So, over the course of a day, I've determined that Frankfurt is a very modern city without much for tourists. But that's ok, I came because it was cheap and was on a direct route to Paris tomorrow. However, there is still stuff to do here.
There is a river running through the city, the Main River, hence the full name Frankfurt am Main. It's a very nice river, with the city sprawling around it. Frankfurt seems to be a city founded on finance as well. There are a ton of skyscrapers here, and all seem to be owned by a bank of some sort. The tallest is owned by Commerzbank and 6 of the 10 skyscrapers are owned by banks (Wikipedia). With more time, I would have investigated going to the top for the views on a couple.
The big historical attraction is the Romer, which is the Frankfurt City Hall among other things. It is built in the stereotypical German architecture with all the wood beams. It reminded me of the German part of Fiesta Texas.
I think I actually got everything done today I needed to. I got the phone working again. I washed my already sweated through clothes again. And booked my ticket to Paris.
I need to drink more wheat beers because those do fill me up quicker. And they don't taste bad either.
Kaufman out.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Berlin: Nathan
I guess in the rush, I never really talked about Berlin. We got in a little late to do much the first day, but we met an Australian named Saul who took us over to the Eastside Gallery. The Eastside Gallery is a 1.3 km section of the Berlin Wall still standing with lots of art on it. In places, it has been chipped away or covered with tourist graffiti, but in others they are having the original artists repaint their works in preparation for the 20 year anniversary of when the wall fell (presumably in November). The artists originally painted the elaborate murals in 1990.
After what turned out to be a late night, we woke for a free walking tour the next day. Our guide was a short red-headed Scottish woman. Not gonna lie, loved the accent. The tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and then spent most of the time in East Berlin at places like the former Luftwaffe Headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie, this cool square near Humboldt University, and ended up on Museum Island. I wish we had more time to go to a museum that day, but plans were to go to the Jewish Museum and then do the pub crawl. Plans are always doomed to fail though, and we got as far as the Jewish Museum before hunger took over Jordan and we had to get back and eat. We were debating whether to go to a club, Matrix stood out, and to wash clothes or not, and again just ran out of time.
I woke the next day, zipped up my bags, and left Berlin. I left behind a ton of things to do the next time I'm there. I'm also starting to think it may have been better just to book overnight trains instead of hostels so we wouldn't be wasting time in the mornings taking the train places.
This is Kent Brockman signing off.
After what turned out to be a late night, we woke for a free walking tour the next day. Our guide was a short red-headed Scottish woman. Not gonna lie, loved the accent. The tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and then spent most of the time in East Berlin at places like the former Luftwaffe Headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie, this cool square near Humboldt University, and ended up on Museum Island. I wish we had more time to go to a museum that day, but plans were to go to the Jewish Museum and then do the pub crawl. Plans are always doomed to fail though, and we got as far as the Jewish Museum before hunger took over Jordan and we had to get back and eat. We were debating whether to go to a club, Matrix stood out, and to wash clothes or not, and again just ran out of time.
I woke the next day, zipped up my bags, and left Berlin. I left behind a ton of things to do the next time I'm there. I'm also starting to think it may have been better just to book overnight trains instead of hostels so we wouldn't be wasting time in the mornings taking the train places.
This is Kent Brockman signing off.
Trial Separation - Marklin and Frankfurt: Nathan
So Jordan didn't want to come to Goppingen, so we decided it would be best to go our separate ways and meet in Paris. Time to strategize. I found a cheap hostel and and direct train to Paris in Frankfurt, so I figured that could be home base. I thought I missed the train early though which would have screwed up the whole day, but in fact the train was late, one time that actually paid off. Late trains seemed to be a recurring theme though, don't know what was going on that day.
Marklin Museum - For those that know anything about me, this is considered a Mecca. For those that don't, here's a little background. Instead of wasting my money on alcohol and drugs and other things of that nature, I waste it on model trains. I sell model trains in San Antonio when I'm not at school. Sometimes I even go home for a weekend and some extra cash to work a couple days.
