Delft!

Delft is the city where Matt has some of his classes, so one day I decided to follow along and check out the city while he was at classes - I think I took the most pictures in Delft, mainly because it was such a lovely, sunny day!

This is the town hall. It was built between 1618 and 1620. The tower (behind the scaffolding) was built in the 13th century and originates from a count's court.
This is known as the "Nieuwe Kerk" or the 'new church'. There is an 'old church', too. This one was built between 1383 and 1510. The tower was errected between 1396 and 1496. The present spire dates from 1875.
I just liked the way the buildings' shadows looked on the town hall.
This is the door to the 'Neuwe Kerk' - I like the mini metal church hanging over the door. I didn't go inside, as you had to pay to go in and I'm not sure how nice it was on the inside.
This is a photo taken from around back of the Nieuwe Kerk.
After wandering around for a bit, I though i'd stop and have some lunch. I had brought some french bread and hummous and parked myself on a bench to eat. Now, I assumed that I'd have some company, I didn't, however, imagine that I'd be swarmed with rather aggressive birds - including this lovely black one. Just outside the picture is my knee - so he got pretty close.

Of course ducks were there too, but I found this guys' feet to be so cool! He's like a dinosaur.
See? Very very cool.
According to the sign beside the door of this building, this is a 'very large and luxurious, late-gothic private house with stone facade and a nice turret. It was built around 1505. Since 1645 it was been used for the Dyke Conservancy Board of Delftland.'
I just liked how these three bikes lined up, all colorful and such.
Look! I found a swan! I think this one hoped I had food, too. I wonder if swans are as mean as Canadian geese.

Delft was a lovely city, and I enjoyed it a lot. I think it helps that the weather was lovely while I was there, which helped the mood.

Now.... get ready for the final set of pictures - the beach!

Rotterdam!

I really should just call this post "Rotterdam Zoo", as I didn't take any pictures outside the zoo. We spent almost all of the daylight hours at the zoo, where Nicole got us in free! Yay! The zoo, while questionable at the beginning, turned out to be very lovely.

Rotterdam is actually known for its modern architecture. The German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. The heart of the city was almost completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe - everything except the city hall, which is where the planned to have their Netherlands headquarters during the invasion.

Yes, we had lots of fun at the zoo, and yes, we're very mature, too.
Here's a owl. He's got his eyes closed - I think he's trying to pretend we don't exist. He looks so soft, I'd love to touch him, if only it weren't for the chances of losing a finger...
Although the weather was warmer than Amsterdam, there still was a decent amount of ice on the ponds.... hence the duck standing on ice.
Turtle, turtle!
Here are some lovely birds. Unfortunately I had to squeeze the pictures between the chain-link fence, so they are not the best quality photos. These birds sure were talkative and reasonably friendly, too.
And some parrots - again, photos through chain-link fences aren't the best way to take them, but that's what I've got.
These have got to be the brightest birds I've ever seen! It looks like they would glow in the dark!
Is that a turtle, or Nicole? Who knows! Haha.
And finally, some seals. They were a lot of fun to watch, and seemed to be enjoying the sunlight.

If you want to take a look at some of the famous architecture of Rotterdam, you can click on this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rotterdam_Cube_House.jpg These are the cube houses of Rotterdam.

After visiting the zoo we went for the *best* sushi at Happy Sushi. It was so, so, so very good, and I miss it already. Not cheap, but good. MMMmmmmm.

Rotterdam is definitely on my list of placed to re-visit. Next time I go harass, I mean visit Nicole in Leiden, I will definitely head to Rotterdam as well.

Up next.... Delft!

Amsterdam!

Hello and welcome to Amsterdam! We started our trip to Amsterdam with a free student-run tour of the city, and although it wasn't the best tour i'd ever been on, it was at least entertaining and informative.

This is Dam Square. This is where Amsterdam got its name: There was a Dam on the river Amstel at this location back in the day. Amsterdam was first settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th Century, and it was one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age.

