Windmills and Pottery

So I know I only posted a few days ago, but things keep happening! This past Friday I went inside a windmill. It was pretty awesome. I've seen plenty, but going in was definitely new. It was interesting to see the inner workings and cogs and whatnot. I was also surprised by the fact that people actually lived in the bottom portion. You can also stand on the deck where they used to adjust the direction of the mill, and from there you can see a beautiful view of Leiden. It was definitely worth the 3 euro.

Saturday, I went to Delft with a girl who lives in my hall. We had quite the adventure. We got on a train heading for the Hague which was supposed to continue to Delft. When we reached the Hague, everyone got off the train. We were really confused, and thought that could've been because everyone was going to the Hauge, so we stayed on. As the train starts moving again, the conductor announces that the next stop is Leiden Centraal. We were going back. So we rode back to Leiden, got on another train, and this time actually made it to Delft.

Once in the city, we saw the sights. The Oude Kerk, the Nieuwe Kerk, the markt, the Prinsenhof. All very cool stuff. The churches were freezing though. The Prinsenhof not only had exhibits on William of Orange, but also had a good deal of Delft pottery (shocker, I know). I was actually surprised how much Delftware we saw. It was everywhere: plates, lampposts, the sidewalk. It was crazy. I should also mention that we had croquettes for lunch and stood on a frozen canal! There were some little kids skating on it, so we knew it was okay.

Kitchen in the windmill

Delft

Nieuwe Kerk

Standing on a canal!

Delft lamppost

And so it begins...

I'm sure everyone's been wondering about what I've been up to the past few days, and now's the time you get to find out! I've been busy settling in and getting things done mostly, but of course there are always anecdotes when you're in a different country...

So we'll start at the very beginning: the flight. It was probably one of the weirdest flights I've ever been on, because there was just about no one on it. The whole middle section was empty and no one sat behind, in front of, or next to me. So strange. Even though I had extra room, I still couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep, so I arrived at the airport at 6 am without any sleep and a full day ahead of me.

I managed to get to the Leiden train station after having a few trains cancelled on me. My mentor, Vladimir, met me there and then we chilled in his apartment drinking tea and watching youtube videos until the Visitor's Center finally opened at 9:30. I got all checked in, signed my housing contract, and then we dragged my suitcase across the city to my room. I then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap and unpack.

The next day was pretty much walking around Leiden all day with a bunch of other international students. We walked through the market, got coffee at V&D, and got a mini-tour from a student that was also here last semester. Some of them were even brave enough to try herring. I did not, seeing as I don't eat fish, but there were plenty of Dutch people who stopped to watch a whole line of "tourists" attempt to down the fish gracefully.

We then went grocery shopping, and I've got to say, I love how inexpensive food here is. I think I bought a whole weeks worth of food for about 20 euro. I could be wrong though, seeing as I've never really had to buy all of my food before. It'll be interesting to say the least. 

And then today... I walked up to the bank to open an account only to find out I had forgotten one of the necessary documents, so I had to walk all the way back to my room to get it. It's important to note that the bank is at least a 20 minute walk from my room. But eventually everything got sorted out. On my second walk back, I took some pictures. I hadn't taken any before, because I kept forgetting to bring my camera. I did, however, manage to get pictures with snow before it all melts in a few days.

So that's pretty much my first 2 and a half days in a nut shell. Leiden is an awesome city, even though I still don't know my way around at all. Hopefully I get used to all the canals, bridges, and streets soon!!

(Go check out the Photos page for more pictures)

Train Station

Just a bird chilling on a frozen canal

Windmill!

You can't have the Netherlands without an obscene amount of bikes!

Apparently people like to throw things in the canal, like inflatable ducks

My building

My room

My room 2.0

The view from my window

Same window, different angle

Building the Blog

I'm not even leaving for another 2 and a half weeks, but I'm already getting this blog all set up. Why, you may ask. Anticipation? Boredom? Insomnia? Actually, it's a combination of all three. So this is just a first test post to get things going and mess around with settings. But because you probably came here to learn something about my time in the Netherlands, here's a video so you can know a bit more about the country I'll be living in for 6 months. Enjoy!