Location: Le Havre, France
I have no idea when we will leave this harbor, but hopefully it will be soon since we're due to arrive in Dublin, Ireland on Friday.
Day 3: Brugge to Paris
I packed my bags and departed Snuffel hostel on the morning of the 14th, planning to spend a few hours in Brugge before taking a train to Brussels and then a bus to Paris.
It was a moist, overcast sort of morning, but before I left the city I was determined to take a canal tour through Brugge's many waterways. The walking tour guide on the previous evening had cautioned us that canal tours in the rain were not particularly fun and probably best skipped, but it wasn't really *raining* per se: more like lightly misting. So I found one of the canal tour landings (it's a popular activity in Brugge, so they aren't hard to find) and squished into a boat with a group of about twenty others. The captain (how big of a boat does it have to be before one is considered a captain? He looked like a captain, so I guess that's what I'll calling him) was an sturdy bearded man who conducted the entire tour speaking nonstop in three different languages (Dutch, French, and English) such that it was at times difficult to tell when one language began and the other ended.
Brugge is even more beautiful by water! At least, that was my impression during the first ten minutes or so of our trip. After that, things became very damp very quickly. The heavens were apparently just waiting for me to step into a boat in the middle of a canal with all my worldly possessions before letting loose.
But it wasn't the rain that got you wet––it was the umbrellas. Everyone who didn't have an umbrella was provided with one by the captain, and we all rustled about until the entire ship was more or less covered. At least, that was the plan. But if you can take a moment to think about the mechanics of an entire boat full of overlapping umbrellas you will start to see the problem. Yes, the umbrella above you keeps your head dry. But in doing so it channels the rain down onto the umbrellas to either side of it, which in turn proceed to dump all of that water onto your lap. So you try to position yourself so that no particularly large rivulets are gushing down on you, but that only works until the boat passes something cool (being in Brugge that happened quite a bit), and everyone turns to look at it, whereby all of the umbrellas shift and more water is deposited into your lap.
So you know how I was talking about having all of my worldly possessions with me? Well don't worry, I left most of my stuff back in my cabin on the ship. But I did bring both of my cameras (I will get into justifying why I take two cameras around with me in a later post), my iPod, and my laptop. Yes, all of my expensive beloved electronic devices are there with me on that silly little boat road which was determined to get me as wet as possible. Also, as I was packing light and only intended to be gone for a couple of days, I didn't pack much by way of changes of clothing. What I did pack is, of course, busy getting drenched in the bag that I am clutching.
So by the time my canal tour ended, I was very wet and kind of wondering if I would dry sufficiently so as not to have to go buy clothes at a thrift store in Paris. I was in good spirits though, because despite the constant fear for all my electronic devices, there is something very fun about being on a canal tour in the rain as everyone tries to keep control over their umbrellas while craning to see what sights the captain is narrating about. At one point we came to a very low bridge (tall people would have to duck to avoid hitting their heads) while we all had our umbrellas out, and the captain was like "everyone duck!" and we flattened down under our umbrellas and hoped for the best.
Speaking of hoping for the best, I had actually forgotten to do something very important while I was back at the hostel––print out my train ticket! Oops! So I speed-walked back to the hostel, and by the time I had finished getting the ticket to print I only had about a half an hour to get to the other side of town and catch my train. Ideally I would also find a supermarket to grab some quick breakfast for the road while I was at it. Time for some more speed-walking!
During the course of the next 25 minutes, I found a supermarket, grabbed some food which looked like it would be good (I couldn't actually read what it was because the only languages on the label were Dutch, French, and German), and then hopped on a conveniently located bus toward the train station.
I maintain that I could have barely caught that train, if platform 5 existed. As it so happened, when I followed the sign indicating platforms 1 through 10 I was met with 1, 2, 3, 4... 6, 7, 8.... yes, I kid you not, platform 5 was definitely the only one not there. I have no idea how that went wrong, but I would clearly not be boarding that train. Fortunately, there was another train within 40 minutes, which would be leaving from the much more accessible platform 9. So I contentedly munched on some rolls that I had gotten along what turned out to be potato salad with sun-dried tomatoes (a helpful Belgian guy on the train would later read the label for me, so I knew what my food was for sure) and waiting for the train to arrive.
The journey to Brussels passed without incident, and I was seated across from the aforementioned Belgian guy (and his uncle) with whom I talked a great deal about similarities/differences between Belgium and the US, and who helped ensure that I got off at the right stop in Brussels (there are three). Upon my arrival at Brussels "Noord," I set off to go find the Eurolines bus terminal. I fortunately still had plenty of time to catch the bus, and aside from it being almost 30 minutes late, I set off without incident.
