Halfway

Today is the official halfway point of my trip. It's all downhill from here.

A lot of the old buildings in Amsterdam are leaning a bit. Look at the gap between the brick building and the white building. I think that Amsterdam, like Venice and other canal cities is slowly sinking. It probably is a good place to be a structural engineer with all of the canals, dams and old buildings. I headed back to the hostel for the last time and got lost among the canals once again. I guess that will be the enduring memory of Amsterdam.

Canal Life

The touristy stuff in Amsterdam (coffee shops, smart shops, red light district) didn't really appeal to me at all. I did however like the rest of the city a lot. I thought it was a really beautiful city with all of the tree lined canals and nice old houses. The life of the city really seems to revolve around the canals which I thought was very cool. After I returned the bike, I stumbled upon this floating concert on a canal. The canal was packed with boats crowded around the stage and the streets around the stage were equally packed.

I don't remember the name of this little town that I ended up at. It was on the Amstel River (I'm not sure if you can consider something a river when it is below sea level and probably doesn't even flow) to the South-East of Amsterdam. It was a nice little town. I ended up riding around pretty much all day out in the countryside. It was fun, although it would have been good to have a more efficient bike. The one I had was a bit of a clunker. Another excellent self portrait on a bike.

Biking

On Saturday I decided to do as the Dutch do and explore Amsterdam on a bike. I rented this beach cruiser and set off exploring. Cycling is definitely the best way to get around Amsterdam. There are dedicated bike lanes and traffic signals specifically for bikes. Cars have to yield to bikes everywhere. Bikes are exempted from several traffic laws that pertain to cars like going the wrong way down one way streets. In the morning I cruised around the city for a while. I got some food at an outdoor market near the main train station. I was planning on going to the Anne Frank house and the Rijksmuseum, but the lines were both really long so I just headed South out into the countryside around Amsterdam. The Netherlands are great for riding bikes because everything is flat. One thing that was tough was reading the Dutch road signs. There were quite a few signs that had a picture of a bicycle with a dutch word underneath. I had no idea what they meant. I eventually figured out that a do not enter sign with a bike on with uitzondering underneath it means: do not enter, bicycles excepted (this was just confirmed with the internet)

The Flying Pig Hostel

I stayed at the flying pig hostel in Amsterdam. It was recommended by my friend Mania. It was a good hostel, but nothing special.
+ Best shower of the entire trip. It was a normal American style shower with good water pressure and good water temperature.
+ Free internet
+ They were very serious about security. They were constantly changing door codes and locks in the place. I only stayed there two nights and I had two different door codes. They wrote the door code on the back of your key chain. When I first returned to the hostel I tried punching in the code (9659) and it didn't work. They had to buzz me in. I later discovered that the code was 6596 and on my keychain it looked more like 6S96 which upside down is 96S9 (9659) hence the confusion. Poor choice for a code.
-+ I was deceived by their clever marketing strategy. Backpackers in Europe often choose destinations based upon recommendations of other people they meet. There were several places I went or stayed after talking to people that I wasn't necessarily planning to go previously. I had been told that the Flying Pig Hostel was a famous hostel. Hearing this, I assumed that it had been around for a long time, which had given it a good reputation and fame. It turns out that some clever person decided to call a group of hostels in Europe "Famous Hostels" not because they had achieved fame, but just as a brand name. It is the same as knowing you are going to stay at the Holiday Inn or something like that. However if you are talking to someone and you say "I stayed at the Flying Pig in Amsterdam, it is a famous hostel" they will probably assume it is one of the best there is. Again, clever marketing, but I felt deceived when I found out the true meaning.
- Very cramped common areas. They had a bar downstairs but it was cramped and smoky. After the last two hostels I had stayed at which were great for hanging out at, this was a downside.
- Very bad bunk beds. The mattress was probably 4in wider than the frame which was weird to sleep on. I was on the lower bunk and there was probably only about 2ft of height between the lower and upper bunk. You couldn't even come close to sitting up. It was very odd.

I'm Lost

After leaving the Red Light District to head back to my Hostel, I got lost. And by lost, I mean really, really lost. I am generally known among my friends for having a very good sense of direction and usually knowing where I am and how to get to other places. It is generally something I pride myself upon so it is embarrassing when I get so lost. When I was doing all of my skiing and hiking in Colorado I never got lost (except for that one time on Hahn's Peak. But that was more being confused by looking for a trail that wasn't there than actually getting lost.) European cities are pretty tough to get around. London is pretty confusing because of the weird angled streets and the labyrinth like tube stations. Dublin was tough because of the lack of street signs, but I could manage in those places and at least walk in the right direction despite not necessarily knowing what street I was on. Amsterdam was by far the worst. Many of the streets curve subtly such that you think you are walking in a straight line, but are actually curving so you end up walking in a different direction. You can see by the route that I took on the map, that I had no idea where I was going. I really thought I was walking south for most of the way. I had the same map you see here with me, but it was in black and white and I was trying to navigate with the canals. I couldn't tell where the canals were on the map I had, because of the lack of color and it was dark outside. Eventually I figured out what was going on and made it home successfully. This would not be the last time I was lost in Amsterdam though. It seemed like anytime I went somewhere I ended up making a few wrong turns. The similar looking Dutch street names didn't help either.

