If anyone has come here looking for pictures you can find 200 of 216 at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timemarcheson/
apparently Flickr will only let me have 200 viewable unless I pay them. Bastards...
I want to thank everyone who did their little part to keep me company on my journey. It was a very rewarding experience and I'm glad I did it. If you have any questions or want copies of any of the pictures you should all have my email address so feel free to contact me. I wish everyone the best with whatever it is they're doing. Peace.
Jacob
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
This is why I'm hot!
There seems like so much to say. I'm still in Croatia and it's like 40 zillion degrees (kelvin) which is still way too hot to wear clothing. Currently I'm in Zadar but lets find out how I got here.
It seems the Croatian train system was laid down long before anyone actually settled here. This may not actually be a joke since much of the country was destroyed during WWII and then again in the early 90's during the war for independence. This might explain why most train stations are literally in the middle of nowhere.
I left Zagreb hoping to get to Zadar. Unfortunately I missed the train that would allow me to get to Zadar that day so I was forced to stop in Knin which is smack dab in the middle of the country and a place you will never read about in a guide book. Knin is to Poughkeepsie as Zagreb is to New York or some such SAT analogy. The one thing it has going for it is a massive military fortress and a few churches. I know this because I walked the entire length and width of the city before I found a place to stay. If there is a sign in Croatia that says: Hotel, ignore it. I have followed these signs in ever single city I've been in and none of them have led me to a Hotel. Luckily I found a sign that said: Beds, these are okay. As I reached the spot advertised a lovely middle aged Croatian woman came hurtling out of the cafe next door shouting 'I am here, I am here'. Never in my life has anyone been so happy to see me. She was practically falling over herself to show me the room she had available and making sure that everything was ok. The room was perfect (and air conditioned!) and I left Knin the next morning with fond memories of being an appreciated tourist as opposed to a walking wallet.
The train ride to Knin from Zagreb is beautiful. The ride from Knin to Zadar is similar to what a ride through Afghanistan is probably like. Rocky and sparsely shrubbed terain with no habitation in sight. The train would stop, literally, in the middle of nowhere except for a sign and perhaps an abandoned building. People would get off and on out of nowhere and the train would keep on going. Perhaps these people live underground to escape the heat but otherwise I have no idea where they came from. Eventually I reached Zadar.
I decided that my time in Zadar would be one of lazy relaxation. I checked into a nice hotel for three nights determined to do nothing but lie on the beach and when that became unbearable in my air conditioned room watching TV. So far everything has gone to plan. With one minor blip. I went to visit the Sea Organ which is a series of shafts cut into stone steps. As the tide comes in it pushes air through the shafts and creates a tone. It's pretty cool because you could sit there for hours and never here the same combination of notes twice. Other than that Zadar is a beautiful place and I have developed a very nice sunburn. Suntan lotion is rather useless since you sweat it off within minutes of applying but you can't fault me for trying.
I'm here until Monday when I'll begin my trek back to Germany. Thursday I fly home. It's been a long trip and thoughts of Finland seem like eons ago. I'm not sure if I'm going to post again while in Europe but I will post again when I get back to sum things up once I have more perspective. I will also post picture so those of you who won't be seeing me in the near future can see all the places I've described (often poorly).
It seems the Croatian train system was laid down long before anyone actually settled here. This may not actually be a joke since much of the country was destroyed during WWII and then again in the early 90's during the war for independence. This might explain why most train stations are literally in the middle of nowhere.
I left Zagreb hoping to get to Zadar. Unfortunately I missed the train that would allow me to get to Zadar that day so I was forced to stop in Knin which is smack dab in the middle of the country and a place you will never read about in a guide book. Knin is to Poughkeepsie as Zagreb is to New York or some such SAT analogy. The one thing it has going for it is a massive military fortress and a few churches. I know this because I walked the entire length and width of the city before I found a place to stay. If there is a sign in Croatia that says: Hotel, ignore it. I have followed these signs in ever single city I've been in and none of them have led me to a Hotel. Luckily I found a sign that said: Beds, these are okay. As I reached the spot advertised a lovely middle aged Croatian woman came hurtling out of the cafe next door shouting 'I am here, I am here'. Never in my life has anyone been so happy to see me. She was practically falling over herself to show me the room she had available and making sure that everything was ok. The room was perfect (and air conditioned!) and I left Knin the next morning with fond memories of being an appreciated tourist as opposed to a walking wallet.
