The pics are below the post. The Germans from Mannheim returned the favor and came and visited me. The pictures of the guy in his underwear: we were playing some night soccer at the lake and the ball went in so the dude stripped and retrieved it. Let me start by saying I got super drunk the night before the Germans arrived. There was a party and then we ended in Stratum and partied until 4 am. So in my drunken stupor Hendrik and myself decided to go to Utrecht early Saturday. Unfortunately for me he didn't drink because he drove, so came early to my house. Talk about hangover, awkward sleep while a friend drives. We got to Utrecht and walked around. This trip was actually really important to me because it is the only other dutch city I have seen besides Eindhoven and Amsterdam. I got a tight shirt and admired the women, let me reiterate: Holland has hot women. The city is like 60% women anyways because of the college. Mind blowing, but none can compare to the beautiful woman waiting for me in the States. We arrived at 3pm and the Germans had arrived at 1pm, so naturally they were drunk and hungry. We went back to the Stratum and as you can see we found some famous people. I got a bad picture of the guys from Miami Ink. I guess they were here giving tats...wish I would've gotten one. After food we went to a park and had some food, then went back out to Stratum...ugh... 50 euros and 3 or 4 rounds of Jager later, yes Germans love Jager...Oliver got lost and Volker and I spent 10 euro calling him. Everytime he went to answer the phone he threw up. This continued for about an hour, hence the 10 euro phone bill. It was good to see old friends and know that if I am ever in Western Europe I gots peeps.
Amsterdam. This word can bring a number of images to the mind. Nothing could prepare me for the debauchery and party atmosphere I felt that one Saturday in July. I have never been to a gay pride parade, but I can assure you that the one in Amsterdam is definitive world wide. As you can see from the pictures, thousands of people crowd around one of the canals that circle around Amsterdam. Hundreds of boats filled with half naked people dancing, singing, drinking, touching...An excuse to get drunk in public. So when in Amsterdam during the gay pride parade, what does one do? Well, we walked on the canal where the party was taking our time, drinking beers and snacking on chips. Really as usual the whole trip was a blur, but I can tell you that there was A LOT of public same sex intimacy, not just guys either... Anywho if you want to know what really goes on in Amsterdam, you will just have to go!
So....Weeks later, officially one week late with this post. I have been very busy with work, and Leslie's visit.
Brugge in English, Bruges in Flemish, was amazing. When I came to Europe I had this idea of what I thought it should look like, and Brugge fit that mold perfectly. The city has been completely restored in many sections to what it looked like in the 17th century. In fact, many buildings had the date written on the building and most were around 1650...Absolutely amazing.
This was Leslie's trip to plan, and she did such a good job. Since we have been together we have never taken a proper vacation, and for people that know us well, know that its been a long time for no vacation time. We spent our days walking around the city, but it was nice to cool off and relax in this little bed and breakfast in the heart of town. The price of the room for 2 nights was a bit heavy, but worth every penny. Our host was great, good breakfast and food recommendations. So kudos Leslie!
We left right after work on Friday and hopped on the train around 6pm. We changed trains twice, once in bumfuck Holland, and once in Antwerpen, BE. The trip went really quick and we got about 400km in 4 hours. We arrived at the B&B at 10pm and our host suggested a bar to enjoy some tasty Belgium Beers. I was in heaven. If you find yourself in Brugge for some reason, please go to De Gaar. It was this little bar, and every beer was around 3 euro, we are talking Golden Draak, and Chimay...not cheap stuff in the US! The place was small and crowded so we had to share a table with a couple from where else, San Francisco. It was nice to talk to Americans, lord knows I have had enough of the American stereotyping and bullshit. After several good beers and cigarettes we parted ways to go to another bar with some good jazz. When we got there the bar unfortunately didn't have any music (it was around 3am) but we did get some Absynth, proper. The guy lit it on fire and we poured water over sugar. The stuff is gross, and well made the rest of the night a little blurry...
The next day we walked around and did the sites, I ran out of money and the ATMs here are touch and go so we had to find one that would work, we found one thank god. After a few sites, the Belfry, chocolate stores, and Lace museum we found some food at an Italian place, we needed the energy. The night was short for us and we tried to recreate the magic at De Gaar, but we were tired and a bit hungover from the night before.
Our last day there we finally rode bikes around the city and got a good feeling of what Brugge is actually like...and it is awesome. We went into a windmill, and made our way home. The trip back wasnt so nice we left at 1 and got back at 7 :( Definately worth the money and the time though!
