Well this is it. Today's blog is going to be really long, but, sadly, it's the last one for my trip.
So, going all the way back to Thursday, I took the day to visit Utrecht. Much like Delft, Utrecht was filled with shops and people bustling around, eating food and ice cream, and seemingly just enjoying the day. I started my day by visiting the railroad museum, which had lots of interesting diesel and diesel-electric trains...but was really aimed towards a younger audience. None the less, I looked around, climbed through a couple trains, and then made my way out. Next on my list was to climb the city's Domtoren or Cathedral Tower. 465 steps took me to the top of the tallest cathedral tower in the Netherlands, as well as allowed me to see some really big bells! Then, fitting in with the crowd, I pretty much wandered around for a couple hours eating french fries and ice cream.
PARIS!
The last hurrah for my Europe trip was Marjorie and my weekend trip to Paris. We caught a 7 am train out of Rotterdam, however, so we could make a pit stop in Brussels, Belgium. Why? To see the Musical Instrument Museum, of course! We saw hundreds of instruments from all over the world and from all ages and it was really quite cool. In addition to the museum, we had to get Belgian Waffles from the Grand Market...and see the peeing boy sculpture. Then we continued on to Paris.
So, getting settled in by about 3:30, we immediately jumped in to city stuff. First stop: The Eiffel Tower! After only a 30 minute wait, we climbed 600 stairs to the first/second floors before hopping on an elevator to the top. What a marvelous view! The tower is a lot bigger than I imagined it would be, probably because I figured it would be comparable to the Statue of Liberty. So after admiring the view and picking out all the landmarks for a while, we moved on to our 2nd attraction, the Louvre.
Thankfully, Friday nights are special at the Louvre - free for students from 6 to 10 pm! So, when we showed up at 8, we just walked right in, no line, no cost, but TONS of art. The shear size of the building from the outside is almost oppressive, and looking at a museum map, we knew we'd never get to see very much. Thus, we hit the highlights - Mona Lisa, Aphrodite statue (Venus di Milo), and the Hammurabi Code. All very cool and impressive.
But, the CRAZIEST thing happened. The 4th of July...standing literally 30 feet from the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Marjorie and I are talking when I hear to my side, "Hey, didn't you go to Herndon?" Well it was none other than Sara from my Algebra 2 and Precal classes, and the Herndon music department! She's going to be a senior this coming fall at William and Mary, she's been living in Paris for 3 weeks! Now seriously, what are the chances that I run into a former classmate on the 4th of July, in Paris, at the Mona Lisa?! It was quite an interesting evening.
After dinner, we walked back to the Eiffel Tower, where we admired it's bright blue spotlighting and about 10 minutes of random strobe lights all over the tower at midnight!
Saturday came overcast, drizzly and cool weather, but we were undeterred! First, we went to Notre Dame and walked right in, looked around, and got in line for the tower. After about a half hour (and 2 crepes), we climbed to the top and took a couple pictures posing as gargoyles. We also noticed that the line for the church went all the way across the square to the street. Talk about good timing! From Notre Dame, we took the subway (an adventure in itself) to Paris's Catacombs. In 1810, the Parisians were getting diseased from an overcrowded cemetary, so they decided to move all the bones to an abandoned quarry. So what do you do with 6 million bodies? Apparently put them in pretty patterns....yeah...it's somewhat overwhelming, and then almost numbing. It was hard to believe it was a tourist attraction (just like everything else in Paris), but there we were, walking through, shocked at the massive stacks of bones. Very...unique.
So, leaving the catacombs, we walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, probably a good 4.5 miles from the catacombs. The weather had cleared, and it was really really nice out. The Arc proved to be quite the monument from Napoleon! It's really big. A ceremony was being held underneath it to rededicate their eternal flame and tomb of the unknown soldier. Their ceremony seemed a lot like our memorial ceremonies here at home, veterans with flags, various ceremonial procedures, and a band playing patriotic songs. Nonetheless, there wasn't too much to see, so we continued our clockwise journey around town by heading up to the Sacre Coeur, the Church of the Sacred Heart. While the church is really beautiful on the outside, I was really actually depressed with that part of our day. Getting off the subway, we were immediately shocked at the dirty, crowded streets filled with tourists mingling with sketchy off-market dealers. Needless to say, I kept my hand on my wallet the entire way up the hill to the church. The place was packed with tourists, including 2 guitar players on the steps of the church playing American rock and roll. I couldn't believe it! It made me sick to be American, knowing that this beautiful church was being disgraced like that. Thus, we made a quick round of the church and headed on our way.