Red Light District

At night I walked through the red light district. Prostitution is also legal in Amsterdam. The red light district has windows full of girls trying to solicit customers. It is actually much more of a tourist spectacle than you would think. Most of the people are just here for the spectacle. I didn't see too many johns going into the rooms. The thing I disliked the most about the Red Light District was that there were a ton of really shady people wandering around. They all looked like they were just waiting for an opportunity to steal your wallet or try to sell you fake drugs. All of these things like drugs and prostitution that are legal in Amsterdam are kind of culture shock for Americans because they are all considered illegal vices in the U.S., but here they are not only legal but normal.
One thing I saw in Amsterdam that I thought was a great idea were public urinals. With all of the drunk and high people who came to Amsterdam to party, public urination was becoming a problem in the city so whoever was in charge decided to do something about it. They put up these urinals on the street which are basically a hole in the ground that connects to the sewer and there is sort of a metal enclosure that you walk into for a little bit of privacy, but the top is just a metal mesh, so you can still see people walking by. It is just right out on the street, so you can stand there peeing while carrying on a conversation with someone. They aren't the cleanest thing in the world, but it is a pretty good idea and better than the alternative. Not so great for women though. Here is a picture of one (I'm not sure if I should be surprised that there is a website devoted entirely to urinals).

The sanitation workers in Amsterdam were on strike when I was there and all of the locals were assuring people that it normally isn't this dirty here. I still thought it was pretty clean compared to places like San Francisco and New York.

Magic Mushrooms

The other thing that is legal in Amsterdam are magic mushrooms. These are sold in what are called "smart shops". I liked the decoration outside of this one. I went inside to check it out and found it really fascinating. Shrooms are not even considered to be a drug by Dutch authorities since they are picked fresh and served fresh. I listened to a conversation between the sales clerk and customer as he was recommending what to get and describing the high that would result. The way the shrooms were being described, it was almost like being in a fine wine shop or a place that sells gourmet food. The descriptions were really detailed.

Cannabis College

During my wandering of the city I stumbled upon cannabis college. It was marked with this plant by the door. I went inside and discovered it was basically a group promoting the social benefits to the legalization of marijuana. It had a bunch of literature with statistics comparing drug addiction rates and crime rates in the Netherlands to the rest of the Western World. They had some pretty interesting facts and figures.
If you don't already know, weed is legal in Amsterdam and there are coffee shops throughout the city where you can buy and smoke weed. I wasn't too interested in the whole weed tourism thing. If I was interested in smoking weed I could have just stayed in California. It was nice to see how nonchalant the Dutch are about drugs. I think that some of the statistics shown in Cannabis College make a good point that legalizing soft drugs would likely lead to a drop in crime.

Amsterdam

Arriving in Amsterdam I took the tram to my hostel and dropped off my bag. The hostel had a bunch of free magazines for travelers in Amsterdam which were actually very helpful. The one that I picked up had a map of the city, advice on things to see and do, restaurant recommendations and most importantly an explanation of a lot of the cultural oddities on Amsterdam. It was really informative. It had things like where the best coffeshops and smart shops are and how to negotiate with prostitutes in the red light district. I was happy to find out that everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. Everyone! You don't even have to ask, you just start speaking to them in English. The guide said the only two Dutch words you need to know are for push and pull so you don't look stupid opening doors. This was good because I don't know a word of Dutch even after spending a few days in Amsterdam.

I headed out to wander around the city a bit. I really liked Amsterdam a lot. I thought it was a very beautiful city with all of the canals and narrow streets. Despite being such a tourist destination, it still felt like a very authentic city. I got the sense that most of the people around me were people who lived in Amsterdam just going about their daily lives. I went to a restaurant called Local for dinner which was recommended by the magazine I had. It was a pretty trendy place. The restaurant is in a tiny little storefront (maybe 15ft wide) but it goes maybe 80 ft deep into the building. There are two long wooden communal tables running down the middle which seat maybe 30 people each. The food is served on skewers and you get to choose different meats and fish that you want. I think I had beef on one skewer and a variety of fish on the other. It was really good and pretty cheap too. The menu was in English, there was no Dutch menu available, even though it seemed like all of the people there were Dutch. One of the magazines I read said that the Dutch really like to go out to dinner and spend hours enjoying their meal. When I arrived for dinner around 7:30pm I was warned that the entire restaurant was reserved for a private party beginning at 10pm and that hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. I laughed at the ample warning time. I guess for some Dutch, that would be a problem.

