It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Within the past week, I have done my fair share of traveling while balancing the huge amount of school work I have for the end of the semester.  Last week, my Dutch Art History class went on an excursion to The Hague to view some famous Dutch masterpieces.  It was very fun to go on a field trip and take a train to our destination...no yellow school buses here!  We arrived in The Hague, were treated to a Dutch lunch, and then went to the Maurithuis Museum, where countless pieces of art from the Flemish masters are kept.  Countless paintings by Rembrant, Van Eyck, and of course my personal favorite, Vermeer.  In the summer, I read the book Girl with a Pearl Earring and from that moment, I was really into the painting, probably because the novel gave me an imagination of the masterpiece that others may not have.  I was so excited to see the painting, and of course, it was much smaller than I expected, but just as glorious as I had hoped.  I enjoyed thinking in 'my own world' for a moment while the rest of my classmates wandered through the museum.  Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed in the museum, so I only have my lovely memories.  However, I do have a fancy postcard with the girl on it to remember the day. 
After the Martishuis, we went to another museum to view a panorama exhibit.  It was SO cool, but so hard to explain in words.  Basically, the exhibit was based in a life sized gazebo, and all around it in a 360 degree room, the artist had painted a landscape of the ocean, the beach, and the surrounding village.  It looked so incredibly lifelike and made you a little dizzy when focusing on figures. 
The city of The Hague, or Den Haag as the Dutch call it was very modern and upbeat.  Not surprising since it is the home of the International Criminal Court!  

The Martishuis Museum

Represent!

Den Haag.  Old & Modern & so functional

A few days later, I went to Heidelberg, Germany to see my friend Lukas again.  It was a pleasant journey, despite the difficultly with the Belgian trains and their lack of being punctual.  Once I got there, we ate dinner and made Gluhwein, also known as mulled wine, a big German Christmastime tradition.  We hit the town and met up with some of his German friends and enjoyed a Friday night with the locals.  The next day, we went bouldering at a nearby climbing gym.  I needed some rock climbing in my life and now I have the climbing fever yet no where to climb!  That night, we made a delicious German meal:  Schnitzel, Spatzael, and sauce.  We went out after to the Christmas Markets and my dreams of being in Europe at Christmastime were fulfilled.  Everything imaginable was there;  mulled wine (of course, bratwursts, crepes) and of course presents upon presents.  I even spotted Santa Clause handing out oranges to the little ones.  It was a fabulous trip and I was so happy I was able to experience a taste of Germany at Christmastime.  

Homemade German Quality

One of the Christmas Stands in the market.

Still waiting for a little dusting of snow over here!

Also, it doesn't seem true that I have two and a half weeks left here.  I am still trying to get a grip on that and no matter how hard I try, it seems unreal.  I made a bucket list of everything else I want to do before I leave.  I'm only here once, and I will hopefully get it all accomplished!