Then commenced a long and rather uneventful four-hour bus ride to Paris. Now this time I actually did book a hostel ahead, but Paris is very large and apparently very busy this time of year, so the only hostel I managed to find room at was called the Aloha Hostel, and it was on the opposite side of Paris from where the bus dropped us off. Which was okay, because that just meant I got to ride on the Paris underground! I figured out my route and managed to catch the right train and get off at the right stop so that I could catch another train and get off at another stop. By the time I climbed up out of the station it was dark and I was feeling very keen to find my hostel. Note that I am in Paris, France, and everything is in, well, French. I also do not yet have a Paris map (I plan on getting one at the hostel), so navigating is a bit of challenge. I keep getting excited when I find a street name and it's actually the one I'm expecting it to be.
So I turn one last corner and head down a well-lit street off the beaten path––and there it is! I was so happy to see that hostel. I check in and head up a creaky spiral staircase and to my 6-bed female dorm. It is now about 9pm. I hunt around for a plug-in for my laptop for a while before finally giving up and heading back down to the common area where I claim half of a bench next to the reception desk, plug my computer in, and proceed to spend the next three hours hurriedly finishing a 5-page essay on French Art for my Mixed Media Visual Journal class which was supposed to be due that day (Get it? Trying to finish the essay before midnight so that it technically counts as being in on time? Yah, that's me.) I tried to work on the essay back on the bus, but my poor old laptop can't hold a charge for that long, and while there was internet on the bus there were no power outlets, so that only worked for about the first hour.
Anyhow, I finished it! That essay was sent off at 11:55pm via email (an acceptable method of essay submission on the ship), and I was feeling very accomplished. In case you were curious, that essay was the reason I was dragging my laptop around with me the whole time––I would have preferred to leave it back on the ship, but classes are very fast-paced on SAS, and there had been no time to finish the essay beforehand. There's something really neat about sitting in a hostel in Paris while writing an essay about the Visual Art of France though, so who's complaining? Also, my clothes had dried completely by about half-way through the bus ride, so that turned out all right too.
So that was my last day in Belgium and first day in France! It is now super late and I have classes tomorrow, so I will probably wait to post pictures until after my next post. Au Revoir!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
In Bruges
Location: Le Havre, France
Yes, I'm still in Le Havre! Actually the ship will be here tomorrow as well, but we have classes and aren't allowed to leave, so that will pretty much just mean seeing city instead of ocean out the window. I still haven't finished writing about my adventures in Belgium though, so read on!:
Day 2: In Bruges
First of all, has anyone seen the movie "In Bruges"? Yes, as it turns out, there is a movie called that; it is a black comedy starring Colin Farrell and it's supposed to be very funny. Apparently a lot of visitors to the city of Brugge in Belgium actually go there because they saw and liked the movie. I had never actually heard of "In Bruges" before three days ago. I went to the city because I had heard that it was beautiful and I wanted to escape all of the metropolitan hustle of the big port cities we have been frequenting.
So that is what I did! On the 13th I packed my bags and set off via train from Antwerp Central Station to go see the city Brugge. Note that I'm using the Dutch spelling of the name, which is what I mostly encountered in my travels (the city of Brugge is located in Flanders, which is what the northern Dutch-speaking region of Belgium is called), while the aforementioned movie uses the English/French spelling: "Bruges." I occasionally merge the two by accident and write "Brugges." I am always talking about the same place though.
So after managing to locate the correct train and get off at the correct stop, I arrived in Brugge! I actually stumbled upon a group of SAS students upon my arrival and traveled with them for about 20 minutes (during which time we wandered around and went in a very impressive gothic-style cathedral), but then I deciding to set off on my own to find a hostel (the rest of the group would be returning to the ship, while I was planning on continuing straight to Paris the next day.)
Brugge is gorgeous! Yes, it is definitely a touristy place––chocolate and souvenir shops dot the streets, and everywhere you look there are people on horse and cart rides or canal tours. But the tourists of Brugge tended to be a happy and laid-back bunch (with canals and chocolate everywhere you look, who wouldn't be?) so you couldn't really hold it against the city. I hadn't been able to book a hostel ahead of time because of the lack of internet, but fortunately my map had a list of places to stay on the back which included hostels. Of course, all of the hostels listed were very far apart from each other and not very near where I was at. So I chose one with a funny name (Snuffel) and starting walking. The entire way was lovely; one would be hard-pressed to find an eyesore in all of central Brugge. I arrived at the hostel within about 15 minutes, and asked if there were any beds left. Yes, there was one! It was in a four-bed female dorm on the second floor, and I was very happy to have it.
