First Weekend Trip: Amsterdam

It's our first weekend excursion and we are taken to Amsterdam. Being debriefed on 'Sin City' had us all believing that Amsterdam was strictly a place for pot and prostitution, which we found not to be true. (Sigh of relief for my parents) Not that they don't exist, but we were shown the more cultural aspect of Amsterdam. From the minute we arrived, it was museums, museums, and more museums. I won't bother naming them because I can't pronounce them, however, all centralized around the common theme of the people here which is pride in the Netherlands history. Everyone seems to be very aware of every era, trade, and political change of Amsterdam. Rightfully so, every building, painting, and statue had a religious fable attached to it. It could have been something as detailed as the clover trimmings on a building, or as blunt as a rooster statue.
Indeed, there were a lot of sights to be seen, all of which were crammed in a four street radius. It seems that every block you come across is just one canal from the other, but we were shown the various buildings alongside them, and their historical differences. Some belonged to merchants to have easy access to trade, others were newer, more modern buildings renovated between older ones.

Every tour guide told us how lucky we were to be out in the city on such a sunny day. So deceiving. The sun was definitely out, and there wasn't one cloud in that sky, but the temperature remained below 30s the entire time. There we were, all bundled up in our down coats, happy that the museum trail was over but fearing the death cold that was to come later that night. And just when we had given up hope, we were spoiled with a feast of Indonesian cuisine that I can proudly say changed my life. Dish after dish was put out for all of us we didn't know where to begin. It might have been the hunger talking, but that was the best meal of my life.

So this is how they do it in Well

We have finally arrived at Kasteel Well on a chilly Friday morning. The town of Well is a small one, and by small I mean the proximity of one boulevard. Approaching the castle, I felt I became that much more proper, just saying that I live in a castle. Once I crossed the bridge though, I saw the real quaintness of it. This castle is over 100 years old, and I definitely notice it. Not in an ancient state-of-dilapidation kind of way, but in a rustic-charm kind of way. The entire castle is wall-to-wall brick, which white window trimmings and glass windows of all shapes and sizes. This castle has so many nooks and crannies to it, that the gym is next to my bedroom, the tower is next to the vending machines, it almost seems like an architectural jigsaw puzzle. There are what I call 'peek-a-boo' windows, which sort of pop up in random spots on the walls from place to place. Needless to say, there are a lot of places to explore just on the castle grounds alone.

The town of Well is just your average speck of metropolitan on the vast miles of farmland surrounding it. Much like the castle, local establishments are sort of scrambled about. Houses separate one grocery store from the next, and a child's playground happens to be a backdrop from the local bar, de Buun. Only in Well.