(I apologize in advance if this post is vague and overly academic. I find borders really fascinating from an academic standpoint, so naturally I'm going to say a lot of boring social-science-y things about them).
Having just yesterday visited the Drielandenpunt, or Three-Countries-Point, this seems like the appropriate time to talk a bit about what borders are like here in Europe. It's particularly interesting to someone living here in Maastricht, because we're really on the edge of the country- I have, quite literally, gone out for a walk to Belgium before.
As a Canadian, I've always had a very particular idea about what borders mean- between Canada and the US, our own land neighbour (with the possible exception of 1.5 KM of rocky border with Greenland, of course), the border is marked by a several-thousand KM long strip cut out of the trees. You pull up in your car, often after a long wait, and are asked a seemingly arbitrary series of questions by a border guard. The experience varies significantly on who you get, and the mood they're in. Coming back, it's much the same, with Canada Customs asking about the things you've bought, as you search for receipts to prove your purchases. Sometimes, they randomly search trunks. Other times, you may have to pay a fee. One on one side of the border or the other, you get a clear image of the border as that imaginary line where Canada stops and the USA starts (or vice-versa, of course).
Most people are aware of the fact that that hasn't been the case in Europe for quite some time now. Thanks to the Schengen agreement, most of the countries in Europe no long have border controls between them; you're free to come and go as you please. With EU citizens having the right to live and work anywhere in the Union, most EU countries using the Euro as their currency, and the EU having made significant gains in achieving as "single common market" wherein it's fairly easy for companies to operate across borders, most of the familiar aspects of border crossing just aren't here. I don't have to change my money, the timezone spans most of the continent, and many of the products are the same across borders. There's not even always a sign that you've crossed the border- especially if you're going by train (I found this an interesting contrast to, for example, Nova Scotia, which has giant signs just to let you know you've entered a new county). You have to simply guess based on what languages are spoken and the designs of the train stations, or, if you really can't tell, just wait to get a text message from your provider telling you the rates in the country you've just entered.
Here in Maastricht, you really get the feeling that people take full advantage of the open borders- the city is full of Belgian and German license plates, for example, as many work here and live elsewhere (and, no doubt, vice-versa). It's not uncommon for professors to teach both here and in Hasselt, Belgium (in my case, I have a professor who teaches at both back to back in the same morning), and I even had one tutor who taught here, lived in Belgium, but was from Italy. And, while in theory each country that uses the Euro makes its own coins (which are all valid anywhere in the Union, of course), in practice here in Maastricht my change always has Dutch, German, Belgian, and the occasional French and Luxembourg coins.
So, with all this said, it stands to reason that borders mean something a bit different here, and so as an exchange student, I experience them differently than I do at home. One very noticeable difference is, as I wrote about in an earlier post, language. Cross to the South, you're speaking French. Cross to the West, you're speaking Dutch. Cross to the East, you're speaking German. Often, this is basically an instant transition, and I can't help but wonder if it's confusing for motorists to suddenly face signs they can't understand. This was also one of the interesting parts of the Three Counties Point-signs and monuments were mostly in the Netherlands or Belgium, and switched languages as you cross the line. Another one you can look out for is the differences in how infrastructure looks. When we went to Luxembourg, for instance, we knew we'd entered the country because the train stations were of a different design than the Belgian ones (and slightly better maintained). Crossing on the highway, you'll often see the speed limit suddenly change (when a friend with a car took me to lunch in Germany, as soon as we hit the "Deutschland" sign he put the pedal basically to the floor, since the Autobahn has no real speed limit).
But, I want to put on my political science hat for a second and say that the way the border is constructed here has a lot more to do with the subtleties of the different European cultures. Going to Germany yesterday, for instance, one of the more noticeable differences (aside from a distinctly different way of designing the city) was the presence of bakeries everywhere, which sold products of a markedly different (and, according to my German friends, decidedly higher quality) variety. The difference is, of course, that local tastes vary.
And so, the construction of the border here is a little more subtle. It doesn't happen with fences and invasive questioning and changing of your money and needing to remember to keep receipts for the inspection on the way home. It's also not always as evidently marked by differences in businesses, as many companies operate across the borders. Rather, it's more in the day-to-day. The fact that if you take a bus an hour down the road to Germany you'll find bakeries filled with pretzels and German speakers, and the widespread availability of apple flavoured soda and orange flavoured Coke. If you head in the other direction over to Belgium, however, you'll find fine local chocolates in the grocery stores and a mix of language compromises not present here in the Netherlands.
All of this, of course, is interesting for the exchange student to explore. The differences, for someone unfamiliar with the local cultures and unable to speak the local languages, don't pop out at you quite like a giant border station does,and so it certainly took me some time to grasp some of these aspects. It's also, obviously, very convenient for an exchange student to be sitting at a point where two other countries are easily accessed-for example, I've become greatly familiar with the Belgian train company's website for buying tickets , since Liège has been the gateway for a lot of my train journeys.
None of this easiness of crossing or the disappearing of the visible signs of the border, of course, takes away any of the fun of standing in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany all at the same time.
Sunday, 29 November 2015
Friday, 6 November 2015
Words
In terms of languages, Maastricht is a funny place.
Being in the Netherlands, the main language is, of course, Dutch. I hear it every day, and have even picked up sufficient words to be able to respond correctly to supermarket cashiers. But the Province of Limburg also has a language, Limburgish, which the Netherlands has actually recognized as a minority language. Not being able to speak Dutch, I actually don't really know with what regularity I hear individuals speaking Limburgish, although from my understanding of the language (and based on what people from other parts of the country have told me) I'm guessing I hear it a lot. The most visible presence of Limburgish is on street signs, which, in the older parts of the city, are bilingual Dutch/Limburgish.
Given the number of students, it should be no surprise that Dutch isn't the only language which one regularly hears. English is the lingua franca used between most people in the area who don't share a mother tongue, and as a result its use is widespread (I've so far encountered at most one or two people who can't speak English). Of course, Dutch being the official language, signs, products, advertisements, etc. are generally not written in English (though products sometimes may have German or French-more on that later), and so us exchange students do tend to pick up a few words here and there. I find it interesting that, much more so than with Cantonese in Hong Kong, people will encourage you to learn Dutch.
Interestingly, customer services don't necessarily go out of their way to provide other languages either: I was shocked, for example, that the bank I deal with here, ING, explicitly does not offer the option to access my account in English at ATM's (which do have menus accessible in four different languages if you use a foreign card, so clearly the translations have been done) or online. This is in stark contrast to Canada, where a growing number of banks are making services available in multiple languages, even to holders of accounts at that bank. Similarly, although the website for NS, the national train company, can be accessed in English, the page offering deals is only available in Dutch (and purchases require a Dutch bank account). Paradoxically, Maastricht University is also the only university I've ever been to, or heard of (with the possible exception of other Dutch unis) where taking a language class is considered something over and above one's regular courses, requiring extra fees. The end result, therefore, of a relatively high number of English speakers, and restricted access to learning the language at the University, is that we depend, quite frequently, on google translate to muddle through the handful of things not offered in English, rather than being in a position to quickly pick up the language.
What's really interesting about Maastricht, however, is that it sits squarely on the border with several languages. If you head directly West (and, depending what part of the city you're in, also sometimes North), you reach Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. But if you head directly South, you'll be in the Walloon region, the French speaking part of that same country. And if you head East, you're in Germany. Now, not only does this place us on the border of multiple languages, but in fact on the edge of two language families, with French being a Romance language (belonging to a family stretching all the way West to the end of the continent), and German and Dutch being Germanic languages. It's not unusual to hear any of these languages spoken in the streets, or to see them present on products (especially French, as many products are jointly marketed in Belgium and the Netherlands with one bilingual packaging), and some customer service personnel may be able to speak either (or both, as I've also seen).
Multilingualism is, of course, familiar to Europe. The EU has 24 official languages, and actively encourages all citizens to become trilingual. Nowhere did I see this more to be evident than in Luxembourg. A tiny country squeezed between Belgium, Germany, and France, Luxembourigsh, the local language, is most peoples' mother tongue. However, 61% of individuals are able to speak four-that's right, four-languages in total. French, German, and English are widely spoken, and which one is found on which signs varies (McDonald's, for example, advertises in German, while most street signs are in French).
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Berlin Part One: Berlin the Fun
Berlin is a complex city with many layers of history, all of which are very present for the traveller. Out of respect and as a trigger warning for people who may find it difficult to read about the heavier topics, everything relating to World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, and the Berlin Wall/Divided Germany will be dealt with in depth in a separate post, although mention may be made here for chronology sake. Both posts will follow the same chronology.
With exams over and done with (more on that later), I had a few days to take another trip. Berlin had been on my list of places I had to get to while in Europe anyway, but the fact that a friend of mine was going to be heading to the city at a time when I was free sealed the deal. Thursday morning, I left Maastricht on an 8:28 train, connecting in Amsterdam. The total journey time was around 8 hours, but I didn't mind so much: Germany's countryside, with it's pretty houses, made for a good backdrop.
The first real sign of crossing the border, and one theme permeating Berlin, was the graffiti. I'm not sure quite how they manage to keep it just within Germany, but it was a pretty effective method of knowing right where the country started. Berlin is actually known for its graffiti, which definitely challenges the boundaries between vandalism and art (sometimes swaying more in one direction or the other). Graffiti is only one of the ways in which Berlin is, apparent almost immediately, very hip and urban. More on that below.
Arriving in Berlin around 5:30, I headed straight for my hostel, in the East side of the city. The hostel came with extremely high ratings, and really didn't disappoint: it was clean, with a very hip design and good location. For those who like the hostel vibe (I'm, admittedly, more into the cheap prices than the backpacker scene), there were plenty of activities. I started by joining one, a quick guided trip to a local market, after which I bailed and headed out on my own, with the goal of catching sight of a few monuments (see: second post). One of my first observations was that Berlin seems to close up early: by 7:30 or 8:00 PM there wasn't much going on in a lot of the streets (though this was not the case Friday night), and so I wound up turning in early.
Not being a believer in sleeping in while travelling (there's too much Berlin to be seen!), I woke up early Friday and was out by 8:00 AM. My first stop was a bakery I had read about online. Remember how, as a kid, people used to tell you that, no, not even adults get to just eat junk food all the time? Well, that's a lie, since I started my day off with an assortment of baked goods washed down with an orange flavoured Pepsi (which turned out to be disgusting. I know, I'm probably the only one shocked). From the bakery, I headed out to the town of Oranianberg, to visit a nearby site (see: second post), and grabbed a quick doner (Berlin's take on kebab/shwarma/donair) before heading back into the City.
Back in Berlin, I gave some use to the Museum card I had purchased. While it was a good deal, at only €12 for three days (student rate), it turned out not to let me into most of the museums I was looking for. In the end, I only visited two with the card: the Homosexuality Museum (which was really more of an art gallery of sorts), and the Pergamon Museum, which hosts multiple large-scale relics from the Near-East (and, being under construction in some parts, took only about an hour to complete). After three straight museums, I needed a quick break before heading for a fourth, so I stopped to grab a pretzel (and an apple flavoured soda, which is also quite popular in Berlin, and is actually very nice), and sat below the Fernsehturm (Berlin's most recognizable tower), taking in the crowds around. After hitting up one last museum (See: second post) and checking out some of the shops in Alexanderplatz, I went and grabbed some schnitzel for dinner, at a cool and hip little restaurant near my hostel (complete with graffiti all over the walls and hip hop music playing).
It was on my second full day in Berlin that I met up with my friends, who were visiting from various parts of Europe, where they were studying. The morning actually went quite off the rails-while we were sitting and eating breakfast, my friend's bag was snatched, resulting in a morning spent at the police station, filling out the necessary paperwork. Thankfully, my friend had quite a positive outlook, and this didn't stop us from taking advantage of the afternoon, the highlight of which was stopping for a piece of cake after lunch. In the evening, we met up again in front of a venue which we had been told was a beer garden, but actually turned out to be a ballroom dancing location. Not so interested in that, we wandered over to a more touristy area to grab some dinner, and some more pretzels (which we got to go, quite to the amusement of the restaurant where we ordered them).
On my final day, I checked out early and walked along the river towards the centre of the city, stopping for a coffee and breakfast and taking in the river, the changing leaves, and the city scenery. My first stop was the German History Museum. I was a little unsure if I wanted to visit this museum, which would cost me money, over one of the ones accepting my museum card (which got so little usage), but I'm glad I did. The German History Museum is honestly one of the best museums I've ever visited. It thoroughly and thoughtfully explained German history, starting around the year 800 and connecting the dots all the way up to the end of the Cold War. Displays were well designed, with just enough detail to let me know where in history I was, and the option to read more in depth on items that interested me (of which many did). I was really grateful for the opportunity to fill some gaps in my knowledge of the history of Germany and of Europe, and to see some important items (including a Code Napoleon and original works from Martin Luther). The special exhibitions-one on Europe after the War and a second on Homosexualities- were also excellently designed (see my second post for more on both).
This being my last day, I had things planned out (almost to the minute, though this wasn't exactly on purpose) fairly well. The next stop after the German History Museum was the Jewish Museum, where I was to meet my friends at 1 PM. Around 12:45, a few blocks away, I noticed a growing number of police cars. Soon, I was asked to evacuate the area: apparently, an unexploded bomb from World War II had been found (this actually happens on occasion in Europe). This is where my plans got permanently derailed: it turned out that the bomb was located near the Jewish Museum, making me unable to meet up with my friends. After trying with no luck to find wifi, and with no money on my phone, I gave up on finding them and walked back towards the Reichstag (German Parliament), to take a few pictures, before heading back to the train station to await my train.
The train journey is a story in itself: five different trains, including one connection of 6 minutes, for which my arriving train was 7 minutes late (such a rush!), and a bus which the NS (national railway here in the Netherlands) never informed me I would need to take at the moment I booked my ticket. It was a small miracle I made it back to Maastricht that night-I came within seconds of having to find somewhere to sleep in some suburban German city.
