Walking in the Rain (in Utrecht)

After breakfast this morning, we left our dear friends in Stockholm and flew back to Amsterdam. We all agreed that Stockholm was very beautiful and peaceful. I'll have to return again soon!

Once we landed at Schiphol, we took a bus to a train station next to the soccer stadium where the Dutch national team plays. 

The train ride only took about 20 minutes or so, but it was cool that there was wifi available on the train!

Once in Utrecht, we took another bus to May's place. 

Her place is on the honors campus of the University College Utrecht and is housed in a former army base, which you can see in its design. 

By the time we dropped off our bags, it was already almost 2:30, so we were pretty hungry. We decided to walk back into town to grab food, but of course I found good photos to take along the way. 

I was so hungry I did not take a picture of my dürüm döner, but I took a bunch more photos as May showed us her home city for the past year. 

We headed for the Domkerk Utrecht, which is the main church/cathedral in Utecht. The area where it is looks very old town-y and quaint. I can see why May likes it so much. 

The Domkerk itself is actually split in two with the tower separated from the rest of the church. We'll learn more about why that is when we actually get to go in tomorrow. But I got plenty of cool pictures from the outside. 

Although we were not able to go into the Domkerk today, we were able to visit its cloisters. 

Next to the Domkerk was the Academiegebouw, which is notable because it's where the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. The treaty united several provinces together into what is the Netherlands today. 

In the square outside the Domkerk, there was a wooden box-like installation. We looked closer and discovered it was an exhibit commemorating the 70th anniversary of Utrecht's liberation from Nazi occupation. 

I thought that, albeit simple, the exhibit did a good job of sharing the history while also posing questions to make the viewer think critically about what they were looking at. For example, this photo shows a man celebrating liberation in his own way -- by cutting down a German sign while others were cheering throughout the city. 

Anyway, from there, we continued walking through the city and came across the Oudegracht, which means the "old canal." The streets and surrounding area are really charming. 

The Oudegracht is quite picturesque. 

Even though we were still stuffed from our döners, we stopped by a little cafe along the Oudegracht for appelbollen (basically, apple balls) and tea. Delicious. 

Utrecht will be the starting point of this year's Tour de France, so there are various signs and advertisements everywhere. 

We ran into an Irish busker who goes by Just Tom. He was pretty good. 

May continued taking us on a fine tour of Utecht, so here's the photo evidence. 

Here's May in her natural habitat. Haha. 

We were starting to get tired and wanted to buy groceries for tomorrow's breakfast, so I threw a wrench into May's plans by suggesting not going out for dinner (since I was still stuffed to the brim). So we bought groceries at the supermarket and headed home. I cooked up some beef and broccoli over rice, because May was feeling deprived of home cooked Chinese food. Jk (maybe). Took a while since they only have a hot plate. 

Turned out alright, though. 

Tomorrow is Mom and my last full day here, so we will be visiting The Hague and seeing a bit more of Utrecht. Overall, it's been a great trip so far! 

Swedish Meatballs and Sunken Ships

This morning, we woke up early (well, early for a Saturday), had breakfast, and took the train to Stockholm. The forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon, so we tried to see as much as we could during the few non-rainy hours of the morning. 

Our first stop was a very nice market with fresh food -- meats, produce, and gourmet food. It looked so good and very expensive. 

As we walked around, the area was really empty, probably due to the Stockholm Marathon scheduled to start at noon. We walked through the Sturegallerian, where my aunt used to work. Super fancy mall!

Outside the mall, we found "the mushroom" or the famous meeting spot for people in the city. Kind of like the World Clock in Berlin. 

The streets in this neighborhood were really quite empty, though. Almost eerie. Perhaps we were the only ones crazy/smart enough to want to walk around the area that early.  

The weather started turning a bit more blustery, though, as we made our way toward Gamla stan or old town. 

As we walked toward Gamla stan, we could see lots of official buildings like the royal palace, the government building, and the town/city hall where the Nobel Prizes are awarded every November. 

Gamla stan is a really neat, albeit slightly touristy, area. I very much enjoyed the cobblestone paths and colorful buildings, though. 

In the square near the Nobel Museum, we stopped for a little coffee and tea. The square was a fun, bustling center of activity. 

When we finished our drinks, we started walking but right as it began raining a bit harder. So we ducked into a German church and enjoyed some lovely organ music. It was actually quite relaxing, and the stained glass windows were exuberantly vibrant. 

After the welcome repose, we headed toward the ferry that would take us to another of the main islands that comprise Stockholm. As we walked, we saw some of the marathon runners through a small side street. 

The ferry took us to the island where there is an amusement park and several nice museums. 

We were getting hungry, and I'd asked yesterday about Swedish meatballs. So our friends took us to a nice lunch place where you go in, pick up or order your food, and sit down at some big tables with other folks. It was awesome. 

Let me tell you: Those meatballs were so good. Better than at IKEA or Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster Harlem restaurant (even if he did use his Swedish grandmother's recipe). Just look at this plate in all its (slightly edited) glory. 

After stuffing our faces, we headed outside to walk down the street to the Vasa Museum, which houses an old 17th century shipwreck. But not before we literally ran into marathon runners. 

The Vasa Museum was fantastic, though. The ship was rare for its day; it had two gun decks built into it. Most ships back then only had one. It's (in)famous, though, because it sank only a few hundred meters into its maiden voyage. Let that sink in for a moment (yes, corny pun intended). The shipwreck was recovered 300 years after it sank and has been well preserved in this very well-designed museum. 

The museum basically shows you a few things: The ship's likely flawed design, the theories about why it actually sank, and who's to blame. It also showcased a few special features like its originally-intended colors and other pieces on board. 

It was an impressive exhibit, and we all enjoyed it. I finished in about thirty minutes, continuing my string of quick strolls through museums. 

We decided to head home after that, because it was around 5 pm already and the rain had not let up. Still, Stockholm is really a beautiful city. I can see why my Aunt Molly likes it so much. :)

We enjoyed a delicious dinner of cheese fondue and then played some games after dinner, well into the evening. Now that my travels are limited by my work vacation (as opposed to the less constricting schedule of studying abroad), I am appreciating my time abroad even more than I did before. 

Tomorrow morning, it's back to the Netherlands, where May will finally get to show us her home-for-the-past-year, Utecht. Until then, stay sunny, Sweden. It was fun to visit you, reunite with great friends, and enjoy your unbelievably tasty meatballs.