While I was planning my trip, I asked a lot of people if it I should pass by Amsterdam from Cologne or just skip it and go for Belgium or some other place. But since it was only 3 hours away (by train) from Amsterdam, and since I was on that side of the world anyway, I decided to go for it! After all, I love coffee cheese, i mean!
Upon reaching the hotel, I saw this sign on the lift! Clueless as I was, I didn't know what the "In coffeeshop" sign meant! Took me quite a while (read: a few floors) before I finally figured it out! Thus, the bad picture!
After checking in and settling down for a few minutes, I decided to head out and check out the closest place to my hotel. It was already half past 6, but I didn't wanna waste the night in the hotel room, even though they had free Nespresso and Heineken beer in the mini-bar (which was refillable for free, mind you) so I decided to check out the closest place to the hotel, which was Leidseplein.
The first thing that caught my eye upon entering this square was this Ice Bakery by Nutella!! But since I was "trying" to eat healthily, I decided to leave it for the next day and instead, made a mental note to pass by and grab something before leaving!
Leidseplein was full of interesting places and people! I walked through the whole stretch before I decided to call it a night.
Decided to head on out early the following day! Walked (again) from the hotel to Museumplein! The walk took me 25-30 minutes, but I found myself in the middle of Museumplein at 7AM! Thus, this priceless picture (without any photombombers) of the I AMSTERDAM sign.
Since it was too early still, and because I am not realy a museum kind of person, I found the next best thing that opened at 9 in the morning! Coster Diamonds! What more can a girl ask for!! <3
but more on this on my next post perhaps!
From Coster Diamonds, the attendant taught me how to walk fr. Museumplein to what was supposed to be an interesting shopping street! I did that, but the shops were not really what I was looking for. So I decided instead to head on to the flower market as recommended by the hotel staff.
And tada!! After what seemed like forever, I found the flower market in one of the alleys past Leidseplein, but before Dam Square! It was lovely and interesting (but only for the first half of the stretch)!
The second half started looking all the same to me! But I thought, if I lived in Amsterdam, I would pass by this place often too!!
So I walked what seemed like a shopper's mecca before reaching Dam Square! Reaching Dam Square is like finding yourself in the middle of everything that is Amsterdam!! It almost felt like I was in the movies!
To say that I was overwhelmed by it's charm is an understatement!
This is where I started to get lost because there were just so many alleys I wanted to explore! And having to choose among them was quite frustrating! Each alley led somewhere different. Each alley had a different vibe. Each alley showed you different faces of Amsterdam. But they all pretty much bring you to one direction, the Amsterdam Central Station!
Since I had plenty of time, and nothing much to do, I decided to hop on a canal tour of Amsterdam! The boat was supposed to leave at 2:00PM. But since I got lost, I reached the dock a few mins. past 2. But luckily, the crew saw me approaching and decided to wait for me! Yay!!
After the tour, I passed by the train station to purchase a seat for my train to Berlin the following day. But I was told that it was full, and that even though I had a first class ticket, I just might have to sit on the bar. Not knowing how to speak the local dialect, I decided that arguing would only lead me nowhere!
And so instead, I did the next best thing: eat my frustrations out!! As in, ALL OUT!! Passed by a Febo and surprisingly finished it all by myself!! Again, frustrations!!
Decided to walk all the way home again. Missed my turn and didn't notice it until I saw this tower by Munt Square.
Ended my day back in Leidseplein! And of course, by passing by heaven, I mean, The Amsterdam Cheese Company!!
Seeing (and tasting) all the different kinds of cheese in this place made me end my day with a happy vibe! I wanted to bring all of them back home, but was too afraid I might not be able to carry my luggage anymore!
After all, Berlin awaits! And so I MUST KEEP CALM!
My first stop after my 9-day seminar in Gummersbach was Cologne.
Cologne is one of Germany's largest cities. It is only a few minutes from Gummersbach. I decided to stay here for one night before heading to Amsterdam. This was where my 8-day post-seminar adventure began.
My first stop was the Cologne Dom Cathedral which was really majestic!
The sights along the way were lovely!
Especially because there was a kinder festival going on.
I think that Germany, or Europe in general, has a very laid-back vibe which truly sets them apart.
And sometimes, in some places, a huge sense of community!
It was a Sunday when I walked around Cologne. I walked for hours and stopped whenever and wherever I felt like stopping. For someone who was on her first trip alone (for leisure), this experience was truly very liberating!
I sat in front of the Rhine River and literally thought of nothing. Dreamt of the future. Wondered about the people around me. Took a long breath before deciding to head back.
The next day, I had a 3:00PM train to catch bound for Amsterdam. I decided to once again head back to the Cologne Dom before heading to the Hauptbahnhof. Because it was truly a majestic site and because the alley beside it was Cologne's longest shopping strip! :D
Bet you didn't know that the first ever cologne, 4711, originated in Cologne. I didn't know it too! Until my boss told me about it! So I just had to go find that (to add to my when in Cologne moments)! And it did not disappoint!
You can find 4711 almost everywhere in Cologne. But the original house of cologne still stands. I would've wanted to visit that but I didn't have enough time as I had to leave for Amsterdam.
On my way back to the hotel, I passed by a Rimowa store with a museum! Because apparently, Rimowa originated in Cologne! It made my trip like that of pure love!! <3
Went back to the hotel a few mins. past lunchtime. Since it was gonna be my first time to take the Hauptbahnhof on my own, I wanted to get to the train station early.
Having previously experienced riding the Eurostar with my family, I was so scared I might get on the wrong train or even, miss my train! So I went to the station an hour early! It was not necessary, but something I had to do for my own peace of mind. Luckily, the Hauptbahnhof was so much easier to configure!
