i was in bussum today...going for the very important business of getting a train discount card and signing up for guitar lessons...two things that i failed to complete for various reasons...anyway in the end i browsed in the shopping area of the town (after getting on tv...:D). Anyway if I didn't want to travel so much I think that I woul buy out every store. They have beautiful clothing here...things at home in our malls don't even come close to all the clothes they have here. Nothing is straight cut...it's all flowy and ruffly and going all over the place...i love it! Now it appears as if linen is the thing for the summer...which it always is b/c it's nice and light weight and breathable...but it seems to be more so now. I love the look of linen but it's a bother to take care of b/c you always have to iron it. Never sit on a train in linen pants b/c you'll come out with them looking like an accordion. Although now that I'm the master of ironing I think it might be ok...I have the stupid thig out everyday anyway.
This past week I had the pleasure of going to a 50 years old philipino woman's birthday party! I have never had so much fun! Her daughter is 24 and was best friends with the old au pair here so we have met a couple times. It was all her friends from church. The evening started off pretty mellow but then we started talking about music and they were asking me what I played. Someone asked if I sang and I said a little which resulted in them jumping up and down for joy and running to get a karaoke machine so that I could, in front of 8 people I had just met, sing my little heart out to songs like "I will survive". I thought "either I could slump into the couch and hide, or join them as loud as I can". I chose the second thank you very much. The thing actually rates you at the end so we got good laughs in! Jennifer came over the next day so that I could teach her how to read music and she could teach me some guitar tricks. We're going to do that every week now. Pretty fair trade don't you think?
It's so neat the mix of nationalities I get to hang out with though. It's really helping me to see the world from a different perspective then I would have before! Oh the things to learn!
Doi for now!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
cry for help!
do you ever have it where you know exactly where something is but then cannot find it for the life of you. I just got a new james blunt guitar book from the library and i found a song that i desparately wanted to try. this particular song requires a capo. so i picked up some papers that my capo should have been under and it was not there! so i moved a few more papers and it was still not there! i proceeded to clean my entire room from top to bottom and it still was not there! come on people...WHERE DID MY CAPO GO??? please help me...all i want to do is play my song! i will find it but it will be in some weird obscure place like the dryer.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Pictures of Berlin
Here are some of the pictures that i took. Of course I am not in any of them b/c I went all by myself but BELIEVE ME!!!!! It was I that was taking the pictures;) hehe.
This is a palace that was on the other side of the city but I went there anyway...in the summer the gardens would have been spectacular...amazing place for you to go to elaine...but now in the winter nothing really special....but the picture turned out pretty neat did it not?
And now you have a sideways view of a bombed church...I think the most interesting thing that I saw and really the only thing that shows that the city had once been basically completely destroyed during the war. That is why it's not really a beautiful city and more a history city b/c most things are new.
This is a drawing from the Berlin wall. It is of the Tabi(???can't really remember the name) car breaking through the wall. When the wall was up the Eastern "controllers" wanted to make a car similar to the Bettle Bug that the Westerners had so they created this car. But it turned out that the demand was very high for out outside of the eastern part so they exported more then made for the easterners so they had to wait up to 15 years to get one if they had enough money to buy one.
I really tried to get a good picture of this but I didn't want to look like a tourist b/c it wasn't a tourist area...It is of Karl Marx Allee. I am sure that everyone knows that with communism they try to make all people equal and therefore they want them to live in similar houses. With communism comes very wide roads and apartment buildings that look all the same. Well this road had a parking lot in the middle it was so wide and the apartments were all the same. I found out though that it wasn't so much for everyone to be equal but just b/c they had mass housing and material shortage so they needed to build fast and cheap. Interesting hey?
Again the East Side Gallery Berlin wall...pretty self explanatory I think.
Sideway view of the Holocaust memorial. It was many different sizes of concrete blocks organized in these rows and as you walked in them you went lower and lower. I really wanted to read about the meaning of it but the information area wasn't open and I think they only let people in on Sunday.
A picture of Brandenburd gate when the wall was up around it. Brandenburg gate is the main toursit attraction and really the gate that divides east and west berlin. Did you know that they built the wall in basically one night? One day everyone can pass freely and work on other side and then the next nobody could pass...it was a temporary wall at first but then became very permanent. It took 6 years before they let the westerners cross to see family but easterners not....they had watch towers and would shoot people or jailed them if they tried. And this went on until 1989....we were all alive then and this is one of the most developed, richest countries in the world.
Brandenburg gate.
The was a memorial for the Jews killed during the war. They took the remains of one Jew from a concentration camp and buried them here. It was a closed off room/building that was formed like a temple. It was dark inside except for a hole right above the figure where light shine in.
This is a palace that was on the other side of the city but I went there anyway...in the summer the gardens would have been spectacular...amazing place for you to go to elaine...but now in the winter nothing really special....but the picture turned out pretty neat did it not?
And now you have a sideways view of a bombed church...I think the most interesting thing that I saw and really the only thing that shows that the city had once been basically completely destroyed during the war. That is why it's not really a beautiful city and more a history city b/c most things are new.