Marklin is one of the oldest companies, and probably the oldest still in existence to produce model trains. Their first was a wind up in 1895 and it's been history since. The museum had examples of their oldest all the way up to their latest and greatest with the fancy digital systems. Needless to say, I basically killed my camera there. I learned though that they started off doing doll houses and tea sets. They some small appliances too. Good stuff to know. They have a lot of parts for stuff at the shop too, and it looks like LGB could make a comeback as well. Not that 99% of you know what half of that stuff meant. That's alright with me.
Frankfurt - I got in kind of late last night. The city itself looks very modern though. I'm in a hostel right across the street from the main train station. Made finding it very easy, too easy I couldn't find it when I got here. The hostel is lively and the rooms are big. Today I'll probably be running errands because I have the impression that there isn't much tourist type stuff to do. It's more of a place to stage me for my trip to Paris tomorrow.
This trial separation is good for when I go to Pamplona to watch the bulls run. And as much as I wanted to stay in Berlin and do a couple more things, the museum was important to me enough.
See you space cowboy...
Marklin Museum - For those that know anything about me, this is considered a Mecca. For those that don't, here's a little background. Instead of wasting my money on alcohol and drugs and other things of that nature, I waste it on model trains. I sell model trains in San Antonio when I'm not at school. Sometimes I even go home for a weekend and some extra cash to work a couple days.
Marklin is one of the oldest companies, and probably the oldest still in existence to produce model trains. Their first was a wind up in 1895 and it's been history since. The museum had examples of their oldest all the way up to their latest and greatest with the fancy digital systems. Needless to say, I basically killed my camera there. I learned though that they started off doing doll houses and tea sets. They some small appliances too. Good stuff to know. They have a lot of parts for stuff at the shop too, and it looks like LGB could make a comeback as well. Not that 99% of you know what half of that stuff meant. That's alright with me.
Frankfurt - I got in kind of late last night. The city itself looks very modern though. I'm in a hostel right across the street from the main train station. Made finding it very easy, too easy I couldn't find it when I got here. The hostel is lively and the rooms are big. Today I'll probably be running errands because I have the impression that there isn't much tourist type stuff to do. It's more of a place to stage me for my trip to Paris tomorrow.
This trial separation is good for when I go to Pamplona to watch the bulls run. And as much as I wanted to stay in Berlin and do a couple more things, the museum was important to me enough.
See you space cowboy...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Berlin Day 2 :Jordan
Today Nathan went to Goppingen to visit the Marklin Museum (trains), and I stayed here in Berlin.
I woke up this morning, checked out of the hostel, checked right back in, moved my stuff to my new room and left. I went down to the train station, bought a quick breakfast and lunch at this cool little sandwich place, and then went over to the DB Deutchse Bahn office to figure out how I am going to get to Paris by Friday morning. I spoke the woman behind the counter and found a train leaving Berlin tomorrow night at 8:00 and getting to Paris at 9:30. Perfect. I reserved my spot on the train, and then went to hunt down the S Bahn (above ground public transport that I use for free with my euaril pass) I needed to take to get to Museum Island. It was a surprisingly painless task. I found my train, hopped on, and was on Museum Island in ten minutes.
I didn't exactly have a plan so I headed up the steps of the Berliner Dom, and for 3 euro, decided it was worth a visit. I walked inside and could have sworn that I had just entered one of the great catholic cathedrals of Spain or Italy. Instead, I found out from the very nice English speaking guide that it was a protestant church built for the Kaiser in 1894 and finished in 1905. The church has a history as interesting as Berlins. During WWII a bomb fell through the huge dome of the church. Because the church is located in what was then East Berlin, ther area became communist after the war, and following their atheist ideals, the communist government refused to fix the church. For ten years, the main sancuatary of the church and part of the crypt below were left totally open to the elements which nearly destroyed all of the beautiful plaster and mosaic work. Finally in 1977 the rebuilding and restoration of the church were finished.
