Castles and Cheese

I leave tomorrow for Idaho. So sad, but I miss everyone and I'm out of money. I guess I'm ready to end the adventure (and start a new one [read 2nd year of law school]). I've spent today strolling through the sprawling Noordermarkt (Saturday market next to where I'm staying).

Thursday I decided to save money on the train by biking to Muiden to see Muiderslot castle...because I LOVE castles. The bike ride took an hour at a leisurely pace and it was so easy, there are bike paths along every main street with well marked signs showing how to get anywhere you please. Not only that, there are great shortcuts for bikes, such as this bike/moped/little tiny car only bridge:

I had no idea that my destination was party central for the Dutch, it was like arriving in a little Miami...with a castle. So I spent about three hours in said castle, and it.was.awesome. I took a tour, in Dutch. The guide would point out various things and say 'bloobidy glib glob gloobidy' and I would insert meaning and gaze at the subject of interest. My entrance was free because of a hand-me-down museum card a departing student left me, so I only paid for food and useful castle souvenirs. The town itself is on the beach which is why it was party central. Shirtless Dutch men on yachts, pirate ships, etc. Pirate ships? Yeah. Several.

The castle had been restored and had a few interactive displays for the kids, which I of course took part in ~ please note the picture of myself in medieval attire. The sun was a-blazin and the Dutch were a-sailin.

Well sunburned and exhausted, I slowly meandered back to A’damn, as the signs say. I capped off the evening with a delicious sandwich and pie from Small World Catering, which you MUST GO TO if you ever come this way it’s in The Jordaan neighborhood. Where else could you get pumpkin and local goat cheese sandwiches while electronic music pounded away in the background?

Friday mornings during the summer, Alkmaar hosts their world famous cheese auction from 10:00 - 12:30. The tourists come a-runnin, I heard all kinds of Italian. The place was packed, I had to throw a few shoves to see some cheese being sold wholesale, which is what the auction is. Wholesalers come from around the world and bid on cheese. The cheese is then pranced about by two cheese-carriers in festive hats - a centuries old tradition. They prance the cheese into the weigh building, a church that was converted to weighing facilities centuries ago, probably when the Catholics were forced to worship in private. (Did I mention the secret Catholic church in the attic I toured in the Red Light District? The one with the HUGE organ that probably did not sound very secret. Then I toured Anne Frank’s house. This city has a history of secrets, perhaps that is why everything is available for the eye to see here, they grew tired of secrets.) Back to cheese -> I sampled delicious cheese and watched cheese be pondered, then carried about. The town has several museums, I chose the two most important to tour; the cheese museum and the beer museum. That may be why Rick Steves calls Alkmaar the Wisconsin of Holland; cheese and beer. The cheese museum was festive and free (hand me down museum card), but mainly I had a great view of the cheese festivities down below. Of note, particularly for Josh, were the unique outfits adorned by the cheese making women, which were on display in the museum (the outfits, not the women). Next was the beer museum (again, free), where I learned that the bar floors used to be covered in sand so real men could urinate wherever they damn well pleased. I’m sure it smelled divine ~ kind of like a frat party (who am I to judge?). I had a beer in the museum pub and watched the off-duty cheese carriers imbibe in a well-earned beer. They have a strictly enforced code that says they cannot ever be late to work nor can they drink before work, hence the ‘after work’ drink. I should have bought one of those hats. I found a Frites stand for lunch and ordered ‘Americain’ sauce, which is apparently ketchup, mayo, and jalapenos. I found it flattering that jalapenos were included, until I recalled that most other countries of the world refer to us as United Statesean, and to anyone from North, Central, or South America as American. I like to be thought of as ‘spicy’. After a brief stop for a pastry (I may have gained a little weight do to my Frites and pastry indulgence while here) I booked it home.

Movie:

The last three days have totally worn me out, but I feel like I got my bang for my buck and I’m ready to be back. This whole experience has been absolutely wonderful, and surprisingly easy (not the school part of course, that was exhilarating (at times)). I’m having a Dutch beer (Brouwerij ‘t IJ - Columbus) at a favorite café - Café Thijssen - while they are blasting Van Morrison. The Noordermarkt next door is being taken down and the streets are being hosed off by tall blond people. Funny thing: there are lots of dogs here yet no one has to pick up feces, the streets are just hosed off in the morning - good reason not to jump into a canal. I’m meeting my friend Roy, a Tulane student who fasts on Fridays, makes his own beer, builds his own bikes complete with handle bar radio, listens to punk, and wears a suit at all times. Those silly New Orleanians. We’ll find some other stragglers and say a proper farewell to Amsterdam (and no, I do NOT mean stay out until 4AM, those Amsterdam days are long gone, why would bars close so late, how am I to know its that late if they don’t close?) I have several well marked up travel books for anyone who dares venture this way, please ask and I’ll send them your way. This city and country have so much to offer, beyond our superficial knowledge of the place. I will bore you all with stories for a good 10 years, so grin and bear it.

