Things are expensive in Holland...

Nevermind this post that I wrote a month ago. All of that has changed.

After coming back from Paris, I have now come to the conclusion that while the basics of living (groceries, alcohol, etc.) are certainly affordable in Europe, luxuries definitely come at a cost.

Take for example the other night a few weeks ago. About six of us wanted to go out for dinner. Being students and all, we tried to look for an inexpensive place to eat. So we finally ended up at a Thai restaurant near downtown.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm from Vancouver, Canada. In Vancouver, stuffing your face is cheap. Asian food, especially, is cheap. So going out to dinner and stuffing your face with Asian food? Yep, you guessed it. Cheap. What I'm trying to say is that food in Vancouver is cheap. Paying $30 for a Thai dinner would still be cheap considering that's probably the bill for 3-4 people.

However, this Thai restaurant seemed to think it was okay to charge €20 (that's $30!) for a single plate of Pad Thai. PAD THAI!!! I'm not sure if you know what's in Pad Thai, but it sure isn't €20 of anything. I'd still consider it expensive even if you had the Queen herself cook it. Or gave me a special plaque to commemorate my expensive dining experience. Or had a life-sized robot powered by cold-fusion serve it to me (though it would be awesome).


Teeks

J'aime Paris

So I just came back from a week in Paris chillin' with Angus and Philippe. I got to see a ton of stuff and more importantly a bunch of stuff I missed the first time I went to Paris (which was about six years ago). Fortunately, the weather held out and even got to see some sun.

France and Paris are amazing. Not only is the city busy with the hustle and bustle but it also has a lot of history that gets folded into the mix. Angus hasn't done the tourist thing in Paris either, so we both took in a lot of the sights for the first time. So thanks to four days of hard work, we got to see:

• Le Louvre (just the outside)
• Les Champs Élysées
• L'Arc de Triomphe
• La Tour Eiffel
• École Militaire
  
• Le Grand Palais (nice Egyptian exhibition)
• Château de Versailles (see below)
• Hôtel des Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb and an excellent war museum)
• Notre Dame de Paris
  
• La Place de la Bastille

Now I won't bore you with the history and such as most of the magic will be lost through my poor description, but I will say that Château de Versailles is one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. It's almost unbelievable how much decadence can be crammed into one place; if you've seen the movie Marie Antoinette, you'll get an idea of what to expect from that place. Well worth the trip out to Versailles and definitely one of the highlights for me.

Other than that, what can I say? I spoke bad French to Parisians; although a couple times I had to repeat myself ad nauseum because they didn't understand what I was saying, but I held my ground until they gave in. Food and drinks (50cL of Coke is about €3) are expensive in Paris; however, there are some nice baguettes and pastries to be found for reasonable prices. Finally, the Parisian French accent is quite pleasant to hear. Strangely, there were a couple of times while I was sitting in the metro when I overheard conversations and I suddenly felt like I was in a French foreign film. It was weird.


Teeks

Germans wear funny clothes

I spent last weekend in Bonn/Köln again to take in Karneval with my good buddy, Craig. Karneval (Germany) and Carnival (Brazil) are similar to each other, although both celebrate in their own special way. Since I have no idea what Carnival in Brazil is like, I'll stick to describing my weekend.

Karneval was interesting. Basically the entire Rhineland region shuts down for this week-long festival that really gets started on the Thursday (but technically starts in November). I arrived on Friday and took in the sights after we dropped off my stuff; Saturday night was reserved for the crazy parties going on all over.

The best way to describe it is to say it's like Halloween except everybody gets into it: old and young. The thing that's different is that anything strange qualifies as a costume. In North America for Halloween you usually dress as something; in Germany, if you have weird clothes you've got a Karneval outfit (as you can tell by the pictures, I'm dressed as an idiot).

We got to a bar called "Spielplatz" at roughly 4:30pm and to my surprise there was already a line of people about 100 deep. This isn't that strange unless you consider the fact that the bar didn't open until at least 5:00pm. So, special thanks to Craig's coworker, Alex, for getting us in front of the line with his friends. After you get in, you basically drink and listen to "oom-pah-pah" music all night. Guter deutscher fun.

On another note, some people have been asking me if I'm doing any work over here since I seem to be spending a significant amount of time travelling. To that I say, "I'll talk to you when I get back from Paris."


Teeks

I'm not a photographer, but I play one on the internet...

Over the last few weeks, I've accumulated a small amount of photos that I though were kinda cool and I thought I should share. Just a forewarning, they're mostly cliché b&w's taken with a point and shoot digital camera. So they're not even close to "high-school" photography class quality. I still like them though.

I generally prefer candid photos to posed ones, but in this instance I can't really take candid pictures of myself (without myself knowing). So, posed photo are acceptable.

I fixed up some of the shots with my laptop to make them look a little better (e.g., I made the London Underground shot have the yellow line and signage come up while everything else is b&w). I'm not definitely some skilled (or magical) photographer that gets great angles and lighting.

I'll keep these photos up until my eyes well up with tears when I can't take the criticism anymore. =P


Teeks

PS - fyi, the Rotterdam Wallpaper is supposed to have the obvious stitching in the middle.

Amsterdam makes you do strange things...

I just returned from a weekend trip to Amsterdam with some classmates. I've been to Amsterdam before, but I completely forgot what a circus the city was. Bikes, cars, trams and pedestrians all trying to navigate the streets. And then there's the Red-Light District. This place is insane. No description would do it justice. You just have to go and experience it.

