Even though I went to bed at a reasonable hour, I’m really quite sleepy because it’s 7am and I’ve been up since about 5 for a day trip to Cologne my sister and I are taking.
The day before last was mine and my sister’s first day in Amsterdam together. The really nice thing about this is that even though we aren’t staying in Amsterdam, it’s only a half hour train ride away. We didn’t have a whole lot planned – the only thing we really had in mind was to go to the Van Gogh museum. We walked around and explored a bit, somehow managed to circumvent most of the city instead of walking through it, and eventually decided it was time to do something useful and head into the museum.
I’m normally a big fan of art museums, and this was no exception. The museum was clearly organized so you could go through it a specific way, so you know you aren’t missing anything. It is also arranged so that you follow Van Gogh’s life and work, and you can see how his painting changed based on whatever was influencing him at the time. Along with the huge collection of Van Gogh originals, the museum also displayed art and discussed other artists that inspired and had an impact on his work. I felt like I could understand him not only as an artist, but as a human searching for his purpose and continually challenging himself.
It was very sobering to be reminded that Van Gogh committed himself to a mental asylum and committed suicide, and his artistic career (that didn’t start until he was 27) only lasted about ten years. He was never wildly successful; his work only became well known after his death. Van Gogh never knew how much his art would change the world or how dearly he would be remembered.
After the museum, my sister and I needed to eat immediately because our breakfast had consisted of crackers, hummus, digestives, and Nutella, and had been consumed approximately eight hours previous. We stopped for a light lunch? dinner? and then met my Kiwi friend from Budapest for a quick happy hour drink. Meeting so many different people from all over the world – and actually becoming friends with them, has been nothing short of incredible. I’m getting used to goodbyes because they are often see-you-laters; if they are goodbyes, it doesn’t mean that I will forget these people or that they will not always be a part of my life. But yeah, still had to say goodbye to him.
That evening, my sister and I and our two friends had a gourmet Burger King dinner and then went to the movies for a live-streaming of the opening night of the Nutcracker performed by the Royal Ballet in London. I had my issues with it, but the dancers were (obviously) incredible, and my favorite aspect by far was how seriously they took the idea of story. Every moment was so rich and detailed, and I have truly never enjoyed the party scene as much I as I did that one. They also added in a little bit more of storyline with Drosselmeyer and the beginning and the end, and then a little more with Clara. She also danced throughout the entire ballet (she was in almost all of the variations) and I don’t understand how her feet didn’t fall off. Drosselmeyer was also onstage for Act II; all of this put together created a much stronger throughline, high stakes, and more audience investment (at least from my perspective.) This was the only Nutcracker I will be able to see this year, so even though it was on a screen, I’m so glad I went. Plus they gave us prosecco.
Yesterday, my sister and I had breakfast with our friend, and the three of us headed back into Amsterdam for an immediate lunch. I had some vegetarian croquettes, which are a traditional Dutch food (but not the veggie part, normally they’re filled with meat.) We then headed over to the Anne Frank house. Several things: I am dumb and did not know the Anne Frank house was in Amsterdam until someone told me. Also, if you are ever planning on going to Amsterdam and seeing the Anne Frank house while you’re there (which you absolutely should,) get your tickets in advance. Like, maybe a week in advance or more, especially during the high season.
Walking through the Anne Frank house was difficult and moving and inspiring. After having heard her story so much, it was such a reality check to actually be inside the place where she hid with her family for two years. It truly blows my mind that people could ever do that to one another. There isn’t much else to say about it, I don’t think. I just hope that we have that sense to never let the world get to that point again.
I was still digesting the museum when we went to grab a little snack which turned out to be the opposite of little. The Dutch have this lovely dessert that is basically a waffle that they put stuff on. So I had that, covered in chocolate, piled with whipped cream, covered in chocolate and caramel sauce and little Zwarte Piets. (Zwarte Piet is a debatably racist character in the Dutch Christmas tradition – he is essentially Santa’s helper on Sinterklaas. What is Sinterklaas? GIVE ME A SECOND GUYS.) Anyway, somehow all of us finished our enormous desserts, and it was time to head back to Utrecht for some celebrating.
Okay so basically, the Dutch celebrate the presents part of Christmas on December 5th, also known as Sinterklaas. We celebrated on the 6th because that was the night we had together. But yeah, that’s when Santa comes, along with Zwarte Piet (seriously, google it, you’ll see what I mean) and everyone plays games and eats these little delicious candy covered gingerbread drops.
Our friends thought it would be fun to celebrate this in the traditional way, so after dinner we each put our single wrapped gift in the center of the table, got out some dice, and played a ridiculously fun gift exchange/opening/stealing/eating/also doing other random activities game. It was absolutely the most fun I’ve ever had exchanging gifts. We talked about the fact that this probably teaches Dutch kids to not be greedy when it comes to gift exchanges – after all, you might end up with nothing! It also may teach them to not get too attached to material goods, because the gifts are always changing hands. The best part of the tradition, however, was that you are assigned someone in the group to write a poem about to make fun of them! I was assigned my sister, so I had a lovely time writing an epic about something that hasn’t actually happened…yet.
So yeah, now we are on the train, and I’m so sleepy I want to die. I think I’ll post this and try to get a nap in before we get there. Until next time!