Antwerp and Westmalle

A narrated picture account of my trip to Antwerp and Westmalle, Belgium (this may get a little ridiculous):

First of all, if you're ever in the area GO TO ANTWERP. I know the name sounds sexy and sophisticated, but seriously, I could live in this town. It's the second largest port in Europe and they're totally into Canada because Canada helped fight off the invasion in 1944. More on that later. It's a big city, but totally walkable.

I got up to catch an early train. This is the commute I'll miss; riding bike to train station, parking bike in huge parking garage (which consists of rasslin other bikes out of your way), then hopping the train. I'm all for trains, especially for short term travel.

Early morning Amsterdam, parking garage, and train ride:

The two hour ride was beautiful. We went through The Hague, Rotterdam, countryside, etc. When I arrived in Antwerp I was bombarded with maps at the info station, which was nice because I had nothing but a wikitravel article to go on. I was flattered that the woman handed me a "young and hip guide to Antwerp" which consisted of a listing of bars and weird sites. I decided to check out a church, the fortress, and a book printing museum before hopping the city bus to Westmalle.

I started off in the wrong direction and ended up in 'Asia Town' - yes, many different countries were represented. Another turn took me to a predominantly Muslim area. Some of the clothing stores were displaying some seriously funky women's styles complete with funky hijabs. So once on the right track, you basically follow a promenade that takes you from central station to the port. Here are some pictures from that walk:

This last picture is the monument to the First Canadian Army for its defense of the port during WWII.

Because of the exchange rate, I'm on a serious budget. I have also taken to eating delicious Frites (fries) which are everywhere here. So, for lunch I purchased some delicious Frites at a stand next to the fortress (where people from Antwerp used to be imprisoned, tortured, and executed - isn't that a festive place to eat Frites?) for €.50 extra I got the most delicious sun dried tomato sauce on my €2 Frites, it was killer:

So Westmalle. Some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about, but for those who don't - it is a town that houses Westmalle Abbey, which houses Trappist Monks, who make lekker (Dutch for delicious!) Trappist Monk beer ~ actually they don't make it, they have on site staff for that. It's a 50 min bus ride from Antwerpen Central Station. Unfortunately I couldn't get any answers as to when I was supposed to get off the bus, so I kept my eyes peeled for an Abbey. I like to blend in, especially in situations like this where I appear to be the only tourist. I did pretty well until some kid left his water bottle on the bus, as he was departing I started yelling 'hey!' ~ not sure how to get a Dutch person's attention. Everyone stared at me until a kind citizen chimed in with 'hallo!' (hey doesn't work but hallo does?) After that little incident I retreated to my seat and attempted to blend in again...that is, until I saw a building that looked suspiciously like an abbey. I hadn't rung the stop bell, but the bus pulled over to pick people up. These people got in from the front while I stood at the back exit repeatedly dinging the stop bell because the door wouldn't open. Finally I had to yell and bang on the door, which worked. I'm sure it looked perfect ~ we're in the middle of nowhere, there are exactly two buildings: the bar and the abbey. I'm pretty sure it was evident that I was here for the beer. It may have been my quintessential Bridget Jones moment. After my 'metaphorical water balloon to the face', a term coined by one of my favorite Tulaners, I was able to maintain a shred of respectability by quietly milling around the Westmalle Abbey prior to any beer consumption. So...the abbey is not open to the public, you can get a group tour of the brewery or you can come live in the abbey like a monk, but you can't just head inside to snap photos by yourself. So I stalkerazzi'd from outside the walls. It's surrounded by miles of bike paths, countryside, and forest. It's really beautiful and quiet. The monks also make cheese and farm.

In the last picture, if you look real close, you'll see crates and crates of Westmalle beer. After all that walking it was time for my beer. The monks don't want the beer served near the abbey, so across the street is the Trappist Cafe, which used to be a little hole in the wall bar, but has been remodeled into a hoity toity cafe. It was me, well dressed old people, and road cyclists in spandex. I ordered the Half and Half - half dubbel from a keg, half tripel from a bottle. It was amazing. Total cost, which included salty peanuts, was €3.30 - which is a great price (although they did have to go through the trouble of transporting it across the street.) I stole two coasters for Dan.

