Hand Toss

Right now, the wind is whipping viciously through the trees and streets. I wonder if we lose power here easily because of it. Maybe it's because we're so low to sea level, but I've noticed quite stormy weather here in the Netherlands.

This past week was good in terms of work. I received more assignments from the marketing agency I am freelancing with (under non-disclosure agreement so I cannot divulge fully). Although it will take some getting used to – too much down-time waiting and searching for jobs – it feels good to finally be making a little more money. Emphasis on little. More hours are needed, but this is a good start!

Gorgeous train station!

Josh went to Antwerp, Belgium with his class on Thursday for a design conference. I took the train over on Friday morning. It was a nearly stressless journey, considering my phone is still not able to text/call, wifi is spotty, traveling alone, etc. Psssh I am a world traveler,  I say to myself, I can do anything! Also, European transit is super efficient and awesome. I will be returning to the States with snooty opinions on that subject (sorry, everyone).

Josh took a break from the conference to explore the city with me a little bit. First stop was finding a waffle. Pretty easy assignment. We got ours with what we thought was going to be whipped cream, but was actually vanilla soft serve. Ain't no thing! It was so delicious. But for future reference: "ijs" means ice cream.

Town hall statue... The name Antwerp is taken from a folktale involving a hero severing the hand of a mean giant and tossing it in the river... Antwerp translates as "hand-toss."

The city of Antwerp is pretty standard old-world charming with new-world chain stores thrown in the mix. I've gotten in to the habit of looking up while walking down the streets: you'll find random old details on the buildings from god knows when... There were a lot of Catholic statues tacked on to building corners such as this:

We ate french fries and Juliper from a stand overlooking a big river/canal. A note about fries here: They usually come in paper cones and the dipping sauce of your choice (mayo is super popular) is squirted on top. Then you use little cocktail like plastic forks to eat the fries so as not to get your fingers dirtied. Ingenious, right? Or you'll get them in a plastic tray/container that has a separate compartment for the dipping sauce. I prefer this because the sauce can be a little much, squirted all over your top layer of fries.

In the afternoon/evening we went back to the conference to hear CHRISTO speak. I didn't know him by name, but I knew of his work. Heard a few other speakers as well, one of which I was very inspired by. Eike Konig is his name and he runs a creative agency called Hort in Berlin. Just a very down to earth guy with good things to say about making a living in a creative occupation.

The classmates all went out for food and drink after the conference. We stayed out way too late drinking beer at a quiet little pub (Belgians make awesome fruit-flavored beer).

The pub's patio had cozy blankets!

As always, making fun of history

I went back to Den Haag the next morning (ate another waffle at the station)... The train ride scenery was beautiful. Unfortunately my phone had died at that point, so I couldn't take any pictures. There was lots of farm land... Cows and sheep taking rests in the green grass, bright white gaggles of geese every now and then. Corn fields, turning leaves, you get the idea. Romantic as shit.

After suffering a little WHATAMIDOINGWITHMYLIFE emotional meltdown last night, I am ready to face the week. Josh's birthday is on Thursday! The big 3-0!