Utrecht-Amsterdam = FUN!

On Timeline: 24-25 Aug 2007

Was late leaving for Utrecht because of the clubbing night yesterday, and I slept late. However, I had sufficient rest and packed my bags, so it was pretty fast for me to settle all my bags and things to bring up to Utrecht and to Aunt Babe and Nicole's place.

Luckily, I had saved up enough coins for the train ride from Eindhoven to Utrecht (these silly Netherlands railway ticket stations do not accept paper money! Who carries a whole load of coins with them?!) And furthermore, trains ARE expensive in Netherlands. Gonna apply for the Kortingcard soon.

I was buying my ticket and I thought that I was on time, and by the time I cleared the stairs I was wrong. Dead wrong. The train doors closed on me and I was left standing at the platform...totally sian.

Luckily though, another train to Alkmaar came into the platform about 12 minutes later, and it passed by Utrecht! After checking with the train conductor on whether my ticket allowed me to board the train, I quickly got onto it, found a seat, and enjoyed my ride to Utrecht - a super old city with a damn tall tower!

Train coming into Eindhoven, though a shorter one.


The Kiosk seller on the trains in Holland


Train to Alkmaar (looks good!)


Utrecht train station


Utrecht bus station


Streets of Utrecht


Where am I?

Utrecht really gives me the feeling of going into a Gothic/Vatican/old-period of buildings with its architecture and designs. There are many canals there and I feel that the main thing which Utrecht is different from Amsterdam is the sheer number of churches they have within walking distance from one another - there are at least 12 churches in and around the Utrecht RonDom area! And the most famous of them all - the Domtorent Domkerk - is a 600 years old tower, standing at 112m tall.


The famous Domtorent Domkerk at Dom Square


Me @ Utrecht

I was also lucky enough to be able to view 6 other churches during my 5 hour walk around the city, and I reckoned I covered a lot, because by the end of the walk I was really tired out (was carrying a laptop in my bag too) and shacked. Wanted to get some clothes, but nothing really caught my eye, except the jacket at Perry Sport (cheap place to get clothes!).


Toilet.


Victorian styled chair


Pink ice-cream truck!


Utrecht Universiteit


Domkerk Garden


Organ in Domkerk - organ made by brothers Bätz


van Gendt Mausoleum


Me and the sand sculpture of Domtorent Domkerk at RonDom


Domtorent Domkerk (sand model versus the real thing in the background)


Interesting design of a house along Voetiusstraat


Nicole said this was a nice picture, especially the house on the right hand side. I agree totally...


Interior of Pieterskerk


The old pillars and the newer ones.


The sun dial in the middle of the garden


The tomb


Domtorent Domkerk from afar (it's nice!)


Fast craft in the waters


Monument in front of Jacobikerk


An old painting of Utrecht city


The pillars of Jacobikerk


St Augustinuskerk


Rembrandt cinema


People having their afternoon tea along the canal


The organ of Doopsgezinde Kerk


Organ of Lutherse Kerk


St Catharinakerk


Front of St Catharinakerk - used to be a monastery


Monument in the garden

Each church has its own culture and history, and the designs are all different. Interesting designs yea? I'd think so too...there are lots more pictures, but I didn't want to cram up my blog with just pictures, though a picture speaks a thousand words and I must've spoken up to twenty thousand words by now. HAHA.

After that, I went to have a walk around Utrecht city centre, and it was a great afternoon to walk around! Good food, good sun, and the people were all outside enjoying the warmth (nothing compared to SG's heat of course!) and eating ice-cream. Saw Venezia and the Australian Premium Ice Cream and Chocolates! The craving overwhelmed me and I satisfied it by having the Malaga and Mona Lisa, for 2 Euros!


Guess which is Malaga and which is Mona Lisa?

After that, I went to the Perry's Sport nearby and it was a gigantic 3 storey building which was full of outdoor sportswear, accessories and items, on top of the running items and stuff! Oh mans! it was really an eye-opener.



Inside this shop I found stuff on sale, and there's a jacket for 35 Euros! Seems like a ski jacket, and quite reasonably priced...Might look at that in Amsterdam, since I'm heading there the next day too!

Met up with Aunt Babe and her friend Ms Zeynep, who's a Turkish German living in the Netherlands. Took the train with them and there's the good'ol stay over at Nieuw-Vennep, say hello to Nicole, and onwards to Amsterdam the next day!

And to top off for tonight...


Flowers of Utrecht

Enjoy! :)

Current Mood: Hyper

Current Music: Teddy Geiger - These Walls

Trip!

Weekend trip up Utrecht then Amsterdam...shall be blogging on the trip later (hopefully). So guys, updates for yesterday's get-together and the weekend trip will come later on! :)

And ya...if want more pics here just say haha...Anyway I think it's gonna be hard for me to take pictures with the nice attractions 'cos I'll be going Utrecht alone. Ahh wells...

