So, after my one hour of sleep my last night in Copenhagen, I woke up feeling really ill. I knew that I needed to be home where I had my own bed and a massive bottle of antibiotics, so the following ensued:
I got to Heathrow and BEGGED the United ticket counter to get me home. They did. And kept my upgrades. I love them.
I got disconnected three times while trying to call to cancel my hotel reservations, after which I couldn't use that credit card in the pay phone any more, so had to dig out another one and read it to the operator. I noticed that some guy a couple pay phones away was paying way more attention than he should be, and looking suspicious. Hmmmm
I ran to the gate just as my plane was finishing boarding and got my seat (yay).
I got home, took a megadose of Cipro, and slept for a day.
I got called by Wells Fargo that the jerk in Heathrow had, indeed, stolen my credit card number and was trying to use it over and over for long-distance phone calls. Wells Fargo denied every single bogus charge. I love them, too.
So, now a few weeks have passed, and I am back to work on my contract and thinking about the holidays. Life is good, and my fingers are exhausted from updating my blog all afternoon. More news as it breaks. Thanks for reading!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
At Last, Copenhagen
So, on to the reason I booked this month-long journey in the first place: to see Sara speak at the Internet Research conference in Copenhagen.
Sara was on a panel of four speakers, all of whom (except Sara) are PhD'd academics. They were boring, I have to tell you. And no, I am not being objective, but a couple other people told me the same thing. Sara is a natural speaker (I wonder where she gets that from?) and did an incredible job not only speaking but also being the moderator for her panel.
She's well-organized, brilliant, personable, and wonderful. Ask anyone who was there. Really.
So, after seeing Sara, the rest of Copenhagen was fairly anti-climactic. It was horrifically expensive; lunch was never less than $20, and dinners were astronomical. I felt lucky to get a tiny hotel room for only about $150 per night. Definitely not a place I would like to go back to, but I'm glad I came to see my munchkin speak. (Sara, can you please do a conference in Fiji next time?)
Oh yeah, poker balance at the end of all this: Janine $11,220, Val $10,840. He's catching up, folks...
To top off my Copenhagen experience, I got exactly one hour of sleep my last night there, because a) some idiot was singing at the top of his drunken lungs in the street and b) I was getting sick. Not fun.
Sara was on a panel of four speakers, all of whom (except Sara) are PhD'd academics. They were boring, I have to tell you. And no, I am not being objective, but a couple other people told me the same thing. Sara is a natural speaker (I wonder where she gets that from?) and did an incredible job not only speaking but also being the moderator for her panel.
She's well-organized, brilliant, personable, and wonderful. Ask anyone who was there. Really.
So, after seeing Sara, the rest of Copenhagen was fairly anti-climactic. It was horrifically expensive; lunch was never less than $20, and dinners were astronomical. I felt lucky to get a tiny hotel room for only about $150 per night. Definitely not a place I would like to go back to, but I'm glad I came to see my munchkin speak. (Sara, can you please do a conference in Fiji next time?)
Oh yeah, poker balance at the end of all this: Janine $11,220, Val $10,840. He's catching up, folks...
To top off my Copenhagen experience, I got exactly one hour of sleep my last night there, because a) some idiot was singing at the top of his drunken lungs in the street and b) I was getting sick. Not fun.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Berlin
So, in Berlin we stayed in a hostel. But, the room we had was more like a studio apartment, had a great bathroom, a working kitchen, eating area, sitting area, balcony overlooking the city - in short, it was a great hotel room at hostel prices. Yay for Wombat's City Hostel!
Things of note that happened in Berlin:
When stopping to offer to take a picture of a large group of girls from Italy, one of them began to talk to us about the most-discussed subject (our election) and they really wanted to know if it was true that Obama was a Muslim! Amazing that rumors and crappy journalism reach so far so fast. I set them straight...
The wall is mostly gone, but you can buy pieces of it in museums, souvenir shops, and from street vendors. However, those pieces are pretty much manufactured in China, so no more authentic pieces are really being sold. If you want one, you'll have to go to the East Side Gallery on your own, preferably after dark, and break a piece off while nobody is looking. I would never do that. Never.
