Sunday, January 11, 2009
Amsterdam; 1/7/09
So finally, I was up to my last stop before heading back to Sweden; Amsterdam! I took a train from Freiburg up through Germany, passing through Frankfurt and Cologne on the way to Holland. My train had a lot of technical problems so we eventually switched off to a regional train in Arnhem, Holland for the last little leg to Amsterdam. I arrived at the central station in Amsterdam at about 11:30 PM after about a 6-hour trip, so I was really excited to not be sitting down anymore. My first priority was finding my hostel, which didn’t take too long. The directions that the hostel website gave were spot on. Amsterdam doesn’t have streets so much as it has alleys, and this is something that I definitely noticed after walking a few blocks.
Apartments and buildings are crammed in next to each other, the width of each building no more than a few meters at the most. It gives the city a very quaint, unique look, which has been plastered over oh so many postcards. The funny thing about the architecture is that when you enter a building, the stairs are usually really steep so it feels like you’re going to slip and crash down them at a moment’s notice. Everything seems kind of cramped too, in some places at least. After arriving at my hostel and checking in I just wanted to crash and get some sleep. The beds were comfortable and I was out almost immediately.
I had to check out at 9:30 AM the next morning (arrgghhh too early) so I had some free breakfast provided by the hostel before getting all of my things together and checking out. My flight to Stockholm was at 6 PM the same day so I had just the day to explore. I just decided to go out walking, not trying to see any sights in particular as the city is a sight in and of itself. The famous canals weren’t too impressive as it’s winter and people aren’t really using them. Mostly they were just filled with chunks of ice and the occasional wandering bird. I’m sure they’re pretty awesome in the summer though, when people take their boats out on them. I saw that some boats were tied up outside apartments that were on the canals. I can’t imagine how cool it is to be able to not drive somewhere for work or lunch, but to go by water.
I ran into a native Dutch guy who asked for some change for a train ticket and I obliged, as he wasn’t aggressive or a beggar or anything (he had nicer clothes than me). For the change he told me of the best ‘coffeeshop’ in Amsterdam, De Dampkring, where scenes from Ocean’s 12 were shot. He explained how to get there and then he went on his way. I thought that going there could be awesome, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to smoke marijuana, even legally, at 10 AM. I decided to wander some more.
I ended up in a very picturesque part of the city, close the Red Light district, which can be hard to recognize during the daytime, when it isn’t flashing with pulsing neon lights and being frequented by lingerie-clad prostitutes. The plethora of sex shops and coffee shops kind of gives it away though. It’s one of those things that at first boggles the mind, then overwhelms the senses, then just kind of confuses. It’s certainly a progression of different reactions that one has there.
Overall, even though I only spent one day there, I can easily say that if I did stay for longer, Amsterdam would probably end up being one of my favorite cities in Europe. It’s liberal, elegant, progressive, and has a charm that is really unique. Though I’ve heard equally amazing things about another city that I’ve yet to visit; Berlin. That’s next on my agenda!
Apartments and buildings are crammed in next to each other, the width of each building no more than a few meters at the most. It gives the city a very quaint, unique look, which has been plastered over oh so many postcards. The funny thing about the architecture is that when you enter a building, the stairs are usually really steep so it feels like you’re going to slip and crash down them at a moment’s notice. Everything seems kind of cramped too, in some places at least. After arriving at my hostel and checking in I just wanted to crash and get some sleep. The beds were comfortable and I was out almost immediately.
I had to check out at 9:30 AM the next morning (arrgghhh too early) so I had some free breakfast provided by the hostel before getting all of my things together and checking out. My flight to Stockholm was at 6 PM the same day so I had just the day to explore. I just decided to go out walking, not trying to see any sights in particular as the city is a sight in and of itself. The famous canals weren’t too impressive as it’s winter and people aren’t really using them. Mostly they were just filled with chunks of ice and the occasional wandering bird. I’m sure they’re pretty awesome in the summer though, when people take their boats out on them. I saw that some boats were tied up outside apartments that were on the canals. I can’t imagine how cool it is to be able to not drive somewhere for work or lunch, but to go by water.
I ran into a native Dutch guy who asked for some change for a train ticket and I obliged, as he wasn’t aggressive or a beggar or anything (he had nicer clothes than me). For the change he told me of the best ‘coffeeshop’ in Amsterdam, De Dampkring, where scenes from Ocean’s 12 were shot. He explained how to get there and then he went on his way. I thought that going there could be awesome, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to smoke marijuana, even legally, at 10 AM. I decided to wander some more.
I ended up in a very picturesque part of the city, close the Red Light district, which can be hard to recognize during the daytime, when it isn’t flashing with pulsing neon lights and being frequented by lingerie-clad prostitutes. The plethora of sex shops and coffee shops kind of gives it away though. It’s one of those things that at first boggles the mind, then overwhelms the senses, then just kind of confuses. It’s certainly a progression of different reactions that one has there.
Overall, even though I only spent one day there, I can easily say that if I did stay for longer, Amsterdam would probably end up being one of my favorite cities in Europe. It’s liberal, elegant, progressive, and has a charm that is really unique. Though I’ve heard equally amazing things about another city that I’ve yet to visit; Berlin. That’s next on my agenda!
Freiburg/Cologne, Germany; 12/21/08 thru 1/6/09
My next destination was Germany. I boarded a train in Marseille for Basel, Switzerland, as that is the best place from which I could catch a train to Freiburg, Germany, where my friend lives and studies as of the moment.
The train ride itself was pleasant, and I was able to get some sleep and listen to music. I had to switch trains in Geneva, Switzerland which went smoothly. When I got into Basel, I called my friend to see if she could check online when the next train into Freiburg would be running. I had to wait a few hours, but I met a couple of Brazilian backpackers to chat with in the meantime. I was glad to finally board the train to Freiburg, as I knew that it was the final leg of my trip and I was a bit tired.
