April Holidays - My first foray to the Continent

April Holidays. What an amazing trip! Here is a little run down of what I have been getting up to over the last two weeks...

I started at 3:30am to get ready to catch my bus to Luton to then fly to Amsterdam at 6. I arrived in the Motherland and met my friend Till at the station to begin a jam-packed day in the capital. We started by perusing the coffeehouses, settling in the world-famous  Bulldog <http://www.thebulldog.com/> to get some of the Amsterdam experience. Till then treated me to a Dutch snack shop specialty - Frickendel. A sausage smothered in special Dutch mayonnaise and curry sauce, served with a sprinkle of raw onion... Next was a Canal tour. We traversed Amsterdam Harbour - the Ij, roamed the Old City canals, admired 17th century bridges and architecture and generally got our tourist on.

We decided to be a bit cultural and see the St. Nicolaaskerk Cathedral before exploring the Red Light District. Ok. Imagine the most far-out, crazy, bizarre thing and you will be able to find it here. Condommeries, deluxe dildo shops, gay cinema's, costume shops, mask shops... We also saw a few brothels and some girls offering their services from their stools in the windows, all made up. It was definitely an eyeopening experience. 

Next stop was the Anne Frank House<http://www.annefrank.org/>, which was just heart wrenching. I saw the marks on the wall tracking the children's grow, Anne's posters and treasured possessions, and the actual diary which she wrote in. The exhibition finished with the sombre record of her and her families extermination, weeks before the end of WW2. After that we went looking for some chow, passing the Royal Palace, Nieuwekerk and the National Monument and ending up at a Thai place. Generally a good way to start my trip.

The next day, I explored more of Amsterdam, seeing the Bloemenmarkt, Vondelpark, the Van Gogh Museum <http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?lang=nl> - home to his Self Portrait, the Sunflowers as well as some Daubigny and Monet. After that, I continued on through the city, passing the Rijksmuseum to the Albert Cuyp market, seeing some more Amsterdam specialties - poffertjes, gherkins, seafood (50kg fish), and genital chocolates (Only in amsterdam). I finished the day munching on corn on the cobs in Nieumarkt.<http://www.amsterdamescape.com/NieuwmarktAmsterdam.html>

Wednesday, I hopped on a bicycle and rode out of the city, to explore the Dutch country side. I rode along the dykes of the Ij all the way to Edam. I passed through a number of quaint dutch villages, meadows, fields, gardens... It was so picturesque! The ducklings, lambs, turtles, rabbits, squirrels... That night I caught the train to Utrecht to meet up with Corine and go back to the family's house in Zeist where I was treated to some Vla and Speckulaas, Yum.

The next day, after John had finished his meeting, he took me to the Keukenhof!<http://www.keukenhof.nl/> It was absolutely amazing. There was every kind of tulip, jonquil, bulb, orchid, hydrangea in every colour of the rainbow. Simply beautiful. I tried to ignore the fact that the average age of visitors was about 65. Haha. There was also a giant hedge maze and a windmill which I had fun looking around.

On Friday, Corine and I took Yoran and Nadine to school, which is just down the road, and then we picked them up again before lunch, as they finish early on Fridays. Then we drove to Harderwyk to see Tante Adrie. After some afternoon tea, we went to the old fishing port where I downed a herring, garnished with raw onion (what else). After a stroll by the lake, we went to Boshuis Drie for dinner and then headed home.

Saturday started with football with Yoran and John and then Gymnastics with Corine and Nadine. After the morning activities were over, Corine and I went into Utrecht to have a look around. I saw the Domtoren Church, walked along the canals and had a look around the shops. 