Berlin is built mostly in a very dull, gray, concrete-block style - especially the eastern part of the city, where we were staying. Still, it has a character all its own. The people are great, it's very much like San Francisco as far as being very funky in spots, and it has....shawarma! This middle-eastern staple has become the number one fast food in Germany, and oh how glad I am! It's fantastic, and cheap, and I love it.
I decided one day to take a day to myself and go see Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp located some miles north of Berlin. To do this, I had to take two different metro lines and a train, but it was worth the trip. While waiting for my second metro, I felt a hand going into my jacket pocket and stared right into the eyes of a pickpocket as I pushed his hand away. The truly surprising thing is that the guy same BACK at me and tried again! At this point, I pulled out my pocket contents (a used kleenex) and offered it to him. He walked away, totally unashamed. Sheesh.
I did prove to myself, with my day trip out of Berlin, that I can get around on my own when necessary. Of course, the train and metro systems in Germany are fantastic, and always on time. Believe me, when they say the train leaves at 13:56, it LEAVES at 13:56. The doors will close on your ass if you are late. Be on time!
Oh yes, and I also fell in love with some sort of pastry in the bakery near our hostel that was filled with pudding (the pastry, not the hostel; sorry for misplacing my modifiers). I am seriously going to have to go on a diet when I get home, but for now I am ON VACATION!!!
Things of note that happened in Berlin:
When stopping to offer to take a picture of a large group of girls from Italy, one of them began to talk to us about the most-discussed subject (our election) and they really wanted to know if it was true that Obama was a Muslim! Amazing that rumors and crappy journalism reach so far so fast. I set them straight...
The wall is mostly gone, but you can buy pieces of it in museums, souvenir shops, and from street vendors. However, those pieces are pretty much manufactured in China, so no more authentic pieces are really being sold. If you want one, you'll have to go to the East Side Gallery on your own, preferably after dark, and break a piece off while nobody is looking. I would never do that. Never.
Berlin is built mostly in a very dull, gray, concrete-block style - especially the eastern part of the city, where we were staying. Still, it has a character all its own. The people are great, it's very much like San Francisco as far as being very funky in spots, and it has....shawarma! This middle-eastern staple has become the number one fast food in Germany, and oh how glad I am! It's fantastic, and cheap, and I love it.
I decided one day to take a day to myself and go see Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp located some miles north of Berlin. To do this, I had to take two different metro lines and a train, but it was worth the trip. While waiting for my second metro, I felt a hand going into my jacket pocket and stared right into the eyes of a pickpocket as I pushed his hand away. The truly surprising thing is that the guy same BACK at me and tried again! At this point, I pulled out my pocket contents (a used kleenex) and offered it to him. He walked away, totally unashamed. Sheesh.
I did prove to myself, with my day trip out of Berlin, that I can get around on my own when necessary. Of course, the train and metro systems in Germany are fantastic, and always on time. Believe me, when they say the train leaves at 13:56, it LEAVES at 13:56. The doors will close on your ass if you are late. Be on time!
Oh yes, and I also fell in love with some sort of pastry in the bakery near our hostel that was filled with pudding (the pastry, not the hostel; sorry for misplacing my modifiers). I am seriously going to have to go on a diet when I get home, but for now I am ON VACATION!!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Prague
Prague is great; it has lots of history, lots to see and do, and best of all...DUMPLINGS!! I love them. I love what the Czechs call "sweet and sour beef" (which is what we think of as beef stroganoff). I love all this heavy, rich food. Yay for Czech food!
Of course, we are limited by the fact that Val's sisters and niece really don't like to sample "exotic" food so we are eating at places like TGIFriday's, but I am also finding places that have chicken and french fries but also have traditional Czech food as well. There's something so comforting and wonderful about having huge bread dumplings soaking up enormous quantities of stroganoff-like sauce..mmmmmmmmmm.