I arrived in Freiburg at about 7 AM and my friend was kind enough to pick me up at the train station. We ate a little breakfast at the station of delicious croissants and then she took me back to her dorm. Upon arriving I dropped all of my luggage and we both went to bed. She set up a nice mattress and duvet on the floor for me, which was actually pretty comfortable.
I didn’t wake up the next day until around 3 PM, and my friend was working on a final paper so I decided to take it easy and watch some movies on my computer. It was actually very necessary for me to take a day off before starting the usual sight seeing and exploring so it was good things panned out the way that they did.
Over the course of the next week my friend took me around Freiburg, and we did lots of cool things. She showed me the Christmas market, which was really beautiful and full of happy Germans drinking hot mulled wine and chatting. These types of markets are really popular in Germany apparently. They sell all sorts of crafts, food, drink, and even clothing sometimes. We went to the Munster cathedral, which was very impressive. It is considered by many to be the symbol of the city, and we paid a Euro each to go up to the top of one of the towers where there was a lovely circular view of the entire city. I took tons of pictures. One of the most impressive things about Freiburg is the fact that it is surrounded by the Black Forest, which I always imagined in my head would be flat, for some reason. It is actually a series of rolling hills and small mountains, with blankets of snow covering the tallest ones. We went hiking twice in different areas of the forest throughout the week and the scenery made me feel like I was in the middle of the shooting for the Lord of the Rings films. I half expected Rivendell to pop out of a hill around the corner while walking along a mountainside path.
After spending about a week in Freiburg, one of my friend’s friends asked us if we wanted to take a trip to Cologne over the weekend. I was reluctant since my budget was very tight and I was running out of money, but she was kind enough to offer to pay for our train tickets and hostel accommodations for one night in the city. I could not pass up an offer like that. Apparently she had received a scholarship and had a little extra money on hand. I made sure that she was fine with paying for me before deciding to go. It took about 7 hours by train to get to Cologne from Freiburg, as we had to keep changing regional trains, which tend to take longer than the much faster high-speed ICE trains. We left Freiburg at about 8 AM and managed to get into Cologne at around 3 PM the same day. A great deal of the train ride was along the Rhein River, which is incredibly captivating. Jagged hills carve the river valley, and as one passes villages which seem trapped in time, the ruins of castles from centuries past line the hills above. I’ve never seen anything like it. It gives you a real rush of emotions. As for Cologne, the first thing that catches one’s eye is the giant Kölner Dom cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, supposedly. It wasn’t hard to believe however, as this cathedral is one of the most beautiful and impressive pieces of architecture that I’ve ever seen in my life. Black, towering spires jut into the sky and you have to crane your neck to see the top. My fascination with churches had plenty of fodder with this cathedral, and once again I couldn’t help but imagine how much wealth and power such a structure once symbolized, and still does I suppose, for some people. It’s ironic how some of the most beautiful creations of mankind, like Christian cathedrals, are nevertheless representative of centuries of persecution, violence, and manipulation of the poor by the rich, of the ‘uncivilized’ by the ‘enlightened’.
We met up with a German whom my friend knows, who is from Cologne and was home for the holidays. He was incredibly friendly and spoke English very, very well. He took us out to a brewery/restaurant where we sampled some traditional German fare. I had a veal dumpling dish with pasta and my friends had some more typical bratwurst. The food was modestly priced and the beer was cheap, which was great. We later went out to a local bar and eventually made our way back to our hostel at about 1:30 AM. The next morning we woke up and made our way to get a closer, more intimate look at the cathedral. The inside was full of grandeur and elegant architecture, with beautiful stained glass coupled with arched ceilings and pillars. We went up one of the towers that were open to the public, although my deathly fear of heights prevented me from going up too far. I feel like that particular fear has actually gotten worse as I’ve grown older. We came back to Freiburg feeling like we had really accomplished something, although we were all in need of showers and some added sleep.
The last time I went up hiking in the Black Forest was actually only a few days before I left the country. We took a train and then a bus to the outskirts of the city and then took a lift up to a place called the Schauinsland, which literally translates to 'look into the country'. It's a small mountain with an elevation of about 3,300 ft above sea level. It was so cool! When we got the top we could look down and see the low cloud cover, and also to our south we could see the Swiss Alps! We at first tried to hike back down but the trail looked really dangerous and we decided not to risk falling to our deaths on accident. So we took another lift back down.
Germany is a very intriguing country to me. There is a sense of in-between about everything. Medieval architecture lives on in more isolated villages while BMWs fill the motorways barely miles away. There is a sense of the desire to preserve the past while embracing the future head on, something which is severely lacking in many places in the U.S. in my opinion. In the same day, one can go hiking in the Black Forest and sample traditional bratwurst with fried onions while shopping at H&M later and having döner kebabs, the Turkish specialty which I became very addicted to during my time spent in the country. The Germans must love them too, as one can’t walk more than two blocks without seeing at least one on a street corner. It’s ironic to me how I’ve noticed that some Germans criticize the Turkish population for not assimilating enough into German culture, by learning the language or having German social standards, and yet I have no doubts that Germans would be very sad to lose the presence of Turkish food in their country. I’m not saying Americans are better people, and that they aren’t racist, because they are, very much so, but it was an interesting observation for me.
The train ride itself was pleasant, and I was able to get some sleep and listen to music. I had to switch trains in Geneva, Switzerland which went smoothly. When I got into Basel, I called my friend to see if she could check online when the next train into Freiburg would be running. I had to wait a few hours, but I met a couple of Brazilian backpackers to chat with in the meantime. I was glad to finally board the train to Freiburg, as I knew that it was the final leg of my trip and I was a bit tired.
