Two hours in Antwerp

Once we returned from our weekend adventure in South Africa, the temperature not only dropped to a chilly 10ºF but it also started snowing--finally! I'll take snow over rain any day. And even though it snows every year in Holland, for some reason it freaks everyone out, every time. Just like last year, NS (the national rail) couldn't handle it. Not even two inches of snow! Trains stopped running, the routes clogged, lines re-routed, major delays, people stranded. The other part of the equation is that people still take the trains despite the weather. So everyone should just know better, I guess.

Well, we were in denial as well. We had a Saturday day-trip planned for Antwerp since Monday and we weren't not going to go. [Elliot: "This is Holland! The Dutch know trains!"]


We got to Rotterdam Central and of course our train was delayed 30 minutes. We poked around the new HEMA store and by the time we came back out to check on the train, the delay decreased to 25 minutes--by the time we sprinted to the platform the train had just left. Total bummer. Next train was in 75 minutes.


So we waited.


The next train was actually on time (only because the one before it was cancelled) and took us all the way to Dordrecht, only 15 minutes from Rotterdam. And it went no further. We waited for the next train; then we waited on that train for another 45 minutes.


We finally made it to Antwerp after about 4.5 hours--what should have been an hour-long train ride with no transfers. It was 2:30pm and 8ºF.


Antwerp is gorgeous, though. We were first welcomed by the stunning train station. Four levels and fourteen tracks, built in 1895. Impressive stone and iron work. Just beautiful!

What a lovely and old city, too. And So much shopping you don't know what to do with yourself. In the 1500s, Antwerp was the richest city in Europe because of its port--trading spices, silver, and textiles. The city has also been famous for its diamond industry, which apparently is the largest in the world. More than half of all diamonds go through this city at some point.


It was so cold out, we could only be outside for about 23 minutes at a time. So wandered around the shopping streets, the Grote Markt and the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady), with a break before each for lunch, espresso, and a vanille millefeuille from Paul (respectively). 


By the time it was 4:15pm, we were exhausted from the bitter cold and knew it would be getting even colder once the sun dipped below the gabled houses. So we made our way back to the station. Pathetic, I know! But I'm glad we left because our train, again, was 30 minutes late...and then stopped about 20 minutes outside Antwerp never to start again. Instead, we sat on the stopped train for another hour and finally disembarked, walked up and over the tracks and into another northbound train. It only took about 3.5 hours on the way back, but at least we didn't get stranded! 

That's right: Africa!

Back in November during Thanksgiving dinner, Anél and I were crying our eyes out over parting ways in a month. To our amazement, our wonderful neighbor from our old apartment who is a KLM flight attendant, offered to see if she could hook us up with a visit to the southern hemisphere. A couple weeks later, she called and said she got the flight--Elliot and I would fly stand-by on January 27 for a non-stop, 11-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We couldn't pass it up.

Well, the day finally came. We went with Ilonka to Schiphol and crossed our fingers. We definitely got on and the crew was so kind that they even upgraded us. And we got to visit the cockpit!! I haven't done that since I was, like, 7 years old. We had such an amazing time on the flight that we weren't ready to get off the plane when we finally landed (or maybe that was the wine). Thank you, Ilonka! :)

Anél and Hertzog were at the airport when we arrived. It was surreal seeing eachother ... in Africa! Since we only had 3 nights and 4 days, we had a jam-packed schedule ahead. We spent the first two nights with Anél's lovely family in Pretoria. We visited a lion and rhino preserve, spent time with baby lions, and braai'd our brains out. And I thought Americans love their meat! On Sunday, we headed to Hertzog's family house, and where they are living as well, about an hour away. Believe it or not, we had two more braai's there, went antique shopping, took the boat out for a sunset spin, and even got some good pool time. We also saw the land they bought and plan to build a house on soon; and Hertzog took us on a tour of his family's steel factory.

I had such a great time just seeing and experiencing their life in South Africa. This whole year, I've heard from Anél about all these places and people -- and now I got to see them in person. Plus, this was Elliot's first time to the southern hemisphere. I gotta tell you, there's nothing like seeing the Southern Cross. It's just so romantic--at least that's what my mom says. And it's true. There's just something about it.

Plus, ever since returning from California the temperature has been dropping every day. It was 26ºF out when we got on the plane in Amsterdam ... and 74ºF when we got off in Jo-burg!

The Van Der Linden family, in Pretoria

getting ready for Saturday morning breakfast with the whole family

Father and daughter

 The Voortrekker Monument, built in 1949, to commemorate those who ventured from the Cape to Pretoria

 Blue crane, South Africa's national bird

Back (back) to Cali (Cali)

At the last second, Elliot and I found flights to California--using miles, so it was a good deal! We had nine days and so many people to see. I have to say, we did a pretty good job juggling...we spent 3 nights in the Bay, then drove down to San Luis Obispo and spent one night with my parents. Elliot went back to the Bay the next day, while my parents and I drove to Long Beach to see my gramma and other family for two days. The last day I was in Los Angeles and flew out of LAX; Elliot flew from SFO the same day and we met on our lay-over in Chicago for the last leg to Amsterdam. Phew! I managed to get a few pics, but not so many...

Happy New Year (in February)!

Better late than never, right? That's my motto.

Well, in Holland, we celebrated Old Year's Night just as the Dutch do--enjoying loads of fireworks, Grolsch, and a glass of prosecco on the streets at midnight. Our Italian friends joined us on the Erasmus Bridge for the spectacular firework show that seriously lasted at least 17 minutes and 14 seconds--according to the time lapse from my first photo to the last. Who said we were in an economic crisis?! Apparently pyrotechnics is the field to be in, and stick with.

Fireworks are legal in Holland at this time of the year, and this year the strong ones are coming from Eastern Europe, not China anymore. A couple days before New Year's you start hearing them fire off--BANG!!--and by 2pm on December 31st it already sounds like a war zone outside your window. It's actually scary! And definitely not safe. Groups of young guys huddle together on street corners, light them, and then throw the fireworks in the middle of the street, just to scare the cars and cyclists. Not cool! Mostly they're the fireworks that just make a loud noise, but still.

After the truly awesome show on the bridge, we headed back to our new apartment (oh, we moved by the way!) near the Witte de Withe straat. Our neighbor set off this giant hose-like firework just across the street--totally nutso!

Happy New Year from Rotterdam!