Zackberridge’s Weblog

I chose to stay in another Dutch city that wasnt a tourist town.  I was greeted by most host Jeorone and his girlfriend-on there bikes of course =) and we went straight to a cafe for some ‘beerchips’, which are the standard drink order in Holland.  When at a bar or cafe, unless you specify what kind of beer, they will just bring what their specialty is. So its very simple to order drinks in the Netherlands. (in case you dont know by now, I really enjoy my brew~)   After a few drinks we dropped my things off at there home (more like a loft) that was built in the early 20’s.  We met with some of there friends for……..more drinks! and then went to their friends bar for………more drinks!  My first night there was great for I was very much welcomed in their circle of friends.  The next day my host showed me the whole city (which isnt very big), and of course the windmills and other Dutch standards.  We went to the outdoor market where I tried a raw Herring with onions for my first time…..and most likely my last.  I finally found a food item that I wasnt very fond of, but it was a great experience to eat that slimy fish…ugh.  I also sampled a typical Dutch snack that was made from two very thin and hot waffels with syrup in the middle.  Now thats what Im talking about!  I visited a bell tower that is the tallest in Europe, but it closed down when we arrived so I couldnt go to the top, so instead we had more drinks a the cafe next door.  That night my host , his girlfriend and I ate a Spanish restraunt, with real Spanish food and not Mexican.  I had a hard time seperating the two in my head because Im so used to Spanish refrenced with Mexican, but two very different cultures and foods.  Next my host and I went out again and met a lot of random people and several different bars. (by the way, to put into perspective, the glasses the beer is served in is between 8 and 10 oz, so it was easy to drink so many because they were so small and cheap)  I met an angry Dutchman who was heavily intoxicated and was very arrogant towards me because I am American, so I just laughed at him and told him I liked him because he was full of fire and passion. OF course he had no clue what I was saying, so he certainly didnt get my sarcasm, but oh well.  My departure day was very stressful because I thought i lost my passport, which would have been REALLY bad, but it turns out it was under the couch at Jeorone’s house. (not sure how it got there….probly had to do with the beer drinking, ha!)  After it was recovered I made my trip down to Cologne, Germany for what I hoped would be a blurry visit to many breweries.