day one in den haag

today was the first full day of szonnelly in den haag '09. we slept in this morning, rolling out of bed around 11. after a quick, delicious breakfast of mini albert hein stroopwafels, we set out to explore the city (or town, rather -- sorry anton) and snag michelle a job.

we didn't really have much of a game plan going into our expidition, but we figured the best place to start would be the centrum. we walked down narrow streets lined with dutch-style apartments, cafes and boutiques. it was a beautiful day and so everyone was out enjoying the weather. we stopped in at a few pubs and coffee shops to see if anyone was hiring a cute american girl (michelle) and everyone was SO nice and SO helpful. a few places took michelle's contact info, but most places recommeded that we head over to the beach. apparently there are lots of seasonal jobs to be had, and at this point we're just hoping to find something to pay the rent until something more permanent comes up.

walking deeper into the centrum, we stumbled on an outdoor flea market outside of the escher museum with tons of venders selling food and knick-knacks. there were tons of families and puppies and young people and it was just too wonderful. heading north, we were hoping to get to a park where we could sit on the grass for awhile and enjoy the sun. unfortunately, the only park we found was completely wooded and didn't really suit our needs at the moment. it was a really lovely park, though, with lots of trails and a cart selling ice cream on waffles, so we couldn't really complain.

michelle was awesome through out the whole process, navagating the city like a pro. i spent most of the time being completely unhelpful, spaced out and wandering from street to street, following where she led. eventually, we wandered home, stopping at a toko (indonesian place -- the city is full of them) to pick up food for dinner.

arriving home, we collapsed into bed, waking up a few hours later to split a huge meal of four different vegetarian dishes, a curried egg, tempeh and tofu. i absolutely loved it; just the right amount of spice and heat without being completely overwhelming.

we had the best intentions of going out to a free salsa club called havana, but after we had showered and eaten, we were both so exhausted from our walking tour that we decided to stay in and catch up on a few things. i have quite a bit of work to do on my scholarship applications and i still need to look into opening up a dutch bank account.

right now we're hanging out in the room, sharing a bottle of wine as we unpack and chat with folks from home. we're so happy here, but its very sad being away from the people we love so much. buy a plane ticket! come visit us! we'd love to see you.

anyway, that about wraps up day 4 of our dutch adventure. we can't wait to see jess when she arrives on the 12th, and we're thinking about taking a trip to belgum and luxemburg in the next couple weeks. you can rent a car for E10 per day, so why not?

varweel!