Netherlands

Around Holland: Utrecht, Gouda, Delft, and Rotterdam

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This weekend I joined up with my friend Iva, an intern from Croatia, to see a few of the nearby Dutch cities. Trains here (and in all of Europe) are blissfully frequent and always on time, making it very easy to travel around efficiently. We had no particular agenda for any of these cities other than to arrive and wander around.

Utrecht is a charming city about 45 minutes east of Den Haag. To me, it seemed like a larger version of Delft: it’s home to many canals (wider than those of Delft) and buildings whose architecture reflects the age of the city  – it’s one of the oldest in Holland.

After navigating our way out of the central station (which is also a sizable mall), we exited into a square filled with stalls of clothing and food (the smell of waffles wafted through the air, making us hungry). We found our way to a church and took a look inside before walking along one of the larger canals. We contemplated renting a canoe but opted for sitting on a bench near a man strumming a guitar and singing in Portuguese. Here was our view:

People live right on the canals in little buildings right under the main street. Except for the threat of flooding, this seems like the perfect set-up to me:

I also FINALLY saw someone wearing the famous Dutch wooden shoes. I almost bought a pair today, but they seem like the ultimate example of something you want to buy but really shouldn’t. Here’s what one looked like on my foot:

Anyway, after a couple of hours in Utrecht, we hopped back on the train to go back to Den Haag and took a quick detour to Gouda, home of the famous cheese. Let me take a moment to announce that we’ve all been seriously  mispronouncing “Gouda”. It’s not GOO-da; it’s HOW-da. (One of the few things I’ve managed to figure out about Dutch is that g’s sound like h’s.) Gouda is another charming little town; we walked down a pedestrian shopping street towards the main square, and about halfway down I realized that the orange things hanging over the street were not the ubiquitous orange soccer decorations but instead wheels of cheese:

Once in the main square, we found a cheese shop but didn’t buy anything. Here’s your Dutch word of the day (one of maybe six that I know): “cheese” is “kaas”.

There is also a cheese museum, but we didn’t visit:

Today Iva and I headed southeast to Delft and Rotterdam for some shopping. I’ve written about Delft already; it was just as charming today despite the cold rain that we put up with until mid-afternoon. We went into around six souvenir shops along the main square, and I bought some wooden tulips for my apartment:

I noticed something new this time in Delft. At random intervals along the brick sidewalks, there are the famous white tiles with blue paint instead of bricks. They all say the same thing (I think the word for “earth” in a number of languages):

On our way back to the train station, we grabbed some “hot dogs” from a bakery. They were quite delicious, although they also had some of the sweet brown sauce that frequently appears in Dutch cooking (I’m not a huge fan).

We arrived in Rotterdam about 15 minutes later. Rotterdam is the second-largest city in Holland, and unlike the rest, it’s full of skyscrapers. Apparently, nearly the entire city was destroyed during World War II, and Dutch developers took that as an opportunity to build a modern city. Here’s one example:

There’s quite a bit of touristy stuff to see and do in Rotterdam, but Iva and I stuck to the shopping district near the central station. (Rotterdam, unlike the Hague, has fully embraced the American tradition of shopping on Sunday.) We went into a bunch of stores, and I ended up buying a lovely sea green “leather” jacket, which will serve my needs of both fashion and function here in still-chilly Holland.

So, even though I didn’t visit any museums or go on any tours, I had a lovely weekend seeing a bit of the nearby cities! I doubt I’ll have a chance to go back (although Rotterdam’s shops are open until 11 this Friday…), so I’m glad I got to see them even briefly.

SIX weeks in the Hague?!

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Yes, this is my sixth week here! It’s so hard to believe. It feels like I’ve been here a lot longer (in the best possible sense), and I’m already dreading the day when I’ll have to leave!