This is a drawing from the Berlin wall. It is of the Tabi(???can't really remember the name) car breaking through the wall. When the wall was up the Eastern "controllers" wanted to make a car similar to the Bettle Bug that the Westerners had so they created this car. But it turned out that the demand was very high for out outside of the eastern part so they exported more then made for the easterners so they had to wait up to 15 years to get one if they had enough money to buy one.
I really tried to get a good picture of this but I didn't want to look like a tourist b/c it wasn't a tourist area...It is of Karl Marx Allee. I am sure that everyone knows that with communism they try to make all people equal and therefore they want them to live in similar houses. With communism comes very wide roads and apartment buildings that look all the same. Well this road had a parking lot in the middle it was so wide and the apartments were all the same. I found out though that it wasn't so much for everyone to be equal but just b/c they had mass housing and material shortage so they needed to build fast and cheap. Interesting hey?
Again the East Side Gallery Berlin wall...pretty self explanatory I think.
Sideway view of the Holocaust memorial. It was many different sizes of concrete blocks organized in these rows and as you walked in them you went lower and lower. I really wanted to read about the meaning of it but the information area wasn't open and I think they only let people in on Sunday.
A picture of Brandenburd gate when the wall was up around it. Brandenburg gate is the main toursit attraction and really the gate that divides east and west berlin. Did you know that they built the wall in basically one night? One day everyone can pass freely and work on other side and then the next nobody could pass...it was a temporary wall at first but then became very permanent. It took 6 years before they let the westerners cross to see family but easterners not....they had watch towers and would shoot people or jailed them if they tried. And this went on until 1989....we were all alive then and this is one of the most developed, richest countries in the world.
Brandenburg gate.
The was a memorial for the Jews killed during the war. They took the remains of one Jew from a concentration camp and buried them here. It was a closed off room/building that was formed like a temple. It was dark inside except for a hole right above the figure where light shine in.
Monday, March 5, 2007
So I am back again from Berlin with lots of travel advise to those who wish to go into Germany....ummmmm....DON"T GO!
Haha I'm joking! Berlin is a wonderful place full of history. I now know all about the complete history of Jews in Germany, the complete history of Germany itself (although I spent most of my time in the reformation/Luther section and therefore did not have time to even read about the war let alone how Germany became a country), the complete history of the Berlin wall, the Cold war, communism in Eastern Berlin, etc. etc. etc. Eastern Berlin is where all the important bnuilding are and there is not much in western Berlin except a few things. One of the main points of interest to me would be the church that was destroyed during the war that they decided not to restore. Inside there were picture of it before and after and pictures of the surrounding area right after the war and now. Everything is new now because the city was basically destroyed during the war. The east side gallery was also very nice to see. I think it is the longest section of the wall that is still standing and they had artists come in right after the wall was tour down to draw pictures on it. I will explain some on the pictures later when I post them..they all of course had symbolism attached. I was talking with some people that I met in the hostel and they said that they were dissapointed that not more of the wall is still standing. I actually caught myself thinking the same thing but after I thought about it a bit I had to kick myself because really, after being divided for 30 years, I think that first thing that the people would want to do is to tare down the wall that separated them. To think that us silly tourists are dissapointed that not more of it is still up!
The hostel was pretty good. Jan warned me to stay away from the "hostel people" and I now know what that means. I met a mix of people. I was actually very discouraged at first when all I met was people who wanted me to go party with them. I was beginning to think that I was the only one that traveled to see things and everyone else just wanted a new and interesting place to party with new people...pretty expensive party experience if you ask me! Anyway slowly but surely real travelers began to surface and I had a good time chit chating with them. On Sunday and American from Texas and myself tried to find an english church but after 1.5 hours of travelling to get there we decided that we were too late to even catch the end of the service...dissapointing actually bc I had the whole trip planned out but b/c they were constructing in the subway system there were too many barriers in the way :(.
It was interesting to see German society. First of all I think that society revolves around beer and smoking. I actually saw 2 men sitting on a train at 10am drinking beer...I thought I was going to throw up. They keep smoking contained to specific areas...wait a minute...contained is the wrong word! They place smoking areas in the middle of the busiest trafic areas they can find...not contained at all so that everyone can breathe in and smell of smoke. I checked their life expectancy and it is only 2 years less then Canada at 77.4 years...that is a surprise to me! If it isn't beer and cigarettes that kill them it is going to be the stress that their aggression causes them. I have never heard so many blaring horns for as long in my life! And when I weas waiting at a counter the man behind me actually had the nerve to tell the man in front of me that he'd better move over to put the change back in his wallet because we were waiting there forever(this was all in German and I have substituted the meaning but the situation allows me to assume that I am right). Seriously we were waiting about 2 seconds. The man putting away his change smiled and moved over...I can be glad about that b/c I was sure that foul words or punches were going to be thrown!