The train ride to Knin from Zagreb is beautiful. The ride from Knin to Zadar is similar to what a ride through Afghanistan is probably like. Rocky and sparsely shrubbed terain with no habitation in sight. The train would stop, literally, in the middle of nowhere except for a sign and perhaps an abandoned building. People would get off and on out of nowhere and the train would keep on going. Perhaps these people live underground to escape the heat but otherwise I have no idea where they came from. Eventually I reached Zadar.
I decided that my time in Zadar would be one of lazy relaxation. I checked into a nice hotel for three nights determined to do nothing but lie on the beach and when that became unbearable in my air conditioned room watching TV. So far everything has gone to plan. With one minor blip. I went to visit the Sea Organ which is a series of shafts cut into stone steps. As the tide comes in it pushes air through the shafts and creates a tone. It's pretty cool because you could sit there for hours and never here the same combination of notes twice. Other than that Zadar is a beautiful place and I have developed a very nice sunburn. Suntan lotion is rather useless since you sweat it off within minutes of applying but you can't fault me for trying.
I'm here until Monday when I'll begin my trek back to Germany. Thursday I fly home. It's been a long trip and thoughts of Finland seem like eons ago. I'm not sure if I'm going to post again while in Europe but I will post again when I get back to sum things up once I have more perspective. I will also post picture so those of you who won't be seeing me in the near future can see all the places I've described (often poorly).
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
In sickness and in health...
No, I´m not getting married. This trip has turned into a global search for Orange Juice or an equivalent citrus fruit beverage. Italy does not have orange juice as far as I can tell. Only carbonated orange beverage made by Pellegrina who only makes carbonated beverages. So I´m in Zagreb, Croatia although it really hasn´t been that long it seems like it to me, lets review...
When we last saw our hero he was trying to figure out how to get to the Eiffel Tower. While this was going on tiny micro-organisms called ˝viruses˝ were invading his body and wreaking havoc on his immune system. (Sidenote: whz would zou switch the z and y kezs on the kezboard?) Yes, the cold hit me hard that evening and so the next day I decided to head to Switzerland. I wanted to go to Bern and even reserved a spot on a train to get there. But you see, the thing about Paris is it has like 4 train stations, and hystimine head Jacob neglected to check which station his train was leaving from. So another mad dash on the subway ensued and long story short I missed the train. So now I´m telling the clerk at the station that I want a reservation on the next train to Switzerland... anywhere in Switzerland. This person speaks almost no english (which I don´t fault her for) and so I ended up with a reservation on a train to Lausanne leaving in 4 hours.
Break for change of mood. Switzerland is probably the most beautiful country in the world. It also might be the most expensive and the largest known tourist trap. I stayed overnight in Laussane (in a 4 star hotel, very nice, how much? don´t ask) and then headed to Bern where Einstein did all his work in the famous year of physics 1905. Bern is like a fairy tale land. All of Switzerland seems like something out of Tolkein actually, but Bern especially. It´s also built on a massive hill. Bern was the worst day of my cold. I couldn´t walk more than five minutes without getting winded and needing to sit down. I managed to see Einsteins house and this really cool clock tower down the street but then it was good luck and good night.
I would really have like to stay in Switzerland longer, but everything I would have wanted to do was made impossible by those tiny microbes having their way with my immune system. So I began the great train quest which has taken me two days and over 14 hours of interrailing through Milan, Venice, Ljubjana (Slovenia) and finally Zagreb. I feel better today but I haven´t gotten this thing beat yet so my task this evening will be to find and consume as much OJ as possible. I´m staying two nights in Zagreb to hopefully get well and to chill the heck out. I have a week left tomorrow and I want to relax a little.
So I haven`t really done much except ride on trains (which has been pretty nice actually) and sleep but I got to Croatia which wasn´t definitely going to happen so maybe this cold has done some good. I´m not sure where I'll go next but hopefully somewhere on the coast. I can't spend too many days here because it'll probably take me two or three to get back up to Germany so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the healing vibes you guys have been sending. Keychains are in order!
