Going East

On my second day in the Netherlands I visited Amsterdam, about 30 minutes by bus from Edam. My hopes for this day were not in the cards, but I had a great day in the city despite.

I began my day by trying to get tickets to the Anne Frank House outside. After taking a bus and a tram I made it to the house only to find out the tickets were sold, these tickets go out fast and are often sold months in advance. I took it in stride and continued to the Van Gogh Museum in a museum quarter of the city. The Van Gogh museum was also sold out, but I did obtain tickets for Thursday so stay tuned. Being quite discouraged from these two adventures I went to a cafe and bought an espresso to regroup.

---

Ruminating over the caffeinated cup I decided to reset my day and try again, agility is an incredible asset to travel. I ate a quick lunch and headed back to the museum quarter to see the premiere art museum of Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum. An incredible museum with works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Bruegel, the Rubens, and other antiquities from the Dutch India Trading Empire. The best thing to see is the Nightwatch by Rembrandt which they are x-raying live as you are in the museum. This painting is huge, I don’t know the dimensions but I’d say at least 16 ft high by maybe 20 ft, it’s big and the tale of the x-ray is worthwhile.

After the museum I wasn’t sure what to do, I spent some time in the large park in the center of the museum district and relaxed for a bit.

I made up my mind to explore the contemporary art museum, the Stedelijk Museum, as a break from the traditional works I’ve seen on my trip. I don’t know what to say, I enjoyed the slower pace and the lack of crowds but I’m not sure if these people are making art. It appears that modern art is more like anti-art, a need to express that which is not art as traditionally seen in a museum. It is perhaps more of a conceptual exercise or thought experiment than art and is destined only for present criticism. I don’t know …but the building looks cool.

It was getting late by the time I left the museum so I made my way back toward city center and in search of a cafe for a caffeine boost. I wandered into the Cafe de Wetering by chance and was met with a very traditional bar sans coffee, I settled in for a drink instead and became a fly on the wall for some time. This cafe was such a good experience the people were incredibly nice and affable, as all the folks I’ve met in the Netherlands are, really a very pleasant people.

I enjoyed a steak dinner in Amsterdam central as the sun set and was told by my waiter the brief history of this road. It’s one of the oldest streets and and the properties are owned by the King, as is most of the district.

I left Amsterdam with a great impression, it is a unique city so far as I’ve seen and the people are truly exceptional. Tomorrow I head to the open cheese market of Edam and the traditional town of Zaanse Schans.

I spent the day locally with a bike ride up the coast of the Markermeer to another town called Hoorn, a home base of the Dutch trading empire. It was a very pleasant ride through the country. It’s mostly cow and sheep farms peppered by small villages until you get to the larger town of Hoorn. Dotted throughout the scenic ride are monuments to water engineering, each with an info-board about when it was made and what it does. I haven’t read too much on the area but I know that it is punctuated by it’s water management.

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting Amsterdam, hopping on the train early to see if I can get tickets to the Anne Frank Museum. I’ll be stopping at some art and history museums as well, so stay tuned.

I don’t know what I expected but Edam is the quintessential dutch country town. As I left the bus station I enter the town and immediately faced with a small canal and little row houses. It is beautiful here, really it’s so ideal it’s a bit wild that it exists.

I’m staying in the attic loft of a music shop. From my window I face a square and another canal way through town.

After a quick lunch/dinner I went for a long walk past the harbor and along a dyke that was built for the Markermeer, a kind of semi saltwater inlet.

I’m excited to explore this small town and the towns next door. I’ll be taking a bike out today to do just that.

My shoes are water resistant not water proof as I found out when I hiked a mile in a torrential downpour. I knew when the heat broke that there would be showers as there always are but I didn’t expect the amount, not that I wasn’t grateful to have the break from the incredible heat!

It has been easy to reach all the landmarks here in Brussels, I mostly did them on the first day. On this day I wanted to visit the Brussels Museum inside the incredible Grand-Place. It was an informative museum about this old land but new country, particularly the burning of Brussels in the 1600’s.

After the museum I ate at a local restaurant and had some sort of chicken in a cherry creme sauce, it was a bit odd.

From lunch I began my soaking journey to the Cinquantenaire Park. A massive park with an arch and two curved wings jutting out from it, similar to Palais de Chaillot I saw in Paris but on a smaller scale.

That sort of took the day, the park is on the other side of town. I ate dinner in a local trendy burger place and had some beer. The beer here is really the best I’ve ever had.

So far Brussels has been my favorite city. Either I’m getting more comfortable being on the road and dealing with the customs of people or I just enjoy the smaller local, probably both.