With exams over and done with (more on that later), I had a few days to take another trip. Berlin had been on my list of places I had to get to while in Europe anyway, but the fact that a friend of mine was going to be heading to the city at a time when I was free sealed the deal. Thursday morning, I left Maastricht on an 8:28 train, connecting in Amsterdam. The total journey time was around 8 hours, but I didn't mind so much: Germany's countryside, with it's pretty houses, made for a good backdrop.
The first real sign of crossing the border, and one theme permeating Berlin, was the graffiti. I'm not sure quite how they manage to keep it just within Germany, but it was a pretty effective method of knowing right where the country started. Berlin is actually known for its graffiti, which definitely challenges the boundaries between vandalism and art (sometimes swaying more in one direction or the other). Graffiti is only one of the ways in which Berlin is, apparent almost immediately, very hip and urban. More on that below.
Arriving in Berlin around 5:30, I headed straight for my hostel, in the East side of the city. The hostel came with extremely high ratings, and really didn't disappoint: it was clean, with a very hip design and good location. For those who like the hostel vibe (I'm, admittedly, more into the cheap prices than the backpacker scene), there were plenty of activities. I started by joining one, a quick guided trip to a local market, after which I bailed and headed out on my own, with the goal of catching sight of a few monuments (see: second post). One of my first observations was that Berlin seems to close up early: by 7:30 or 8:00 PM there wasn't much going on in a lot of the streets (though this was not the case Friday night), and so I wound up turning in early.
Not being a believer in sleeping in while travelling (there's too much Berlin to be seen!), I woke up early Friday and was out by 8:00 AM. My first stop was a bakery I had read about online. Remember how, as a kid, people used to tell you that, no, not even adults get to just eat junk food all the time? Well, that's a lie, since I started my day off with an assortment of baked goods washed down with an orange flavoured Pepsi (which turned out to be disgusting. I know, I'm probably the only one shocked). From the bakery, I headed out to the town of Oranianberg, to visit a nearby site (see: second post), and grabbed a quick doner (Berlin's take on kebab/shwarma/donair) before heading back into the City.
Back in Berlin, I gave some use to the Museum card I had purchased. While it was a good deal, at only €12 for three days (student rate), it turned out not to let me into most of the museums I was looking for. In the end, I only visited two with the card: the Homosexuality Museum (which was really more of an art gallery of sorts), and the Pergamon Museum, which hosts multiple large-scale relics from the Near-East (and, being under construction in some parts, took only about an hour to complete). After three straight museums, I needed a quick break before heading for a fourth, so I stopped to grab a pretzel (and an apple flavoured soda, which is also quite popular in Berlin, and is actually very nice), and sat below the Fernsehturm (Berlin's most recognizable tower), taking in the crowds around. After hitting up one last museum (See: second post) and checking out some of the shops in Alexanderplatz, I went and grabbed some schnitzel for dinner, at a cool and hip little restaurant near my hostel (complete with graffiti all over the walls and hip hop music playing).
It was on my second full day in Berlin that I met up with my friends, who were visiting from various parts of Europe, where they were studying. The morning actually went quite off the rails-while we were sitting and eating breakfast, my friend's bag was snatched, resulting in a morning spent at the police station, filling out the necessary paperwork. Thankfully, my friend had quite a positive outlook, and this didn't stop us from taking advantage of the afternoon, the highlight of which was stopping for a piece of cake after lunch. In the evening, we met up again in front of a venue which we had been told was a beer garden, but actually turned out to be a ballroom dancing location. Not so interested in that, we wandered over to a more touristy area to grab some dinner, and some more pretzels (which we got to go, quite to the amusement of the restaurant where we ordered them).
On my final day, I checked out early and walked along the river towards the centre of the city, stopping for a coffee and breakfast and taking in the river, the changing leaves, and the city scenery. My first stop was the German History Museum. I was a little unsure if I wanted to visit this museum, which would cost me money, over one of the ones accepting my museum card (which got so little usage), but I'm glad I did. The German History Museum is honestly one of the best museums I've ever visited. It thoroughly and thoughtfully explained German history, starting around the year 800 and connecting the dots all the way up to the end of the Cold War. Displays were well designed, with just enough detail to let me know where in history I was, and the option to read more in depth on items that interested me (of which many did). I was really grateful for the opportunity to fill some gaps in my knowledge of the history of Germany and of Europe, and to see some important items (including a Code Napoleon and original works from Martin Luther). The special exhibitions-one on Europe after the War and a second on Homosexualities- were also excellently designed (see my second post for more on both).
This being my last day, I had things planned out (almost to the minute, though this wasn't exactly on purpose) fairly well. The next stop after the German History Museum was the Jewish Museum, where I was to meet my friends at 1 PM. Around 12:45, a few blocks away, I noticed a growing number of police cars. Soon, I was asked to evacuate the area: apparently, an unexploded bomb from World War II had been found (this actually happens on occasion in Europe). This is where my plans got permanently derailed: it turned out that the bomb was located near the Jewish Museum, making me unable to meet up with my friends. After trying with no luck to find wifi, and with no money on my phone, I gave up on finding them and walked back towards the Reichstag (German Parliament), to take a few pictures, before heading back to the train station to await my train.
The train journey is a story in itself: five different trains, including one connection of 6 minutes, for which my arriving train was 7 minutes late (such a rush!), and a bus which the NS (national railway here in the Netherlands) never informed me I would need to take at the moment I booked my ticket. It was a small miracle I made it back to Maastricht that night-I came within seconds of having to find somewhere to sleep in some suburban German city.
Tuesday, 13 October 2015
The best part of any country is the food!
Hello friends!
I realized that recently I've had the bad habit of just using this blog as a place to describe my travels, and have been neglecting writing about life in Maastricht/the Netherlands/Europe. So, for now I'll put writing about the last couple day trips I've taken on hold, and get into one of my other favourite topics: food!
In the first couple weeks of being here, I had the habit of translating words that I saw often on signs. Translation and food are things that us exchange students have been experiencing hand-in-hand, since most of the products we buy in stores have only Dutch on them. The following scenario is quite typical
*Chatting in the kitchen with roommates while cooking*
Person 1: Hmmm, just a second *runs to their room and comes back with a computer*
Person 2: Translating the directions on your food?
*laughter ensues*
This turned out to be a really effective way of picking up useful Dutch, and I'm proud to say that I now can understand "pierce holes in the plastic and microwave for X minutes" without my friend Google.
Similarly, I've been picking up the words on menus and advertisements as I see them. So when I started seeing signs advertising "koffie met vlaai", I already knew that this meant "coffee with".....vlaai? Whatever that was. This interested me at first, but once Google informed me that vlaai translates to "flan," I lost interest.
Fast forward to me reading a website about specialty foods in different parts of the Netherlands, only to discover that I'd been mislead-vlaai actually translates to, get this: pie!
That's right, I'd been turning down pie. Local specialty pie served at restaurants with seating outdoors on lovely cobblestone squares.
Needless to say, I rectified this, heading the next weekend for pie and coffee with two of my friends. This was promptly followed up with my roommate buying me a pie as a birthday cake. An idea which I thenstole imitated for the birthday of another friend a few days later. In the meantime, I discovered that pie and coffee is quite cheap at the local shopping centre. And so, thankfully, my folly of turning down pie has been made up for.
This situation, of course, stemmed from an interesting problem: since exchange students live predominantly in exchange student accommodations, and since many of the English classes have few Dutch students (since a Dutch option may also be available), I have few Dutch friends from whom to learn about local cultural things (like pie). Of course, I'm making an effort to meet more Dutch people, but in the meantime I've found an interesting, if bizarre, window into local cuisine: grocery stores.
Specifically, I've come to realize that you can learn a lot based on not only what the grocery store has (or doesn't have), but on what they have a lot of. For example, a few weeks ago, I noticed that there are sprinkles-a lot of sprinkles. The internet confirmed my suspicion-in the Netherlands, eating sprinkles on bread is very common, including for breakfast. And so, I bought a sample pack of sprinkles (or hagel slag) and went to town. Along with sprinkles, there's quite a bit of sausages, schnitzels, and various types of saurkraute-ish products.
As for sweets, the "stroopwaffel" is currently my hand-down favourite, being a combination of wafer-thin crunchy waffles and sweet syrup (McDonald's even makes a McFlurry version). There are various other types of waffles-mostly Belgian- as well. Milka chocolate is available in a wide assortment, mostly geared towards combinations of Milka chocolate with other sweets.
A final interesting observation for today's post is the impact that different international relations have on food. Being next to Belgium, there's a wide variety of Liege waffles, Flemish fries, and Belgian beer. The Netherlands' history as a colonizer in South-East Asia also means that there is a massive amount of Indonesian food available-albeit in a modified form that removes most of the spices and a bit of the flavour.
Of course, these are only the observations I have after a few months, and mostly based on where I live (a day in Amsterdam showed me that they seem to have some different food habits). If I find anything else interesting, I'll let you know!
I realized that recently I've had the bad habit of just using this blog as a place to describe my travels, and have been neglecting writing about life in Maastricht/the Netherlands/Europe. So, for now I'll put writing about the last couple day trips I've taken on hold, and get into one of my other favourite topics: food!
In the first couple weeks of being here, I had the habit of translating words that I saw often on signs. Translation and food are things that us exchange students have been experiencing hand-in-hand, since most of the products we buy in stores have only Dutch on them. The following scenario is quite typical
*Chatting in the kitchen with roommates while cooking*
Person 1: Hmmm, just a second *runs to their room and comes back with a computer*
Person 2: Translating the directions on your food?
*laughter ensues*
This turned out to be a really effective way of picking up useful Dutch, and I'm proud to say that I now can understand "pierce holes in the plastic and microwave for X minutes" without my friend Google.
Similarly, I've been picking up the words on menus and advertisements as I see them. So when I started seeing signs advertising "koffie met vlaai", I already knew that this meant "coffee with".....vlaai? Whatever that was. This interested me at first, but once Google informed me that vlaai translates to "flan," I lost interest.
Fast forward to me reading a website about specialty foods in different parts of the Netherlands, only to discover that I'd been mislead-vlaai actually translates to, get this: pie!
That's right, I'd been turning down pie. Local specialty pie served at restaurants with seating outdoors on lovely cobblestone squares.
Needless to say, I rectified this, heading the next weekend for pie and coffee with two of my friends. This was promptly followed up with my roommate buying me a pie as a birthday cake. An idea which I then
This situation, of course, stemmed from an interesting problem: since exchange students live predominantly in exchange student accommodations, and since many of the English classes have few Dutch students (since a Dutch option may also be available), I have few Dutch friends from whom to learn about local cultural things (like pie). Of course, I'm making an effort to meet more Dutch people, but in the meantime I've found an interesting, if bizarre, window into local cuisine: grocery stores.
Specifically, I've come to realize that you can learn a lot based on not only what the grocery store has (or doesn't have), but on what they have a lot of. For example, a few weeks ago, I noticed that there are sprinkles-a lot of sprinkles. The internet confirmed my suspicion-in the Netherlands, eating sprinkles on bread is very common, including for breakfast. And so, I bought a sample pack of sprinkles (or hagel slag) and went to town. Along with sprinkles, there's quite a bit of sausages, schnitzels, and various types of saurkraute-ish products.
As for sweets, the "stroopwaffel" is currently my hand-down favourite, being a combination of wafer-thin crunchy waffles and sweet syrup (McDonald's even makes a McFlurry version). There are various other types of waffles-mostly Belgian- as well. Milka chocolate is available in a wide assortment, mostly geared towards combinations of Milka chocolate with other sweets.
A final interesting observation for today's post is the impact that different international relations have on food. Being next to Belgium, there's a wide variety of Liege waffles, Flemish fries, and Belgian beer. The Netherlands' history as a colonizer in South-East Asia also means that there is a massive amount of Indonesian food available-albeit in a modified form that removes most of the spices and a bit of the flavour.
Of course, these are only the observations I have after a few months, and mostly based on where I live (a day in Amsterdam showed me that they seem to have some different food habits). If I find anything else interesting, I'll let you know!
Monday, 5 October 2015
Rome Part 2, or, The Time I ate my way through Rome
(Yes, I know it's been two weeks and I haven't yet finished writing about Rome. Oh well).
The logical point at which to divide up my posts about Rome is, of course, when my friend Rachel arrived. Having previously run into problems meeting up with a friend in London (apparently there is more than one "main entrance" to the British Museum. Thanks for that, Google Maps!), I wanted to be very specific about where we should meet up in Termini, the large train station that serves as the main gateway for trains arriving from the airport. "We'll meet at McDonald's" I said, picking the most obviously recognizable landmark. This would, of course, have been a much better plan had I known that the station has two McDonald's inside, and one across the street, leaving the two of us running a circuit between the three locations (apparently in opposite directions), before eventually meeting up.
Now, planning this trip was a bit complicated. We knew we wanted to go somewhere and meet up and have adventures, but getting our schedules and interests to aligned with one another, and according to budget, was no small feat. So, when we realized, just before booking, that we would only overlap for a little over 24 hours in Rome, we decided to book anyway, because it had become one of those "if we don't just do it, it's never going to happen" things. With only 24 hours to hang out, we set our sites on having a sort of pleasant, chill kind of day enjoying Roman food.
We started the morning off by wandering through the streets of Trastevere to a little market. Having heard good things about the produce in Italy, I wanted to stop to buy some fresh tomatoes. Through bizarre combination of broken English, Italian, and Spanish, the lady also convinced us to buy some red peppers which had been soaked in olive oil and spices. We took our bounty to a nearby square in front of a fountain, discovering that the peppers had, indeed, been a very good choice. We then continued our walk. Remember how the Vatican wouldn't loan me a pen? Well, as a result, our first destination for the day was to head back to the Holy See to drop of my postcards which were now signed, but had stamps only valid in the Vatican. This turned out to be a good thing because, as we left the Vatican heading vaguely in the direction of a pizza place we'd read about online, we stopped, on a hunch, in a cute looking grocery store, where we happened upon some cornetti (croissants), in miniature, filled with a sort of hazelnut chocolate cream. We instantly regretted the decision to buy only one each.
