We somehow ended up in Cologne!? Well sort of deliberately. We heard most of Belgium was sort of lame, so we decided to trek to Cologne and see some Germany (so that Kim and Carol could go there). The train was excellent, a new ICE train, but of course, with the fact we were so new to train travel, we ended up sitting in someone's reserved seats. Oh well. Too bad the guy was a bastard, putting his bare feet up on the seat beside you, etc. Disgusting. Good thing it was short though.
Any issues we had there were quickly consumed by the fact that our hostel is great! Our room looks straight out of an IKEA catalogue, even down to the power bars and curtain rods. It's hilarious. Super clean, super cheap, and so close to the station and all attractions.
Over these past two days, we've checked out the Dom (amazing, absolutely amazing), Altstadt (Old City), shopping, Kölsch beer (local to the area), bockwurst and of course the Rhine, including the chocolate museum alongside it. We got some tips from Julia on what to eat and where to go, and turns out our hostel was close to all suggestions.
Tomorrow we are off to Brugges and Brussels for some Belgian fun. Waffles, mussels and beer, OH MY!
P.S. thanks again Julia for the good tips on food...it was awesome.
Lots of love!
Monday, June 18, 2007
June 14th - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Hoeeeeeeeee-down!)
Amsterdam! One of those places where you've got to wonder, is it everything it's cracked up to be? I thought it was. It was a great time!
After a quick and seamless flight, we got to our hostel (Hans Brinker Budget Hotel...oh yeah) which was actually awesome. It had a bar, club, free internet, and clean rooms, which is all someone can really ask for. And it was pretty cheap, and located in a great part of town.
Our first night was spent chillin in the hotel bar, eating some dinner, when all of a sudden...Bernard and I hear 'Yeeee-haaaaaaaa!' followed by 'Hoeeeeeeee-downnnnnnn!!'. We nearly messed ourselves. Could it be? Canadian Engineers? No! English field hockey players from Portsmouth, UK! They know that game? Their whole university does, not just the Engineers. Needless to say, Bernardus and I taught them the Canadian rules, and like always, they got smashed. So did we. Cheap pints of Heineken flowed faster than water at that place.
The next day was good times again, with lots of touristy stuff. Only after a very good breakfast though. Eggs, bread, cheese, meat and NUTELLA! Well, the Dutch version, but it was just as good. And free, what a deal. The Anne Frank house and the Heineken brewery were on the menu for today, and both were pretty awesome. At the end of the Heineken tour, we got two free small drinks, but being Bernard and myself, we ended up behind the bar with several more pints and full control over the music system. We had that bar going! Pictures definitely to come. That night, we hit the infamous Red Light District, which is just as messed up as people think it is, but still cool to see. My sources tell me services go for 50 EUR for 15 minutes, just in case you were wondering (and I know you were, pervert).
The last day of our trip was spent on bikes getting around the only way the Dutch know how. Everyone rides a bike! We trekked through Vondelpark, through their markets, and into their coffeeshops. Amsterdam is one of those places where you just want to keep on staying sometimes...dank u Amsterdaam!
After a quick and seamless flight, we got to our hostel (Hans Brinker Budget Hotel...oh yeah) which was actually awesome. It had a bar, club, free internet, and clean rooms, which is all someone can really ask for. And it was pretty cheap, and located in a great part of town.
Our first night was spent chillin in the hotel bar, eating some dinner, when all of a sudden...Bernard and I hear 'Yeeee-haaaaaaaa!' followed by 'Hoeeeeeeee-downnnnnnn!!'. We nearly messed ourselves. Could it be? Canadian Engineers? No! English field hockey players from Portsmouth, UK! They know that game? Their whole university does, not just the Engineers. Needless to say, Bernardus and I taught them the Canadian rules, and like always, they got smashed. So did we. Cheap pints of Heineken flowed faster than water at that place.
The next day was good times again, with lots of touristy stuff. Only after a very good breakfast though. Eggs, bread, cheese, meat and NUTELLA! Well, the Dutch version, but it was just as good. And free, what a deal. The Anne Frank house and the Heineken brewery were on the menu for today, and both were pretty awesome. At the end of the Heineken tour, we got two free small drinks, but being Bernard and myself, we ended up behind the bar with several more pints and full control over the music system. We had that bar going! Pictures definitely to come. That night, we hit the infamous Red Light District, which is just as messed up as people think it is, but still cool to see. My sources tell me services go for 50 EUR for 15 minutes, just in case you were wondering (and I know you were, pervert).
The last day of our trip was spent on bikes getting around the only way the Dutch know how. Everyone rides a bike! We trekked through Vondelpark, through their markets, and into their coffeeshops. Amsterdam is one of those places where you just want to keep on staying sometimes...dank u Amsterdaam!
