Berlin, Leubeck, Bergamo, Amsterdam, Brussels
Trip Start
Jul 05, 2010
1
Trip End
Jul 29, 2010
Berlin, Germany
Saturday, July 31, 2010
JULY 5
I have been here for about 10 days now. It has been a very relaxing trip so far. Lots of down time, meeting with friends and several evening forays to hear music, some OK, some not so much, but still, low key and nice. The weekend was busy as some friends from Munich came to visit. We had several lovely meals whilst I showed them a bit of Berlin. We also made it to the wonderful Frida Kahlo exhibit. I lucked out and my friend Gabi had arranged VIP tickets (the woman is top shelf all the way…) so we did not have wait in the 4-hour line.
Later that same day her husband Dieter went off to drink beer and watch soccer (called football here) on the giant screen at the World Cup Fan mile, while Gabi and I stopped by the permanent Dali exhibition, it was…. Well, it was Dali, Dahling! All topped by a lovely dinner. Perfection!
Since I have been to Berlin so often and I know the city so well, I have no tourist demon to drive me to fill every moment with sightseeing, so I am quite enjoying the R&R. Italy and Amsterdam will, no doubt, find the reappearance of the mad tourist, but for now… ah….. Peace.
JULY 10
It is Fashion Week in Berlin! Mid- Town (Mitte) is filled with beautiful young models wandering the streets looking uber hip between runway shows. Ah youth… and beautiful, but painful shoes. I remember it, vaguely. Still, with age comes the realization that I don’t need to look hip… I AM hip! Ha! At least in the universe I have constructed in my head.
It is hot, I mean really hot. The poor Germans have gone from ice in May to meltdown weather now with only a few moderate and beautiful days in between. Luckily for me they were when I first arrived, so I got to enjoy the almost perfect weather. The heat has added to my lethargy and I have spent a lot of time doing very little. It has been quite relaxing!
I did manage to take in a fabulous museum the other day, The German Historical Museum. It is housed in the old Armory, which is a great old building, with a new wing by I.M. Pei, which doesn’t match the rest of it at all, but somehow works. It covered German history from 100 BC to 1994. I was not prepared for the size or scope of the collection and by the time I got to the 20th Century I was completely overwhelmed and could barely get through the rest.
Seriously, this place had everything from Roman artifacts to portraits of famous nobles by Cranach the Elder and wacky religious scenes by H. Bosch, to Napoleon’s hat and sword taken at Waterloo, an auto from 1898, weapons and armor, and that is all before I got to the two world wars… Sheesh! I will go again next trip and start at the end.
July 20 On the way to Amsterdam
Well, I just had quite a week. I arrived in Leubeck, the lovely Hanseatic 12th Century UNESCO town that is a favorite of mine, to stay with my pal Marion before we went off to Italy. Unfortunately, I arrived Monday night and promptly got a bug. Nasty lower G.I. thing that kept me steps from the toilet for 5 days. 2 days asleep in Leubeck and 1 pretty miserable flight later I found myself in the fabulous old city of Bergamo.
Fortunately, Marion had booked us at a charming little B&B just 2 blocks from the main Piazza Vecchia, so in spite of spending most of my time sleeping or in the toilet I managed to make my way out a couple of times. I saw 3 amazing churches (because they were next door to each other), and 2 small galleries. Luckily the piazza is the center of the world there, so life came to me. While sitting in a café and sipping water I was descended upon by a motorcycle club of about 100 members. They parked all those bikes in front of the 15th century buildings and had a little reception at the café. In that same Piazza was a Sunday Flea Market, and I do love them, so once again, a few steps and voila’, immersed in the feel of it all.
The B&B Alba Chiara is really old school and wonderful. The ceilings are painted and the windows open on to the bustling narrow cobbled street that serves as the main thoroughfare thru the Citti Alta, or upper city. The hosts make a lovely breakfast each morning at the time of your choosing and the church bells lull you to sleep at night, or drive you crazy, depending upon your frame of mind. I spent many a fevered hour reflecting upon the people passing by my window and how the sounds had not changed much over the centuries, except of course for the horse drawn carts being replaced by cars and scooters that just manage to squeeze one at a time between the walls and the people.
The city itself is an old fortress and the upper city used to close the gates at 10:00, so the curfew bells rang out 130 times alerting the good citizens to make a dash for the safety of the fortress before you were locked out. They still ring the bells 130 times at 10pm, luckily it is a deep rich and resonant bell, and so I found it a nice evening event. There was however, a group of church bells, which sounded like they were rung by a mad elf with a hammer. I could make no sense of the melodies or rhythms, nor could I figure out what significance the seemingly random onset held. One evening Marion and I tried to figure out the patterns…. We failed. Maybe it was “Avante Garde”?
Now I must say this all sounds quite idyllic and it would indeed have been except for one small detail… Well, OK, two small details. #1, it was hotter than crap, and #2, I was sick and unable to eat or drink anything…In ITALY… R U kidding ?!? For 5 days in the land of YUMMY I subsisted on yogurt and soda crackers. No Pasta, no vino, no espresso…. Waaaaaa!
