Hup Holland Hup

Goedenmiddag Wereld!
Goodafternoon World!

Lately, I have been domestic in my adventures, but I really feel like I have experienced more of what the Netherlands has to offer.  Before we studied abroad, our coordinators told us to try to stay in our abroad city for a few weekends, even though the opportunity to travel is right at our doorsteps.  It would be a shame to study abroad and not explore your own city!!  For that reason, I have enjoyed my time exploring Holland the past two weekends.
Last weekend, my study abroad program arranged a trip to see the Dutch National Football Team play in Rotterdam.  They offered us discount tickets and a free bus ride, so me and some friends jumped on that opportunity right away!  Since we are studying in Europe, we thought it was necessary that we watch a national football game.  Keep in mind, that when I saw football, I mean SOCCER!  Europeans will look at you crazy if you call it a 'soccer' game!!  The bus ride to Rotterdam was very entertaining.  We were all decked out in orange and were painting each others faces with the colors of the Dutch flag.  It felt like a football hooligan bus, only full of American's! 
Once we got to the stadium, we bundled up because it was a downpour, but made sure our proud orange was still showing.  Fortunately, our seats were just barely covered by the stadium and it just so happened that we had an excellent view!

Netherlands vs. Moldova

The Netherlands are ranked 2nd in the FIFA world ranking, so the fans were so dedicated and enthusiastic, despite the rain and wind.  We enjoyed swaying back and forth with the crowd to the traditional Dutch 'Hup Holland Hup' game day song and we even heard some songs that were played at Oktoberfest!  I had bought a Holland flag the week before, and proudly tied it around my neck to show my team spirit.  Now, it is hanging on my wall in my room as decoration!  The game went by pretty fast and in the end, the Netherlands beat Moldova 1-0.  Hup Holland!!

Ein Prosit naar Holland!  ( A cheers for Holland! )

Home sweet Maastricht.
Maastricht may seem like a small city, but once you explore and walk around, it is so big and there is so much to do!  It was nice to explore the city and walk around, since I always am on my bike and in a hurry to get to class.  A friend and I decided to climb to the top of the St. Janskerk clock tower to take a new look at our city.  The hike up was certainly daunting.  Dutch stairs are already steep enough as it is, but add a narrow, winding, and never ending staircase to that and you get the ascent of the clock tower.  Once we reached the top, the view was phenomenal and totally worth the climb up.

The Vrijtof Square from above.

My cute Dutch town!!

The Guesthouse is somewhere to the left in the distance!

Notice the modern wind turbines in the distance.  Clean energy!

After seeing the city from high up, we decided to go read in one of the cities parks.  Behind the Maastricht University Library is an interesting petting zoo area with exotic deer and sheep.  I enjoy visiting the animals to take a break from studying.  It's the closest thing to wildlife I have seen in the Netherlands!  Further down from the animals is a beautiful park that lines the ancient wall of the city.  We found a relaxing spot and had a picnic, caught up on some reading, and soaked in the autumn sun.

Ancient city wall!

Het fiets.  (The bikes)

Vespas...we are so jealous of them.

Have you ever seen so many bikes?!?!?