Save a Horse...Ride a Cowboy!!!

Ever ridden a cow?!?!?! well recently I went to visit a nice farm near Spakenburg Holland....and guess what I did........I got to ride a cow!!! It was really an amazing experience! And of course I got to see the milking process and pet the cows and other animals at the farm. very cool. And it was especially neat for me because I dissect cow tails in the lab!!! HAHA. here are some pictures! ENJOY!

Cow Milking Process:

Riding a cow:

petting the female:

fishing
super cute dutch baby Jaan (means boy in dutch)

s-hertogenbosch aka Den Bosch, Holland

SO many people I have encountered in Holland have raved about Den Bosch, this city that is about 20 minutes from Eindhoven. They kept telling me I should go visit, its totally worth it, and its so beautiful, etc etc etc. So, after some googling on den bosch and things to do/see there... i decided to check it out. Well.... after visiting...I have to say... I was deeply disappointed. Yes of course it's a nice city, there are canals there, and it looks more "traditional dutch"... but I guess when people kept telling me it was so "beautiful", they just meant more beautiful than eindhoven...which is actually almost any city... HAHA (well because Eindhoven is such an industrial city there isn't much feel of "typical dutch" here).

Nevertheless, I did enjoy my trip, saw the famous "st john's cathedral" in the city centre, walked around, saw some museums, did some shopping, and of course took some pictures. Enjoy!

Canal in Den bosch:

st johns cathedral:

city centre (one of many buildings):

Cubic Houses in Rotterdam Netherlands

This past weekend I took the train to Rotterdam. I figure, since I'm about to leave Holland, I should try to visit some of the "major" cities here. Rotterdam has been on my list since... it has these famouse "cubic houses" that are supposed to look like trees. They were created by Piet Blom back in the 1970s in which each cube (house) is supposed to represent a tree...so all the houses together create a forest. Each of the cubes are tilted so they sit at a corner of the cube... so there are some windows pointing down and some pointing up etc etc. And the cubes are on top of these "poles" which is how you can enter and climb a staircase to the house.

Currently there are actual people living in the houses, but they have 1 house as a "showcube". Since they looked SO cool online, I really wanted to tour it... yeah kind of disapointing, since ultimately inside, its just a house with some slanted walls. haha it kind of reminded me of some 3rd floor dorm rooms in Giles (back at duke)... but none-the-less it was pretty cool to walk in, and see the cube houses.

There is also this "pencil-shaped" building right next to the houses. and whoa, it really looks like a pencil!!!!! the color scheme and everything! haha

And of course, while in Rotterdam, i went shopping! They have some awesome places to shop...so many stores... I even got tired after awhile! (AMAZING!!)

Here are some photos. EnjoY!

Cubic House : does it look like a forest?

View of the roof:

Living room:

Third Floor: (ceiling was kind of low)

at the office:

Kitchen:

With the Pencil Building:

looks really like a pencil huh?!?!
(see the gray tip...for lead HAHA)
Church in the city centre:

Seagull enjoying the remains of the open market:

oh and this is what the NS trains look like:
(I've been riding these ALL year long... lovely huh)

Vienna Austria

Another one of my "wishlist" cities to visit...vienna...and amazingly enough, i was able to visit this city on a layover for my flight from Italy back to Amsterdam!!! It was awesome- spent like 1/2 a day there. it totally worked out because the vienna airport is only 20 minutes from the city centre, and the bus dropped us off literally at the city centre. (well like 5 minute walk) We saw the Hofburg Palace, st stephan's church in the city centre, the opera house and Mozart's house. And of course walked around the city...saw the sights etc etc. Really awesome! Of course I wish I could have spent a little more time there...but that will just be for next time! :)

Here are some pictures:

danube river:

st stephan's cathedral in the city centre:

mozart's house

at the hofburg palace area:

mozart memorial:

also at hofburg palace:

monument in the city centre:

mmm mozart chocolate balls are everywhere:

Venice Italy

In addition to visiting Milano, I also went to Venice Italy (FINALLY!!) I was SOOO excited to go...since it's sinking and everything. HAHA It took us 3 hours to get to Venice from Milano, and we were able to spend the afternoon there. It was beautiful! and TOTALLy worth the super long train ride. WOW, everywhere...canals... and gondolas, and breathtaking scenery. So in our short afternoon there, we just saw the city...didn't really see the "main attractions"... but it is what it is. I really enjoyed the time in Venice. If I go back in the future... totally want to ride the gondola (it is SUPERRRR expensive).

Enjoy the photos:

Area by the train station:

Venice in black/white:

eating pizza in venice

mmm colored chocolate:

gondolasssss:

breathtaking:

market area:

typical view in venice:

another lovely view:

venice at night:

Milano Italy

I just can't get enough of italy!! :) This time I went to "northern" italy... MILANO. It's actually not such a big city, but there were a few really neat things to see, and of course the shopping is incredible. Here are some pictures:

mmmm donuts....

gelato:

Dumo in Milano:

in the square- next to duomo is the shopping:

i believe this was a castle in milano..
or a museum...forgot already