23 Kilometers.
Yesterday evening I met up with my first couchsurfing host in Leiden, a young CS major (computer science/ couch surfing). I was wiped out, but somehow made it through helping to cook some dinner and going out for a beer at one of the local bars. Heading back from the bar around midnight, we were caught in a torrential downpour/lightning storm and ended up following the lead of many unprepared New Yorkers and running back with whatever flat materials we could find in the dumpster over our heads. Needless to say, I got pretty wet...and really hoped that it would be clear in the morning. I had been spoiled with sun thus far.
In the morning, it just seemed gray, but I took the precaution of wrapping all of my dry clothes in my space blanket inside of my backpack, and puting my phone into a ziplock. It definitely started raining...but a lighter rain. More like the kind we have in Washington. Felt like home.
I ran through a bunch of farms and saw some sheep, goats, llamas (or maybe alpacas...), and cows, all of whom were also very wet. When I got into the Haag, I took the above picture (a reflection of myself on a store window through a wet ziplock bag) which I think sets the overall mood of my run. 23 km, and I was in the Den Haag, the seat of government in the Netherlands
I ended up at the apartment of Kevin, a RE/MAX agent that had contacted me after my mom (also a realtor) sent a worried e-mail to the office in the Netherlands looking for some friendly people. Thanks Mama!
Kevin and his girlfriend Wendy were great hosts, and it wasn't long before I was in my dry clothes and wearing Kevin's old shoes which were about 3 sizes too big. Kevin drove me around the Haag and (being a bit of a handyman) explained to me many of the differences in construction techniques here relative to the United States. I think we both do some pretty goofy stuff.
We went by the beach at Scheveningen and sat in front of a nice fire while beach stormed around us, and went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant at another beach. Of all things, we ate barbeque ribs with fries and salad (Mexican?).
I've got a good couch to stay on here, and (I think) a place for tomorrow in Rotterdam. Nothing in Numansdorp or Roosendaal yet though...or anywhere until I get to Brussels in a week.
Thanks by the way to those of you who are reading this stuff and making comments. I really appreciate the support.
27 May 2009
Day 5
25 May 2009
Day 4
40 Kilometers.
That's a marathon for those who don't know. Definetly a bit of a shock to the system. I'm wiped out now. At least it isn't that far to Den Haag from here.
I woke up around 6 and left a little after 7. I ran about 20 kilometers and stopped for breakfast in a small town somewhere in between. I have a photo of what I ate on the photo map. Key features included a sausage broodje (the delicious Dutch equivalent of an English sausage Pastie) and two small "smoothie" type fruit drinks. The Dutch seem to have a tendency of putting cubes of fruit into their smoothies...maybe to make it feel like you are drinking real fruit...but really it makes you feel weird because you are drinking while also having to deal with juice-saturated cubes of some chewy material. Every sip I wonder: chew or swallow?
Anyways, I hung out for a while there and stretched, and then started walking in the direction of Leiden to let the food settle a bit. After about 5 k of walking, I did the rest of the running and got into Central Station feeling quite dreadful. Let me say: running with a backpack sucks, my hip is still acting up, and I'm starting to chafe...AND I just can't seem to get my bangs to look right.
After a very draining run I had an incredibly motivating day, which served to neutralize its effects. First I ran into an awesome German couple who had passed me earlier in the day on bikes, and we ended up getting into conversation and went to a cafe for a drink. They are biking/driving around the area and gave me some pretty good advice.
From there, I wandered around a bit more, going by the birthplace of Rembrandt and the oldest university in the Netherlands (and maybe in Europe). While trying to find an internet Cafe, I went into a Runner's World shop that I randomly passed by and ended up striking up a conversation with Peter, the head of the shop...who donated some Body Glide to help fight my chafing problem. He gave me a proposed route for my run to the Haag tomorrow, and said that he would pass the word on about my run.
Then...upon leaving the shop, I heard someone shouting my name (and thought, "that must be a mistake...keep walking")...but turned to find a man running towards me that turned out to be a friend of Ernst's who recognized me from my blog. Small world.
People here are awesome. I'm so excited for tomorrow.
I'm currently waiting to pick up my laundry, sitting in an internet cafe, commando in my running pants with an outer top on. Come to think of it...I've got to go pick that stuff up.
Everything
Apart from what I am wearing (t-shirt, socks, shorts, shoes, watch, phone/camera, watch), this is what I have with me: 2 pairs of socks, one running jacket, one thing longsleeve, one pair of lighweight running pants, running shorts, running shirt, phone charger, headphones, usb cable, bic pen, toothbrush, toothpaste, 2 Mach 3 razor heads, 1 emergency Cliff bar, 1 container of calcium/glucosamine, packed with toilet paper, one ultralight towel, debit/credit cards, and (not pictured) space blanket.
