So many pieces

A few weeks ago my mom and step dad were here in the Netherlands. I went and met them and we traveled just north of Amsterdam to a city called Alkmaar. Here, they recreate the cheese auctions that used to take place in the town in front of what is now a cheese museum.  It was a lot of fun to see all of the big rounds of cheese being carried out and weighed. Although I believe I read that the cheese is no longer actually auctioned like this, it was interesting to see.

If you can't make it to Alkmaar don't worry though, you can always see the recreation of the Alkmaar cheese auction at Madurodam (mini holland)! 

 If you love small things, like I do!, then mini-holland is definitely for you. Just a tram ride away from the Den Haag Centraal Station awaits a fantastic journey into some of the most recognizable areas of the Netherlands. De, a group of our newly found friends, and I finally got around to going only a couple weeks ago and wished we had gone earlier. Visiting gives insight on some of the largest points of interest and can even help you decide what you would like to see in actual stature.

There are model train stations, tulip gardens and even concerts that play real music. There are theaters (from which you can hear plays like Mary Poppins), a little schipol complete with airplanes, and wooden shoe factories that, for only 1 euro, will deliver a pair of shoes on a small truck for you to take home. 

 There are tiny bikes, small streets and the Dam Square in Amsterdam. This year everything was also decorated with orange in celebration of the world cup. 

And the best thing about little holland is........................................................................................................

YOU GET TO FEEL LIKE A GIANT!!!!!!!!

So, we are beginning to near the end of our time here in the Netherlands. I have been very busy trying to get all of the stuff we need to do done while enjoying the country in the time that remains. We do final presentations for IHE on Wednesday, which has been quite a challenge to get together. I look forward to catching up on my sleep when I return home since staying up until 1am and waking up at 8am has become a habit. The alarm on my phone has also given up on me, probably because it is so tired of being ignored. I will miss a lot of things about the Netherlands and Europe in general like the public transportation systems, the bicycles and mostly my new friends. Especially the ones who share their apple juice boxes with De and I when we go shopping in the Hague!