As it turned out there would be a free walking tour of Brugge leaving from the hostel about an hour and a half after I arrived, so I decided that would be a fun use of my evening and signed up for it. That is how I learned about the movie, "In Bruges"! I was in a group of about 8 people, and our tour guide (Andy) was very surprised to learn that none of us had seen the movie. Over the next two hours he showed us around the town, and a combination of the less-touristy places we visited and the increasingly damp weather meant that the streets were never packed with tourists, so it was actually quite nice. Andy also walked us past many of the locations which were used in the filming of "In Bruges." Everyone reading this should either rent that movie or put it in your Netflix queue, and while watching it you can think "Hey, Lindsey had a walking tour right by that spot!"
By the time the tour was over it had gotten dark, so I grabbed some fries at a Frituur which our guide had recommended before heading back to the hostel. By the way, don't let someone from Belgium hear you calling fries "French"––they insist that fries are a Belgian invention, and it is something of a national dish. The fries I got were available with a choice from at least ten different sauces. I wasn't even sure where to start, so I just had the guy use his favorite, which was delicious!
Thus ends my second day in Belgium. Comments, pretty please?
Yes, I'm still in Le Havre! Actually the ship will be here tomorrow as well, but we have classes and aren't allowed to leave, so that will pretty much just mean seeing city instead of ocean out the window. I still haven't finished writing about my adventures in Belgium though, so read on!:
Day 2: In Bruges
First of all, has anyone seen the movie "In Bruges"? Yes, as it turns out, there is a movie called that; it is a black comedy starring Colin Farrell and it's supposed to be very funny. Apparently a lot of visitors to the city of Brugge in Belgium actually go there because they saw and liked the movie. I had never actually heard of "In Bruges" before three days ago. I went to the city because I had heard that it was beautiful and I wanted to escape all of the metropolitan hustle of the big port cities we have been frequenting.
So that is what I did! On the 13th I packed my bags and set off via train from Antwerp Central Station to go see the city Brugge. Note that I'm using the Dutch spelling of the name, which is what I mostly encountered in my travels (the city of Brugge is located in Flanders, which is what the northern Dutch-speaking region of Belgium is called), while the aforementioned movie uses the English/French spelling: "Bruges." I occasionally merge the two by accident and write "Brugges." I am always talking about the same place though.
So after managing to locate the correct train and get off at the correct stop, I arrived in Brugge! I actually stumbled upon a group of SAS students upon my arrival and traveled with them for about 20 minutes (during which time we wandered around and went in a very impressive gothic-style cathedral), but then I deciding to set off on my own to find a hostel (the rest of the group would be returning to the ship, while I was planning on continuing straight to Paris the next day.)
Brugge is gorgeous! Yes, it is definitely a touristy place––chocolate and souvenir shops dot the streets, and everywhere you look there are people on horse and cart rides or canal tours. But the tourists of Brugge tended to be a happy and laid-back bunch (with canals and chocolate everywhere you look, who wouldn't be?) so you couldn't really hold it against the city. I hadn't been able to book a hostel ahead of time because of the lack of internet, but fortunately my map had a list of places to stay on the back which included hostels. Of course, all of the hostels listed were very far apart from each other and not very near where I was at. So I chose one with a funny name (Snuffel) and starting walking. The entire way was lovely; one would be hard-pressed to find an eyesore in all of central Brugge. I arrived at the hostel within about 15 minutes, and asked if there were any beds left. Yes, there was one! It was in a four-bed female dorm on the second floor, and I was very happy to have it.
As it turned out there would be a free walking tour of Brugge leaving from the hostel about an hour and a half after I arrived, so I decided that would be a fun use of my evening and signed up for it. That is how I learned about the movie, "In Bruges"! I was in a group of about 8 people, and our tour guide (Andy) was very surprised to learn that none of us had seen the movie. Over the next two hours he showed us around the town, and a combination of the less-touristy places we visited and the increasingly damp weather meant that the streets were never packed with tourists, so it was actually quite nice. Andy also walked us past many of the locations which were used in the filming of "In Bruges." Everyone reading this should either rent that movie or put it in your Netflix queue, and while watching it you can think "Hey, Lindsey had a walking tour right by that spot!"
By the time the tour was over it had gotten dark, so I grabbed some fries at a Frituur which our guide had recommended before heading back to the hostel. By the way, don't let someone from Belgium hear you calling fries "French"––they insist that fries are a Belgian invention, and it is something of a national dish. The fries I got were available with a choice from at least ten different sauces. I wasn't even sure where to start, so I just had the guy use his favorite, which was delicious!