I hopped the bus to Antwerp, and hopped the train to Amsterdam (there's something about riding the train and listening to Moby's Hotel: Ambient to put you in a deep sleep.)

It was a superb day. Today I think I'll ride my bike to Muiden to see some castles (should take an hour each way), then tomorrow I'd like to hop a train to see the Friday cheese auction in Alkmaar.

End of the Program

Saturday we took our last finals. The 2nd largest Gay Pride Festival in the world was in full swing all around our school, so needless to say the techno beats and cheers pulsating through our walls made it difficult to make a detailed analysis of the refugee process for admittance to a country. Unfortunately for me, whenever I hear a lot of people having a good time, I feel excitement well up inside and a compelling urge to join in. That may not have served me well on the test, luckily its pass/no pass for me. So, as soon as the test finished we ran into the crowds to watch the best canal boat parade ever. Pretty much just random boats with people in costumes dancing to varying techno beats. When you're at a parade with a large number of very tall men, it makes it ever so difficult to actually see, but it was still an awesome experience. There was an portable DJ station playing techno tunes in competition with the floats playing techno so that if one were a little bored from the parade one could get their dance on. Here is a little taste, several images are actually movies, you have to click on the slideshow to watch them.

Here is that little car I had previously mentioned (smaller than the smart car). Apparently there are issues with people tossing these cars into canals, I imagine it's kind of like the thrill of cow tipping. Can't say I haven't been tempted.

Here are some photos of our 'End of the Program' party:

So I moved out of the dorms, said good bye to all but one friend, and now I have moved into my new room for the last five nights of this adventure. I found the place on craigs list, just a room in an apartment owned by a younger Spanish woman and her daughter. I hiked up the five sets of spiral staircases (that's how they roll here) to an attic room that looks out at the peaked roofs of the city. It. is. awesome. It pretty much just looks like a beautiful little yoga studio. It's located in the Jordaan neighborhood next to some top notch street markets like the Monday flea market that American antique dealers will travel to for purchases. There is also the Saturday market of which you've seen pictures in an earlier post. The problem with this place is that I do not want to leave. I want to sit in my little sunny peaked roof attic with orange/red floor boards and huge windows all day long. Alas. I should probably go see some damn museum or something, as Joshy would say; I've got to at least appear respectable.

Soul Asylum (Seekers)

Today we had a speaker come into our Refugees and Stateless People class, she is a lawyer here in Amsterdam who represents those seeking asylum in the Netherlands. Quick side note for those unfamiliar with the difference, asylum seekers are either at the border of or within the country they are seeking refuge in. Refugees are not yet in that country, nor or they in their country of persecution. The person seeking asylum has the burden of showing the immigration board that they are 1) outside their country of origin/persecution 2)have a well-founded fear of being persecuted 3) for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion and 4) are unable to get protection from their own country. (From the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which has been ratified and codified by the US.) It's an extremely difficult standard to meet, most get denied. The guest speaker, Valerie, works at the airport one day a week meeting with tons of asylum seekers. They remain in detention for about a week while going through interviews. Valerie gathers information as best she can in the case that the decision of the Immigration Board needs to be appealed to a court. The problem is that often people are afraid or unable to talk about the reasons they fled their country. For instance, she described people who had been tortured so recently that they were afraid to admit it, they were virtually still in shell shock. Because of the concept of refoulment, it is a violation of international law to send someone back to a country where they are likely to be tortured. So, if the person can prove torture or imminent threat of torture, they will likely be allowed in. The person who is too scared to divulge the information puts him/herself at risk of being sent back. Valerie has to spend hours trying to gain trust and elicit information from the asylum seeker. Often a person who has fled their country because they are homosexual and risk being killed or tortured (absurdly common) are themselves homophobic because of the society they live in. They are so ashamed that they refuse to tell the Immigration Board and often get sent back. Also, many of them have very little proof as to their sexual orientation because they had to be incredibly discrete or nonactive. These cases are why refugee law exists, the filter/Immigration Board exists because of "economic immigrants" or people merely looking to make a better life for themselves, but not facing severe persecution. Also, once the threat has ended for asylum seekers in their home country and they therefore do not need the protection of their country of refuge, then they are sent back.

Some famous refugees include:

1. M.I.A. (her family fled Sri Lanka, she was born in England)
2. Bob Marley (police violence in Jamaica)
3. Gene Simmons' mother (holocaust refugee)
4. Henry Kissinger (fled Germany in 1938)
5. Sigmund Freud (fled nazis)
6. Technically: Jesus (had to leave Israel) and Muhammad (had to leave Mecca)
7. Albert Einstein (helped found the International Rescue Committee where Hallie and I volunteer)
8. Jackie Chan (fled Hong Kong)
9. Billy Wilder (Jewish refugee)

Thanks Wikipedia!