Prague is a very musical city, but sometimes it's hilarious. Our first evening here, we got talked into going to a "concert" of popular hits from musicals. Sounds good, but it only involved three people: a pianist, a singer, and a guy who played the sax. In addition to the oddness of that, he singer and the pianist (both female) clearly did not like each other. Oh yeah, and the singer had this very loud soprano voice that was clearly classically trained. This would have been great in an opera, but not so much for singing, "I Feel Pretty." To top it off, she also did not speak English, but had obviously memorized the English words (or the sounds of the English words) as well as she could. But, in some cases, what came out were new and innovative lyrics that had never been heard before (or since). There were a few moments where I wanted to laugh out loud, but held it in. To make it worse, I looked over at Val and he clearly was perplexed as to why we were even there! It could only have been more funny if the singer had launched into a rendition of "Puff the Magic Dragon." Thankfully, that didn't happen. I was able to maintain my composure and, soon enough, we were back out on the cool nighttime streets of Prague.
Of course, we are limited by the fact that Val's sisters and niece really don't like to sample "exotic" food so we are eating at places like TGIFriday's, but I am also finding places that have chicken and french fries but also have traditional Czech food as well. There's something so comforting and wonderful about having huge bread dumplings soaking up enormous quantities of stroganoff-like sauce..mmmmmmmmmm.
Prague is a very musical city, but sometimes it's hilarious. Our first evening here, we got talked into going to a "concert" of popular hits from musicals. Sounds good, but it only involved three people: a pianist, a singer, and a guy who played the sax. In addition to the oddness of that, he singer and the pianist (both female) clearly did not like each other. Oh yeah, and the singer had this very loud soprano voice that was clearly classically trained. This would have been great in an opera, but not so much for singing, "I Feel Pretty." To top it off, she also did not speak English, but had obviously memorized the English words (or the sounds of the English words) as well as she could. But, in some cases, what came out were new and innovative lyrics that had never been heard before (or since). There were a few moments where I wanted to laugh out loud, but held it in. To make it worse, I looked over at Val and he clearly was perplexed as to why we were even there! It could only have been more funny if the singer had launched into a rendition of "Puff the Magic Dragon." Thankfully, that didn't happen. I was able to maintain my composure and, soon enough, we were back out on the cool nighttime streets of Prague.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Money-Changers and Thieves
In addition to being on the lookout for pickpockets, we found the value of not listening to people who offer to change money here in Prague. A man approached Geraldine while she was waiting to change some money and said he'd give her a much better rate. She was intrigued, but of course Val can small a rat from a mile away and told the guy to buzz off (or something like that). It turns out that these guys offer you a better rate, then give you old, obsolete Czech or Bulgarian money for your dollars or euros. Glad we turned them down (I had learned last year in Cambodia to not use money-changers if at all possible).
The best way to deal with money in a foreign country it to use ATM machines; they give you the current rate, and they are dependable and trustworthy. Try hitting machines in banks (as opposed to ones in convenience stores) where possible.
Pickpockets are pretty good at their jobs, too. We were on a metro here and a few guys got on and were all crowding near the door (which is where Val was standing). One started pushing him into the guy behind him, and when the guy behind complained and Val turned to tell him that he couldn't help it, the "pusher" tried to get into Val's pocket. Val was not thrilled about this and made it quite known. The guy finally jumped off the metro and disappeared into the crowd, at which point someone pointed out to Val that his camera case (on his belt) was completely opened up. Luckily, he was wearing the camera itself around his neck at the time! Nothing lost, except a bit of my composure.
The best way to deal with money in a foreign country it to use ATM machines; they give you the current rate, and they are dependable and trustworthy. Try hitting machines in banks (as opposed to ones in convenience stores) where possible.
Pickpockets are pretty good at their jobs, too. We were on a metro here and a few guys got on and were all crowding near the door (which is where Val was standing). One started pushing him into the guy behind him, and when the guy behind complained and Val turned to tell him that he couldn't help it, the "pusher" tried to get into Val's pocket. Val was not thrilled about this and made it quite known. The guy finally jumped off the metro and disappeared into the crowd, at which point someone pointed out to Val that his camera case (on his belt) was completely opened up. Luckily, he was wearing the camera itself around his neck at the time! Nothing lost, except a bit of my composure.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
In Training
So, our trip from Bruges to Prague was done via train, with a jaunt to Dusseldorf and then an overnight train to Prague.
