Where the wild things are.

So I’ve been on a blogging hiatus again, haven’t I? My obvious lack of posts isn’t because I have nothing to blog about, but rather due to my sheer talent to procrastinate and just lie around in bed all day. Unproductivity becomes me. Since I don’t want to leave the rest of my Europe tour unblogged, this is the part where I continue my fact-spouting and random musings pertaining to the places I’ve been able to visit.

The Actual Post:

By now you’ve probably watched or read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. If you haven’t, I’d bet that you’re already aware of what TFIOS is all about due to the incessant ranting of your friends or cyber friends about how badly they felt after watching or reading the said movie/book. One of the major plots of the story is how Hazel Grace got the chance to meet her favorite author through the people who grant wishes of children who are, to put it crudely, on their deathbeds. The fictional author – Peter van Houten – resides in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and is perhaps the setting for 30-40% of the story. I’ve found the need to insert The Fault in Our Stars in my blog post because it is what I associate most with Amsterdam, and not the fact that weed is legal or that it houses the infamous Red Light District. (Always the nerd, Lesley Anne.)

Typical tourist photo

Our first agenda in Amsterdam was to visit Coster Diamonds and the Diamant Museum, which as you could probably guess from its name, is a diamond museum. Coster Diamonds remains to be one of the few diamond polishing factories in the world that is still operational. The Crown Jewels of United Kingdom is courtesy of this company, and a replica of the famous crown was on display inside the museum.

Within a secured room, they showcased some of their creations, along with diamonds that were yet to be set. The presenter gave us tips on what to look for when purchasing diamonds based on the 4 C's - clarity, color, cut, and carat weight. He also advised the single ladies not to accept an engagement ring if it didn't reach the standards that he set for us. But he was kidding, of course. Or perhaps not.

Please excuse the reflections, I shot these through the glass window of the boat during the city tour cruise.

The trend: narrow houses.

The futuristic-looking structure is a theater, if I remember correctly. 

In order to see as much of Amsterdam as we could in a day, we went aboard a city tour cruise. Sadly, that meant we were only able to enjoy the facade of the city. The cruise did however provide us with facts about the city that we probably wouldn't know had we walked around by ourselves. Notice how most of the houses are narrow, albeit tall? The reason for this is because in olden times, the wider the house, the bigger the tax that you had to pay.

Yes to free beer!

As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, travelling on pre-planned tours don’t give you much time to engage into the heart of the city; to actually delve into the lifestyle of the country; to explore and relish in the ambience of particular places that you want to go to.  There is always a time limit, and the time they give you is never enough. That time crunch bothered me most during our stay in Amsterdam – I wasn’t able to enter the Van Gogh Museum or the Anne Frank House, which was my reason for wanting to set foot in Amsterdam in the first place. There is an abundance of museums in Amsterdam, and although it broke my heart a little at not being able to see most of them, the tour did include entering the Heineken Museum. (At the back of my mind, of course, I begrudgingly asked why we couldn’t visit the Van Gogh Museum instead… Before you judge me – understand that I don’t even like alcoholic drinks. Oops.) Given my non-attachment to beer, I surprisingly had fun, courtesy of the Brew You Ride, where the people were supposedly the beer. Yes, I was "brewed" and "bottled" and "sent out to a grocery store".

Once you exit the room where they give you a glass of Heineken beer to enjoy, there's a party lounge that looked extra cool. I would've preferred to stay and party in that lounge with hot European boys, but my mom was being extra motherly in Amsterdam. Perhaps she thought being in Amsterdam would suddenly make me wild... which it would probably have, had I been given the chance. (There goes my goody two shoes reputation - if I even had it in the first place.)

I think I need a shelf of cheese in my room too.

The "happy" farmer

After being exposed to the urban side of Netherlands, we also found ourselves exploring the countryside - the more tame part of Holland. Since nothing says Holland more than windmills, clogs, and cheese, my tourist-self needed to see the aforementioned specialties. Our tour took us to a small cheese and clog factory, wherein the resident farmer and his family made the cheese and clogs from scratch.

Being that cheese is something I claim that I cannot live without, this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Aside from being able to see how cheese is made, they also gave out free samples of their cheese! (I may have gone a tad bit overboard in buying their unbelievably good smoked cheese.)

Mom and her house crush.

Could I please, please, live here too?

Before moving on to the next country, we stopped by the quaint town of Volendam. Everything about Volendam was lovely - the weather, the beachfront, the cute houses, the long queue of souvenir shops and restaurants, the politeness of the people. I was quite taken with Volendam, and if I could just up and go right now, I would head straight to that picturesque town.

Twenty more points to Volendam for not being too expensive! In fact, everything they sold in Volendam is considerably cheap in a continent where a "non-expensive" bottle of water has a value of roughly 60 Philippine pesos. My cheapskate self approves.

Ignore me and my super happy/kilig expression. Ugh.