When we last saw our hero he was trying to figure out how to get to the Eiffel Tower. While this was going on tiny micro-organisms called ˝viruses˝ were invading his body and wreaking havoc on his immune system. (Sidenote: whz would zou switch the z and y kezs on the kezboard?) Yes, the cold hit me hard that evening and so the next day I decided to head to Switzerland. I wanted to go to Bern and even reserved a spot on a train to get there. But you see, the thing about Paris is it has like 4 train stations, and hystimine head Jacob neglected to check which station his train was leaving from. So another mad dash on the subway ensued and long story short I missed the train. So now I´m telling the clerk at the station that I want a reservation on the next train to Switzerland... anywhere in Switzerland. This person speaks almost no english (which I don´t fault her for) and so I ended up with a reservation on a train to Lausanne leaving in 4 hours.
Break for change of mood. Switzerland is probably the most beautiful country in the world. It also might be the most expensive and the largest known tourist trap. I stayed overnight in Laussane (in a 4 star hotel, very nice, how much? don´t ask) and then headed to Bern where Einstein did all his work in the famous year of physics 1905. Bern is like a fairy tale land. All of Switzerland seems like something out of Tolkein actually, but Bern especially. It´s also built on a massive hill. Bern was the worst day of my cold. I couldn´t walk more than five minutes without getting winded and needing to sit down. I managed to see Einsteins house and this really cool clock tower down the street but then it was good luck and good night.
I would really have like to stay in Switzerland longer, but everything I would have wanted to do was made impossible by those tiny microbes having their way with my immune system. So I began the great train quest which has taken me two days and over 14 hours of interrailing through Milan, Venice, Ljubjana (Slovenia) and finally Zagreb. I feel better today but I haven´t gotten this thing beat yet so my task this evening will be to find and consume as much OJ as possible. I´m staying two nights in Zagreb to hopefully get well and to chill the heck out. I have a week left tomorrow and I want to relax a little.
So I haven`t really done much except ride on trains (which has been pretty nice actually) and sleep but I got to Croatia which wasn´t definitely going to happen so maybe this cold has done some good. I´m not sure where I'll go next but hopefully somewhere on the coast. I can't spend too many days here because it'll probably take me two or three to get back up to Germany so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the healing vibes you guys have been sending. Keychains are in order!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
All trains lead to... nowhere?
Firstly, the dreaded cold has indeed materialized keeping my streak of getting sick at the worst possible times alive (i.e. exam time, new england championship time) but I am soldiering on with many tissues and gallons of OJ. Secondly, the french decided it would be a good idea to rearrange all the keys on the keyboard in order to do confuse the germans during WWII so expect typos.
A few words on the paris metro... Upon my arrival in Paris I decided there were two things I wanted to do despite my cold and short stay: see Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Luckily there are trains that go everywhere you could want in this large city. I was able to get to Notre Dame with no problems, very nice, don' t get your wallet stolen, and don't pay for a tour since you can just follow one once they start and pretend you're not paying attention. From there I returned to the metro station in the hopes of going east toward, perhaps, one of the most recognizable and popular attractions in France if not the world. Now, most metro lines in any other city run on two or more tracks and have trains that go in, and this is important, both directions. Not so on the giant yellow main line in the heart of Paris. This line boasts a bevy of trains all with cute 4 letter names like Jill, Dame or Elsa and all the information in the station suggests that all these trains go to the Eiffel Tower and even give the times they will (supposedly) arrive.
WRONG
In a further effort to confuse the Germans every single train on that line goes away from the Eiffel Tower. I know this because I got on three different trains each claiming to be going toward the Tower and each one brought me further away. Now at this point I am getting frustrated so I decide that maybe the French have tapped into a fourth spatial dimension and all the trains do actually go to the tower by going away from it. So I hop onto the next train claiming to go to the Tower and after 20 minutes realize that french physicists are no better than american ones and that I am now at the outskirts of the city surrounded by euro pop and bad hair cuts. Amazingly there is one station that didn't get the memo about confusing the hell out of tourists and when you cross over to the other side of the tracks there are indeed trains that go the mythical other direction. By divine providence alone I managed to reach this station and after another hour I actually reached the Eiffel Tower. There were lots of tourists there and I wondered how they all got there until I tried to use their public toilettes and realized that they'd all probably been there since before WWII waiting to go to the bathroom. I could spend another hour writing about these toilettes but that would just upset me :) So I reached the Eiffel Tower but unfortunately I arrived too late and they had stopped selling tickets to the top. I wasn't going to walk in my condition so I said a silent f you, took some pictures and amazingly made it back to my hostel, no journey to the center of the earth necessary! (Jules Verne was French, that was a really good reference... come on)
Now I am waiting for the the train to Switzerland. Hopefully I will find someplace to stay tonight. I might splurge on a hotel considering my illness we'll have to see. Needless to say I need some down time so that I don't return to the states with this disease and get quarantined at the airport. Send me healing vibes and I'll buy you all keychains!
