Straat walker

The Netherlands, according to most people 'in the know,' is the bike capital of the world.  There is almost a 1:1 ratio of bikes to people, and over a quarter of travel is accomplished by bike (http://top10hell.com/top-10-countries-with-most-bicycles-per-capita/).  A bike is stolen every 39 seconds, to the tune of 800,000 stolen bikes a year.  (http://www.urbanbicycles.com.au/lekker-bikes/100-things-you-should-know-about-cycling-in-amsterdam-part-4/).  I am also beginning to believe a rite of passage here is nearly or actually being clipped by a bicyclist.  There are so many bike lanes that it's difficult to tell if you're on a sidewalk or jaywalking.  I suspect one reason for the heavy reliance on biking is the relative size of cars and Dutch people.  Cars here are almost universally Smart-sized cars, and Dutch people are monstrous.  I am about the size of a malnourished 5 year old girl here.  Even the 'little' old ladies clock in at 6 feet or more.  I have a hard time telling the difference between the Dutch and their skyscrapers.  And I thought Europeans heavily opposed growth hormones...

Anyways, the point is that I don't have a bike yet.  New bikes start at around 150 euros; however, I keep hearing things about a bike black market where you can get bikes for 30 euros.  Except they're probably stolen.  Rotterdamnit.  Since I have yet to find a bike, I have been walking everywhere.  There is a shopping district towards the center of Rotterdam that's about 2 miles from my apartment.  Today I happened upon an open-air market like I used to find in Brussels:

Vendors sell everything from clothes, to jewelry, to textiles, to vegetables and cheese, premade lunch and snack items, etc.  I was there for a late lunch, so I ended up getting a 'Turkish pizza' (which was meant to be heated up but I was hungry and enjoyed the refreshing coldness) and a broodje bratwurst (sausage sandwich with onions); however, the king of all food royalty is the stroopwafel with Nutella and coconut flakes...the best thing I've eaten since I discovered Biscoff cookie spread (called Speculoos here):

Proverbial 'they' say "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."  I say "When in Rotterdam, eat stroopwafels with Nutella and coconut flakes, or else SEVEN DAYS."  All your calorie are belong to me.  I earned the hell out of those calories - I estimate having walked 10 miles over the past 2 days.  

In addition to eating and perusing the market, I spent most of the day shopping at various big stores.  First, I tried HEMA, which is the Dutch answer to Target.  It is filled with all sorts of unnecessarily-neon-colored objects, overpriced clothing and organizing supplies, a small food shopping and cafe area, and a mysterious one-way escalator which forced me into a parking garage.  Nonetheless, I managed to get some useful household supplies there, as well as a stylin' rainjacket for 15 euros.  Afterwards, I tried Blokker, which is like a pint-sized Target.  It had a couple of neat items that I picked up, including a color-changing light shaped like a wine bottle and a fleece blanket with a random squirrel on it.  One thing I didn't get, since it's kind of useless, is this Euro-decorated piggybank: 

After stopping into a few more random shops, I made my way back to the grocery store, Albert Heijn.  They had buffalo mozzarella for 2.50 euros, so I exploded in the store and they had to clean up all the body parts.  I hyperbolized the last bit, but it was pretty exciting.  So was finding a Lay's potato chip flavored with teriyaki sauce.  I'm intrigued to try it, but if I die of salt poisoning there's the reason.     

                 

To end: Today's Dutch lesson: dankjewel (thank you)!