Amsterdam

I took a day trip to Amsterdam...on my own...should be an adventure, eh?

The stereotype of Amsterdam is often one of prostitution and drugs being widely available and acceptable. However, this is a gross misportrayal of the city! There are canals running throughout the city, almost paralleling every street. These are lined with trees and tall houses with the famous ornamental gables at the top. I found the architecture of all the buildings really impressive and the overall atmosphere so charming!

Indeed, Amsterdam is a place of tremendous culture. I went to the Van Gogh Museum, and the Rijksmuseum, which houses many of Rembrandt's work. It's so awesome to see these famous artists' original paintings! I've studied them in college and gained a real appreciation, and I'm able to be in their homeland and see their work. There really is such tremendous talent, fine skill and reservoir of expression in their paintings. (Learning more about Van Gogh's difficult life, while journeying through the work he produced at those times brought more meaning to it all.) It's amazing how visual art evokes an unspoken emotion that is felt without need for words--music does the same thing, though in a different way. Mmm.

I took a canal cruise, seeing and learning about many historical and artistic places. I found the Begijnhof, a quiet courtyard surrounded by old houses, once occupied by Beguine nuns, and still home to single women today--only a narrow vaulted passageway leading to this hidden garden. I went in the two old and famous churches, a tulip market, and the Anne Frank house.

Finally, I made my way to the red light district...I had been told I should go before dark, just to see what it's like. The streets are lined with coffee shops--but a coffee shop in The Netherlands means a shop where you can get hash/marajuana (soft drugs). This is definitely not a place for a cappuccino! Even as you walk past, you can smell it. Everywhere there were neon signs advertising the coffee shops and the sex shops. Very explicitly...

I turned down a side street and suddenly realized I was on a street for window prostitution. I don't want to go into detail in this blog, but let's just say I was thoroughly startled, very uncomfortable and tried to get off this street as soon as possible (which was not easy).

So I quickly had spent more than enough time in this area, and made my way back to the truly delightful parts of Amsterdam. Indeed, it is a great city and now is on my list of top favorites!

Bicycling in Holland

Here in The Netherlands, sooo many people ride bicycles—there are well-kept, two-way bike lanes on both sides of the street, with their own traffic lights, exits, overpasses, tunnels, etc. It's a great setup. You often even see elderly men and women in their 60’s, transporting about the city, getting groceries, etc.

A colleague invited me out with her friends to a Turkish restaurant (delicious food!) and let me borrow her extra bicycle. So I had the experience of riding a bicycle in Holland! :) It was so cool to be “driving” through the streets with the hoards of other cyclists...I really felt like a local!

The Dutch and a Geography Lesson

The Dutch people are very kind and hospitable, and this seems to be a consensus opinion among tourists. They are also very considerate about speaking in English whenever a foreigner is present, which I really appreciated. However, their traditional food is terrible--fried cheese, fried meat/gravy/mystery stuff ("croquettes"), fried potatoes with mayonnaise ("frites"), etc.

Tonight I went to a colleague's home for dinner (a delicious Chinese meal). I learned about the difference between Holland and The Netherlands ("low countries"), which are often used synonymously. Technically, Holland just makes up two of the twelve provinces of The Netherlands (North and South Holland), along the central west coast. Historically, Holland was the most powerful province and the cities there were important trading cities, so when others met the Dutch, they were usually meeting people from Holland in particular. By the way, the capital of The Netherlands is Amsterdam (in Holland), though the government is in The Hague, and the queen lives elsewhere. :)

This led to a geography lesson whereby each person present drew a map of their country and the prominent boundaries and cities within. Everyone present was from Europe, and hence had some sense of the other countries already (although I realized my knowledge of French cities is quite minimal), but they were quite unaware of the US states. They were flabbergasted when I drew a map detailed with names, borders and appropriate proportions of all 50 states.

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

I'm now in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. This is the home of Phillips--as in Phillips light bulbs. Yup, the city is pretty much dominated by all things related to Philips, from statues, to factories, to museums and impressive lighting displays. I will be collaborating with some folks here, but I won't bore you with talk of mathematical cryptography. Instead I will make some observations...

