Experiences after (soon) 5 weeks in the Netherlands
1. In the Netherlands, I spend most of my money on...train tickets. And I fear the July-bill for the OV-fiets.
2. Yeah, OV-fiets. That's a "public transport bike" and the best discovery since the citrus press. The deal: for 10 euros a year, you get a card. With that, you can borrow a bike at almost every train station in the Netherlands. E.g. very practical when me and my mother visit my grandma. Her house is a 30-minute walk from the train station, the bus goes only twice an hour, but with the bikes we are there in 10 minutes and can easily do some shoppings as well. Additional costs for the bike: 3 euros 15 per 24 hours. If someone feels called to introduce this in Sweden, I'm in.
3. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. I visit a college friend in Haarlem. We haven't seen each other for a year. Four hours later we have catched up with 12 months in both of our lifes and it felt as usual. And she still beats me in Boggle.
4. At the 2007 UIT - the introduction week for new students in Utrecht with too much alcohol and too little culture - the mayor of Utrecht welcomed 10000s of new students, including a nervous 18-year-old me, by saying "Now Utrecht is yours as well!" Well, Utrecht has indeed been mine, at least for 5 years, possibly a bit longer. But it no longer is. When I bike through the town (on my OV-fiets obviously), new shops have popped up everywhere. Vredenburg doesn't look like a mess any longer. The train station has become a labyrinth with two extra tracks. (20 and 21, for real?) I miss the bus because I can't find where it leaves.
5. A three-month old baby is super cute! Knowing that my friends are parents now is slightly frightening. (And no, not because they aren't doing a great job.)
6. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. I might have moved to Sweden, another one might have started a band in Bangkok and the third one might do a PhD in Eindhoven and have a garden next to the Dutch weather institute where she grows her own potatoes, eventually you'll find each other back at Bagels and Beans in the centre of Utrecht.
7. Paris, je t'aime and it was a great way to celebrate 21 (!) years of friendship. But next time I won't wait 5,5 years with using a present.
8. Dutch family members love Sylviakaka and demand the recipe. They like kolasnittar too, but not so much the after-eight-snittar. ("This is a waste of the after eight.")
9. Parents are great to have around. One day I'll enter my delayed puberty and start screaming at them and all, but just not this year.
10. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. We went completely different tracks since high school, but eventually we found each other (and our French teacher) back in good old Zeist.
11. Health is much more appreciated when you're not feeling so well. Thanks for the existence of physiotherapists.
12. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. 6 x 26 = 156. Already looking forward to 162.
13. Old Catholics in the Netherlands in a Swedish perspective: high-church like Laurentiistiftelsen, liberalt like the overall image of Svenska Kyrkan, "big" like a small free-church, welcoming like internationella församlingen.
14. Making sushi isn't so hard.
15. Sverige, du känns så väldigt långt borta...men jag saknar dig ändå. Jag är snart tillbaka och då ska vi se hur to take it from here. Okej? Förlåt om jag talar lite konstigt i början; jag må ha glömt några ord.
2. Yeah, OV-fiets. That's a "public transport bike" and the best discovery since the citrus press. The deal: for 10 euros a year, you get a card. With that, you can borrow a bike at almost every train station in the Netherlands. E.g. very practical when me and my mother visit my grandma. Her house is a 30-minute walk from the train station, the bus goes only twice an hour, but with the bikes we are there in 10 minutes and can easily do some shoppings as well. Additional costs for the bike: 3 euros 15 per 24 hours. If someone feels called to introduce this in Sweden, I'm in.
3. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. I visit a college friend in Haarlem. We haven't seen each other for a year. Four hours later we have catched up with 12 months in both of our lifes and it felt as usual. And she still beats me in Boggle.
4. At the 2007 UIT - the introduction week for new students in Utrecht with too much alcohol and too little culture - the mayor of Utrecht welcomed 10000s of new students, including a nervous 18-year-old me, by saying "Now Utrecht is yours as well!" Well, Utrecht has indeed been mine, at least for 5 years, possibly a bit longer. But it no longer is. When I bike through the town (on my OV-fiets obviously), new shops have popped up everywhere. Vredenburg doesn't look like a mess any longer. The train station has become a labyrinth with two extra tracks. (20 and 21, for real?) I miss the bus because I can't find where it leaves.
5. A three-month old baby is super cute! Knowing that my friends are parents now is slightly frightening. (And no, not because they aren't doing a great job.)
6. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. I might have moved to Sweden, another one might have started a band in Bangkok and the third one might do a PhD in Eindhoven and have a garden next to the Dutch weather institute where she grows her own potatoes, eventually you'll find each other back at Bagels and Beans in the centre of Utrecht.
7. Paris, je t'aime and it was a great way to celebrate 21 (!) years of friendship. But next time I won't wait 5,5 years with using a present.
8. Dutch family members love Sylviakaka and demand the recipe. They like kolasnittar too, but not so much the after-eight-snittar. ("This is a waste of the after eight.")
9. Parents are great to have around. One day I'll enter my delayed puberty and start screaming at them and all, but just not this year.
10. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. We went completely different tracks since high school, but eventually we found each other (and our French teacher) back in good old Zeist.
11. Health is much more appreciated when you're not feeling so well. Thanks for the existence of physiotherapists.
12. Real friendship isn't dependent on quantity, but on quality. 6 x 26 = 156. Already looking forward to 162.
13. Old Catholics in the Netherlands in a Swedish perspective: high-church like Laurentiistiftelsen, liberalt like the overall image of Svenska Kyrkan, "big" like a small free-church, welcoming like internationella församlingen.
14. Making sushi isn't so hard.
15. Sverige, du känns så väldigt långt borta...men jag saknar dig ändå. Jag är snart tillbaka och då ska vi se hur to take it from here. Okej? Förlåt om jag talar lite konstigt i början; jag må ha glömt några ord.
Nice Paula! :D I'm glad the dutch like your baking! But the "rental-bikes" aren't new in Sweden, we even have them in Lund!
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the only one reminding me of the Lundahoj! I indeed had forgotten about them, but I still would say it isn't exactly the same thing as I don't think they would appear in smaller towns, like in Hjärup. (Which is usually where you'd need them as Lund has good busses too.) Then again, in Skåne it's way easier to take your bike on the train, which is great too.
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