Iz poslednih novostey.
i am in maastricht, netherlands. i don't have russian raskladka. i am stuck without wireless connection for 6months because i have a stupid old laptop that does not even have a cd rom installed :(

Interesting things that grabbed my attention so far:
1. there must exist some sort of conspiracy - they have made personal communication almost impossible for people - to call somebody from a payphone, you have to pay at least 10 cents (some payphones may actually charge you more - up to 30 cents) for connection plus 20 cents every minute. to call somebody from cell on a prepaid plan costs 45 cents per minute during the day and 20 cents per minute during the night. or you can choose a plan that will cost you 35 cents per min at any time of day. incoming calls a free but who is going to call with this kind of rate... in the dormitory, there is only one phone per hallway and you cannot mae outgoing calls on it. now add to this a fact that a room with internet costs extra 3.5o euros a day and that my computer does not want to have internet and you will see that making contact with people is virtually impossible.

2. mcdonalds is actually pretty expensive - 5.60 euros for a meal! for 2.75 you can eat a huge healthy gyro with veggies, or traditional holland frites with goulash that is more than enough to feel you up.
but mcdonalds does taste better here than in Canada or US. there are 3 mcdonalds in maastricht (city size of Ottawa)

3. in Eindenhoven, there is no old city and everything is very modern. Most buildings are built or sponsored by Philips. There is a Philips stadium and Philips technical university. i am sure there is a philips cemetery and church as well but i did not have a change to see it.

4. Some Holland cities have plastic cyllinders installed in the streets that have 4 divisions with litttle buckets. Men can pee in there right in the public.

5. In Maastricht people say Hoy Hoy for goodbye, but in the rest of Netherlands, people say Doei (Dui)

6. In Dutch lanuage, word "FAK" means "Now".

7. In Netherlands, driving a bike is as complex as driving a car. and everybody is doing it.

8. european highways look just like Canadian ones

9. do not order alcohol in cafes - all i got for 5 euros for a cosmopolitan was half filled galss with 2/3 ice and cranberry juice. buy it in the supermarkets/

10. a lot of banks do not accept traveller's cheques. and post office charges you 2% commision for cashing it or a minimum of 3.4 euros, so it does not make sense to have a traveller's cheque less than in 200euro denomination.


*bring ear plus if you are planning to leave in the dorm. and there are no freezers, so all food must be cooked asap.