But I'm going Amsterdam! With Nicole and aunt Babe. Haha...It's gonna be fun! *whee!*

Enjoy your weekend!

Current Mood: Hyper

Exchange Students Gathering & Clubbing!

Actually...I still think Eindhoven's kinda boring. Haha. Even though their nightlife seems great and all, actually I think Singapore's one is even better. Heck...even Malaysia's better!

Anyway today was another wet and cold morning, but soon it was great weather to go out and walk about. Tried out a new route to walk - from my home I turned right towards a small park near the railway track, then past Philips, and down the road towards the home of PSV: Philips Stadium.

And with that, I ended myself at Vestide, where I paid my September's rent earlier than expected. I'm afraid I'll forget it when term starts. Haha. After that, went over to the City Center to have a look at the shopping malls and outlets (like H&M, V&D etc) Quite cheaply priced pullovers on sale - H&M ones are going for 25 Euros, and their winter jacket (?) are going for 30 Euros! OMG.

Went home early, had a rest, and prepared to go meet Sadra and Oya for dinner at Yusuf's friend's place. Took quite some time to meet them, and a further 20 minutes to get ourselves to the destination. But the hosts (2 Italians, a German and Yusuf) were welcoming and pleased to receive us, and it was great to know more people!

Food...


From left to right: Oya (Turk), Alexander (Italian), Me


Having fun!


Me and the Italian guys


Mike trying out the gigantic fries


Chiobu! :) She's from Spain


Exchange students' nights out!


Police and their horses

Went club-hopping, and I realised that the Dutch do not really dance! Well they just move to the beat with their drinks in hand...and that's it. Gosh. It's an eye-opener. Sadan was telling me that in Turkey, they partied like no tomorrow and it was really dancing. And they do not end at 2am; they end at 4-5am! Gotta check that out though. Haha.

Parted ways at about 2.30am, and it was kind cold, but it was still alright to walk home, which took about 15 minutes for me. I realised that it was rather quiet at night, and it was not as bright as SG also.

Current Mood: Dancing

drifting...

Seems like Eindhoven's kinda boring. Haha. Woke up to a cold and rainy morning, and probably this is what is making me think of such stuff. lol.

Realised that compared to NUS, here in TU/e they do not have much of an introduction programme for exchange students, and it is mainly left to the devices of the Faculties which the student is going for to bring them around.

Not to mention, I hardly know many people here. Save for the 3 Turkish people and 2 Czechs whom I met yesterday during the welcome tea (or was it one?). Realised that...NUS actually does a great job introducing the exchange students to Singapore! At least, they go to the Matriculation Fairs. Hehs.

Here, there aint any MF, much less a proper Welcome Tea. Just a short introduction, to the student association, and that's it. Grrr. Oh wells...have to see how it goes when school starts!

Gonna be up in Utrecht and Amsterdam over the weekend, and maybe I can head over to the Hague if I've time. Planning for trips to Denmark, to visit Li Sheng, and France to meet Junyong. I think the latter is much more easier, but just gotta check my exams timetable. Darned.

Hope to go out and walk about...but the rain just keeps going on. Dang.

Current Mood: Bored

Current Music: The Police - Every Breath You Take

cold day...

Woke up at 8am to a cold cold day. A surprise that I woke up on time, considering that I've been in the Netherlands for barely 3 days. Went online to see whether my parents and friends were online, and talked to some, like Weili, Mark and my parents. The weather outside was cold, like air-con, and I had to go to school in 2 hours. Dang.

Oh and did you know that the Dutch have certain days in which the rubbish collection companies go out to collect rubbish? Like Tuesdays are for household waste, Thursday is for newspaper collection, etc...So does it meant that the rubbish collectors only work once a week??

Morning Breakfast!


It's rubbish collection day today!


Park in neighbourhood


Nice red house!

Went to TU/e in the morning to meet Mrs Ingeborg regarding my study plans, and it was more or less clear to me this time round. She's quite patient and it was really good to exchange students like us, who are totally unsure and unclear of what's happening!

After having a lunch, where I bought some sausages and coquettes and packed my own buns. Quite simple, and it was about €3.50. Quite decent price too, but I think I can survive if I had packed 3 pieces of buns instead. Haha.

Later on, we had an introduction to the faculty done by Mrs Ingeborg, and I met other exchange students there - Ondery and Mike from Czech Republic, and 2 more Bachelor students from Turkey. After the introduction and the visit to Japie (think ChESS in dutch terms), we went outside the building, where we met this other Turkish (forgot his name too!!!) doing his internship in TU/e after his exchange period was over. He mentioned 3 girls from NUS the previous semester, which immediately led me to think he knew Zhi Yi and her friends.

Went to the Auditorium to have a cuppa tea, and we chit-chatted on life in Eindhoven, things to do in Eindhoven, how things work in this place, as well as travelling plans (Well I'm more into the travelling planning. haha)

After the meet-up, the turkish guys left, and I was with the Czechs, who wanted to get a local line. Well, I had gotten mine, and I was pretty much free, so I volunteered to walk with them to purchase their pre-paid SIM cards. After which, we exchanged numbers, and I went to get groceries from the supermarkets before they close. Luckily, I had more time to think and choose, so I got myself some eggs, minced pork, sausages, potatoes, peanut butter and bread for tomorrow's lunch.


