Amsterdam

At the last minute before I was to hop a train from Ghent to Amsterdam, Heather came to her senses and decided to go along at least for a day or so. After all, it was 4th of July weekend. So instead of buying a train ticket, I bought her a tank of gas, and we drove over. It's about three hours in a car or a train.

We parked the car out of town and took a free ferry into the town center. Like any good Amsterdamer, my first task and hand was to obtain a bicycle. I knew bikes were commonly used there, but I had no idea to what degree. Bikes are king. There is almost as much pavement devoted to them as to cars and trains. And they are always bustling with riders. Bike lanes are not necessarily just white lines painted on the road, but a separately engineered roadway altogether in many cases. Special street lights, street signs. In fact, Heather pointed out to me that, since Holland is a pretty flat place, you can get around the entire country by bicycle and still enjoy the same road accommodations you do in the city.

After awhile, I noticed that, for such a large metropolitan city, it was pretty quiet. There are cars driving around, but not very many. I remembered how loud Pai, Thailand was and it was a tiny little town. It was just jammed with loud motor bikes. Here people mainly bike, walk, or ride a street car.

The central part of Amsterdam is organized like a half wagon wheel, with a series of spokes (roads) and pretty canals that arc around the town as cross streets. It struck me again, as it did in Barcelona, but more so here, that EVERY building in the half wheel was charming, historic, and beautifully kept. The buildings are narrow and a few stories tall. Taller than they would have been had they not been taxed based on their footprint. This also makes for tight spaces inside, and narrow, steep staircases. Since space is so tight, most buildings have a pulley attached to the roof to hoist up residents' belongings when they move in and out.

I didn't find out why, but many of the buildings tilt. Since they are all jammed together, their tilts in relation to one another are obvious to the eye. I thought maybe they tilted forward so that when you hoist stuff up, it doesnt smash through your downstairs neighbor's window, but they tilt sideways too, or don't tilt. I don't get it really, but the effect makes them look like kooky Tim Robbins cartoon houses. It's very cute.

I also noticed quickly that much of the town, as charming and beautiful as it is, looks the same everywhere! I kept getting lost because one street and canal looks more or less like all the others. Good landmarks are few and far between, and for me, the Dutch street names were hard to remember.

I got lost more than once. But no worry. Just keep riding around until you run into something you recognize. You can't get far in a wagon wheel.

Unfortunately, as soon as I arrived on Friday afternoon, I felt a virus taking hold of me quickly. I tried my best to fight it off, but I couldn't do it. I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time in bed, and not having any big nights for a couple of days.

Sick on my only weekend in Amsterdam.

Damn.

Brussels

For kicks, Heather and I took a train trip down to Brussels, the Belgian capitol, to visit with Daisy, Heather's long time friend and Brussels native. Daisy's family has operated a dry cleaning business in the center for a number of years.

We all met up at Daisy's favorite bar downtown for some Belgian beer (of course). After arriving in town, I immediately noticed something was different. Even though Brussels is only about an hour from Ghent, the language spoken by folks here is French, not the Dutch I was used to in Ghent. Huh?

Another history lesson for Miles. There are two main regions of Belgium: The northern area of Flanders which is Dutch speaking, and Wallonia in the South which is home to the French speaking Flemish people. Somewhere along the line in history they both ended up part of Belgium, along with a small piece in the East that speaks German. (Note! Heather has informed me this is all wrong... I will repair it. sorry Flemish folk!)

At first I was confused at why the street names on street signs were so darned long. Then Daisy informed me that they are written in both French and Dutch since Brussels is officially a bilingual city. This is confusing since that means all streets really have two different names. Depending on whether it is a proper name or a common word (like Oak Street) the translation might be completely different when written in Dutch or French. Fun.

We had fun that night, and crashed at Daisy's until the next day when she gave me a personal guided tour of the city while Heather headed back to work in Ghent. We walked up and down the city to each neighborhood, stopping in her favorite spots for food and drinks. I especially enjoyed the street cartoons that are all around the city, many in the style of Herge. She is clearly quite proud of her home and also an amazing and hospitable hostess.

Thanks Daisy... and I love your French accent.

Belgium

Waffles and chocolates and beer... Oh my!

My lovely friend Heather Rae lives in Ghent, Belgium with her boyfriend, Jurgin. They were kind enough to invite me up to their home for a few days for a taste of some Ghent life and tasty BBQ. I took them up on it.

I had planned to check out Amsterdam while in Europe, and Ghent is only a couple of hours away by train.

The night before I left Barcelona was the much anticipated European soccer final between Germany and Spain. I was a bit torn who to root for since earlier in my trip I had spent a couple of weeks watching the games in Berlin and pulling for Germany with the rest of the crowd. Now I was in Spain feeling a bit sheepish about waving a white, red and yellow flag around, but I was (not so) secretly hoping Germany would win since I know more people there.. .and besides.. who likes a flip flopper, anyway? I watched the game at The London Bar in the El Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. I chose the bar because I read that Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway used to get drunk there.