On my first day in Brussels I slept in a little late but was treated to a breakfast at the place I’m staying, which was great! After breakfast I went out into the city to see the Grand Place, The Comic Book Center Museum, and St. Micheal’s Cathedral.

On my way to the city center and the Grand Place I passed the National Gallery, afraid of the same mistake I’d made in Paris I seized the opportunity to visit. The most impressive works were the Peter Bruegel, but many Flemish painters were represented. A real surreal experience came when I turned a corner on a completely empty room and was face to face with The Death of Marat, striking painting that I remember from both art class and history. What was so strange, beside seeing the work, is that there wasn’t a soul in the room.

As you walk through Brussels you are struck by Graffiti both really well done Murals and tags. Graffiti is all over the place.

After the art museum I wandered through the Grand Place though I decided to leave the museum until tomorrow. It is a striking square, you are walking in a typical curved street and out into a square you are surrounded by this incredible Gothic architecture.

After eating a picnic lunch on the steps of the museum I went to find the Comic Museum. I knew the Belgiuns were intrested in comics because of Tin Tin but I had no idea to the degree they enjoyed them. Unfortuantly all the comics at the museum library were in Danish or French but there was a tremendous amount. I had a good time, similar to my excursion to the film museum in Paris.

My last stop of the day was St. Micheals Cathedral. It is a Gothic Cathedral similar to others seen on this trip. This Cathedrals are abosultly massive in size and yet every place I visit has a number of them, it really shows the power of the Catholic church over Europe.

An odd story about visit. I walked in and was photographing a tapestry when an old woman came up and asked if I knew the story of the stained glass that surrounds the cathedral. She goes on to take me on a tour of the cathedral pointing out the story and how the church ended up housing several pieces of the original Host.

I’ve enjoyed Brussels so far. I like how much smaller it is, I really needed a break from the crowds.

Did you know a staple of Brussels cuisine from July until April is mussels with fries (everything is with fries and they give you mayonnaise to eat with it). This was my introduction to Brussels food late on Thursday night.

I also took a late walk just around the area where I’m staying. Brussels is so much smaller than Paris it’s remarkable how much you can cover.

So far, I’ve enjoyed Brussels. It is similar to my experience in Paris but there are no crowds and there are a lot of beer options.

On my final day in Paris I wanted to try the Catacombs once again and the Louvre. The Louvre was open late tonight so I thought it would be the best day to try the megalith art museum.

Some background on my visit to Paris may inform this day. It’s hot here, over 100 degrees by 11am and it’s crowded. I don’t know the statistics to of tourism in Paris this year but it must be high because there are people everywhere. That being said, I began my day in a line …the line to the catacombs.

Today, I was able to the enter the crypts and it was a surreal experience especially in relation to my walk up St. Paul’s in London. It is a deep winding staircase to the limestone tombs below Paris and once at the bottom you enter a long mine that is a little taller than myself at best.

Walking through the crypt is unnerving. I kept thinking I was breathing in bone dust. I can’t explain how strange it is to be face to face with so much human mortality.

---

From the crypt I ascended the to the streets to eat a quick parisian salad and find my way to the Louvre and Sainte Chepelle. On my way I passed the construction of Notre Dame.

I was in a rush to get to the Louvre, I wanted a solid 5 or 6 hours to look around but I wanted to keep to my plan to see Sainte Chepelle as well, so I quickly stopped in.

On my way to the Louvre.

It is with the greatest disappointment that I found that the Louvre had sold out that day. There happened to be an exceptional amount of tourist here and this gargantuan art museum SOLD OUT.

---

After the undescrible dissapointment of missing the Louvre I didn’t know what to do. I remembered earlier that another tourist had mentioned climbing the Montmartre and seeing the view from the top of Sacre Coeur. So I headed that way on the whim.

It was a fitting closure to this discordant Paris trip: A climb to the tallest peak of the city to see all of Paris, a bittersweet experience.

Paris is an exceptional city. It is so different from the English cities only two hours north and stands as a cultural gateway to much of Western Europe.

I mean it was bound to happen.

Day three of my journey in Paris I found that I was not ok. I was nauseous and weak. I can’t say what my problem was but I was not ok. I couldn’t do much for about half the day but left in the afternoon to get back to sight seeing.

I made a stop at the largest cemetery of Paris, Pere Lachaise. In Paris they just bury on top of you.

After walking through the graves I wanted to double up on crypts so I took the long journey back to the catacombs, earlier this time, to find them overbooked again. Now, I want to mention the catacombs are far from other sights in the 14th. So, I’m at dusk away from museums which are closing now, in the 14th… all that’s left to do is watch Spiderman: Far From Home, fitting, see!

