As I have already talked about the start of my trip through
Eindhoven and
Amsterdam, I'll start off with
Den Haag. I'm just finished writing and am looking back on this whole post - it has turned out to be pretty epic, so you might want to break-up the read a bit. . .
I just planned on stopping over for the afternoon, with the M.C. Escher Gallery as my only priority. As usual a brief walk through the center of the town led to a few photo ops, but as expected, the gallery was the highlight. It was cool to see all of the originals, as well as a ton of his lesser known works from when he was younger. Definitely worth checking out if you are ever in the area.
Evening train to
Rotterdam.
My opinion of Rotterdam is pretty well summed up by the pictures that I took. If it were a car, it would be a Miata - it's trying hard to "be cool", but in the end it's just an unoriginal sports car wannabe. Due to the fact that it was bombed to the ground during WWII, then rebuilt anew over the past 60 years, it has a weird mix of style and architecture (none of it being historic or all that interesting). I arrived on Halloween night and the city was dead. I managed to get in to a museum and see some of works my Magritte (the guy that paints the guy in the Bowler Hat, as seen in The Thomas Crown Affair). Unfortunately I didn't get to see that one - I did see "Ceci n'est pas une pipe". I was the only backpacker at the hostel (which took me an hour in the dark and rain to find - didn't actually find the one I had planned on staying at), so needless to say, it wasn't a very social night. In the morning I had planned a walking tour around the city, but by the time I made it a tenth of the way I passed the train station and bailed - on to
Antwerp!
Aside from Amsterdam, I had decided to not book hostels ahead of time. When I got to a city/town I would ask around and find a place that way. After my negative experience in Rotterdam I should have learned my lesson; however, I didn't.
That boarded up building in my pictures is the hostel that I had planned on staying at. They were still listed online, but it said that they weren't taking internet bookings - turns out they aren't taking any bookings at all . . . So I left the Jewish Quarter, took a left at the Diamond District and made my way through the Islamic Neighborhood and found myself at a bar downtown with a small "Hostel" sign on the door. The guy that answered was a bit hesitant when I asked for a room, but after learning that I was Canadian he welcomed me right in. Apparently they already had one American staying there for the night and he didn't want more than that, haha. I toured around the city with that American guy, then hung out at the hostel bar all night with the rest of the people staying there that night. The place was an old house, converted into a local bar downstairs and big open rooms with bunk beds upstairs. The only problem was the treacherous spiral staircase between floors - the picture doesn't do it justice at all. The owner of the place was great. He told us all about the area over a free round of beer, then played accordion while a few girls from the town highland danced. When we finally took off to bed the house was freezing cold and we couldn't figure out how to work the heat, so I put on a few pairs of socks, a sweatshirt and my toque and climbed into bed - all things considered, this place was great for it's character alone. I hit up more of the sights in the morning before taking off and would highly recommend Antwerp as a must-see stop through the area, especially in the summer.
All along the trip up to this point I had been asking people about the places I was planning on stopping, and at the bottom of every single list was
Brussels. Everyone said it was boring, expensive and to just skip over it. I decided to take a look for myself as I had to change trains there to get down to Luxembourg anyways.
Contrary to every description I had received, the city turned out to be a great stop over - so much so that I ended up staying a night each time I passed through (3 in total). Van Damme should be proud. Although it is a bot like Rotterdam with it's modern buildings and business atmosphere, but it has a ton of history built in too. The Grote Markt (central square) and Botanical Gardens were great places to hang out and take in the scenery. Even the people that I met at the hostel there were enjoying the city - lots of bars. Apparently the Bierhuis (beer house) has 3000 types of beer offered and the menu is as thick as a dictionary, with descriptions of each brew included. Too bad it was closed the nights I was there - I had to settle for a few 50cl cans of Jupiler for €0.50 each to wash down my kebab. Oh kebab, how I love thee - easily the cheapest and most filling food I found anywhere. Along with a Falafel or Donair to switch things up a bit, I was set.
I don't know what the deal is with Maniquin Pis, but it was a huge tourist draw. I was much more concerned with the Belgian fries (with mayo or curry ketchup, dealers choice), Belgian beer, Belgian waffles and to top it off Belgian chocolate! They all truely live up to their reputation, although I'm not a big fan of the lambics (spontaneous fermentation from wild yeasts and bacteria in the local region) - a lot are fruity and often sour.
