The day of the Storm

Feeling blessed to be able to travel to Europe for 4 days - loving the experience although Ling flight

Dutch does not glue to their phones
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I woke up at 6am. Outside, the wind was blowing wildly. I thought this was just another typical Dutch morning! Little did I know this was one of the worst storm in northern Europe in the past 10 years! Since I could not sleep, I left early to explore Amsterdam. Gee, the weather was not too cold but the wind was strong. I could see the water in the canal flowing unusually fast - water in canals do not normally flow at all. As I walked around, I could see people getting off their bikes and pushing up a small bridge. I thought to myself, "They are weak." Later I found out the wind was blowing at 70km/hr! Luckily I did not take up Niels offer to see the storm from the seaside.

I spent half of the day in Rij Museum. My favourite is still the Medieval and Renaissance period. I am still fascinated by how religion dominated people's everyday life back in those days (and even today!). Another interesting period is the little ice age around the 14th to 19th Century. A small collection depict the lives during that period and how the Dutch made the most out of the frozen canal. I have also learnt some history Dutch lessons about William the Orange, the forming / breaking of the Netherlands. The museum is no British museum nor the Louvre museum, but I have learnt more about the Dutch story and history from a different lense.

After the museum, I was walking around trying to get some food. Dutch food is pretty simple: fries, baked potato, sausage or bread. I loved the cafes though; every corners is filled with coffee shop serving good coffee and mouth watering bakery. I sat in a cafe with a cup of coffee and a croissant, planning my way back to the boat. We were supposed to be in Harlem from 5pm and it would take an hour to get there. As I started finding my way back and was looking forward to sitting inside a warm tram to get back, I realised there was no public transport! I had to walk in the rain for an hour to get back, jumping over fallen down bicycles and scooters.

When we settled in a brewery in Centrum Amsterdam due to no one could make it to Harlem, we shared our stories on this unusual stormy day. Ariel went to Leiden to buy antique postcards and could not make his way back till 11pm! He definitely has a good story to share when he gets back home.

I did not last very long this second evening, and went to back at 10pm. The noise of Americans could not even disturb my sound sleep.Read more