Tuesday, July 8, 2008

A Tale in Two Parts: Mosquito Bites and Eye Glasses

Part One: Trials and Tribulations
Right now, my left elbow is one gigantic mosquito bite.  The Dutch mosquitos are nasty.  Louise and I think that our sweet American selves must be very appetizing to them, and we think that there must be some significant differences between Ye Olde European Mosquito and the Yankee American Mosquito.  Both of us have been bitten multiple times, and we've both developed huge itchy 'rashes' where bitten.  The bites, when they stop itching, really hurt.  And they take forever to go away.  I have several from early last week which are still lingering and appear pink and angry colored.  Louise still has the marks from being bitten our first night in Amsterdam.  Ridiculous!  The mosquitoes are also gigantic.

Part Two: Completely Random
I recently visited the Brilmuseum: the Museum of Eye Glasses.  It was a few rooms crammed with everything imaginable relating to eye glasses in a little apartment building.  It also has a Brillenwinkel, or an Eye Glasses Shop.  Winkel, as I've recently learned, meaning shop.  Being a Girl Who Wears Glasses, I felt mildly obliged to pay a visit.  It was pretty great.  I may also return to see if the Brillenwinkel has a pair of cat-eyes I may or may not need.

Behold the glorious sign!














In the Brilmuseum there are multitudes of photographs, drawings, prints, paintings, rock scratchings, whatever of people wearing glasses, making glasses, etc.  Famous people, ordinary people.  According to this painting, even Jesus considered wearing glasses.  The Apostle Peter, wearing the red, is clearly ecstatic to be rocking some sweet specs.














Delightfully creepy.














It's not just all relating to eyes at the Brilmuseum.  Yes Virginia, this is a huge wooden cobra.  Why is it here?  I do not know.  Maybe to scare away the Giant Dutch Mutant Mosquitoes.














The best part of the Brilmuseum was how the more modern plastic frames caught the afternoon sunlight.















2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hate mosquitoes. I am a "mosquito magnet." I would never survive in Holland. I often wear bug repellent when I am going to be outdoors for any length of time even though I know that it isn't good for me. I would do anything than suffer the intense itch of a mosquito bite. You have my sympathy.
The eye glass museum is really cool.

Anonymous said...

I seem to have turned into a big mosquito magnet since being pregnant. I'm sure my "chemistry" is much different that it was before. I hope you have cortisol creme. Maybe anti-itch lotion has an entire store dedicated to it as well?
I like the glasses museum as well. Very kitch.
Lea