I arrived in Freiburg at about 7 AM and my friend was kind enough to pick me up at the train station. We ate a little breakfast at the station of delicious croissants and then she took me back to her dorm. Upon arriving I dropped all of my luggage and we both went to bed. She set up a nice mattress and duvet on the floor for me, which was actually pretty comfortable.
I didn’t wake up the next day until around 3 PM, and my friend was working on a final paper so I decided to take it easy and watch some movies on my computer. It was actually very necessary for me to take a day off before starting the usual sight seeing and exploring so it was good things panned out the way that they did.
Over the course of the next week my friend took me around Freiburg, and we did lots of cool things. She showed me the Christmas market, which was really beautiful and full of happy Germans drinking hot mulled wine and chatting. These types of markets are really popular in Germany apparently. They sell all sorts of crafts, food, drink, and even clothing sometimes. We went to the Munster cathedral, which was very impressive. It is considered by many to be the symbol of the city, and we paid a Euro each to go up to the top of one of the towers where there was a lovely circular view of the entire city. I took tons of pictures. One of the most impressive things about Freiburg is the fact that it is surrounded by the Black Forest, which I always imagined in my head would be flat, for some reason. It is actually a series of rolling hills and small mountains, with blankets of snow covering the tallest ones. We went hiking twice in different areas of the forest throughout the week and the scenery made me feel like I was in the middle of the shooting for the Lord of the Rings films. I half expected Rivendell to pop out of a hill around the corner while walking along a mountainside path.
After spending about a week in Freiburg, one of my friend’s friends asked us if we wanted to take a trip to Cologne over the weekend. I was reluctant since my budget was very tight and I was running out of money, but she was kind enough to offer to pay for our train tickets and hostel accommodations for one night in the city. I could not pass up an offer like that. Apparently she had received a scholarship and had a little extra money on hand. I made sure that she was fine with paying for me before deciding to go. It took about 7 hours by train to get to Cologne from Freiburg, as we had to keep changing regional trains, which tend to take longer than the much faster high-speed ICE trains. We left Freiburg at about 8 AM and managed to get into Cologne at around 3 PM the same day. A great deal of the train ride was along the Rhein River, which is incredibly captivating. Jagged hills carve the river valley, and as one passes villages which seem trapped in time, the ruins of castles from centuries past line the hills above. I’ve never seen anything like it. It gives you a real rush of emotions. As for Cologne, the first thing that catches one’s eye is the giant Kölner Dom cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, supposedly. It wasn’t hard to believe however, as this cathedral is one of the most beautiful and impressive pieces of architecture that I’ve ever seen in my life. Black, towering spires jut into the sky and you have to crane your neck to see the top. My fascination with churches had plenty of fodder with this cathedral, and once again I couldn’t help but imagine how much wealth and power such a structure once symbolized, and still does I suppose, for some people. It’s ironic how some of the most beautiful creations of mankind, like Christian cathedrals, are nevertheless representative of centuries of persecution, violence, and manipulation of the poor by the rich, of the ‘uncivilized’ by the ‘enlightened’.
We met up with a German whom my friend knows, who is from Cologne and was home for the holidays. He was incredibly friendly and spoke English very, very well. He took us out to a brewery/restaurant where we sampled some traditional German fare. I had a veal dumpling dish with pasta and my friends had some more typical bratwurst. The food was modestly priced and the beer was cheap, which was great. We later went out to a local bar and eventually made our way back to our hostel at about 1:30 AM. The next morning we woke up and made our way to get a closer, more intimate look at the cathedral. The inside was full of grandeur and elegant architecture, with beautiful stained glass coupled with arched ceilings and pillars. We went up one of the towers that were open to the public, although my deathly fear of heights prevented me from going up too far. I feel like that particular fear has actually gotten worse as I’ve grown older. We came back to Freiburg feeling like we had really accomplished something, although we were all in need of showers and some added sleep.
The last time I went up hiking in the Black Forest was actually only a few days before I left the country. We took a train and then a bus to the outskirts of the city and then took a lift up to a place called the Schauinsland, which literally translates to 'look into the country'. It's a small mountain with an elevation of about 3,300 ft above sea level. It was so cool! When we got the top we could look down and see the low cloud cover, and also to our south we could see the Swiss Alps! We at first tried to hike back down but the trail looked really dangerous and we decided not to risk falling to our deaths on accident. So we took another lift back down.
Germany is a very intriguing country to me. There is a sense of in-between about everything. Medieval architecture lives on in more isolated villages while BMWs fill the motorways barely miles away. There is a sense of the desire to preserve the past while embracing the future head on, something which is severely lacking in many places in the U.S. in my opinion. In the same day, one can go hiking in the Black Forest and sample traditional bratwurst with fried onions while shopping at H&M later and having döner kebabs, the Turkish specialty which I became very addicted to during my time spent in the country. The Germans must love them too, as one can’t walk more than two blocks without seeing at least one on a street corner. It’s ironic to me how I’ve noticed that some Germans criticize the Turkish population for not assimilating enough into German culture, by learning the language or having German social standards, and yet I have no doubts that Germans would be very sad to lose the presence of Turkish food in their country. I’m not saying Americans are better people, and that they aren’t racist, because they are, very much so, but it was an interesting observation for me.
Marseille, France; 12/17/08 thru 12/20/08
I left Spain on Wednesday (the 17th), greeted by a beautiful sunny, warm day in Madrid. After saying my goodbyes to Julia and thanking her for letting me stay at her apartment during my stay in the city, I took the metro to the airport, which was only 1 Euro. This was really cheap considering that I paid around 8 pounds to get to the airport when in London and it was roughly the same distance.