After a brief detour heading the wrong direction, we soon found ourselves in the vicinity of the pizza shop we were looking for. Already this neighbourhood was obviously different from the more touristed areas, with less English, and more authentic looking food lining the streets. The pizza place turned out to be an excellent tip: sold by weight (as pizza in Rome typically is), the pizza came in numerous varieties, and was topped with extremely fresh ingredients. The woman working behind the counter also seemed to have a sixth sense about what we would like-after picking one or two pieces, she suggested a third for each of us. Full of proper pizza, we set off again before stopping, only a few blocks later, for gelato at a small shop on a corner, rounding up a blissfully decadent morning.
Stuffed full of Italian goodies, we spent most of the afternoon walking through the streets of Rome. It hadn't actually been our intention to spend so much time out on foot in the heat, but our only real goals for the day all involved trying different foods, and at that point we couldn't have eaten a bite more. And so, we walked, and walked, stopping briefly at different tourist attractions (the park surrounding the Villa Borghese, as well as the Spanish steps), or shops, looking to fill the rest of the afternoon. As we wandered back, we realized that we were in the vicinity of the Vatican again. With relatively little hope for success, we decided to see if we could find the little grocery store from the morning and, much to our surprise, we succeeded! Having spent the day talking about how much we regretted not buying the entire case of pastries, we ordered two of everything. Then, in one our of smartest decisions, we decided to walk back to the Vatican to enjoy them. As a result, we wound up sitting in the square in front of the Basilica, eating delicious Italian pastries, and watching the sun go down and the lights come on, as nuns from around the world gathered for some sort of function.
We rounded out the evening, after walking back to our room, with dinner. Trastevere turned out to be more geared towards tourists than we had suspected, and so finding a restaurant that was even moderately authentic was a challenge. With some help from Trip Advisor, we picked what was either an authentic local restaurant or, at worst, the best of the tourist restaurants. Wine, fettuccine bolognese, and tiramisu, followed by some more gelato, rounded out the end of our day in Rome.
The next day was an early one for me-with a flight back to Brussels leaving at 7:10, I was up just before 5, catching the first train to the airport.
The logical point at which to divide up my posts about Rome is, of course, when my friend Rachel arrived. Having previously run into problems meeting up with a friend in London (apparently there is more than one "main entrance" to the British Museum. Thanks for that, Google Maps!), I wanted to be very specific about where we should meet up in Termini, the large train station that serves as the main gateway for trains arriving from the airport. "We'll meet at McDonald's" I said, picking the most obviously recognizable landmark. This would, of course, have been a much better plan had I known that the station has two McDonald's inside, and one across the street, leaving the two of us running a circuit between the three locations (apparently in opposite directions), before eventually meeting up.
Now, planning this trip was a bit complicated. We knew we wanted to go somewhere and meet up and have adventures, but getting our schedules and interests to aligned with one another, and according to budget, was no small feat. So, when we realized, just before booking, that we would only overlap for a little over 24 hours in Rome, we decided to book anyway, because it had become one of those "if we don't just do it, it's never going to happen" things. With only 24 hours to hang out, we set our sites on having a sort of pleasant, chill kind of day enjoying Roman food.
We started the morning off by wandering through the streets of Trastevere to a little market. Having heard good things about the produce in Italy, I wanted to stop to buy some fresh tomatoes. Through bizarre combination of broken English, Italian, and Spanish, the lady also convinced us to buy some red peppers which had been soaked in olive oil and spices. We took our bounty to a nearby square in front of a fountain, discovering that the peppers had, indeed, been a very good choice. We then continued our walk. Remember how the Vatican wouldn't loan me a pen? Well, as a result, our first destination for the day was to head back to the Holy See to drop of my postcards which were now signed, but had stamps only valid in the Vatican. This turned out to be a good thing because, as we left the Vatican heading vaguely in the direction of a pizza place we'd read about online, we stopped, on a hunch, in a cute looking grocery store, where we happened upon some cornetti (croissants), in miniature, filled with a sort of hazelnut chocolate cream. We instantly regretted the decision to buy only one each.
After a brief detour heading the wrong direction, we soon found ourselves in the vicinity of the pizza shop we were looking for. Already this neighbourhood was obviously different from the more touristed areas, with less English, and more authentic looking food lining the streets. The pizza place turned out to be an excellent tip: sold by weight (as pizza in Rome typically is), the pizza came in numerous varieties, and was topped with extremely fresh ingredients. The woman working behind the counter also seemed to have a sixth sense about what we would like-after picking one or two pieces, she suggested a third for each of us. Full of proper pizza, we set off again before stopping, only a few blocks later, for gelato at a small shop on a corner, rounding up a blissfully decadent morning.
Stuffed full of Italian goodies, we spent most of the afternoon walking through the streets of Rome. It hadn't actually been our intention to spend so much time out on foot in the heat, but our only real goals for the day all involved trying different foods, and at that point we couldn't have eaten a bite more. And so, we walked, and walked, stopping briefly at different tourist attractions (the park surrounding the Villa Borghese, as well as the Spanish steps), or shops, looking to fill the rest of the afternoon. As we wandered back, we realized that we were in the vicinity of the Vatican again. With relatively little hope for success, we decided to see if we could find the little grocery store from the morning and, much to our surprise, we succeeded! Having spent the day talking about how much we regretted not buying the entire case of pastries, we ordered two of everything. Then, in one our of smartest decisions, we decided to walk back to the Vatican to enjoy them. As a result, we wound up sitting in the square in front of the Basilica, eating delicious Italian pastries, and watching the sun go down and the lights come on, as nuns from around the world gathered for some sort of function.
We rounded out the evening, after walking back to our room, with dinner. Trastevere turned out to be more geared towards tourists than we had suspected, and so finding a restaurant that was even moderately authentic was a challenge. With some help from Trip Advisor, we picked what was either an authentic local restaurant or, at worst, the best of the tourist restaurants. Wine, fettuccine bolognese, and tiramisu, followed by some more gelato, rounded out the end of our day in Rome.
The next day was an early one for me-with a flight back to Brussels leaving at 7:10, I was up just before 5, catching the first train to the airport.
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
Rome Part I, or, the Story of Wandering About and Looking at Pretty Old Things
Well, it's sure taken me long enough to get around to it, but I finally decided to write about my time in Rome.
Unlike when I went to Paris, I flew to Rome. But just like going to Paris, this required spending a lot of time in Belgium, since the best fares nearby were actually from Brussels National Airport. This required three different trains to reach from Maastricht. Luckily, Belgium is a little less than half the size of New Brunswick, so crossing the country via high spend train is done fairly quickly, and I actually arrived at the airport very early. After a few hours of wasting time in the airport I was off to Rome. This was my first time flying the infamous Ryan Air-for those who aren't familiar, Ryan air is basically the cheapest of the cheap, both in terms of prices and in terms of frills. Despite the many stories I'd heard, I actually thought Ryan Air was quite good-I wanted to get somewhere paying the minimum amount, so I didn't quite care about things like free beverage service or that little bag of pretzels you get on Air Canada.
Rome Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo Da Vinci Airport) is a piece outside the city, nearer the ocean, and so getting into the city requires some logistic decisions. I opted to pay €5 for the bus which, other than turning up late, was a fairly good deal, and took us to the same location inside the city as the train would have, for about a third the price. By the time I got to my hostel and checked in, it was around 8:30 PM, but, freshly arrived in Rome, I was far from ready to call it a night. I was also really, really hungry, since I'd somehow convinced myself all day "naw, I'll just wait 'till Rome to have lunch," in spite of knowing that I'd be arriving so late. So, I hit the ground running, wandering the streets of the neighbourhood looking for food that didn't look like it was geared towards tourists. Being tired and hungry makes most people grumpy, but for me I get more indecisive, and so eventually I just settled for a pizza place that seemed moderately local (people yelling at a soccer game on TV in Italian). I actually ate the pizza so quickly that I burned my mouth and didn't taste the first, oh, 90% of what I ate, but the last 10% was pretty good.
Happily fed, my next mission was to go to the Colosseum, since I had a vague notion that it was somewhere nearby. After following a group of nuns (there are plenty in Rome) down a nice street, and then heading through a charming little neighbourhood, I eventually found it. It's almost funny how unceremoniously one just sort of happens upon the Colosseum, this striking ancient building, just causally located next to a subway station and a strip of bars. Being about 10 PM (and given Rome's warm weather), the atmosphere was quite nice-less loud and obnoxious tourists than I would see there the next day, more a mix of couples and individuals with a more reverent attitude.
I actually didn't go to Rome alone; this time, rather, the plan was that a classmate from McGill, Rachel, would be joining me the second night. As she'd been to Rome before, I decided it was best to spend my day there alone efficiently knocking off all the main sites from my list, and so I headed to bed early and was out around 8 AM, hoping to tackle the Vatican before it became swamped with tourists.
I took the Metro from the area I was staying up towards the Vatican, getting off a stop early in hopes of grabbing some breakfast at a more local café. After successfully finding a place where one stands at the counter while eating a cornetto (and Italian croissant) and sipping undrinkably strong coffee (it took everything in my power not to grimace with each sip), I found my way to the growing crowds of tourists near the Vatican. I actually nearly went to the Museums first (not entirely by choice, though any order of doing things was fine by me), until I was stopped by a person trying to sell me tickets that let you skip the line (there's a long line for purchasing tickets, and almost no line for pre-purchased). Something about his spiel reminded me of similar tactics at the Terra Cotta Warriors and other sites in China, and I was pretty sure that the "price list" he had for purchasing tickets at the window was faked, so I headed to the Basilica first.
While a geography nerd like me will point out that I actually left Italy when I went to the Vatican, I was a little disappointed that there's really no sign or other markers to this effect. There's a large open square with large fountains, and off to the side one lines up for metal detectors before entering the Basilica itself. The inside of the Basilica consists of a handful of smaller altars (small not being exactly the right word, since many of them are, in fact, huge), as well as a crypt containing the bodies of many former Popes. There was also the possibility to climb the dome of the Basilica, but that's not really my thing. Instead, I went back out to the little giftshop, and over to the post office to mail some postcards (the Vatican has its own postal service, being a country and all). I'll be honest, I was a little surprised at the sleazy commercialism income parts of the Vatican-the post office wouldn't so much as lend me a pen to write a post card, instead telling me that they cost €1.50 (about three times the price a pen should cost).
After filling up my water bottle at some of the cute little fountains in the middle of the square (with temperatures now nearing the high twenties), I decided it was time to head to the Vatican Museums. Once again, I was greeted with a line of touts trying to sell me admittedly more expensive tickets that offered the possibility of skipping the line (the Vatican itself also offered similar tickets in the gift shops, but unfortunately they didn't take credit cards). The wait ended up being around an hour (which made me a little weary, since I had to be at the AirBnB at a specific time), but the plus side was that, with the student rate, I paid €8 instead of the €20+ for the quicker tickets.
The Vatican Museums were teeming with people, which made them a fair bit less enjoyable, to be honest, as did the unmitigated heat. The Sistine Chapel is within the Museums, and so the throngs of people wanting to catch a glimpse of Michelangelo's work are funnelled through a series of exhibits first, rendering these exhibits nearly un visitable, as tourists jostle their way past magnificent works of art and history. The Chapel itself is, of course, breathtaking, though its religious purpose seems now undermined by the mass of tourists who, inspire of signs (and announcements, ironically), are still not very quiet.
Luckily, the Sistine Chapel seems to keep most people for a while, and so the rest of the museum afterwards was much less crowded and, thus, more pleasant, particularly the gardens. Not knowing how long it would take me to walk to the Air BnB to check in, I didn't hang around too long (though I also didn't miss anything I wanted to see, as some sections were closed). I followed the Tevere (Tiber) river to Trastevere (literally-the other side of the Tiber), where I was staying, and checked into the AirBnB. When booking, the fact that they had A/C didn't really impress me too much-but I sure appreciated it when I got there, with temperatures in the 30s outside.
I stuck around only briefly before heading out to find some gelato and then lunch (in that order). After a nice plate of lasagna (an admittedly nonsensical choice given I was eating outside in 30 degree weather, but it was something I had to have while in Italy), and a brief trip back to the room to cool down again, I set off to see the last few tourist sites before Rachel arrived.
In the mid-afternoon heat, I can't help but think I missed a few sites here and there (or walked past and didn't stop), but one decision I'm glad of having made was to climb a hill that appeared, from the bottom, potentially mildly interesting. At the top, it turned out to host a museum (which I didn't visit) and spectacular views of the Fora Romani and the Colosseum. I had actually thought, after seeing it the night before, that I probably wouldn't mind paying the money to go in both of those attractions. The views from the hill, however, were far superior than the idea of trudging through ruins in the heat, and so I appreciated from afar for a while before climbing down the hill.
After supreme amusement at finding a free sparkling water dispenser outside the Metro, I took a train to the Piazza della Repubblica, and from there walked to the Trevi Fountain (which turned out to be under construction), the Pantheon (at which I arrived precisely at closing), and the Piazza Navona. The sky growing dark, and my legs growing tired, I walked back to Trastevere (which, unfortunately, had no Metro Station), grabbed a piece of pizza (even more delicious than the day before) and a Chinotto soda (which tastes sort of like a cross between a tangerine and liquorice), before setting off to find Rachel.
Unlike when I went to Paris, I flew to Rome. But just like going to Paris, this required spending a lot of time in Belgium, since the best fares nearby were actually from Brussels National Airport. This required three different trains to reach from Maastricht. Luckily, Belgium is a little less than half the size of New Brunswick, so crossing the country via high spend train is done fairly quickly, and I actually arrived at the airport very early. After a few hours of wasting time in the airport I was off to Rome. This was my first time flying the infamous Ryan Air-for those who aren't familiar, Ryan air is basically the cheapest of the cheap, both in terms of prices and in terms of frills. Despite the many stories I'd heard, I actually thought Ryan Air was quite good-I wanted to get somewhere paying the minimum amount, so I didn't quite care about things like free beverage service or that little bag of pretzels you get on Air Canada.