Here is an article on asylum seekers and the process for obtaining protection in the US: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/nyregion/02asylum.html?scp=1&sq=asylum%20seekers&st=cse

A Few Observations

1. There is a car here smaller than the Smart Car. It's around the same length and about 2/3 the width - and it still fits two people, these two people are smooshed together awkwardly. The car is so small that it can drive in one lane of the bike path, and frequently does.
2. Dutch men, specifically, Dutch men at a posh club playing techno music. They are very tall, very well dressed, and their neck length blond locks are very much jelled back. Play a little techno music and they really let loose. We could learn a few things about being so care free. In fact, yesterday at the beach I saw a young man (early 20s) running around in a speedo throwing seaweed at his buddies. That is a sight I would not see in the US. Oh, you want a photo?
3. Water. I have spent more money on water than anything else. The tap water is potable, but I can only carry so much around, instead I am forced to buy €4 bottles of fancy water because ordering "tap water" is apparently taboo. What this says to me is that 1) Americans drink a lot of water (wow, a healthy food related reputation? I'll take it.), and 2) Water bottling companies make a killing here, they've heavily minimized free public access to their product.
4. Again the Dutch: they are pleasantly laid back. There are times when I am clearly violating general bike traffic rules, or just being sort of a loud tacky American (it's the Brits that have a bad rep here, this is their Vegas baby), and the Dutch seem not in the slightest bit concerned. These are situations in which someone back home would point out my specific violation. It's almost like we get the benefit of the doubt, which is a generous cultural characteristic - no eye rolls or scoffs, just nonchalance.
5. Elaborate tile at the entrance of canal homes:
6. Whistling. Everyone here whistles, while walking, riding bikes, waiting in line. My classes have been disrupted several times by people walking by whistling their little heads off. This morning I was whistling in my room (4 flights up), and I got a sort of responding tune whistled from a passer-byer down below.
7. Red Light District. If you want to find foreigners, go to the Red Light District. I cruise through there on my commute to school. There are always ladies in the windows, although the day shifters are not quite up to the same caliber as the night shifters. Many of the ladies are unionized, pay taxes, and rent their windows much like a barber would. Others have been brought in through human trafficking, which is the primary reason that The Netherlands has started to introduce anti-prostitution legislation, deny window license renewals, and buy up brothel space for artist studios. There are still many working windows, however. We walked by a gal in her bikini perched behind her window the other night. She was chatting on her cell, had her feet kicked up, several red bulls, lots of snacks and a mini dvd player to keep herself occupied. This is an extremely tolerant society, the humor in this fact is that the Dutch are being tolerant of the behavior of foreigners. It is a rare sight indeed to see a Dutchman cruising through the District for shady purposes.
8. Zanvoort, the beach town: not an observation, merely a slideshow of yesterday's fun (beware of the slightly inappropriate pics)

An Afternoon Jaunt

Yesterday afternoon one of our professors and his wife (both in their 70s, mind you) took us on a leisurely three hour bike ride that began in Amsterdam and let out into green fields of cattle and sheep. It was highly relaxing and pleasant. I swear these cows are an entirely different breed (actually, they probably are) - and they are way fatter than I'm used to. I'm kind of obsessed with Dutch farm animals, kind of like I was obsessed with Swiss and German farm animals. I will tell you that they do indeed look like the fabled "happy cows" that good cheese comes from. Here's a glimpse of the ride:

Gent and Bruges Slideshow

I went on a little tour bus trip with my friends Georgette, Jackie, Ronald, and Stella last Sunday. We got to see Gent and Bruges (or F*ing Bruges for those of you who saw the film In Bruges) in Belgium . The tour was filled with Spaniards, we were among only a few English speakers so we received an excellent Spanish lesson. It was great fun getting to parade around with cameras in tow following the tour guide's umbrella - exactly the sort of behavior that mom gets made fun of for. There is a picture of said blue and red umbrella in the slideshow. We had an agenda in Bruges and we hit it all except the fateful bell tower, which was closed by the time we got to it. Michelangelo's Madonna and Child? Check. Belgium waffles? Check. Belgium chocolate? Check. Belgium beer? Check. Festive boat ride through Bruges that would not have occurred in the US due to the fact that the boat was totally full with nary a life jacket in sight? Check. My favorite line from the boat captain was "well, there appears to be French, Spanish, and English speakers on the boat so I'll go ahead and just translate into all three languages" - what a skill. Anyhoo, below is a slideshow of festive buildings and what not.