Thus ends my second day in Belgium. Comments, pretty please?
Sunday, September 15, 2013
In Flanders Fields
Location: Le Havre, France
Hey everyone, guess what? I'm back at the ship! That probably isn't very exciting without context, so read on:
Remember when I wrote that I was trying to plan what to do in Belgium? Well that actually required some extra thought, because the ports at Antwerp, Belgium and Le Havre, France are unique in that they are close enough together that there are no classes held while the ship is sailing from one to the other, so students are allowed to either travel with the ship or (dun dun dun) travel by land and meet the ship in the next port. Guess which one I wanted to do? Why waste a whole day on the ocean when you can spend it in Belgium or France, right? Anyhow, I was having a tough time because none of the people I spoke with wanted to do the same thing as me (many of them had decided to stay on the ship, and others wanted to go to Amsterdam, which I didn't feel there was enough time for.) So guess what? I decided to forge out on my own! I know, I know––everyone try to quell the urge to cringe at my traveling by myself. Is the urge quelled? Good, because I actually had a great time and I'm glad that I did it!
So hopefully I can try to reign in my rambling tendencies and get through this story without having to spend all night at it, but here was the gist of my plan:
1. Spend the 12th (first day in Belgium) on the field program for my World Literature class (I'll talk about that in a minute.)
2. Get up early on the 13th and head to the small medieval-style town of Brugges, Belgium
3. Take a bus to Paris, France the next day (remember that many countries in Europe are the sizes of states in the US, so that trip isn't as crazily distant as it may sound)
4. Arrive via train at Le Havre on the evening of the 15th.
Well, it's the evening of the 15th (actually it's past midnight right now, but we'll let that slide) and I have made it to the ship where it is docked in Le Havre, France! You can be excited too, now that you know how much time/traveling was required to get here (yes, that's your cue to go check google maps. Don't worry, I'll wait.)
Edit: There's no way I'm going to finish this tonight, so here's an account of my first day in Belgium, which actually has very little to do with what I am describing above. The rest will be along eventually, though it will probably be a while, since I have an essay due on Tuesday.
––––
Day 1: Field Lab for World Literature
I think at some point I explained that field labs are required day-long field trips which count for 20% of the grade in any one class on the ship (we take four classes.) Well, my first day in Belgium was devoted to the field lab for my World Literature course! We went to the little town of Ypres, which is a very historically significant place in western Belgium. The city and surrounding countryside were basically ground zero for much of the fighting between Germany and France during World War I, and my class has been studying poetry about the war in preparation for our trip there. One thing that is interesting about WWI poetry is the variation in tone between the works of different poets––some were angry and bitter about the senselessness of the war, while others were actually coaxing more people to sign up and fight in it. The following is a very famous poem in the latter category, which I think that everyone should read:
In Flanders Fields
by John Macrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The WWI museum that my class visited was called "In Flanders Fields," after that poem. It was a very well-constructed museum, and there was a lot of interactivity in the exhibits. Everyone went through at their own pace, which I much prefer to having to speed-walk along behind a tour guide (though I ended up having to rush toward the end anyway so that I was not late to meet the group.)
Afterwards we had a quick walk through the town. Ypres is an interesting place. It is riddled with beautiful historic-looking streets and buildings, but during WWI (which is almost 100 years ago now) the entire town was quite literally flattened. Very little remained, and according to our guide, when Winston Churchill saw the ruins he actually wanted what was left to stay as it was: a kind of monument to the war. The displaced citizens of Ypres weren't thrilled with this plan, and insisted that the city be rebuilt as close to the original design as possible (which it was.)
Next we went to the Menin Gate, which is a monument to fallen soldiers whose bodies were never found. Some 50,000 names are carved into the walls of the giant memorial, and every night (yes, every single night) there is a "Last Post" ceremony to remember the fallen. This has been going on since 1928, and that night (though we couldn't stay for it) was to be the 29,334th time the bugles sounded.
We then drove to see the surgery bunkers (can't think of a better description) in which John Macrae, the Canadian Doctor who wrote "In Flanders Fields," worked during the war. We also went to see the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world (Tyne Cot), in which almost half of the graves bear only the words "A Soldier of the Great War" with a cross below and the inscription "Known Only to God." These were unidentified soldiers whose regiment or even country of origin could not be ascertained.
Our last stop was along the river Yser, at what was once a trench on the front lines of the Western Front. While the original sand bags have been replaced with concrete replicas, the trenches themselves remain essentially unchanged (well, as unchanged as you can get on a beautiful summer day a hundred years later), and we were able to walk through them and look over the river at what was once German-occupied Belgian territory.
