Back to Budapest

Yesterday, I came back from my week-long vacation in Budapest. It was a great trip and even more so because I was able to show one of my good friends from Utrecht how amazing the city is. We did quite a bit of sight seeing, walking around, and going out, including with some good friends I have over in Budapest. It was an all around much needed and well-deserved break.

After one solid week gone, I came back to Utrecht with new friends and a ton of great new stories. Some of them are quite random, others would make you laugh and others perhaps shake your head. Writing about them simply would not do them justice as you really need to have been there to understand! #Yolo, right though? Some of these stories however include meeting some fellow UC’ers (who were also in my Dutch class) at the hostel during my last night in Budapest, learning how insane (in a good way!) Brazilians are and finding out that Mark Zuckerberg was also in Budapest and had visited some bars/restaurants that I had been to only nights before. It’s a crazy small world!

Below are also pictures from one particular night I decided to forgo going out and partying and instead headed to the Danube and took some pictures of the area along the river bank and Szechenyi Bridge. Simply being anywhere near the riverbanks at night (especially when its warm) lends itself to an absolutely set of views. I only hope that this was not the night that Zuckerberg decided to make his appearance, which I’m starting to think it was. Haha.

Keukenhof

Last week, my aunt, uncle and cousin went to the Keukenhof, which is Holland’s world famous tulip garden. It is located in the small town of Lisse, which is right in the middle of the tulip and bulb growing region located primarily in Noord and Zuid-Holland. As the garden is only open for about six weeks a year, it was a must see on my list! It was amazing.

Past The Edge of Insanity and Beyond

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to blog. I thought about doing so recently, wanted to write a post but then was sucked back into what seems the never ending warp of work due to the end of the semester. Never did I think that I would be so busy or stressed, but it has happened. My uncle, aunt and cousin also visited me in Utrecht last week, and while it was great to have them over, I had to carefully juggle getting enough work done with spending as much quality time as I could with them.

The last ten days or so have been nonetheless extremely hectic with essays and reports, preparing for presentations and brushing up for finals. I should have probably started earlier (don’t we always say that?), but being a procrastinator, that’s not usually how it works out for me. I’m happy to say that I am now officially finished with classes and exams though. Woohoo! I will also now rejoice in the blissful ignorance of the grades that will certainly be coming out soon as well.

Otherwise, I’m excited for the coming weeks. For starters, I am taking my next trip in the coming week. I’ll be headed for one week to go to Budapest. I really wanted to visit the city last month, but my schedule here was way too hectic to accommodate that. Either way, my upcoming trip will hopefully make up for that. (Side note: It’s also really warm in Budapest at the moment. Like in the high 70s warm. I checked. Multiple times. I only say this because it is currently raining and miserable here in Holland. Aka in the 40s and 50s. Just an extra thing to make me even happier!).

During the month of June, I plan on mostly relaxing, but also trying to get some work done related to graduate school applications and my political science thesis (just signed up for that, and even better– I have an advisor now!). I also want to try to travel a bit more through Holland, because I don’t know when I’ll be back next. There are still a few big cities that I want to see– Den Haag, Maastricht, Den Bosch, Volendam and Groningen, to name a few. As all students are allowed to stay in their residences until the end of June, doing all of this is possible, despite classes being obviously all over. That’s super convenient and quite nice, as that option isn’t something that exists at my home university.

I’m also getting my results from the PNQ section of the Foreign Service Officer process in the next few days. It’s the second stage out of about three in total, and I’m anxious! Even if it doesn’t go through, I’m happy with how far I’ve come. It’s a big accomplishment already and something that I definitely won’t give up on even if I don’t go further in the hiring process at the moment. Fingers crossed though!

As for after that, I have some special plans for the summer that don’t involve going home quite yet. But I won’t reveal them right now. They also aren’t fully set in stone, so I don’t want to jump the gun. 😉

The Insanity of Queensday

As the last two weeks of the school year approach, the insanity of the workload becomes just as evident. Already I’ve had so much to do, and it’s about to become worse. A lot worse. In each of my four classes I have a final exam, a final paper and three classes include a final paper presentation. Awesome. Right. I’m just trying to look forward to two and a half weeks from now, when it’ll be all be over.

In non-academic matters, this week was the famous Koninginnenacht/Koninginnedag! I’ve been looking forward to this since I learned about it last year, and it was every bit as awesome as it looks. These two days celebrate the Dutch royal family, in particular the Queen, which is why the name is Koninginnedag (‘Queen’s Day’, as Koningin=Queen, Dag=Day). On top of that, a royal coronation was also happening because Queen Beatrix decided to abdicate after 33 years on the Dutch throne, and pass the crown to her son, Willem-Alexander. What fortunate timing to being living in the Netherlands.

As any sensible person here for only a few months would do, this occasion necessitated a trip to Amsterdam in order to partake in the craziness! While most Dutch people I knew at UCU were content with staying in Utrecht or watching the festivities from their TVs, these clearly were not options for me. In addition to wearing the tackiest shade of neon orange available (a basic necessity), I decked myself out in some silly orange accessories, as the more pomp you wear, the better! It truly was insanity as I descended into central Amsterdam with my friend, as it seemed like everyone was there. Granted, this was not as insane as New York City during something like New Year’s Eve, but it was still pretty packed. Huge TV screens live-streamed the coronation from the Nieuwe Kerk (the New Church), and the royal family later came out and waved from one of the balconies. A moment I won’t forget.

All in all, this is one of the biggest Dutch holidays there is, and I’m so glad to have been able to take part in it, as well as witness the change in monarchs. It’ll be an experience I’ll always remember.

Maxima is the Argentinian born wife of William-Alexander and absolutely adored in this country.

Now that’s pride! In Utrecht.

Schedule of events in Utrecht. Neude is an area in the middle of the town.

Vendors selling all kinds of orange accessories in Utrecht.

In Amsterdam the next day.

The festivities continued on boats in the canals of Amsterdam.

On a random street in Amsterdam. Welcome to Holland.