which I did. Mostly. Ok not really, I hate fizz.

We looked around the hotel a bit after that. The pool looks AMAZING! It has really cool ambient lighting which I will get pictures of soon. Then, back to our rooms for the night. I am pretty tired and plan on sleeping like a mad woman tonight. I will rage quit conciousness in about 10 more minutes.

That about sums up my day. Bad Bentheim is a cute little town and I am excited to do some exploring tomorrow. Stay tuned for more updates.