Reichtestraat


Under a bridge

And as I stepped out of the supermarket, it started to drizzle. Dang. I quickly doubled my pace (limited pace due to the load I'm carrying - 3kg of potatoes!!!) and tried to reach home in the shortest time possible. Luckily, it did not rain too heavily and I managed to reach the safety of my apartment.

After placing my groceries in the fridge/cupboard, I proceeded to cook my dinner, since my roomie aint back it's easier to cook my food, and I aint wanting to cook after it's dark!


The Kitchen


This is dinner

Ok... I think it was a rather good attempt (got people say so!!! I've got evidence! haha) with potatoes, egg and noodles. Wanted to make it as cheap as possible, and also to try out the potatoes and eggs which I just bought. Apparently the egg has dark orange yolks o.O And I wanted to use the sausages, but just did not know how to cook the entire length (because once you open it up you have to cook the entire length right??) Therefore, I hesitated with the sausages and just dumped in the noodles. Problem is, I'm having too much starch and carbohydrates in my meal, which is bad because they add bulk. Ugh. And Junyong was complaining of french fries. Seems like the food which I can cook will be severely tested -.-"

Current Mood: Full

Current Music: Wang Lee Hom - Luo Ye Gui Gen

Good luck

Phew...A rush of good luck for me today. Simply cannot believe it.

Woke up early in the morning today to take the train from Nieuw-Vennep to Eindhoven via Utrecht with Aunt Babe. Being an early morning train (7.15am!!), it was rather crowded and full of working people (in their suits and ties, and the ladies all dressed nicely). Nicole was kind enough to wake up early to help in the transportation of my bag using her bicycle, but I was kinda paisei also la (Beauty Sleep lehs).

Aunt Babe was with me through about a third of the journey, the remainder of the journey was kinda boring for me, as there was no nice scenery around and it was kinda cloudy for the whole of the morning. Nearly fell asleep, in fact. But luckily, I had my book to keep me awake. Haha.

There was, in fact, another student studying Masters in TU/e sitting behind me, and he had just arrived in Amsterdam and making his way to TU/e also. He's from India, and luckily, he had arranged for a meeting with the TU/e International Office, and a Mr Ward from the IO had driven the vehicle to pick him up. So luckily for me, I could put my luggage on the vehicle, get a ride to TU/e (instead of walking), and settle some stuff at the university.

First, I placed my bags and seeing that it was still early to meet the administrators, I went over to Vestide to get my keys to the accommodation. I walked, and it was a great one too! The weather was cooling so I did not break out a sweat, and I passed by the shopping district (city centre of Eindhoven) and the Philips Stadium (home to PSV Eindhoven!) Soon, I managed to get my stuff, and returned to TU/e, stopping by for a snack.


Eindhoven

Spent some time trying to settle my administrative issues and to get an internet connection, it was to no avail. In the end I went back to the IO place to get my luggage, and I was in luck once again - another student who was helping out was free, and he offered me a ride to my apartment, which was very much appreciated since I need not lug my luggage over. Haha! Somehow, I wished that I had brought my other luggage along this very day. Sighs.

After settling down my stuff and cleaning up the room a bit (the room's clean!!), I walked over to the nearby strip for shopping and finding my pre-paid card for the local line which I intend to have. And I met Mr Smith, a friendly old Dutch guy who brought me to Woenselse Markt and Kruisstraat to introduce me to the supermarkets there. Quite a nice guy, and I managed to get my pre-paid call SIM card soon enough.


My apartment's on the top right ;)


My room

After that, I bade farewell to him and moved on to TU/e (yes back again!) to meet my study advisor Mrs Ingreborg, got my student cards and also managed to get my proposed schedule (for 3 modules). Also managed to setup my laptop with help from the Computer Centre guys.



After that, I made my way back to the supermarkets, and went to shop for some food to cook. There were 2 chinese supermarkets there, as well some other cheap supermarkets like Aldi, and they all close at 1800hrs! Dang. Luckily I was still in time to get some groceries and food for tomorrow, so I was pretty much set.

Might need to eat out for lunch, din get bread. Grrr.

Reached home and met my room-mate Emma, she's a China girl from Shenzhen studying in another university near TU/e. Quite a chatty person, but imposing I guess. Haha. Had dinner together and it was simple and edible. Lol.

The night is long! I realised it because it was 9pm, and it was still bright. Look below:


Had time to chat with some late night owls from SG, but most of them were kinda asleep by the time I was online. Those overseas in the USA were much more easy to talk to, like Arvind, Patrick and Junyong.

Damn. I need a factory outlet store.

Current Mood: Happy

Current Music: Lifehouse - First Time