Everything went smoothly at the airport and I boarded my plane to Marseille. The flight took about an hour and a half and when the pilot said that over Marseille it was cloudy I got a little worried. Passing over the Mediterranean was really amazing. The only images I could previously conjure up in my head echoed of the expanse of Greek civilization, with crystal blue waters lapping coasts of olive groves and rolling hills, and the words of Homer’s Odyssey or the plays of Sophocles ringing through my head. It was just as blue and beautiful as I could have imagined.
I started to get really excited when I saw the coast of southern France through the window. We landed at Marseille-Provence airport, which is actually about 10 km or so from the city itself. Once again I didn’t have to pass through any customs and no one checked my passport, probably because of the inter-EU thing again. I took a bus to the city and began to get my first glimpse of the southern French countryside.
Rolling hills and cliffs dot the landscape, and I couldn’t help but notice how there was graffiti on everything, and I mean absolutely everything. The sun was liberal in its warmth and inviting, unlike the veiled light of the Swedish sun, which enjoys hibernating like everything else during the winter. I also noticed how everything looked kind of ancient. The buildings really breath the past in a way that things in the U.S. just can’t.
Getting off the bus at the Gare Saint-Charles train station, I was able to find my hostel really quickly, as it was only about 50 meters away. I decided to take it easy that night as I was somewhat tired and since I wasn’t comfortable going out in Marseille at night.
The next day, I woke up, ate breakfast and headed out for my first day of exploring. It was sunny, relatively warm with a nice breeze and walking down to the vieux port was like walking through a conglomeration of different cultures, languages, food, music and clothing. The French have a joke that the first Arabic city that you pass through if you’re on your way to Algeria is Marseille, and one can kind of see what they mean, even though that kind of comment smacks of racism. There is a sizable northern African population living here and you’re just as likely to here Arabic as French by passers-by, or grab a kebab for lunch as much as you’d go to la pattiserie for a croissant. Vibrant clothing shops and Middle Eastern pop music punctuate a walk through Marseille’s side streets, and it just makes the city a lot more colorful and interesting in my opinion.
When you walk to the vieux port, the first thing you’re bound to notice is the Notre Dame de le Garde on top of a hill overlooking the city. It’s considered the symbol of Marseille in many respects, and I decided to hike up to see it for myself. It’s a church that is considered to have helped grant victory to the French resistance during WWII, obviously in a very spiritual sense. Walking through Marseille, with the liberal use of car horns by French traffic and people enjoying lunch on sidewalk cafes, I felt quite energized.
After climbing some hilly streets and explaining to a very nice French woman who asked for directions that I wasn’t from Marseille I made it to the Notre Dame, a bit winded but glad to have made it. I turned around, and I had to stop myself from gawking at the incredible view. You can see the whole city from the top of the hill, as well as a stunning view of the Mediterranean and the surrounding mountains. I probably took dozens of pictures. The inside of the church is rather pretty too, but most if not all of the European churches I’ve been in are.
I walked back down the hill after spending a fair amount of time at the church and went to the Catedral de la Major, which is the 6th biggest cathedral in the world, apparently. The architecture struck me as a mix between Christian cathedrals and Islamic mosques, as it definitely had some Middle Eastern and Northern African tinges of color and design to it. I was now in Panier, which is considered the oldest part of Marseille. I passed a memorial for the Jewish death camps during WWII, as many Jews were shipped out of the vieux port during the German occupation. I took pictures around Panier and of a particularly interesting complex that housed and isolated plague victims during an outbreak in 1720 in which 40,000 citizens were killed. I was able to walk in it and it reminded me of a Roman villa, with arched walkways and a simple square filled with sand and rocks. It was kind of eerie to be in the midst of a place where you knew that people had suffered miserably and died.
I had lunch at a little food stand in Panier and had to repeat myself several times what I wanted since my French isn’t the best, but it all went well in the end. These type of little food shops with stuff like pizza, kebabs, and sandwiches are everywhere in Marseille, and they’re pretty cheap which is nice. I was at one later and was confronted by a rather enthusiastic Frenchman who claimed to be a ski instructor and Olympic athlete from the 70s, which was pretty random.
I was able to meet a ton of cool people at the hostel I stayed at, interestingly quite a few Australians. They have their summer break right now so it makes sense that they want to travel around. We joked that like the universal neon lights that all of the pharmacies in France and Spain have (a big green cross), they should have a standard neon light for kebab stands, so people know they’re getting a guaranteed quality for their kebabs. That’s ridiculous I know but it was funny to talk about. I walked around and saw the sights with another American, a French girl from Brittany, and an Australian for most of the time I spent in Marseille.
One interesting thing about Marseille is that even though it’s a port city, and has a very multicultural population, there doesn’t seem to be as much racial or cultural tension there compared with London or other cities I’ve been to, for example. There is definitely a lot less tension than American cities like Chicago or Milwaukee have in regards to race. I suppose that is because Marseille has been a hive of multicultural exchange from the beginning. There is still segregation of neighborhoods to an extent but it seemed to be a voluntary thing, in that perhaps the northern African populations felt better sticking together, sharing a common language and cultural values. Maybe I’m being naïve but it’s just the impression that I got.
Watching the sunset over the vieux port, basking the city and the hills beyond in a wonderful golden/red radiance and breathing in the cool sea air, I smiled to myself and knew that I would remember this experience for a long time.
Everything went smoothly at the airport and I boarded my plane to Marseille. The flight took about an hour and a half and when the pilot said that over Marseille it was cloudy I got a little worried. Passing over the Mediterranean was really amazing. The only images I could previously conjure up in my head echoed of the expanse of Greek civilization, with crystal blue waters lapping coasts of olive groves and rolling hills, and the words of Homer’s Odyssey or the plays of Sophocles ringing through my head. It was just as blue and beautiful as I could have imagined.