A few words on the paris metro... Upon my arrival in Paris I decided there were two things I wanted to do despite my cold and short stay: see Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Luckily there are trains that go everywhere you could want in this large city. I was able to get to Notre Dame with no problems, very nice, don' t get your wallet stolen, and don't pay for a tour since you can just follow one once they start and pretend you're not paying attention. From there I returned to the metro station in the hopes of going east toward, perhaps, one of the most recognizable and popular attractions in France if not the world. Now, most metro lines in any other city run on two or more tracks and have trains that go in, and this is important, both directions. Not so on the giant yellow main line in the heart of Paris. This line boasts a bevy of trains all with cute 4 letter names like Jill, Dame or Elsa and all the information in the station suggests that all these trains go to the Eiffel Tower and even give the times they will (supposedly) arrive.
WRONG
In a further effort to confuse the Germans every single train on that line goes away from the Eiffel Tower. I know this because I got on three different trains each claiming to be going toward the Tower and each one brought me further away. Now at this point I am getting frustrated so I decide that maybe the French have tapped into a fourth spatial dimension and all the trains do actually go to the tower by going away from it. So I hop onto the next train claiming to go to the Tower and after 20 minutes realize that french physicists are no better than american ones and that I am now at the outskirts of the city surrounded by euro pop and bad hair cuts. Amazingly there is one station that didn't get the memo about confusing the hell out of tourists and when you cross over to the other side of the tracks there are indeed trains that go the mythical other direction. By divine providence alone I managed to reach this station and after another hour I actually reached the Eiffel Tower. There were lots of tourists there and I wondered how they all got there until I tried to use their public toilettes and realized that they'd all probably been there since before WWII waiting to go to the bathroom. I could spend another hour writing about these toilettes but that would just upset me :) So I reached the Eiffel Tower but unfortunately I arrived too late and they had stopped selling tickets to the top. I wasn't going to walk in my condition so I said a silent f you, took some pictures and amazingly made it back to my hostel, no journey to the center of the earth necessary! (Jules Verne was French, that was a really good reference... come on)
Now I am waiting for the the train to Switzerland. Hopefully I will find someplace to stay tonight. I might splurge on a hotel considering my illness we'll have to see. Needless to say I need some down time so that I don't return to the states with this disease and get quarantined at the airport. Send me healing vibes and I'll buy you all keychains!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Field of Dreams
Today was a very special day for Jacob Backon. On this day July 12'th 2007 I visited and took a tour of Arsenal's stadium. I walked the hallowed halls, sat in the dressing room, in the directors box, and in the away dugout. The pitch was sublime and although the stadium was noticeably devoid of people and players I did see the physio Gary Lewin. I was in his way and he said 'excuse me' as he was leaving the stadium. It took me a minute to realize who he was so I didn't get to say 'hey, you're Gary Lewin' which was of course information he didn't really need :) It was surreal being in the place I have watched on TV and where so many of the players I admire actually do what it is that they do every week. It's strange. The stadium holds 60,000 people 44,000 of whom are season ticket holders. To these people, the stadium is just where the team they watch every week plays. But to someone who lives 4000 miles away and has to watch the games online on some obscure Asian television network or wake up early on a Saturday to catch one of the three televised matches on FSC it is the holy grail of my soccer existence. My next step will of course be to see the team play in this stadium. This was a good warm up though. Direct exposure to an arsenal match without prior experience may have resulted in a heart attack.