That night I caught the overnight train from Utrecht to Zurich, a whopping 11 hours, luckily I slept for most of it! The only interruption was when the angry, fat, German man told me I was in the wrong compartment. Haha. I arrived in Zurich and wandered around unsuccessfully looking for a hostel, so I went to the Tourist Information Office who snagged me the last bed in the City Backpackers Hostel. Once I had dropped by stuff off, I headed off to explore. First thing I stumbled upon was the Zurich Marathon. The track was lined with entertainment, food and music in the traditional Swiss style, so I parked myself on the edge of the Zurichsee, with a chocolate fondue banana in hand and listened to the Alphorn. I then continued my walk around the city, passing Grossmunster, Fraumunster (Home to the famous Stained Glass windows), St. Peters (The largest clock face in Switzerland), The EHT, Zurich University and The Kunsthaus Museum amoungst other things. The architecture is just divine. I ended up at the National Swiss Museum where I was enlightened to the history and culture of this little nation. After lunch I walked around the Platzpromenade and frolicked in the daisies, walked to the Lindenhof for some beautiful city views, saw the Tonhall and then headed back to the hostel.

I started the next day with a walk to the city's west to see the Volkshaus before scaling the Grossmunster tower from some exceptional views. I then made my way south to the Zurich Horn park for lunch, where I dipped my feet in the Zurichsee. I then went to the Botanical Gardens and watched the frogs for a while, before heading back towards Niederdorfstrasse to browse the shops and teahouses. Then I collected my things, hopped on the train and went to Judith's. After dinner, Judith showed me around her part of Cham - the castle across the road, the park and the lake. It was so beautiful, like a postcard!

The next morning, I headed off to Thun, via Bern and met up with Debora. She showed me around her lovely town. We saw the Thuner Schloss Castle, Aare River, Thunersee, Schadau Schloss Park; had coffee at Muteplatz; and rode on Debora's scooter to her house in Gwatt where I was treated to a very yummy traditional Swiss dinner (i.e lots of bread, cheese and chocolate). We also did the traditional easter egg cracking. Debora won. Afterwards, I caught the train back to Bern and experienced some of the capitals nightlife before hitting the hay.

Wednesday morning was spent exploring Bern, seeing the National Swiss Bank, Parliament House, Castles, Churches and monuments, as well as Einsteins House before I caught the train to Interlaken, where I boarded the Jungfraujoch, a train which winds through and under the alps to the top of Europe. The scenery was just AMAZING. The mountains are divine. After the 3 hour trip, we arrived at the top, at an altitude of 4000m. I had a ridiculously overpriced lunch on the top of Europe before exploring the decks and snow, taking in the majestic views. I caught one of the last trains back down the Mountain to Interlaken, which was just picture perfect in the twilight, the river was a vibrant shade of blue. Just like a fairytale or something. Then I continued on to Zermatt, where I arrived late that night.

In the morning, I exited the front door to the Matterhorn. What a view. Wow. Then I went for a hike in the Alps towards Sunnegga where I saw squirrels and beavers. It was fantastic. Then I hopped back on the train to head to Zug via Andermatt and the Alpine passes. I arrived at Judith's again, freshened up, had dinner and then went to her neighbours for drinks, which was really nice.

The next day Judith dropped me at Mt. Pilatus, where I took the cable car to Frakmuntegg. At Frakmuntegg I went to the Seilpark, and traversed the tree tops in the rope park for a few hours, which was super fun. After being asked to lunch by a sexy Swiss boy, one of the workers at the rope park, I continued up to the summit, to see the views over central Switzerland. On the otherside I went down the mountain on the steepest railway in the world before heading back to Judith's via Luzern, which was buzzing in the Spring sun. That night Judith had a barbecue with her neighbours and golf friends, which was a lot of fun. I tried horse, which just tasted like beef and finished off with some delicious Swiss Mövenpick icecream, before partying the night away.

My last day in Switzerland was spent on the shores of the Zugsee, working on my tan, reading my book and swimming in the crystal clear (and ice cold) water. It was definitely 'refreshing'. After lunch, Judith took me to the airport and I came home!

Talk about an abso-frickin-lutely AMAZING holiday!