I started to get really excited when I saw the coast of southern France through the window. We landed at Marseille-Provence airport, which is actually about 10 km or so from the city itself. Once again I didn’t have to pass through any customs and no one checked my passport, probably because of the inter-EU thing again. I took a bus to the city and began to get my first glimpse of the southern French countryside.
Rolling hills and cliffs dot the landscape, and I couldn’t help but notice how there was graffiti on everything, and I mean absolutely everything. The sun was liberal in its warmth and inviting, unlike the veiled light of the Swedish sun, which enjoys hibernating like everything else during the winter. I also noticed how everything looked kind of ancient. The buildings really breath the past in a way that things in the U.S. just can’t.
Getting off the bus at the Gare Saint-Charles train station, I was able to find my hostel really quickly, as it was only about 50 meters away. I decided to take it easy that night as I was somewhat tired and since I wasn’t comfortable going out in Marseille at night.
The next day, I woke up, ate breakfast and headed out for my first day of exploring. It was sunny, relatively warm with a nice breeze and walking down to the vieux port was like walking through a conglomeration of different cultures, languages, food, music and clothing. The French have a joke that the first Arabic city that you pass through if you’re on your way to Algeria is Marseille, and one can kind of see what they mean, even though that kind of comment smacks of racism. There is a sizable northern African population living here and you’re just as likely to here Arabic as French by passers-by, or grab a kebab for lunch as much as you’d go to la pattiserie for a croissant. Vibrant clothing shops and Middle Eastern pop music punctuate a walk through Marseille’s side streets, and it just makes the city a lot more colorful and interesting in my opinion.
When you walk to the vieux port, the first thing you’re bound to notice is the Notre Dame de le Garde on top of a hill overlooking the city. It’s considered the symbol of Marseille in many respects, and I decided to hike up to see it for myself. It’s a church that is considered to have helped grant victory to the French resistance during WWII, obviously in a very spiritual sense. Walking through Marseille, with the liberal use of car horns by French traffic and people enjoying lunch on sidewalk cafes, I felt quite energized.
After climbing some hilly streets and explaining to a very nice French woman who asked for directions that I wasn’t from Marseille I made it to the Notre Dame, a bit winded but glad to have made it. I turned around, and I had to stop myself from gawking at the incredible view. You can see the whole city from the top of the hill, as well as a stunning view of the Mediterranean and the surrounding mountains. I probably took dozens of pictures. The inside of the church is rather pretty too, but most if not all of the European churches I’ve been in are.
I walked back down the hill after spending a fair amount of time at the church and went to the Catedral de la Major, which is the 6th biggest cathedral in the world, apparently. The architecture struck me as a mix between Christian cathedrals and Islamic mosques, as it definitely had some Middle Eastern and Northern African tinges of color and design to it. I was now in Panier, which is considered the oldest part of Marseille. I passed a memorial for the Jewish death camps during WWII, as many Jews were shipped out of the vieux port during the German occupation. I took pictures around Panier and of a particularly interesting complex that housed and isolated plague victims during an outbreak in 1720 in which 40,000 citizens were killed. I was able to walk in it and it reminded me of a Roman villa, with arched walkways and a simple square filled with sand and rocks. It was kind of eerie to be in the midst of a place where you knew that people had suffered miserably and died.
I had lunch at a little food stand in Panier and had to repeat myself several times what I wanted since my French isn’t the best, but it all went well in the end. These type of little food shops with stuff like pizza, kebabs, and sandwiches are everywhere in Marseille, and they’re pretty cheap which is nice. I was at one later and was confronted by a rather enthusiastic Frenchman who claimed to be a ski instructor and Olympic athlete from the 70s, which was pretty random.
I was able to meet a ton of cool people at the hostel I stayed at, interestingly quite a few Australians. They have their summer break right now so it makes sense that they want to travel around. We joked that like the universal neon lights that all of the pharmacies in France and Spain have (a big green cross), they should have a standard neon light for kebab stands, so people know they’re getting a guaranteed quality for their kebabs. That’s ridiculous I know but it was funny to talk about. I walked around and saw the sights with another American, a French girl from Brittany, and an Australian for most of the time I spent in Marseille.
One interesting thing about Marseille is that even though it’s a port city, and has a very multicultural population, there doesn’t seem to be as much racial or cultural tension there compared with London or other cities I’ve been to, for example. There is definitely a lot less tension than American cities like Chicago or Milwaukee have in regards to race. I suppose that is because Marseille has been a hive of multicultural exchange from the beginning. There is still segregation of neighborhoods to an extent but it seemed to be a voluntary thing, in that perhaps the northern African populations felt better sticking together, sharing a common language and cultural values. Maybe I’m being naïve but it’s just the impression that I got.
Watching the sunset over the vieux port, basking the city and the hills beyond in a wonderful golden/red radiance and breathing in the cool sea air, I smiled to myself and knew that I would remember this experience for a long time.
