HOLLAND

My journey continues with my trip to Holland in the summer of 2003.  I ended up going to Holland because my best friend at the time was from there.  Her father was Dutch and her mother was Scottish.  Her sister and her were both born in Holland and when Lindsay(friend) was 4 they moved to the United States.  So for her 16th birthday her father took her and myself over to meet the family.  We got the whole experience of living in another country, because we stayed with her family in their house.  It was a nice sized house in a row of houses.  We ate a dinner at the table every night that consisted of some sort of meat and potatoes.  Most of the people spoke english very well, but it was almost impossible for me to comprehend anything that was spoken on their behalf.  I did remember one word and that was patat, which meant french fries.  They had little cafeteria or deli type setting where people would go for a quick bite on a crocquet with some curry sauce or french fries with some mayo.  We rented a car, but found that the best mode of transportation was by bus or bike.  Lindsay's family owned a bike, but no vehicle because of the price of gas.  The streets were cobblestone and were centered around a town.  At night the city would change into a different world.  We ended up meeting a Dutch fraternity who showed us the nightlife and transported us on the back of their bicycles.  They studied very hard since they graduated highschool and it takes some 7 or 8 yrs to earn an honorable degree.  The bar scene was really amazing because the drinking age was so low, and alcohol is such a lighter issue than in the states.  The cops do not carry guns and crime does not seem to be an overwhelming problem.  Lindsay's uncle rolled his own cigarrettes which is unheard of here.  All the taxi's in holland were mercedes too.  Not beat up old mercedes nice new and luxurious mercedes.  After spending a week in enchede we headed to the other side of the country for Amsterdam.  Amsterdam was full of people from all over the world.  Mainly people were in the "coffee shops" or just being free spirited.  There was a protest on one street we walked down and the red light district on the other. Colonel sanders also showed his face on the streets of Amsterdam.  There is a canal that runs down the center of the city and lines the streets, and the guide told us that once in a while a car ends up in there, which I thought was funny.  Holland was a great experience and that is one of the countries that I am planning to revisit.  I have made lifelong friends from that trip that I still keep in touch with til this day.