Bob in Europe

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Pictures

Get this - I took over 150 pictures today. Today.

Here is a quick upload of a few.

Not a single wasted minute

I am exhausted, and coming down off of the adreline rush of a day in Paris, so here goes. Much thanks to Frommers for laying out the 1-day in Paris recommendation, it worked well.

Set the alarm for 8am in case my body wanted to sleep in, and that's what my body ended up wanting to do. Set out immediately for the Louvre, grabbing a croissant before I got into the Metro.

Louvre opened at 9am, so arriving at 8:45, I'm not that far back in the line. A few minutes after 9, I'm in and walking to the second floor to see the Mona Lisa first thing.

First impressions of the Lourve are it's big. Really really big. It takes quite a while to walk up to the 2nd level and back to the Italian/Spanish paintings. The Mona Lisa is prominently displayed in the center of a large room, and really is quite fun to see. The Louvre has placards in place in several languages that you take at the room entrance and dropped back off at the room exit. On it, it describes the pieces of art in the room, the artist, etc. Reading about a painting while you're actually staring at it is damn cool. The famous smile is worth the 8 Euros in of itself. (Side note - that's about 10 bucks. 10 bucks! How much does the Joselyn charge an adult? Talk about value for your money).

Wander around the Lourve for about an hour and a half. See many paintings and sculptures that are immediately recognizable. The Venus de Milo is beautiful. The Mesopotamia section is stunning. The Greek scupltures are amazing. On and on and on.

Exiting the Louvre, I make my way to the river Siene and walk back upriver. It's a beautiful day in the 70s, all the trees and flowers are in bloom, and the city is alive with people. I cross the Siene on Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the city, and wander through a small park, the Vert-Galant Square. Walking again upriver, I walk through another pretty park, Place Dauphine, where I watch a group of folks get pencil sketching lessons.

Moving upriver, I hit the gothic chapel, Sainte-Chapelle. 13th century church famous for it's upper chapel's stained glass. 10 or so panels of stained glass, maybe 10 feet wide and 40 feet high. Huge. Each panel has 48 individual panels, those made of tiny pieces of colored glass, and each telling a story from the old and new testament. In fact, walking west to east, they are in chronological order from Adam and Eve to Jesus. Since it was a sunny day, the room was filled with an eerie glowing light.

Walked across the river to the left bank, and stopped for a beer (yes, it was only 11:30 or so, but what the hell) at a busteling square - Place St-Michel. Great place to sit and watch people - lots of shops, etc.

Walked back across the river to the island and visited Cathedrale Notre-Dame. Incredible gothic architecture on the outside. Tomblike on the inside. Neat to think that Paris started in this very spot, on this very island.

Jumped on the Metro and made my way to Place de la Concorde, an Egyptian obelisk that is the oldest object made by humans in Paris (1200 BC). This was the spot that the guillotine was used during the French Revolution.

Walked up Champs-Elysees all the way to Arc de Triomphe, about 2 miles. No wonder it's the most famous walk in Paris - wide street built for prominading, park after park after park along it's banks, shopping, cafes, etc. As you get closer to the Arc de Triomphe, the streetscape turns pretty upscale, with granite shopping malls on both sides. Love the fact that both the French and German army have marched down that street in victory.

The Arc de Triomphe is, of course, beautiful. I purchased a ticket to walk to the top, and that I did. Awesome views of Paris from the top, especially looking back down the street I just walked up. Good view of the Eiffel tower as well.

Speaking of, I jump on the Metro and make my way to the Eiffel tower. Quite a thing to see for the first time. Arriving at it's base, I have the further benefit of some great people watching, as a large crowd as gathered under the tower. Evidently there is some world cup soccer stuff going on, because several groups of fans from the national teams have gathered for an impromptu rally. The italians sing their national anthem for a while, and chant and stomp and jump and sing, all the while everyone else is booing. Then the french fans will sing ans jump and stop and chant, and the other teams' fans are booing. It's an awesome site.

