Antwerp Trip, Hanging with Pete, and International Break Pt. 2 - Blog #18 (Feb. 17 - 23)

Basketball Update:

We had our second and final international break of the season. It is a good opportunity for teams to have a break and work on some weaknesses going into the last big stretch of the season. The real reason for the break is for select individuals to play in qualifying matches in international competition. Our starting center, Roeland, was selected to play for the Netherlands team who had games against Great Britain and Greece. Because we do not have a game, I figured it would be good to give an update on the standings. There are 19 teams in the BNXT, and they are planning on moving to 18 teams next year with one being relegated. Currently, #1-10 are Belgian teams and #11-18 are Dutch teams. Tough look for the Dutchies, but hopefully we can pass a couple of teams by season's end. We are sitting in 12th place, one spot behind Den Bosch who we have beaten three times this year. We are 11-11, and they are 12-11. We have the tiebreaker over them.

Leadership Lesson:

This is a bit backward of a leadership lesson, but I want to talk about how important it is to be coachable as a follower. A great way to do this is by being a good listener. I have had many different teammates in my life in several different sports, and it is so frustrating when someone cannot take coaching. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely a victim of making excuses or talking back in the heat of the moment at times. However, it is something I have focused on improving over the last three years because it can be so helpful in learning and improving. Being a good listener can be shown by nodding or by giving certain responses to the person talking. However, the best way to show you are listening is to take action upon your instruction and fix the mistake. Good listeners can make a leader's job so much easier. It also helps you improve and builds trust on both ends of the relationship. Being coachable is an underrated and important skill to possess. Be the type of follower that you would want when you are a leader. Being a good listener is a great way to do this.

Top 5 of the Week:

Favorite Cities in Europe I've Been To

1. Amsterdam - The European big city I have spent the most time in by far. I think Amsterdam does have a lot to do, but the thing I love most about it is the canals and vibe of it. No skyscrapers, old city, and good food. It is a little touristy, but there are areas that aren't. Big fan.

2. Rome - I could not believe the amount of cool statues and history in Rome. Again, great food and so much to do. Much better weather than Amsterdam which is a big plus. So many awesome things to see in Rome, loved it.

3. Antwerp - Very surprised and might be recency bias, but I really liked Antwerp. There was a lot of good food plus cool vibe. I am not a big shopper for any means, but there is a ton of shopping to do. Great city.

4. Sorrento - Southern Italy was pretty amazing. It was an amazing place with cool hiking and nice beaches. I think everyone should go here once in their life.

5. Mykonos - I had such a blast when I went here with Hillsdale basketball. The beaches were amazing. I know that they are well known for partying but there are cool shops there too with amazing weather. The Greek islands are gorgeous, and I will definitely want to go back to another one with Nikki at some point.

What Else Did I Do This Week?

Pete, Bella, and Ezra decided to come to Amsterdam for Pete's international break. He got a bit more time off than we did, so he got to Amsterdam on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. Before Nikki and I left for Antwerp on Friday, we went to Amsterdam on Thursday night to grab dinner with them. It was our first time meeting Ezra after barely missing him the day he was born and my unfortunate illness a few weeks back. Unfortunately, I do not think Ezra is a fan of your boy quite yet, but we will get there. We had some amazing Indian food at Shah Jahan. Friday, I only had a morning practice and went straight to Amsterdam after to meet up with them again. We went to the Amsterdam Zoo which was actually a pretty solid zoo. I don't think I have been to a zoo in 10+ years, so it was fun to go see some animals and hang with Ezra some more. My favorite animals to see were the giraffes. It was a good time! After the zoo, I headed back to Leiden to pack up for Nikki and I to head to Antwerp.

Nikki and I went on the trip to Antwerp, Belgium, as a part of our eight-year anniversary celebration. It has been seven years if you subtract our freshman year in which we broke up. Crazy to think about how long we have been together, the places we have gone, and how much our relationship has grown. It was an amazing weekend jam-packed with great food and good times. We got to Rotterdam about an hour before our train to Antwerp and grabbed some dinner at a Malaysian place that was solid. We got to Antwerp around 9 pm and headed to our hotel. Quick side note, Antwerp Central Station is one of the coolest buildings inside and out that I have ever seen.