The church is beatiful with ornate gold and beautiful mosaic work. The stained glass is different than in most churches, but still adds to the beauty of the altar. After my tour of the main sanctuary I walked down into the crypts which was a little eerie. I didn't stay long. Instead I climbed up a million flights of stairs (Germany doesn't really have public elevators or escalators), some windy and hidden, up to the dome gallery. The view from the dome was well worth the ridiculous climb. The 360 degree panoramic view of the city is stunning. You can see everything. After hanging out on the dome and enjoying the view I climbed back down and found a comfortable spot on the grass in the square outside of the Berliner Dom. I ate a quick lunch and enjoyed the warmth and wonderful breeze. Afterwards, I headed to the Pergamonmuseum, a museum that house works of ancient Greek and Roman origin, Islamic art, and a reconstruction of temples, gates, and city areas using the actual found remnants.
I have to admit I was not all together that excited about coming to Berlin. The Germanic culture has never really interested me, and I saw very little reason to come. I now see how horribly wrong I was. Berling is an increcible city with a crazy history. What I love most about it here is that while they remember, commemorate and memorialize their twisted past, they are also working to move into the future to become a great city. I have found the German people to be kind, helpful, and understanding even if they have no clue what I am saying, and they have no clue what I am saying. I found out that if I just followed people hand motions and voice inflections as they talked I could get the gist of what they were saying. I've really enjoyed it here and I'm glad I still have one more day to explore.
Next up: Paris
I woke up this morning, checked out of the hostel, checked right back in, moved my stuff to my new room and left. I went down to the train station, bought a quick breakfast and lunch at this cool little sandwich place, and then went over to the DB Deutchse Bahn office to figure out how I am going to get to Paris by Friday morning. I spoke the woman behind the counter and found a train leaving Berlin tomorrow night at 8:00 and getting to Paris at 9:30. Perfect. I reserved my spot on the train, and then went to hunt down the S Bahn (above ground public transport that I use for free with my euaril pass) I needed to take to get to Museum Island. It was a surprisingly painless task. I found my train, hopped on, and was on Museum Island in ten minutes.
I didn't exactly have a plan so I headed up the steps of the Berliner Dom, and for 3 euro, decided it was worth a visit. I walked inside and could have sworn that I had just entered one of the great catholic cathedrals of Spain or Italy. Instead, I found out from the very nice English speaking guide that it was a protestant church built for the Kaiser in 1894 and finished in 1905. The church has a history as interesting as Berlins. During WWII a bomb fell through the huge dome of the church. Because the church is located in what was then East Berlin, ther area became communist after the war, and following their atheist ideals, the communist government refused to fix the church. For ten years, the main sancuatary of the church and part of the crypt below were left totally open to the elements which nearly destroyed all of the beautiful plaster and mosaic work. Finally in 1977 the rebuilding and restoration of the church were finished.
The church is beatiful with ornate gold and beautiful mosaic work. The stained glass is different than in most churches, but still adds to the beauty of the altar. After my tour of the main sanctuary I walked down into the crypts which was a little eerie. I didn't stay long. Instead I climbed up a million flights of stairs (Germany doesn't really have public elevators or escalators), some windy and hidden, up to the dome gallery. The view from the dome was well worth the ridiculous climb. The 360 degree panoramic view of the city is stunning. You can see everything. After hanging out on the dome and enjoying the view I climbed back down and found a comfortable spot on the grass in the square outside of the Berliner Dom. I ate a quick lunch and enjoyed the warmth and wonderful breeze. Afterwards, I headed to the Pergamonmuseum, a museum that house works of ancient Greek and Roman origin, Islamic art, and a reconstruction of temples, gates, and city areas using the actual found remnants.
I have to admit I was not all together that excited about coming to Berlin. The Germanic culture has never really interested me, and I saw very little reason to come. I now see how horribly wrong I was. Berling is an increcible city with a crazy history. What I love most about it here is that while they remember, commemorate and memorialize their twisted past, they are also working to move into the future to become a great city. I have found the German people to be kind, helpful, and understanding even if they have no clue what I am saying, and they have no clue what I am saying. I found out that if I just followed people hand motions and voice inflections as they talked I could get the gist of what they were saying. I've really enjoyed it here and I'm glad I still have one more day to explore.