Brussels-Amsterdam

Friday morning I caught a train to Amsterdam from Brussels. It took something like 4 hours which was a lot slower than I was expecting. This guy sat down next to me who was coughing a lot and I think he gave me a cold (you will find out more about this in a few days)

Jacques Brel Hostel - Brussels

I stayed four nights at the Jacques Brel Hostelling International Hostel during my visits to Brussels and Brugge. I had high expectations after the nice hostel I stayed at in Nimes and I was not disappointed. I would say this was the best urban hostel I stayed at on my entire trip.
+ Good location within walking distance of the main sights in Brussels and the train stations.
+ Free internet
+ Free breakfast
+ Modern clean dorm rooms and showers
+ They had a bar downstairs which had a great selection of Belgian beers which were very cheap. Outside was a nice courtyard with patio furniture and a fountain where you could relax, talk to fellow travelers and enjoy a few beers.
+ cheap (15€ or so a night)
The third night I was there I was sitting in the bar using the internet and had the painful experience of watching many people get turned away because the hostel was full. When I had made my reservations online for the place a week earlier, I had noticed that many of the hostels in Brussels were full on Wednesday night in the middle of the week. I thought that was odd, but there must have been some large group traveling through or something like that. Sure enough on Wednesday the Jacques Brel hostel was full and people were getting turned away left and right. I believe all of the other hostels in town were full too. This was in the early evening when I began to see it. When I came back at 11pm or so there were still people getting turned away. I felt bad for all of the people.
A lot of people show up to hostels without reservations just hoping to find a place. I did this a number of times and it is a bit of a risk, but it is unusual to find that places are completely full in the middle of the week. You have to be careful on Fridays and Saturdays as places tend to fill up. Normally what I would do is book the place on the internet, or by phone a few days in advance. The $2 fee on the internet was worth not having to wander around town with all of your stuff late in the night to find a place to stay. I made sure to do this especially after seeing what happened in Brussels.

Music Festival

Thursday night was the first night of a music festival in Brussels. There was a big stage set up in the Grand Place. After returning from Brugge I headed down to check it out. The first performance I saw was an American rap group. The next was a group of about 12 DJs all spinning at the same time. They were a bunch of guys from Belgium and the Netherlands. One guy was introduced as the "illest DJ in all of the Netherlands." I'm not sure if that makes him really hardcore, but I had to chuckle a bit when I heard that. 12 DJs spinning at once sure sounds a lot like one DJ spinning. I was not too impressed. The most interesting part of the night was the MC who introduced the acts. He was constantly switching between Dutch, French and English while speaking, often changing from one sentence to the next. I got the impression in Brussels that pretty much everyone who lives there is at least trilingual. It was very interesting.

More Beer

After walking around all day, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit at a cafe on the side of a canal and sample a few more belgian beers. It was a nice spot. From the time I arrived in Belgium on Monday evening to the time I left on Friday morning I sampled about 25 different Belgian beers.

Chocolate

Besides beer, waffles and french fries (I guess I haven't touched on these, but waffle and french fry stands are plentiful in Belgium and very tasty too), Belgium is also famous for chocolate. Most Belgian chocolates are in the form of what we would call truffles, but they call them pralines. They also come in other interesting forms as seen in this store window in Brugge. I bought 500g of chocolate (almost a pound) and ate it all while I was wandering around Brugge. It tasted good, but it didn't make me feel so great.

More Bridges

Because of all of the canals, Brugge has lots of drawbridges. The bridge in the middle pivots in the center to let boats by on either side. In this picture it is about half way between the open and closed position. The bridge on the bottom is a drawbridge where the cylindrical girders spin and wind up the suspender cables to raise the deck. I thought that was pretty interesting.

I'll kind of let the pictures speak for themselves. I don't think these things have any particular importance, but they all look very nice

At the base of the bell tower is a square ringed by buildings with nice facades.

Belfry

I climbed to the top of the bell tower in the town square and enjoyed the view.


There was this really elaborate mechanism for playing the bells at the top of the tower. This is basically like a big version of the drum found on a player piano. It was interesting to watch it go around.