Dusseldorf is someplace I would love to see for more than 10 hours someday. We went to the information center near the train station where a great guy gave us a map, outlined where we could walk for a few hours, and even told us where to eat! We also took a short river cruise around the city, to get a feel for what it was like. I definitely want to come back here...
Now, for the overnight train. The accommodations were small but clean, the bathroom had a shower (of sorts), we had a sink in our compartment, and we got to sleep! The overnight trip also was the beginning of a now-marathon poker game between Val and me. Score upon arrival in Prague: Janine $6620, Val $1720. Too bad it's just imaginary money!!
So, we arrived in Prague rested and ready to meet up with Val's sisters and niece (Geraldine, Kathleen, and Cliona). The taxi ride was fairly brief to the hotel, which was situated amongst a lot of run-down, graffiti-riddled buildings. Uh-oh, I thought. But, the room was clean enough, and very large. Plus, who can complain about paying 49 Euro for a room including full breakfast each day for both of us? Everything will be fine...
Dusseldorf is someplace I would love to see for more than 10 hours someday. We went to the information center near the train station where a great guy gave us a map, outlined where we could walk for a few hours, and even told us where to eat! We also took a short river cruise around the city, to get a feel for what it was like. I definitely want to come back here...
Now, for the overnight train. The accommodations were small but clean, the bathroom had a shower (of sorts), we had a sink in our compartment, and we got to sleep! The overnight trip also was the beginning of a now-marathon poker game between Val and me. Score upon arrival in Prague: Janine $6620, Val $1720. Too bad it's just imaginary money!!
So, we arrived in Prague rested and ready to meet up with Val's sisters and niece (Geraldine, Kathleen, and Cliona). The taxi ride was fairly brief to the hotel, which was situated amongst a lot of run-down, graffiti-riddled buildings. Uh-oh, I thought. But, the room was clean enough, and very large. Plus, who can complain about paying 49 Euro for a room including full breakfast each day for both of us? Everything will be fine...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Robin and the Plants
No, it isn't a new band name....I have to give an honorable mention here to my wonderful buddy, Robin Fournier. Robin is from Louisiana and is watching my house while I am gone. This became especially important as my landlady (who DEFINES anal) called before I left to complain that the lawn wasn't looking green enough. Grrrrr. (She somehow ignores the fact that the dishwasher is broken and the icemaker has NEVER been successfully hooked up on the fridge that she INSISTED stay in the house).
Lucky for me, Robin (who I met whilst taking my certification course for TESOL) is staying in San Francisco for a while longer, and is apparently taking good care of my lawn because I got an email from her a few days ago that said the lawn was behaving nicely. It was signed with love from Robin and the Plants.
Robin, YAY for you!!!!
Lucky for me, Robin (who I met whilst taking my certification course for TESOL) is staying in San Francisco for a while longer, and is apparently taking good care of my lawn because I got an email from her a few days ago that said the lawn was behaving nicely. It was signed with love from Robin and the Plants.
Robin, YAY for you!!!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Bruges
Well, Bruges was all I hoped for and MORE. First of all, the B&B we stayed in was incredible. We had a huge room with bathroom, heated towel bars, lots of space, and breakfast when we wanted it each morning with an array of food that was fantastic! If you are EVER in Bruges, look up the Belfry Bed and Breakfast
So, knowing only what I had seen in the Colin Farrell movie, I found that Bruges is a very small town, but with lots to do. Somehow, in only three days, we packed in a ton of activities. We saw the church from the film and a chocolate museum the first afternoon we arrived. On our second day, we rented bikes and rode out to a neighboring town, along the canals. After riding about 20 miles, we came back to town and climbed the 366 steps to the top of the belfry tower (and then rewarded ourselves with french fries!), then took a brewery tour that entailed climbing another 200+ stairs. It was quite the exercising kind of day! Day three included more sightseeing, and then a great meal of rabbit and flemish beef stew.
As opposed to the French-speaking people in Brussels, Bruges is a Flemish (or Dutch) speaking city. But, everyone here takes FOUR languages in school: Dutch, French, German, and English. So, communicating here has been simple (and it makes me feel quite inadequate for only speaking 1 1/2 languages!)