Nothing really exciting transpired. We walked the streets in the freezing cold. We went to the Van Gogh museum. It rained.

And then it happened. I turned my back on one of the things in my life that I hold most sacred.

I ate at McDonald's.

If you've known me for any period of time you've likely heard me yammer on about my no-McDonald's streak dating back to 1999. I decided long ago to cut out something unhealthy from my life and since McDonald's is the easiest fast food to acquire, it became my small sacrifice. Honestly, I've adhered to this policy quite faithfully (with exceptions for the occasional apple pie and soft serve sundae) and am happy I did it.

For the sake of full-disclosure, there was another incident in 2000 (the last time I was in Europe). I partook of a McDonald's meal in Switzerland. Not because I craved it, but because I was starving.

This time, I quasi-broke the rule for a reason. Before coming to Europe I decided I was going to try and sample as many local delicacies as possible. If a whole nation thinks something is delicious, then it probably is. The Netherlands is no different. They have this thing called a "kroket" that is eaten in a bun. It looks like a fish stick and is basically a breaded, deep-fried beef ragout. Well, McDonald's puts this thing in a burger-format with some seasoned mayonnaise and presto! McKroket Burger (€1.95). And it's as tasty as it looks.

So despite what I said above, I still consider the streak to be alive. Well, in North America it is at least.


Teeks

I'm not as young as I used to be...

Getting old is easy. All you have to do is sit there and it will happen.

The hard part is staying young (or at least postponing old-age). People try to accomplish this feat everyday of their lives. They eat healthy, exercise and keep the bodily abuse to a minimum.

Through good genes (if you believe in evolution), the grace of some god (if you're religious) or witchcraft (if you're just plain jealous), I look younger than I am. But, I'm not shy about my age. If people ask, I'll tell them.

More importantly, I've managed to postpone my mental maturity. Thanks to that, I've been able to successfully re-infiltrate and re-integrate into the undergraduate life here on my international exchange in Rotterdam.

However, I've felt the oldest I've ever felt the other day. While sitting around with some exchange friends (who were both born in the 80's) the song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" came on. If you don't know who sang it, don't feel bad; it's not at the tip of everyone's tongue. But I imagine that all or most of you do know of this classic song from the 80's. It's by my favourite group from the 80's "Wham!".

Unfortunately, Amber and Rich didn't know by who it was; so I said, "it's by Wham!".

To which they replied "who's Wham!?".

I almost cried.


Teeks

Chicken... run!

I don't know how many of you know this but, Holland (and Rotterdam in particular) is the victim of an invasive species. About 90-years ago, some genius brought over a non-native type of chicken that was supposed to be better for farming. However, this breed was so aggressive and adaptable that after a few got loose, there was no controlling the wild chicken population.

As a result, there are certain areas that are not safe to travel without at least an experienced guide or a vehicle of some sort. These areas are marked with signs (see above picture) and people are indeed serious about the possible threat to one's personal safety. The wild roosters (reaching almost 1.20m in height) will attack most passerbys with the most common injuries being scratches and bites. However, there have also been several recorded incidents of people losing arms or legs.

To help remedy the situation the local government passed by decree "De het Pikken Orde" where wild roosters can be hunted within the surrounding park areas. Additionally, there are social incentives to collecting wild roosters. For example, Jerry, one of the Dutch student buddies, bounced a cheque at a local grocery store. As punishment, the store owner put the bounced cheque up on display for customers to see. However, the store owner offered to take the cheque down if Jerry would get a rooster and win a cockfight against a bigger chicken. Fortunately for "Little Jerry", Jerry's friend Kramer stepped in to stop the fight.


Teeks

Fast bike? She's fast enough for you, old man.

Lock up your daughters, dads! That's right. I purchased a bicycle yesterday. And soon, I will be terrorizing neighbourhoods again like I did when I was 10-years old.

As you can see from the pictures, it's not fancy. It's not pretty. But, it's got a lot of things going for it:

1. It's got two wheels - while looking for a bike I asked myself "what do I reeeeealy want?". And the answer that came up first was "two wheels". Fortunately, there are plenty of bikes available with this feature.
   
   
2. It's ugly - I don't want Dutch locals and perhaps unsavoury international students thinking that this bike would look better under their own ass. Therefore, I picked a bike for which almost no one could care. Think "Charlie Brown Christmas" and you'll get a better 3D mental picture in your head. Only those pitied by the desperate are going to want to steal this bike.
   
   
3. It's special - is it the mustard yellow colour? Maybe. Is it the "The Eagle" decal that's emblazoned on the bike's frame that exudes a quality best described as "awesomeness"? Getting closer. Is it because I look like a down-and-out rock star from an episode of VH1's "Where Are They Now?" when I ride it? Absolutely.

But seriously, the Dutch like to bike. It also helps that pretty much everywhere you go, there's a designated bike path. There's even traffic lights just for the bike lanes. It's so popular that I think there's probably TV shows on about bikes with people falling in love or crime dramas with cops on bikes ("Pacific Blue" would have killed out here).

Basically moving to Rotterdam and not owning a bike would be like... like moving to Montreal and chopping off my legs... actually, that's not a good analogy. I'll have to think about that one...

At least I feel like I belong now and not like one of those schleps walking. Haha!


Teeks