We continued clockwise to the Bastille, where we found some dinner at a small restaurant (it was already about 22:00, but still quite light out) before getting some hot chocolate and admiring Notre Dame at night. With all our walking around, we returned to the hostel at 1:30 and quickly went to bed.
Sunday was yet another beautiful day, and we spent our remaining time walking the waterfront of the Seine, seeing the Musee d'Orsay (a truly strange museum of 'leftover' art), and walking the length of Champs Elysee twice. We ate baguettes and ice cream, looked in a few stores, and took it easy. Then, we caught our train back to Rotterdam.
As I said before, this is it. Yesterday was really the only bad day of the entire 5 weeks, thanks to both airports. While I caught my flight, 2.5 hours is apparently barely enough time to check in (1 hour), go through customs (40 minutes), and go through security. Our plane got in an hour early, but half the baggage went to the wrong carousel...and the rest of it (including my backpack) disappeared. First they said that our bags were all on the same baggage cart....somewhere at Dulles. Then they said they found it...then they said they didn't find it and we were to fill out delayed baggage reports. Thankfully, my bag was delivered home at 10 last night and everything made it home.
So, to sum up, it has been a truly unbelievable and amazing 5 weeks. I made stops in 8 countries (13 cities), spending overnights in 5 of those (6 cities). I heard 5 different foreign languages (German, Czech, Hungarian, Dutch, and French) but still coped quite well. I visited goodness knows how many churches, museums and landmarks, and learned a lot of history of various places in Europe. I took around 2400 pictures, which I will be downloading and distributing appropriately over the next week. I ate so much good food, saw lots of concerts and performances, and met a lot of people. I hope to return to Europe, and especially Vienna, soon.
Thanks to all of you who have read my blog over the past 5 weeks! I hope you've enjoyed some of the stories I've passed along, and I hope I've successfully conveyed what a fantastic trip it was. Right now, it's hard to tell what my next big trip will be, but without a doubt, I'll pick this up again whenever that comes around. Thanks again!
Dan
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Netherlands Post Script
PS.
I've decided that the difference between Dutch and Deutsch is just about 2 letters. Honestly. Now, that may be making a molehill out of a mountain, but I actually find that many words are REALLY similar between the 2 languages. Very interesting, huh??
I've decided that the difference between Dutch and Deutsch is just about 2 letters. Honestly. Now, that may be making a molehill out of a mountain, but I actually find that many words are REALLY similar between the 2 languages. Very interesting, huh??
Around the Netherlands in 80 Hours
Having spent 3 days covering 4 cities, I think I've had a pretty nice overview of the Netherlands! Monday-Rotterdam
Tuesday-Amsterdam
Today- The Hague and Delft (and Kinderdijk!)
So let's begin. Rotterdam. The second largest port in the world, according to Marjorie. I guess I believe it too since it has a really long waterfront, however I haven't really seen that many barges since being here. Who knows. To start off my day, I went to Delfhaven, where the Pilgrims left their church for England on the Speedwell in 1620. I looked around the church in awe since I am related to one of the Mayflower Pilgrims and one of those who remained behind in Holland. Of course, having been to Plymouth Rock in MA, it was special to have seen both ends of the journey.
Leaving there, I took a long walk through the city, over the Erasmus Bridge, back over the Williams Bridge, and then to the apartment. There really weren't too many inspiring things to do in downtown, largely because it's such a commerce center. However, when Marjorie returned from work, we walked around the park close to her house and ate at a pancake place for dinner (they eat a lot of pancakes...imagine a cross between our pancakes and crepes). Now, lest you accuse me of not doing very much, I did walk close to 10 miles on Monday in crossing town!