Madrid! 12/13/08 thru 12/17/08
This blog will be the beginning of my winter travel adventures through Europe! I will try to be as detailed in my descriptions as possible. So! I took a bus from Umeå to Stockholm on Friday night, the 12th. It was a night bus and took 9 hours to get to Stockholm so I tried to sleep, but it was to little or no avail. I arrived at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport around 5:10 AM, and my flight to Madrid was scheduled for 8 AM. I figured that customs and getting my luggage checked would take awhile, but it actually ended up taking around 5 minutes to check my bag (if that) and only about 15 minutes to get through customs. Since I thought it would take longer than this I thought I didn’t have time to grab breakfast so I skipped going to the cheaper restaurants outside of the customs area. Nevertheless, I bought a wrap and some orange juice at an overpriced café in the gate area that was able to tide me over for a while. My flight to Madrid was smooth and took about 4 hours, so I got in at around 12:00 PM. My friend Julia was nice enough to meet me at the airport and take the metro with me back to her apartment. The weirdest thing about the Madrid airport was that I didn’t have to go through customs after being on an international flight. I didn’t have to show my passport to anyone. I thought maybe it was because I was traveling in between EU countries but this can’t be since I had to show my passport to officials when I flew to England. In any case that was kind of nice. The metro back to Julia’s apartment took about 45 minutes, and it was great to be able to catch up with her along the way. Her boyfriend Giovanni came along as well to meet me at the airport but unfortunately he was not feeling too well and thus was not that talkative. The Madrid metro is definitely less crowded than the London underground, at least in my opinion, although it can get busy during rush hour obviously. It seems to be in better shape as well. We finally arrived at the appropriate stop and took the steps up out of the metro station to the city above. So I got my first real glimpse of Madrid . . . and it was raining. This was certainly not what I wanted or expected but I knew that it’s bound to happen in winter in this part of Europe. After dropping off my luggage at her apartment and eating a simple lunch of pasta and bread, Julia and I decided to go out and explore the city (per my request) even though it was raining. This made taking pictures harder but I tried in any case. We went to the Plaza Mayor, which is one of the central areas in Madrid and usually has little markets, vendors and performers. It was very quaint. As we walked down Gran Via, one of the main drags in central Madrid, I could not help but notice the sea of umbrellas, and since it was raining pretty heavily I ended buying one from a street vendor for 5 Euros. We also went to the Puerta del Sol, the Gateway of the Sun (not sunny this time!) which is the proverbial center of Madrid. It was a hive of shoppers, parents pushing their children in strollers and the youth getting ready for the manic nightlife that was hours away. We returned to Julia’s apartment after getting some really good pizza at a local shop nearby and started getting ready to go out for the night. Her friends Nadine and Kati came over (both Germans, but speak excellent Spanish) and we had a few shots of a rather tasty apple liquor before putting on our coats and heading out. We started our night at this really alternative tapas bar by having beers and just chatting. The fact that they were all conversing in Spanish was a little annoying but I tried to be patient, and Kati made an effort to talk with me in English which was very nice. I suppose I should have tried to refresh my three years of studying Spanish from high school before I came but oh well. One funny thing is that in Spain Coronas are called Coronitas. Typically Spanish youth start their nights at exactly these types of ‘tapas bars’ which have alcohol as well as tapas which are like the Spanish equivalent of finger food, or little sandwiches served with all sorts of different things; i.e. cheese, olives, different kinds of meat and vegetables. They then move on to the actual clubs no earlier than around 1 AM. This was our plan as well. We left the bar and went to this really fancy club called Pacha. After waiting in line for a little while the bouncer signals for the girls to go in and then stops me. The general policy is unless you’re a girl or a very attractive, well-dressed guy (think Versace or D&G model) you have to pay a cover, or won’t get let in at all. The bouncer didn’t even want to let me in until the girls told him that I was with them. I guess he didn’t appreciate my suedo business hipster look. The girls got in for free and I ended up having to pay 15 Euros, which was kind of ridiculous but I put it out of my mind. The club started really heating up at around 2 AM and started filling with a swarm of attractive, smiling, energetic youth. It was a really big club, with multiple floors and different types of music on each. The main floor was rather huge and the DJ spinned really good house music. We danced for at least a couple of hours, and it was really awesome. The young Madrid crowd doesn’t love to have a good time, they live to.It was absolutely manic. A few Spaniards told me I looked like the guy from the Killers. Exactly which guy they meant I have no idea. We didn’t get home until 4:30 AM, and even then that’s considered an early night. We slept in until around 2:30 PM the next day, and took it easy for a few hours before going out to explore the city again. We kind of went around the same places as the day before, and eventually ended up eating a really great Italian dinner at the restaurant where Julia’s boyfriend works. Some of his roommates work there too, and one of them made the pizza I ate which was SO good. The next day (Monday) was my big sight-seeing/exploring day. Since Julia had school I pretty much was left to my own devices and decided to see as much as I could in one day, which ended up being a lot. It was really quite sunny and warm that day, so I was more motivated. Some of the sights that we had seen earlier, like the Plaza Mayor and the Puerta del Sol were much more attractive, and I took pictures of them again. I went to the Palacio Real and the adjoining Catedral de la Almudena, saw the Metrópolis Building and the Communications Palace, explored El Parque del Buen Retiro and the Plaza de la Independencia, and finished off the day in the Parque de la Montana, which contains Spain’s only Egyptian monument. El Parque del Buen Retiro was really beautiful in my opinion and I definitely took the opportunity to sit for awhile and enjoy the sun and nice weather. Madrid as a city is very warm, not necessarily in terms of weather as it was chilly while I was there, especially at night, but definitely in terms of atmosphere. Everything, from the streets, to the people, to the architecture, just seemed welcoming and inviting. Beautiful Christmas lights and decorations adorn small alleys, everyone that I met greeted me with a cheek to cheek kiss which is really charming, vendors cooked fresh food on street corners and all in all it was definitely a refreshing change of pace from the more reserved nature of Scandinavia. I am very happy that I decided to visit the city and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so again! Perhaps during summer next time though . .
Monday, December 1, 2008
International Week/Trip to Lappland
The last few weeks have been very eventful ones, and I will try my best to recap.