Can we go back to the french fries??? They are so damn good here, I cannot gush enough. So now, in addition to having gotten used to always having bread and cheese for breakfast every day, I am also eating large quantities of french fries (with large quantities of mayonnaise). I can feel my arteries hardening up even as we speak, but OH MAN this stuff is good. I may have to buy myself an extra seat on the plane coming home! Yummmmmmmm...
While leaving Bruges by bus to get back to the train station, the bus driver suddenly stopped int he middle of the street. Being from San Francisco, I was waiting for him to start screaming at someone (our drivers are pretty surly!) but it was to simply lower his window and chat for a minute or two with a very pregnant woman who was crossing the street. They had a nice little chat and then he continued driving us to the station. Hilarious.
So, knowing only what I had seen in the Colin Farrell movie, I found that Bruges is a very small town, but with lots to do. Somehow, in only three days, we packed in a ton of activities. We saw the church from the film and a chocolate museum the first afternoon we arrived. On our second day, we rented bikes and rode out to a neighboring town, along the canals. After riding about 20 miles, we came back to town and climbed the 366 steps to the top of the belfry tower (and then rewarded ourselves with french fries!), then took a brewery tour that entailed climbing another 200+ stairs. It was quite the exercising kind of day! Day three included more sightseeing, and then a great meal of rabbit and flemish beef stew.
As opposed to the French-speaking people in Brussels, Bruges is a Flemish (or Dutch) speaking city. But, everyone here takes FOUR languages in school: Dutch, French, German, and English. So, communicating here has been simple (and it makes me feel quite inadequate for only speaking 1 1/2 languages!)
Can we go back to the french fries??? They are so damn good here, I cannot gush enough. So now, in addition to having gotten used to always having bread and cheese for breakfast every day, I am also eating large quantities of french fries (with large quantities of mayonnaise). I can feel my arteries hardening up even as we speak, but OH MAN this stuff is good. I may have to buy myself an extra seat on the plane coming home! Yummmmmmmm...
While leaving Bruges by bus to get back to the train station, the bus driver suddenly stopped int he middle of the street. Being from San Francisco, I was waiting for him to start screaming at someone (our drivers are pretty surly!) but it was to simply lower his window and chat for a minute or two with a very pregnant woman who was crossing the street. They had a nice little chat and then he continued driving us to the station. Hilarious.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Brussels
Well, again the keyboards were thwarting my attempts at blogging, but now I have gotten my hands on a standard (to me) board, so I will add a little bit...
My first impression of Brussels was, "hmmmmmmmmm...." It seemed gray, kind of dirty, and not very friendly. Luckily, I got over it pretty quickly. We stayed with a gentleman named Pierre, who was incredibly interesting and always willing to sit for an hour at breakfast and answer questions about culture, politics, language, etc.
Belgium has three official languages - Flemish (which is almost the same as Dutch), French, and German. Brussels is about 85% French-speaking and, as I have been told is the case in France, they really don't want to speak English to us. This is, of course, their right (it is, after all, their country!). But it made communication a bit more difficult that it has been up to this point.
While in the chapel of the EU building, I tried to ask a question and the woman there did not understand me; oddly enough, I asked her if she spoke Spanish and she did! So, I was able to talk to her a bit that way (she had lived in Spain for four years at some point in her life). She called over an older gentleman who spoke English and told him that I was American, and the first thing he said was, "Oh, you have a very important election coming up - are you voting for Obama?" I assured him that I was, and he was very happy. The people here in Europe are pretty unified in their hatred for Bush (smart people!) and they all love Obama. If Europeans could vote in the election, Obama would win by a landslide!
Anyway, we saw all kinds of great stuff in Brussels, and ate WAY too much chocolate!!! Next blog entry, I will tell about my three days in Brugge, but for now I have to go get some dinner. Peace, everyone.
--Janine
My first impression of Brussels was, "hmmmmmmmmm...." It seemed gray, kind of dirty, and not very friendly. Luckily, I got over it pretty quickly. We stayed with a gentleman named Pierre, who was incredibly interesting and always willing to sit for an hour at breakfast and answer questions about culture, politics, language, etc.