Rome Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo Da Vinci Airport) is a piece outside the city, nearer the ocean, and so getting into the city requires some logistic decisions. I opted to pay €5 for the bus which, other than turning up late, was a fairly good deal, and took us to the same location inside the city as the train would have, for about a third the price. By the time I got to my hostel and checked in, it was around 8:30 PM, but, freshly arrived in Rome, I was far from ready to call it a night. I was also really, really hungry, since I'd somehow convinced myself all day "naw, I'll just wait 'till Rome to have lunch," in spite of knowing that I'd be arriving so late. So, I hit the ground running, wandering the streets of the neighbourhood looking for food that didn't look like it was geared towards tourists. Being tired and hungry makes most people grumpy, but for me I get more indecisive, and so eventually I just settled for a pizza place that seemed moderately local (people yelling at a soccer game on TV in Italian). I actually ate the pizza so quickly that I burned my mouth and didn't taste the first, oh, 90% of what I ate, but the last 10% was pretty good.
Happily fed, my next mission was to go to the Colosseum, since I had a vague notion that it was somewhere nearby. After following a group of nuns (there are plenty in Rome) down a nice street, and then heading through a charming little neighbourhood, I eventually found it. It's almost funny how unceremoniously one just sort of happens upon the Colosseum, this striking ancient building, just causally located next to a subway station and a strip of bars. Being about 10 PM (and given Rome's warm weather), the atmosphere was quite nice-less loud and obnoxious tourists than I would see there the next day, more a mix of couples and individuals with a more reverent attitude.
I actually didn't go to Rome alone; this time, rather, the plan was that a classmate from McGill, Rachel, would be joining me the second night. As she'd been to Rome before, I decided it was best to spend my day there alone efficiently knocking off all the main sites from my list, and so I headed to bed early and was out around 8 AM, hoping to tackle the Vatican before it became swamped with tourists.
I took the Metro from the area I was staying up towards the Vatican, getting off a stop early in hopes of grabbing some breakfast at a more local café. After successfully finding a place where one stands at the counter while eating a cornetto (and Italian croissant) and sipping undrinkably strong coffee (it took everything in my power not to grimace with each sip), I found my way to the growing crowds of tourists near the Vatican. I actually nearly went to the Museums first (not entirely by choice, though any order of doing things was fine by me), until I was stopped by a person trying to sell me tickets that let you skip the line (there's a long line for purchasing tickets, and almost no line for pre-purchased). Something about his spiel reminded me of similar tactics at the Terra Cotta Warriors and other sites in China, and I was pretty sure that the "price list" he had for purchasing tickets at the window was faked, so I headed to the Basilica first.
While a geography nerd like me will point out that I actually left Italy when I went to the Vatican, I was a little disappointed that there's really no sign or other markers to this effect. There's a large open square with large fountains, and off to the side one lines up for metal detectors before entering the Basilica itself. The inside of the Basilica consists of a handful of smaller altars (small not being exactly the right word, since many of them are, in fact, huge), as well as a crypt containing the bodies of many former Popes. There was also the possibility to climb the dome of the Basilica, but that's not really my thing. Instead, I went back out to the little giftshop, and over to the post office to mail some postcards (the Vatican has its own postal service, being a country and all). I'll be honest, I was a little surprised at the sleazy commercialism income parts of the Vatican-the post office wouldn't so much as lend me a pen to write a post card, instead telling me that they cost €1.50 (about three times the price a pen should cost).
After filling up my water bottle at some of the cute little fountains in the middle of the square (with temperatures now nearing the high twenties), I decided it was time to head to the Vatican Museums. Once again, I was greeted with a line of touts trying to sell me admittedly more expensive tickets that offered the possibility of skipping the line (the Vatican itself also offered similar tickets in the gift shops, but unfortunately they didn't take credit cards). The wait ended up being around an hour (which made me a little weary, since I had to be at the AirBnB at a specific time), but the plus side was that, with the student rate, I paid €8 instead of the €20+ for the quicker tickets.
The Vatican Museums were teeming with people, which made them a fair bit less enjoyable, to be honest, as did the unmitigated heat. The Sistine Chapel is within the Museums, and so the throngs of people wanting to catch a glimpse of Michelangelo's work are funnelled through a series of exhibits first, rendering these exhibits nearly un visitable, as tourists jostle their way past magnificent works of art and history. The Chapel itself is, of course, breathtaking, though its religious purpose seems now undermined by the mass of tourists who, inspire of signs (and announcements, ironically), are still not very quiet.
Luckily, the Sistine Chapel seems to keep most people for a while, and so the rest of the museum afterwards was much less crowded and, thus, more pleasant, particularly the gardens. Not knowing how long it would take me to walk to the Air BnB to check in, I didn't hang around too long (though I also didn't miss anything I wanted to see, as some sections were closed). I followed the Tevere (Tiber) river to Trastevere (literally-the other side of the Tiber), where I was staying, and checked into the AirBnB. When booking, the fact that they had A/C didn't really impress me too much-but I sure appreciated it when I got there, with temperatures in the 30s outside.
I stuck around only briefly before heading out to find some gelato and then lunch (in that order). After a nice plate of lasagna (an admittedly nonsensical choice given I was eating outside in 30 degree weather, but it was something I had to have while in Italy), and a brief trip back to the room to cool down again, I set off to see the last few tourist sites before Rachel arrived.
In the mid-afternoon heat, I can't help but think I missed a few sites here and there (or walked past and didn't stop), but one decision I'm glad of having made was to climb a hill that appeared, from the bottom, potentially mildly interesting. At the top, it turned out to host a museum (which I didn't visit) and spectacular views of the Fora Romani and the Colosseum. I had actually thought, after seeing it the night before, that I probably wouldn't mind paying the money to go in both of those attractions. The views from the hill, however, were far superior than the idea of trudging through ruins in the heat, and so I appreciated from afar for a while before climbing down the hill.
After supreme amusement at finding a free sparkling water dispenser outside the Metro, I took a train to the Piazza della Repubblica, and from there walked to the Trevi Fountain (which turned out to be under construction), the Pantheon (at which I arrived precisely at closing), and the Piazza Navona. The sky growing dark, and my legs growing tired, I walked back to Trastevere (which, unfortunately, had no Metro Station), grabbed a piece of pizza (even more delicious than the day before) and a Chinotto soda (which tastes sort of like a cross between a tangerine and liquorice), before setting off to find Rachel.
Monday, 21 September 2015
Paris: Deuxième Partie
I chose mid-afternoon on my first full day as the time to break up my Paris post because mentally I have a divide there, as after the Orsay museum is when I started to finally get the hang of Paris and start to like the place. After touring the museum, I was definitely read for dinner, and so decided that, if trying to find a good place on my own was frustrating, I would use my brain and the technology of the 21st century and ask the internet (thank you Orsay Museum for the free wifi!). With a plan now in mind, I walked along the Seine towards le Marais for some Breton crêpes. Le Marais is an interesting neighbourhood, previously built on a marsh (as the name suggests). After being re-energized by some delicious buckwheat crêpes, I proceeded to stroll the neighbourhood, taking in the sites, smells, and macarons.
I also managed to revive my very efficient way of seeing the famous sites. Since I feel obliged to see famous things, but not necessarily interested, I basically just see them, take a photo, and keep going. This is what I did with Notre Dame while walking to the crêpes. After all, absent a particular interest in a certain site, it's not entirely pleasant to stand in a throng of tourists all trying to see the same small thing.
The next day, I had a more concrete plan. I started with the Luxembourg Gardens, having discovered my love for European gardens, and then went to Montparnasse Cemetery, which hosts many important thinkers, authors, etc. (though I was only able to find Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's grave). From there, I headed to the Institut du Monde Arabe. This wound up being the only place where I paid to enter a museum-not because I had to, mind, but because I accidentally went to see the special exhibit on Osiris first, thinking you had to to get into the museum. This turned out not to be the case, but it was an interesting exhibit none-the-less. I had also learned my lesson from Versailles, and planned my trip to the IMA museum for the time of the day when I usually crash, so that I could be leisurely strolling through interesting exhibits rather than stuck in a crowd of tourists. At the end of the Museum, a staff member recommended heading up to the top floor's viewing deck, and sure enough there was a fantastic view of Paris.
I wasn't particularly interested in the main tourist sites other than to see them, and very much did not want to be stuck with the crowds paying too much for coke, so I had made the plan to sit down, enjoy a nice coffee at a café, and steel myself for an afternoon of efficiently and briskly walking by the main attractions. After reaching a zen-like state at a Quartier Latin coffeeshop, I braced myself and headed for the Eiffel Tower. Not going to lie, I was a little surprised at how much I liked it-it's an impressive structure (moreso from a distance, where it towers over much of the city). After about 5 minutes, I was rather done with that, and continued onwards to the Arc de Triomphe and then the Champs Elysées, in the direction of the Louvre. The Champs Elysées is, as promised, mostly filled with major international companies now (I certainly didn't come to France to go to H&M), although this has its advantages, if, like me, you're cheap enough to go into McDonald's solely to benefit from the 1€ drinks (I resisted the urge to buy a Royal with Cheese just for the Tarantino reference).
A friend had told me I wouldn't be able to do the Louvre in an evening-seeing as I'd been knocking museums out at a rate of several per day, I took this as a challenge. In truth, I walked through maybe 40% of it, and actually took in about 30% of what I saw. The scale is inhuman, and I can't help but think it would be better to split it up into smaller museums in different cities, to spread the tourist dollars just a bit (after all, Paris is hardly struggling to attract visitors). I did the Louvre the same way I do most museums-focusing on the things I was interested in, and only seeing the rest if I walked by. Yes, the Mona Lisa is impressive, and I saw it (though not up close, due to the throngs of tourists), but it's also not as though I don't know what it looks like, and so I felt my time to be better spent seeing the rest. It was also interesting to me what was and wasn't highlighted on their maps-the Hammurabi Code, the world's oldest legal code and the source of "an eye for an eye," was very unceremoniously just sitting in a room. This did have the distinct advantage of there being no tourists around it, making it actually approachable for an awestruck law student such as myself. By about an hour before closing, however, I had reached my limit of museums for this trip (though I saw everything I wanted to see), and left the Louvre to enjoy some more crêpes and walk through the Marais some more.
My last day in Paris was another long one-I left the hostel around 9 AM, but my bus didn't leave until 4:30 PM. My plan, which I followed well, was simply to walk and buy pastries all day. Crème Brûlée for breakfast, Opéra for slightly-after-breakfast, a nice noisette (hazelnut) coffee in the Quartier Latin for lunch, browsing through some bookstores and taking a snapshot of the Assemblée Nationale before tracking down a bottle of wine as a souvenir, and some brie and baguette to eat on the bus.
Overall, I liked Paris, although not at first. Chalk it up to a cold, bad planning, or simply the fact that Paris is a hard city to really get into, but I didn't think I liked it until I was there about 24 hours. When I came home, though, I realized that I really did love Paris, just not as a tourist city so much-I'd rather travel through the French countryside than join the masses wandering down the Champs Elysées. But I also think it would be a great place to live, since much of its most attractive features-the little bookshops, cute cafés, and bakeries- seemed better savoured over time rather than crammed into a few days. I was also didn't realize how nice it would be to be back in a place where I speak the language (being able to respond appropriately to cashiers is such an underrated pleasure), or how much easier that would make getting around. Unlike in Montréal, where my bizarre mix of accents is often taken as an excuse to just address me in English, it turned out to be true that Parisians love a good Canadian accent. I also definitely appreciated Paris as being an easy place to get back into the swing of travelling-remembering little things like taking a bottle around for water, taking breaks from attractions to actually eat, etc. Being in a place where I spoke the language, where the climate wasn't too much hotter than Maastricht, and where tourism is well developed (and thus infrastructure exists) really helped with that.
I also managed to revive my very efficient way of seeing the famous sites. Since I feel obliged to see famous things, but not necessarily interested, I basically just see them, take a photo, and keep going. This is what I did with Notre Dame while walking to the crêpes. After all, absent a particular interest in a certain site, it's not entirely pleasant to stand in a throng of tourists all trying to see the same small thing.
The next day, I had a more concrete plan. I started with the Luxembourg Gardens, having discovered my love for European gardens, and then went to Montparnasse Cemetery, which hosts many important thinkers, authors, etc. (though I was only able to find Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's grave). From there, I headed to the Institut du Monde Arabe. This wound up being the only place where I paid to enter a museum-not because I had to, mind, but because I accidentally went to see the special exhibit on Osiris first, thinking you had to to get into the museum. This turned out not to be the case, but it was an interesting exhibit none-the-less. I had also learned my lesson from Versailles, and planned my trip to the IMA museum for the time of the day when I usually crash, so that I could be leisurely strolling through interesting exhibits rather than stuck in a crowd of tourists. At the end of the Museum, a staff member recommended heading up to the top floor's viewing deck, and sure enough there was a fantastic view of Paris.
I wasn't particularly interested in the main tourist sites other than to see them, and very much did not want to be stuck with the crowds paying too much for coke, so I had made the plan to sit down, enjoy a nice coffee at a café, and steel myself for an afternoon of efficiently and briskly walking by the main attractions. After reaching a zen-like state at a Quartier Latin coffeeshop, I braced myself and headed for the Eiffel Tower. Not going to lie, I was a little surprised at how much I liked it-it's an impressive structure (moreso from a distance, where it towers over much of the city). After about 5 minutes, I was rather done with that, and continued onwards to the Arc de Triomphe and then the Champs Elysées, in the direction of the Louvre. The Champs Elysées is, as promised, mostly filled with major international companies now (I certainly didn't come to France to go to H&M), although this has its advantages, if, like me, you're cheap enough to go into McDonald's solely to benefit from the 1€ drinks (I resisted the urge to buy a Royal with Cheese just for the Tarantino reference).
A friend had told me I wouldn't be able to do the Louvre in an evening-seeing as I'd been knocking museums out at a rate of several per day, I took this as a challenge. In truth, I walked through maybe 40% of it, and actually took in about 30% of what I saw. The scale is inhuman, and I can't help but think it would be better to split it up into smaller museums in different cities, to spread the tourist dollars just a bit (after all, Paris is hardly struggling to attract visitors). I did the Louvre the same way I do most museums-focusing on the things I was interested in, and only seeing the rest if I walked by. Yes, the Mona Lisa is impressive, and I saw it (though not up close, due to the throngs of tourists), but it's also not as though I don't know what it looks like, and so I felt my time to be better spent seeing the rest. It was also interesting to me what was and wasn't highlighted on their maps-the Hammurabi Code, the world's oldest legal code and the source of "an eye for an eye," was very unceremoniously just sitting in a room. This did have the distinct advantage of there being no tourists around it, making it actually approachable for an awestruck law student such as myself. By about an hour before closing, however, I had reached my limit of museums for this trip (though I saw everything I wanted to see), and left the Louvre to enjoy some more crêpes and walk through the Marais some more.