Well I must say that Amsterdam certainly lives up to its hype. There have been three defining trips in my life: Las Vegas, Alaksa, and Amsterdam. I won't put them in order, but my German friend put it perfect...the Dutch are crazy. Let me tell the story chronologically...
9:00am wake up, late 9:30am get on bus 10:00am get on train 11:30 arrive in Amsterdam 12:30 arrive at hotel
And thats all I remember. Kidding. We met up with some guys I know from Germany and headed out to get some lunch. Amsterdam has a lot of large brick alleys with business jutting out everywhere. We stopped at a small food vendor had a standard meal and continued on our way. After getting totally lost we finally found the Heineken Brouwerij (ij = y or i). Word of advice. Heineken sucks. Don't drink their beer and certainly don't go to the brewery. First, the Brouwerij doesn't even brew beer. Second, I paid 15 euros for 3 beers, a stupid ride, and mindless propaganda. There is actually a room that blasts techno and shows Heineken commercials. After the Heine fiasco, we decided, "hey what the hell lets take our awesome boat ride that I have been planning for weeks." We were all set to go on a canal tour with this little boat company where you could byob, and byof. Too bad it was sold out...this left us with a sterile commercial major canal boat company. I got to listen to 4 languages for an hour and a half, but I must say the canals are beautiful. The boat ride set us right and we went to get some food and wine. Our plan was to go deep into the Vondlepark, the equivalent of NYC's central park and DC's rock creek park. We took pictures in front of the 'I Amsterdam' letters and spent a good hour conversing about the differences of German and American life. At this point Leslie and I broke off for a private dinner. Might I mention that I found a baller hotel in the best part of Amsterdam for only 99euro a night. If you take a trip to Amsterdam stay in the Park Hotel, you won't be dissapointed. I called down to the desk to see where Lesbo and I could find a good restaurant. The lady sent us to an overpriced Indonesian place full of Americans, so we split and went to a Dutch BBQ. It was definately worth the trouble and way cheaper, while retaining a really cool vibe. If I could remember the name I would recomend it. When we intially left the Germans, they were sober, but an hour and a half later, they were definately wasted! We met in Dam Square in front of Madame Toussauds theater and headed to the Red Light district. Let me tell you that there is nothing like this in the United States. I felt like I was on Pleasure Island, an amuesment park for grown ups looking to engage in every illegal activity known to man...except in Holland its not illegal...go figure. After perusing the alley ways and various shops we found our selves at a crowded bar playing the loudest version of "Sweet Caroline" I have ever heard. The night gets cloudy after that, but we ended our night drinking Guinesss at an Irish bar on a Canal.
2:00am Leave Irish bar 3:00am Arrive at Park Hotel 3:30am Sleep
Next Day 11:00am Wakeup 12:00am Check out
We bought tickets to the Van Gogh museum and wanted to rent bikes, but it was madatory to return the bikes to the original shop. Since we weren't staying another night we decided to get bikes at the Central Station. The first day we walked to our hotel from central station, this time we rode the tram. The tram is a light rail that follows the alley ways around Amsterdam, much quicker. Once we got to the Central Station we realized that the Van Gogh museum was where we were before our tram ride. So we skipped the bikes and took the tram back to where we started (Does this make sense). If there is one thing to do in Amsterdam, go to the Van Gogh museum...its amazing. There are so many famous pictures, and great art...I loved it...not allowed to take pictures. After that we decided that we should head back to the station, maybe finding a market along the way, but unfortunately we ended up eating at the "Burger Bar" and taking the train home. Side note: We were in the Burger Bar eating the most amazing burger I have ever had: About a quarter inch of goat cheese, on top of a Kobe beef patty in a soft wheat bun. Sorry 5guys/Good Stuff.
Amsterdam is an awesome place, definately the most awesome trip I have taken since coming to Europe.I'll keep you posted.
The pictures that are in front of a giant screen are from an outdoor theater called Plaza Futura. Free movies Tuesday and Friday and you can BYOB and food so its a cheap way to spend a lazy night.
