With my final exam out of the way this evening and the joyful thought that I will never again have to analyse 1750-1850 Irish history, Aaron and I are now packed and ready to depart on the next leg of our adventure. Thanks mainly to Aaron because apparently I don't clean or pack correctly...
My time here at UL has been an experience, with the ups and downs that come along with living and studying so far from home. It's going to be strange to possibly never see these people again as New Zealand is just so far away from the world for many it is a destination that forever remains unrealised on their bucket list.
From here Aaron and I are off to Belfast in Northern Ireland, before setting off on our European adventure taking in Reykjavik, Paris, Edinburgh, Athens and Amsterdam to name just a few of our many stopovers. I can't wait to make memories with my best friend.
And then it will be the long journey home, with a short stopover in Australia before arriving in New Zealand on January 20th where I will have time to unwind before semester one 2016 gets underway.
Saturday 12 December 2015
Tuesday 1 December 2015
Amsterdam & Rotterdam
Note to self: Don't visit Amsterdam alone ever again.
As a female I 110% did not feel safe staying in shared hostel accommodation on my own in Amsterdam. When I was in London earlier in the year it was perfectly fine, but Amsterdam is an entirely different kettle of fish. From a Belgian guy with a questionable understanding of English who asked me whether I was Christian, married and why I was so far from home, among other things, and then woke me up at 2am demanding I call an ambulance, to a lad from Latvia who insisted on sharing his life story with me and was insulted when I refused his invitation to go for a walk with him at 11pm. Oh Amsterdam...
Despite the chaos of my accommodation I managed to enjoy my daytime adventures. On Saturday I took the train to Rotterdam. The Rotterdam train station itself is modern and pretty fancy. Outside the station is a sight you become accustomed to shortly after arriving in the Netherlands. Bicycles. Lots and lots of bicycles.
From the train station it is a short walk to the Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp). I love animals. And I love zoos. This zoo in particular was pretty massive and had so many exhibits I spent hours there. From polar bears to wolves, lions and otters, elephants and zebra, an aquarium and an amazon globe full of butterflies, Rotterdam Zoo has something for everyone. And also these cute inquisitive little guys.
I particularly enjoyed watching the elephants. One little mischief maker was intent on annoying his much larger pals.
After a day of walking around the zoo I was absolutely exhausted so was understandably unimpressed by my less than courteous roommates.
On Sunday I went and joined the queue at the Anne Frank House bright and early so I could avoid the bulk of the crowds. Compared to my experience at Auschwitz, the Anne Frank house left me feeling underwhelmed. It was interesting to see where the Frank family and their friends went into hiding after reading Anne's published diary when I was at school. However I found the lack of furnishings in the rooms meant it was difficult to truly appreciate 8 people living undetected in such a space. The inclusion of a store and cafe as part of the museum commercialised the entire experience and made it seem as though nowadays Anne's hardship has turned into a money making venture, as opposed to education and the acknowledgement of the suffering of Jews during the war. All in all I was pretty disappointed with my visit to a place I'd been wanting to see since I finished reading Anne's diary.
Following my visit to the Anne Frank house I walked to the Rijksmuseum. This is the national museum of the Netherlands located at the museum square, close to the Van Gogh museum and the I Amsterdam sign. This was a wonderful wet day activity as the museum is enormous so took a long time to walk around viewing the exhibits.
I concluded my Sunday by wandering around the shopping district and canals before heading to a burger bar for dinner.
Overall my experiences in Amsterdam were enjoyable. I much preferred exploring the city with friends while on Topdeck than going it alone. If any females are planning solo travel to Amsterdam, do your research into a safe hostel or splurge on your own suite in a hotel so you can guarantee a good nights rest.
As a female I 110% did not feel safe staying in shared hostel accommodation on my own in Amsterdam. When I was in London earlier in the year it was perfectly fine, but Amsterdam is an entirely different kettle of fish. From a Belgian guy with a questionable understanding of English who asked me whether I was Christian, married and why I was so far from home, among other things, and then woke me up at 2am demanding I call an ambulance, to a lad from Latvia who insisted on sharing his life story with me and was insulted when I refused his invitation to go for a walk with him at 11pm. Oh Amsterdam...
Despite the chaos of my accommodation I managed to enjoy my daytime adventures. On Saturday I took the train to Rotterdam. The Rotterdam train station itself is modern and pretty fancy. Outside the station is a sight you become accustomed to shortly after arriving in the Netherlands. Bicycles. Lots and lots of bicycles.
From the train station it is a short walk to the Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp). I love animals. And I love zoos. This zoo in particular was pretty massive and had so many exhibits I spent hours there. From polar bears to wolves, lions and otters, elephants and zebra, an aquarium and an amazon globe full of butterflies, Rotterdam Zoo has something for everyone. And also these cute inquisitive little guys.
I particularly enjoyed watching the elephants. One little mischief maker was intent on annoying his much larger pals.
After a day of walking around the zoo I was absolutely exhausted so was understandably unimpressed by my less than courteous roommates.
On Sunday I went and joined the queue at the Anne Frank House bright and early so I could avoid the bulk of the crowds. Compared to my experience at Auschwitz, the Anne Frank house left me feeling underwhelmed. It was interesting to see where the Frank family and their friends went into hiding after reading Anne's published diary when I was at school. However I found the lack of furnishings in the rooms meant it was difficult to truly appreciate 8 people living undetected in such a space. The inclusion of a store and cafe as part of the museum commercialised the entire experience and made it seem as though nowadays Anne's hardship has turned into a money making venture, as opposed to education and the acknowledgement of the suffering of Jews during the war. All in all I was pretty disappointed with my visit to a place I'd been wanting to see since I finished reading Anne's diary.
Following my visit to the Anne Frank house I walked to the Rijksmuseum. This is the national museum of the Netherlands located at the museum square, close to the Van Gogh museum and the I Amsterdam sign. This was a wonderful wet day activity as the museum is enormous so took a long time to walk around viewing the exhibits.
I concluded my Sunday by wandering around the shopping district and canals before heading to a burger bar for dinner.
Overall my experiences in Amsterdam were enjoyable. I much preferred exploring the city with friends while on Topdeck than going it alone. If any females are planning solo travel to Amsterdam, do your research into a safe hostel or splurge on your own suite in a hotel so you can guarantee a good nights rest.
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