Amsterdam

Also called the Venice of the North, Amsterdam is a legendary city for so many different reasons. 

For some it is the unique nature of an urban centre built in harmony with its surrounding (albeit groomed surroundings).  For others the somewhat liberal drug laws provide a sanctuary and freedom from 'drug war' philosophies and actions.  And for others Amsterdam is a place where social consciousness and hard-headed pragmatism co-exist uncomfortably (I say this as a good thing).

I was only in Amsterdam for 36 hours (including three at the airport).  I wandered downtown, stayed with new friends and attended an all day training session.  Downtown I meandered along stone streets, avoiding cars and admiring boats.  Just as in Venice I crossed bridges as much as to admire the view mid-span as to get to the other side.  And I passed many coffee shops where the scents emanating from within could transport you to alternate realities.  And coffee houses (the distinction is important) where some of the best coffee in the world could be had.  I tasted some of the best cheese I've ever had - and all of it made from sheep's or goat's milk!

Here are some pictures from my afternoon of wandering.  I'd love to hear about your impressions of Amsterdam.  I know I will be back there one day soon.

Parking lots for bikes!  You have to love this part of Europe.  Now when will North America catch up?

This was a shop window I saw on my way back to the bus loop.  It made me smile so it seems a good way to end this post:

Me in Amsterdam!

Once again, the non-glamorous shot but highly effective (I'd say:):

As I mentioned, a new friend from the DD course (and his partner) offered me a place to stay.  Here are some pics of their beautiful home:

Their apartment is at the top of the building (of course it would be so for me and my psychic and very real baggage:).  As T advised me, there are no real rules for how buildings are built so, to best utilize space (and why waste it on stairways?), the stairs are more like ladders, very narrow steps and very straight up.  As I was negotiating them, I was thinking that they would make a very effective exercise regime.

But to manage the several flights of stairs to encounter this lovely home made it quite worthwhile.  The light alone.  I can understand why they love it so much.

I appreciate their sharing it with me, even for a short time.

I'll post a more fulsome post about Amsterdam later today or tomorrow.  I need to pack and get ready to go to the new DD course - Let's Talk!

Train Journeys

Do you like long distance trains?

I do.  Always have.  My first train journey (that I can recall) was from Vancouver to Calgary (when they still had such a trip) and I still remember my joy at seeing the Rocky Mountains in the morning and that steady noise of the wheels as we moved across my massive province.

When I travel I try to take trains.  In India, Tara and I took a 51 hour train journey from Dehli to Trivandrum, Kerala.  Amazing, to say the least.

So, when I realized I would be returning to Amsterdam for a short trip before leaving for Canada, I looked to the train.  On Saturday night I took the Night Line from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, a trip of 17 hours.

I booked in a sleeping cabin with six beds.  I ended up with three companions on the trip, only one of whom boarded in Copenhagen and each of whom left before Amsterdam.  Sleeping on a train can be a joy, except when it is not:)  My rackety patterns were louder than the sound of the wheels.  Amazing how much more irritated one becomes the later it is in the night.

Here is a video of a stop at dawn:

Despite less than ideal 'roommates' and rackety patterns, I arrived in Amsterdam on time.  One of the people from the Intermediate course (in Rotterdam) was kind enough to offer me his home to stay.  So I ventured into Amsterdam.

Copenhagen

The first few days were NOT a great introduction to Copenhagen. 

I arrived on Sunday, thinking I'd have time to explore.  I was landing at 3, after all and the airport is less than 30 km from the city.  However, the flight was slightly delayed and then our luggage was greatly delayed and by the time I was in the train it was dark!  And dark it seemed to stay. 

My course began at 9 am so I'd leave the hotel at 8 am and commute for ONE hour! (something I refuse to do in Canada!) to be on time.  Not that I managed it on the first two days.  It is very difficult leaving a warm, inviting hotel to plunge into the icy cool of a Copenhagen morning.  I left in the dark, I returned in the dark.  I felt like I lived in the dark.  Like a mole or maybe an ant or a worm.  I wasn't feeling very warm and fuzzy about this new city I was in.

The course was incredibly intense and the darkness was sapping my energy.  However, the second evening I did gather the energy to wander about the town.  My hotel (WakeUp Copenhagen - highly recommended by me!) was near Tivoli (this giant amusement/entertainment complex in the middle of town) and all around that was all manner of shops, restaurants and other fancies to seperate tourists/visitors from their dollars or kroner.

I love old cities.  Maybe because Canada doesn't really have old cities.  We're not that old a nation so it makes sense that there is no real feeling of history.  I love the buildings that list a bit to the right (or even the left).  And even though it is murder on the feet, I love the stone streets and sidewalks.  To imagine how many generations of who else walked just where I am 'right now'.  And Copenhagen is an old city and over the next few days I did come to appreciate her unique charms.  Amazingly enough, it was a clear, sunny day on Thursday and for parts of Friday and Saturday.  According to the locals, not a very common occurrence.