So if you haven't figured it out already, I'm in London. Despite this supposedly being an English speaking country I still hear more French and Hindi? Arabic? than English. This is most likely due to July being such a popular travel month. It's still really annoying. I was looking forward to being in an English speaking country again and these bloody foreigners are ruining it :) Seriously though, London is quite nice. Last night I walked along the Thames and the weather was gorgeous. I have been loathe to do much since everything is so ridiculously expensive, but I read an article today that says a strong currency is a precursor to economic collapse so I'm expecting the country to fall into shambles any second. Today the weather was less nice and I have developed a scratchy throat and a dull burn behind the eyes. I'm a little worried I might be getting (S - I - C - K) which would be really annoying so I've been chugging blueberry juice and taking it easy. I guess I'll go on the Jack the Ripper walk next time I visit the city. It could of course be allergies as it is rather humid here but I've done the one thing I really came to this country to do so why risk it.
I am thoroughly tired of cities at this point (today is the official half-way point of the trip). I go to Paris tomorrow but not even the allure of this thoroughly romantic city makes me want to stay. I'll be there one night and then head to Switzerland. I have a feeling Switzerland will be uber crowded as my guidebook and my inability to find lodging for under 200 euro's a night has suggested. So I might just soldier on to Croatia where it will hopefully be less crowded and my money will be worth more. Right now I would love to find a quiet little place and spend a few days just relaxing. The Dalmatian coast is supposed to be beautiful so this would be ideal.
So the next few days will be spent primarily on trains. It's a long way to Croatia and I have to make sure I get to Northern Germany in time for my flight so while I have 14 days left travel time seriously cuts into that. I have definitely learned a lot about traveling. One of the disappointing things has been that, unless you want to camp out everywhere you go, travel is not designed for going without a set in stone plan, at least in the summer. Perhaps if I had gone during a less popular time of year I would have had more freedom but my options at this point are limited. Well, that has been part of the learning experience. I'm not sure where I'll be when I next write but keep checking!
So if you haven't figured it out already, I'm in London. Despite this supposedly being an English speaking country I still hear more French and Hindi? Arabic? than English. This is most likely due to July being such a popular travel month. It's still really annoying. I was looking forward to being in an English speaking country again and these bloody foreigners are ruining it :) Seriously though, London is quite nice. Last night I walked along the Thames and the weather was gorgeous. I have been loathe to do much since everything is so ridiculously expensive, but I read an article today that says a strong currency is a precursor to economic collapse so I'm expecting the country to fall into shambles any second. Today the weather was less nice and I have developed a scratchy throat and a dull burn behind the eyes. I'm a little worried I might be getting (S - I - C - K) which would be really annoying so I've been chugging blueberry juice and taking it easy. I guess I'll go on the Jack the Ripper walk next time I visit the city. It could of course be allergies as it is rather humid here but I've done the one thing I really came to this country to do so why risk it.
I am thoroughly tired of cities at this point (today is the official half-way point of the trip). I go to Paris tomorrow but not even the allure of this thoroughly romantic city makes me want to stay. I'll be there one night and then head to Switzerland. I have a feeling Switzerland will be uber crowded as my guidebook and my inability to find lodging for under 200 euro's a night has suggested. So I might just soldier on to Croatia where it will hopefully be less crowded and my money will be worth more. Right now I would love to find a quiet little place and spend a few days just relaxing. The Dalmatian coast is supposed to be beautiful so this would be ideal.
So the next few days will be spent primarily on trains. It's a long way to Croatia and I have to make sure I get to Northern Germany in time for my flight so while I have 14 days left travel time seriously cuts into that. I have definitely learned a lot about traveling. One of the disappointing things has been that, unless you want to camp out everywhere you go, travel is not designed for going without a set in stone plan, at least in the summer. Perhaps if I had gone during a less popular time of year I would have had more freedom but my options at this point are limited. Well, that has been part of the learning experience. I'm not sure where I'll be when I next write but keep checking!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Dam on the river Amstel
Firstly, thanks to all who have been in touch with me. It's good to hear from you. I am in Amsterdam currently but let me do a quick recap of what's happened since my last post.
My second day in Copenhagen I went to a few more musuems but I quickly grew tired of looking at old plates. The weather was better so I took a walking tour of the city which was nice but tiring. The cities keep getting bigger as I get deeper into mainland Europe and this has contributed to my plan for the second half of the trip (more on that later). I saw the transformers movie (excellent) and retired early to rest up for more interailing.
