Hello lovely friends and family!
So I've had a little trouble finding computers and wifi to use, making blogging a little difficult. Cayce gave me the idea to type on the notepad of my iPod and email it to myself when we get an Internet connection. Long train rides or time waiting for the train is the perfect time for me to write. I may not be able to post for a few days but at least I will be able to tell you what we've been up to.
Right now we are in Paris waiting for a train to Madrid that should be here in about 3 hours. It's 8pm right now. We left Bruges this morning at 11am, and should arrive in Madrid tomorrow at 2pm...long trip, eh?! The long train rides are a good time to rest and take everything in.
We started off our trip in Amsterdam.The flight there was great, a lot easier than we expected aaand we were sandwiched between two cute boys on our first flight. I think it was preparation for what to expect in the upcoming months! When we got off the plane in Amsterdam the first thing we noticed was all the bikes. You would not believe the amount of bikes tied up to rails. There are by far more bikes than cars there. A lot of times you would see a couple squished on one bike with the girl sitting on the back. We even saw a lady riding with her small baby on the handle bars! Seemed a little dangerous, especially with all the other biking traffic. We stayed in a hostel in Amsterdam in a room with 6 beds. It wasn't the nicest of places but it provided what we needed... A bed, shower, and toilet. We had a couple boy roommates that didn't speak English too well, one from Brazil and one from Turkey.
Our first night there was Halloween and we went to a little bar near our hostel. Everyone working was dressed in costumes, and a Greek guy we met there told us they were dressed for a masquerade fiesta. I'm pretty sure they had no idea what they were celebrating! Later in the night they had a fog machine going and the owner would occasionally turn on an incredibly loud horn. We met a lot of people that night, some from other european countries who are now living there, as well as other US travelers.
While in Amsterdam we visited the Van Gogh museum, got a tour of the Heineken brewery, walked through the famous Red Light District, and of course visited one of the many coffee shops. The thing I liked best about Amsterdam was the lifestyle there. Everyone walks around like they aren't in any sort of rush... A lot different than the way people scurry around downtown Seattle in order to make their next meeting or get to work in time. It was also really neat to see such a well off society that isn't reliant on cars. They definitely make do using bikes and public transportation. The people were very friendly and interested to know where we were from and what our plans were. Meeting so many Europeans who were visiting or now living there shows what an amazing city it really is.
Our next stop was Bruges, Belgium. We successfully took our first train ride there. Bruges is a pretty small, romantic town. It is full of beautiful architecture and "romantic" scenery is everywhere. There are a lot of large buildings that Cayce and I called castles. We walked 366 stairs to the top of one of them and had an amazing view of the whole city. We also enjoyed a Belgian waffle, their famous fries, and a few of their local beers. We also stayed in a hostel in Bruges and roomed with a guy from London who was traveling by himself. We took him out with us one night and ended up at a bar that was having a techno dance party. There was a group of university students from London who were visiting for a few days. We quickly noticed that guys here are much more comfortable with dancing and getting close to each. Bruges was overall a really beautiful place. It was a bit more of a touristy place than Amsterdam but I definitely understand why people enjoy going there.
We left this morning in hopes of getting to Madrid by the weekend to be able to stay with my friend Jimmy. The train ride so far has definitely been an adventure. We had to make a few connections to get to Paris.We had to take a bus at one point and ended up in a very small French town. It was the first time so far that I've felt a little unsafe.We finally made it to Paris and you would not believe the chaos of the train station. The place is huge and there were so so many people and many were running to catch their train.We had time in Paris to sit and enjoy a sandwich and beer. We are now sitting here waiting for the train and can see security roaming around with huge guns. Not sure if it's always like this or there is an increase in security lately.
We are really looking forward to Madrid and the sunny weather. Many times already me and Cayce have said to each other how happy we are to be here. We definitely realize how lucky we are and that we really are having the time of our lives.
Love and miss you all!
Cheers!
Nikki
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