Next up: Paris
Berlin Day .5 and Day 1 :Jordan
We hopped on the morning train from Amsterdam towards Berlin. About two hours into the ride we had to switch trains. Originally Nathan had said that we had a one hour transfer at this stop whose name starts with a D that I will never remember. When we got off the train we checked the stations time table just in case and saw that our train left in five minutes. We hopped on the train and sat for another four hours until we finally got to Berlin.
From Berlin's Ostbahnhof (train station) we easily found our hostel and checked in. We spent a good portion of the evening doing the necessary laundrz, logistics planning and dinner. While we were making dinner (or should I say while I was making dinner) we met a really nice Australian guy named Saul who told us a little more about what to do in Berlin. He mentioned that the East´Side Gallery is a great thing to see and open all night. He asked if he could come with us and of course we said yes. We went down about 11:00 right after it had gotten dark. We walked past the train station and down towards the river to an section of the Berlin Wall that is still standing.
The East Side Gallery is an open art gallery with street art from 1990 that was put there after the Berlin Wall fell as a sign of freedom and liberation. Some sections of the wall have been left completely open to the public and as such have been tagged to the point where you can't always find the original art. There are some sections, however, that have not only been roped off, but are being restored in commemoration of the 20th anniverssary of the wall coming down.
The next morning I woke up early and went for walk back along the East Side Gallery to see it in daylight. Its incredible. The millions of people from all over the world that have signed the wall and the artists who created the original depictions of freedom share the same wall space that once they would not even have been able to get close to.
At 11:00am we met the New Europe Free walking tour to get a chance to see more of Berlin. We went to the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the largest remaining piece of the Berlin wall, and some interesting stops in between we never would have found on our own. The history of it all is incredible. I honestly did not know much about Berlin coming in, but now I'm glad to say I understand the city a lot better (I'll explain that more later).
After the tour we went over the Jewish museum. The museum has information and artifacts dating back to medieval times. It was an interesting and very interactive museum. There was always something to listen to, watch, or answer. There was also an area in the back of the museum called the memory void. When I heard that I was really intrigued, so I went back there. It is literally a void that runs the entire length of the museum. The ground floor of the void has been filled with flat faces made of metal to signify the Jewish population that Europe and Germany lost.
From Berlin's Ostbahnhof (train station) we easily found our hostel and checked in. We spent a good portion of the evening doing the necessary laundrz, logistics planning and dinner. While we were making dinner (or should I say while I was making dinner) we met a really nice Australian guy named Saul who told us a little more about what to do in Berlin. He mentioned that the East´Side Gallery is a great thing to see and open all night. He asked if he could come with us and of course we said yes. We went down about 11:00 right after it had gotten dark. We walked past the train station and down towards the river to an section of the Berlin Wall that is still standing.
The East Side Gallery is an open art gallery with street art from 1990 that was put there after the Berlin Wall fell as a sign of freedom and liberation. Some sections of the wall have been left completely open to the public and as such have been tagged to the point where you can't always find the original art. There are some sections, however, that have not only been roped off, but are being restored in commemoration of the 20th anniverssary of the wall coming down.
The next morning I woke up early and went for walk back along the East Side Gallery to see it in daylight. Its incredible. The millions of people from all over the world that have signed the wall and the artists who created the original depictions of freedom share the same wall space that once they would not even have been able to get close to.
At 11:00am we met the New Europe Free walking tour to get a chance to see more of Berlin. We went to the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the largest remaining piece of the Berlin wall, and some interesting stops in between we never would have found on our own. The history of it all is incredible. I honestly did not know much about Berlin coming in, but now I'm glad to say I understand the city a lot better (I'll explain that more later).
