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Sinterklaas is Hier
Every once in a year around from 17 November to 5 December is the happiest time for kids all around the Netherlands. Do you know why??? It's Sinterklaas (Sint Nicolaas, Saint Nicholas), you might be questioning why so early, it's not even Christmas yet. Well, Sinterklaas in NL is not Santa Claus (I mean the fat man with a red suit). Let me tell you a little bit about Sinterklaas tradition in NL. Unlike Santa Claus with the magic sleigh and flying reindeer. Sinterklaas sail to NL with a steamboat from Spain (altough originally Sinterklaas came from Turkey). I'm not gonna tell you a lot about the history of Sinterklaas, because you can just read it in wikipedia. I'm just gonna tell you my experience celebrating Sinterklaas day in NL on 2012. Okay back to Sinterklaas tradition, usually around 16-17 November (depends on when the weekend is), Sinterklaas comes to a city in NL on a boat, with zwarte pieten (his helper) who carries bags full of chocolate, kruidnoten, pepernoten, and candies, and they will give it to the kids (and the adults as well)
Me and Zwarte Piet
Sinterklaas and The Kids
Goodstuff from Zwarte Piet
Sinterklaas in Stoomboot
Is that all? of course not, I told you it's the happiest time for kids, after sinterklaas arrived (Sinterklaas intocht) there are series of little presents that they will get, usually it's a small stuff (not in size, but not the "big thing" yet) like chocolate, candies, or tiny toys.. but you don't get the present just like that, there's some stuff you need to do first before you get the present. First of all, you have to make a drawing for sinterklaas (tekening voor sinterklaas), and then you have to put your shoes in front of fire place and put the drawing inside, and then sing one of the sinterklaas song. If you well behave, you will get a nice present, just like the song said "wie zoet is krijg lekkers, wie stout is de roe" (the nice one will get something nice, and the naughty one will get a spank)
Step 1 A Drawing
Step 2&3 Sing A Song after you put the shoes
Step 4: Iets lekkers als je zoet bent
When I was a little in Indonesia we also have the Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, but Zwarte Piet was really scary, he carries a bag so he can put a naughty kid inside and then throw them into the sea. Apparently that story is too scary for kids, so now they only have the "Good Piet". If you're naughty Sinterklaas will only take you back to Spain with him (Oh I'm sooo gonna be naughty for this)
It's been a while since the last time I updated this blog. This time I want to share about my trip to Banyuwangi , East Java. The Regency of Banyuwangi is located at the easternmost end of the Indonesian island of Java. It serves as a port between Java and the island of Bali. Banyuwangi is separated by Strait of Bali from Bali. Why Banyuwangi? I know it's not one of the main tourist destination, but apparently it has a lot to offer, i t is surrounded by mountains and forests to the west; by sea to the east and south, and not to mention cheaper accommodation compared to Bali. You can go to Banyuwangi using airplanes, or just like me go to Surabaya first and then drive around 5-6 hours to Banyuwangi. I used tour operator Amazing Banyuwangi for this trip, but apparently they are very unprofessional, they tricked us so we ended up had to pay more for the "All Inclusive Private" trip they offered on the website. Anyway long story short let me tell you about how gorgeous...
Prague, the capital and largest city of Czech Republic. It's also the historical capital of Bohemian proper . Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its larger urban zone is estimated to have a population of nearly 2 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Not much people know about Prague, that's why they questioned me why I would go to Prague all by myself, well after this post I'm sure you will love Prague as much as I do. Day 16 - Finally Prague After a sleepless night at Milan Airport, and a morning flight to Prague. I finally arrived in Prague, one of my favorite city in Europe. Oh yeah, you don't have to change the currency (EUR to CZK) at the airport, you can just use the ATM, and take money from there (It's cheaper considering the fee they asked in airport). But since I didn't know it before I get a pretty good rate at Milan...
