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prosodicProbably once they're gone, I'll end up cutting and pasting these entries to the travel journal. Right now, it's just more convenient to type them here because time on the computer is at a premium and I'm already logged in.
Anyway, we went to Thorn yesterday afternoon. I think we left the house around 11:30 or so. I had directions printed out from Mappy, but I more or less knew how to get there. The problem was, we hit an unexpected detour, which threw me off. But I eventually found the A2, and we were on the autoweg a grand total of about 5 minutes, so I wasn't really all that nervous about driving (I really hate driving, especially when there are people in the car with me).
Our first stop was De Pannekoekenbakker. I was trying to tell Lori not to think of pancakes in the American way, because she was seeing pizza pannekoeken and Greek pannekoeken on the menu and wrinkling her nose in disgust. I suggested that we order 2 pancakes and split them 4 ways, and then if that wasn't enough to eat, we could order soup or salad. Lindsey only wanted pannekoeken, and wasn't really interested in the bacon and cheese one that we wanted to order. So she said she would order an apple pannekoeken, and she would share a bit of it with us. So Sue, Lori, and I ordered soup (asparagus soup for Sue, tomato for Lori, French onion for me) and then when the pannekoeken arrived, we divvied them up and began eating. Lori was surprised and pleased, and said she could imagine pizza and Greek pannekoeken. It really is quite different from American pancakes. We had a nice meal, not too filling...that's great, because I normally walk out of there feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.
We decided to visit the church next, taking a slight detour through the cemetery. We found out that things changed at the church since I was there last...now you have to go down the street to the museum and buy your tickets to enter the church. So we walked down there and got tickets and audio guides (in exchange for my passport) and came back to the church. The guy working at the door asked us about where we were from in America, and I mentioned I lived in Germany and he said "well, I think your husband is in the military? I will tell you a story." Then he proceeded to tell us how he was taken away from Holland in 1943 (he was in seminary school) by the Marines and brought to Camp LeJeune. It was for his safety they did that. And he told us about his experiences in North Carolina. He said it wasn't pleasant, but he doesn't hold it against Americans, and in fact, he really has a lot of admiration and respect for us. He was really nice to talk to. I'm not really clear on all the details of his story because of his Dutch accent, but I always enjoy meeting locals and I especially love it when they want to tell me their stories.
After the church (Lori and Lindsey were particularly fascinated by the crypt and the glass-topped coffins featuring two decaying abbesses of the church), we meandered around the streets. We stopped in a wine shop and Sue and Lori bought some wine, and then we headed home. We got back before 5 or so. Lori, Sue, and I took a walk to my old neighborhood so I could show Lori where Lance and I used to live. It's even worse now than it was when we moved, so I'm relieved that we're gone...we totally made the right choice to live here.
I put out munchies after our walk and we ate and talked for awhile. Then Lindsey decided we should see a movie, so we all decided to watch Casanova. And that was it...off to bed.
Today, we leave for Berlin. You won't be seeing me while we're there, even though our hostel has a couple of computers for checking internet.
Anyway, we went to Thorn yesterday afternoon. I think we left the house around 11:30 or so. I had directions printed out from Mappy, but I more or less knew how to get there. The problem was, we hit an unexpected detour, which threw me off. But I eventually found the A2, and we were on the autoweg a grand total of about 5 minutes, so I wasn't really all that nervous about driving (I really hate driving, especially when there are people in the car with me).
Our first stop was De Pannekoekenbakker. I was trying to tell Lori not to think of pancakes in the American way, because she was seeing pizza pannekoeken and Greek pannekoeken on the menu and wrinkling her nose in disgust. I suggested that we order 2 pancakes and split them 4 ways, and then if that wasn't enough to eat, we could order soup or salad. Lindsey only wanted pannekoeken, and wasn't really interested in the bacon and cheese one that we wanted to order. So she said she would order an apple pannekoeken, and she would share a bit of it with us. So Sue, Lori, and I ordered soup (asparagus soup for Sue, tomato for Lori, French onion for me) and then when the pannekoeken arrived, we divvied them up and began eating. Lori was surprised and pleased, and said she could imagine pizza and Greek pannekoeken. It really is quite different from American pancakes. We had a nice meal, not too filling...that's great, because I normally walk out of there feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.
We decided to visit the church next, taking a slight detour through the cemetery. We found out that things changed at the church since I was there last...now you have to go down the street to the museum and buy your tickets to enter the church. So we walked down there and got tickets and audio guides (in exchange for my passport) and came back to the church. The guy working at the door asked us about where we were from in America, and I mentioned I lived in Germany and he said "well, I think your husband is in the military? I will tell you a story." Then he proceeded to tell us how he was taken away from Holland in 1943 (he was in seminary school) by the Marines and brought to Camp LeJeune. It was for his safety they did that. And he told us about his experiences in North Carolina. He said it wasn't pleasant, but he doesn't hold it against Americans, and in fact, he really has a lot of admiration and respect for us. He was really nice to talk to. I'm not really clear on all the details of his story because of his Dutch accent, but I always enjoy meeting locals and I especially love it when they want to tell me their stories.
After the church (Lori and Lindsey were particularly fascinated by the crypt and the glass-topped coffins featuring two decaying abbesses of the church), we meandered around the streets. We stopped in a wine shop and Sue and Lori bought some wine, and then we headed home. We got back before 5 or so. Lori, Sue, and I took a walk to my old neighborhood so I could show Lori where Lance and I used to live. It's even worse now than it was when we moved, so I'm relieved that we're gone...we totally made the right choice to live here.
I put out munchies after our walk and we ate and talked for awhile. Then Lindsey decided we should see a movie, so we all decided to watch Casanova. And that was it...off to bed.
Today, we leave for Berlin. You won't be seeing me while we're there, even though our hostel has a couple of computers for checking internet.