I purchase a ticket, and start climbing. Reaching the second level, I purchase yet another ticket that I believed would take me all the way to the top. Arriving on 3rd level, I get in yet another long line to the elevator. After about 40 minutes, I arrive at the elevator only to be told that I needed to by a third ticket. Damn damn damn. I have to then exit the "special" door, evidently just for dumb americans. Oh well, the view from the 3rd level was spectacular.

Make my way back down, buy a hotdog and pop, and sit in the park and watch people. By the way, in France a hotdog is a sliced piece of french bread with 2 links.

Wander through the park, back to a metro station, and go back to the hotel to rest up before dinner. After about an hour, I head back out to Isle St. Louis, the other of the 2 islands in the middle of the Sienne. This island is a little more upscale. I stop and eat at a cafe right between the 2 islands, and have a very nice, long dinner. I made a point to order food I've never had before, and was mostly successfull. The snails were good, the duck entrails where bad. Trust me, it didn't say "duck entrails" on the menu.

It's now dark, so I decide that my last stop will be the Eiffel tower again. I've read it's stunning at night. Metro over, and holy crap, stunning isn't the word. I've got a small video I took that I will post. Not only is the tower completely lit up, but every hour they turn on thousands of little lights that twinkle, making the entire tower sparkle. I really can't do it justice with my words. I work my way back over the Siene to get a good view of the tower. Amazing stuff.

After I stair (yep, just stairing) at the tower for a while, I slowly wander back through the park and to the Metro, where I head back to the hotel. Tomorrow I pack and leave.

Overall, my impression of Paris today couldn't have been more positive. I've not seen a more beautiful city. You could spend a year in the inner city, and not find every street. There are 10 cafes on every block. History at every corner. Love it, love it, love it. The only negative was not having Heather with me, especially felt wandering around at night. Paris is a city made for 2, and it was kind of empty not getting to share such amazing sights with her.

Tomorrow is the travel home, so I bid farewell to the blog. Pictures will come soon.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Arriving in Paris

As I said a earlier, I had very little time to catch my train. Class got out at 3:30, and luckily our taxi driver was crazy, so I made it to my platform with 15 minutes to spare. I've said it before, but how nice is public transport in Europe? The time between when the train came to a stop, folks got off, folks got on, and the train pulled away was literally 10 minutes. Try that on a plane!

After a 4 hour ride, I arrived at Gare de Nord in Paris, which was bustling on a Friday night. I purchased a 3 day Metro pass (8 euros), and then stared at the Metro map for quite a while while trying to figure out where to go. I finally got things figured out, went through the turnstiles, and found the correct Metro line. Unfortunatly, once we reached the first station, I realized I was going the wrong way. I stepped off, relooked at the map before it dawned on me that you also have to look at the final station to get the right direction. Duh. Found the correct train, and off I went.

Arrived at Place de Bastille, a georgous tower in a roundabout type of public square. Walked in a bit of a circle before finally finding my hotel, Place de Vosgues (my French friend taught me the pronunciation - deh vooshz). The hotel couldn't be better suited for me - small, hard to find, great general location, tiny and full of character.

Checked in, then made my way back to Place de Bastille where I had dinner at a cafe while watching the city. The few blocks I've seen so far couldn't be prettier, and are teeming with cafe's, little shops, and architecture everwhere.

Off to bed to rest up for the big touring day tomorrow.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Goodbye Amsterdam, Part deux

After the museum, we began our search for a restaraunt and settled on a Japanese steakhouse. Chuck is absolutely right, Holland really doesn't have it's own food. We made our way to the back to the area where they cook your meal in front of you on the big grill with all the fancy foodwork. The plan was to eat dinner and make it back to the hotel at a decent time, but the 10 course japanese meal put the kabash on that plan. A couple of things - first time having sushi, and I love it, and japanese beer is very good.

After 3 hours or so, dinner was done, so we made out way back to the station by way of the Red Light District. Another European/American difference - no way in America would I or anyone else feel comfortable walking down that type of neighborhood with a mixed gender group of work peers. It's totally geared toward drugs and sex, and in American the undertone of sexual harrasement would reign supreme. In Europe, the idea of sexual harrasement is laughed at by the women. They view us Americans taking the issue to the highest extreme. In addition, the general attitude towards sex in Europe is more laid back.