So two weeks ago, the university had its "International Week", which involved tons of great lectures, concerts, films, and food from all over the world served in the various cafes and restaurants around campus. Some of the coolest things that I did were watched a West African group perform, went to a screening of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" which was absolutely packed with international students, went to a lecture about a Swedish doctor's experiences in Sudan, and went to one of the local clubs on campus to see a DJ from Stockholm play all sorts of amazing international music and danced it up with all the friends I've met here. It was a really great week and being as it was the first year that the university has organized a set of events like this, I think that they did a pretty good job.
Last week, I went on a trip to Swedish Lappland to work with the Sami and assist them in their reindeer herding. The Sami are the indigenous people of Scandinavia. The whole trip was organized for a course I am taking as of the moment, Sami History. The department of Philosophical, Religious, and Historical Studies here at the University paid for me and the other students (5 French, 2 Germans, and one Austrian) to travel 4 hours up north to a small Swedish town called Sorsele to stay in a youth hostel for three nights and experience the area. We originally were only supposed to spend a night there, but the Sami who we were going to be working with kept calling our professor and saying that she was forced to delay the actual reindeer separation process, which is when all of the reindeer which are being moved down to the winter grazing areas closer to the coastal area of Sweden, near the Gulf of Bothnia, and have to be split up according to their respective owners. The behavior of the reindeer themselves determine when the separation will take place, as well as the weather so we had to wait a few extra days. But it was totally worth it. When we arrived in Sorsele we had no idea where the hostel was, so I had to call the owner of the hostel and ask for directions. So we were all walking in the snow and cold with our bags and ended up stopping a few Swedes leaving a cafe for directions again. It was then that the owner of the hostel pulled into the parking lot with his car and gave us a ride. He apparently had just left his house to look for us and take us to the hostel himself. And some of the other Swedes gave the rest of the students who couldn't fit into his car rides to the hostel. It was pretty ridiculous how kind they were. I can only help but think that Americans would never do that. At least most wouldn't.
So we arrived at the hostel, and it was way different than we expected. It was an actual house, with a kitchen, bathrooms with showers, a laundry room, multiple bedrooms with lofted (and nice) beds, and a cozy living room/dining room area. We couldn't have been more comfortable. One of the French students brought his guitar, another brought an Irish pan flute, and another brought a bongo drum and we all played music together and it was absolutely amazing. We cooked food together, explored the town, took walks through the woods, had snow fights and overall took it easy. And the best part is that we didn't pay for any of it!! Well, the food of course but that's it.
After staying for two days, we drove 10 km further north to help with the actual reindeer separation. We drove into a forested area expecting to see maybe a few cars. Instead we found dozens of cars, trucks with signs labelled "reindeer transport", in Swedish of course so "rentransport", and an extremely elaborate enclosure system for separating the reindeer. We helped lay hay for the reindeer to eat and then help with the actual separation. There is a central enclosure area where they filter the reindeer in to be separated by the individual Sami owners. They different owners each have their own marks to signify ownership, which they cut into the ears of the reindeer. Each Sami can recognize their own ear marks, even when the reindeer are running around like crazy. It is absolutely crazy, like finding a needle in a haystack. When they have spotted a reindeer that belongs to them, they grab the reindeer by the horns and pull it over to a door to let it into that Sami's respective enclosure area. This doesn't really harm the reindeer, it's probably more of an annoyance to them. They then gave them innoculations against worms and parasites and released them into the separate enclosures. They are really stubborn animals and pretty tough. It took usually three people to separate each individual reindeer.
Oh yeah, and there were about 4,000 reindeer. I have never seen so many animals together in one area.
After we helped with the separation, it was time for the drive home. We were all a bit tired and cold, but felt privileged to have been able to take part in such a cool experience.
One thing that is interesting about the Sami is that they have been legally administered, pushed around, socially and politically discriminated against, and yet even with all of that, the Swedish majority barely knows anything about them. And I'm not talking about the government, but the average person. It's pretty damn embarassing and pathetic. The only comments one of my roommates gave to me were about how a lot of people hate the Sami because the reindeer are all over the roads and cause car accidents. But then of course it was the Swedish government which passed legislation stating that the only economic pursuit that can be pursued by Sami is reindeer herding, otherwise their 'immemorial' rights to land not to mention their identity would not be recognized. It's complete ignorance and really makes me upset. As much as Swedes champion the progressiveness of their society and the Swedish 'welfare-state', they can be just as apathetic and discriminatory as Americans at times.
But all politics aside, it was a very rewarding trip and I am very glad to have done it.
This week will be pretty busy for me. I have just finished writing a final paper for my course on Education and Post-Colonial Societies and have to do two assignments for my Sami History course.
Despite that, I have begun planning my winter break plans. I will be flying to Madrid, Spain on December 13th to visit a friend from the UW for about 4 days. Then I'll be flying to Marseille, France on the 17th to visit the city and enjoy the hopefully (relatively) warm weather of the Mediterrenean. Then I'll be taking a train to Freiburg, Germany to visit another friend from the UW. I'll be staying with her for the Christmas holiday and we'll probably do some day trips around Germany, to see the medieval castles and visit some of the famous Christmas markets. If I have time and money! I may go to Amsterdam to see two other friends from the UW who are doing some European traveling in early January.
We are entering the worst period of the year here in terms of lack of sunlight. The sun sets now at about 2:30 PM and it's only going to get earlier and earlier until the solstice on December 21st. Up in Lappland, the sun was setting at 12:30 PM!! Crazy I know! I've been going to the gym regularly to offset the depression and lack of motivation that can onset during this time, and it's been helping quite well. It's also really cold here, I can't wait to get to Spain and southern France and get some sun and warmth!! At least comparatively speaking.