When I rolled in, there was one seat left at a table of six or so folks who I soon learned were all from San Francisco. What are the chances? Pretty high I suppose. Barcelona is full of tourists, and the two guys I met at the Turkish food place right before I headed for the bar were also from SF.

Spain ended up winning and I celebrated along the Rambla with the rest of the Spanish for a little while before heading to bed for my early flight. Some folks reminded me that the celebration in Barcelona was not nearly as large or as passionate as the party in Madrid. You see, folks from Barcelona are Catalan, and barely consider themselves Spanish at all. In fact, many of them support seceding from Spain altogether. But they were still excited anyway.

The next morning, I flew from Barcelona to Brussels and hopped on a train to Ghent, St. Pieters station. Heather had given me some instructions and I managed to navigate the trains and crazy street numbering system in Ghent, and arrived at her door without a hand-holding cell phone call. Woo!

She fed me and then sent me out to check the nearby town center. Hey... this place is, like, medieval! Barcelona had some buildings from that era, but Ghent has a whole town center that conforms to a period spanning a time between the 14th and 16th centuries. Very charming old buildings filled with shops, outdoor restaurants, and cozy pubs. The town center also has a system of stone canals running through the town, so many of the buildings are right on the water. There is even a town castle. Neeto.

After realizing that Belgians are known for their chocolates, I made a bee line directly for the tastiest looking hand made truffle shop. For only about 7 Euros, I got a quarter kilo of fresh hand picked scrumptious chocolates which I intended to bring home to Heather as a gift... Unfortunately, it was mostly gone by the time I made it back to her house. Probably the best chocolates I have ever had. I probably bought a full kilo by the time I left.

Later, after a big big BBQ dinner, Heather took me out to sample one of the other Belgian delights. Beer.

My friends know that I am not a big beer drinker. I generally stick to vodka and wine. But when in Belgium...

I especially liked the Rodenbach and Orval beers she pointed me toward. Orval and other beers are brewed by Belgian monks. They take their brewing very seriously, and since some brew only in small quantities, their beers can be as sought after as fine wines. I'll be looking for those brands at Toronado, a bar in my neighborhood at home that specializes in exotic beers.

I found the people of Ghent quite pleasant. It is a university town, so it was tough to tell how the outskirts might look. But I found the folks quite stylish, attractive, and friendly. I was surprised at how great their music scene is as well. They have a fantastic radio station, UrGent.fm and I did some listening to their local DJ's. Awesome.

I was disappointed that my travel schedule didn't allow me to stay for their jazz festival nor for their ten-day town party, Gentse Feesten. Heather told me they set up music stages on the canals. It sounds great.

I could certainly hang out there for awhile. It has an easy, mellow feel to it.

News Flash: I posted new pictures to my Flickr site.

Old

So everything I said about Barcelona buildings being just like Buenos Aires.... Well, I'm going to back off that statement a bit.

I took a walking tour of part of the city yesterday. I chose the Barri Gòtic, the oldest part of town. It would probably take a solid week to walk around all of the different historic parts.

It is sad to say, but this is the first time I have every been around anything nearly this old. I was in Bangkok for a couple of days, but didn't take any historic tours and most of the city is on the modern side, so I won't count that.

Often I walk around as a tourist in a new place looking for things that would make interesting pictures, and then snap a few for the day. I am frustrated by the fact that there is rarely a building or a view down an alley that I don't want a picture of. I could snap pictures constantly all day long at every home, every church, every park. And the pictures barely come close to capturing the charm, the warmth, the colors of the beautiful old city.

Coming from a city that has a fair amount of charm of its own, I am used to seeing pockets of excessively well kept historic sights spread around the city, like the Painted Ladies of Alamo Square or the gardens and homes on the one notable block of Lombard Street. But here, it seems like every building is at least charming if not exquisite. I find it difficult to believe that every building owner in the city has this much class, taste, and money to take of their properties this well. I have to believe the city government must somehow be forcing beauty down owners' collective throats. Is that cynical? I did read that, in fact, the city recently spent on the order of two and a half billion Euros to beautify and redevelop one coastal area of the town.

Besides beauty and charm, I am struck by the sheer age of some of these sites.. Buildings that are not just museum pieces. They are everyday life. Last night I saw a local Asian family pushing a stroller into the door of a 15th century building that was across the alley from Count Wilfred the Hairy's old house, which stood there some time in the 800's.

But that's not old. That neighborhood is all sitting on top of the ruins of a Roman city that bustled here around the 4th century.

This is all a lot for me to take in, considering the oldest building in San Francisco, The Mission Dolores, was built in the 1770's. To me, that's about as old as it gets in the Western U.S., and that building is practically a museum.

I suppose that if, when I was a kid, I was able to walk up and touch historical places and things this old, I may have been more interested in history in general. It is much more fun than books.

And with all that going on, the city also has a fantastic coast line with first rate beaches. I will feel quite guilty sitting around on the beach with all of these great sights still left to see.

But I will get over it.