The next day I stayed in Hamburg as a stopover between Copenhagen and Amsterdam. My intention was to rest and maybe do some laundry with no sightseeing. Upon my arrival I discovered that a Mardi Gra'esque festival was going on in the city and throngs of drunken germans had taken to the streets wearing neon clothes and giant wigs following party trucks blaring cheesy music. I'm still not sure whether it was a gay pride parade or a Hamburg pride parade (if there's a difference) and none of the germans I found who spoke english knew either. Regardless I got some rest and jumped back on the trains the next morning.
I arrived in Amsterdam yesterday prepared to hit the streets and see what all the fuss was about. At my hostel, a brand new but not finished affair missing half the things it boasts on the website i.e. laundry, internet, light fixtures... I met a brazilian kind named Artun (Artoon) who was also traveling alone. Together we managed to figure out how the tram system worked and decided to pool our collective ignorance and aloneness and walk around together. Unfortunately his English limited the depths of our conversations and he was uninterested in any of the usual higlights of amsterdam at night. So we had a few beers and discussed all we could given his vocabulary and then it began to rain. So I went back to the Hostel without a glimpse of a scantily clad window dancer or a whiff of "coffee". Luckily I am staying two nights :)
I just recently returned from the Amsterdam Arena, which is the home of Ajax, one of the most famous and prestigious clubs in the world. To my delight, when I arrived, the team was practicing on their field in front of the stadium and I was able to snap pictures of them doing a passing drill similar to ones I had done at Bard! They were of course much better at it and I was constantly amazed by their touch. The highlight was being 5 feet away from Edgar Davids (who I didn't know had moved to Ajax from Tottenham) as the players left the pitch (field). Davids is a world class player who is known for the protective goggles he wears and his dreadlocks. He has played for Juventus and was once considered one of the best midfielders in the world! It was cute to see young dutch kids shouting the names of their heroes as they walked from the field to the stadium hoping and often getting autographs. If it had been Arsenal I would have been right there with them :) Next I toured the stadium which was dissapointing because the pitch was covered with this elaborate artsy thing for some dance show they had the past weekend and the whole place was filthy. An interesting point was the 3 meter wall of bulletproof glass that seperated the home fans from the away fans. Stories of the soccer riots of old made the yankees red sox rivalry seems like something for pre-schoolers :)
So my plan for the rest of the trip is as follows: get to London and see Arsenal's stadium and some other English stuff. At this point I am getting tired of cities so I want to head to Switzerland via Paris and do some hiking in the Alps. I'll start in Bern and then head to smaller towns which will be a nice change I hope. If I have time I'd like to head to the Croatian coast and do some more outdoor/nature type activities but this may not be feasible depending on how long I stay in Switzerland. The point is all these cities are driving me nuts and I want green pastures and frollicking through fields of flowers and what not. I guess that means I've got the rest of the trip pretty much planned out although I still have to secure lodging and such.
I guess that's it for now. It's hard to believe the trip is almost half over and hard to believe I've got so much more to do :)
My second day in Copenhagen I went to a few more musuems but I quickly grew tired of looking at old plates. The weather was better so I took a walking tour of the city which was nice but tiring. The cities keep getting bigger as I get deeper into mainland Europe and this has contributed to my plan for the second half of the trip (more on that later). I saw the transformers movie (excellent) and retired early to rest up for more interailing.
The next day I stayed in Hamburg as a stopover between Copenhagen and Amsterdam. My intention was to rest and maybe do some laundry with no sightseeing. Upon my arrival I discovered that a Mardi Gra'esque festival was going on in the city and throngs of drunken germans had taken to the streets wearing neon clothes and giant wigs following party trucks blaring cheesy music. I'm still not sure whether it was a gay pride parade or a Hamburg pride parade (if there's a difference) and none of the germans I found who spoke english knew either. Regardless I got some rest and jumped back on the trains the next morning.
