Netherlands, Deflt...

While in Netherlands, we stayed in Deflt and went to Amsterdam by coach on the first two days we were there. I was there on tour with the orchestra and it was in Deflt that we had our concert. So Sunday morning right outside our hostel was the market. We stayed at a youth hostel called Jorplace. I'm not sure of the technicalities of the place such as the prices because we had a tour manager to handle that. It is quite a nice hostel, my first time in a hostel so my opinion will not be very well informed. It was comfortable and clean which is the most important thing. However, there were no lockers or any of the sort to store valuable items. Since the dorm I was put in was filled with other orchestra members, that was not a problem for us. What was a problem was the fact that there were 20 people in one dorm and only one bathroom. We manage to work it out quite well but two would have been so much preferred. 

While we were there, the hostel bar was under renovation and that was quite a shame as it looked quite cool. We were also provided with free breakfast so that was good. But the best part was definitely the fact that the hostel was right in the city centre. Therefore you could and would walk to anywhere of any interest.

Back to the market. I woke up a little late and my friends had already left in search for yummy chocolate croissants. I considered staying in the hostel to read my book (I was at a very interesting place in The Book Thief) but decided against it because, I mean, I was in Netherlands guys. So I went out and explored alone. As always, markets have interesting things and so many times I wanted to get something but the lack of money, plus the fact that I would have to carry it all the way back (first to England and then to my actual home) worked as the perfect mechanism to stop be from buying unnecessary but lovely trinkets.

I'm pretty sure this is one of the views from right outside our hostel. I love how you could literally open the door and step out into the water. How cool is that? No one did, unfortunately. I would have loved to see that.

Coming out into the streets where the markets ended, I stumbled into this lovely looking old building. To be fair, all the buildings looked lovely.

Sure enough, it was not just any ordinary building. It was in fact an orphanage. I'm not sure if they still use it as an orphanage. It was close. I would have loved to go in. I'm not sure why but I was and still am fascinated by the orphanage. Maybe its because of stories like Matilda, Madeleine and of course Annie. 

This is the New Church (or the less old church) where we had our concert. It was really enjoyable having our concert there as people who intended to just visit the church stumbled upon our free concert and voluntary sat and listen. And applauded when we finished. 

In between our final rehearsal and concert, we had some time to explore. So we went up the tower. The bells of the churches in the Netherlands don't just ring, they sing. Pleasant tunes as well.

The view from the top of the tower.

We visited the Old Church and I was quite confused to see terracotta sculptures there. I think some sort of chinese art exhibition was going on. I was too lazy and tired to find out.

Our last stop was the Hague. We didn't spend much time there, it was only a stopover from Deflt back to Amsterdam to catch the ferry back to Newcastle. 

We went to the markets and had lunch in random places, stopped by the supermarket to stock up on all things Dutch before heading back to the coach and ending our journey.

I wasn't sure what the tour would play out like before going on it. It turned out to be more of a holiday then an orchestra thing, and honestly, no one is complaining. It was a really pleasant trip spent with good people in one of the loveliest places in the world (warning, I'm not that well traveled so I have no where else to compare it to). I left Netherlands with a sense of longing to be a part of their culture and maybe one day I will or maybe I will not. Amsterdam is a lively city with so much to offer and I would love to find myself there again sometime in the future. But for now, I can tick off Netherlands from my travel list and look forward to other ventures in the future. :)

Thanks for reading. Hope you have a wonderful day.

ps I've just booked my flight tickets to Barcelona in the summer! Unless I make a spontaneous decision to go elsewhere in between now and Barcelona, that would then be my next holiday. Excited!