The celebration of Carnival here is a bit different that in Germany. The Germans had more coherent themes to their costumes--dressing up as a particular character (e.g. doctor, cat, etc.). The Dutch simply dress up as colorful and wild/weird/ostentatiously as possible. This results in a lot of crazy, bewildering encounters on the train, in the streets, and in cafes.

I went with a colleague to a Mexican restaurant--I knew it would be nothing like the Tex-Mex I grew up with, but was curious what I'd find. We shared nachos as an appetizer...and they tasted like pizza, I kid you not. It was basically "tortillas" (flour/water...could be a pizza crust) crisped in the oven, topped with "salsa" (actually a tomato sauce suspiciously reminiscent of pizza or spaghetti sauce) and mozzarella cheese (not Monterrey Jack cheese or other more Mexican-flavored). Viola, you've got pizza. I squirted a lot of tabasco sauce on it, to give it some kick, but that didn't help much. I ordered a burrito with kidney beans as the filling (as opposed to chicken or beef), and it was quite tasty. Not like anything I've had in a Mexican restaurant before, but nevertheless very good.

Carnival

It is the infamous season of Carnival in Germany! Actually, it is biggest in the Cologne region, which is where I am. It began on the 11th day of November (11/11) and goes until the Tuesday before Lent begins; that is, the day before Ash Wednesday. The culmination is this weekend, and what a festival atmosphere it is! The closest thing in the US would be Mardi Gras, but that's still very different from this Carnival.

All the restaurants, buildings and public spaces are decorated for Carnival, many host parties every night, and most of the people out and about are in costume. I'm not talking about just dressing in costume on one evening for a particular event--no, these people dress up every night and wander the streets, have coffee, go to a restaurant, go to a bar, etc. It's quite humorous to see adults wearing animal ears and a tail, or clowns and fairies walking down the street.

I spent the weekend in Aachen, Germany, and went to the Carnival parade on Sunday morning. This was the children's parade--the big official parade is tomorrow, but I won't see, due to work. Thanks to my friend's mother, I dressed as a surgeon (full scrubs that tie in the back and all), and joined the crowds (all in costume, of course) for the merriment. Lots of Germans singing their traditional songs and saying "Alaaf!" which is the traditional Carnival shout. The parade lasted 2 1/2 hours and not only was candy thrown, but also waffles, bags of popcorn, and large bags of cookies and chocolates--would be rather painful to have one hit you in the head! I was quite impressed by this parade, and it was only the children's...I can't imagine what a hooplah the adults' would be.

I feel I've done a very poor job describing this, but take my word for it: I experienced a very unique and lively German tradition!

16 Days on the Continent

I am spending 16 days in The Netherlands and in Germany, for work. Although this blog is primarily for Irish encounters, I may take the liberty to post experiences from my time in mainland Europe...

"The Pope's Children," by David McWilliams

I finished a book called "The Pope's Children," by David McWilliams. I'm pressed for time, but wanted to mention this, so I'll just refer you to Wikipedia's entry:

"The Pope's Children is a book by journalist and economist David McWilliams. In his book McWilliams describes the effects that the Celtic Tiger and the property boom have had on the Republic of Ireland, resulting in the rise of a new bourgeoise.

The book's title reflects McWilliams' belief that the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in the autumn of 1979 was a watershed in the country's history. The children born during that period (who are now between the ages of 25 and 35) are "The Pope's Children" – the first generation since the Great Famine of the mid-19th century to experience an increase in the size of the population. (The rise in birth rates in Ireland began in the early 1970s and peaked in June 1980, exactly nine months after the pope's visit.) According to McWilliams, these 620,000 people became the country's key generation. They are the dynamo of Ireland's economy, politics and culture, and they will shape its face in the 21st century."

The book has a style of pushing the extremes in order to make a point. While a fascinating phenomenon Ireland has experienced, the book displays a rather disturbing analysis of the current and future state. I'll just leave it at that...