I am sure that beer, smoking and aggression is not present in the lives of all Germans and I did meet some very nice ones, one of which was sitting beside me on the train, drinking a beer and having a cigarette, but these are the things that shocked me. As I become a more experienced traveller I am sure that I will get used to these sorts of things.
Anyway so there you have it. Good trip. Now I do suggest going to Germany but if you do please do not take the train. I will not explain in the blog but I suggest you take my advise...avoid the train at all costs...for 2 euros more and 4 hours less TAKE THE PLANE!!!!!!!!
Haha I'm joking! Berlin is a wonderful place full of history. I now know all about the complete history of Jews in Germany, the complete history of Germany itself (although I spent most of my time in the reformation/Luther section and therefore did not have time to even read about the war let alone how Germany became a country), the complete history of the Berlin wall, the Cold war, communism in Eastern Berlin, etc. etc. etc. Eastern Berlin is where all the important bnuilding are and there is not much in western Berlin except a few things. One of the main points of interest to me would be the church that was destroyed during the war that they decided not to restore. Inside there were picture of it before and after and pictures of the surrounding area right after the war and now. Everything is new now because the city was basically destroyed during the war. The east side gallery was also very nice to see. I think it is the longest section of the wall that is still standing and they had artists come in right after the wall was tour down to draw pictures on it. I will explain some on the pictures later when I post them..they all of course had symbolism attached. I was talking with some people that I met in the hostel and they said that they were dissapointed that not more of the wall is still standing. I actually caught myself thinking the same thing but after I thought about it a bit I had to kick myself because really, after being divided for 30 years, I think that first thing that the people would want to do is to tare down the wall that separated them. To think that us silly tourists are dissapointed that not more of it is still up!
The hostel was pretty good. Jan warned me to stay away from the "hostel people" and I now know what that means. I met a mix of people. I was actually very discouraged at first when all I met was people who wanted me to go party with them. I was beginning to think that I was the only one that traveled to see things and everyone else just wanted a new and interesting place to party with new people...pretty expensive party experience if you ask me! Anyway slowly but surely real travelers began to surface and I had a good time chit chating with them. On Sunday and American from Texas and myself tried to find an english church but after 1.5 hours of travelling to get there we decided that we were too late to even catch the end of the service...dissapointing actually bc I had the whole trip planned out but b/c they were constructing in the subway system there were too many barriers in the way :(.
It was interesting to see German society. First of all I think that society revolves around beer and smoking. I actually saw 2 men sitting on a train at 10am drinking beer...I thought I was going to throw up. They keep smoking contained to specific areas...wait a minute...contained is the wrong word! They place smoking areas in the middle of the busiest trafic areas they can find...not contained at all so that everyone can breathe in and smell of smoke. I checked their life expectancy and it is only 2 years less then Canada at 77.4 years...that is a surprise to me! If it isn't beer and cigarettes that kill them it is going to be the stress that their aggression causes them. I have never heard so many blaring horns for as long in my life! And when I weas waiting at a counter the man behind me actually had the nerve to tell the man in front of me that he'd better move over to put the change back in his wallet because we were waiting there forever(this was all in German and I have substituted the meaning but the situation allows me to assume that I am right). Seriously we were waiting about 2 seconds. The man putting away his change smiled and moved over...I can be glad about that b/c I was sure that foul words or punches were going to be thrown!
I am sure that beer, smoking and aggression is not present in the lives of all Germans and I did meet some very nice ones, one of which was sitting beside me on the train, drinking a beer and having a cigarette, but these are the things that shocked me. As I become a more experienced traveller I am sure that I will get used to these sorts of things.
Anyway so there you have it. Good trip. Now I do suggest going to Germany but if you do please do not take the train. I will not explain in the blog but I suggest you take my advise...avoid the train at all costs...for 2 euros more and 4 hours less TAKE THE PLANE!!!!!!!!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Berlin!
Hi everyone. Right now I am at a hostel in Berlin and typing on a german keyboard so please forgive me for the many spelling mistakes! I got here yesterday after a very miserable trip! The computers crashed at Amsterdam Centraal which means that all the trains were delayed. The train to Berlin couldn´t come on time so they sent us another one but that meant that rather than one smooth trip up to Berlin I had to switch trains at basically every station! Not fun. That meant that I got to Berlin after dark and had to find my hostel in the dak, in the middle of a huge city that I didn´t know. Anyway I managed to hold back the tears with some effort, found my hostel and am now having a wonderful time! The hostel is great. It has a kitchen and common area so at night I can just go there and hang out with people like I´m doing right now. The city is also very safe and I don´t feel nervous at all here! I spent the whole day looking around. I actually went to a lot of museums. I usually am not a museum person but there is so much history here I want to read it all! I learnt all about what life was like on the east side while communism was present and I got to go to Checkpoint Charlie , the main gate bw eastern and western berlin, and the jewish museum which was a little bit boring but oh well. Anyway doing it by myself has been fine! Still so much to see tomorrow like the Karl-Marx Allee and East Side gallery. Im mainly interested in the communist history for some reason...interesting to see in person how it actually works! So I will post more later! And about Deanne´s trip here too!
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