June 23rd-26th – Vic comes to visit!!

Vic was able to grab a cheap flight over from Switzerland to come see me here. Vic’s friend, Keegan, also came over =)

June 23rd

Vic’s flight arrived into Schipol (the airport) after 21:30. By the time we arrived home, it was already almost 01:00 (remember, 2 hours from Schipol to Enschede). We just hung around at home for a little bit and I got to see some of the games that I couldn’t play on my laptop but works on his

June 24^th

Bastards!!!

I awoke the next morning to find that someone had nicked my bike over night. I left it unlocked when I got home since we got home late last night. Someone actually came into the back of our house and stole it (like Miz’s bike 3 weeks earlier). I was so mad, since it’s twice now, and that means I’ll have to spend another 50 Euros on a new bike (so much for trying to save money).

After I calmed down (and gave a beating to the couch), I took Vic and Keegan for alittle tour around Enschede. It just so happens that it was the start of an International fair in Enschede, and there were celebrations all weekend with many stands selling stuff from their respective countries. Since it was Friday (I took the day off), the crowds were light and the streets weren’t too busy. The coolest thing there was the giant Helium balloon set up in the center square. The European equivalent to Tim Horton’s or Starbuck (DE café) was setting up a promotion for their new ice cappuccino drink. With the straw as proof of purchase, people can go on a balloon ride for free. Well, it was really just being lifted high in the air for 5min while men on the ground keep you and the balloon in place and not floating away somewhere. Anyways, the 3 of us bought the drink and signed up for this aerial adventure. It took 3 hours for all of us to have a chance at it due to the heat and wind (the 4 workers had to take breaks in between rides to cool off). It was fun as I was lifted high off the ground and I had a chance to photograph the surrounding environment.

Afterwards, we went to buy groceries (for my bro and Keegan, food was cheap here compared to Switzerland). I cooked a nice Chinese meal that night and made all of my specialities. In the evening, we went for ice cream at the best place in the whole of the Netherlands (voted #1 for 3 years). Later that night, we went out for beers with Shin as well.

June 25^th-26^th

Saturday we set off for Amsterdam bright and early. We had a good deal, for 33 Euros, we got the “I-Amsterdam” card, that entitled us to free entry into 13 museums, discounts on other attractions, free stuff, and 24 hour transit anywhere. With this in mind, we blitz through 4 museums in the span of 5 hours. We also got a free canal tour which we took in the evening. Afterwards, we proceeded to track down and get all the free stuff that the card had to offer. The problem with going to Amsterdam was that I couldn’t find a place to stay for the night (AIESEC Amsterdam…grrrr….) and we couldn’t go home since Vic’s flight was too early in the morning to be able to leave from Enschede that morning. However, we decided to sleep at the airport since a lot of travellers do. Before that however, once it got dark, we visited the sex Museum (very interesting educational experience) and the lab component at the red light district. It was my first time at the Red Light District but it was pretty much what I imagined it would be. It’s kind of like going grocery shopping in the frozen foods sections. You wander through rows and rows glass of doors and looking to see the product (girl) inside and picking out what you like. There seems to be certain sections as well with the American looking ones, the Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans, and the clearance and sales section away from the main strip. All in all, it is still very touristy, and we just followed the crowds of people and looking at all the doors. Anyways, we wandered around Amsterdam for most of the night before we went to Schipol for a couple hours of sleep. Vic went through the gates at 0730, and I went back home to Enschede. It was nice to see Vic again.