is there such thing as too much adventure?

Even when it leaves you no time to post a blog to share said adventures? Even when you get a little language confused, think you might understand Italian because you know Spanish, and start to mix up grazie, danke, bedankt, and thank you? I'm not sure there's such a thing as too much adventure.

So I guess this would be a great point to address the title of this blog. Where's Wendy? Well, in the past two weeks, I've been to Milan, Berlin, back to good ol' Amsterdam, and even to a traditional Dutch village called Zaanse Scans. Let me tell you about them!

(Milan, Italy) some great coffee, some delectable gelato, some amazing pizza, and a few too many pigeons.
Bonjourno! Hello Italy! I was immediately disappointed when we had no customs and my passport wasn't stamped, but that was the single disappointment Italy had in store for me.

We checked into the hotel and went out to hit the town. Although it was 7:30pm, it wasn't yet dinner time for Italians. So we tried to do as the Italians do and had aperitivo. This entails buying one (more expensive) drink and having unlimited access to a free appetizer buffet that went along with it. As starving travelled college kids, we turned this into a dinner of sorts. Then we capped off our meal with some delicious Italian gelato at a neat place, explored a bit of the city, and called it a night.

After having the first good cup of coffee I've had in Europe and a flaky croissant  I was ready for another great day in Italy. Coming up from the metro at our first stop, we were flocked by Senegalese men trying to give us "free" bracelets, stuff our hands with bird seed so the pigeons would come to us/attack us, then ask for "donations". Like I was going to give them money; I still cringe seeing the birds come even near me.

But our first stop! The Duomo. It's a grand cathedral that took 600 years to build and remains the 5th largest in the world. Honestly, the architecture, the stained glass, the detail - impeccable. What creativity! What intricate skill!

And we couldn't go to the fashion capital of the world without seeing some high end stores like Prada, Louie Vuitton, and Ferrari. I even got a scarf hoping the rest of the fashion sense of Milan would come with it.

We explored a castle, found meat and cheese and rolls from a local grocery store for lunch (in packs of five in our luck!), looked around an aquarium, took pictures by one of the many arches, and walked through the modern art museum.
After such a busy day, we were all quite hungry. We stumbled upon this great little pizza place called "The Kitchen" that had a yummy house wine and incredible pizza and calzones, all on a tight budget. Gelato for the second night in a row did not disappoint - especially the coffee flavor. Then it was time for bed; the next morning promised an early trek to Berlin.

(Berlin, Germany) a whole new city, a whole new perspective. 
Berlin seemed to be a city of a whole new breed. There was definitely less graffiti, the architecture completely different, the streets were much bigger (and more Chicago-esque) and the focus of our travels turned from high fashion and art to a little more history.

We hit all of the big things in Berlin - the Brandenburg Gate, the Tiergarten, the Victory Column, the modern church with a very modern looking Jesus next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Church that was bombed during WWII (though the bombed church itself was closed for restoration), the East Side Gallery, the Holocaust museum, a couple famous squares, Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror Museum dedicated to educating about the German SS around WWII, and the Bundestag Parliament building with it's glass dome top.

On top of that, we found a small microbrewery off the beaten path where we had superb German beer. It was a quality pale ale that had a complex flavor, complete with a fruity undertone. Easily the best beer I've ever had. We had the good fortune of finding another metro deal - a group day pass for up to 5 people, which per person came to what a single fare would have cost. We tried some German streusel, and some sausage and mashed potatoes. We stocked up on German chocolate. We used our tetris skills to stuff a locker full.

But let's go back to the history for just a moment. Let me start by saying that I've always found WWII history interesting, especially with regards to the Holocaust. Yet all that I had read, all that I had thought about could not have prepared me for what it was like to be in Berlin, to walk through the Holocaust Memorial and Museum, to read about the SS officers. Were they so different than me? In the SS museum, there was a picture of the officers and some girls on a kind of retreat from the exterminations. The girls were posing how I had just posed in pictures. In the Holocaust museum, it hit me more clearly how every person who died or suffered in a concentration camp had a story. And it's so easy to look and feel utter pity for the Jews and utter hatred for the German officers, but am I so different from them?

"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say." - Primo Levi

How easy it is to forget. Forget what happened. Forget that it really happened. Forget that I'm not the only with a story. Forget that I'm no better than they. And I just read in the news the other day that they're tearing down the remaining part of the Berlin wall that forms the East Side Gallery to turn them into luxury hotels and apartments. Sobering.


I have gained a new perspective,
a new appreciation.

All in all, it was a great trip. (Even after a five hour layover in the middle of the night outside in the freezing cold. Lesson learned: even some major train stations close at night.) After all we did, not only did I get to bond with the fantastic people in our small group of 5, but I had incredible experiences in both cities.

[Whew! Two cities down, two more to tell of. I'll be more brief now, I promise. But you're allowed to take a brief intermission at this point. Only if it's brief. ;)]

(Amsterdam, the Netherlands) Home? Had it finally become home?
We came back home, yes home, to Amsterdam. It's now been just over a month, and coming back from the trip made me realize just how much it really has become just that.

Notable things done recently in Amsterdam: visited the NEMO Science Museum, took a tour at a local microbrewery and tasted many of their beers, took a little bargain shopping trip with a friend downtown, and becoming a Bridge fanatic (the card game, not the structure, though those are quite fascinating as well).

(Zaanse Scans, the Netherlands) typically Dutch: windmills, klompen, and some Delft blue souvenirs. 

Last Saturday we took a train outside the city to a somewhat touristy city, which is known for it's plethora of windmills all in close proximity to one another and it's "typical Dutch" feel.


I learned the history of Dutch wooden shoes called klompen. I sampled some cheese, pet some goats. We even got to look at how a certain Dutch company (Verkade) makes chocolate. It was adorable.


(Clara Maria Farm and Clog Factory, Amstelveen, the Netherlands) Wisconsin girl meet Dutch cheese? Yes, please!

Cheese. SO much yummy cheese. The specialty is Gouda (pronounced "how-duh" with a little throat in the initial h): italian herb gouda, garlic and chive gouda, and stinging nettle gouda, just to name a few. Not only did we get to sample all of these cheeses, but they also gave us a detailed explanation of how they made it. And we got to watch klompen actually being made. And they had cows.

We then went to Amsterdamse Bos, a famous forest/park in Amsterdam. What a nice bike ride! And we stopped for pannekouken. YUM.

So that's where I've been lately. (And if this long post has not yet bored you with all of my travels, there are/will be many-a-picture on facebook to look at!) Thanks for indulging me and listening to all these tales! 

[By the way...] Upcoming in the life of Wendy: the visit from the family! Stay tuned. :)