Fantastic Europa #2

After my last post my mood improved considerably (as a result of my friend showing me how to turn the heating on!) which was just as well as being grumpy on holiday is not acceptable.

Clogs for all occasion! Soccer boot clogs!

Did I mention the fantastic mosaics I saw earlier that day in Aachen's Dom? The locals are extremely proud of their church and with good reason. I have never seen such fantastic mosaics (and believe me I've seen a lot of churches), these were simply glowing with colour, and look much like someone has just opened a shiny treasure chest.

The next day I trained over to Cologne (or Koln [with two dotjies on the O] prounced Keln if you're German) where I had a great time walking around. Saw their Dom (named most originally the Kolner Dom) which was great in a different way to Aachens Dom. What I enjoyed most was climbing up the belfry. To get to the entrance you had to go underground (clearly not the original route). The church has drilled these two massive tunnels through the very thick foundations of the church, wide enough so that you can stand in them, and you can see the cross sections of stones and mortar as you go through it. Then up the many steps to the Peter bell, the largest working bell in the world (I heard the bells ringing noon, but I think this was done using some smaller bells as they seemed to be working on Peter himself), which was pretty cool (as you can imagine its pretty loud in the belfry when the bells are ringing).

Next up was the chocolate museum, managed by Lindt. I considered this a must see seeing as how we (and me!) eat so much chocolate. It was very interesting, particularly the working mini chocolate factory where they were making Lindt truffles.

Simon joined me and we headed off to a local brewery off the tourist route for some dinner. They serve their beers in small (200 ml) glasses, and tot up how many you drink on a coaster (as the waiters walk by they simply replace your empty glass with a full one, unless you indicate you've had enough by putting a coaster over the top of your glass). We had some reidebaken (I'm guessing here, could've been called something else), a bit like hashbrowns but crispier and better, which were very tasty but man was I full!

Somehow it was my last week already and I headed over to Amsterdam in Holland, or Netherlands, depending on which name you prefer. The question of Holland vs Netherlands had come up a few times and I finally got an answer from my uncle. First, Netherlands is the official name of the country. However, you can also call it Holland without causing any offence, and the Dutch themselves refer to their country by both names (don't forget Hop Hop Holland!). Holland was apparently a very large country on the western side of Nederlands, back in the day. When various countries came together way back when the Netherlands was formed, Holland formed a large part (and I think the greatest economy) of the country and so people took to calling the whole country by this name, and everyone is ok with that. So now you know.

Amsterdam is a fabulous city, and I'm not just saying this because I love flower bulbs. There is a lot of history here (think Dutch East India Company, sailing all over the world and establishing colonies like South Africa), and they've done really well at conserving this history. Also there are a lot of artists (Rembrandt and van Gogh being the biggest names), not to mention the tulips, clogs, = cheese and windmills. Sarah joined me in Amsterdam and we saw many museums and sights. The best being the Anne Frank House Museum, which they have done very tastefully. Essentially you walk through the bare, unfurnished house following little information posters about what happened in which room, and short clips of people talking about the Frank's in hiding. I was surprised as I hadn't really expected much from it, but it was really informative and thought provoking.

After Sarah left I stayed with my uncle and he showed me around the countryside a bit. I particularly enjoyed visiting a working windmill, Het Jonge Schaap [the young sheep], in Zaanse Schans (the name of an area that used to have over 1000 windmills- the first industrial area in the world!). This was built in 2007, based on drawings of the original mill which was demolished in 1942. It was a sawmill (there are different types of windmills, some milling grain, others cutting wood, some grinding paints, pressing seeds for oil, etc), and it was incredible watching it saw through the wood. The power behind it is just awesome, slow but awesome (clearly not a super windy day), and I really enjoyed watching it slowly carve through a piece of wood with a loud whooom, whooom, whooom, as the saw went up and down.

Needless to say a visit to a clog factory was in order and I got to learn a little about the history of clogs. Interesting to learn that my clogs (which my mom bought when she was in Amsterdam when she was 21) are actually wedding clogs, with designs cut into it (well, ok, they are modelled on wedding clogs perhaps, as the husband to be is meant to do the carving for the big day). I also visited a cheese factory and tasted some great cheese.

One of the last things I did in Amsterdam was visit the Amsterdam Tulip Museum. Those of you who know about my small obsession with bulbs will know that this was a must-see for me. Although the museum was very small it contained lots of information (almost too much really). I'll leave you with two facts that you probably didn't know about the bulbs. They do not originate in Holland but in Turkey, and were first appreciated by the Ottoman Empire. And at the height of Tulipomania (I'm not sure if this is an official term but they used it quite extensively in the museum) bulbs of the prized variety were selling at the same price as houses in the most, expensive, exclusive part of Amsterdam. I could tell you more, but will spare you, and those that share my minor obsession can ask me for more details.

Some stylish clogs
Yes please!
Amsterdam Tulip Market
Salah!
Windmills!
Canal cruise (in the rain)
Flooded river in Cologne (you can see the river bank walk fencing in the water)
Golden Cologne Dom (I caught this at sunset- normally the Dom is pretty black from pollution over the ages)
Tunnel through the Dom's foundations

And so, on a bleak and rainy Sunday, a month after I had first left Sunny Cape Town, I left Amsterdam to travel home. I had a fabulous time, and experienced so many new things, a big thank you to all those I stayed with, for putting me up and showing me around. When next you come to Cape Town you'll have a place to stay at mine