Barcelona

When I made my plans to come to Spain, I decided when to come based on weather (it can get very hot in late July and August), and to be here when my friends Crystal and Ashley from San Francisco would be here. Chalk it up to general ignorance, but I had no idea that I was arriving on Barcelona's biggest holiday of the year, Saint John's Day.

The day before the holiday, which is tied to the summer solstice, businesses start shutting down pretty early, and virtually everyone in the town turns out to set off fireworks and party in the streets and on the beach all night long. The following day is the actual holiday and the whole town is shut down.

So I was lucky to arrive at such a festive time. The beach party was fantastic. However, today I will need to find something to do and eat that doesn't require a business to be open.

It looks like a walking tour day!

From the relatively small amount of Barcelona I have seen so far, my main observation is how similar much of the architecture is to that of Buenos Aires. The little "don't cry for me" terraces, wooden window shutters, the ceramic sidewalks. This shouldn't come as a surprise considering Argentina was settled by the Spanish, but it's cool to see those influences first hand.

Danke

Sinking into life in Berlin has been nothing but pleasant. The only thing that would have made it better for me would have been if I had known more German when I arrived. I planned to try and cram a couple quick weeks of German lessons (on my Mac perhaps), but alas... there has really been no need. Many Germans speak English. But shame on me anyway.

My friends Crisi and Sarah, both of whom I met in Thailand, have been great hosts and guides, especially Sarah who has put me up in her place the past week or so. Her flatmate, Timo, has been quite hospitable as well.

Sarah and Timo live in Kreuzberg, a geographically large neighborhood south of downtown with a large Turkish immigrant population. There are many Turkish bakeries, restaurants grocery stores, and other businesses in the area.

The past weeks here in Germany (and Europe for that matter) have seen daily UEFA soccer playoffs. I knew football was a big deal in Europe, but I did not expect to see the utter preoccupation with the daily games. In the U.S. we have sports fans, and sports bars where they tend to go to watch their big games. During this playoff time, however, every game is a big game to everyone. And if it is your country playing today, it's really really big. Face painting, dressing in national colors, etc. Each evening after work on any block in any neighborhood, there are tables, chairs, and big screens set out on the sidewalks, for neighbors to gather together and watch the games and enjoy the mild summer weather over a beer or two.

So besides the German game days carrying a special excitement, the Turkish game days do as well, especially in Kreuzberg. Also exciting is that both teams have done nothing but win. When the Turks advanced to the next round last week, thousands of Turkish immigrants flooded the streets of Berlin and partied all night.... and this isn't even the quarter finals.

The German locals have been equally delighted about their team's success, but have been somewhat less raucous in the aftermath.

I have noticed examples here and there of Berliners' extra civilized behavior. For example, at a beer garden showing the Germany vs. Poland game, enough fans had turned out so that all of the benches set out in the yard to watch the big screen were filled. So the bar denied entry to other folks so that the bench sitters could see the screen. I don't think I have ever seen that before.

Also, riding my borrowed bike around town has been a relatively low stress affair, considering this is a bustling major metropolis. Drivers and pedestrians alike show a tremendous amount of courtesy and consideration out on the road. The extensive presence of bike lanes is helpful as well.

As always, it is so difficult to see everything there is to see here. I am trying not to stress about it. I am alternating tourist days with relaxation and recreation time. If I don't see all of the must sees here, it's OK.

The next couple of months of travel has begun to take shape as well. I bought tickets to visit Barcelona, Spain next week and Ghent, Belgium near Brussels to visit friends there the week after. From Ghent I will likely hop up to Amsterdam for a few days before visiting friends again in Prague, Czech Republic. In early August I will attend The Big Chill festival in England, which was recommended by a good friend in London whose tastes I hold in high esteem. It's pricey, but you only live once, right?

I am feeling especially lucky to have these friends in such great places. I did not expect so much company and support when I originally planned my trip to Europe. But after a relatively solitary time in Argentina, I have a new appreciation for time spent, not only someplace new, but someplace with good friends.

Danke amigos.

Berlin

I knew I would like Berlin. I have met some super cool people from Germany while traveling, and I have especially enjoyed the folks I have met from Berlin. I fully expected to like it here.. and I already do.

Germans have traveling in their blood. It is a part of their culture. I think it may be for this reason that I have found them to be quite hospitable to people like me traveling to their country. Upon arrival I had already been offered three different apartments to stay in, a bike to ride around town, and a cell phone to use.

Everyone here is especially impressed by my choice of season to visit. It is quite warm and sunny here now.. a departure apparently from the past several months. It was not rocket science though. As I recall, I just looked on lonelyplanet.com to see "when to go", and then fine tuned that with some friends' suggestions.

After two days here, I have been invited to a party on a rooftop of an abandoned war torn building, headed out for a day at a nearby lake, attended a lively beer garden to watch the German national football team play (and win) a playoff match against Poland, and practiced my poi spinning at a beautiful river side park. The busy, fun lifestyle here seems to rival that of my dear home. The folks in this neighborhood seem young, bright, creative, and laid back.

Like I said, I knew I would like it here.