On my way out the door, Susan Young, friends with my Uncle Cal and Aunt Edie in Japan, grabbed me and asked me if I "want a beer, ya know, for the train?" I replied with a "why not!" She grinned and said, "You can always count on the Cummings!" I walked out of the Zav center, feeling proud that I had upheld our good name.
Once I arrived in Delft, I was too cold/lazy to take out my iPad and figure out where I was going, so I saw a steeple and headed for it. It is hard to walk briskly when you are constantly stopping to take pictures of every canal and bridge. The snow that layered the ground multiplied the beauty... Added to the cold too. Before I knew it, I stumbled upon market square and found a cozy cafe to grab a cappuccino and orient myself to this quaint, Dutch town. When arriving somewhere new, by yourself AND in the winter, I would definitely recommend (if you have time) to sit in a corner by the window and plan/people watch.
Not wanting to leave, but knowing there was so much to see, I headed to the market and was so overwhelmed that I walked through and made a mental note of all of the things that I wanted to buy for people. I technically didn't have extra room... But I bought some pretty cool souvenirs and figured I would worry about where to put everything later. I then headed to the new church in the square (the new churches are never "new" in Europe). This is where William of Orange, who led the Dutch to Independence, and many others in the Royal house of Orange are buried.
I slowly made my way to the old church, which has a leaning steeple because of the not-so-sturdy foundation - it is, after all, built basically on top of the canal. With my student discount, I got a combined ticket for both churches for €2.50... let's just say when you read about London, the things we go to see cost a bit more than that.
Note the leaning steeple!
After wandering through the canals a bit more, I decided it was about time for lunch, so I stopped in a place right next to the church, and boy, what I pleasant surprise it is when you pick a fantastic pub at random! They had Belgian beer, which made me happier than I can even describe to you. I also ordered one of the most amazing paninis I have ever had - goat cheese, tomato pesto and bacon. My mouth is watering just writing the ingredients down. I caught up (or tried to catch up) on blogging here, ordered another beer, and just relaxed, not only not wanting to leave Delft, but not wanting to leave this awesome pub, with the cutest, sweetest bartender ever.
Eventually I left, not giving myself nearly enough time to get to the Delft museum that I was planning on going to next. It didn't help that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Rick Steves had mentioned that it would be difficult to find the Delft manufacture museum... did I listen? No. Delft is so small. I was so happy. I wandered in what I figured could only be the right direction. I paused every 10 seconds or so to snap another picture of the beautiful canals. As if I didn't have enough pictures already. I was just in one of those moods, where I knew nothing could go wrong, so I glanced at my map, but didn't really try to understand it. After "searching" like this for about thirty minutes, even I knew there was no way I was going to find it. This didn't phase me one bit.
I remembered seeing a really good shopping street, so I figured why not wander in that direction? Remember that time when I bought souvenirs for other people even when I didn't have room in my luggage? Well, I figured if I was going to make those things fit, then why not make room for some new clothes for myself? So, I made H&M my home for the next hour.
Another thing that I have realized about traveling alone... I spend a lot more money. When I'm traveling with Julia, we don't need to shop or eat great meals all the time, or travel in the most convenient way to have a fantastic time. We have each other. Well, when I'm alone, eating a sandwich by myself on a train, just sounds awful. When it's Julia and I, dipping our fingers into our Nutella jar and trying to spread it on our crackers without utensils - it's fun. No one wants to go through such things alone. So, I eat out for every meal, and I shop and I buy beer... and chat extensively with bartenders when I get the chance. And it almost replaces Julia. Almost ;)
With that being said, I actually did eat by myself on the train on my way to Eindhoven that night. That was Dutch cheese though. Which, obviously, is a whole different story.
On my way out of Delft, I stopped in Rotterdam to pick up my bag that I had checked for the day. I figured maybe I'd explore Rotterdam for a bit before heading to Eindhoven, where I was staying for the night and flying out of the next morning. I walked outside, walked around the block and walked back into the train station. "Why?" you might ask. IT WAS SO COLD. I even bought Starbucks to prepare myself... it didn't do the trick. It is one thing to be cold when in Delft when every way I turn my breath is taken away. Rotterdam didn't have the same effect. Granted, I only got within one block of the train station. But, in my defense, Rick Steves didn't have anything written on Rotterdam, so I had absolutely no direction.
So, this is where it gets embarressing... You'd think that by this time I'd be a pretty smart traveler. Well, I am. But I had a really weird and confusing moment. I was walking toward my train out of Rotterdam and this British guy came up to me. He said something about only having pounds and needing change in euros to get a train home. In my mind, I was like, "Oh, he'll give me pounds and I'll give him euros, this is perfect!" Well, I didn't realize until I pulled out five euros that he wasn't going to give me anything in exchange. And then he said, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to take your wallet or anything." And that is when I realized that I had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. The "I need to get home" trick. When counting up for my expenses that day I wrote "5 euros - random man." Not something that I was ever planning on having to write.
I had prepared myself as much as possible for my arrival in Eindhoven. I had all my bus options and walking directions from the bus station. I forgot one simple thing. You have to press the "stop" button in order to get off at the right station. So, I got off at the wrong stop. Here's something else that I've learned about myself... I don't know if I mentioned this or not before, but apparently I talk to myself when I'm lost. I kept catching myself talking myself through everything I was doing. These are the only moments when I'm glad that I'm walking the streets alone.
Whether it was divine providence or my newly found sense of direction, I found my hostel! Maps make sense to me now... It is the most amazing feeling in the world. I looked down at my map and realized that the hostel should be about 100 meters behind me... so I walked back to where I had just come from. Like a beacon in the night, I saw a banner with a backpacker on it. The silly grin that overcame my face the moment I saw that banner probably didn't disappear until two hours later.
I love all of the people I meet while traveling. I just end up having so many conversations with the most fascinating people. For example, one of the girls in my hostel was telling me all about how she was in Cairo, Egypt (traveling alone) when there was a terrorist attack and she was told that if she didn't leave right away she might never make it out. This was her reasoning for only traveling alone in Europe now. Duly noted.
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