Belgium has three official languages - Flemish (which is almost the same as Dutch), French, and German. Brussels is about 85% French-speaking and, as I have been told is the case in France, they really don't want to speak English to us. This is, of course, their right (it is, after all, their country!). But it made communication a bit more difficult that it has been up to this point.
While in the chapel of the EU building, I tried to ask a question and the woman there did not understand me; oddly enough, I asked her if she spoke Spanish and she did! So, I was able to talk to her a bit that way (she had lived in Spain for four years at some point in her life). She called over an older gentleman who spoke English and told him that I was American, and the first thing he said was, "Oh, you have a very important election coming up - are you voting for Obama?" I assured him that I was, and he was very happy. The people here in Europe are pretty unified in their hatred for Bush (smart people!) and they all love Obama. If Europeans could vote in the election, Obama would win by a landslide!
Anyway, we saw all kinds of great stuff in Brussels, and ate WAY too much chocolate!!! Next blog entry, I will tell about my three days in Brugge, but for now I have to go get some dinner. Peace, everyone.
--Janine
Monday, October 6, 2008
AZERTY
The title of this blog relates to the first 6 keys on the keyboards here in Belgium. That, combined with the fact that all numbers require a SHIFT (as does the period), the parentheses are separated by four other keys and do NOT require a shift, etc, etc... means that I adamantly reFUSE to blog until I get to a more keyboard-friendly place!
So, I am storing up info about Brussels (which I loved) and Brugges (which I adore, and where I currently am) and will blog about them soon!
Frustratedly,
Janine
So, I am storing up info about Brussels (which I loved) and Brugges (which I adore, and where I currently am) and will blog about them soon!
Frustratedly,
Janine
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Amsterdam
For the last two days, I have been in Amsterdam. I loved Sweden, but I think Amsterdam has to win out (but only by a gnat's ass, as my mother would say) over Stockholm just because of the incredible cuteness of it.
As with Stockholm, the public transportation system here is fantastic. It has been SO easy to get around here, and get around we have! In a very short time, we have seen the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank house, the Sex Museum (fascinating!), had a canal tour, eaten WAY too much food, and spent some time in the red light district. I have to say, the Dutch have the right idea when it comes to deciding what to legalize; the sex workers are clean, open, and seemingly drug-free. It's just a business, like any other, and because they can be on the open about it, they can make their rules to remain disease-free, they are regulated and get tested regularly, they pay taxes, and they rarely are messed with by their clientele. Best of all, they have no need for pimps.
Of course, also in abundance are "coffeehouses," which are really places to buy and smoke dope. Again, it seems to work here, The use of illegal (harder) drugs in Holland is lower than most countries, and they aren't wasting their jail space on people who simply want to smoke pot (unlike the U.S., where 700,000 people were arrested in 2006 for marijuana - and we all complain that our courts are overloaded? Come ON, people, let's get our heads out of our bums!) Yes, Mom, I went into a coffeehouse and no, Mom, I didn't buy anything. We just wanted to see what it was like. Basically, imagine your flour and sugar canisters at home filled with pot and out on the counter for people to look at and buy; it's that way here with pot.
There are so many bicycles here that I have to look out for bikes much more than cars. Everyone rides them, and rides them FAST! Also, there are really cool kiddie bike seats for the fronts of bikes as well as the backs; again, I have pics and will upload them when I get home.
I am fascinated by the longevity statistics here and in Sweden. In Sweden, for example, the average lifespan is something like 80 years; that is far above most other countries, and certainly above the USA. HOW do they do it, considering the incredibly relationship they seem to have with cheese, cream, and eggs??? It has to be the exercise they all get, biking and walking everywhere. That's all I can seem to come up with for an explanation. In any case, I have become quite fond of having some bread and cheese for breakfast every day. I hope to God that my walking around all day is working off some of the food, because I have been pigging out! Oh well, I am on vacation and I can start eating better....tomorrow.
OK, I am off to bed; tomorrow, I go to Brussels on the first official "train" leg of my trip. Meanwhile, in a few hours Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will match wits. Well, in Palin's case, i think only one wit. She scares the heck outta me, that one. I was never really on the fence, but if I had been, my mind is made up, now. Obama for President!
