Tuesday, February 24, 2009

This morning Joel and I had Dutch 2.  Lately many people have been asking me whether I feel comfortable using what I have learned.  Honestly, I am pretty good at speaking Dutch in class but everywhere else I tend to shy away from speaking the language.  Since most people speak English, it is too easy to stay in my comfort zone and speak in English.  When I go to the market or grocery store, I try to use my Dutch if I can.  However, these interactions are very limited since I mostly say hello, please, and thank you. 

This afternoon, we had a museum trip to Utrecht.  This city was probably one of the most beautiful I have seen in the Netherlands.  Our first stop was the Dom Tower which is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.  The tower was built in the 14^th Century.  It used to be connected to the Cathedral of Saint Martin or the Dom Church.  However, in 1674 a wind storm (probably a hurricane or tornado) caused the connection to be destroyed.  People are allowed to climb the tower for a fee of course.  Due to a lack of time, we did not do this.  If I were to go back on a clear day, I would definitely consider doing this. 

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Saint Martin.  We were able to go into this amazing building.  It was originally a Catholic cathedral but the Reformation changed this.  Many paintings, statues, and other objects were damaged or removed.  So we are not able to see it in its full glory.  However, I was still impressed.  After our visit to the cathedral, we walked through the city.  Steef pointed out a few things as we walked. 

Our final stop of the day was the Centraal Museum.  There were many paintings here.  Honestly, after the last museum, this one seemed a little dull.  There were not as many pieces of art and I did not recognize most of the artists.  After the museum, Kyler and Joel decided to head south to see Carnaval.  This is a celebration before lent.  People party and dress up in costumes.  The people of the northern part of the Netherlands are too sensible for these kind of festivities.  I thought about staying in Utrecht for awhile to look around but decided against it.  This was probably a good thing because something was wrong with the train track between Utrecht and Leiden.  Steef and I had to take a longer route home.  Without his help, I would have struggled finding my way home since the announcement was in Dutch.