The movie was good and even better it made me feel a little less homesick being in English and an American production. I wasn’t tired so I toured the Montparnasse area, which I hadn’t been to yet.

After walking for some time I took the bus back to my stay.

My draft post from yesterday was destroyed. Well, where to start. Time to get back on track.

The first day in France I got in late and was rushing to make it to my stay by the reservation. I hadn’t realized it at the time but Paris is a sprawling city absolutely huge and twisty, not like London. Getting around is a real feat made equally more difficult through the language barrier. Anyway, I made it to the 18th fine and enjoyed a late night meal at a cafe up the street, I had a burger and fries. I’ve found that the french seem to love american eating culture but they’ve grafted their palette onto it. Spices are all different and topping choice is different, but it’s all really good. I think my burger was rare with curry spice in it?

On the first day I visited the Musee D’Orsay, walked the Seine, and took a nap overlooking the Eiffel Tower on the Parc du Champ de Mars. I think London really wore me out and I had not come to realize that until I was in the slower wider space of Paris where people are slow and it seems everyone is relaxing at a cafe.

---

I was feeling a little more energized the next morning so I started off early. I made my way to a small market a few blocks from here and got a couisant and some sort of pastry from an outdoor bread market before climbing into the metro to make my way to Downtown.

I was determined to rent a bike after all the walking in London and now Paris so I figured out Velib, the bike share program here in a Paris and began my own Tour de Paris!

I saw a lot of sights on my bike tour visiting several Arrondissements. If I were to return to Paris I would try and visit alot of these museums, my plans didn’t follow that tradjectory and this city is far too much for a four day visit.

After my tour, I headed off to the Cinémathèque Française. A museum of Cinema history and theater. It’s amazing the pieces they were able to aquire in this small space. They have set pieces from the Lumiere Brothers and originals of Muybridge’s film/pictures. They have some modern too, Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, and Charley Chaplin. I also attended a retrospective of Fellini’s work while there.

At the end of my second day, I went to visit the catacombs but they had stopped letting people in two hours before the close. I had just missed it!

After having accidentally worn myself out from walking miles upon miles in the Westminster part of London yesterday, I decided to take the bus straight to the Tower of London today.

*A tip for traveling to London: upon arrival immediately buy an oyster card for metro and bus travel it makes all the difference, those cool double-decker buses cap out at 4.50 a day regardless of how much you travel on them and the metro isn’t too bad within zones.

The Tower’s is located near a wharf and the river Thames, there is the famous Tower Bridge right next door. It’s an incredibly old building and a strange sight to see against the modern business high rises surrounding it. Inside holds the White Tower, the original castle to the first French/English King, the Crown Jewels (go immediately, I waited 30 minutes but as I was leaving I saw a line tapering around the castle parameter. ), and the armory. It’s an impressive sight considering its historical impact but the most touristy place I’ve visited by far.

After the rain drenched Tower I hopped back on the bus to St. Paul’s Cathedral, notable for it’s dome.

The church has been built 5 times over the course the last fifteen hundred years. The version standing is not too terribly old, it was built at the end of the 1600’s. History is weird in England because something like this is relatively new compared to say the Tower whose foundations existed during the Roman Empire. I won’t belabor the history because those of you reading this probably know English history far better than I, so I’ll talk of my favorite feature — The Golden Gallery. The Gallery is really just the walk to the top of Cathedral with a view of through the oracle at the center and a round catwalk outside. Entering the Cathedral I didn’t expect to wander the catwalk that surrounds the dome at the top, this was a welcome surprise.

Because I’m a glutton for punishment I walked about 35 minutes to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, pictured in my previous post. The Gallery was my second favorite place to visit besides the British Museum. Though I enjoyed the Italian and Dutch Masterworks I found the more contemporary artwork by Degas and Cezanne to be the most exciting. I suppose you see more of them in my next post from France.

*I decided not to include pictures of the artwork because I figure they’ve been photographed before and far better than I would be able to. The ones I like I’ll try and buy as postcards for remembrance.

I’m travelling as I post this, so there won’t be much to say about today’s trip to Paris. The train is peaceful and I relish the time to stay put for a second. I learned that I tried too much in London. My Paris trip will be a quieter more culturally reflective time …I hope.

*A final postscript. I’d like to edit the language of these posts considerably but for the moment I don’t have the time, therefore bare with me as I try and find a good medium between posts, pictures, and editing. Thanks.