The building on the left is the Royal Palance. This was originally used a the town hall and its classical facade and fine sculptures were intended to glorify the city of Amsterdam and its government.

This is a close-up of a tower in Dam Square.
And here's some art that was put annonymously into the pavement of one of the streets in Amsterdam. Our tour guide tried to make some sort of analogy, saying that this art was a metaphor for Amsterdam - the fact that both the man's hand and the woman's identity were unknown, and that the art is chained to the city - just like prostitution is, I guess, 'chained' to Amsterdam. Not sure she did a good job of the metaphor, though.
See that bridge in the middle of the photo? That's apparently the highest bridge in Amsterdam - yep, the Netherlands is that flat.
You know, now that I'm looking at this picture, I'm not sure this is Amsterdam.... but either way, there are some lovely houses, boats and a canal in this one.
Yay! We're all happy! Cold... but happy. I can't for the life of me remember the building we're standing in front of, though.
Here you can see the lovely designs of the tops of Amsterdam's houses. You can also see, in the middle house, the pulley and ropes used to bring furniture into the homes as the staircases are too narrow to bring in large items of furniture.
There is a large number of abandoned boats full of crap - ice, water, leaves, garbage. Blech. Well, I guess they could be active boats, but still - who wants to clean out a gross boat?!
Here's the main street that leads from Centraal Station to Dam Square. It's got all the tourist crap and pickpockets you can think of.
And just for your enjoyment, some more bicycles, tall houses and canals!
... and a green bicycle!
The water was very very calm and it was nice to see the reflections in the canal.
I saw this little bird just chugging along, pulling quite a twig. I wonder where he was going and what he was doing with it?
You have to admit, though - the boats sure are colorful!

We also went to Anne Frank's house while in Amsterdam, although I didn't take any pictures inside. It was a very interesting museum, although it felt very empty. It was a real experience seeing the real house and Anne Frank's real diary. I have never read the book in its entirety, although I always meant to.

We didn't stay super late in Amsterdam as it was so very, very cold. I did go back to Amsterdam on my own a couple days later - these photos are a mix of those two days. When I went back to Amsterdam, the weather still wasn't great, but it wasn't as cold. I did go to the Purse and Handbag museum, which was a lot of fun.

Anyways.... next is Rotterdam!

Leiden!

Hello again! I thought i'd best get around to posting photos, but owing to the huge amount of photos I want to share, I'll divide them up by city.

So.... welcome to Leiden!

Here's a night shot I took the first or second night I was in Leiden. I think it was after we had *the best* Greek food at dinner. This is the mail canal-area where the market was held.
Here's a photo I took on the train on the way to Amsterdam. I love the countryside with all the green space and canals. Wish the train windows were cleaner, though.
This is the old-school Motte and Bailey type castle that is right by Nicole and Matt's house. According to the sign, "The elevation on which the Citadel of Leiden is situated was erected by the citizens of Leiden as a defense against the water of the Rhine. The Citadel itself was built around 1150. The city expanded around the fortress, which consequently lost its defensive purpose. The city magistrate bought the location fromt he viscount in 1651 and turned it into the city part it is today."
Here is the inside view of the castle. You can see in the middle a well, which has since been grated over. The inside is pretty bare, there's just some trees and a couple benches, as well as some art that appears to be a giant tub of toothpaste... or paint.
This is the cathedral that you can see from Nicole and Matt's window. I didn't go inside, but its pretty impressive up close.

Here you can see the difference in the old stone vs. the new stone. The original stone is on the right, while they have patched some parts with the stone on the left.
Here's a graveyard that Matt and I walked through in Leiden. I don't remember much about it, and many of the tombstones are illegible, so I couldn't figure out the dates on them.
Here's another night shot of Leiden. The water was exceptionally cool and quiet. Again I think I took this photo walking home after dinner. I think it was at the Pannekoeken house?
We spent many a-night playing Dance Dance Revolution. We all got pretty good at it, I think.
Of course it helps having the projector and a HUGE screen to watch.
This is the view from Nicole and Matt's window. The dragon is here to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Leiden is a lovely little city. You get all the loveliness of Amsterdam - the canals, the skinny little houses and the old buildings without the drugs and the naked ladies.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures.... next is Amsterdam!