My last day in Paris was another long one-I left the hostel around 9 AM, but my bus didn't leave until 4:30 PM. My plan, which I followed well, was simply to walk and buy pastries all day. Crème Brûlée for breakfast, Opéra for slightly-after-breakfast, a nice noisette (hazelnut) coffee in the Quartier Latin for lunch, browsing through some bookstores and taking a snapshot of the Assemblée Nationale before tracking down a bottle of wine as a souvenir, and some brie and baguette to eat on the bus.
Overall, I liked Paris, although not at first. Chalk it up to a cold, bad planning, or simply the fact that Paris is a hard city to really get into, but I didn't think I liked it until I was there about 24 hours. When I came home, though, I realized that I really did love Paris, just not as a tourist city so much-I'd rather travel through the French countryside than join the masses wandering down the Champs Elysées. But I also think it would be a great place to live, since much of its most attractive features-the little bookshops, cute cafés, and bakeries- seemed better savoured over time rather than crammed into a few days. I was also didn't realize how nice it would be to be back in a place where I speak the language (being able to respond appropriately to cashiers is such an underrated pleasure), or how much easier that would make getting around. Unlike in Montréal, where my bizarre mix of accents is often taken as an excuse to just address me in English, it turned out to be true that Parisians love a good Canadian accent. I also definitely appreciated Paris as being an easy place to get back into the swing of travelling-remembering little things like taking a bottle around for water, taking breaks from attractions to actually eat, etc. Being in a place where I spoke the language, where the climate wasn't too much hotter than Maastricht, and where tourism is well developed (and thus infrastructure exists) really helped with that.
Paris Part I
Well, now that I'm back from two trips, it's time to get down to school work updating my blog with some of my adventures.
My decision to go to Paris was an important one for me: I'd been going back and forth and when and where to travel, and I had this sudden moment of "James, if you're going to travel at all, you need to shut up and do it. Otherwise, you'll spend the semester trying to decide." And so, I decided to shut up and pay €35 (about $50) for the bus to Paris, realizing I was being ridiculous.
The bus left around 8:30. Since I'd managed to get a flat tire on my bike (more on that in another post), I walked to the station. Usually this would be ok, but since I had had a cold for the past few days, getting up early did mean that I was still sick for my first day in Paris. Regardless, at 8:30 I was on a bus to the City of Light! The bus ride went through Liège and Brussels, both in Belgium, meaning that it took about twice as long as simply going directly, but I really didn't mind the drive, especially through the French countryside. As someone who loves the small details that change from country to country, I was amused to observe that Belgian highways have signs warning of deteriorated roadways (the government would go broke trying to put those up in most Canadian provinces). Belgium is also bilingual, but does it very differently than in New Brunswick: in Belgium, there's a French part (Wallonia), a Dutch Part (Flanders), and Brussels,the capital, which is bilingual (there are also German speaking areas, but they're within other regions). The signs are bilingual in Brussels, but not in Wallonia or Flanders; this is a little odd when you consider that the highway from Liege (French speaking) to Brussels goes back and forth between Wallonia and Flanders, sometimes for only a few KM at a time, and each time the signs change language. But it's hilarious when you consider that the places also have different names in the two languages, so the signs point to Liege, then Luik (the Dutch name for Liege), then back to Liege, as you weave between the two regions.
Anyway, on to France, where we arrived in Paris at about 3:00 PM. I went straight to my hostel, which turned out to be far outside of the city (for those who know the area, I was outside the Périphérique, technically in the City of Pantin, near the 19e). After checking in, I decided to go for a walk, which brought me through the 10th district and along the St Martin Canal, where I stopped with a sandwich I'd picked up. I was still feeling defeated by my cold, however, and so by the time I arrived at Place de la République, I was fairly concerned I was going to vomit all over some important French national monument, and so I went back to the hostel to sleep.
The next day, I was up early (thanks to my hostel roommates being loud) and was out at about 8 AM or so. This was actually perfect, as it gave me time to make it out to Versailles quickly. Even though it's not high tourist season, Paris is still a major destination, and getting to places early is advised. I had been wondering whether I would be permitted free entry-EU residents under 26 are allowed in free to most Paris attractions, but seeing as our Dutch residence permits didn't arrive yet, I didn't exactly have convincing proof of this. It really helped that I spoke French, as I was able to explain that I only have a student card to prove it, and sure enough was granted entry for free to this and all other museums where it was offered. This also meant I skipped the ticket-purchasing line, saving a lot of time.
For those who don't know, Versailles was the French royal palace and, as such, was massive and opulent. Room after room was beautifully decorated and filled with portraits and fancy furnishings. The Chateau itself was of course great to see, albeit crowded (I can't imagine at the height of tourist season). Leaving the building itself, one then enters the massive grounds surrounding it. Thankfully, the gardens were large enough to absorb the number of tourists, and I often found myself wandering completely alone. This is where I learned that it turns out that I love European gardens, both for the opportunity to add a bit of nature to my city-trip, but also for the amazing smells of the flowers. I spent a good chunk of time wandering (only some of it due to being lost), before making it to the Trianon, a smaller palace on the far end of the gardens, and then proceeding to the Queen's Hamlet, before exiting the site.
Having had a well-planned and smooth morning, this was of course where my day started going a little sideways. I planned next to walk to Versailles-Rive Gauche station and take a train to Montparnasse. Instead, I walked to Versailles-Rive Droite and asked for a train to Montmartre. After getting on board and looking at the map, I realized I was not going where I intended, and wound up in the centre of Paris. I ended up wandering around, wondering why I was in such a bad mood, until I realized that I also hadn't eaten since breakfast. For those who've never been to Paris, you simply don't want to eat in the city centre-combos that cost €5.90 elsewhere were at about €9.90, and I saw menus that had a glass of Coke for €5.50.
While wandering looking for reasonably priced food, I made the decision to spend a few hours in the Orsay Museum. This was also free, and, unlike the horror stories I've read from high tourist season, took mere minutes to get a ticket. The museum is in a former railway station, which itself is impressive, and hosts an array of beautiful artwork that even an uninitiated person such as myself could appreciate. I was also highly amused to note that there was a ban on selfie sticks on the inside.
My decision to go to Paris was an important one for me: I'd been going back and forth and when and where to travel, and I had this sudden moment of "James, if you're going to travel at all, you need to shut up and do it. Otherwise, you'll spend the semester trying to decide." And so, I decided to shut up and pay €35 (about $50) for the bus to Paris, realizing I was being ridiculous.
The bus left around 8:30. Since I'd managed to get a flat tire on my bike (more on that in another post), I walked to the station. Usually this would be ok, but since I had had a cold for the past few days, getting up early did mean that I was still sick for my first day in Paris. Regardless, at 8:30 I was on a bus to the City of Light! The bus ride went through Liège and Brussels, both in Belgium, meaning that it took about twice as long as simply going directly, but I really didn't mind the drive, especially through the French countryside. As someone who loves the small details that change from country to country, I was amused to observe that Belgian highways have signs warning of deteriorated roadways (the government would go broke trying to put those up in most Canadian provinces). Belgium is also bilingual, but does it very differently than in New Brunswick: in Belgium, there's a French part (Wallonia), a Dutch Part (Flanders), and Brussels,the capital, which is bilingual (there are also German speaking areas, but they're within other regions). The signs are bilingual in Brussels, but not in Wallonia or Flanders; this is a little odd when you consider that the highway from Liege (French speaking) to Brussels goes back and forth between Wallonia and Flanders, sometimes for only a few KM at a time, and each time the signs change language. But it's hilarious when you consider that the places also have different names in the two languages, so the signs point to Liege, then Luik (the Dutch name for Liege), then back to Liege, as you weave between the two regions.
Anyway, on to France, where we arrived in Paris at about 3:00 PM. I went straight to my hostel, which turned out to be far outside of the city (for those who know the area, I was outside the Périphérique, technically in the City of Pantin, near the 19e). After checking in, I decided to go for a walk, which brought me through the 10th district and along the St Martin Canal, where I stopped with a sandwich I'd picked up. I was still feeling defeated by my cold, however, and so by the time I arrived at Place de la République, I was fairly concerned I was going to vomit all over some important French national monument, and so I went back to the hostel to sleep.
The next day, I was up early (thanks to my hostel roommates being loud) and was out at about 8 AM or so. This was actually perfect, as it gave me time to make it out to Versailles quickly. Even though it's not high tourist season, Paris is still a major destination, and getting to places early is advised. I had been wondering whether I would be permitted free entry-EU residents under 26 are allowed in free to most Paris attractions, but seeing as our Dutch residence permits didn't arrive yet, I didn't exactly have convincing proof of this. It really helped that I spoke French, as I was able to explain that I only have a student card to prove it, and sure enough was granted entry for free to this and all other museums where it was offered. This also meant I skipped the ticket-purchasing line, saving a lot of time.
For those who don't know, Versailles was the French royal palace and, as such, was massive and opulent. Room after room was beautifully decorated and filled with portraits and fancy furnishings. The Chateau itself was of course great to see, albeit crowded (I can't imagine at the height of tourist season). Leaving the building itself, one then enters the massive grounds surrounding it. Thankfully, the gardens were large enough to absorb the number of tourists, and I often found myself wandering completely alone. This is where I learned that it turns out that I love European gardens, both for the opportunity to add a bit of nature to my city-trip, but also for the amazing smells of the flowers. I spent a good chunk of time wandering (only some of it due to being lost), before making it to the Trianon, a smaller palace on the far end of the gardens, and then proceeding to the Queen's Hamlet, before exiting the site.
Having had a well-planned and smooth morning, this was of course where my day started going a little sideways. I planned next to walk to Versailles-Rive Gauche station and take a train to Montparnasse. Instead, I walked to Versailles-Rive Droite and asked for a train to Montmartre. After getting on board and looking at the map, I realized I was not going where I intended, and wound up in the centre of Paris. I ended up wandering around, wondering why I was in such a bad mood, until I realized that I also hadn't eaten since breakfast. For those who've never been to Paris, you simply don't want to eat in the city centre-combos that cost €5.90 elsewhere were at about €9.90, and I saw menus that had a glass of Coke for €5.50.
While wandering looking for reasonably priced food, I made the decision to spend a few hours in the Orsay Museum. This was also free, and, unlike the horror stories I've read from high tourist season, took mere minutes to get a ticket. The museum is in a former railway station, which itself is impressive, and hosts an array of beautiful artwork that even an uninitiated person such as myself could appreciate. I was also highly amused to note that there was a ban on selfie sticks on the inside.
Monday, 7 September 2015
Cars that yield to bikes in a round-about? What is this place!? Or, List of Observations of the Netherlands #1
Howdy folks!
I figured that, seeing asit's rainy out and I don't want to do any school work yet I've been here for almost two weeks (!), it's time to make a first list of things I've seen here that are different from home. Now, of course, because Maastricht is my only experience with Europe so far, this list is going to include things that are unique to Maastricht, UniMaas, Limburg, the Netherlands, Europe, etc. without me really knowing the differences in most cases. That is, of course, one the risks in writing about a culture from the point of view of an outsider. That said, let the first list begin!
1.Bikes are everywhere: Yes, I know it's cliché to point out how many bikes are in the Netherlands, but it's cliché for a reason. Circling around looking for parking is nothing new to me; circling around looking for a spot to park my bike is. Almost all Dutch roads are divided into three parts: in the middle, you have the cars, on the edges (usually marked with a different coloured pavement and often with a cement barrier) you have the bikes, and then of course are the sidewalks at the very end. As the title of this post eludes to, this applies even in the ever-present traffic circles. Now, if you followed my explanation of lane-placement, you probably already realized that, in a traffic circle, bikes are on the outside lane, requiring all motorized vehicles to cross bike traffic to exit. Whereas in Montréal this would result in utter chaos and mass casualties, in Maastricht even busses wait (patiently, it would seem, though I may learn that's not so true as my Dutch improves) for cyclists to be out of the way before turning.
2. Students at UniMaas don't raise their hands to speak in class (something this mild-mannered Canadian may never adapt to) and clap at the end of every lecture.
3. You can't chose your own PIN code for Dutch bank accounts. Apparently this is estimated to reduce debit card fraud by around 30%.
4.This country really seems to like plants. Beyond the mass amounts of greenery outdoors, there are a large number of flower shops, including at train stations (so much so that the national railway website lists florists alongside ATM's and washrooms as amenities in train stations). Even the low budget grocery store across the street from me (for reference purposes for Montrealers, I'm talking about a grocery store that makes PA look fancy) has plants.
5. Line-ups don't really happen at the bank here. Either you take a number, or, when they're not busy, the number machine simply instructs you to sit down on the big round sofas. Somehow, the staff are able to make sure people are served in order.
I figured that, seeing as
1.Bikes are everywhere: Yes, I know it's cliché to point out how many bikes are in the Netherlands, but it's cliché for a reason. Circling around looking for parking is nothing new to me; circling around looking for a spot to park my bike is. Almost all Dutch roads are divided into three parts: in the middle, you have the cars, on the edges (usually marked with a different coloured pavement and often with a cement barrier) you have the bikes, and then of course are the sidewalks at the very end. As the title of this post eludes to, this applies even in the ever-present traffic circles. Now, if you followed my explanation of lane-placement, you probably already realized that, in a traffic circle, bikes are on the outside lane, requiring all motorized vehicles to cross bike traffic to exit. Whereas in Montréal this would result in utter chaos and mass casualties, in Maastricht even busses wait (patiently, it would seem, though I may learn that's not so true as my Dutch improves) for cyclists to be out of the way before turning.
2. Students at UniMaas don't raise their hands to speak in class (something this mild-mannered Canadian may never adapt to) and clap at the end of every lecture.
3. You can't chose your own PIN code for Dutch bank accounts. Apparently this is estimated to reduce debit card fraud by around 30%.