Ta-ta,
Janine
As with Stockholm, the public transportation system here is fantastic. It has been SO easy to get around here, and get around we have! In a very short time, we have seen the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank house, the Sex Museum (fascinating!), had a canal tour, eaten WAY too much food, and spent some time in the red light district. I have to say, the Dutch have the right idea when it comes to deciding what to legalize; the sex workers are clean, open, and seemingly drug-free. It's just a business, like any other, and because they can be on the open about it, they can make their rules to remain disease-free, they are regulated and get tested regularly, they pay taxes, and they rarely are messed with by their clientele. Best of all, they have no need for pimps.
Of course, also in abundance are "coffeehouses," which are really places to buy and smoke dope. Again, it seems to work here, The use of illegal (harder) drugs in Holland is lower than most countries, and they aren't wasting their jail space on people who simply want to smoke pot (unlike the U.S., where 700,000 people were arrested in 2006 for marijuana - and we all complain that our courts are overloaded? Come ON, people, let's get our heads out of our bums!) Yes, Mom, I went into a coffeehouse and no, Mom, I didn't buy anything. We just wanted to see what it was like. Basically, imagine your flour and sugar canisters at home filled with pot and out on the counter for people to look at and buy; it's that way here with pot.
There are so many bicycles here that I have to look out for bikes much more than cars. Everyone rides them, and rides them FAST! Also, there are really cool kiddie bike seats for the fronts of bikes as well as the backs; again, I have pics and will upload them when I get home.
I am fascinated by the longevity statistics here and in Sweden. In Sweden, for example, the average lifespan is something like 80 years; that is far above most other countries, and certainly above the USA. HOW do they do it, considering the incredibly relationship they seem to have with cheese, cream, and eggs??? It has to be the exercise they all get, biking and walking everywhere. That's all I can seem to come up with for an explanation. In any case, I have become quite fond of having some bread and cheese for breakfast every day. I hope to God that my walking around all day is working off some of the food, because I have been pigging out! Oh well, I am on vacation and I can start eating better....tomorrow.
OK, I am off to bed; tomorrow, I go to Brussels on the first official "train" leg of my trip. Meanwhile, in a few hours Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will match wits. Well, in Palin's case, i think only one wit. She scares the heck outta me, that one. I was never really on the fence, but if I had been, my mind is made up, now. Obama for President!
Ta-ta,
Janine
Stockholm
Oh, I have been so bad about blogging, and now I find myself two entire cities behind! I will try to catch up....
On Sunday, I was driven by Carina, Per, and family to Stockholm (thanks, Carina, YOU ARE AWESOME!) after a great visit with them all. I was staying in the IPA house in Rissne, which is a suburb of Stockholm. The price was definitely right (it was only 37 Euros per night!) and it was so incredibly simple to get the metro into Stockholm each day to see sights. As had been my experience already in Sweden, the people in Stockholm were so unbelievably friendly and helpful that all I had to do was begin to look confused and someone would approach me to ask if I needed help.
So, let's see....we took a canal tour (I had never realized how much WATER there was in and around and through the city!) and saw the Grand Palace, Skansen park, and some other sights, but the best sightseeing adventure was the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship commissioned to be built in the 17th century, and it sank on its maiden voyage before ever getting out of Stockholm. This isn't really all that fantastic, I guess, but the museum was astonishingly cool. Once again, I have to say that Rick Steves' travel books are the bomb. Anyway, I also finally got Swedish meatballs while in Stockholm - I actually went to the grocery store and bought them and the sauce mix myself, and cooked them up in the guest house. So, my Swedish culinary wishes were all granted (but still nothing compares to the food I had while with Carina and Per...nothing).
My other "wish list" item for Sweden was to buy a warm sweater; in fact, I deliberately didn't bring one with me, and the jacket I brought is more water-resistant than warm. So, I looked around in Stockholm and ventured into some little shop that sold wool sweaters. Now, these aren't fuzzy wool sweaters, but dense, wonderful, intricately designed wool sweaters. The price tags were jaw-dropping, but I tried one on anyway and it fit and I had to buy it. I wore it the next day and, even though our breath was visible, I couldn't feel anything on my upper half other than torrid heat. I actually almost had to remove the dang thing, it was so warm! I have been appreciating it ever since. I shall have to add a picture of it once I get home and upload pics.