All in all I am glad that I had that field program, because I learned a lot about WWI that I didn't know. For example, did you know that the Second Battle of Ypres actually marked the first time in history that poison gas was used as a weapon in warfare? Scary. With that note, I really need to start the essay reflection on this trip for my World Literature class.
Oh! And if anyone wants a movie recommendation, rent "Joyeux Noël," which is a film set during Christmas at the WWI trenches. The first time I saw the movie was when Ms. Lockhart showed it in my World History class in high school. I later rented it to show my mom, and then just a few days ago it was showing on one of the ship's TV channels so I got to see it again. Obviously I think it's a really good movie, so you should watch it if you get a chance. The events that unfold actually did take place (though perhaps not in quite so sentimental of a fashion as is depicted in the movie.) Okay, I've really got to end this post now.
Hey everyone, guess what? I'm back at the ship! That probably isn't very exciting without context, so read on:
Remember when I wrote that I was trying to plan what to do in Belgium? Well that actually required some extra thought, because the ports at Antwerp, Belgium and Le Havre, France are unique in that they are close enough together that there are no classes held while the ship is sailing from one to the other, so students are allowed to either travel with the ship or (dun dun dun) travel by land and meet the ship in the next port. Guess which one I wanted to do? Why waste a whole day on the ocean when you can spend it in Belgium or France, right? Anyhow, I was having a tough time because none of the people I spoke with wanted to do the same thing as me (many of them had decided to stay on the ship, and others wanted to go to Amsterdam, which I didn't feel there was enough time for.) So guess what? I decided to forge out on my own! I know, I know––everyone try to quell the urge to cringe at my traveling by myself. Is the urge quelled? Good, because I actually had a great time and I'm glad that I did it!
So hopefully I can try to reign in my rambling tendencies and get through this story without having to spend all night at it, but here was the gist of my plan:
1. Spend the 12th (first day in Belgium) on the field program for my World Literature class (I'll talk about that in a minute.)
2. Get up early on the 13th and head to the small medieval-style town of Brugges, Belgium
3. Take a bus to Paris, France the next day (remember that many countries in Europe are the sizes of states in the US, so that trip isn't as crazily distant as it may sound)
4. Arrive via train at Le Havre on the evening of the 15th.
Well, it's the evening of the 15th (actually it's past midnight right now, but we'll let that slide) and I have made it to the ship where it is docked in Le Havre, France! You can be excited too, now that you know how much time/traveling was required to get here (yes, that's your cue to go check google maps. Don't worry, I'll wait.)
Edit: There's no way I'm going to finish this tonight, so here's an account of my first day in Belgium, which actually has very little to do with what I am describing above. The rest will be along eventually, though it will probably be a while, since I have an essay due on Tuesday.
––––
Day 1: Field Lab for World Literature
I think at some point I explained that field labs are required day-long field trips which count for 20% of the grade in any one class on the ship (we take four classes.) Well, my first day in Belgium was devoted to the field lab for my World Literature course! We went to the little town of Ypres, which is a very historically significant place in western Belgium. The city and surrounding countryside were basically ground zero for much of the fighting between Germany and France during World War I, and my class has been studying poetry about the war in preparation for our trip there. One thing that is interesting about WWI poetry is the variation in tone between the works of different poets––some were angry and bitter about the senselessness of the war, while others were actually coaxing more people to sign up and fight in it. The following is a very famous poem in the latter category, which I think that everyone should read:
In Flanders Fields
by John Macrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The WWI museum that my class visited was called "In Flanders Fields," after that poem. It was a very well-constructed museum, and there was a lot of interactivity in the exhibits. Everyone went through at their own pace, which I much prefer to having to speed-walk along behind a tour guide (though I ended up having to rush toward the end anyway so that I was not late to meet the group.)
Afterwards we had a quick walk through the town. Ypres is an interesting place. It is riddled with beautiful historic-looking streets and buildings, but during WWI (which is almost 100 years ago now) the entire town was quite literally flattened. Very little remained, and according to our guide, when Winston Churchill saw the ruins he actually wanted what was left to stay as it was: a kind of monument to the war. The displaced citizens of Ypres weren't thrilled with this plan, and insisted that the city be rebuilt as close to the original design as possible (which it was.)
Next we went to the Menin Gate, which is a monument to fallen soldiers whose bodies were never found. Some 50,000 names are carved into the walls of the giant memorial, and every night (yes, every single night) there is a "Last Post" ceremony to remember the fallen. This has been going on since 1928, and that night (though we couldn't stay for it) was to be the 29,334th time the bugles sounded.