Back in London

Hello everyone! Just wanted to write a quick post to say that I've arrived back in London after 10 fun-filled days in The Netherlands. Expect photos and stories to come.... tomorrow.

Snow Snow and more Snow

Well, while it is slightly snowing here in Leiden, I would just like to interrupt my regularly-scheduled post to bring you this news from London.

It's snowing in London! And the whole city has come to a halt. Like, a complete and utter halt.

To give you an idea of how much snow they got, here are some screen-captures from the BBC's webcams:

About 20cms of snow you see. Yep, 20 cms. It has been falling pretty regularly since last night, according to the BBC.

And because of this snow, the WHOLE tube system has come to a standstill. First thing this morning there were no tubes running at all. The whole system had been suspended. As of just a moment ago, here's what the TFL site looked like:

If you look at the map on the right, you see the pretty standard tube map. However, in this case, the lines that are illuminated are the ones that have problems. Of those that are illuminated, 90% of them are still suspended. Yikes!

I find it rather amusing, though, and kind of wish I was there to see it all. It's not very often that a city of 8 million people comes crashing to a stop over 8 inches of snow. Apparently, though, this is the heaviest snowfall in decades - so at least I can be assured of less snow when I return.

I can imagine my poor South-African roommates are pissed at the weather. I would be outside making snowmen!

Okay, back to Leiden. It's very pretty here, and I am enjoying myself a lot. It has been very cold, and as such, sightseeing isn't nearly as much fun as it would be if I didn't have to lug my coat and scarf around, but alas, I have to.

Yesterday we went to Amsterdam for the day. We went on a free student-run tour during the day, then visited Anne Frank's house in the afternoon.

This upcomming weekend I think we will spend at least one day in Rotterdam, which will be fun.

I've taken some (not a whole lot - my fingers get chilly!) pictures, so I will try and post them later.

Council Tax

Well hello!

My morning was pretty standard... woke up... stumbled out of bed. Called the Gas/Electric company to give them new meter readings as they had asked - easy enough.

Then I thought that I'd call the council tax people to get some of the names switched on our bill (you know, people moving out, people moving in, the lot), and then I heard this:

"Thank you for holding. Your position in the queue is.... 16"

*click* That's when I hang up.

From then on, I decided it was too lovely a day to sit at home, despite really wanting to go back to bed. I gave in and hopped the tube (no walking for me today!) to Westminster Abbey.

I wandered around everywhere, really. I popped into the Portrait Gallery to view a recent Photographic Expo they had on - I enjoyed that. I also bought a little pin with a camera on it from the gift shop (yay!) and carried on. I walked up Regent Street (There is a National Geographic store there!), and down Oxford Street, where I seem to have stumbled upon new peice of graffiti art by Banksy.

(It doesn't look that tall but the paint goes up for about 3 storeys!). According to the web, it's been up since 2008, and apparently he errected a bunch of scaffolding in front of the wall, covered it with tarps and went about his business without anyone questionning what he was doing. (Keep in mind both the security camera to the right as well as the fact that this wall faces the headquarters of the Royal Mail Service...heh). You can read more about it here.

After that excitement I popped into the British Museum for a bit, as well as the crumpler store (and drooled over new camera bags....), before ending up in Selfridges.

From there is was starting to get dark (which was the point of lugging my camera and tripod around all day!), so I wandered back to Trafalgar Square and snapped some shots. From there I walked to Big Ben and the London Eye and snapped some more shots!

It was pretty chilly by the end so I hurried home to my nice (warm) house, which is where I am sitting now.

Either way, I am looking forward to the summer when it gets really warm in the evenings and I can parade around with my tripod and not shiver.

I would've liked to spend more time outside, but again, so very very chilly!