Speaking of uploading pics, I am LOVING the Epson viewer that I bought before I left the states. It allows me to back up my photos every day, and then look through them and weed out the obviously bad ones. Maybe I'll only have two thousand pics when I get home instead of three thousand!!! hahahahha
Last but NOT least, I received an email from my lovely daughter today informing me that she has procured employment for herself for when she gets back home from her trip to Copenhagen (remember, SHE is why I am here in the first place - to see her speak at the Association of Internet Researchers conference on October 16). Sara will be working for a non-profit in the city, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Yay, Sara!
At the same time, I have pretty much decided that my current project for California Volunteers will be my last gig in Sacramento. I'm tired of driving, and spending the last 6 weeks on forced unemployed status (thanks to our completely dorky governor, damn him!) has made me realize how much I love my city. I just want to be HOME at night, and ride public transportation during the day. Sacramento can go to hell (oh wait, it's 117 degrees there sometimes int he summer - it already IS hell!) :-)
OK, off I go. Love to all my friends and family.
Cheers,
Janine
On Sunday, I was driven by Carina, Per, and family to Stockholm (thanks, Carina, YOU ARE AWESOME!) after a great visit with them all. I was staying in the IPA house in Rissne, which is a suburb of Stockholm. The price was definitely right (it was only 37 Euros per night!) and it was so incredibly simple to get the metro into Stockholm each day to see sights. As had been my experience already in Sweden, the people in Stockholm were so unbelievably friendly and helpful that all I had to do was begin to look confused and someone would approach me to ask if I needed help.
So, let's see....we took a canal tour (I had never realized how much WATER there was in and around and through the city!) and saw the Grand Palace, Skansen park, and some other sights, but the best sightseeing adventure was the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a ship commissioned to be built in the 17th century, and it sank on its maiden voyage before ever getting out of Stockholm. This isn't really all that fantastic, I guess, but the museum was astonishingly cool. Once again, I have to say that Rick Steves' travel books are the bomb. Anyway, I also finally got Swedish meatballs while in Stockholm - I actually went to the grocery store and bought them and the sauce mix myself, and cooked them up in the guest house. So, my Swedish culinary wishes were all granted (but still nothing compares to the food I had while with Carina and Per...nothing).
My other "wish list" item for Sweden was to buy a warm sweater; in fact, I deliberately didn't bring one with me, and the jacket I brought is more water-resistant than warm. So, I looked around in Stockholm and ventured into some little shop that sold wool sweaters. Now, these aren't fuzzy wool sweaters, but dense, wonderful, intricately designed wool sweaters. The price tags were jaw-dropping, but I tried one on anyway and it fit and I had to buy it. I wore it the next day and, even though our breath was visible, I couldn't feel anything on my upper half other than torrid heat. I actually almost had to remove the dang thing, it was so warm! I have been appreciating it ever since. I shall have to add a picture of it once I get home and upload pics.
Speaking of uploading pics, I am LOVING the Epson viewer that I bought before I left the states. It allows me to back up my photos every day, and then look through them and weed out the obviously bad ones. Maybe I'll only have two thousand pics when I get home instead of three thousand!!! hahahahha
Last but NOT least, I received an email from my lovely daughter today informing me that she has procured employment for herself for when she gets back home from her trip to Copenhagen (remember, SHE is why I am here in the first place - to see her speak at the Association of Internet Researchers conference on October 16). Sara will be working for a non-profit in the city, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Yay, Sara!
At the same time, I have pretty much decided that my current project for California Volunteers will be my last gig in Sacramento. I'm tired of driving, and spending the last 6 weeks on forced unemployed status (thanks to our completely dorky governor, damn him!) has made me realize how much I love my city. I just want to be HOME at night, and ride public transportation during the day. Sacramento can go to hell (oh wait, it's 117 degrees there sometimes int he summer - it already IS hell!) :-)
OK, off I go. Love to all my friends and family.
Cheers,
Janine
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