I must have really offended the Travel Gods at some point. Back in Leubeck, I begin to rally and am finally able to eat. One day spent strolling slowly around town, and by slowly I mean two blocks, sit and rest, two blocks, sit and rest, you get the picture…and now I am on a train to Amsterdam: A hot train to Amsterdam. No air conditioning in the coach I am in. Even with the reservation. I may try to sneak into another one that has air. OK, enough! I’m on the prowl for a cooler spot.
Cheers,
July 23, 2010
Not much improvement in terms of cooler, but I found a spot at the end of the coach that had a window. Unfortunately it blew the air into the small baggage compartment behind me, not anywhere that was of use to us poor passengers. Still, I occasionally stood up and in the path of the baggage cart wind, so I made it with a bit less discomfort than some of my fellow travelers. Next time I bring a battery operated pocket fan!
I arrived in Amsterdam in the evening and had a lovely chat with my friend Karin, who showed me up to my room on the top floor. It is a cozy little studio with a kitchenette and shower, and, being the progressive woman that she is, it has an AC… Lovely! The only drawback is the 60 stairs I have to climb to get to it. However, my legs will be in much better shape after my week here.
Bright and early the next day (OK, I lied, crack of noon) I went in search of a supermarket and breakfast and I found a pricey but nice café on the corner. After a great omelet I walked until I got to Centraal Station. It took me much longer than it should have because this city is laid out in circles, and I had no idea where I was going, so I went round and round the canals for quite some time. It was fun, and I ran into the daily market at Waterlooplein; kind of a cross between a farmers market and a flea market with heavy ganja overtones. I also saw the Rembrandt House, (yep, he lived there) De Waag (a former gatehouse, weighing station, guild hall and place of execution… yikes) and the supermarket I had been looking for, although I decided to come back later and not carry stuff around with me.
I rented myself a bike for 3 days from McBike’s, and proceeded to ride around and around for hours. I never did find the supermarket again, at least not until the next day, and then it was by accident…Amsterdam is not like Berlin in that there is no neighborhood shop on every corner, but once you find the essentials, and figure out the circle dance, it is pretty easy to get around.
I love having a bike to get around, and Amsterdam is essentially flat and filled with bike lanes. However I have noticed that Europeans in any kind of vehicle drive like demons so beware! Just because they are supposed to stop for you doesn’t mean they will. Sometimes they just drive up over the curbs to get around things. I actually saw people texting while riding their bikes through this chaos. I expect they will be statistics soon…
The next day I rode around and around and went to the New Church, (which was built in the 14th century, and rebuilt in 1645) as opposed to the Old Church (which was originally built in the 13th century). It was lovely but pretty sparse since it was a Protestant church and they don’t go in for the spectacular stuff like the Catholics do. However it had a very impressive gilded organ and pulpit, and all the Dutch monarchs since 1814 have been crowned here. There were also a lot of dead naval heroes buried inside.
Today I went to the Hermitage. It is a satellite of the famous museum in Russia. It was a fantastic exhibit of turn of the century avant-garde artists, Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Dufy and Kandinsky, etc. Check it out at: http://www.hermitage.nl/en/
I am now out for a glass of vino before I head back to the room and chill for the evening.
More tomorrow,
Cheers!
The next day I went to the Rijksmuseum where I admired old masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer. Check it out at: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl
Afterward I went to a concert in Vondel Park, so-so show, but wonderful, huge park! Then I pedaled around a bit more and got lost. But, since Amsterdam is laid out in circles, you will most likely run into something you recognize eventually, which I did.
On my last day I was too exhausted to look at art, so I passed on the Van Gogh Museum (which I have seen before) and biked downtown. I found a flea market and picked up a couple of tiny treasures, rode a boat around the canal, then walked home and collapsed. Next morning I was off to Belgium by train.
Notes On Amsterdam:
Amsterdam is a crazy place, especially Centrum, which is where all the tourists, hang out the see the old buildings, small winding streets, noise, party life, Red Light District, and to frequent the bars and “Coffee Houses” (which is Dutch for pot and hashish served with your coffee, or hey, just skip the coffee and get the smoke.). Or, just to sit enjoy the general sense of chaos. All accompanied by the constant aroma of ganja wafting thru the air.
Prostitution and some drugs are legal, but regulated. The ladies actually ply their trade from glass doors that line the streets. They are generally in bikinis, and once selected, the curtains close and they get to business. You can peruse the merchandise, but don’t even think about taking a picture. No kidding, I have seen girls come flying out of those rooms to slap the camera out of the hands of an unsuspecting tourist. No Tickie, no Pickie…
Amsterdam has also revived the old automat restaurants concept, called FEMO. I suppose if you choose a lady from behind a glass door, it follows that one should also be able to choose food the same way. Put in a few coins, grab the snack of your choice and look out Burger King! (Which is everywhere, along with Mickey D, Subway & Starbucks...?)
This is a VERY expensive city, but, it is also a VERY cool place.