Brugge

Today I took a day trip up to the Belgian town of Brugge (aka Bruges). It was only an hour or so from Brussels by train, but it is in a very different part of Belgium. In Brussels and the Southern Part of Belgium, French is the commonly spoken language. The Northern part of Belgium is Flemish speaking. I'm not really sure exactly what that means, but I think it is similar to Dutch which of course is spoken in The Netherlands or Holland. That all makes perfect sense. I wasn't really sure what language to try to speak, English or French, if I went into a restaurant or a store. My solution was just to point at what I wanted and the people would generally speak English back to me. Brugge is a very nice medieval town with lots of canals. It is very scenic, and consequently it has lots of tourists, especially English and American tourists. I think I heard English spoken more today than I had in the last two weeks.

Interesting sidewalk art in Brussels

Palace of Justice

My walking tour ended at the Palace of Justice. Very impressive massive building that was the largest building in Europe at the time it was built.

Fine china?

I went into the modern art museum in Brussels. Their definition of "modern" goes back to 1800. Down on the bottom level which was contemporary art I walked past this piece which looked like fine china in a display case. Upon closer inspection I saw it was propane tanks and circular saw blades that had been painted to look like china. Pretty interesting. Sorry the picture is blurry.

After my walking tour I wandered around some more and hung out at a few cafés sampling beers and food. I tried some fresh Normandy oysters at one place which were pretty good. I think that was the first time I had ever had oysters. I really liked the range of restaurants available in Brussels. It seemed like it would be a very livable city. It isn't packed with tourist sights like many other European cities, but I enjoyed it a lot. This photo is of the big gothic cathedral in town, lit up at night.

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace in Brussels the home of the Belgian monarchy. I toured the palace and was absolutely amazed. The interior rivaled Versailles. Unfortunately photos were not allowed. The website linked above has 360 views of many of the rooms. The throne room was incredible, as were many others.

Brussels Day 2

Today I went on another walking tour through Brussels. The guide book described it as an all day walk and utterly exhausting. In reality it took about 4 hours with stops at several museums and a stop for lunch and I was not exhausted. This is a park which was near my hostel.

Give me some money

On this trip I have been making essentially all of my purchases in cash. My bank (Washington Mutual) charges $3 for international ATM withdrawls. My credit cards charge 3% per transaction so cash is cheaper if you take out a lot. I generally just take out $400 or more at an ATM every week or so. In Brussels I was down to my last 10€ or so, so I needed to go to an ATM before dinner. I went to one bank near my hostel and the machine wouldn't take my card. Later I went to ING and my card wouldn't even get me in the door. The ATM rejected it as well when I followed someone else inside. Maybe ING is mad at me because I only have about $0.05 in my savings account with them. I really needed money so I sought out other banks. I found a Citibank and it took my card. I asked for 300€ and it said it was too much. Subsequent iterations got me down to about 50€ and it still wouldn't give me anything. I was starting to get worried. I found two other banks and kept getting rejected. Finally I found a Fortis Bank and was able to withdraw 400€. I have no idea why it was so hard to get money tonight. I never had problems with this anywhere else on my trip. My theory is that since Fortis also happened to hold my health insurance policy at the time, they gave me money so I would be safe.

So many choices

This is a pretty typical menu at a cafe in Brussels. These are all beers. There is an amazing selection available. Brussels has a cafe culture which I liked a lot. It seems like everyone just hangs out in cafe and drinks beer in the evenings. They all smoke too, which is not so cool.

Manneken Pis

I had never heard of this statue before, but it is apparently the most famous tourist sight in Brussels. Not really sure why, but whatever. When heads of state visit Brussels (capital of the EU) they dress up the statue in traditional clothing from their country.

Belgian Beer

On the Grand Place was the Brewer's Guild and the beer museum. I had to have a visit. There I watched a movie (in English) all about Belgium beer and all the different kinds. Belgians are fanatical about their beer and it shows in the variety of beer available. I think I heard somewhere (probably in the museum) that Belgium has the highest number of breweries per capita of any country. The museum tour also included a free beer as a bonus.

Grand Place

Today I went on a walking tour of Brussels that was laid out in a guide book I had. It took me through the old parts of the city and most of the major sights. Probably the most notable sight in Brussels was the Grand Place and the town hall that towers over it. I've heard it referred to as one of the best and most authentic squares in Europe.

Les Invalides

Les Invalides is an old military school which is now a French military museum. The french (and europe in general) sure fought a lot of wars against each other back in the day.

Napolean's Tomb. Pretty big sarcophagus for a small guy.

Place Vendome

Place de La Concorde

I visited the Place de la Concorde which was all roped off a few weeks ago for the Tour de France. This obelisk is from Egypt and it is 3300 years old.

Sun God Paris (aka L'Oiseau de Feu)

On the plaza outside the Centre Pompidou there was a plaza which had all of these interesting sculptures which spun around and shot water. The one at the top is very similar to the Sun God statue which is an icon of the UCSD campus. They are both by Nikki de Saint-Phalle