Hi again!
I’m back…well kind of! I’m back in North America and will be back in Manitoba tomorrow! Would you like to see what I’ve been up to for the past week?!
Our first stop in the Netherlands was a small city called Leiden. For some reason these pictures won’t upload…I’ll see what happens once I get home. I really loved Leiden. Something strange did happen though! EVERYTHING was closed in the early evening on December 31, which means that there was NO place to get any food. The hotel was also just a small building that had been restored from the 1500s with no restaurant! I didn’t get any supper that night 🙁 Thank goodness for Starbucks at the train station the next day! Also-there were firecrackers going off every few seconds ALL day on the 31. It seemed strange to hear them constantly. Then at midnight fireworks went off all over the city. After an hour and a half I finally fell asleep. I have no idea how long they went on for. Crazy!
This is Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is very modern here because WWII destroyed most of the city and they have reconstructed almost everything using modern architecture. The bottom picture is of a bridge near the hotel that totally looks like the Provencher Bridge in Winnipeg!
These pictures are from Antwerp, Belgium. We did a super neat walking tour in Antwerp (which is about an hour train ride from Rotterdam). There is a lot of history here and I’ve realized that I’d like to go back to Belgium one day. Walking tours are a great way to learn more about a city and see things from a local person’s perspective. They usually offer good advice about places to eat and things that as a tourist you don’t usually know! I was so excited to eat Belgian waffles…it turns out that local Belgians don’t really eat waffles! Our guide told us that it is the tourists who eat the waffles-and he isn’t sure why people associate waffles with Belgium! Oh well…they still tasted delicious 🙂 Belgium is however known for their chocolate. I thought the chocolate frog was pretty cool and worth taking a picture of. This is what I brought home as a souvenir for my family! (chocolate…not a giant chocolate frog lol).
These pictures are from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam is famous for their canals. There are constantly tour boats on the canals. The view of the amazing buildings along the canals never gets old. I love, love, love looking at the buildings and thinking about how they were built and how long they’ve been there. It’s so fascinating to me! We did a tour on the canal at night as part of the Amsterdam Light Festival. This festival happens every year for a few weeks and is something that locals and tourists enjoy. I love the tulip picture because tulips are a huge symbol of Holland! Then there is the giant wooden shoe! I have a similar picture of me in that shoe from 2002 (way before you were born!). It felt like I needed to take another picture of me sitting the shoe. I think it is a popular photo opportunity for tourists!
Reykjavk, Iceland at 9:30 a.m.!
10:30 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
12:00 p.m
That is about as light as it gets in Reykjavik in January! By the time we left for the airport at 2:00 it was already feeling dark! It is strange because you feel like you want to sleep all the time! I guess you just get used to it…since it happens for months at a time every year! I’d like to go back during the summer when it is daylight for almost 24 hours!
Now it is time to pick Hudson up from my mom’s. I’m so excited to see her. I hope you all have enjoyed your holiday. Can’t wait to hear about your time off and to see you at school in a few days 🙂
Danielle