We then drove to see the surgery bunkers (can't think of a better description) in which John Macrae, the Canadian Doctor who wrote "In Flanders Fields," worked during the war. We also went to see the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world (Tyne Cot), in which almost half of the graves bear only the words "A Soldier of the Great War" with a cross below and the inscription "Known Only to God." These were unidentified soldiers whose regiment or even country of origin could not be ascertained.
Our last stop was along the river Yser, at what was once a trench on the front lines of the Western Front. While the original sand bags have been replaced with concrete replicas, the trenches themselves remain essentially unchanged (well, as unchanged as you can get on a beautiful summer day a hundred years later), and we were able to walk through them and look over the river at what was once German-occupied Belgian territory.
All in all I am glad that I had that field program, because I learned a lot about WWI that I didn't know. For example, did you know that the Second Battle of Ypres actually marked the first time in history that poison gas was used as a weapon in warfare? Scary. With that note, I really need to start the essay reflection on this trip for my World Literature class.
Oh! And if anyone wants a movie recommendation, rent "Joyeux Noël," which is a film set during Christmas at the WWI trenches. The first time I saw the movie was when Ms. Lockhart showed it in my World History class in high school. I later rented it to show my mom, and then just a few days ago it was showing on one of the ship's TV channels so I got to see it again. Obviously I think it's a really good movie, so you should watch it if you get a chance. The events that unfold actually did take place (though perhaps not in quite so sentimental of a fashion as is depicted in the movie.) Okay, I've really got to end this post now.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Pictures from Germany!
Fishmarket, Hafencity, and Brötchen
Location: Antwerp, Belgium (we're a day early! Can't get off the ship though, because we still have to go to tomorrow's classes.)
Hah! With this last double-post I am now officially caught up with the present. Whew.
–– Hamburg, Day 3: 9/7/13 ––
The entirety of my third day in Germany was devoted to a service visit organized by Semester at Sea which took a group of us to the small town of Dollerup (located up north, near the sea border with Denmark) where we went to a family farm that had been converted into a home for foster children. There were seven kids there, ranging in age from 13 to 20, and we got a chance to meet them and have a tour of the farm before splitting into two groups for the actual service project. One group helped build a soccer goal and played several games with the kids, while the other group (which I was in) donned plastic suits to protect our clothing and began to paint/decorate a large wall with the help of a couple of the foster girls. Most of the kids didn't speak a lot of English, but we generally understood one another, and we all had fun. It was interesting to learn a bit more about the foster care system in Germany, and nice to get out of Hamburg city and into a more rural area. The bus ride there and back took a couple of hours though, so we didn't get to stay as long as many of us would have liked and we still ended up behind schedule in the end.
When I returned to the ship it was a bit too late to go back out into Hamburg (at least to me), and I had made plans to wake up super early and meet a couple girls who were going to the Fishmarket (a Hamburg event which only takes place on Sunday mornings) the next day, so I headed back to my cabin. At that point it occurred to me that I finally had enough time to process my laundry! I had gotten a large load of darks done by the ship a few days earlier, and the experience convinced me that I had better just wash my own laundry in the future (cheaper and safer for the clothes.) I still needed to wash a bunch of lights which couldn't be put into the aforementioned load, so I got out one of the little packets of detergent that I brought from home for just such an occasion and headed for my little bathroom sink with a pile of clothes and a mission.
What I ended up with was a heap of wet (but clean!) clothes and not nearly enough room on the little provided clothes line in my shower to dry them all. So I improvised, and had eventually completely taken over the shower and half of the bathroom with drying clothes. Of course at that point my roommate returned from her trip to Berlin desperately wanting a shower. So I moved everything to hangers in the closet and just kept the closet doors open. This seemed to work pretty well, and now that everything is dried and folded, I am officially proclaiming my laundry venture a success!
...Of course, all this meant that I didn't get to bed until about midnight. Which was a problem because I needed to get up at 4:30am the next morning in order to make it in time to meet the rest of the group heading for the Fishmarket. I'd say sleep is overrated, but I didn't really get any last night because I was up writing a paper, so right now I can attest that sleep is actually quite necessary.
–– Hamburg, Day 4: 9/8/13 ––
My last day in Hamburg! I got up bright and early (though it was still dark) and managed to drag myself out of bed and to the meeting place with an unprecedented three minutes to spare. I was pretty proud of myself; I had half expected to be too tired and to decide to wait and go later by myself. Another of our number actually did just that. But I had my tea in hand and I was ready to make the most of my last morning in Germany. So off we went to go and watch the sunrise over the Fishmarket.