I arrived in Amsterdam yesterday prepared to hit the streets and see what all the fuss was about. At my hostel, a brand new but not finished affair missing half the things it boasts on the website i.e. laundry, internet, light fixtures... I met a brazilian kind named Artun (Artoon) who was also traveling alone. Together we managed to figure out how the tram system worked and decided to pool our collective ignorance and aloneness and walk around together. Unfortunately his English limited the depths of our conversations and he was uninterested in any of the usual higlights of amsterdam at night. So we had a few beers and discussed all we could given his vocabulary and then it began to rain. So I went back to the Hostel without a glimpse of a scantily clad window dancer or a whiff of "coffee". Luckily I am staying two nights :)
I just recently returned from the Amsterdam Arena, which is the home of Ajax, one of the most famous and prestigious clubs in the world. To my delight, when I arrived, the team was practicing on their field in front of the stadium and I was able to snap pictures of them doing a passing drill similar to ones I had done at Bard! They were of course much better at it and I was constantly amazed by their touch. The highlight was being 5 feet away from Edgar Davids (who I didn't know had moved to Ajax from Tottenham) as the players left the pitch (field). Davids is a world class player who is known for the protective goggles he wears and his dreadlocks. He has played for Juventus and was once considered one of the best midfielders in the world! It was cute to see young dutch kids shouting the names of their heroes as they walked from the field to the stadium hoping and often getting autographs. If it had been Arsenal I would have been right there with them :) Next I toured the stadium which was dissapointing because the pitch was covered with this elaborate artsy thing for some dance show they had the past weekend and the whole place was filthy. An interesting point was the 3 meter wall of bulletproof glass that seperated the home fans from the away fans. Stories of the soccer riots of old made the yankees red sox rivalry seems like something for pre-schoolers :)
So my plan for the rest of the trip is as follows: get to London and see Arsenal's stadium and some other English stuff. At this point I am getting tired of cities so I want to head to Switzerland via Paris and do some hiking in the Alps. I'll start in Bern and then head to smaller towns which will be a nice change I hope. If I have time I'd like to head to the Croatian coast and do some more outdoor/nature type activities but this may not be feasible depending on how long I stay in Switzerland. The point is all these cities are driving me nuts and I want green pastures and frollicking through fields of flowers and what not. I guess that means I've got the rest of the trip pretty much planned out although I still have to secure lodging and such.
I guess that's it for now. It's hard to believe the trip is almost half over and hard to believe I've got so much more to do :)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
''Perchance to dream...''
I made my first alteration to the trip today. I decided against going to Gothenberg and went straight to Copenhagen. The weather is really lousy and the only reason I wanted to go to Gothenberg was to walk around in a town that spawned an entire genre of metal...
So I'm in Copenhagen and the weather is terrible and although this hostel is very very nice it's pretty far from the rest of the city. It took almost 20 minutes by bus to get here from the central train station. Needless to say I won't be doing much sightseeing tonight. I'm thinking of trying to find a movie theater and seeing the transformers movie.
Yesterday I spent most of the day in Gamla Stan or the 'old city' part of stockholm. It houses the royal palace and the nobel museum both of which I visited. I watched the changing of the guard at the palace which was rather silly and explored a part of the city that was almost 1000 years old. In the evening I was surprised to find that the Beastie Boys were playing at the amusement park on Djurgarden (one of the islands) and that my admission to the park was free with the Stockholm card (tourist trap) I had purchased that day. So I saw the Beastie Boys in Stockholm Sweden for free (sort of) and they were actually really good. One interesting note: at Tuska, 3 days of metal, there were zero fights or crowd problems. At 1.5 hours of a beastie boys show there were two fights and they had to stop twice until things calmed down. Either Swedes are angrier than Finns or the Beastie Boys attracts a more uncivilized crowd :)
My first experience Interailing went fine. Now that I have to follow the train schedules my trip becomes slightly more complicated and less free with respect to arriving at places. Not a problem it just takes more planning on my part... planning bleh! Anyway, I'm running out of internet time and Denmark is actually more expensive than Sweden (which I thought impossible) so I'll finish up. I'm not sure where I'm going next but I would like to end up in Amsterdam in the next few days. I might make a stop in Hamburg which is on the way. Drop me a note if you have the time. It would be nice to hear from people!
So I'm in Copenhagen and the weather is terrible and although this hostel is very very nice it's pretty far from the rest of the city. It took almost 20 minutes by bus to get here from the central train station. Needless to say I won't be doing much sightseeing tonight. I'm thinking of trying to find a movie theater and seeing the transformers movie.