This week has been wonderful. After enjoying nice weather both days last weekend, I closed out  my Sunday by joining a friend at one of the beachfront bars to watch the Dutch soccer team make their last stand in the Euro 2012 tournament. After losing their previous two games, there wasn’t much hope for this one – but nonetheless, the residents of Den Haag were decked out in orange and glued to various tv screens. We sat on a couch and watched the game on a giant screen outside (with the sand behind us) – which is pretty much the best way to watch tv of any sort. Here was our view:

This bar (called Blue Lagoon) also provided a DJ for the time before and after the game as well as during halftime, when an adorable toddler danced to LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It” – I caught about a minute of it on video, and it’s practically a YouTube sensation in the making. Anyway, Portugal won (to my great pleasure; I was wearing orange but rooting for Portugal!), so that’s the end of the orange wave here. By the way, they’re SO into this tournament that this sand sculpture is right at the entrance to the beach:

On Tuesday I left work a little early along with several Croatian colleagues to attend a (random) celebration of Croatia’s entry into the EU on July 1 of next year. This took place at town hall and was a TON of fun. We got to drink imported Karlovačko beer and took home quite a few souvenirs, including pouches of lavender, Croatian chocolate, the red wooden hearts that you can buy in Zagreb, and a wide range of tourist material, including a DVD. There were many Croatians there, and as one of them said after meeting me, “being here is like feeding your soul!” We also enjoyed a performance by a beautiful, young cellist from Zagreb and met her right before we left. She liked my name so much she said she would name her daughter after me! I also got a picture with the Croatian ambassador to the Netherlands:

After this, I joined two other ICTY lawyers (one from Bosnia, one from Ireland) for dinner and then went with them and an English lawyer to an Irish pub to watch the England vs. Ukraine game. Several other Bosnian guys from the Tribunal were there, and I spent most of the time talking with them. I’ve now got quite a group of BCS speakers who are willing to help me  learn a bit more of the language! (These guys have all greeted me in BCS when they’ve seen me in the last few days.)

Yesterday was my friend’s 25th birthday, so a bunch of us interns went back to Blue Lagoon for an evening of celebration on the beach. Fortunately, the weather cooperated; it was about 70 degrees yesterday! I ate some raw oysters (with beets, quite good!):

but I could have ordered this guy:

By the end of the night there were about 20 of us there, and six of us ended up going down onto the beach shortly before midnight. Given that it was summer solstice and we were already having a great time, it seemed to me only appropriate that we go for a swim – so we did! It was still a little light outside even though it was so late, and the water, far from being freezing, was just the right temperature – brisk but refreshing. Four of us stayed in for about 20 minutes. It was the perfect way to end the night, and we’ve decided to try to go as often as possible for the rest of the summer!

This weekend I’m hoping to go to Utrecht (another Dutch city) with my Croatian friend and then perhaps back to Amsterdam to see more! But if the weather is as nice as it was last weekend… might have to go to the beach. Here are some pictures from recent morning walks:

In summary: life is good. So very blessed!

Amsterdam Trip #1: the Red Light District & Medieval Centre

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I took advantage of a second day of gorgeous weekend weather and went to Amsterdam for a few hours this afternoon. It’s less than an hour away by train, but it’s taken me five weeks to make it there! I decided to focus solely on the Red Light District and Medieval Centre, which comprise only a small part of the city and are adjacent to the train station.

I crossed the street from the train station and started off down a major street next to the canal where most of the boat tours launch. Within a block, I reached the Sex Museum. Most of the tourist book reviews I’ve read seemed to find this place underwhelming, but I just don’t think you can pass on something like that when you’re in Amsterdam. I paid the 4 euro entry fee and stepped inside into what seemed like another world.

The museum requires that visitors be over 16, and for good reason. Immediately upon crossing the threshold, you are surrounded by paintings, statutes, and even mannikins and animatronics engaged in some sort of sexual act. A mere 10 yards inside the door, there is a display of two animatronics inside what I think is one of the public urinals that are common in the Netherlands. The woman uses one hand to pull back her skirt – revealing everything – and another hand to grasp a certain part of the man’s anatomy. Her hand moves, if you catch my drift. There are also sounds to go along with this.