BRUSSELS
Once again the train was over crowded, but at least it was not horribly hot. The whole travel thing is really a hit and miss situation; I took some trains that were very pleasant, and some that were just a drill - Luck of the draw. At least the odds are better than that of getting a decent flight. Ah well, it is all part of the adventure.
This part of my journey was the totally non-prepped. I usually do at least one city with no plan other than to show up and see what I find. (Because just traveling itself is not enough of an adventure…doh!) I decided that since the station I was coming in to was a major one, there would most likely be hotels near it. Not always the case, but sometimes I get lucky. If not there are usually tourist offices that can help me out if I arrive early enough. Luckily for me, there was an Ibis right next to the station because the tourist support was non-existent. Even a map was tough to come by in this town! The Travel Gods were with me though, because the Ibis was inexpensive and comfortable. Great shower too, which is unusual in Europe.
I had the late afternoon free so I did a Hop-on Hop-off tour, ticket good for 24 hours, so I did it again the next morning. Brussels is a huge city which, I suppose, is to be expected since it is the seat of the EU Capitol. It encompasses beautiful old world charm in the city center, crazy skyscrapers in the business district, funky old run down neighborhoods in the immigrant quarters, a giant park on the outskirts and the crazy old Atomium left over from the 1958 Worlds Fair. http://atomium.be/bewelcome.aspx
My first run at the city left me less than charmed, although the monuments and museums looked great. I was just too pooped to do any real delving and my time was limited, so I put them on my list for next time, especially the Magritte museum.
Getting to the end of my day I was starting to prepare for my trip back to London that evening, but the journey had one more surprise in store for me. At the end of the bus line you have to walk a bit to find your way back to the station. I then stumbled upon one of the most singularly beautiful old squares I HAVE EVER SEEN. The pictures do not do it justice.It literally took my breath away. I walked around it for awhile and decided to have dinner while I admired the view. This square alone made the entire visit worthwhile. After dinner I wandered through the side streets and saw a couple of the famous sites like the Mannekin-pis, a small bronze stature that gets dressed up in various costumes throughout the year, everything from Japanese kimono to folk costumes. This day, he was naked in all his little cherubic- fountain-peeing glory.
I grabbed a taxi and made it to the station to catch my Eurostar train under the English Channel and back to London, arriving in the evening after a pleasant ride. The trip was made nicer by a gentleman from Brooklyn who chatted me up for most of the ride. I spent one night back at the Alhambra and braved the Tube to Heathrow. I met a lovely lady from Thousand Oaks while waiting for my flight, and we passed the time chatting as well. I don’t know when I got so darn friendly, but it made the wait much nicer. This newer nicer Karen may be due to the influence of my ever so friendly and willing-to-chat -up-a-stranger buddy, Grace. Finally, after an uneventful flight and the usual customs drill at LAX, I got home and BOOM! Here is my real life!
So after a bit of rest and catching up I will be back in the middle of it all …until next trip.
Happy Trails!
Kg
General Travel Tips:
- Learn to use the buses and subways, it isn’t hard and will make getting around much easier. Don’t even think about driving in the big cities, it is worse than NYC, and in a different language to boot!
- Cities often have discount cards available for travel and museums, check them out online and ask any locals you may know for tips. For example, if you know to ask you can get a 7 or 30 day pass for the Berlin transit system for MUCH cheaper than paying for day passes.
- Pack Light, seriously, especially if you have to schlep your stuff around, either that or hire a Sherpa.
- Eat like a local. Yeah, you can pay big bucks for crappy hotel food, or worse, Mickey D, but you can also find reasonable fare if you follow the non- tourist crowds. Also, generally the street vendors are pretty good, just avoid the tourist areas.
- Do the things that are most important to you first, so you don’t run out of time, energy or cash.
- Don’t nickel and dime yourself out of having a good time. If the nice room is 10 euro more than the crappy one, why suffer. Isn’t your comfort with a few bucks? The same goes for the museums, some can be expensive, but will you forever regret not spending that extra $5 to see the Picasso you may never see again except in books? If so, spend the change. Money can be made, time cannot!
- That said, be smart about what and how you spend. There are often free or discounted days at museums and other attractions. If the museum is free on Thursdays from 6-9, don’t spend $20 to get in Wednesday unless you have no choice.
- Be nice, try to stay positive and do not expect everything to go exactly the way you plan. Adapt, be flexible and as patient as you can be, above all, DO NOT ACT LIKE THE UGLY AMERICAN. No complaining because things are done differently at home, or the American way is better, or any crap like that. If you really need things to be done the way you are used to them being done then for stay home! Travel around the USA instead. (Although I am willing to bet you will have the same problems here…)
- Get lost sometimes, you may marvel at what you stumble into.
- Problems will arise, trust that you can deal with them if you relax, go with the flow and pace yourself.
- Always have a plan B, C and D…
- Have Fun!
Comments
The sofa floating raft sorta redefines camping on the river!
Wonderful, WONDERFUL my Dear! Lovely photos....