After the tour we went over the Jewish museum. The museum has information and artifacts dating back to medieval times. It was an interesting and very interactive museum. There was always something to listen to, watch, or answer. There was also an area in the back of the museum called the memory void. When I heard that I was really intrigued, so I went back there. It is literally a void that runs the entire length of the museum. The ground floor of the void has been filled with flat faces made of metal to signify the Jewish population that Europe and Germany lost.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Amsterdam: Jordan
Amsterdam started on kind of a strange note while we were still in London. Thanks to our night at the Fabric which got us back to the hostel at 2:30 neither Nathan or I heard our alarm and overslept 15 min. which wouldn't have been a problem except Eurostar, we found out, requires you to check in to your train 30 min. before hand. We run to the train station to find that our train has left. Not knowing when the next train will be or if we will have to pay for it we run to the ticket office and tell them we missed our plane. The attendant hands us two tickets and says, "don't miss this one or you will be charged". You don't have to tell us twice. We went back and checked in, even though we had an hour, there was no way we were missing this one. We finally got on the train and were really excited to be on our way when, about half an our in our train loses power for almost an hour. Our two hour ride turned into a three hour one. But thats ok, we made it to Brussels and then didn't know what to do with our rail passes. We walk all the way across the station to the service center where the waiting line is about one hundred people (at least) long. Unsure of what to do, we get a number to wait and then go over to the open information desk to find out if we actually need to wait. The guy tells us that he can validate our passes. We then asked him how we get to Amsterdam and he tells us that the next train leaves in five minutes. I guess train travel really is that easy, we rushed to the platform hopped on the train and prayed it was the right one (not really but for dramatic effect it sounds pretty good).
We did get on the right train and we did make it to Amsterdam. From the station we walked to the HotelBoat which is a cute little boat with a very nice owner and his girlfriend. The rules of the boat: Quiet time starts at 11:00, There is no smoking in the rooms, and you may roll a joint on the front deck. Yep, thats right, we're in Amsterdam. We drop our stuff at the boat and go find a place to rent bikes. The biking system here in Amsterdam in incredible. There are seperate bike lanes, pedestrian lanes, and car lanes on most major streets along with seperate traffic lights. On smaller streets there are very few cars and most people choose to bike or walk. There are also seperate bus lanes if you prefer that. We rented bikes and decided to go to the Anne Frank House. It took us way too long to find it but at least the view and the weather were nice.
The Ann Frank House is set along a canal and from what I could tell always has a huge line. As we were waiting, at the very back of this long line, a woman comes and stands behind us with her family. She then turn me and asks me if I speak English (she was from the states) I say of course and she tells us that she accidently bought too many tickets online and if we would like to buy them we could skip the line and go on in. Of course we took her up on the offer. Inside the house is a strange experience. All of the rooms were completely unfurnished at Otto's request after the war. It was really hard to get a sense of what went on there because all of the rooms were so empty. The original warehouse part has been turned into the reception area and gift shop. I am really glad we went, it was just different than I thought it would be. After that we rode around Amsterdam until we found a place to eat. We chose a small place by the boat that sold Shwarma, I think it was more of a novelty than anything, but it was good. The room in the boat is small, which is kind of an understatement, but the couple that owns it are great and there is free breakfast, which you can't argue with.
Today we tried to wake up fairly early and beat the crowd to the Van Gogh Museum. We made it there about 10 min. after it opened and there was already a line. The museum was great. It showed all of the different phases of Van Gogh as an artist. I didn't realize just how different all of his phases were. His Dutch phase he used a lot of browns and blacks, very dark with minimal detail. in Antwerp he did a lot of protraits. In the Siene region of France he did beautful pointalist landscapes and there was even a phase where he copied the style of Japanese art. There were also images by Gaugin, Rodin, Cezanne, Bernard, Millet, and other famous artists and graphic artists.
After the museum we walked across the street to a place called House of Bols, which is a cocktail and bartending museum. We were curious. It was way to early to go through the museum since it includes drinking (oddly enough they open at 12pm and people are there right when they open). Instead we spent about twenty or thrity minutes talking to the two people that worked there. It was actually a fun discussion. We talked about the differences in transportaion, liquor laws, drug laws, and that fact that whenever you say Amsterdam all people think of is pot.
