Still in Netherlands, Germany to come soon :-)

<p>So there was mostly contemporary art at the museum so I had seen mostly better stuff at the culture center I went to in Sydney, but it was still pretty cool. So after it closed at 5 pm I did the walking tour, which took me around the university, another smaller church, along the canals where old almshouses and the old department store with the columns of 4 figures which needed a crane to lift them and put them in place. When it started to get dark around 6 pm I walked through the city back to marieke and anthonys. I first stopped for some frites although I didn't have it with mayo like the locals do, just ketchup. As I was walking back I noticed a bike on the ice, don't know how or why that ended up there but it seems to be a common occurrence in the Netherlands! So I got back before both hosts but Anthony arrived shortly afterwards. He said a lot of people played hooky to go skating!! They were apparently practicing for that 11 city race that elise told me about cause they were real hopeful it was going to happen this year. Then he had to show the apt around to someone cause him and marieke are planning on going on a bicycle tour through Germany to turkey, so they were looking for a subletter starting in may. The guy who came to see the place was Turkish so he liked they were going to turkey, but thought it was crazy to go by bike (sounds familiar). So that guy left soon and then ant and I cooked dinner and then marieke came home from swimming. We then ate dinner, which consisted of fries and ketchup lol just like I had bought like 1 1/2 hours earlier to try traditional dutch food! So I told them that a lot of people on the street look at me strange and I said I think its cause I'm short with curly hair and I wear a helmet. Anthony agreed about the height and the helmet lol. So we talked a bit more over dinner but I went to bed kinda early again.<br>
Thurs Feb 9: so the night before I had put the smaller blankets under the duvet and I was much warmer then!! The hosts had again left for work before I woke up so I went out first to this museum of musical clocks and music boxes and stuff. It was housed in an old church which I thought was a bit strange. So I arrived a few minutes after 10 which was when they opened and I think i was the first person in the museum. They have free guided tours every hour on the hour but the reception guy said that the guide could just take me now. So she first took me to a really old musical chimer that used to be in a Church. She then took me to the another room which had old grandfather clocks, paintings that had moving parts and that played noise and street music making boxes. She explained that the music is played on either a disc that rotates with holes in it cut to match the melody, or a cardboard foldable sheet with holes, or an organ with like ridges on the outside. And you need a weight to make it play on its own and a power source, etc a hand crank. Then these 2 older ladies joined the tour and I thought oh great now the guide will have to speak dutch but she said she would do it in English and dutch but the ladies said English was fine. I love this country!! So she took us to all of these musical clocks and street organs, it was really cool!! She played for us some really big street organs from the early 20th cent that sadly aRe no Longer used because people "have their own music" meaning ipods and stuff. It was quite a shame, I mean these street organs were playing pianos and violins all automatically! She then took us to the dance hall which had these street organs that filled the room from floor to ceiling. They sure were loud!! Then the tour ended so I looked around at everything. And like I said it was housed in an old church so there were still some old paintings with descriptions on the walls So it was a double whammy for me. The upstairs section had all old music boxes and stuff. There was this one section on puppets! And they even had a van gogh puppet sitting at an easel painting his sunflowers. But after being in there for a bit I went to the city archives in the library cause the girl at the tourist info the day prior had said it was a good place for utrecht history. Well nothing was in English, even the audio tours were in German only. But I walked around anyway, trying to get the gist of things. They had one exhibit with old photos of utrecht and old type cameras as well. But otherwise I was walking thru the building and I had no idea what the rooms used to be for, although I did come across a dark tunnel that maybe was a dungeon or something once upon a time. So I left there and then it was coming up to 4 pm so I thought id try my luck with going up to the dom tower. And I was in luck, there really was a large group this time. So the guide asked if anyone didn't speak dutch and me and the guy next to me (also from new York, I overheard him say) were the only ones who raised their hands. So she also said she would do the tour in dutch and English. So she gave the history of the church and how the hurricane collapsed the nave and stuff, then she took us over to the tower. Before we climbed the steps she asked in Dutch if English was ok and everyone said yes so that was probably a relief for her! So we went up in stages, to see the musical instrument that makes the chimes, although it was broken :-( but I saw enough at the museum earlier so I didn't mind! Then to the bells, where she gonged some with a hammer so we could hear the difference between them,  and some boy asked if he could gong too lol. Then to the top of tower! The weather was nice so we had good views. I saw a giant ice cream cone on top of a building!! Still curious what business that was. Then there was this interesting looking building so I asked the guide what it was for and she said the railway company hq and she said a lot of people aren't happy with them at the moment cause of all the delays that's been happening due to the snow! I'd love to see these people use the trains in England then!! So after spending some time up there we headed back down and left. I then went to the other part of the cathedral that's still standing and finished my walking tour around the other side of the canal area where I saw the citadel and other old buildings. Walter had told me the previous night that he was going to be in utrecht working this day but I didn't hear from him during or after work so I just figured he was tired and wanted to go home, so I had hopes of seeing him in eindhoven. So I walked back to marieke and anthonys place and marieke didn't go to her spinning class cause she had to show the apt to 2 more potential subletters. One was a colombian girl who lived in Canada who is doing her masters in utrecht and the other were 2 undergrad guys. I felt a bit bad cause here they were showing my room I was sleeping in and my stuff was all over the place!! But after both groups had came and went marieke said she preferred the girl cause she was older and she was afraid the undergrad guys might want to throw parties. That's a bit prejudice lol but they couldn't afford to be selective cause they have to give their landlord 3 months prior notice so the landlord can interview the potential new renters! So everyone was asking them if they could register with the govt or whatever and unfortunately ant and mariekes landlord won't let subletters register, so everyone who had already looked at the place was turning them down just for that reason. I have no idea about dutch policies and stuff but I don't see the big idea with registering, so the govt knows exactly where you live. The US govt has probably forgotten about me by now, I think they have plenty more people higher up on their priority list!! And it all sounds so complicated, when I subletted in Boston it was easy as pie! So I felt a bit bad for them because they really want to go on this trip but if they can't find someone they will have to move out and then try and find a new place when they get back. Sounds stressful (and somehow, familiar!) But anyway, so we then had dinner, homemade veggie burgers! So the word was out that no 11 city race this year :-( I bet everyone was bummed!! We chatted for a bit more, I mentioned how there is like no wildlife in the Netherlands other than waterfowl, like not even urban animals like squirrels. Marieke said she agreed and she said she sees people getting all interested in squirrels when they see them in parks lol. I went to bed not too long after, but said my thank yous cause I knew I wasn't going to see them in the morning!