So two weeks ago, the university had its "International Week", which involved tons of great lectures, concerts, films, and food from all over the world served in the various cafes and restaurants around campus. Some of the coolest things that I did were watched a West African group perform, went to a screening of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" which was absolutely packed with international students, went to a lecture about a Swedish doctor's experiences in Sudan, and went to one of the local clubs on campus to see a DJ from Stockholm play all sorts of amazing international music and danced it up with all the friends I've met here. It was a really great week and being as it was the first year that the university has organized a set of events like this, I think that they did a pretty good job.
Last week, I went on a trip to Swedish Lappland to work with the Sami and assist them in their reindeer herding. The Sami are the indigenous people of Scandinavia. The whole trip was organized for a course I am taking as of the moment, Sami History. The department of Philosophical, Religious, and Historical Studies here at the University paid for me and the other students (5 French, 2 Germans, and one Austrian) to travel 4 hours up north to a small Swedish town called Sorsele to stay in a youth hostel for three nights and experience the area. We originally were only supposed to spend a night there, but the Sami who we were going to be working with kept calling our professor and saying that she was forced to delay the actual reindeer separation process, which is when all of the reindeer which are being moved down to the winter grazing areas closer to the coastal area of Sweden, near the Gulf of Bothnia, and have to be split up according to their respective owners. The behavior of the reindeer themselves determine when the separation will take place, as well as the weather so we had to wait a few extra days. But it was totally worth it. When we arrived in Sorsele we had no idea where the hostel was, so I had to call the owner of the hostel and ask for directions. So we were all walking in the snow and cold with our bags and ended up stopping a few Swedes leaving a cafe for directions again. It was then that the owner of the hostel pulled into the parking lot with his car and gave us a ride. He apparently had just left his house to look for us and take us to the hostel himself. And some of the other Swedes gave the rest of the students who couldn't fit into his car rides to the hostel. It was pretty ridiculous how kind they were. I can only help but think that Americans would never do that. At least most wouldn't.
So we arrived at the hostel, and it was way different than we expected. It was an actual house, with a kitchen, bathrooms with showers, a laundry room, multiple bedrooms with lofted (and nice) beds, and a cozy living room/dining room area. We couldn't have been more comfortable. One of the French students brought his guitar, another brought an Irish pan flute, and another brought a bongo drum and we all played music together and it was absolutely amazing. We cooked food together, explored the town, took walks through the woods, had snow fights and overall took it easy. And the best part is that we didn't pay for any of it!! Well, the food of course but that's it.
After staying for two days, we drove 10 km further north to help with the actual reindeer separation. We drove into a forested area expecting to see maybe a few cars. Instead we found dozens of cars, trucks with signs labelled "reindeer transport", in Swedish of course so "rentransport", and an extremely elaborate enclosure system for separating the reindeer. We helped lay hay for the reindeer to eat and then help with the actual separation. There is a central enclosure area where they filter the reindeer in to be separated by the individual Sami owners. They different owners each have their own marks to signify ownership, which they cut into the ears of the reindeer. Each Sami can recognize their own ear marks, even when the reindeer are running around like crazy. It is absolutely crazy, like finding a needle in a haystack. When they have spotted a reindeer that belongs to them, they grab the reindeer by the horns and pull it over to a door to let it into that Sami's respective enclosure area. This doesn't really harm the reindeer, it's probably more of an annoyance to them. They then gave them innoculations against worms and parasites and released them into the separate enclosures. They are really stubborn animals and pretty tough. It took usually three people to separate each individual reindeer.
Oh yeah, and there were about 4,000 reindeer. I have never seen so many animals together in one area.
After we helped with the separation, it was time for the drive home. We were all a bit tired and cold, but felt privileged to have been able to take part in such a cool experience.
One thing that is interesting about the Sami is that they have been legally administered, pushed around, socially and politically discriminated against, and yet even with all of that, the Swedish majority barely knows anything about them. And I'm not talking about the government, but the average person. It's pretty damn embarassing and pathetic. The only comments one of my roommates gave to me were about how a lot of people hate the Sami because the reindeer are all over the roads and cause car accidents. But then of course it was the Swedish government which passed legislation stating that the only economic pursuit that can be pursued by Sami is reindeer herding, otherwise their 'immemorial' rights to land not to mention their identity would not be recognized. It's complete ignorance and really makes me upset. As much as Swedes champion the progressiveness of their society and the Swedish 'welfare-state', they can be just as apathetic and discriminatory as Americans at times.
But all politics aside, it was a very rewarding trip and I am very glad to have done it.
This week will be pretty busy for me. I have just finished writing a final paper for my course on Education and Post-Colonial Societies and have to do two assignments for my Sami History course.
Despite that, I have begun planning my winter break plans. I will be flying to Madrid, Spain on December 13th to visit a friend from the UW for about 4 days. Then I'll be flying to Marseille, France on the 17th to visit the city and enjoy the hopefully (relatively) warm weather of the Mediterrenean. Then I'll be taking a train to Freiburg, Germany to visit another friend from the UW. I'll be staying with her for the Christmas holiday and we'll probably do some day trips around Germany, to see the medieval castles and visit some of the famous Christmas markets. If I have time and money! I may go to Amsterdam to see two other friends from the UW who are doing some European traveling in early January.
We are entering the worst period of the year here in terms of lack of sunlight. The sun sets now at about 2:30 PM and it's only going to get earlier and earlier until the solstice on December 21st. Up in Lappland, the sun was setting at 12:30 PM!! Crazy I know! I've been going to the gym regularly to offset the depression and lack of motivation that can onset during this time, and it's been helping quite well. It's also really cold here, I can't wait to get to Spain and southern France and get some sun and warmth!! At least comparatively speaking.
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