Yesterday I went to the Efteling (an amusement park with a theme of fairies, witches, trolls, Laafs and such)! =)
It was a lot of fun, I went with people from the various commissions of my study association. We were with 16 people. ^^
There was the so-called "Winter-Efteling", which meant that the park was especially decorated and accustomed for the Winter. The ironic thing was that yesterday also the first real snow has fallen! =) In January some snow had already fallen, but it were just a few flakes and they barely stayed on the ground without melting. So yesterday, when the real snow fell, the scenery was really pretty and cold...
^^ I got to know a few more people, and some other people I got to know even better! =)
In the beginning we went to every attraction with all of us, but after a while it become difficult and burdensome to wait for everyone to gather, so we broke up in 2 groups.
With the group I stayed in, we were with 8, we pretty much went in every attraction available. A few attractions were closed (the outside roller coasters and everything that involved water), but at the attractions that were opened there were no rows, we could just walk through. ^^ So I've been in the VogelRock (an indoor roller coaster). It was so much fun! J, a friend of mine went in too, but she's scared of roller coasters, so she screamed almost the complete ride xD She taped it... It was so funny, although you can't see a thing, because it's dark in there, you can hear her scream. "No, no, no, (x20) no- AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH *breathing* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"
I also went with 5/8 into a swinging boat (Vliegende Hollander), it was so relaxing! xD At first, everyone lifted their hands up when going up, but in the end, I was the only one still doing that.. xD Turned out they all felt scared a little, I wasn't.. Which I thought was really surprising, because when I was 13 I still was scared to death for anything daring in amusement parks! So how come I went from scared person to complete daredevil within 8 years?!
Scary things weren't the only attractions we went in.. ^^ We also visited the "Fata Morgana" (An indoor attraction in which you go by boat through a scenery of Oriental and Middle Eastern scenes). It was really pretty~ ^^ There were tigers and belly dancers and flute players and all sorts of daily life scenes of the (rather stereotypical) wealthy village in the Middle East. I've never been in the Middle East ever, so I can't really tell whether they exist like that, or whether it's just our Dutch view on the Middle East (in peace times).
And of course we've also been in the "Droom Vlucht" (some sort of roller coaster that's slow, showing various scenes of fairies, trolls and all sorts of forest creatures). It's one of my favorite attractions, because it's so beautifully made and it's like entering another world for a bit. ^^
That day we did a lot more, but it's difficult to tell everything... If you live in or near the Netherlands, I really advise you to visit the theme park yourself! =) It's the Efteling in Kaatsheuvel.
Because of all the lovely snow, the public transport was completely disturbed. =( Around 1PM, we heard trains weren't riding as they should and Utrecht (which is in the middle of our country) was completely blocked. When we left the park at 6PM, we though things would be better... Well, we thought wrong!
We waited for half an hour for a bus that would bring us from Kaatsheuvel to Den Bosch train station. In Den Bosch we decided to check for trains first and then get some food. There wasn't any problem there... Me and J ordered together and I carried our food until the train arrived at the station, that's where trouble arose. I knew we (me, J and K) had to catch the train, but because of all those people, I lost sight of them, so I just got on the train. Since I still carried J's food, I had to find her! Otherwise I'd probably just send a text saying I'll meet them at the station we had to get out. J thought the same because she called me and I saw K waving her arms, 3 compartments away. The train was so incredibly packed that it took me a lot of effort getting one compartment closer to them. But that wasn't enough... I had 2 left to go (at that time I thought it was only one more). At the next stop I'd try again, I thought, but during the next stop, I was pushed away and so before I could try again, every passage was already blocked. The stop after that, I tried going via the outside. That worked, but now I noticed they were one compartment more away! I couldn't go outside anymore, I had to get through via the inside! Luckily people were making way for me and I could reach my friends! =D
Unfortunately, more trouble was coming our way... K could take a train to her parents' house, but J and I were still over an hour away from our homes. In Utrecht, traffic was still blocked... We waited for a long time before we could take a train that would bring us just a little closer to our hometowns. Eventually, Y, J's boyfriend (with whom she lives together) came to pick us up from the train station we were stranded on, which was actually half an hour driving from J & Y's house.
My dad would come pick me up from their house, but my mum thought it was better if I stayed over there and then have my dad pick me up the day after, because he had to be in that city anyway! Luckily it was no problem and we had fun during our little sleepover. =)
And still drama wasn't over... When I began writing this story, I was still at J & Y's place, waiting for my dad to pick me up. HE NEVER PICKED ME UP!!! I went to the city and met J's mum when doing grocery shopping and having coffee. My dad called, he was waiting for the "wegenwacht" (the road service) because he had car trouble. He called several times and my mum told me it'd be better if I just tried taking the train... Eventually I got home by train, before my father got home... We have a new car now.
~~~~~X~~~x~~~X~~~~~
*~Maria