The museum boasts an impressive array of black and white pornographic pictures from throughout the last century so that you can follow the evolution of sex throughout the decades. There are also pieces of art from much further away in time and space, including some of the familiar pornographic paintings that I saw in Pompeii ten years ago. You are allowed to take pictures, but I didn’t really feel the need (what would I do with those pictures?!). I did start giggling with random strangers at times (two girls were taking pictures of themselves sitting on giant penis statues), which made me wish I had come with a big group of people – we could have made a good game out of seeing who could keep a straight face the longest.

From the museum, I made my way towards the old church, which is ironically now the sort of centerpiece of the Red Light District. The Prostitution Information Centre is located on the same square as the church, and there are indeed prostitutes looking out from doors and windows right across from the church. Here is a picture of an empty window:

I’m not really sure what to think about the prostitutes themselves. On the one hand, their situation is a lot better than that of prostitutes elsewhere because it’s legal in the Netherlands; on the other hand, I’m not sure that based on the prostitutes I saw that there’s any higher level of respect involved. You can’t take pictures of them, but frankly none of them inspired that kind of memorialization.

Mixed in with the windows, of course, are the coffee shops, aka the places where you can smoke pot. Marijuana smoke is the perfume of this part of the city. I passed countless coffee shops and places designed to lure in their exiting customers (see below; excellent marketing):

The Red Light District is also home to a couple of museums about marijuana, including one called Cannabis College where you can learn everything you’d ever want to know about pot. (Apparently the people who work there train the people who run the coffee shops.) I would have gone in, but it wasn’t open when I passed by. Here it the other museum:

The third part of the Red Light trifecta is the sex shops. Anyone reading Fifty Shades of Grey who wants to purchase some of Christian’s playroom accessories need look no further than this part of Amsterdam. One shop, appropriately, was playing “S&M” by Rihanna when I passed by.My favorite was the Condomerie, which sells condoms of all shapes, sizes, colors, textures, flavors, etc.

And this may be the best window display I’ve ever seen:

I wandered alongside a canal down past the Royal Palace (where the Queen technically lives although really she lives here in Den Haag) and sat in the square to enjoy some shwarma (which is also plentiful in the Red Light District). From there, I set off for the Spui, a square lined with bookshops, including one with only English titles and another with used books. I spent some time milling around but didn’t find anything worth buying.

I headed back up towards the train station and stopped into various shops along the way. I saw some pretty cool (non-sexual) stuff but didn’t end up buying anything other than an amazing waffle covered in chocolate:

So that’s my introduction to Amsterdam – I figured even if for some reason I don’t end up having time to go back (not likely), at least now I’ve seen the most famous part! What a wild place.

One Month in the Hague!

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As of today, I’ve been in the Hague for exactly one month. I can’t believe I’m already 1/3 of the way through the summer! At the same time, it’s hard to believe that I’ve ONLY been here for a month. I fell into personal, professional, and social routines so easily and immediately that I feel like I’ve been here much longer.

That being said, this is going to be my first real weekend in the Hague! The only other weekend I was here (the weekend after I arrived), I worked all day Saturday and then was still so tired the next day that I didn’t do much except hang out at the beach. I still haven’t seen a lot of the city; I think Dad managed to see more in his one afternoon here than I have seen in the last month! Last night I was reading through the Lonely Planet’s couple of pages on the Hague and realized that very little of its contents looked familiar to me. Clearly, I need to take my bike and venture a little further afield!

I’m generally enjoying the Hague; my only major complaint (and that of everyone else here) is that the weather sucks. Today the sun is out, but that’s unfortunately the exception rather than the rule. It’s warmed up slightly, meaning that the temperature has reached its likely peak of highs in the low- to mid-60’s. Fingers crossed for nice weather this weekend so I can spend a bit more time on the beach!

