"Life as a foreigner in Leiden 2000-2002 " a Leiden Travel Page by annase

I lived two years in Leiden, between 2000 and 2002. I love the town. It's quirky, lively, funky and still quite small. Together with the neighbouring towns, Leiden forms an area where there are about 250 000 inhabitants. It's extremely easy to get from one place to another in Leiden. I used to have a push bike, which was very useful. Holland is also flat, so you don't really exhaust yourself although you wouldn't have a very fancy bike. The locals have very old ones. In addition, if your bike's very old and something happens to it (such as it gets stolen), it won't be that upsetting as if you had a brand new mountain bike with 21 different speeds.

Leiden is an extremely funky place, as there are things that you'd least expect everywhere. For instance, there would be clocks just everywhere on the streets. They are placed on top of long poles and look a bit like the traffic signs. The houses are small and neat. People often leave their curtains indrawn which enables you to see inside, although you shouldn't look, as it's considered rude.

The town has got several canals and the river Rhine runs through it. There is a cafe in the centre of town called 'Annie's Verjaardag' (Annie's Birthday) where you can sit just next to the river or on some wooden platforms floating on the water. On a warm spring or summer day, it's packed with students, as Leiden is a big university town. They also do some snacks and light lunch the cafe, so you won't go hungry although most people go there for its location, rather than the food. There are other cool places to eat though. Just take a pick. They do sandwiches and salads almost everywhere at lunch time.

During my first year Leiden, I studied Dutch at the University of Leiden. Its main campuses are situated very near the town centre and the Uni itself is the oldest in Holland.

I loved taking photos in Leiden. Unfortunately, my photos were taken before the time of digital cameras, so the quality is a bit rubbish when you scan them on the computer. I was really impressed by Leiden when I first visited it, as it so different to what I'm used to having lived most of my life in Finland, so I used to photograph almost everything I saw such as small alleyways, poems that were painted on the walls (They are scattered all over the town and they are all in various different languages such Arabic, Greek, Swedish, Dutch, English..), the funny clocks, old buildings, a windmill, traffic signs (very quirky ones with funny Dutch writing on them).
There is a fab church with two doors that have been painted red on it, and another church has got some apartments attached to it. All worth seeing.

I also love the variety of food offered everywhere. Croissants, freshly squeezed fruit juice, fruit salad, sweet bakery products, sandwiches.. So much better than where I currently live.