Anyway, the Red Light District was, of course, fascinating. A georgous canal street with block after block of prostitution houses, coffee shops, and sex shops. The uniqueness of the street is the hookers advertising their goods in the window. If you were so inclined, you could legally go get high and buy a threesome. Amsterdam is, without a doubt, my new #1 city for people watching.

Our detour into the Red Light District caused us to miss the last airport shuttle one we returned to Schipol, so we split a cab and made it back in the early am.

Goodbye Amsterdam

Quick entry before class starts.

My new friends insisted on joining me to the Anne Frank Musuem (Anne Frank Haus) after class. Same route as yesterday - shuttle/train to Amsterdam Centraal Station, then a 15 minute walk to the house, which is on one of the outer canal rings.

The fact that I was visiting this particular house with 2 Germans wasn't lost on me, and funny enough, it wasn't lost on them either. Some nervous joking on their part that if anyone speaks to us on the tour, that I had to do the talking.

A bit of a line outside the house, but it moved quickly, and 8 euros later we were walking inside. It's a very controlled tour, with a single pathway working updwards into the canal house, and into the back annex were Anne and 7 others hid for 2 years. For anyone that has read the diary, it's a powerful experience, as a lot of the house is unchanged, and Anne's room where she wrote most of her diary still has pictures of old movie stars pasted to the walls, as the blank wall reinforced the dispair they all felt. 2 years they peeked out the thick curtains, always thinking the Germans would find them.

...........

Sorry, will have to update late. Class is winding to an end, and I need to catch the train. I don't know how I messed up the timing, but my train leaves at 4:15, and class gets out at 3:30.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Amsterdam last night

I'll just do the narrative for now, and fill in my observations later in the day...

Finished up class at our normal 5:30, shuttle back to hotel, met the group (9 out of 16 in the class) in the lobby for a night out in Amsterdam. Took the shuttle to the airport, then purchased a 7 Euro ticket on the local train (Sneltraain) to the downtown station.

Unfortunatly, we got on the wrong train, which was made funnier because we were relying on one member of the group that is Dutch and quite familiar with Amsterdam. We had to exit the train at the next station and return to Schipol, then get on the correct train. Again, the public transportation is so convenient, although a little pricey here.

We took a long walk looking for a restaraunt. Amsterdam is an interesting combination of old buildings with nice architecture, a large canal system, and a seedy underbelly of pubs, shops, sex shops, and the famous coffee houses. This much without even walking through the red light district, which I plan to do tonight. I would relate Amsterdam to a Bourbon Street that was allowed to grow unfettered and include light drugs and prostitution.

Unfortunetly, the group decided to stop in a very touristy Venezualan steak place, where the menu was actually in Spanish. Ironic that I just returned from vacation where I was ordering in Spanish, fly across the Atlantic to northern Europe, and do the same thing. The food was good, though, and the main intent to get to know the folks in class was definitely met.

Afterwords, we took shop in an Irish pub to drink Guiness and watch the England/Spain futball match. The pub was packed, and it made for a really good time watching the sport with Europeans who love the game. The atmosphere allowed Guiness to grow on me as well.

The last shuttle between the airport and the hotel was at 12:10am, so we took a street car back to Central Staation, hopped backed on the train, and returned to the airport just in time to catch the shuttle. Returning to the hotel, we had another round of drinks, with the discussion revolving around my visit to Paris this weekend. I've found when Europeans hear that I only have 1 day in Paris, they are not afraid of offering up opinions on how to spend the day. Almost no one has the same advice, and it ranges from drinking Cafe au late all day and watching people to taking a train to Versailles. Everyone agrees, though, that Paris is one of the finest cities in the world.

The 1:30am bedtime made for another rude wakeup, but no worries here mate.

A new day

Got a good nights sleep last night, and looking forward to getting into the center of the city tonight. My hotel and restaurant are all very European-modern, with techno-music, strangely alien architecture and uncomfortable chairs. The whole world there reminds me of the old "sprockets" Saturday Night Live sketch where Mike Myers wanted you to touch his monkey.

I didn't know until yesterday, but this is the home of Heiniken. I have no plans on taking the time, but I hear the plant tour is fascinating.

