A friend of mine, whom I met while living in Zhuhai, now lives in the city center of Arnhem. What a small world it is to have met a Brazilian in Zhuhai, then to meet again in the Netherlands of all places. Arnhem, which is just 1/2 hour by train from where I was staying, so far seems like a charming city. Apparently the city center was bombed during the war, thus the city center was rebuilt where it was needed, thus there is this great blend of old and new, and it definitely brings about out an energy around here that I like. I’ve always liked juxtiposition of old and new. It’s livelier feeling than Utrecht’s city center because of this too, in my view. So far every city center I’ve been to is similiar yet different. Similarities in the center are things such as a church, market squares, and brick or stone lined streets. Different is the energy and pace of life the center breathes. At noon, one can hear the church bells toll, which really reminds me that I am in Europe after all.

Today my friend is busy with her study group, so I wander out to find some food and place to hang out. She’s in a catch-22 position with getting a bank account, in order to order cable tv and internet, so it’s a bit lonesome to hang out too long with nothing to do. Also, being a non-smoker, the stale smoke smell from the previous resident/theowner, leaves me wanting fresher air. So my mission was to find fresh air, and get some internet access. After two months here, I’ve found that it’s difficult in the Netherlands to find cafes that offer Wifi service, let alone free wifi. Oh how I miss this freedom of communication and being connected to the world!

After trying a few cafes [no wifi to be found], I finally settled on an Hungarian cafe and had a fusion pannekoeken, shredded chicken fillet flavoured Hungarian style with a lovely sauce and small green salad. To drink, I ordered a Latte Macchiatto. All coffee drinks in Netherlands seem to be always served with a little cookie or biscotti, it is such a lovely addition to receive and nibble on, I think this is something every cafe should adapt. Here, it is hard to find coffee ‘to go’. Apparently there are only two Starbucks in all of Netherlands. One in Utrecht, in the Central train station, and the other, located within Nike’s headquarters somewhere west of Amsterdam. Hmm.. maybe McDonalds offer coffee to go, but I haven’t noticed anyone walking around with one of those yet.

Pannekoekken Kip + Latte Macchiato by Kaishin Chu © 2009

Koffiedrinken is a more sit down, take your time kind of thing, so that perhaps explains the lack of ‘to-go’ options. Also, it is done with a companion and time is spent to have conversations and taking it slow. I guess laptop use would be strange for them, deemed a bit anti-social perhaps? Well, being a solo traveller, I need to do something while I stretch out my time on my own to enjoy my koffie slowly… so, it cannot be helped.
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p.s.
For those who know what is going on in my personal life, the title of this post references the recent events.