4.This country really seems to like plants. Beyond the mass amounts of greenery outdoors, there are a large number of flower shops, including at train stations (so much so that the national railway website lists florists alongside ATM's and washrooms as amenities in train stations). Even the low budget grocery store across the street from me (for reference purposes for Montrealers, I'm talking about a grocery store that makes PA look fancy) has plants.
5. Line-ups don't really happen at the bank here. Either you take a number, or, when they're not busy, the number machine simply instructs you to sit down on the big round sofas. Somehow, the staff are able to make sure people are served in order.
Friday, 4 September 2015
First week of classes? Check!
I figured that it would be a good idea to write a post after having been here for a full week. Having been too lazy to so on time (since I've been here a week and a half now), I'm instead opting for writing a post after finishing the first week of classes.
As can be expected, a lot of the last week has involved running around and getting little things done. Opening a Dutch bank account. Finding classrooms. Having fingerprints taken for my Residence Permit. Walking into the kitchen to cook, realizing I'm missing half the things I need, and walking to the grocery store. That sort of thing. In and amongst that, there've been a few ISN (International Students' Network) events thrown in, adventures to different places around the city, and, yes, even the occasional moment or two of studying.
After where my last blog post left off, we had the official introduction day to the Law Faculty on Thursday. My roommates who are in SBE (The School of Business and Economics, which has over 400 exchange students out of a total of 700 some) had two full days of orientation, but, contrary to what I've come to expect, the law school kept it short and sweet. We had an introduction from the Dean, followed by a tour around Maas (in the rain), followed by dinner (and drinks). Later that evening, ISN hosted a pub crawl, which essentially consisted of waiting in long lines to enter small bars and then leave again quickly because it was too crowded. Thursday was also the day I bought my bike (more on that later). On Saturday, I went to a Dutch Dinner hosted by ISN. The dinner consisted of sausage, chicken, three different types of mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut, and we followed it up with some waffles. The rest of the week was spent on the aforementioned running around, as well as my first tutorial and first lecture (I'll write more about Maastricht's particular form of teaching, PBL, in a few weeks).
So how are things going? So far, so good. Maastricht is a beautiful, old city, and I'm still waiting for the day I manage to walk somewhere without stopping to take photos (I'm basically starting to overtake Google Street View at this point). It's quite interesting to me how the historical parts of the city are just that-part of the city, rather than preserved museum-style as we tend to do in Canada. Cafés line the squares, ancient bridges are still in use, and numerous old churches have been converted into everything from hotels to archives to a bookstore with a coffeeshop. I've also been quite impressed with the exchange student community so far, everyone is really friendly but also quite engaged and enthusiastic about being in the Netherlands.
As far as activities, that's really it so far. Keep an eye out for another blog post that will talk more about the observations I've made about life here so far, which will be writtenwhen I get around to it very soon.
As can be expected, a lot of the last week has involved running around and getting little things done. Opening a Dutch bank account. Finding classrooms. Having fingerprints taken for my Residence Permit. Walking into the kitchen to cook, realizing I'm missing half the things I need, and walking to the grocery store. That sort of thing. In and amongst that, there've been a few ISN (International Students' Network) events thrown in, adventures to different places around the city, and, yes, even the occasional moment or two of studying.
After where my last blog post left off, we had the official introduction day to the Law Faculty on Thursday. My roommates who are in SBE (The School of Business and Economics, which has over 400 exchange students out of a total of 700 some) had two full days of orientation, but, contrary to what I've come to expect, the law school kept it short and sweet. We had an introduction from the Dean, followed by a tour around Maas (in the rain), followed by dinner (and drinks). Later that evening, ISN hosted a pub crawl, which essentially consisted of waiting in long lines to enter small bars and then leave again quickly because it was too crowded. Thursday was also the day I bought my bike (more on that later). On Saturday, I went to a Dutch Dinner hosted by ISN. The dinner consisted of sausage, chicken, three different types of mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut, and we followed it up with some waffles. The rest of the week was spent on the aforementioned running around, as well as my first tutorial and first lecture (I'll write more about Maastricht's particular form of teaching, PBL, in a few weeks).
So how are things going? So far, so good. Maastricht is a beautiful, old city, and I'm still waiting for the day I manage to walk somewhere without stopping to take photos (I'm basically starting to overtake Google Street View at this point). It's quite interesting to me how the historical parts of the city are just that-part of the city, rather than preserved museum-style as we tend to do in Canada. Cafés line the squares, ancient bridges are still in use, and numerous old churches have been converted into everything from hotels to archives to a bookstore with a coffeeshop. I've also been quite impressed with the exchange student community so far, everyone is really friendly but also quite engaged and enthusiastic about being in the Netherlands.
As far as activities, that's really it so far. Keep an eye out for another blog post that will talk more about the observations I've made about life here so far, which will be written
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
London: The Finale
My final day in London started with yet another Full English. This time, I was joined by Richard, and we managed to actually find the greasy spoon I had been recommended. Today's breakfast turned out to be better than the one the day before, although one thing I appreciated both times was that the meal essentially took care of the need to eat until about 6 PM (perfect for a day of sightseeing).
The big attraction of the day was to see the British Library's exhibition celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. While the exhibit promised to really be quite something, I assumed that there wouldn't be that many people there-and boy, was I wrong. Reading the panels morphed seamlessly with a queue, slowing one's progress through the exhibit (though perhaps also forcing one to really consider the artefacts, and allowing the time to read everything). The whole exhibit took a lot longer than I expected-2:30 hours; nearly every minute, however, was riveting. The Magna Carta has a fascinating history, not just for what it is, but for what the very idea of it (and often a misconception at that) has inspired in others. The exhibit was also impressive in its thoroughness- in addition to two of the four known original copies being on display, we were treated to numerous accounts of the different personalities involved, reactions, and how it was used over the years. Original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as displays covering human rights history post-Magna Carta really rounded out the exhibition.
After the Library, Richard had to head on his way, and I was on my own until dinner. I had a hard time deciding what to do, and nearly went to the Greenwich observatory before deciding that I didn't want to have to come back from there during rush hour. Instead, I went to take a look at the Tower of London (actually a castle), and sat outside in the torrential downpour, eating fish and chips.
I then headed back to Harrods. On the outside, Harrods resembles a giant version of the Bay store on Ste Catherine Street in Montreal. On the inside, it consists of several floors containing a variety of departments selling some of the most expensive and luxurious items you care to see. I saw everything from Audrey Hepburn's signature (for sale) to £29 000 watches.
My last tourist attraction was Hyde Park, a giant green park, which contains both the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and Speaker's Corner, amongst other thing. The park actually turned out to be quite a bit larger than I expected, and provides for a lovely green space in the city (though it doesn't have quite that abrupt feeling created by Central Park, since London is nowhere near as high rise as Manhattan).
My final night in London ended by meeting Andrew at Piccadilly Circus for dinner in nearby Chinatown, a nod to the fact that we met in Hong Kong. After dinner, it was back to the hostel to pack and sleep before heading out in the morning.
Overall, my impression of London was very positive. The City is extremely walkable, with attractions nearby to one another. There's a lot of greenery for such a large city, not just the impressive parks but also trees along many of the streets. People were quite friendly, and the city has a multicultural vibe, including a large number of tourists. When I first arrived, Max said he thought he could see me living there, and I certainly could as well. I was a little taken aback at how busy I found the city-it could be the effect of arriving directly from Fredericton, but it even seemed more packed than Hong Kong, particularly at any and all tourist attractions. Prices are also, of course, sky high for a North American (as a Canadian, we double the prices to get our dollar), but these things do little to detract from a great city, at least in my opinion.
The big attraction of the day was to see the British Library's exhibition celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. While the exhibit promised to really be quite something, I assumed that there wouldn't be that many people there-and boy, was I wrong. Reading the panels morphed seamlessly with a queue, slowing one's progress through the exhibit (though perhaps also forcing one to really consider the artefacts, and allowing the time to read everything). The whole exhibit took a lot longer than I expected-2:30 hours; nearly every minute, however, was riveting. The Magna Carta has a fascinating history, not just for what it is, but for what the very idea of it (and often a misconception at that) has inspired in others. The exhibit was also impressive in its thoroughness- in addition to two of the four known original copies being on display, we were treated to numerous accounts of the different personalities involved, reactions, and how it was used over the years. Original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as displays covering human rights history post-Magna Carta really rounded out the exhibition.
After the Library, Richard had to head on his way, and I was on my own until dinner. I had a hard time deciding what to do, and nearly went to the Greenwich observatory before deciding that I didn't want to have to come back from there during rush hour. Instead, I went to take a look at the Tower of London (actually a castle), and sat outside in the torrential downpour, eating fish and chips.
I then headed back to Harrods. On the outside, Harrods resembles a giant version of the Bay store on Ste Catherine Street in Montreal. On the inside, it consists of several floors containing a variety of departments selling some of the most expensive and luxurious items you care to see. I saw everything from Audrey Hepburn's signature (for sale) to £29 000 watches.
My last tourist attraction was Hyde Park, a giant green park, which contains both the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and Speaker's Corner, amongst other thing. The park actually turned out to be quite a bit larger than I expected, and provides for a lovely green space in the city (though it doesn't have quite that abrupt feeling created by Central Park, since London is nowhere near as high rise as Manhattan).
My final night in London ended by meeting Andrew at Piccadilly Circus for dinner in nearby Chinatown, a nod to the fact that we met in Hong Kong. After dinner, it was back to the hostel to pack and sleep before heading out in the morning.
Overall, my impression of London was very positive. The City is extremely walkable, with attractions nearby to one another. There's a lot of greenery for such a large city, not just the impressive parks but also trees along many of the streets. People were quite friendly, and the city has a multicultural vibe, including a large number of tourists. When I first arrived, Max said he thought he could see me living there, and I certainly could as well. I was a little taken aback at how busy I found the city-it could be the effect of arriving directly from Fredericton, but it even seemed more packed than Hong Kong, particularly at any and all tourist attractions. Prices are also, of course, sky high for a North American (as a Canadian, we double the prices to get our dollar), but these things do little to detract from a great city, at least in my opinion.
London: Part II
My busy first day in London ended with me falling asleep at 9:30. Upon waking, I noticed two things
1) It was 4:30 AM, but, having slept 7 hours, I just was not getting back to sleep
2)My legs were in some pretty major pain
Now, number 2 is actually surprising. I walk everywhere, always, and a lot. I can't recall ever having walked enough to put me in the kind of pain I was in in London (eventually I was limping), so I think that's a testament not only to how much I did, but how many things there are to see in London.
Seeing as I wouldn't be getting back to sleep, I decided to head down to watch the sunrise over parliament. The Tube was closed, so I had to take a bus which, to my delight as a law student, turned out to be the Clapham Omnibus! (For those who aren't familiar, the "Man on the Clapham Omnibus"is used often as an example of the "reasonable man" in the law. It's kind of one of those things you have to understand to laugh at). I got off the bus at Westminister Abbey and discovered something pretty amazing-contrary to the massive crowds I had seen a little more than twelve hours prior, there was essentially nobody at the Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, or on the bridges. I took full advantage, snapping selfies, before walking back up to Trafalgar Square. Given that I was out just when the Saturday night revellers were calling it a day, the streets around Trafalgar Square were a bit of a mess with bottles and trash strewn about-it was quite disappointing, really, to see that some people felt Nelson's Monument an appropriate place to leave their empties. The leg pain kicking back in, I took the bus back to my hostel and rested a few hours.
I stayed back in my room until the time of day when places would start opening, and headed back out to look for a classic "full English breakfast". Although Max had recommended a place the day before, I had some trouble finding it. I eventually opted for a place that, while not the one recommended, looked ok. The Full English, for those who don't know, is a sort of classic breakfast, consisting, depending on where, of ham, beans, mushrooms, tomato, eggs, toast, sausage, and sometimes blood pudding. After leaving breakfast, I of course promptly walked past the place I had been searching for for an hour....
Next on my agenda was to meet Richard at the British Museum. After some confusion as to what "meet out front" means at a place with two entrances, I met up with my Canadian compatriot, and we tackled the massive museum. The British Museum has amazing treasures from all over the world. Unfortunately, to some extent, it becomes almost mundane in its vastness- while trying to find your way around, you're invariably passing hundreds of years worth of invaluable artifacts and fascinating history, without even realizing it. The nice thing about this was that exhibits also featured items and cultures we hear about less. The history of clocks was covered, for example, and I learned a lot about Ancient Cyprus. To me, as someone fascinated by language, the biggest draw in the Museum was the Rosetta Stone-no, not the computer program! The Rosetta Stone was a (large) trilingual carving whose discovery made it possible to begin cracking the code on translating hieroglyphics.
The Museum was, of course, packed, and the Rosetta Stone thronged with people essentially at all times (though it was still awe inspiring). After checking out some of the beautiful large-scale artifacts (all of which satisfied both of my criteria for picture taking-big and old), and ducking into the gift shop (which, amongst other things, sold a variety of rubber duckies dressed in different period gear), we headed out. Originally, we were in search of fish and chips for lunch, but we eventually abandoned that search in favour of chowing down on the goodies I had bought at the supermarket. We then headed to Harrod's, one of the world's most prestigious, and pricey, shops (more on Harrods in London Part III).
At 6:30, we had tickets to see Richard II performed at Shakespeare's Globe, a recreation (as faithfully as possible) of the original theatre in which Shakespeare's plays were performed, near to the original site. We got a little lost on the way, but made it just after the opening. Now, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this-it seemed like something that would make a good memory, and my friend wanted to go, but I really expected to be miserable. But, aside from standing for 2:40 (since we had standing tickets-sitting ones are sold as well), the play was really quite something (and a lot easier to follow along than expected, something aided quite a bit by a digital display showing the lyrics).
After the play, we had big plans to grab fish and chips, and then go out to a pub. Those plans, however, quickly morphed into getting dinner of the 99P menu at McDonald's and going for a walk through an empty Soho, as we discovered that London is night a late-night-Sunday kind of town.
1) It was 4:30 AM, but, having slept 7 hours, I just was not getting back to sleep
2)My legs were in some pretty major pain
Now, number 2 is actually surprising. I walk everywhere, always, and a lot. I can't recall ever having walked enough to put me in the kind of pain I was in in London (eventually I was limping), so I think that's a testament not only to how much I did, but how many things there are to see in London.