Sounds like I didn't miss out on any wild times with the group last night. Talking with the Spanish guy on my team, and he indicated they took the train downtown, had a hard time finding a resteraunt, didn't really enjoy the food, and returned home about 9:30. I expected more glowing language when I asked about their trip. I'm torn between going out with the group tonight and building those relationships, or heading out by myself and seeing more of the city.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Dude I found my nap

It was a tough decision, but I've decided to just go to bed tonight. I was pretty ineffective this afternoon in class due to lack of sleep, and I need a night to switch my clock around. I'll hit the red light district tomorrow night.

One note from class today - the 2 French guys love to dispute everything the instructor says. These 2 guys are all 5-oclock shadowin', fashionable shoes wearin, B.O. smellin, fronting huge attitudes dudes. I hope to go out with them tomorrow night and discuss politics.

Rapidly increasing rate

Just a thought - up until this trip, I've been to 2 countries in my life. Yesterday, I visited 3.

Dude where's my nap

When my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, my body said it was 11:30pm. Ouch.

As a side note, I saw some totally cool running trails just outside of the city on my way in last night. How I would love to log an outdoor run in the Netherlands.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Arrived in Amsterdam

After 2 flights, 2 train rides, and a couple of subway rides, I've arrived at my hotel in Amsterdam. Nothing special, it's just off the airport and is nice and steril. My training is next door.

After 24 hours of travel, I finally smell like everyone else here. If I would get a pair of funky bowling shoes and pick up smoking, I'd blend into the background like a good camoflouge.

A final note - Chuck is right. I've yet to see a fat European.

Nighty night.

Having a Hoegaarden in Brussels

Hard to believe I left the house yesterday at 1pm, it's now 3:30pm the next day in Brusells and I still have traveling left to do.

Pretty smooth so far. Good flight to NYC, then the long overnight to Paris. Paris was damp and about 50 degrees when we landed, and Charles De Gaulle is one of the dumpier airports I've seen. Luckily, everything was pretty easy to find, as I had less than an hour from the time I landed before my train to Brussels left.

The high speed train I took to Brussels was comfy and quick - 170 mph according to the announcement. I had a 2nd class ticket, but it had more room than my coach seat on the flight over.

The French/Belgium countryside was very pretty - low, rolling hills of farmland that was in a similar stage of spring as Iowa. One difference I did notice was that the farmland and houses in general were much better maintained that in the US - everything was neat and tidy.

As we rolled to a stop in Brussels, I realized I handn't printed out any of my stuff for Brussels - no map, no points of interest, nothing, nada. Once off the train, I exchange 20 bucks for some Euros, since I couldn't find an ATM anywhere, stored my larger backpack in a locker, and went downstairs to the Metro. Since I only had a vague idea that I wanted to go to the center of town, I literally asked the guy behind the counter "I'd like to go to the center of town". Even his little English couldn't help me there. I finally just looked at the Metro map, found where I was, and bought a day pass for 5 Euros that would take me anywhere. I picked out the station that looked like it was in the middle of the city, and got on the subway.

Got lucky, as I found myself in downtown Brussels when I re-emerged to street level. As expected, lots of neat architecture around and quite a bit of folks out and about. Almost all of the shops were closed - is Monday a rest day in Belgium? Took a small stroll, then found a small pub with outdoor seating where I currently sit, using the Internet access of the Hotel Metropole across the street.

So far, I'm not running into tons of folks who speak English in Brussels. I had to resort to pointing at the menu at the pub I'm currently at. The fish they brought me was good, though.

I'll update from Amsterdam tonight.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Welcome

What else? Another travel blog, this time about my business trip to Europe. Here's the plan:

1. Fly to NYC, then Paris, arriving Monday morning, April 17th.
2. Train to Brussels for a pretty quick dinner and walk.
3. Train to Amsterdam.
4. Training (Malcom Baldridge assessor training for those in the know) until Friday afternoon.
5. Train to Paris, arriving Friday night.
6. My one free day - Saturday in Paris.
7. Sunday at noon flight to houston, then home that night.

Hopefully I introduced just enough uncertainty around the business trip to make it interesting.

Next post from the road...