Look-forward-to's

It is 6th week (out of 8) of my second term. I know I should be focusing on my Shakespeare paper right now, but all I can think of is spring break. This term has been taxing, slow, and tedious. I hate winter. Unless I'm snowboarding. But I'm not.
Spring break is shaping up to look really cool. I am getting together with my friend Dave Macadam. He is a friend from Gordon who is studying in Madrid this semester. Last summer I told him that since we were both going to be in europe for spring break that we should travel together. Frankly, I didnt think it would happen, for it sounded like one of those plans that would be great but never end up working out. In part that is true, because some other people from Gordon talked about flying out and joining us, and they arent going to now, but Dave and I are still planning on it. Not only are we planning on it, we are acting on it. We bought our plane tickets today.

I get a whole month off for spring break. That is the way it works here, a month off, but then classes extend into mid june. Frankly, that is fine with me. I am going to need a break after this term. But anyhow, here is what I have planned:

-1st week: On the 15th of march I travel to Durham (northern england) to visit my friend kenny who is studying there. I return on the 19th.
-2nd week: I am back in Oxford and I am working the whole week. Earning the cash. Saving up the dough.
-3rd week: still working most of the week. I'll probably go back to spain on the 30th.
-4th week: Spain. See the friends. See the fam... though ironically my mom wont be there that week. sad.
-5th week: This is where it gets good. Dave and I have a plane ticket to Amsterdam on the 6th. Or return flight is for the 14th. What will we do with a week in Holland? Well Amsterdam alone is worth a couple of days from what I hear. It is supposed to be a vibrant city with great sights, museums and nigthlife (and no, I dont mean the red light district....pervs). The cool thing is that we are getting Benelux train passes. They are much like the Eurail passes only they just cover Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. They give us 6 days of unlimited train travel to be used up in a month. I imagine that after a couple days in Amsterdam we will head down to Belgium, which seems to have even more sights to see than Holland does. Brussels, Brughes, and the Ardenees all seem worth my time, a day or two in each place. I cant wait to eat those tasty belgian french fries with mayo and the steamed mussels. Oh tasty goodness. And let us not forget the vast amount of micro-breweries there are in Belgium. If you want fine beer, this is the place to taste it. I hope to take a tour of a trappist brewery, they are run by monks. I'm not sure what Luxembourg has to offer, but I'm sure that it is worth a day there as well. A
-After that I return to spain for a couple days before heading back to Oxford by the 18th.

I know it is the typical student abroad thing to do, but I am excited. If anyone has ever been to any of these places and has tips, please drop me a line.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi! great selection of places. Brugges and Brussels are great cities to visit, quite touristy but hopefully wont be crowded at this time of year. As you haven't got a plan for Luxembourg yet I suggest you visit the Castle of Vianden (( http://www.castle-vianden.lu )), great sights ... it's kind of in the middle of the country, but it's a national attraction, so I'm sure there must be some sort of conection between Luxembourg city -small place full of banks and expensive cars- and the castle.
A reading suggestion to get into the 'Benelux mood': Girl with A Pearl Earring or you could watch the movie (starring Scarlett Johansson).
21/2/06 16:12
Anonymous said…
We were in Luxembourg for a day but mostly just to say we'd been. We walked around and marveled at the prices. But other then that, I'm not sure what to tell you. Oh, if you are interested the US has a WWII cementary there that is impressive.
24/2/06 19:12
Anonymous said…
I lived in Amsterdam for 3 months and loved every bit of it. The walk from central station up to the main square (for the life of me I can't remember the name of all these places) is excellent. It's actually quite fun to take the boat trip too. There is a museum district, Rije is huge (it's not spelled that way) but very classical art, well, kind of like an inferior Prado. I was very impressed with Van Gogh's museum, although his most famous paintings were missing. Definitely try some of the churro-like pastries they have in little stands scattered around the city, well worth it. Also there is a part Vondel I think it's called, that ir like e Retiro type thing, maybe snowed in in the winter. What else? Anne Frank house might be cool, but you have to be in the right mood. I actually enjoyed the Corrie Ted Boom house tour in a city 40 minutes away more. My favorite passtime, however, was to wander along the streets and get lost somewhere in the center. I love the architecture and could gaze across canals for hours. Check out the market place, next to the Opera and the big gay disco's (don't go to them at night unless you're feeling chuecaish), tons of stuff, also a lot of good belgian fries. The best place to eat is a Falafell place in the town center, or some of the sport bars a bit up further, also a great jazz bar there. Just ask anyone in the street and they are very helpful. Ah! The memories come back...
25/2/06 13:16
Anonymous said…
yep, kenny's right. amsterdam is the place to go. the rijksmuseum is nice... forget about going to the heineken brewery: it's expensive. the vondelpark and loo plein are nice to go to. have dutch french fries (not belgian!) drowned in mayonaise, or sate-sauce..
27/2/06 09:51
Anonymous said…
there's this one cafe (close to loo plein) where everyday (winter or summer) this 60 year old gets on a pole in his thong to dance. (all of this takes place outside, where the tables are).. every afternoon (4ish). people usually follow after him.. when i was trying to enjoy my coffee there a year ago, he did his thing, then some yuppie guys tried to do the same. it was pretty amusing.
ps. you should visit volendam. it's close to a'dam, and is a nice little fisherman's village with traditional clothing, etc. you can have raw herring there, too.
27/2/06 09:56
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