For those who are wondering, the Fishmarket is actually a full-blown street fair with all sorts of things for sale besides just fish. I had received an email from my grandma advising me to try smoked meat as well as some Brötchen, so I set out on a mission to locate one or both of these in the maze of food booths which occupied the nucleus of the market. Smoked meat was pretty prevalent, and I eventually settled on some smoked halibut (who could resist trying some fish while wandering around a Fishmarket, after all!) I really had my eye on the smoked eel after getting a sample and discovering that it was abnormally delicious, but unfortunately all anyone wanted to sell was a whole smoked eel, and I wasn't quite that committed.
I had a little more trouble with the Brötchen, mostly because the word would sometimes appear in conjunction with other words, and I wasn't sure it was the same thing. Also there were often there prices for large quantities but not just for a single roll. I did eventually get one though, and had a thoroughly enjoyable lunch!
Afterwards I headed all the way back to the Hafencity, because I had heard great things about the Miniatur Wunderland and was determined to see it before I left. The miniature train exhibits were marvelous, with painstakingly created terrains that sometimes reaching multiple floor. Mountains, valleys, lakes, and cities spanned wall to wall and ceiling to floor. The place was packed with people, despite how early I arrived. But once you managed to wriggle yourself into a gap in the crowd you could just stand there staring for ages, especially since the lights of the rooms change so that the scenes are always slowly alternating between day and night. The miniature Las Vegas particularly lent itself to the nighttime span, with a full complement of multicolored lights and moving elements. There are, of course, trains moving through every exhibit, but there is also the occasional moving bus, car, or ski lift as well. I will be putting pictures up so that you can see some examples.
With only a few hours to spare before I ought to be heading back to the ship, I indecisively made my toward the spice museum. Now, I'm not really sure what the deal is, but despite wikipedia's assertion that this is the only spice museum in the world (yes, I get all my info from Wikipedia - it's one of the few free sites to visit with the ship's internet, so you use what you've got), there are actually two separate spice museums right near each other on the same street. This time I went into the other museum. It was a cozy inviting little place once you got inside (the outside just looks a bit doubtful), and there are big bags of spices sitting there so that you can feel and smell them. The entire place smelling like heaven. I spent ages there, despite the fact that it was really a very small place. I think that silly spice museum was my favorite place in all of Hamburg––I just wanted to stay in there forever.
Of course I couldn't, and all the spices were making me hungry again, so I headed over to coffee shop housed in this nice big historical building. Did I mention that the warehouse district is full of beautiful brick buildings surrounded by bridges and canals? It was once one of the centers of European trade, and all of the goods were stored and traded right there. Trade still plays a large economic role in Hamburg's economy, but its center has moved to a more modern locale. There is something about those old buildings though, that lends to the entire area a deep sense of soul. I spent an hour sitting in the coffee shop warehouse, sketching my surroundings and munching on what the lady at the counter called a "Hamburger" –– in this case referring to someone/thing which is from Hamburg, rather than a sandwich with a bun. This particular dish was a tasty custard-filled dessert.
Once I had finished with my Hamburger I headed back to the ship. Since then I have been rushing to keep up with all the assignments for my classes and trying to plan what I will be doing while in Belgium!
Thanks for your comments!
Hah! With this last double-post I am now officially caught up with the present. Whew.
–– Hamburg, Day 3: 9/7/13 ––
The entirety of my third day in Germany was devoted to a service visit organized by Semester at Sea which took a group of us to the small town of Dollerup (located up north, near the sea border with Denmark) where we went to a family farm that had been converted into a home for foster children. There were seven kids there, ranging in age from 13 to 20, and we got a chance to meet them and have a tour of the farm before splitting into two groups for the actual service project. One group helped build a soccer goal and played several games with the kids, while the other group (which I was in) donned plastic suits to protect our clothing and began to paint/decorate a large wall with the help of a couple of the foster girls. Most of the kids didn't speak a lot of English, but we generally understood one another, and we all had fun. It was interesting to learn a bit more about the foster care system in Germany, and nice to get out of Hamburg city and into a more rural area. The bus ride there and back took a couple of hours though, so we didn't get to stay as long as many of us would have liked and we still ended up behind schedule in the end.
When I returned to the ship it was a bit too late to go back out into Hamburg (at least to me), and I had made plans to wake up super early and meet a couple girls who were going to the Fishmarket (a Hamburg event which only takes place on Sunday mornings) the next day, so I headed back to my cabin. At that point it occurred to me that I finally had enough time to process my laundry! I had gotten a large load of darks done by the ship a few days earlier, and the experience convinced me that I had better just wash my own laundry in the future (cheaper and safer for the clothes.) I still needed to wash a bunch of lights which couldn't be put into the aforementioned load, so I got out one of the little packets of detergent that I brought from home for just such an occasion and headed for my little bathroom sink with a pile of clothes and a mission.
