Church or Oosterpark?

Today I left my apartment with the intention of going to Mass at Blessed Trinity at 12 noon. I was really looking forward to going to Blessed Trinity because they have Mass in English, and I'd prefer to understand what they're talking about when I go to church. But you see, in Europe my plans have this tendency to not work out the way they're supposed to. At least not on the first try.

I had my directions written out. I set out (on my new bike) but somewhere between my apartment and the church, I got lost. I couldn't tell you where I got lost, otherwise I wouldn't have been lost. I had 2 maps with me - though one was the public transit map which didn't have street names (not all that helpful unless you're taking the bus or tram) and the other was only a map of the centre, and didn't cover the area where the church was. SO I had to rely on the directions I had written out. Well that didn't go as planned.

Below are pictures from Oosterpark. This is where I was at 12:15, after Mass at Blessed Trinity (wherever it was) had started.


Gorgeous water

















So quiet!

My bike!

By the water

So calming

And this is the zoo. I passed it on my way back from "church." I knew when I was approaching the zoo. Let's just say, it has a very distinctive smell. 

I have come to think that Europeans are quite smart in the little everyday details. For one, they use the 24 hour clock which avoids any confusion with am and pm. You have no idea how many times I have set my alarm for 7:30pm and then woken up in a mad panic and been late to school. Also, most of Europe uses Euros, which makes it extremely easy to travel. Right now I have Canadian Dollars (from home), American Dollars (from my stop over in New Jersey), Swiss Francs (from my stop over in Zurich), British pounds (from my trip to London) and Euros with me. Now what am I going to do with all of this? If I am not able to spend it I will have to exchange it and probably lose money on commission. Even if it's only a little. But when I go to Germany and France (or any of the many other countries that use Euros), I will not have to worry about exchanging my money. Easier!

However, I'm not sure if it's all of Europe or just Amsterdam but roads are confusing!!!! In the centre of Amsterdam the roads curve around centraal station:

You can start out walking south, remain on the same road, and end of facing north on the other side of centraal station. And roads like to change names. Randomly. The road that I took to church, or at least attempted to get to church, changed names 6 times with a 10 minute bike ride. No wonder I got lost so easily!

There was also a marathon running through Amsterdam today and a lot of the roads around the church were closed. Might have also contributed to my confusion. So once I had realized I wasn't going to find this church, I headed back to Sint Nicolaaskerk (stopped in Oosterpark on the way back) and went to the 1pm Mass in Spanish. The next Sunday I'm in Amsterdam (weekend after Paris) I will find this English church. I am determined!

3 days until Worlds!!!! Can't wait =) Rotterdam - here I come!