It was now the half-way point in my trip and I was a bit unsure if I should actually travel all the way down to Luxembourg. Germany and France were much closer, and I figured they would probably have more to offer. However, I had come this far and who knows when I'll "be in the neighborhood" to pop down and visit again. On my way I stopped at the only major town,
Liege, just to see what was there. I wouldn't say it was a mistake, but definitely an experience. There wasn't a whole lot there, and without a map of any sort and unable to find the tourist office, I was on my own. I had heard there was a great look-out, so with my full pack I went searching. I didn't give it much thought before hand, but a great view means a steep climb, but I was there, so I had to do it. The stairs were the steepest part of it, but the road leading to them was a lot longer than I had anticipated. In the end I was more than happy to get back on a train for a few hours before I had to get out and walk in
Luxembourg City.
Speechless. Luxembourg City is like something straight out of a fairy tale. A great stone-walled city with thousand year old towers on every corner, overlooking gapeing valleys. You really have to see it to believe it. I had originally planning on going down just to check out the Hamm Cemetery (American WWII) and Sandwielder (German WWII), but city itself made the trip down worth while (even if I couldn't afford to eat a decent meal). Although it is
tiny, Luxembourg is one of the richest nations in the EU, and it shows. Walking around the city square dinner is advertised at €65 per plate. The had a few places similar to Milestones/Red Robins/White Spot, but even there mains started at €15. However, they did have ONE fast-food place and it was, of course, McDonalds. This place was packed all the time, day and night, because of the fact it had a €1 menu. This alone saved my bank account in the 2 and a half days I was there. I wasn't too worried about the "Super Size Me" effect too much either. Especially after I decided to skip the train and walk to the cemeteries (30km round-trip), I feel I worked off the burgers - I didn't know how far it was until about the 8km mark on the way out there. It was worth every step though. It's unbelievable to see the field of crosses and take the whole thing in. Then to compare the American cemetery to the German one was another experience in itself. Hamm was all about honoring the individual sacrifice of those that had died (5,000 at this cemetery), giving each man his own cross, with a huge memorial at the entrance. Sandwelder, on the other hand, was dedicated to strength as a group and pride toward the Fatherland. All men were buried in groups and the single monument was dedicated all the people of Germany, not just the military. The next day I went on a self-guided walking tour of the city, but it just so happens that it closed the week before. I didn't think I would run into any problems, but after getting stuck on an active train bridge, climbing over a stone wall and through barbed wire (finishing by stepping in dog crap), I was proven wrong. I got in a bunch of night pictures before heading back to the hostel, then left for Belgium in the morning.
Next stop on the list was
Bruge. My feet were in pretty rough shape at this point (I'll spare you the picture), so a slow day in the city was perfect. That night I was the only one in my 8-bed room and almost had to eat dinner at the bar alone, but I met solo traveller from Australia just before I sat down. Turns out she just finished 8 months of working in Ireland (Cork to be exact), so I heard all about life here. The next morning we went to all the highlights of the city before she left for Germany. It was Wednesday and this just happened to be the day of the big markets in the town. The fish market at the canal was handing out free samples, and the main square was filled with poultry, meat, spices, fresh fruit and veggies, flowers and sweets. It seemed like the whole town was out doing their shopping. I can only assume that this is the main spot that they get their food, because I failed to find anything more than a small corner store in all my wandering around. Bruge, as it stands now, is the most beautiful old town I have seen. It is a bit touristy, but doesn't have big chain stores and all the rest, like most places do (it doesn't even have a McDonalds - first place I've been to so far that doesn't). Old windmills, cathedrals, market squares and clock towers - it has everything a small town should. When I was in Antwerp a Australian couple recommended a brew tour to me, so I had to check that out before I left. The woman doing the tour rattled off information in Dutch, French and English (as you must speak these, plus German, to be a "true" Belgian), led us up to a great view of the city from the roof, then gave us a glass of beer to finish everything off. A great deal for €3! The couple had also told me to check out the "Party at Willy's House". Apparently every Saturday night there is a huge house party in the mayors old house from 9-2am. Everyone is invited and it is supposed to be one of the best parties around. Unfortunately it only happens one day a week and I was out of luck - next stop was
Ghent.