Seeing as I wouldn't be getting back to sleep, I decided to head down to watch the sunrise over parliament. The Tube was closed, so I had to take a bus which, to my delight as a law student, turned out to be the Clapham Omnibus! (For those who aren't familiar, the "Man on the Clapham Omnibus"is used often as an example of the "reasonable man" in the law. It's kind of one of those things you have to understand to laugh at). I got off the bus at Westminister Abbey and discovered something pretty amazing-contrary to the massive crowds I had seen a little more than twelve hours prior, there was essentially nobody at the Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, or on the bridges. I took full advantage, snapping selfies, before walking back up to Trafalgar Square. Given that I was out just when the Saturday night revellers were calling it a day, the streets around Trafalgar Square were a bit of a mess with bottles and trash strewn about-it was quite disappointing, really, to see that some people felt Nelson's Monument an appropriate place to leave their empties. The leg pain kicking back in, I took the bus back to my hostel and rested a few hours.
I stayed back in my room until the time of day when places would start opening, and headed back out to look for a classic "full English breakfast". Although Max had recommended a place the day before, I had some trouble finding it. I eventually opted for a place that, while not the one recommended, looked ok. The Full English, for those who don't know, is a sort of classic breakfast, consisting, depending on where, of ham, beans, mushrooms, tomato, eggs, toast, sausage, and sometimes blood pudding. After leaving breakfast, I of course promptly walked past the place I had been searching for for an hour....
Next on my agenda was to meet Richard at the British Museum. After some confusion as to what "meet out front" means at a place with two entrances, I met up with my Canadian compatriot, and we tackled the massive museum. The British Museum has amazing treasures from all over the world. Unfortunately, to some extent, it becomes almost mundane in its vastness- while trying to find your way around, you're invariably passing hundreds of years worth of invaluable artifacts and fascinating history, without even realizing it. The nice thing about this was that exhibits also featured items and cultures we hear about less. The history of clocks was covered, for example, and I learned a lot about Ancient Cyprus. To me, as someone fascinated by language, the biggest draw in the Museum was the Rosetta Stone-no, not the computer program! The Rosetta Stone was a (large) trilingual carving whose discovery made it possible to begin cracking the code on translating hieroglyphics.
The Museum was, of course, packed, and the Rosetta Stone thronged with people essentially at all times (though it was still awe inspiring). After checking out some of the beautiful large-scale artifacts (all of which satisfied both of my criteria for picture taking-big and old), and ducking into the gift shop (which, amongst other things, sold a variety of rubber duckies dressed in different period gear), we headed out. Originally, we were in search of fish and chips for lunch, but we eventually abandoned that search in favour of chowing down on the goodies I had bought at the supermarket. We then headed to Harrod's, one of the world's most prestigious, and pricey, shops (more on Harrods in London Part III).
At 6:30, we had tickets to see Richard II performed at Shakespeare's Globe, a recreation (as faithfully as possible) of the original theatre in which Shakespeare's plays were performed, near to the original site. We got a little lost on the way, but made it just after the opening. Now, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this-it seemed like something that would make a good memory, and my friend wanted to go, but I really expected to be miserable. But, aside from standing for 2:40 (since we had standing tickets-sitting ones are sold as well), the play was really quite something (and a lot easier to follow along than expected, something aided quite a bit by a digital display showing the lyrics).
After the play, we had big plans to grab fish and chips, and then go out to a pub. Those plans, however, quickly morphed into getting dinner of the 99P menu at McDonald's and going for a walk through an empty Soho, as we discovered that London is night a late-night-Sunday kind of town.
Westminster Abbey at sunrise
The sunrise over Big Ben
My first "Full English"
The British Museum
London! Part I
As most people know, exchanges aren't only about seeing the city you will be studying in (although Maastricht is worth the trip on its own), but also about getting the chance to travel. With that in mind, I decided to spend a few days in London prior to heading to Maas-a decision made all the more justifiable by the need to fly to a major international airport and then take the train to Maastricht anyway. After discovering that the only options were red-eye flights, I decided to leave the same day I finished work, so that I wouldn't be wasting any time, since I would only have three days in London anyway.
My flight began on, essentially, an oversized tin can that took me from Fredericton to Halifax. From there, we left at midnight and touched down in London at 9:35-a full 35 minutes early, and this, even after being put in a holding pattern (which offered great views of the city) because we were so early. After making my way through customs, and playing games with some elevators that just did not want to take us to our floor, I took the Tube and headed into the city to meet up with some good friends from my Hong Kong days. Taking the Tube with luggage wasn't fun, but it was no more unpleasant than doing so in Montréal. The journey into the city probably took around 40 minutes, and after arriving at Holborn station, I was met by Max, who graciously let me leave my bags in his car while we headed out.
Whilst waiting for our third friend, Andrew, to join us, Max took me on a quick walking tour of the area. I was really surprised how compact that part of London is, and how concentrated the mains sites are. We had to stop in the middle of many casual conversations so I could take pictures of things like Nelson's Monument, or Big Ben. After walking down to the Thames, we headed back to a pub where we met up with Andrew (and some cold beer). As a Canadian, I was pretty excited to dig into some pub fare for my first lunch in London, and so went right for the pie of the day-turkey and ham-since it was the most stereotypical English pub food I could think of.
Lunch was followed by gelato, and then by checking into my hostel (which was actually a UCL dormitory), after which Max had to part ways with us, leaving me and Andrew to explore the city. And explore we did: the BBC Building, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Parliament and Big Ben, then over the Thames and back again. Once back across the bridge, we realized that we missed Buckingham Palace, and so we headed in that direction, before wandering the neighbourhood in search of a cold drink, and accidentally ending up at London's main Catholic Church, the Westminster Cathedral. Finally, we took our newly found cold drinks over to Green Park, just next to the Palace, and relaxed under the Park's giant trees, catching up on four years since we'd last seen each other (and enjoying a lovely London summer evening).
Once the sun started to set (and once my brain started to realize I had just walked several kilometres in the heat on zero sleep), we decided it was best to head home. As we parted ways in the station, Andrew asked if I was sure I could find my way back to my room, to which I responded "of course". Which, it turns out, was a complete lie. I probably spent around an hour walking in circles (which, the next day, I would realize had taken me very close to the dorm about 5 times) before finding my way back.
Having only had one meal that day, there was one last thing to do: head out to a grocery store. I tracked down a Sainsbury's nearby, and quickly got to playing one of my favourite travel games: buy all the things you don't recognize. Now, it's true that I cheated a little bit, since I had actually seen many of these items (York Chocolate Bars, Whisps, Minstrels, etc.) at import candy stores, or at Pete's Froutique (a store in Halifax and Saint John), but I still wound up with about £9 of mostly candy.
City Tour-Arriving in Maastricht Part 2
After finally finding the pick-up, ISN drove us to the main Guesthouse, where we paid our fees for the month, got our keys, and...waited around a while for the next shuttle. It proved a good opportunity to chat and get to know a few other exchange students. Eventually, of course, we made it to our guesthouses.
My room is a very, very large room with a sink, bed, some shelving, and a beautiful view of the street in front and an old church in the distance. The room is inside of a unit of four rooms with shared kitchen, shower and toilets.
After dropping my stuff off, and meeting a few of my flatmates, I headed out for a quick stop at the supermarket across the street. I'm sure I'll be doing a post about Dutch supermarkets (since going to the store and buying things I don't recognize is a favourite travel experience of mine), but to sum it up quickly, it was very small and basic. There was everything you need, of course, but none of the extra flashiness of a North American grocery store. I also really conspicuously felt my lack of Dutch here-maybe I'm just too Canadian, but I felt rude not knowing how to say please and thank you to the cashier.
I decided that I would join the Maastricht city tour, and so I dropped off my purchases and headed back to the main guesthouse,where I was able to jump on the end of the walking tour just in time. We went through a whole host of interesting sites, including old city walls used to keep people with the plague out, an old fashioned stone mill, and a lovely park. None of which I anticipate being able to find again any time soon. After the tour there was a dinner at a restaurant in town, followed by a party and then after party. I made friends with a few people at my table at dinner, and we went together to the bar-which was quite possibly the most crowded one I've ever seen-so we left and opted for drinks at a quieter place instead, before returning to the party once ISN had opened a second venue. Having travelled across Europe that same day, I decided not to stay too late, and soon went home.
My room is a very, very large room with a sink, bed, some shelving, and a beautiful view of the street in front and an old church in the distance. The room is inside of a unit of four rooms with shared kitchen, shower and toilets.
After dropping my stuff off, and meeting a few of my flatmates, I headed out for a quick stop at the supermarket across the street. I'm sure I'll be doing a post about Dutch supermarkets (since going to the store and buying things I don't recognize is a favourite travel experience of mine), but to sum it up quickly, it was very small and basic. There was everything you need, of course, but none of the extra flashiness of a North American grocery store. I also really conspicuously felt my lack of Dutch here-maybe I'm just too Canadian, but I felt rude not knowing how to say please and thank you to the cashier.
I decided that I would join the Maastricht city tour, and so I dropped off my purchases and headed back to the main guesthouse,where I was able to jump on the end of the walking tour just in time. We went through a whole host of interesting sites, including old city walls used to keep people with the plague out, an old fashioned stone mill, and a lovely park. None of which I anticipate being able to find again any time soon. After the tour there was a dinner at a restaurant in town, followed by a party and then after party. I made friends with a few people at my table at dinner, and we went together to the bar-which was quite possibly the most crowded one I've ever seen-so we left and opted for drinks at a quieter place instead, before returning to the party once ISN had opened a second venue. Having travelled across Europe that same day, I decided not to stay too late, and soon went home.
Four Countries, One Day-Arriving in Maastricht Part I
(Note: I'm going to start with writing about Maastricht, since this is my actual exchange. My travels in London will be in a separate post written after).
I woke up in London around 6:00 to get ready for my train journey to Maastricht. Even though the train didn't leave until 8:04, I received an e-mail the night before stating that French Border Police had increased their inspections and so we needed to arrive 45 minutes early to allow time to customs. So, at around half past six, I set out through the early morning streets of London, two suitcases and a laptop bag in hand. London is lovely in the early morning, so I didn't mind the walk so much. 20 Minutes later I was in St. Pancras Station.
French customs, the whole reason I woke up at 6:00AM, took approximately 30 seconds.
Travelling with Canadian luggage tags during this trip proved interesting. While waiting in line for the washroom at St. Pancras station someone, noticing my luggage tags and East Coast Lifestyle hoody, struck up a conversation along the lines of
"You're Canadian?"
"Yup!"
"East Coast?"
"Yup, Halifax!"
"Me too!"
After a short wait at St. Pancras, we boarded and were soon off for Brussels, via Lille-Europe. The train was quite nice, though a little warm, and the journey quite smooth. Tunnels took us out of London and into the English countryside. It couldn't have been more than 40 minutes later that we, quite unceremoniously, entered the Chunnel, emerging in France around 10 or 20 minutes later. The French countryside was quite different than the English (although not immediately), namely due to the presence of actual forests, rather than just clumps of trees. Cute little French villages stood off in the distance as we made our way to Lille to drop off some passengers. After that, we continued on, with small Belgian villages now dotting the countryside.
One thing I found very notable on the train was that announcements were trilingual: English, French, and Dutch/Flemish, the order of languages rotating depending on what country we were in. The notable part was that none of the three languages was pre-recorded, all were spoken by the same staff member. As a Canadian with an interest in language rights in my own country, I was pretty impressed by this (take note, Air Canada!)
Arriving in Brussels is actually quite anticlimactic- one simply gets off the train, and looks over a long list of timetables to find their destination. I was trying to time my arrival in Maastricht for when I had arranged pick through the International Students' Network (ISN),and so didn't take the first train, but rather went outside to look for food. A few restaurants dotted the outside of the train station, but nothing on the menu boards caught my fancy, and so I found my way back to the platform literally just in time to get on a train.
Getting on the train, I managed to strike up a conversation with the gentleman I sat across from, just by asking if he knew whether this was a second class car (since that's what my ticket was for). Once again, the Canadian luggage tags proved interesting, with him asking about where I was going, and before I knew it we were in a fascinating conversation about languages, culture, and history, in which I learned quite a bit about Belgium (and him Canada).
The friendliness of Belgian people really stood out to me on this hour-and-a-half-or-so train ride. A lady sitting across let me put my suitcase over with her and wished me luck on my journey. On arriving at Liège another lady stopped me to say she had been listening to our conversation, found it interesting, and asked me all about my trip to Maastricht. Perhaps this was just one of those fluke situations where people start chatting on a train, and for all I know I may ride all over Belgium on the train without talking to another soul, but the brief chats I had showed me a really friendly and interesting country that I'm anxious to return to (without having to drag suitcases).
In Liège my wait for the train to Maastricht wasn't too long, and before I knew it the Canadian luggage tags struck again, with the other exchange student from McGill spotting me and joining me on the ride to Maas. One thing I noticed, after entering my fourth country for the day, was how unceremonious crossing from one country to another on the train is: there's not even an announcement, just the fact that at the next station signs were in Dutch rather than French. Crossing between provinces, even sometimes counties, is made a bigger deal of back home.
Arrived in Maastricht, I parted ways with my fellow exchanger, who already had set himself up in the city and had a bike waiting. I wandered through the station looking for the pick-up, and eventually waited outside. There, I spotted another exchange student, and yet another spotted us, and soon we were a group of three totally unable to find out pick-up. Which, after about 20 minutes, we discovered was on the side of the building rather than the front....
I woke up in London around 6:00 to get ready for my train journey to Maastricht. Even though the train didn't leave until 8:04, I received an e-mail the night before stating that French Border Police had increased their inspections and so we needed to arrive 45 minutes early to allow time to customs. So, at around half past six, I set out through the early morning streets of London, two suitcases and a laptop bag in hand. London is lovely in the early morning, so I didn't mind the walk so much. 20 Minutes later I was in St. Pancras Station.
French customs, the whole reason I woke up at 6:00AM, took approximately 30 seconds.