What I ended up with was a heap of wet (but clean!) clothes and not nearly enough room on the little provided clothes line in my shower to dry them all. So I improvised, and had eventually completely taken over the shower and half of the bathroom with drying clothes. Of course at that point my roommate returned from her trip to Berlin desperately wanting a shower. So I moved everything to hangers in the closet and just kept the closet doors open. This seemed to work pretty well, and now that everything is dried and folded, I am officially proclaiming my laundry venture a success!
...Of course, all this meant that I didn't get to bed until about midnight. Which was a problem because I needed to get up at 4:30am the next morning in order to make it in time to meet the rest of the group heading for the Fishmarket. I'd say sleep is overrated, but I didn't really get any last night because I was up writing a paper, so right now I can attest that sleep is actually quite necessary.
–– Hamburg, Day 4: 9/8/13 ––
My last day in Hamburg! I got up bright and early (though it was still dark) and managed to drag myself out of bed and to the meeting place with an unprecedented three minutes to spare. I was pretty proud of myself; I had half expected to be too tired and to decide to wait and go later by myself. Another of our number actually did just that. But I had my tea in hand and I was ready to make the most of my last morning in Germany. So off we went to go and watch the sunrise over the Fishmarket.
For those who are wondering, the Fishmarket is actually a full-blown street fair with all sorts of things for sale besides just fish. I had received an email from my grandma advising me to try smoked meat as well as some Brötchen, so I set out on a mission to locate one or both of these in the maze of food booths which occupied the nucleus of the market. Smoked meat was pretty prevalent, and I eventually settled on some smoked halibut (who could resist trying some fish while wandering around a Fishmarket, after all!) I really had my eye on the smoked eel after getting a sample and discovering that it was abnormally delicious, but unfortunately all anyone wanted to sell was a whole smoked eel, and I wasn't quite that committed.
I had a little more trouble with the Brötchen, mostly because the word would sometimes appear in conjunction with other words, and I wasn't sure it was the same thing. Also there were often there prices for large quantities but not just for a single roll. I did eventually get one though, and had a thoroughly enjoyable lunch!
Afterwards I headed all the way back to the Hafencity, because I had heard great things about the Miniatur Wunderland and was determined to see it before I left. The miniature train exhibits were marvelous, with painstakingly created terrains that sometimes reaching multiple floor. Mountains, valleys, lakes, and cities spanned wall to wall and ceiling to floor. The place was packed with people, despite how early I arrived. But once you managed to wriggle yourself into a gap in the crowd you could just stand there staring for ages, especially since the lights of the rooms change so that the scenes are always slowly alternating between day and night. The miniature Las Vegas particularly lent itself to the nighttime span, with a full complement of multicolored lights and moving elements. There are, of course, trains moving through every exhibit, but there is also the occasional moving bus, car, or ski lift as well. I will be putting pictures up so that you can see some examples.
With only a few hours to spare before I ought to be heading back to the ship, I indecisively made my toward the spice museum. Now, I'm not really sure what the deal is, but despite wikipedia's assertion that this is the only spice museum in the world (yes, I get all my info from Wikipedia - it's one of the few free sites to visit with the ship's internet, so you use what you've got), there are actually two separate spice museums right near each other on the same street. This time I went into the other museum. It was a cozy inviting little place once you got inside (the outside just looks a bit doubtful), and there are big bags of spices sitting there so that you can feel and smell them. The entire place smelling like heaven. I spent ages there, despite the fact that it was really a very small place. I think that silly spice museum was my favorite place in all of Hamburg––I just wanted to stay in there forever.
Of course I couldn't, and all the spices were making me hungry again, so I headed over to coffee shop housed in this nice big historical building. Did I mention that the warehouse district is full of beautiful brick buildings surrounded by bridges and canals? It was once one of the centers of European trade, and all of the goods were stored and traded right there. Trade still plays a large economic role in Hamburg's economy, but its center has moved to a more modern locale. There is something about those old buildings though, that lends to the entire area a deep sense of soul. I spent an hour sitting in the coffee shop warehouse, sketching my surroundings and munching on what the lady at the counter called a "Hamburger" –– in this case referring to someone/thing which is from Hamburg, rather than a sandwich with a bun. This particular dish was a tasty custard-filled dessert.
Once I had finished with my Hamburger I headed back to the ship. Since then I have been rushing to keep up with all the assignments for my classes and trying to plan what I will be doing while in Belgium!
Thanks for your comments!
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