My first REAL castle. Straight across the canal from my hostel was Grevensteen Castle (1180) - this was my first stop after dropping off my bag. It was cool to see the way everything was laid out, including the dungeon and torture chamber. In a rush to get as much in as possible I took off to the Belfry/Clock Tower to get a full view of the city from above. There were a ton of old buildings, including a church that was supposed to have a giant steeple, except they just never got around to building it. I was dead tired and went to bed early because I had to be up at 6am to catch a train in the morning, but it turns out that Ghent is a huge University town (~50,000 students and a bunch of schools). I realized this when I was walking to the train and the bars were still packed full at 7am. Thursday and Friday nights everyone is out, but the weekends are completely dead because everyone goes home.
The reason for my early morning train trip was the Remembrance/Armistice Day ceremony in Ypres (Ieper) - Flanders Fields. I arrived in the town right on time with about a thousand other people, but soaking wet and freezing cold from the early walk to the train. I had some free tea and cookies, then scouted out a spot at the Menin Gate for the ceremony. The whole thing wasn't quite up to what I had expected (not a very long procession and the marching was pretty sloppy), but moving nonetheless. It was mainly focused on the British contribution of WWI, but all of the Commonwealth was represented, with a surprizingly large Sikh representation. At one I met up with a
tour group for the afternoon - most highly recommended sight so far. I was blown away (pardon the pun) after the first stop - the bunker where John McCray opereated and wrote In Flanders Fields. We also went to Vancouver Corner to see the Canadian Monument, drove along the area where gas was first used, walked through the actual trenches at Hill 62 and visited Allied/German Cemeteries. There are 150 cemeteries in a 10km area (only one is German). The Commonwealth burial grounds were a gift from Belgium for eternity (each one marked by a Sword of sacrifice), but the German ground were only leased for 35 years, then revoked. At this point they had to gather their dead and put them all in one place, Langemark. There are 45,000 bodies in this small cemetery; 22,000 are buried in a mass crypt in the center surrounded by tablets with all of their names inscribed.) Last month 3 were added to the crypt, as farmers still turn up live ordinance and bodies when they plow their fields each season. These are just left a the side of the road for authorities to pick up, but quite a few people still die each year from gas and bombs that are more than 80 years old. Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world with 55,000 men buried. Again, it was very open like the American Hamm Cemetery. I could go on and on about what we saw on the tour, but will spare you. I stayed in town for the Last Post ceremony which has been done every single night at 8pm for the past 80 years, except for the time of German occupation during WWII. I met up with a bunch of Canadians on the train ride back to Ghent that night (all studying in Belgium and the UK - 2 were Rhodes Scholars at Oxford). Surprizingly this was the first that I had met any Canadians in my 5 weeks of traveling on my own. Everyone else that I met had seen a TON of Canucks, but somehow I missed them all.
I'll spare more of the details, but the next morning, after 5 hours waiting in a hostel, 4 hours on a train, an hour on the bus, 19 hours in an airport and a 2 hour flight, I was back in Dublin; only to go to the Garda Immigration Office to wait 3 hours for my residency card. But, thankfully, that is all over with. Oh the things you will do for cheap airfare (my flight was C$20); however my residency permit for the next year was €100. Tomorrow I plan on getting a cell phone, and I have my Student Work Abroad Orientation at 11am. Hopefully I'll be set after that to start applying for work for the next few months. It'll be great to settle down a bit and have more structure to my life for a while (especially knowing where I am going to sleep more than 3 nights in advance).
Future travel plans are already in the works - lots of weekend trips to surrounding areas in Ireland (it's only 3 hours by train to the west coast), probably here alone for Christmas, but I'm looking at going to Edinburgh for New Years (Hogmanay). Maybe down to Italy in January with Susan to see Alannah, then Portugal/Spain/France/Germany around March.
I hope this provided entertainment, or at least a good source of procrastination from whatever you should be doing. It was great to think back on the past few weeks, but I hope in the future I am able to space out these post a bit more - I feel like I just wrote a novel. . .
