Visitors, Take Four

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting a couple (literally -- they are married) of friends from the States. [Sidenote: Friends M and V actually went to the same high school as Mr. Traveler and I, which is funny, because Mr. Traveler and I didn't start dating until I'd been out of high school for 9 years (he graduated a year after me).] It was really great having another couple to hang out with since most of my and Mr. Traveler's social interactions here are separate. He plays baseball, and I get together for coffee or book discussions with the women's group.

Since M and V just welcomed their second child last fall, I knew that V was a little apprehensive about leaving her babies for a week, but I think they stayed busy enough to enjoy the break from the little ones. Plus, with email and Facebook, an update on how everyone at home is doing is just a click away!

On Saturday morning, Mr. Traveler headed off to the airport with J (our visitor from the previous week who was catching a flight out) to pick up M and V. I stayed home, washed sheets and towels, and waited for our friends' arrival.

Once they arrived, we distributed orange shirts for everyone to wear for Queen's Day (in honor of the House of Oranje), and we headed out to grab some food and check out the day's festivities. Our first stop was La Place  in the V&D. I love taking company to this restaurant for a few reasons. First, it's cafeteria style, which means there are a lot of different options, and everyone can move through at their own speed. Second, located on the top floor of the department store, it offers a great view over the city of Utrecht.

M, V, and the City of Utrecht

After lunch, we were ready to begin the day's festivities. Mr. Traveler said his coworker had said something about "garage sales" taking place on Queen's Day, but the logic behind celebrating a national holiday by selling junk escaped me, and I decided there had probably been a miscommunication. Soon, however, I was proven wrong as we walked through the Vrijmarkt (free market), where people were selling all sorts of things, ranging from old clothes to household goods to phone cards to beer, right on the street. Later, I read that historically on Queen's Day, no fees or permits are required to sell goods on the streets, which has, over time, resulted in what equates to a nation-wide garage sale. We quickly browsed the junk that people were selling, but settled on having a few beers instead. After all, to me at least, enjoying a beer feels a lot more like a holiday than picking up a pair of shoes no longer worth the few cents for which they are being sold.

Vrijmarkt

The beers, combined with the sun, and the fact that our friends had slept very little on their international flight, soon meant that everyone was ready for a little r&r. We returned to the house, thinking we'd take a nap, read, or play computer games for a while, and then head out in the evening to catch the last of the festivities.

When we headed back out, though, we weren't greeted by fellow partiers (except for the few that were being carried by friends in a drunken stupor), but instead by the street cleaners and a bunch of cups, bottles, and other trash on the streets. We realized we'd missed the majority of the party, but instead of being disappointed, we took it as the perfect opportunity to introduce our friends to our neighborhood bar. Just down the street from us, the bar has an amazing fire pit, a friendly bartender, and a laid back atmosphere. We ordered a round, and with our drinks the bartender brought us some puzzle games to try and figure out. It kept us entertained for a while, as we chatted and caught up with each other.

On Sunday, Mr. Traveler had a baseball game, and M and V decided they'd like to go and watch. I warned them ahead of time about the negatives -- no scoreboard and a lack of seating, but these challenges proved no match for the bright sun which lulled V right to sleep laying on the grass! It's hard to be concerned about the lack of scoreboard when your eyes won't stay open.

Asleep at the Game

Monday and Tuesday, I actually got a a little bit of alone time as M and V went to Amsterdam and then The Hague. Even though they offered to let me tag along, I felt like they'd probably have more fun on their own since they'd have one less person's opinion to consider when deciding what stops to make. I felt kind of bad that I didn't do a better job of sending them off with a definite plan (including bus/tram stops and the like), but they seemed to do okay figuring everything out. M even commented that it added positively to their experience to have to figure things out on their own. In Amsterdam, they stopped at the Heineken Experience, the Van Gogh, and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and in The Hague, they visited the Escher Museum, Madurodam, and the beach.

Even though I'd let M and V head off on their own Monday and Tuesday, by the time Wednesday rolled around, I felt a little stir crazy and also didn't want our guests to feel like I didn't want to hang out with them. (I really did just want to give them a little time alone together.) They mentioned they'd like to climb the Dom Tower, and since I hadn't done so yet, I was ready for the climb (or at least I thought I was). It turns out that climbing 465 steep stairs is actually pretty challenging. Going back down also presented it's own challenges, as I had to make sure to step solidly on each stair to avoid tumbling in a spiral, knocking the rest of the tour group over like dominoes in the process. When I got back down, my leg muscles were trembling so much I could barely stand in one place. Even with the taxing climb, however, I felt that the tour was definitely worth doing. We learned how the large bells in the tower must still be rung by hand and how the smaller ones can be played by hand (by a very talented carillon player) or with a device much like the ones in music boxes. We also saw some amazing views of the city, and it was fun identifying various familiar buildings and locations around Utrecht.

One of Many Views from the Tower

Later that afternoon, M and V went on to the Spoorweg Museum, but I stayed home as I'd already made a few visits to the museum. (I'd actually be making another one the following week.)

Thursday, our friends decided it was about time that they experience the joys of Dutch bicycle riding, and they rented two bikes from Fietspunt, a local bicycle shop from whom we've received nothing but friendly service. Since I knew the way, I rode out with them to our favorite pancake house (seems like we are starting to have a theme... doesn't it?). Then, to take full advantage of the rentals, we rode all the way to Kasteel de Haar, on the other side of Utrecht. In the late 1890s, Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevent and his wife decided to rebuild on the grounds of a medieval castle. The castle is unique among its Dutch counterparts, because it very much has a classic castle appearance, instead of looking just like a mid-size mansion.

Towers at Kasteel de Haar

We arrived home from the castle around the same time that Mr. Traveler got home from work, and we started to make plans for dinner. We'd read about a restaurant located on the Oudegracht in part of an old castle, and it sounded intriguing (plus it went with the theme of the day). Mr. Traveler called to make reservations at Oudaen and was thrown off when they asked whether we'd like to sit in the bar or the dining room since there were different menus for each. Since Mr. Traveler didn't want to eat bar food, he made the obvious choice of the dining room. However, when we got there, we realized that we'd probably made the wrong decision, as we walked through the bustling bar area and climbed up to a fancy dining room with few guests. The menu was of the gourmet variety with prices to match. Later we learned that the bar actually served normal dinner food -- steaks, chicken, etc, and not the bar food that we'd expected. Lesson learned.

Friday, M and V went off to visit the Speelklok Museum. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of going to the museum (although I ended up enjoying it when I did visit the following week), so once again I let them go on their own. While they were out, they also made a visit to the Utrecht University Botanical Gardens. As they arrived back in town, they called me so I could meet up with them for a trip to the beer shop, where we purchased some of the best beer in the world and a few other varieties of beer to try.

On Saturday morning, after a fun week of visiting and sightseeing, M and V headed off before we even got up to cram in some more sights before spending the night in Amsterdam. On Sunday morning, when I went to pick up my parents, it was funny to think that M and V were probably just leaving Amsterdam as our next set of company arrived.

I truly enjoyed the week that we got to spend with M and V. Some of the best moments were just those where we chatted over a few drinks at the bar or at our house. Having friends visit makes me remember how much I miss some of our friends at home and how much I'm looking forward to reuniting with all our friends when we return to the States in August.