Wednesday's journey took me to Amsterdam, using the commuter rail. Now, I've never been to Venice, but I bet it looks a lot like Amsterdam- canals EVERYWHERE! I began by visiting the famous Anne Frank house and annex, where the Frank and van Pels families spent years in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. The house was pretty inspiring in that it is just tough to imagine there could be so much hatred in the world that people have to live like rats! I'd like to think things are different today, with today's liberation of 14 hostages from Columbia. It's hard to tell.
Leaving the Anne Frank House, I wandered to the Vincent van Gogh museum, where I enjoyed some 200 pieces of his collection, including The Potato Eaters, Field of Wheat and Crows, and many others. It's unbelievable that he made around 2000 works (1100 sketches and over 800 paintings) in just the 10 years he was an artist! Such talent! It's just too bad that talent often goes unrecognized until it's past... Anyway, the rest of the afternoon, I wandered around Amsterdam, checking out a couple churches, finding the state house, and walking back through the train station (accidentally catching a corner of the Red Light district...whoops; yes, it IS sketchy at 4 pm).
So what could make such a day better? LES MISERABLES! Marjorie and I headed downtown for Les Mis at the New Luxor Theatre and it was very VERY good. It was great to hear that familiar music again and to hum along some of the lyrics, even though they sang it in Dutch. I'd even have to say it was significantly better than the version that came to D.C.'s National Theatre in '05! ahhhhh...
Well, that brings me to today. For today, I tried to hit up 3 particular sites. First, was Den Haag, or The Hague. If Rotterdam is the commercial center, and Amsterdam is the cultural center, The Hague is supposed to be the political center. I think I found it to be my favorite city of the three however. There was a lot of interesting stuff to check out, and so little time to do it. I toured the Peace Palace in the morning (home of the International Court of Justice and International Court of Arbitration) and went to an M.C. Escher museum (he's apparently Dutch..who knew?). So I definitely had fun in the Hague (I might go back tomorrow, we'll see). Then I went to Delft, saw the Oudekirk (Old Church), which has a 75m tower that leans some 2 m to the front....and it looks terribly awkward! Nonetheless, as long as it doesn't fall, I think it gives it a lot of character and I think I kind of like it! Inside the church, Antony von Leeuwenhoek (improved the microscope, "Father of Microbiology") is buried close to the tower, under an engraved floor tile, with a monument near by! Who knew?!
Now, I was going to go to the Delft ceramic factory, but I wandered around the center of the quaint old touristy town for a couple minutes before I came to the realization: "I don't even really like ceramics. Why am I here?" So, in the interest of time (and remaining
interested in what I'm seeing), I left to go find the Kinderdijk (or Kinder Dike). As many of you may know, this is the home to 19 18th-century windmills, used to pump water out of the fields, back into the Lek River. It took a while to get out there by bus, but it was really quite fascinating. As with any windmill, these involved gears, shafts, and paddle wheels, but these - unlike those at home - were not for grinding meal but rather to move water. Wind turns blades, blades turn gears, gear turns crankshaft, crankshaft turns gears, gears turn paddle wheel, paddle wheel moves water a monstrous 1.4 m up. Where are my Mech E's when I need them! Surely they could have got some better production than that, no? Ah well, that's what happens in pre-industrial revolution Europe.
Anyway, that's a summary of events here. I don't really know what I'm doing tomorrow, but Friday (Happy 4th everyone!), Marjorie and I are off to PARIS, via Brussels! Depending how things go, I'll try to post again before I return home, but if not, I'll be back on Monday, at just about 3.10 Eastern time! Can't wait to see you all then!
Tuesday-Amsterdam
Today- The Hague and Delft (and Kinderdijk!)
So let's begin. Rotterdam. The second largest port in the world, according to Marjorie. I guess I believe it too since it has a really long waterfront, however I haven't really seen that many barges since being here. Who knows. To start off my day, I went to Delfhaven, where the Pilgrims left their church for England on the Speedwell in 1620. I looked around the church in awe since I am related to one of the Mayflower Pilgrims and one of those who remained behind in Holland. Of course, having been to Plymouth Rock in MA, it was special to have seen both ends of the journey.