Yesterday I spent most of the day in Gamla Stan or the 'old city' part of stockholm. It houses the royal palace and the nobel museum both of which I visited. I watched the changing of the guard at the palace which was rather silly and explored a part of the city that was almost 1000 years old. In the evening I was surprised to find that the Beastie Boys were playing at the amusement park on Djurgarden (one of the islands) and that my admission to the park was free with the Stockholm card (tourist trap) I had purchased that day. So I saw the Beastie Boys in Stockholm Sweden for free (sort of) and they were actually really good. One interesting note: at Tuska, 3 days of metal, there were zero fights or crowd problems. At 1.5 hours of a beastie boys show there were two fights and they had to stop twice until things calmed down. Either Swedes are angrier than Finns or the Beastie Boys attracts a more uncivilized crowd :)
My first experience Interailing went fine. Now that I have to follow the train schedules my trip becomes slightly more complicated and less free with respect to arriving at places. Not a problem it just takes more planning on my part... planning bleh! Anyway, I'm running out of internet time and Denmark is actually more expensive than Sweden (which I thought impossible) so I'll finish up. I'm not sure where I'm going next but I would like to end up in Amsterdam in the next few days. I might make a stop in Hamburg which is on the way. Drop me a note if you have the time. It would be nice to hear from people!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
I saw the sign with the dancing queen
Hello from Sweden! First though a wrapup of my time in Finland.
Tuska ended on a high note. I saw my favorite band, Mercenary, and they were amazing. After their set there wasn't much point in staying since nothing was going to top seeing them from the first row so I left early. It was a good call as I caught whatever team plays at the Finnar Stadium playing a game! My first taste of live soccer in Europe and it was pretty good. Not EPL, but certainly fun to watch :) My last day in Finland I went out to Suomenlina which are a series of islands with an old militrary fortress spanning them. It was cool to explore the area and take some time out of the city. After that I boarded the cruise ship for Stockholm!
The ship was massive and it had everything from a casino to a supermarket. I tried to spend as little money as possible as everything was very expensive. My cabin was very nice and was free with my railpass. I shared it with two other men one of whom taught me my new favorite word. Interail. He described what he and his girlfriend, and myself, were doing as interailing which I think is a lovely word for it. The trip takes 16 hours much of which you sleep for but you gain an hour when you get to Sweden because of the time change.
Stockholm can only be described as majestic. It's much bigger and confusing than Helsinki but I really like it here. After getting my bearings and checking into my hostel I visited the Swedish National Museum, the Aquarium, and then went to this giant tower with an amazing view of the surroundings. The people here are much nicer but I also think they are more used to tourists. Tomorrow will be my marathon day in Stockholm so I'm going to take it easy tonight and try not to spend any more money. Things here are very expensive! Check back soon for more!
Tuska ended on a high note. I saw my favorite band, Mercenary, and they were amazing. After their set there wasn't much point in staying since nothing was going to top seeing them from the first row so I left early. It was a good call as I caught whatever team plays at the Finnar Stadium playing a game! My first taste of live soccer in Europe and it was pretty good. Not EPL, but certainly fun to watch :) My last day in Finland I went out to Suomenlina which are a series of islands with an old militrary fortress spanning them. It was cool to explore the area and take some time out of the city. After that I boarded the cruise ship for Stockholm!
The ship was massive and it had everything from a casino to a supermarket. I tried to spend as little money as possible as everything was very expensive. My cabin was very nice and was free with my railpass. I shared it with two other men one of whom taught me my new favorite word. Interail. He described what he and his girlfriend, and myself, were doing as interailing which I think is a lovely word for it. The trip takes 16 hours much of which you sleep for but you gain an hour when you get to Sweden because of the time change.
Stockholm can only be described as majestic. It's much bigger and confusing than Helsinki but I really like it here. After getting my bearings and checking into my hostel I visited the Swedish National Museum, the Aquarium, and then went to this giant tower with an amazing view of the surroundings. The people here are much nicer but I also think they are more used to tourists. Tomorrow will be my marathon day in Stockholm so I'm going to take it easy tonight and try not to spend any more money. Things here are very expensive! Check back soon for more!
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