In terms of other aspects of European life, I’m gradually starting to figure things out. I succeeded in opening a Dutch bank account last week (though I am still figuring out how to actually put money in it). I got my washing machine properly hooked up to the faucet of my bathroom sink (though now I don’t know how to remove it, so I’m now brushing my teeth in the kitchen). I am still experimenting with the settings of the washing machine – clothes often come out, paradoxically, either too wet (and often still a bit soapy) or too dry; ultimately, I have to do some serious wringing out of everything that goes through, so clearly the spin cycle leaves something to be desired. I think I’m going to continue taking a few articles of clothing to be professionally laundered just so I can be assured that they’re truly clean (not convinced anything is; it just smells better) and not wrinkled and/or oddly stressed out as a result of all the wringing! I think laundry is really the only thing I truly miss about the U.S. at this point.

My internship continues to be great. The other interns are 100% awesome – we’re a fun-loving group of people who also happen to be very smart and committed to the work that the Tribunal is doing. I look forward to lunch every day when we can hang out in the cafeteria (or on rare nice days, on the terrace) and just chat about things. We’re still making lots of plans for travel and other activities; for example, tomorrow night a group of us is going to Delft for dinner at a tavern that is like a more authentic version of Medieval Times, complete with rentable costumes. (Pictures absolutely forthcoming.) Every Monday morning is a time for catching up on everyone’s travels over the past weekend. I’ve gone to three countries over the past three weekends, and I am not alone in that record!

The other Tribunal employees are really wonderful as well. We interns are truly treated like lawyers; sometimes we have “grunt” work to do, but it’s work that the lawyers are doing too, so I don’t find it at all annoying. Everything, no matter how small or how tedious, is an important part of the work to bring Mladic to justice and help to provide some sense of closure to the victims as well. All of the attorneys I’ve worked with are warm, friendly, and good-natured, and they’re not afraid to give us real work. I got to draft another motion on Monday, which was pretty great. I’ve been doing a wide variety of work, both a combination of proactive (scheduled) and reactive tasks depending on the needs of the team.

I think this is the first time I’ve truly had no complaints about a job. Teaching was obviously tremendously rewarding and challenging in a good way, but it was also emotionally draining and exhausting. Working for the DC school system was a lot like the experience here except that there were so many issues of management and very little structure, so it was very frustrating. Consulting was just boring; I was under-utilized and uninterested in the work I did receive. Here, I’m learning a great deal about the Balkans conflict (which I’ve wanted to do for years), getting an inside look at the international justice system, and applying a lot of my innate and learned skills in order to further work that I fully believe in. I feel very, very lucky.

Dinner in Delft

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On Friday night, two other interns and I took the tram down to Delft for dinner. Delft is where Vermeeer (who did Girl with a Pearl Earring) lived, and although at that time it was a city distinct from the Hague, it’s now essentially become a suburb. It is worth every second of the 20-minute tram ride, and I will absolutely be going back!

The best part about Delft is its canals:

It’s a like Venice with a bit more dry land! It’s absolutely lovely to stroll along the canals. I would also like to live THIS guy’s life (look at the water):

We ended up eating out in a big plaza whose cafes had merged in the center to form what was essentially a giant biergarten. Among other things, we enjoyed these very patriotic meatballs:

We had to get home rather than linger (given that I had to be up at 3:40 the next morning to leave for Oslo!), but I am definitely going to go back – we passed a lot of live music (both indoors and outside) on our way back to the tram stop. Delft seems to be quite busy – not at all a quiet little town!

Hague Bucket List, Item #1

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We found out earlier this week that the Dutch painting with which we’re all most familiar is only going to be here in the Hague for the rest of this week, and it happens to be at the museum that’s between my apartment and the ICTY. As a result, we took a little field trip today during lunch to go see Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.

I’ve seen the movie and read the book about two months ago. Seeing the painting was, unsurprisingly, a bit anticlimactic. It’s about two feet tall, and were it not for the book and movie, it’s not the kind of thing I would have paid any attention to had I just happened to pass it in a gallery. Still, it’s always cool to see something famous like this, and it’s a good warm-up for when I finally get to Paris this summer and see the Mona Lisa.

