Easter Weekend

The group at the beach

For Easter weekend we had Friday and Monday off of school and then I have no classes on Tuesdays so I had a nice five day weekend!  The weather had been nice all week and continued into the weekend.  It has been about 70-80 degrees and sunny!! On Friday a large group of about 30 of us went to a lake that had a beach in Arnhem. Half of us biked and half took the bus; I took the bus.  The bus half arrived a little later than the bikers, we couldn't find them so we just went to our own beach.  About ten minutes after we arrived, the other half found us.  Apparently they were a little further down from us at a nude beach, but they weren't there long before they came looking for us.  Even though the weather was nice the water was still pretty cold; I only put my feet in but most of the guys went swimming and then decided to through some of the girls in.  It was a really nice and relaxing day of sun tanning and someone brought a volleyball so we played with that a little.

At the Keukenhof

      On Saturday I went to the Keukenhoft with Emily and Devin (Canada).  The Keukenhof is a large garden/park with lots of flowers.  We took a train to Schipol airport and from there they have buses that go to the park.  It was another gorgeous day and it was nice just to walk around the park and enjoy the flowers. The park had a small lake, water fountains, a windmill and besides the small gardens they had a large field just filled with tulips! All the flowers were so pretty.
     Easter Sunday I actually did not do much at all.  I got caught up on sleep and then Emily and I made Easter brunch of egg and sausage tacos.  Then in the afternoon I just went and laid out in the Presikhaaf park and just enjoyed the weather. That night I skyped with my family who were all at my Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter which was really nice to be able to see everyone and still feel like I was apart of their Easter celebration.

Xavi, Stefan and I in Nijmegen

      Monday I biked to Nijmegen which is a town similar to Arnhem with Xavi and Aldo (Spain) and Stefan (Germany).  It took us about an hour and ten minutes to bike there, which I think it was about 15-20 miles.  Then we just walked around the city and then biked home.  The bike ride home was a lot harder than going there, me legs were really tired and I was with three guys so they can bike faster than I can!  About half way back we stopped at a beach that was along the way and rested for about ten minutes before continuing home. That night we did a group Easter dinner (yes a day late) in the fifth floor kitchen and there was probably about 20 people there.  Everyone was to bring a dish to pass. We had so much food and it was all very good though most people brought a pasta dish because its cheap and easy to make.  I made ham roll ups which are just tortilla shells with cream cheese, ham and pickles; everyone liked them and there were all gone.

Brent, Tom and I in Den Bose

     On Tuesday I went to Den Bose to finally pick up my residence permit so I am officially legal to live in the Netherlands but only till July 15.  I went with Tom (Minnesota) and Brent (North Carolina).  It was about an hour train ride there and then we picked up our permits.  Since we were there we decided to walk around the town and check it out.  We went out to eat at a little cafe and then walked around, though there wasn't much to see.  On our bike ride home from the train station, Tom found a blue armchair on the side of the road.  It was in good condition so he took it; though he had to carry it back to the dorms which was probably about 3/4 mile away!
     Overall it was a really good Easter weekend! I got to see a lot more of Holland and hang out with some people that I don't normally hang out with which was nice!