Day 3
Heineken Brewery. I slept late and went for a half hour run around Amsterdam to see what I could see. I got my typical lunch at the Albert Heijn grocery store--a single serving bowl of microwaveable pasta that I eat cold (less than 3 euros for a decent meal).
I went to the Heineken Brewery...which was awesome. I had some half-brewed Heineken and raw barley and hops...two of the only four ingredients in Heineken. I had a glass on the tour, and my ticket came with two little pieces of plastic that you could exchange for drinks at the bar at the end of the tour. Well, when I got there feeling a bit awkward to be drinking alone, I introduce myself to a group of girls travelling from Michigan, who eventually left, and left me with each of their second pieces of plastic. I then introduced myself to another good group of students who were just finishing a program in Spain. We were all very impressed by the digital countertops in the bar, which fins where there are glasses and makes an image of a coaster underneath no matter how you move it (processing maybe?).
5 heinekens later I decide that I need to run back and grab my stuff (having been in the Brewery for almost 4 hours). Was a bit of a funny, not incredibly sober run, where at some point I stopped in one of the amazing Amsterdam urinals, which are just a spiral of sheet metal that you walk into in the middle of the street.
I decided that I would try to get a little bit closer to Leiden, so I ran 5 miles or so (past the 1928 Olympic Stadium) to the outskirts of Amsterdam to stay with Jelcke and Marjon, some friends of Ernst. Overall an amazing first city.
24 May 2009
Day 2
Woke up around 9 am and decided to get things going. Did some laundry in the sink, which actually was a bit difficult because I was trying to guess between two soap boxes that each contained words that I thought might be the Dutch word for "white". I ended up finding a third box in the back that was clearly marked for color. Phew. Turns out the word is "wit" by the way...
I headed to the library, which is huge and awesome and near that Nemo building in my photos. I wandered around to ARCAM, the center for architecture in the Netherlands and had a look about. I bought a SIM card with a local number for 15 euro...
I'm currently staying at an apartment which belongs to a friend of Ernst who is staying in NY right now. Anyways, around 3 pm, I decide to head there, grab my laundry which I have hanging out, and run to the Heineken factory. I planned on heading out towards Leiden on Day 3. Instead, when I got there, I sat down on the couch...and woke up four hours later. "I guess I'm going to Leiden on Monday."
So, I went for an evening run around the city. No destination in particular. I ran to and around the Vondelpark, and got in maybe 13 miles or so. Running is definitely the best way to get to know a city.
Around 10, I met Ernst (my host) on the run back to the apartment and we went to a "snack shop" where I tried a Kroket (a "deep fried meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs"), a Dutch specialty.
After Dinner, Ernst headed home on his bike, and I wandered around for a while. I found myself in the Red Light district, in which there is actually a serious amount of red light...and girls in bikinis dancing behind glass panels in little booths under that red light. I guess it would seem pretty crazy had I never been to Pattaya.
I found a place to stay in Leiden through couch surfing...but I've yet to find a place in between. Looks like I might have to rough it and do a 27 miler tomorrow. I think if I cut it in half (early morning/afternoon) I'll be able to handle it. Hopefully I don't end up like Icarus.
23 May 2009
Day 1
Amsterdam and its surrounding areas are designed for bicycles...which works well for me. Everyone here rides bikes. I got on a well marked bike path with signs pointed towards Amsterdam and started going. The country here is beautiful, and it wasn't long before I found a park with dirt trails on it to run on. I was so excited, because it ran parallel to the path (so I wouldn't get lost). Well, a couple minutes later I was lost (the trail made me miss some signs...), so I got back onto the bike path and asked a woman on a bicycle how to get to the center of town. She rode next to me for a good mile and then pointed me in the right direction. I got into town in well under an hour.
Two hours after I landed, I was standing in front of Rembrandt's Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum.
Sick.
22 May 2009
Gone
But here I am. I've gotten a phone with GPS, 5 megapixel camera with flash, music, Wi-Fi, and everythingthatcouldeverbepossiblewithaphone. It is a Nokia n79. I've got to get a SIM card here pretty soon.
All the stress of school and socialization is behind me now. Hours ago I was freaking out in NYC traffic, seconds away from missing my flight...now I am sitting at a pay by minute computer terminal with a tiny backpack and one objective: get to my next destination.