Week 2 at the ICTY

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It’s hard to beat the excitement of last week, but this week has been anything but dull. We’ve spent the last four days waiting for the new start date of the trial and found out this afternoon that it’s resuming on June 25 – which is great news for us interns because it means we’ll still get to do meaningful things with the trial while we’re here.

Again, confidentiality prevents me from disclosing many details of what I’m doing at work, but I’ll try to be as specific as I can. This week we’ve been working on witness preparation. We each have responsibility for two, and I’m lucky enough to have the very first one. We’ve mostly been reading through the witnesses’ statements. This is both very interesting and very intense – one of my witnesses was only 14 when the war arrived in his hometown, and what he experienced subsequently was awful. My other witness had a completely different experience that was less horrible for him as an individual but no less difficult to read. I’m grateful to be doing something that has such a direct connection to the case and that also provides me with an opportunity to really broaden and deepen my knowledge of what happened in the Balkans during the 1990s. I have only a very, very broad understanding, and it really helps to see even one individual perspective.

I also got to draft a motion today – which is a really big deal even though there’s a pretty standard format! Can’t say much more, but reading all the motions that come through my inbox every day definitely helps to highlight some of the more important rules of procedure in the ICTY as well as how the lawyers on both sides use them strategically.

 

 

life on the seaside

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It’s 9:30 Thursday night here in the Hague, and as I sit here in my apartment, the sounds of people celebrating today’s truly fine weather waft through my open window along with the breeze. Across the way, I can see a group of people gathered on a roof, grilling, drinking, and generally enjoying each other’s company. Patrons of the bar on the corner have taken their beers outside into the 80-degree air, and undoubtedly, the children responsible for the 130-square game of Hopscotch I saw on the sidewalk yesterday are just going to bed after an exhausting round of outdoor activities in one of the Hague’s many parks.

This has been a good week. I’ve been to the beach every day, starting on Sunday with my afternoon spent next to a fire pit on the boardwalk and continuing with morning and/or evening walks along different parts of the waterfront with Kelsey. Last night we packed some vegetables, cheese, and beer and set off on a trek through the harbor (which is very, very cute) to the other end of the commercial beach, where we encountered a surfing club of some sort that had, strangely, some exercise machines that appeared to be open to public use – right there on the boardwalk! We walked inside and talked to a female bartender, who informed us that they were there to encourage everyone to be active and take care of themselves. (Then, in what I’m coming to understand is the true, friendly fashion of the Dutch, she told us to feel free to make ourselves at home; “you’re family.”) A bit further down the beach a big group of people around our age were playing on several beach volleyball courts, and about 15 people were surfing at the far end next to the jetty. (I didn’t see anyone actually stand up on a wave – they’re pretty small, and the water was particularly calm yesterday.) We walked all the way down to the other end where the pier is (and where we’d spent Sunday afternoon). Once we reached the pier (which, we discovered, is home to a casino perched over the water), we plopped down on the sand, cracked open a beer, and sat there savoring the simple joy of sitting on sand, facing the ocean, watching the sun slowly start to sink down towards the water. As we looked around, we wondered two things: if the residents of the Hague always spend time at the beach, and if they realize how good they’ve got it. We get the sense that they truly value the beach – it’s clearly a place for everyone. Kids are running around or building sandcastles; young lovers are holding hands and kissing; older couples stroll together along the surf. We’ve even seen people in wheelchairs on the boardwalk.

This morning we decided to walk out onto the jetty, which is long enough that it’s about a five-minute walk from one end to the other. At the far end, we found a few men in their 60’s fishing. They didn’t speak English, but they seemed pleasantly amused at our presence and seemed to have no problem with us watching them. One guy even managed to snag a flounder while we were there! I’ve decided that at some point we’re going to bring croissants with us and try to make friends with these guys. (I will study up on some key Dutch phrases beforehand.) We figure that they probably have a) wives who’d be willing to make us a real Dutch meal and/or b) tall, attractive sons around our age. Either way, it’s a win.

 

 

laundry fail.

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Who knew it would be THIS hard to do laundry in the Netherlands?