Leaving there, I took a long walk through the city, over the Erasmus Bridge, back over the Williams Bridge, and then to the apartment. There really weren't too many inspiring things to do in downtown, largely because it's such a commerce center. However, when Marjorie returned from work, we walked around the park close to her house and ate at a pancake place for dinner (they eat a lot of pancakes...imagine a cross between our pancakes and crepes). Now, lest you accuse me of not doing very much, I did walk close to 10 miles on Monday in crossing town!
Wednesday's journey took me to Amsterdam, using the commuter rail. Now, I've never been to Venice, but I bet it looks a lot like Amsterdam- canals EVERYWHERE! I began by visiting the famous Anne Frank house and annex, where the Frank and van Pels families spent years in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. The house was pretty inspiring in that it is just tough to imagine there could be so much hatred in the world that people have to live like rats! I'd like to think things are different today, with today's liberation of 14 hostages from Columbia. It's hard to tell.
Leaving the Anne Frank House, I wandered to the Vincent van Gogh museum, where I enjoyed some 200 pieces of his collection, including The Potato Eaters, Field of Wheat and Crows, and many others. It's unbelievable that he made around 2000 works (1100 sketches and over 800 paintings) in just the 10 years he was an artist! Such talent! It's just too bad that talent often goes unrecognized until it's past... Anyway, the rest of the afternoon, I wandered around Amsterdam, checking out a couple churches, finding the state house, and walking back through the train station (accidentally catching a corner of the Red Light district...whoops; yes, it IS sketchy at 4 pm).
So what could make such a day better? LES MISERABLES! Marjorie and I headed downtown for Les Mis at the New Luxor Theatre and it was very VERY good. It was great to hear that familiar music again and to hum along some of the lyrics, even though they sang it in Dutch. I'd even have to say it was significantly better than the version that came to D.C.'s National Theatre in '05! ahhhhh...
Well, that brings me to today. For today, I tried to hit up 3 particular sites. First, was Den Haag, or The Hague. If Rotterdam is the commercial center, and Amsterdam is the cultural center, The Hague is supposed to be the political center. I think I found it to be my favorite city of the three however. There was a lot of interesting stuff to check out, and so little time to do it. I toured the Peace Palace in the morning (home of the International Court of Justice and International Court of Arbitration) and went to an M.C. Escher museum (he's apparently Dutch..who knew?). So I definitely had fun in the Hague (I might go back tomorrow, we'll see). Then I went to Delft, saw the Oudekirk (Old Church), which has a 75m tower that leans some 2 m to the front....and it looks terribly awkward! Nonetheless, as long as it doesn't fall, I think it gives it a lot of character and I think I kind of like it! Inside the church, Antony von Leeuwenhoek (improved the microscope, "Father of Microbiology") is buried close to the tower, under an engraved floor tile, with a monument near by! Who knew?!
Now, I was going to go to the Delft ceramic factory, but I wandered around the center of the quaint old touristy town for a couple minutes before I came to the realization: "I don't even really like ceramics. Why am I here?" So, in the interest of time (and remaining
interested in what I'm seeing), I left to go find the Kinderdijk (or Kinder Dike). As many of you may know, this is the home to 19 18th-century windmills, used to pump water out of the fields, back into the Lek River. It took a while to get out there by bus, but it was really quite fascinating. As with any windmill, these involved gears, shafts, and paddle wheels, but these - unlike those at home - were not for grinding meal but rather to move water. Wind turns blades, blades turn gears, gear turns crankshaft, crankshaft turns gears, gears turn paddle wheel, paddle wheel moves water a monstrous 1.4 m up. Where are my Mech E's when I need them! Surely they could have got some better production than that, no? Ah well, that's what happens in pre-industrial revolution Europe.
Anyway, that's a summary of events here. I don't really know what I'm doing tomorrow, but Friday (Happy 4th everyone!), Marjorie and I are off to PARIS, via Brussels! Depending how things go, I'll try to post again before I return home, but if not, I'll be back on Monday, at just about 3.10 Eastern time! Can't wait to see you all then!
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