Die Schweizermacher!

What a wonderful time of year! Spring has sprung, tulips are blooming and it's sunny in Amsterdam. Spring fever had me spending all day Sunday outside and I even got a slight sun burn to prove it. I will have to start applying the SPF 30.

Well a great start to my Spring season was my trip to Switzerland! Though the weather was a mixed bag, I had a great time all around. Just spending time with my friend Michele is always fun and it was nice to also meet up with her family and friends. We had a typical Swiss brunch of Rosti with her family and made two nice Italian style meals and reminisced about our Roman adventures.

It was great being able to use my German again and everyone was kind enough to adapt to the 'Hochdeutsch' standard. One place where this wasn't possible however was during a Musical we went to see in Zurich, called "Die Schweizermacher". It is based on a 1978 film that has Federal Police investigating immigration to Switzerland. I could understand the main aspects of the story and was really intrigued to see how Swiss culture was portrayed through this very popular medium. Die Schweizermacher means quite literally the Swiss maker and the love story in the end tied all the details together to make for a very Swiss story.

Another great part of my trip was the day we spent in the mountains. Though we did not strap on any skis we still made the trip up to 3500m with 2 gondolas and a Mountain Metro. The view was needless to say breathtaking. There were some avalanche warnings so even the skiing was limited, but in Saas-Fee they can ski all year round because of the glaciers, which sadly to say are receding quite quickly based on observations.

So after a wonderful trip full of good times, laughter, cheese and chocolate :) I took the overnight train back to Amsterdam to finish the last assignment of my course work here in The Netherlands. Hopefully if everything goes well I will have just my thesis left to work on. To add some inspiration to the mix after I handed in the take-home exam on Friday I took a trip to The Hague.

First, I was able to visit the Canadian Embassy to pick up my forms to vote in the upcoming federal election. Excited to see how the campaign plays out over the next few weeks. Second some classmates and I attended a Master Class given by Luis Moreno-Ocampo. It was a very thought provoking session as students were able to ask the Prosecutor of the ICC questions about his mandate, decisions on cases to prosecute and the politics of the court. It was a great follow-up, hearing from the man himself, after having watched the documentary film "The Prosecutor" and also having visited the ICC this past fall. What is sure is that the next year and three months of Ocampo's mandate will be interesting to watch, especially as current events unfold around North Africa and the Middle East.

Now enough law and politics it's time to get my vitamin D intake while I still can.

Cheers to all :)

Laura

In the Swiss Federal Palace.

More than four 'Laura's' in a House of Mirrors in the Glacier Garden in Lucerne.

Yummy Swiss Fondue in Saas Fee with Michele and her parents.

In the beautiful Swiss Bergen. Saw the highest peak in the Swiss Alps, Dom.

So gorgeous and literally at 3500m it takes your breath away.

Michele and I on the top of the world.

A beautiful day in Zurich.

With Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court last Friday in the Hague.

Mardi Gras!

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog and it can be due to the deceiving thing about the month of February, as the shortest month, you blink and it's gone.

I have been keeping busy with school and work and also enjoying this lovely city as Spring slowly but surely arrives. This past weekend marked the Carnival festivities here in the Netherlands and around Europe. In Canada we would call yesterday Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday and to celebrate last night I invited some classmates over to eat some traditional Canadian pancakes, topped with authentic Maple Syrup. It was great to share this small bit of Canadian tradition with my friends and to mix it with Dutch traditions as some of us even dressed up in costume :)

In an attempt to take advantage of all the little time I have left in Amsterdam, a friend and I have compiled a list of things we really want to do before leaving. Unfortunately each week brings new exciting events and our list just keeps getting longer. This weekend I will get the opportunity to visit the Dutch Royal Palace here at Dam Square, as I will be guided around with friends.

More exciting news is that I will be taking a vacation next week, leaving for a long weekend in Switzerland. My friend Michele came to visit me here in Amsterdam in November and now I am reciprocating. It will be nice to explore the country with a true native and to enjoy the Swiss scenery, people, culture and of course food :) I hope I can practice my German, though I am not sure what they will think of my Hochdeutsch.

After Switzerland it will be a reality check as I return to Amsterdam to a take-home exam, a final thesis and the Amsterdam Law Forum Conference coming up in May. The end of the year is getting closer and closer and this brings about lots of interesting conversations around the Uni as everyone in my program is trying to figure out what comes next. It's the disadvantage of a 1-year Masters Program where just as you start to get comfortable with everything it's time to move to the nest step.

That is all for now, but next time I hope to have some great pictures to share with you from my Swiss adventure.

Laura

P.S. Happy Belated International Women's Day to all the Ladies around the world!