The past 24 hours have been an exercise in futility when it comes to doing laundry in my apartment. My washing machine is located in my bathroom (more precisely, in my shower), and I thought the main challenge would be figuring out how to connect it. That turned out not to be terribly complicated – per my landlord’s instructions, I connected the machine’s hose to the sink faucet and then plugged the power cord into the (hidden) outlet in the bathroom. So far, so good. I felt quite proud of myself.

I loaded the machine with clothes and liquid detergent, shut the lid, and pushed the power button. All looked good: the lights went on, and I heard some sort of sound. It was not, however, the sound of water filling the machine. I confirmed this by turning the tap and discovering that quite a large amount of water escaped from a gap between the screw and the hose. Still, I thought: okay, maybe I’m supposed to turn on the water myself. I let it run for a while and continued to hear noises that sounded like SOMETHING was happening.

Still not satisfied that the machine was working, I did some googling and managed to track down the owner’s manual for this particular machine. Although it helped me to understand the meaning of the various dials and buttons, it shed no light on the problem. (It listed “machine doesn’t fill with water” as a problem but offered no suggestions on how to fix it – great.)

I decided to give up and just hope that things would work out. (European washing machines can take two hours to run, so I figured by the time I woke up, maybe it’d be done.) When I woke up this morning, everything was exactly the same: all the lights, all the noises, etc. I turned it off, still worried that maybe it would be locked until it finished the cycle, and was relieved when about 30 seconds later I heard it unlock.

Well, friends, absolutely NOTHING had happened. My clothes weren’t wet at all except for little spots of detergent. After nearly 12 hours, I had dirty clothes that now smelled a bit fresher thanks to the detergent’s floral scent.

I’ve been emailing back and forth with my landlord (who does not live in the Hague), and he as of yet does not seem to understand why I have a problem. I have never considered myself to be exceptionally mechanical or skilled in this type of area, but I do feel capable of getting this to work – which is why I am so frustrated right now! I have tried EVERYTHING and still there is water squirting everywhere.

UGH!

the first week in review

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I’ve been in the Hague for one week now, and already so much has happened! Law school feels like at least an ocean way both geographically and temporally – not only because this week has been so busy but also because I already feel so at home here (despite the remaining confusions about certain things).

To review what I’ve managed to do in the last week:

Move into apartment

Buy a bike

Buy and use a Dutch cell phone

Use public transportation

Still to do this week:

Set up a Dutch bank account

Buy a transportation card

Figure out how to use my washing machine

(Re: the last item – my washing machine is currently sitting in my shower unconnected to anything. A cursory glance suggests that to use it would require disconnecting my shower head and attaching the washing machine hose to that faucet. This is confusing to me. Any thoughts?)

I really like the Hague. I could definitely imagine living here longer-term. It’s unlike any other European city I’ve visited – it’s far less compact (the buildings are further apart, many of the streets are wider), has more than the usual number of parks (700, apparently), and has truly distinct areas. Although it has a major beach, it’s not a beach city – if you’re not at the beach, you’d never know it was there (unlike many beach cities in the states where the beach seems to dominate both the geography and the culture of the city). The biking is great – it’s 100% possible to be carless here, and if the weather’s bad, you can always take the tram or the bus. (Speaking of weather: many of the forecasts for the past week have said rain, but it only seems to rain in short bursts, which is great. We’ve had far less rain than anticipated.) The people are all pretty friendly; the kids are cute and plentiful; and the ex-pat/international community here makes things more interesting. Predictably, I already don’t want to go home!

Tomorrow we’re meeting with our intern supervisor to hopefully get a bit more detail about a) the current status of the case and b) what our roles are going to be moving forward. It’s hard to know what we’ll be able to do until we know when the trial’s going to resume, so it might take a bit more time to get a long-term project of some sort. In the meantime, it’s still really interesting to be among other people, hear BCS spoken on a regular basis by other interns in my office, and get a sense of how major cases like this are structured and organized.

I think it’s going to be a great summer!