So I have been in Europe for ten days and haven't really had a day to myself, which is good, but exhausting. Life here is getting better and I really enjoy the city now, I just wish I had time to explore more of it. I stopped trying to speak dutch because everyone speaks English and I am lazy. On Thursday I went to the VanAbbeMuseum, which was full of modern art. Michiel from work gave me a cool tour and then we went to Bruno and then to the bars, which interestingly enough ended with me on stage doing Karaoke in front of a bar full of Dutch teenagers. I thought I did pretty good, it was "Bad" by MJ and I speak good English. On Friday a coworker had a party and we got to go up on the roof, which is pretty sick considering there are no tall buildings in Eindhoven. Last weekend I spent my time in Eindhoven and went out to the bars. This weekend I went to Mannheim Germany with a stopover in Cologne or Koln as they say in German. The German countryside is really beautiful and the highway is absolutely insane. I think at one point my friend Hendrick took his car to 180 km/hr, 110 mph, but in a small ass Renault. When we hit the mountains I found it really cool that the highway just stayed flat and if there were valleys there was a bridge, creating a really cool vantage point of small villages.
Two things I found awesome. You can drink in the streets. No matter what it is, bottles, cans, liquor, they have everything. The second is that you can drink in your car, obviously not if you are driving. I found it frustrating that the US government puts all these restrictions on us to prevent us from doing something stupid instead of letting us learn our lesson and then really know why its dumb to do it...if you know what I mean. The stairs in Germany are also like the stairs in the US, while the Dutch stairs are small and steep. Germany is really like the US, just older, and sometimes because of the war not even that old. The women are fat because of all the bad food, but here in Holland the women are thin and blonde, mostly. I find it interesting that so much can be different in two very similar countries. The Germans don't speak English as much as the Dutch, I guess its because Holland is so small. The beer is awesome. When we arrived in Mannheim there was a festival going on and we went to a really cool party courtesy of my friend Peter. We ended up on a balcony overlooking the main parade route where the concert was, no popular US bands, but I think Pink played a couple years ago there. After that, we headed to another party at my German friend Volker's place. Oliver let us crash at his pad, and was a really cool host. The next day we left and stopped over in Cologne for some sightseeing and there is this enourmous Cathedral. We got some Currywurst which is a really popular snack in Germany, I wanted a Kolsch, the Cologne beer, but I couldn't handle anymore. After a little shopping we headed home. It was a good trip. Check out the pics and let me know if you will be in Europe, a lot of people will. I will be in Amsterdam next weekend and Bruge the weekend after ;)
Hello all, hope my pictures are a good indication of things in Eindhoven. Its really cool discovering different parts of the city. For example, many of the photos are of me running through a little park with LOTS of statues and art. Someone told me this place is inhabited by many artists, I don't disagree (see pictures). People were sunbathing on the shore of some small ponds separating the park from the houses and highway. I finally got wheels! See my artsy portrait with the help of Nikon "sports mode." It took several hours planning and shopping, but I got the P.O.S. bike to move. Go me. I took my engineering feat down to Philips and back and got some nice scenery along the way. Making friends with the people at the apartment complex (see black building with many windows). An architect designed this oven. Good architect. The people here all have some opinion of what America is and what we stand for. It's hard to hear some pretty nasty things (but mostly good!), mostly from ignorance due to bad translations across border News channels. My fourth of July wasn't anything special, but I went out with friends to the Boston Pub. Yet again I forget my camera. The Stratum in Eindhoven is a special place. Its a long string of bars in a small street. Think of a flat Adams Morgan, DC and cut the road size down to 10ft and you have the most popular place in Eindhoven. Boston pub hosts Celtic Jerseys, baseball games, and pictures of Boston, MA: the only thing linking it to Boston, or anywhere in the USA. Walking through the doors was like walking into an awkwardly empty irish bar with concert lighting and techno provided by a professional DJ in the corner. The vibe was weird and the beer was cheap, so we stayed until I broke a glass. May I rant on the daft drinking glasses. Small - highball glass; Large - a half pint glass? Maybe?
Anywho, I am tired of procrastinating! Hope the weather has finally cooled down.
So today was hard...I was a bit tired from a bbq last night (pics). Since the last post I have been to a coffeeshop. Nothing special. It is still very hot here, but it is supposed to cool down soon. The house I am staying in right now finally organized and cleaned up the kitchen which is very cool. This weekend I must get a bike. It is a number one priority. Everyone buys stolen bikes here and tells me I should do the same. I know if I attempt this I will get thrown in jail...I wont do this. Tonight I plan on going out in Eindhoven and peeing in one of the grey outdoor stalls in the street. Why don't we have this in College Park?
I am a mechanical engineering graduate student at the University of Maryland. I am just a regular guy doing regular things that end up becoming ridiculous stories.