After our little discussion we chose to avoid any more museums and ride around the city enjoying the 65 degree weather and the stunning canal view. We made our way back towards the boat and I thought it would be a good idea to stop in the very large public library located about 3 min. from our boat since we both needed the internet. Let me just say ( and I know I'm going to sound like a nerd here) the library is incredibly beautiful and modern. There are about five stories each with their own personality. Each floor has a set of tables with fifteen free computers (with free internet! which is why we came). There are macs in the music section that you can use to download stuff for ipods, edit, and things like that. There are also study pods, which are a great idea. I hate to say this but if we had a library like this, I probably would have studied more. The huge wall of windows on every floor looks out over the canal and Amsterdam city center.
Tonight is our last night in Amsterdam, an interesting city with a very unique culture.
Next up: Berlin
We did get on the right train and we did make it to Amsterdam. From the station we walked to the HotelBoat which is a cute little boat with a very nice owner and his girlfriend. The rules of the boat: Quiet time starts at 11:00, There is no smoking in the rooms, and you may roll a joint on the front deck. Yep, thats right, we're in Amsterdam. We drop our stuff at the boat and go find a place to rent bikes. The biking system here in Amsterdam in incredible. There are seperate bike lanes, pedestrian lanes, and car lanes on most major streets along with seperate traffic lights. On smaller streets there are very few cars and most people choose to bike or walk. There are also seperate bus lanes if you prefer that. We rented bikes and decided to go to the Anne Frank House. It took us way too long to find it but at least the view and the weather were nice.
The Ann Frank House is set along a canal and from what I could tell always has a huge line. As we were waiting, at the very back of this long line, a woman comes and stands behind us with her family. She then turn me and asks me if I speak English (she was from the states) I say of course and she tells us that she accidently bought too many tickets online and if we would like to buy them we could skip the line and go on in. Of course we took her up on the offer. Inside the house is a strange experience. All of the rooms were completely unfurnished at Otto's request after the war. It was really hard to get a sense of what went on there because all of the rooms were so empty. The original warehouse part has been turned into the reception area and gift shop. I am really glad we went, it was just different than I thought it would be. After that we rode around Amsterdam until we found a place to eat. We chose a small place by the boat that sold Shwarma, I think it was more of a novelty than anything, but it was good. The room in the boat is small, which is kind of an understatement, but the couple that owns it are great and there is free breakfast, which you can't argue with.
Today we tried to wake up fairly early and beat the crowd to the Van Gogh Museum. We made it there about 10 min. after it opened and there was already a line. The museum was great. It showed all of the different phases of Van Gogh as an artist. I didn't realize just how different all of his phases were. His Dutch phase he used a lot of browns and blacks, very dark with minimal detail. in Antwerp he did a lot of protraits. In the Siene region of France he did beautful pointalist landscapes and there was even a phase where he copied the style of Japanese art. There were also images by Gaugin, Rodin, Cezanne, Bernard, Millet, and other famous artists and graphic artists.
After the museum we walked across the street to a place called House of Bols, which is a cocktail and bartending museum. We were curious. It was way to early to go through the museum since it includes drinking (oddly enough they open at 12pm and people are there right when they open). Instead we spent about twenty or thrity minutes talking to the two people that worked there. It was actually a fun discussion. We talked about the differences in transportaion, liquor laws, drug laws, and that fact that whenever you say Amsterdam all people think of is pot.
After our little discussion we chose to avoid any more museums and ride around the city enjoying the 65 degree weather and the stunning canal view. We made our way back towards the boat and I thought it would be a good idea to stop in the very large public library located about 3 min. from our boat since we both needed the internet. Let me just say ( and I know I'm going to sound like a nerd here) the library is incredibly beautiful and modern. There are about five stories each with their own personality. Each floor has a set of tables with fifteen free computers (with free internet! which is why we came). There are macs in the music section that you can use to download stuff for ipods, edit, and things like that. There are also study pods, which are a great idea. I hate to say this but if we had a library like this, I probably would have studied more. The huge wall of windows on every floor looks out over the canal and Amsterdam city center.
Tonight is our last night in Amsterdam, an interesting city with a very unique culture.