June 12th - London, England
London! The first leg of our trip began in London with a fairly eventful flight. Bernard and I would have been plenty early for our flight, except for the fact that Bernard forgot his jacket and the power bar (for charging stuff) so we had to make a couple of stops before the airport. Turns out they weren't signs of (bad) things to come.
We stopped at the duty free in the airport, and got some Bacardi. Hey, you've gotta get through a 12 hour flight somehow, right? We met up with Reena and Puneet in the waiting area, until they had to board, and when we got on our flight, we ended up sitting next to the best guy ever. Phil Hersee, who is apparently this amazing and very well-known photographer, was in the aisle next to me, and we had a great time. He told us stories of his work, and we drank rum and coke with him. We had a full bar setup - beer, rum and coke, and beer nuts. What more could you ask for?
Even the flight crew was awesome. They worked for some Italian airline (no idea how they ended up flying our flight) and they were all awesome. When we were looking for a place to mix our drink, Bernardus went to the cabin crew area, and took care of it. As the Italian crew would say: 'oh, rum-a and coke-a!'. It was fantastic.
As soon as we landed in London, it was a quick train ride into the city and a much longer walk to our hostel, given the fact that I forgot to print out our itinerary and the address of this hostel. Ooops! After some walking (down a pretty street, mind you...) we made it to our hostel and found Kim and Carol.
Eventually, we took in all we could in our short stay in London. All the sights were covered on a pretty wicked walking tour (that was free). We met some great people on the tour and we spent the night in a Canadian pub in London, called, get this, The Maple Leaf. We had bets down on what kind of beer they would serve. For anyone that's curious, it was Sleeman's Honey Brown, Labatt's (haha, just Labatt's. Cambie anyone? What kind of Labatt's? Doesn't matter?), MGD in bottles, and MOOSEHEAD! It was quality times with quality people from all over the world - Australia, Chicago, Calgary - and a great way to wrap up London.
Off we go to Amsterdam via EasyJet...if I make it out alive, I'll be sure to drop a note. Thanks for all the emails coming my way, it's great to hear from all of you. Sunburnt bums and all.
Lots of love!
We stopped at the duty free in the airport, and got some Bacardi. Hey, you've gotta get through a 12 hour flight somehow, right? We met up with Reena and Puneet in the waiting area, until they had to board, and when we got on our flight, we ended up sitting next to the best guy ever. Phil Hersee, who is apparently this amazing and very well-known photographer, was in the aisle next to me, and we had a great time. He told us stories of his work, and we drank rum and coke with him. We had a full bar setup - beer, rum and coke, and beer nuts. What more could you ask for?
Even the flight crew was awesome. They worked for some Italian airline (no idea how they ended up flying our flight) and they were all awesome. When we were looking for a place to mix our drink, Bernardus went to the cabin crew area, and took care of it. As the Italian crew would say: 'oh, rum-a and coke-a!'. It was fantastic.
As soon as we landed in London, it was a quick train ride into the city and a much longer walk to our hostel, given the fact that I forgot to print out our itinerary and the address of this hostel. Ooops! After some walking (down a pretty street, mind you...) we made it to our hostel and found Kim and Carol.
Eventually, we took in all we could in our short stay in London. All the sights were covered on a pretty wicked walking tour (that was free). We met some great people on the tour and we spent the night in a Canadian pub in London, called, get this, The Maple Leaf. We had bets down on what kind of beer they would serve. For anyone that's curious, it was Sleeman's Honey Brown, Labatt's (haha, just Labatt's. Cambie anyone? What kind of Labatt's? Doesn't matter?), MGD in bottles, and MOOSEHEAD! It was quality times with quality people from all over the world - Australia, Chicago, Calgary - and a great way to wrap up London.
Off we go to Amsterdam via EasyJet...if I make it out alive, I'll be sure to drop a note. Thanks for all the emails coming my way, it's great to hear from all of you. Sunburnt bums and all.
Lots of love!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Alive and well.
Made it to London just fine, and had a great flight. Can't talk for long, but we saw the Queen today. It was pretty dope.
Talk later.
Talk later.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Bernard did it, so I did...
Game on! Europe is upon us, and we (apparently) plan to blog our way through it. Should be a good time. These will hopefully find their way into Facebook soon.
My blog: tang-does-europe.blogspot.com
Bernard's blog: bernieblogsthrougheurope.blogspot.com
We'll see you on the other side of the pond!
All the best!
My blog: tang-does-europe.blogspot.com
Bernard's blog: bernieblogsthrougheurope.blogspot.com
We'll see you on the other side of the pond!
All the best!
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