Benelux

Hi everyone, sorry that it has been a while since I have written. Things in Slovakia are going well. The past week or so I have learned that Slovakia has strange weather during the change from winter to spring just as the US. We had a number of days that started clear with a gray sky, then there would be a light snow that turned into a heavy snow that a person could hardly see through, and then it would stop. This cycle happened a few times a day, but the snow has now disappeared again. We will see what comes with spring now that it is officially here.

Some of you may be wondering what the title of this entry means. Benelux = Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. These were the destinations of the spring break trip I took with two other lecturers. Each of these countries was a new country for the other two lecturers, Luxembourg was a new country for me. In Slovakia when a school has spring break depends on where the school is in Slovakia. Western Slovakia had spring break first, the second to last week in February; Eastern Slovakia had spring break the next week and Central Slovakia (where I am) had spring break the following week, March 2-6. The other two lecturers, Becky and Carsten, also teach in central Slovakia, so we decided to travel together.

We met in Bratislava and flew out from Vienna, Austria on Monday, March 2. We flew to Amsterdam and stayed there for two nights. I had been to Amsterdam before a couple of years ago, so I knew the city a little. It was neat to walk around and see something and be able to say, "I know this!" Seeing Amsterdam in the off season was also nice. We all had a great time there, there is a lot to see and do. We took part of a city walking tour, we did not realize at first that it would be a three hour tour. After an hour and a half we decided to break off from the tour so we could find something to eat and rest a little, we had to wake up at 3:30am for our flight. We also went to the Van Gogh museum, the Heineken brewery and other sites of the city.

We took a train to Brussels, Belgium which was a new city for me. We stayed in Brussels but took two day trips from there. We went to Bruges and Luxembourg. Bruges is a city on the northern coast of Belgium. We spent the day walking around the city and saw a Salvador Dali exhibit. I would like to go back to Bruges someday to see the town again and maybe experience it without as much construction. Even with the construction there is a lot to see.

Luxembourg was also a new city and country. We took a train there, I think it was a three hour ride one way. Unfortunately it rained almost the whole day we were there, so we did not do a lot outside. We did find some interesting museums. One was a national history of art museum. There were exhibits from the stone age to modern day. We also found the city museum which had a special exhibit on religion. There were video and audio clips of a few different people talking about what religion is to them and if it is important for them or not. There were also different exercises for visitors to do and at the end would find out what type of religious view they hold. After the museums the rain had stopped so we walked around the city some. From what I saw I enjoyed the city, and country; hopefully I can return sometime and be able to see more of the city and possibly the country.

The next big event here that I know of is Easter. I will have some visitors, my parents. Hopefully our time together goes well and travels go well. April will also be an interesting month because many teachers at my school, at least four, have their birthdays that month. I actually get to start the celebrations with my birthday at the beginning of the month. Now to figure out how to celebrate and what snacks to bring to school. Any suggestions are of course welcomed.

Some pictures from my Benelux tour. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=227616&id=682430592&l=1c31ba4c7c