We stayed at Hotel Julien, and we didn't realize it when we booked it, but we were in a prime location. We were right in the historic city center, close to all the bars, restaurants, and a massive cathedral. The hotel itself was great. We wanted to stay at a spa/massage place, and Hotel Julien was a great option for this. Once we arrived in Antwerp, we went to this awesome jazz bar, De Muze, to listen to some live music and have some drinks. Then, we went to an Irish pub, had a Guinness, and listened to some more live music. Vibes were great, and the city center was beautiful.

We woke up Saturday and headed to a breakfast place to get some waffles and coffee. I was pretty irresponsible and had a waffle with ice cream for breakfast. After breakfast, we took a tram to this street with cool houses and famous architecture, Cogels-Osylei. It was gorgeous.

Then, we went to Vogelmarkt which is a weekend market in Antwerp with a bunch of good food and shopping. We had Moroccan pancakes, fresh oysters, and fresh fruit. Nikki also got some clothes. It was a wonderful market. After this, we went back to our hotel for a bit before going to check out the Scheldt River which runs in from the North Sea. We saw the oldest building in Antwerp, Het Steen, that had some cool history behind it. There are wooden escalators that Nikki really wanted to see, so we took some time to do that as well. Little did we know, looking for them would take us down an elevator about 100 feet below ground to a tunnel that went underneath the Scheldt River. This river is fairly wide so the tunnel was pretty long. It was super unique and a fun thing to stumble upon. The view of the skyline from the other side of the river was awesome too.

We went back to our hotel to get ready for our spa experience. Each of us had a thirty-minute massage and had access to a sauna and steam room. We also got complimentary fruit and tea that were top-notch. The massage was great, and the sauna steam room combination was amazing too. It was very relaxing for Nikki and me. As a part of the bundle we purchased, we got a Greek salad and charcuterie board that were unbelievably good. It was an outstanding time and was a good reset. After, we booked a reservation at Sir Anthony Van Dijck for dinner. It was a really cool restaurant that was somewhat high-end. We shared a bottle of wine, and each got the four-course meal as well. All of the food was very good, and our meal took just over two hours but flew by. It was just such a nice night celebrating Nikki and me. We walked back to the hotel, read this American National Parks book that the hotel had, and got ready for bed. Again, amazing night, amazing day, amazing weekend.

Sunday, we did a bit more walking around the city to a museum that has a cool view of the city ten floors up. Before this, we went to an unreal place for breakfast and coffee. Shoutout to Tinsel. We checked out and headed over to Chocolate Nation for our Belgian chocolate tour (including samples of course). It was less of a museum and more of an immersive experience. It was a bit tough because I was pretty hungry during the tour, and when they break down every minute detail of the chocolate-making process, your tummy starts to rumble a bit. The samples were very worth it, and we bought some stuff from the chocolate shop at the end too.

Then, we walked around a bit and waited for our train back to Rotterdam. This was not the most fun experience for us. We had got a couple of notifications saying that there were some strikes happening on some of the Belgium to the Netherlands trains. Our specific trains were not canceled, so we thought we would be fine. We made our trains, but they were some of the most packed trains I have ever been on. We were packed like sardines and were holding our luggage too. It was definitely the worst part of the trip, but we still made it back on time to have a chill night at home. We watched the Gabby Petito thing on Netflix which was very creepy. Insane story. Great trip!

Top Meal of the Week:

We had so much amazing food this week that it was hard to pick this. I think my favorite thing I ate was this Moracaan pancake we had at the market in Antwerp. We knew nothing about it beforehand, but we saw that it had a long line, so we figured it would be good. It was worth the wait. It was basically a crepe with different sauces, chicken, olives, and vegetables in it. It was amazing. A close second was probably the Indian food at Shah Jahan we had with Pete, Bella, and Ezra. That was great too.

One Thing I Miss About the States:

I miss personal space while waiting in lines. It sounds very odd, but in Europe, people do not give as much personal space compared to the US. There have been several times where I'm waiting in line for something and just get bumped by the person behind me. I'll turn, and they are standing, minding their own business acting like nothing happened. It's definitely not the end of the world or anything, but it's just a difference I noticed that Pete and I were talking about. Thanks for reading!