The Changing of the Guard
I'm in Amsterdam right now, after getting in yesterday afternoon. I know its been a few days since my last post, so I have some filling in to do.
Two days ago, when I was still in Brussels I took a day trip out to Brugge, in the Flanders region of Belgium. This is a pretty common daytrip for tourists in Brussels since there really isn't all that much to see in Brussels, and Brugge has been well preserved as a medieval city. It was pretty neat to walk around the streets which were intersected by a few rivers and look at the old architecture.
When I first arrived in Brugge, there were a lot of people setting up for some type of event in the main square with a lot grandstand seats and a stage. It turns out I had arrived on the day that the command of the Belgian military was to be handed over and there was a big military parade complete with band! I took the opportunity to get a lot of pictures. I also learned when I was in Brugge that Flemish is one hell of a language. I can't understand a word of it, and not everything in Brugge is also in English. I've been taking for granted that so far into my trip I've only spoken English and French which are the two languages I have any training in. I'm starting to realize that China will be a big challenge!
I was only in Brugge for a few hours before I had seen all of the city and decided to take off. On the train ride home I ended up sitting with 3 Argentinean guys. Georges (1) who was the English speaking ringleader, Georges (2) who was the handicam man, and Francisco who was the fat sleepy guy. They were all really nice and very interested in hearing about my trip. Georges even took a quick movie of me after I passed around a bag of chocolates I had picked up in Brugge. They very sincerely wished me well and good luck.
After my day trip to Brugge I went back to Brussels for the night and yesterday came over to Amsterdam. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful enough. Along the way there seemed to be nothing but flat land dotted with windmills - a very typical Dutch landscape.
So far I don't think I've been so amazed by any city in Europe more than Amsterdam. First of all, my Hostel is in one of the townhouses along one of the main canals. The city is absolutely beautiful too! The one down side is that with all the canals each street corner starts to look just like the last and it becomes really difficult to get around without a map.
The best part of Amsterdam so far though, is that everyone here rides bicycles. Yesterday, as I sat eating dinner at a sidewalk restaurant I must have been passed by a couple thousand riders. It seems like the whole population of Amsterdam is constantly circling around on their bikes! The truly impressive part of the whole bike thing however, is that everything flows so smoothly. I guess when you live your whole life riding a bike around town you have to learn how to make traffic work. I think I might rent a bicycle tomorrow and try my hand at it.
In the meantime I'm about to get some lunch (hopefully cheap) and then go to the Van Gogh museum which is supposed to be excellent.
Take Care,
Andrew
Two days ago, when I was still in Brussels I took a day trip out to Brugge, in the Flanders region of Belgium. This is a pretty common daytrip for tourists in Brussels since there really isn't all that much to see in Brussels, and Brugge has been well preserved as a medieval city. It was pretty neat to walk around the streets which were intersected by a few rivers and look at the old architecture.
When I first arrived in Brugge, there were a lot of people setting up for some type of event in the main square with a lot grandstand seats and a stage. It turns out I had arrived on the day that the command of the Belgian military was to be handed over and there was a big military parade complete with band! I took the opportunity to get a lot of pictures. I also learned when I was in Brugge that Flemish is one hell of a language. I can't understand a word of it, and not everything in Brugge is also in English. I've been taking for granted that so far into my trip I've only spoken English and French which are the two languages I have any training in. I'm starting to realize that China will be a big challenge!
I was only in Brugge for a few hours before I had seen all of the city and decided to take off. On the train ride home I ended up sitting with 3 Argentinean guys. Georges (1) who was the English speaking ringleader, Georges (2) who was the handicam man, and Francisco who was the fat sleepy guy. They were all really nice and very interested in hearing about my trip. Georges even took a quick movie of me after I passed around a bag of chocolates I had picked up in Brugge. They very sincerely wished me well and good luck.
After my day trip to Brugge I went back to Brussels for the night and yesterday came over to Amsterdam. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful enough. Along the way there seemed to be nothing but flat land dotted with windmills - a very typical Dutch landscape.
So far I don't think I've been so amazed by any city in Europe more than Amsterdam. First of all, my Hostel is in one of the townhouses along one of the main canals. The city is absolutely beautiful too! The one down side is that with all the canals each street corner starts to look just like the last and it becomes really difficult to get around without a map.
The best part of Amsterdam so far though, is that everyone here rides bicycles. Yesterday, as I sat eating dinner at a sidewalk restaurant I must have been passed by a couple thousand riders. It seems like the whole population of Amsterdam is constantly circling around on their bikes! The truly impressive part of the whole bike thing however, is that everything flows so smoothly. I guess when you live your whole life riding a bike around town you have to learn how to make traffic work. I think I might rent a bicycle tomorrow and try my hand at it.
In the meantime I'm about to get some lunch (hopefully cheap) and then go to the Van Gogh museum which is supposed to be excellent.
Take Care,
Andrew
posted by Andrew at
6:13 AM
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