By the way, I met this cutie handling the cash register at one of the souvenir shops in Volendam. Say hello to my future baby daddy!!! I'll come back for you, guy-I-can't-spell-or-pronounce-your-name! Ha. Hahaha. Ha. Nope.

Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters were right to choose Netherlands as their dying wish. I would too. (And not just because of the cute cash register guy.)

Fairytale Settings

One of the constant things in my life is waking up to my mom playing the piano. When I was much younger, I would sit beside her and look at her deft fingers gliding across the black and white keys. I always admired how graceful her fingers looked while she was playing and how she managed to make the music emanating from the piano sound so beautifully. Among the pieces she played that I favored the most were compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Christian Bach, and Johann Pachelbel. My early exposure to classical (piano) music led me to become an avid fan, sometimes preferring this genre over my much loved punk rock. But Beethoven, Bach, and Pachelbel had more in common than just being world-renowned composers - all three were also of German descent. Yep, next up would be a series of pictures and random chatter about my visit to Deutschland - the land that gave me, rather the world, perhaps the best of classical music.

(Misplaced) rain clouds, you ruined the picture!!!

Lake Titisee

The flowers are too lovely in this part of the world.

The flowers are more photogenic than I am. Ugh.

Our first stop in Germany was the municipality of Titisee-Neustadt. Titisee-Neustadt is actually made up of six communities, namely Neusdadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau. We, however, were only able to visit the community Neusdadt. Being that Neustadt was only a lunch and souvenir stop, we didn't have much time to thoroughly explore the place. Nonetheless, we were still able to enjoy the picturesque view of Lake Titisee.

Also, I think it would be worthwhile to mention that among the several places I was able to visit in Europe, Titisee-Neustadt sold the least expensive items. It was here that my mom and I stocked up on numerous Milka chocolate bars, which are manufactured in Germany itself.

My definition of a fairytale setting

Ruins of the Heidelberg Castle

That family in the background though. He he he.

Buildings of the inner court of the Heidelberg Castle

The view of Heidelberg from the ruins

After Titisee-Neustadt, we visited the setting for the inspiration of one of Jose Rizal's most famous poems - "To the Flowers of Heidelberg". Our first stop in Heidelberg was the ruins of the Heidelberg Castle, considered to be one of the prime tourist spots in the city. I could almost imagine being in a fairytale as I walked along the ruins, which in my opinion were still quite breathtaking, despite the fact that they are deemed as "ruins". I am still in awe at the fact that the facade remains intact, even though the castle was initially erected somewhere around the 1200s. And can you imagine - genuine royal bloods have dwelled within the walls of the Heidelberg Castle!!! Please do allow me to get lost in reverie as I imagine the royal balls and fancy dinners and Beauty and the Beast moments that could have taken place in that castle.

Aldstadt or Old Town

Pretty facades in pretty towns

Entrance to the Carl Theodor Bridge or the Old Bridge

Our tour's next stop took us right into the heart of Heidelberg - their version of the Old Town or Altstadt. It is in the Old Town that the famous (and aptly named) Old Bridge is located, which offers an enchanting view of the rest of the town of Heidelberg. Situated at the entrance of the Old Bridge (Alte Brucke) or the Carl Theodor Bridge are several statues, including a monkey statue which locals say will give you wisdom, fertility, or love should you rub its golden plate. Since it couldn't hurt to try, I have to admit that I rubbed on the golden plate pretty intensely... I need all the wisdom I can get for the coming academic year.

For our second day in Deustchland, we went on a Saint Goar - Boppard river cruise. The river cruise allowed us to see the scenic views that the countryside had to offer. Plot twist: Although the pictures depict a sunny-ish day, I was freezing while we were on that river cruise, and this is despite the fact that I had three layers of clothes on.

The Cologne Cathedral

Perfection in details.

In my defense, I wasn't posing - the wind was just blowing my hair all over the place.

Collage of the stained glass windows of the cathedral

Gothic exteriors

After the river cruise, we travelled to Cologne, Germany to be enchanted by the famous Cologne Cathedral. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever encountered, second on my mental list of favorite churches only to the St. Peter's Basilica in Italy. The "most visited landmark in Germany" has its title cut out for it - the stunning, intricate details of each nook and cranny of this cathedral are a must-see. The stained glass windows were works of art; the gothic facade is a masterpiece. Yet another fantasy/fairytale/Disney setting, it seems.

Germany, as far as I have seen, is a museum, housing some of the most beautiful relics in the world - relics, of course, in the form of architectural wonders and spectacular views courtesy of Mother Nature herself. Deutschland will perhaps always be my fairytale setting, what with the classical music, and castles, and gothic churches, and lovely towns, and tons of cute local boys that I could definitely picture as my Prince Charming. Paraphrasing Taylor Swift, it was definitely enchanting to meet see you, Germany.