Finally had more time to write a quick update.
I'm now in Prague, Czech Republic, having left Brugge, Amsterdam, and Berlin.
Brugge was a quaint small town with cobbled streets, and a Tintin Shop (which occupied me for far too long). I ensured i experienced the true Belgian cuisine of waffles, beer, chocolate, and more beer. It was good preparation linguistically for Amsterdam as I had very little idea about dutch and still really have no idea.
Amsterdam... Well there were sex shops, coffee shops, smart shops (look em up), dykes, alot of canals and bridges thereover (if that is a real word), and even more bikes. Oh yes, and some trams. Went on a bike tour around the city and also out to the countryside to a cheese and clog factory. And made the obligatory visit to the sex museum which is alternately hilarious (1870's porn with innappropriately sized moustaches) and incredibly disturbing (i won't go there).
ALso went to the Anne Frank Huis which was a little more educational.
We knew we were in Amsterdam when, waiting to check in to our hostel, a guy walked in with an industrial sized bong, and seemed to have used it.
However, the liberal attitude to such things seemed to create a more relaxed atmospshere and we saw no real problems. The red light district itself is one of the most highly policed areas in the world with cctv everywhere.
Saying our goodbyes to Amsterdam, we set our sights on Berlin.
Not the most aesthetically pleasing city in the world, but the incredible history
and quite modern history made it very interesting. We did a walking tour which was very in depth about the 20th century history which changed the city. The new (2 years old) memorial for the murdered Jews is striking.
Despite the fact that most young people can supposedly speak english very well,
I was forced to practice my german on 80 percent of the people in shops etc. to find a laundromat.
It was also very warm. Amsterdam had been mid 20's but it was about 30 in berlin, which created some stifling heat for our pub crawl on the second night, ending in a massive club called the Matrix. We left as the World Cup decorations were being taken down and the Love Parade was being set up (look it up).
Now in a great Hostel in Prague, about to do a walking tour of the beautiful old city.
This is also the first cheap place ive been to since home. Indeed, it cost about
AUD 10 for a hearty dinner and 2 half litres of beer. I have to make the most of this because everywhere else i'm going will be very expensive.
I'm now in Prague, Czech Republic, having left Brugge, Amsterdam, and Berlin.
Brugge was a quaint small town with cobbled streets, and a Tintin Shop (which occupied me for far too long). I ensured i experienced the true Belgian cuisine of waffles, beer, chocolate, and more beer. It was good preparation linguistically for Amsterdam as I had very little idea about dutch and still really have no idea.
Amsterdam... Well there were sex shops, coffee shops, smart shops (look em up), dykes, alot of canals and bridges thereover (if that is a real word), and even more bikes. Oh yes, and some trams. Went on a bike tour around the city and also out to the countryside to a cheese and clog factory. And made the obligatory visit to the sex museum which is alternately hilarious (1870's porn with innappropriately sized moustaches) and incredibly disturbing (i won't go there).
ALso went to the Anne Frank Huis which was a little more educational.
We knew we were in Amsterdam when, waiting to check in to our hostel, a guy walked in with an industrial sized bong, and seemed to have used it.
However, the liberal attitude to such things seemed to create a more relaxed atmospshere and we saw no real problems. The red light district itself is one of the most highly policed areas in the world with cctv everywhere.
Saying our goodbyes to Amsterdam, we set our sights on Berlin.
Not the most aesthetically pleasing city in the world, but the incredible history
and quite modern history made it very interesting. We did a walking tour which was very in depth about the 20th century history which changed the city. The new (2 years old) memorial for the murdered Jews is striking.
Despite the fact that most young people can supposedly speak english very well,
I was forced to practice my german on 80 percent of the people in shops etc. to find a laundromat.
It was also very warm. Amsterdam had been mid 20's but it was about 30 in berlin, which created some stifling heat for our pub crawl on the second night, ending in a massive club called the Matrix. We left as the World Cup decorations were being taken down and the Love Parade was being set up (look it up).
Now in a great Hostel in Prague, about to do a walking tour of the beautiful old city.
This is also the first cheap place ive been to since home. Indeed, it cost about
AUD 10 for a hearty dinner and 2 half litres of beer. I have to make the most of this because everywhere else i'm going will be very expensive.
posted by Stephen Walsh | 10:05 am
2 Comments:
Stop asking me to look these things up! You're there, you've experienced and seen these things and had them explained to you, the least you could do is spend half your trip writing more detailed descriptions on your blog, sheesh!
hey, Adele here. Think that I was supposed to contact you re catching up in Berlin, as was there for 7 weeks working at the world cup (yes I was in the stadium for 5 matches including the final!). But I think that I probably wasn't there anyway when you were as I was in London from the 13th to the 16th. Am now back in Melb and very envious of you enjoying the fab summer weather.
Post a Comment
<< Home