Earlier this year, I learned about the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Philippines. For people working in government such as myself, they are also known as FNF. To know more about FNF and their work, click here.
Last August, I received an SMS message from FNF informing me of an email regarding one of their various training programs in Gummersbach. I promised to check the email immediately but was not really able to do it immediately as I was out of the office. Later on that day, I checked my mail and to my surprise, found myself dreaming of Germany!! I say dreaming because I didn't really want to confirm my participation without asking for permission from my boss.
One month after and my dream became a reality! I found myself on a plane from Manila-Cologne via Abu Dhabbi and Berlin. After almost 21 hours (layover included), I found myself at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's International Academy for Leadership (IAF) in Gummersbach, Germany. Indeed, I've always known that a girl can dream, but I never thought that dreams came true this quickly!
Gummersbach is a small-town a few minutes east of Cologne. To know more about Gummerbach, click here.
Here I am once again, promising to update my blog more often!
Since I wanted to blog about my Germany experience, I suddenly (and randomly) thought of visiting my page. And voila! My last post was still when I was in DC!
So I promise to start once again. And randomly come up with travel posts from DC to present time. It's not gonna be easy, with me trying and still learning how to perfect the art of balancing work life and life-life, but I will start.
DC Metro in the evening. Around 10ish. So thankful you're one of the world's easiest, most convenient and hopefully safest metro!!! What will I do without you???? (at DC Metro)
Have you ever tried googling "things to do in DC" and comparing them to say, "things to do in (any place in the world)? I tell you, it can be a daunting task! For real!
And so today (or recently) I thought of resurrecting my blog and using it as a means to chronicle my life as a nomad in America! That, and to help others make their lives easier! Supposing they are planning to come to DC for their vacation/trips! It is after all, America's capital!!
For this blog's purpose, I will start from the very beginning! Not now of course, but I'll work on it, I promise. After all, it's not like I've got a lot of things to do! I've been here for almost a month and quite frankly I've finished almost all there is to see! The free ones at least. So that now, time is all I have!
For a better Philippines and a progressive 3rd District in CamSur
Because I want this shot for a better and much, much more progressive 3rd District in CamSur, here are my candidates for this years local and national elections.
For Congress: #3, Leni Robredo. (Read about Atty. Leni Robredo here)
For Mayor: John Bongat
Vice Mayor: Nelson Legacion
Councilor: TEAM NAGA.
#1, Greg Abonal
#3, Elmer Baldemoro
#4, Gabby Bordado
#5, Nene de Asis
#6, Babet Lavadia
#10, Chito Perez
#12, Miles Raquid-Arroyo
#13, Ray-an Rentoy
#17, Nathan Sergio
#19, Seling Tuason
An siguradong GANA. Because only them can lead Naga the Robredo way!! Sabi nga, UBOS KUN UBOS, GABOS KUN GABOS!
Then we go to the national elections! Where there exists so many choices.. but very few who can really give us a chance at becoming a better Philippines! Thus out of the many, I only have 6!
Bam Aquino.
Chiz Escudero.
Richard "Dick" Gordon.
Risa Hontiveros.
Ramon "Jun" Magsaysay, Jr.
Grace Poe.
Jamby Madrigal. But only because I am allowed to have a sense of humor and till now I still can't get over the "ja-ja-ja-jamby" jingle!! NOT.
There you have it!! My fellow Naguenos, Bicolanos, Filipinos, am sure you too will want to vote right for our chance at a better Philippines and a much, much more progressive 3rd District in CamSur!
No words can ever describe the gazillion number of things you continue to patiently teach me in this lifetime. Among them, how to be forgiving, patient, understanding and compassionate. Just some of your best traits I will never really fully understand. But will forever try to learn for your sake.
A lot of my friends say that you are very unconventional, cool, liberated, and so much more. What they don't know however, is that YOU ARE THE ORIGINAL TIGER MOM! By teaching us early on that one of the most important things for us to learn is to "learn how to earn your trust and work hard at keeping it". That, and to always put family as our top priority! And not in the cheesy-clingy kind of way coz that's just annoying!
I used to think that to have a strong sense of work ethic, I needed to experience how it felt like to be an employee. True. But quite frankly, out of all the companies and bosses I worked for in the past years, YOU SET THE BAR FOR HARD-WORKING! And real high at that! I really loved and enjoyed working with you eventhough I complained and whined on a daily basis to annoy you! For some reason, annoying you (when you are in a good mood) gives me so much joy! Yes, even at my age!!
A lot has been said about the key to success being this and that. But to me, it has always been clear that the key to my success lies in being born with parents like you.
Thank you mom for ever so kindly and patiently understanding all my flaws and 'topaks'.
Thank you for not allowing me to drown in my own memory.
Thank you for teaching me never to lose hope and to always see the good in other people.
I know I will never be as forgiving, patient, understanding, and compassionate as you. And I won't even dare dream to have even a tenth of the kindness of your heart! But I promise to aim to be as loving as you. Indeed, I am who I am now because of you Momma. And all my future endeavors will be for you and because of you.
You once told me in your many random messages sent to me whenever you're up early to "find the sun and find my place under it". For me, you have always been my sun!
And so despite all the "jeje" things you've been learning recently, all the messages with countless z's, all the 'emoticons-only' messages you send randomly, and all the countless weirdness that is you, still,
I LOVE YOU TO THE HEAVENS AND BACK MOMMA!! :)))))))
THIS JUST IN!! So this came in the mail for me today!! Waaaiiitttt a minute.. What's the date today?!? Lol. This is the third time we received a couple of letters dated sometime 2012 still!! Don't know exactly if it's the system or someone's just trying to pull a prank on us!! Crazyyyyy!!! #belatedaprilfoolsday #philippinemail #birthdaysurprise #dlsu
