first impressions

After a very long plane ride (above I look bored, it is because I am), with three connections, one of which I almost missed (in Chicago), a train ride, and a taxi ride, I arrived at Linda and Jim's house. They are couchsurfers, and very sweet people. I fell asleep almost as soon as I arrived but the next day they showed me around a bit. Now, I'm in university housing on the 14th floor. I have 5 flat mates and we all have our own rooms. Below is the view from my room.

Bicycles:

I knew and had read the Dutch liked riding bicycles, but OMFG they like riding bicycles. I have never seen so many bicycles in my life.

(picture)

The couple I stayed with, Linda and Jim, had five (5) bicycles between them. I asked Linda if the cultural obsession with bicycles was fairly recent, and told me no, in fact, that the old timers from world war two, when asked about Germany during the war, say, "I want my bicycle back." Apparently, German soldiers stole bikes and the Dutch are still upset about it.

Weather:

I thought it would warm and sunny in Utrecht during the summer; my counselor ended one of her messages by writing, "best regards from a tropical Utrecht." This gave me the expectation of sun. However, the past couple days have been overcast and it really rained a lot yesterday. Utrecht is quite warm though even when it is misting, so it is more like a rainforest, hot, humid and rainy.

House Boats and Red Lights:

The red light district of Utrecht is on the river on houseboats. Since prostitution is legal in the Netherlands it affords sex workers a less troubled existence. When I asked Linda if the value of the houses near right light districts decreased or if residents resisted the placement of those districts near their homes, she said something like, "no, that in fact most of the Dutch feel that the protection of all people is important. At least these women have roofs over their heads, and protection by the law. " I knew the Netherlands was known for tolerance of religion but it seems also be very tolerant and open-minded to lifestyle choice. Close to the red-light district is the biggest sex shop in the t Netherlands; it takes up a whole city block.

Food:

Before I came to Utrecht, I was warned that Dutch food wasn't very good. After walking around the city today I think one is hard pressed to find a real "Dutch" restaurant in Utrecht. What I found was a bunch of ethnic restaurants. Even the Dutch girls who I made dinner with said they didn't like "Dutch Food" except for the sweets. I had a gyro tonight because my housemates weren't home yet. It was quite good.