Arnhem is Pretty

It’s liberating to be able to travel again. I brought my Covid pass and my negative LFT, but in the end, they didn’t even look at it. They didn’t seem bothered that not everyone was wearing a mask. They even asked me to take it off whilst doing the passport checks. When I was flying with Ryanair to Cork, they asked us to wear masks during the flight.

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to go. There had been a lot of staff shortages on airlines that have led to many delays and cancellations. I was one of the lucky ones that were able to make it onto the plane. It was super stressful as I’ve wanted to come back to the Netherlands for a long time. There were a couple of reasons why I wanted to back. I think the Netherlands is a gorgeous country, also my boyfriend lives there, so I needed to go.

In the end, my flight was 40 minutes late. Even a second of delays made my heart pulse. I felt bad because my boyfriend was waiting ages for me. I hoped his legs weren't aching. Looking back now, I think I should have been thankful that the plane even moved. My boyfriend and I had been friends for years. We had the hots for each other since we met. I used to think love at first sight was bullshit, until I saw him. Years of repressing feelings just made the whole revolution passionate. I got drunk one night and hit on him just as he was planning to confess that he loved me.

I stayed at Ibis Styles. At the time it seemed like a good idea, because I had an account and it gave me some discount. I don't mind staying in hostels, but for him, they're a big no-no. He finds freedom in privacy. It was a great location right next to the Spar supermarket and by the train station. Everything was easy to walk to or get public transport. We even got on a day trip to Germany by the borders like before when we went to Kleve.

After having my travelling wings taken away by COVID-19 and the dystopian restrictions, this holiday became the best week of my life. People don't know how I can cope with long-distance relationships and how they can be real. Though me and my boyfriend have been talking for years even before we were dating. We also met multiple times. So no catfishing! He doesn’t eat seafood. He’s plant-based like me!

I've been talking about it to my friends for ages, and now it's done and dusted, I want to go back. We might go to Ghent in Belgium or we might try a different location in the Netherlands where not many tourists go.

I always wanted to go to Zutphen because it looked like a really pretty city with lots of local shops and some typical Dutch scenery. I didn't know where I was going, but I found a great ice cream parlour where they had some delicious mango and lemon sorbet. A bit of a culture shock as well. It looked like there was nobody around, but you had to press a bell and then somebody came.

The other city we went to was Doetinchem, which wasn't far from Zutphen. The town in Germany we went to is called Emmerich, which is about the same size as my home town. For Arnhem, I don’t think we could have picked a better location. Everything seemed perfect because everything was easy to get to. We had a lot of lay-ins, early rises and late nights, so we could be flexible with the time.

On the last day, we went to the southern part of Arnhem and went to the beach. After an intense day in heat, we spent the evening to a beautiful park outside of the city centre that we got to walk around. Even when I’m laying down, I always have the urge to be doing something. It’s hard for me to keep still. Away from the social media, away from duties and everything else. In the summer evenings, everyone flocked to the bars and the beaches, but in the park, it was just the two of us. Hearing the animals move. The calm breeze from the trees, it was just nice to just lay down and do nothing and let nature take over.