Here are a few pictures of the walk into town from where I stayed after the course:

Not bad eh?

The sunshine certainly helps.

Copenhagen is attempting to become the most cyclist friendly city in all of the EU (maybe the world?).  There are certainly a great number of people who use bicycles, people of all ages and abilities.  There are bikes with space to transport children or goods.  There were more bikes in the very small part of Copenhagen than I have ever seen in Vancouver.

So I keep alluding to the fact that I moved locations.  One of the people in my course said she had a friend who might have a place I could stay (have I mentioned that Europe is insanely expensive?!).  So she put us together and her friend did have a place.  In her housing development there are two small apartments that are kept empty for use by the tenants for family or friends when they visit.  There is a nominal charge.  So the apartment was not the Ritz but it was mostly clean and quite comfortable and it was very inexpensive.  A fabulous combination.

Doerthe, the woman who allowed me to stay in the apartment is pictured below:

I wanted to include her here because she went out of her way to be welcoming and kind.  She allowed me to stay in the apartment, offered to help me use the laundry facilities and on Saturday she spent part of her day showing me parts of Copenhagen.  

It was a lovely day.  We went to the Botanical Gardens which are fantastic!  You walk into the buildings and they are tropical and steamy warm.  There are all manner of strange and wonderful plants.  In one of the domed buildings you could walk to the top and walk all around the dome looking down at the beautiful plants.  Not for those scared of heights and wonderful for the experience.  After we went to the National Gallery of Denmark.  I try to go and visit the National Gallery in each city (if I can) with the logic that if it is called the National Gallery there must be some pride and interest on the country's part to put their best foot forward in terms of what is displayed.

My logic did not work in terms of the national gallery we visited on Saturday.  It was truly awful.  But the day was wonderful.  So Doerthe, thank you.  I wouldn't have enjoyed Copenhagen as much if I hadn't met you.

My last question for Copenhagen is in this picture that I posted earlier too:

What has this person done to his shoes that he must leave them on the window ledge in the freezing cold?  I know European apartments are small, but honestly, how smelly do your shoes have to be to leave them like that? :)

Me in Copenhagen

It's not glamorous but it's me IN COPENHAGEN! 

The camera has a view away from where I've been staying since the course ended.

Here are a few pics of the neighbourhood (near the Norresport Metro and S train stations): 

Couchsurfing and Rotterdam

One of the best memories of Rotterdam was connecting with a new friend.

This is Rossi, aka Anne Marie. She answered my query on Couchsurfing and offered to go for a meal or an adventure. We arranged to have dinner on Wednesday night.

We had a great time! She said she went along with my request to meet up because she liked my picture. I seemed like a nice person. BTW, my picture is one I took this Christmas with my sister and nephew at Suessical the Musical. CS, esp. for a newbie like me, can be a bit of a turkey shoot. I was as likely as to end up with a serial murderer as I was a lovely human being.

Rossi has her own business but what we really had a great time talking about was art and art collecting (she and her partner collect). So she told me about the great time they have visiting galleries, meeting artists, following careers and even swapping art when they find it no longer fits their life. They buy art they like, not really as an investment, although that part is nice, but really because it finds a place in their heart and soul and they want to see it every day. We had a great chat and she told me about Rotterdam and where I could eat and what I should try to see. And we decided to get together before I left. She said there was an art swap event and I could attend with them.

Rossi is exactly why something like Couchsurfing works so well. She is a fabulous person who is willing to meet new people and demystify her hometown for travellers. She has hosted and she has been hosted (on the west coast of Canada!). Now she is taking it a bit easy (relatively speaking) and she acts an ambassador in Rotterdam. She attends CS events, welcomes new local members and is available for social connections with visitors.

We did meet up on Saturday, before I left Rotterdam, and had another great dinner and fabulous conversation.

Rossi made my time in Rotterdam so much fun and I hope we can meet again - in Europe or maybe even in Vancouver!

Rotterdam

Whew!  I've been so busy I haven't even told you that I arrived in Rotterdam and now am already in Copenhagen!

But I'll concentrate on one city at a time.  Rotterdam has been a surprise.  I thought it would be a large bustling city but it seems much more laid back.  What has been nice is that bicycles (no helmets!) and transit rule the roads.  I was quite anxious about how to ensure I not only don't get run over by a car but that I dont' get run over by a bicycle!  There are dedicated lanes and heaven help you if you're in the wrong lane at the wrong time!  Cars are smaller and parking is not easy to find and very pricey once located.  And oddly, it is difficult to find a good salad in my neighbourhood.  I've been pining....