Travelling with Canadian luggage tags during this trip proved interesting. While waiting in line for the washroom at St. Pancras station someone, noticing my luggage tags and East Coast Lifestyle hoody, struck up a conversation along the lines of
"You're Canadian?"
"Yup!"
"East Coast?"
"Yup, Halifax!"
"Me too!"
After a short wait at St. Pancras, we boarded and were soon off for Brussels, via Lille-Europe. The train was quite nice, though a little warm, and the journey quite smooth. Tunnels took us out of London and into the English countryside. It couldn't have been more than 40 minutes later that we, quite unceremoniously, entered the Chunnel, emerging in France around 10 or 20 minutes later. The French countryside was quite different than the English (although not immediately), namely due to the presence of actual forests, rather than just clumps of trees. Cute little French villages stood off in the distance as we made our way to Lille to drop off some passengers. After that, we continued on, with small Belgian villages now dotting the countryside.
One thing I found very notable on the train was that announcements were trilingual: English, French, and Dutch/Flemish, the order of languages rotating depending on what country we were in. The notable part was that none of the three languages was pre-recorded, all were spoken by the same staff member. As a Canadian with an interest in language rights in my own country, I was pretty impressed by this (take note, Air Canada!)
Arriving in Brussels is actually quite anticlimactic- one simply gets off the train, and looks over a long list of timetables to find their destination. I was trying to time my arrival in Maastricht for when I had arranged pick through the International Students' Network (ISN),and so didn't take the first train, but rather went outside to look for food. A few restaurants dotted the outside of the train station, but nothing on the menu boards caught my fancy, and so I found my way back to the platform literally just in time to get on a train.
Getting on the train, I managed to strike up a conversation with the gentleman I sat across from, just by asking if he knew whether this was a second class car (since that's what my ticket was for). Once again, the Canadian luggage tags proved interesting, with him asking about where I was going, and before I knew it we were in a fascinating conversation about languages, culture, and history, in which I learned quite a bit about Belgium (and him Canada).
The friendliness of Belgian people really stood out to me on this hour-and-a-half-or-so train ride. A lady sitting across let me put my suitcase over with her and wished me luck on my journey. On arriving at Liège another lady stopped me to say she had been listening to our conversation, found it interesting, and asked me all about my trip to Maastricht. Perhaps this was just one of those fluke situations where people start chatting on a train, and for all I know I may ride all over Belgium on the train without talking to another soul, but the brief chats I had showed me a really friendly and interesting country that I'm anxious to return to (without having to drag suitcases).
In Liège my wait for the train to Maastricht wasn't too long, and before I knew it the Canadian luggage tags struck again, with the other exchange student from McGill spotting me and joining me on the ride to Maas. One thing I noticed, after entering my fourth country for the day, was how unceremonious crossing from one country to another on the train is: there's not even an announcement, just the fact that at the next station signs were in Dutch rather than French. Crossing between provinces, even sometimes counties, is made a bigger deal of back home.
Arrived in Maastricht, I parted ways with my fellow exchanger, who already had set himself up in the city and had a bike waiting. I wandered through the station looking for the pick-up, and eventually waited outside. There, I spotted another exchange student, and yet another spotted us, and soon we were a group of three totally unable to find out pick-up. Which, after about 20 minutes, we discovered was on the side of the building rather than the front....
Friday, 21 August 2015
Wait for it...wait for it....go!
Hey folks!
I decided that my first blog post should be pre-departure. I decided this for a couple of reasons, but primarily because A) I wanted to give a bit of a set-up for people who don't know me as well, B)because I thought my packing/prep process might be useful for some, especially any first-time exchangers who find this blog in their searching, and C) because I wanted actual content to appear when I start giving out the blog address :P
My about page does a pretty good rundown, but basically, I'm preparing to go on my second exchange, this time to Maastricht, Netherlands. Having previously been an exchange student has changed the experience a lot already. Last time, when I went to Hong Kong, it was my first serious travel experience. True, I had had the opportunity to travel all over North America growing up. But, save for a quick trip to New York with a friend and a day trip to Montréal, that travel had all been with my parents or for school. Heading to the other side of the world on my own, to a country where I couldn't speak (or even read) the main language was quite a leap. The learning curve was steep, though always enjoyable.
Now, it's going to be a different experience. When I was in Hong Kong, I never met a single other student with as little prior travel experience as me: for most, the experience I'm about to have (travelling Europe) had been their travelling training grounds, so to speak. So, to some extent, it almost feels like I'm doing things backwards. At the same time, I also have a very different approach this time. Pre-Hong Kong, I spaced some "travel chores" (vaccines, currency, etc.) out throughout the summer to help deal with my excitement. This time, most of those things occurred as an afterthought-it was only a week or two ago when I thought "oh hey, gonna need a travel adapter". That's not to say I'm less excited this time; it's also not to say I was nervous that time. To some extent, it's the result of having more experience-knowing, for example, that exchanging currency prior to travel is not really that great of a deal cost wise.
And so, packing this time was different. I don't think I took as much (credit for this also goes to having one entire suitcase less in my luggage allowance), but I also knew things I should take. Sleeping mask and ear plugs, Tums and Pepto Bismol, a tiny bottle of mouthwash for when I get off the plane. The things, basically, that I found myself wishing I brought, or happy I brought, to Hong Kong. I also knew to leave room in my suitcase for any treasures I find along the way (having been stuck paying for an extra bag coming back from HK).
So, for those who are going on an exchange (or some sort of comparable travel), here's my list of pre-departure tips:
Currency: Find out about the availability of exchanging currency in your destination country. If you're going somewhere like Hong Kong, a massive number of money changers exist, and their rates very considerably, but you will be able to find rates better than your bank gives. I didn't find the rates at changers in Montréal, however, to be such a good deal. Taking cash out at an ATM is probably your best bet, though be warned that you pay per transaction and have an exchange rate (for me, it's $5 per).
What to bring: I'm going to skip over the obvious here (bring underwear and pants, please!) and get right to the less obvious. Are you a light sleeper? Bring earplugs and a sleeping mask, just in case your accommodations are less than peaceful. Going to have shared showers? For Gods' sakes bring flip flops. Some first-aid style things are necessary: bring something for your stomach, something for sun and flies (trying to find mosquito repellent in rural China without knowing the words for it was quite a challenge for me). Purel and some form of tissue are probably also useful (especially in countries like China where you are expected to carry your own toilet paper). Of course, you also always need to have some small tokens of your home country, both for friends you meet along the way, and for yourself. And, finally, don't forget the electrical adaptors (and remember the difference between an adaptor and a converter: if your device has a built in converter like most major electronics, you only need the adaptor for the plug end in most cases).
Who to notify: I was a little surprised to learn that many people I knew didn't, in fact, realize that there are many businesses and organizations that you will want to notify about your trip. (Note:while I'm trying to make this blog as international as possible, I really only know about Canada for this part). My list included:
-My provincial medicare provider (did you know that if you study out of province you need to let them know each year? And I have heard horror stories of coverage being denied where maybe it wouldn't have had someone simply let them know)
-My credit card AND bank (now that most of us have Visa Debit, it's important to make sure neither debit nor credit card is going to be rejected while you're on the other side of the world. Though, for the record, the visa rep told me that they're going to be changing this system soon).
-My private health insurance (for me, that's student insurance. They needed to know I was leaving and have proof I'm going on an exchange. This is another service you don't want to suddenly not have when you need it, just because you forgot some paperwork).
-Elections Canada (did you know you can vote for up to 5 years after moving out of Canada? And that during an election you can vote at any time once Returning Offices are established in your riding? I actually voted before I left, to avoid any problems with the ballot getting lost in the mail, but you can also go in person to register for your special ballot prior to leaving).
-The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFATD, for Canada, has a service allowing you to register your travel with them. This is how they know where Canadians are in the event of an emergency, and how they plan their strategies for helping Canadian citizens if something goes wrong. Even if you're not Canadian, your home country will have something similar).
I want to make one last plug prior to ending this post on preparation: learn some of the local language. I'm by no means fluent in Dutch, Cantonese, or Mandarin, but I made efforts to learn at least a little of each of these. Simple phrases like "is someone sitting here?" "How much does this cost?" etc. go a long way. This is especially true, I find, in a place where most people speak English anyway-learning at least a few phrases shows that you haven't arrived somewhere expecting to be catered to in your native language. It's fine if you can't communicate your deepest feelings in perfectly accented Dutch or Cantonese or whatever; showing that the local language is important to you goes a long way. To that end, the most useful phrase in any language, in my opinion, is "How do you say ____ in (language?". This question shows that you want to learn and practice the language, and makes you a visitor (or resident) rather than a tourist just passing through to take pictures of sights.
Alright, well, that's all I have for advice. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments. I'll be leaving tonight and will probably not be able to post for a few days, but when I do, expect actual travel blog posts!
I decided that my first blog post should be pre-departure. I decided this for a couple of reasons, but primarily because A) I wanted to give a bit of a set-up for people who don't know me as well, B)because I thought my packing/prep process might be useful for some, especially any first-time exchangers who find this blog in their searching, and C) because I wanted actual content to appear when I start giving out the blog address :P
My about page does a pretty good rundown, but basically, I'm preparing to go on my second exchange, this time to Maastricht, Netherlands. Having previously been an exchange student has changed the experience a lot already. Last time, when I went to Hong Kong, it was my first serious travel experience. True, I had had the opportunity to travel all over North America growing up. But, save for a quick trip to New York with a friend and a day trip to Montréal, that travel had all been with my parents or for school. Heading to the other side of the world on my own, to a country where I couldn't speak (or even read) the main language was quite a leap. The learning curve was steep, though always enjoyable.
Now, it's going to be a different experience. When I was in Hong Kong, I never met a single other student with as little prior travel experience as me: for most, the experience I'm about to have (travelling Europe) had been their travelling training grounds, so to speak. So, to some extent, it almost feels like I'm doing things backwards. At the same time, I also have a very different approach this time. Pre-Hong Kong, I spaced some "travel chores" (vaccines, currency, etc.) out throughout the summer to help deal with my excitement. This time, most of those things occurred as an afterthought-it was only a week or two ago when I thought "oh hey, gonna need a travel adapter". That's not to say I'm less excited this time; it's also not to say I was nervous that time. To some extent, it's the result of having more experience-knowing, for example, that exchanging currency prior to travel is not really that great of a deal cost wise.
And so, packing this time was different. I don't think I took as much (credit for this also goes to having one entire suitcase less in my luggage allowance), but I also knew things I should take. Sleeping mask and ear plugs, Tums and Pepto Bismol, a tiny bottle of mouthwash for when I get off the plane. The things, basically, that I found myself wishing I brought, or happy I brought, to Hong Kong. I also knew to leave room in my suitcase for any treasures I find along the way (having been stuck paying for an extra bag coming back from HK).
So, for those who are going on an exchange (or some sort of comparable travel), here's my list of pre-departure tips:
Currency: Find out about the availability of exchanging currency in your destination country. If you're going somewhere like Hong Kong, a massive number of money changers exist, and their rates very considerably, but you will be able to find rates better than your bank gives. I didn't find the rates at changers in Montréal, however, to be such a good deal. Taking cash out at an ATM is probably your best bet, though be warned that you pay per transaction and have an exchange rate (for me, it's $5 per).
What to bring: I'm going to skip over the obvious here (bring underwear and pants, please!) and get right to the less obvious. Are you a light sleeper? Bring earplugs and a sleeping mask, just in case your accommodations are less than peaceful. Going to have shared showers? For Gods' sakes bring flip flops. Some first-aid style things are necessary: bring something for your stomach, something for sun and flies (trying to find mosquito repellent in rural China without knowing the words for it was quite a challenge for me). Purel and some form of tissue are probably also useful (especially in countries like China where you are expected to carry your own toilet paper). Of course, you also always need to have some small tokens of your home country, both for friends you meet along the way, and for yourself. And, finally, don't forget the electrical adaptors (and remember the difference between an adaptor and a converter: if your device has a built in converter like most major electronics, you only need the adaptor for the plug end in most cases).
Who to notify: I was a little surprised to learn that many people I knew didn't, in fact, realize that there are many businesses and organizations that you will want to notify about your trip. (Note:while I'm trying to make this blog as international as possible, I really only know about Canada for this part). My list included:
-My provincial medicare provider (did you know that if you study out of province you need to let them know each year? And I have heard horror stories of coverage being denied where maybe it wouldn't have had someone simply let them know)
-My credit card AND bank (now that most of us have Visa Debit, it's important to make sure neither debit nor credit card is going to be rejected while you're on the other side of the world. Though, for the record, the visa rep told me that they're going to be changing this system soon).
-My private health insurance (for me, that's student insurance. They needed to know I was leaving and have proof I'm going on an exchange. This is another service you don't want to suddenly not have when you need it, just because you forgot some paperwork).
-Elections Canada (did you know you can vote for up to 5 years after moving out of Canada? And that during an election you can vote at any time once Returning Offices are established in your riding? I actually voted before I left, to avoid any problems with the ballot getting lost in the mail, but you can also go in person to register for your special ballot prior to leaving).
-The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFATD, for Canada, has a service allowing you to register your travel with them. This is how they know where Canadians are in the event of an emergency, and how they plan their strategies for helping Canadian citizens if something goes wrong. Even if you're not Canadian, your home country will have something similar).
I want to make one last plug prior to ending this post on preparation: learn some of the local language. I'm by no means fluent in Dutch, Cantonese, or Mandarin, but I made efforts to learn at least a little of each of these. Simple phrases like "is someone sitting here?" "How much does this cost?" etc. go a long way. This is especially true, I find, in a place where most people speak English anyway-learning at least a few phrases shows that you haven't arrived somewhere expecting to be catered to in your native language. It's fine if you can't communicate your deepest feelings in perfectly accented Dutch or Cantonese or whatever; showing that the local language is important to you goes a long way. To that end, the most useful phrase in any language, in my opinion, is "How do you say ____ in (language?". This question shows that you want to learn and practice the language, and makes you a visitor (or resident) rather than a tourist just passing through to take pictures of sights.
Alright, well, that's all I have for advice. Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments. I'll be leaving tonight and will probably not be able to post for a few days, but when I do, expect actual travel blog posts!