Next up: Berlin
Update: Nathan
So, London ended on a great note. Amsterdam started on an iffy one. Currently, we're in Amsterdam, staying on a Hotelboat. The couple that owns it is very nice, they say sometimes they take the boat and cruise with it, but we were lucky enough to catch it in port and, I must say, it's a unique experience.
Back to traveling though first. We ended our stay in London by visiting the club Fabric with Daniel and Tony from Switzerland. I've never encountered something with this great music or this much popularity across the pond, but I would suspect it rivals the superclubs of New York or Los Angeles. Long night, and unfortunately we had to start the day early. My phone didn't wake me up in the morning, so we scrambled to pack and check out and catch our 6:57 Eurostar to Brussels and our connection to Amsterdam. We did miss the train, but on the upside, the Eurostar people gave us a new ticket on the next one out. En route before the Chunnel, there was an overhead problem, so we sat for awhile until it was rememdied. We arrived in Brussels an hour late. All in all, I love the Eurostar, must have been a bad day for them. Should have grabbed a pic though...
In Brussels we validated our railpasses and discovered how easy it was to use them: just get on a train and flash it instead of having a ticket. Surprisingly easy! The train departed 5 minutes after our validation, so more scrambling, but we made it.
Amsterdam: I would move here just to ride bikes. It is a biking paradise, with paths all over the city and drivers that are more understanding to our quirky ways. We rented bikes and have covered most of the area between the station and the first major ring canal (look at a map and it makes a little more sense). We've visited the Anne Frank Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, and as I type, I'm in the amazing Amsterdam Library. It's several stories tall, all white on the inside. Lots of windows and other bright lights. I've never been, but I would guess it beats the hell out of San Antonio's Red Enchilada.
We met up with Johannes Schoondergang, my USA Trains representative, and he was very nicely bought us a nice dinner. He really didn't have to, but I'd like to thank him here for that, as well as the many thanks in person.
For the occasion, I'll post this, but there are explicit lyrics. The link is to the Youtube video ''I'm on a Boat'' featured on SNL. http://tinyurl.com/pqvk3f
So, tonight, going out, but more chill than Fabric. Tomorrow, Berlin. Stay posted...
Back to traveling though first. We ended our stay in London by visiting the club Fabric with Daniel and Tony from Switzerland. I've never encountered something with this great music or this much popularity across the pond, but I would suspect it rivals the superclubs of New York or Los Angeles. Long night, and unfortunately we had to start the day early. My phone didn't wake me up in the morning, so we scrambled to pack and check out and catch our 6:57 Eurostar to Brussels and our connection to Amsterdam. We did miss the train, but on the upside, the Eurostar people gave us a new ticket on the next one out. En route before the Chunnel, there was an overhead problem, so we sat for awhile until it was rememdied. We arrived in Brussels an hour late. All in all, I love the Eurostar, must have been a bad day for them. Should have grabbed a pic though...
In Brussels we validated our railpasses and discovered how easy it was to use them: just get on a train and flash it instead of having a ticket. Surprisingly easy! The train departed 5 minutes after our validation, so more scrambling, but we made it.
Amsterdam: I would move here just to ride bikes. It is a biking paradise, with paths all over the city and drivers that are more understanding to our quirky ways. We rented bikes and have covered most of the area between the station and the first major ring canal (look at a map and it makes a little more sense). We've visited the Anne Frank Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, and as I type, I'm in the amazing Amsterdam Library. It's several stories tall, all white on the inside. Lots of windows and other bright lights. I've never been, but I would guess it beats the hell out of San Antonio's Red Enchilada.
We met up with Johannes Schoondergang, my USA Trains representative, and he was very nicely bought us a nice dinner. He really didn't have to, but I'd like to thank him here for that, as well as the many thanks in person.
For the occasion, I'll post this, but there are explicit lyrics. The link is to the Youtube video ''I'm on a Boat'' featured on SNL. http://tinyurl.com/pqvk3f
So, tonight, going out, but more chill than Fabric. Tomorrow, Berlin. Stay posted...
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