Here are a few pics from Rotterdam:

 

This sculpture is outside the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (http://www.boijmans.nl/en/) which is up the street from my hotel.  As luck would have it, it was free on Wednesday.  Being a free day at the museum meant that many, many folks were taking the opportunity to explore.  Classes of children, youth, aspiring artists, tour groups of seniors and random tourists - everyone was there.  I wish there was time to go back.  They have some amazing pieces and I'm gaining a fondness for Surrealism.

Here is one piece from the museum:

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled (2002)

You can see all the way down into the storage room where the sculpture is standing on a chair, on a table.   It apparently took the museum years to get permission to make the space into what is the employee's break room.  The scupture is supposed to be a self-sculpture of the artist.  There are many other images that display if you put the artist's name in Google.

Here is part of the walk back to the hotel:

 
 

I'm staying in a very central neighbourhood that has been purposefully 'revitalized'.  The hotel (Hotel Bazar:  http://www.bazarrotterdam.com/read/middle_eastern_room_204?sublist=25) is in a heritage building which is both fantastic and terrible.  It is fantastic because the rooms are all unique and there are many touches of the 'old' or unusual that charm and entice.  Terrible because the owners cannot upgrade for today's reality, for example the windows are single paned letting in noise and letting out the heat but they cannot be replaced, to preserve the heritage value of the site.  So terribly fantastic or fantastically terrible:)  Either way, incredibly central and if I was a tourist, instead of a student, I would choose to stay here again.  As a student (getting up early, needing a good sleep and a place to work) it is less than ideal.  

I wanted to share one of my favourite things about the hotel - the lamps and the ceilings:

Some of the ceilings are completely covered in tin or in strings upon strings of 'christmas tree' lights, woven into a cloud of twinkling sunshine.  Throughout the whole hotel you will find these lamps.  They are from all over - Morocco, Turkey, Ethiopia and Mauritania and many are for sale.  I was sorely tempted to add to my baggage by buying one or two of these wonderful pieces of everyday art.

Airport Time

I've always found that time spent in an airport is free time - different from any other time.  You aren't really in whichever location you started from and yet you haven't yet embarked upon the journey that will take you to where you are going.  It is like purgatory, without the religion, although admittedly, it can be spiritual.

One is in a community of people you don't actually know and yet they inhabit the same in-between space you inhabit.  Wouldn't it be a great community development project for some degree to try different engagement techniques with the people who are waiting for flights at various times.  Some great discussions might take place.  It would stretch the idea of community.

I'm waiting here at YVR (one of the my favourite airports - so far), my checked bag is being transferred to the belly of a very large winged vehicle.  My carry-on is heavy, although I can't really let on.  The important things - some toiletries, the computer, my journal, some food:) and a shawl (why do they keep a plane so chilly?).  Many other things of course, which explains the heaviness of it.  Maybe I could conceptualize it as the psychic weight I have chosen to bring with me.  Gosh.... that certainly takes my mind to a different place.

Usually when I am waiting for a plane I call my friend Kari.  I've done it for years.  No matter where I'm going or how much time has or has not elapsed between us chatting, I spend a quarter (now two) and call to say hi and hey and all that noise of a deep relationship - not much is said and yet the value of it is immense.  But she has a meeting tonight so I can't call her and I feel a bit out of sorts.  Isn't change funny?  Big and small it produces some small impact in our body and soul.

I'm going to take a bit of time to contemplate on my in-between and free time before I board said winged vehicle for ten hours!  (I'm looking forward to catching up on my movie viewing!)  And tomorrow, I'll be on another continent, in a country I've not seen before.  How lucky am I?

Hugs and love to you reader.  May your journey always include some free time, in airports or otherwise.

Chilly Scandinavian Adventure!

I'm headed out!

It feels like ages since my last trip so I am (crazily) looking forward to my lengthy airplane ride!

I'll go from here to Amsterdam and by train to Rotterdam (5 days).

Back to Amsterdam and on to Copenhagen (5 or 6 days).

A train ride to Sweden for a few days. 

Back to Copenhagen and fly to Toronto (4 days) before flying home.

I'll be taking in TWO Deep Democracy courses (Intermediate and Advanced). I get goosebumps just thinking about them.

I also joined CouchSurfing.com and am hoping to meet some wonderful people in each of my adventure stops. If you have never checked it out, please do, it is a wonderful way of shrinking the world and creating community.

Instead of sending emails about the trip to everyone I'll be posting here so I hope you'll join me on my Chilly Scandinavian Adventure!

And send comments! It is nice to know what you're thinking about too!

Hugs and love.