Belgium!

People were up late outside our window hollering. Party hardying in Amsterdam. Slept in till about 7:30! Had jam on my toast instead of chocolate spread. Packed up and hauled all our stuff downstairs and checked out. We caught the tram no problem and in no time at all we were waiting at Centraal Station for the train to Brussels.

We got to pick our own seats and nabbed some window ones. The train filled up as we stopped at more places. I think it might have even been overbooked because some people were just standing. About four different people sat next to us through the journey. Saw some windmills outside the window but most of the trip was spent with my nose in the new David Sedaris.

There are three station stops in Brussels; Noord, Centraal, and Midi. We could locate Noord and Midi on the map and we knew Centraal to be somewhere between the two so we got off there. We asked at one hotel where the tourist center was. It was in the Grand Place. We had some trouble locating that so we asked at another hotel. Had more trouble and asked again. Then we were told to go to the white tower and we found it. Our hotel is the Hotel du Congres. It is just a short walk up from a park and about ten minutes from Grand Place. The hotel is made up of a a few converted townhouses. We are on the second floor, have twin beds, a bathroom, soap, a tv, and a view of the courtyard and some close in buildings and trees. It is very quiet and removed from major traffic. I can get some sleep, at last.

Brussels has considerably more hills than Amsterdam but the buildings have more variety. Turn a corner and there are centuries old churches flanked by modern structures. I've already spied one comic mural on a wall. Grand Place is magnificent. I can't describe it, I'll have to put up photos when we take them. There is a lot of shopping and food around that area. We went into one comic shop but it was just translated American work. Belgian fries are delicious. Dad had some trouble with a Belgian waffle. We went into a center boasting 102 shops but none of the clothes in there grabbed me. Some guys tried to sell me some leather jackets but I already had one. You only need one.

At the Tintin Boutique I aquired a shirt featuring a large bold design of Thompson and Thompson. Hard choice. The store had lots of figurines, folders, pins, shirts, posters, comics, anything to do with Tintin! Really awesome. In one meander we found ourselves at the end of a long shopping structure. It was a three or so story covered path with shops of higher end wares. One book shop had indie comics in the shop so I went in. I had to go up two flights of winding stairs to get to the third floor comic section. And oh what a section it was! Such a beautiful array of art and genres. I wish I knew more of the language. I asked the guy tended the area what he would recommend that had a variety of art and wasn't really dependant on knowing the language. We chatted and I ended up buying a hefty anthology. Enough art in there to stun a cat; physically and mentally.

We had unremarkable sandwiches and then trekked back to our lovely hotel. We are here for five nights. I have a map with an Art Nouveau walk and a Comic Wall walk. There are museums to visit, churches to photograph, flea markets to scavenge, and a light sweater to buy because I only brought one.

a place called Vertigo

After a breakfast of chocolate spread, honey, and butter on toast we decided to go out for a lengthy bike ride before returning the cycles. I drew a little in the park and there were some cute ducks with funky feet. We went down South to Beatrixpark. To get there we rode along Apolloaan, past Bachstraat, Beethovenstraat, and Mozartstraat. The park was large with many various paths. It had a kiddy pool, square gardens, circle stone work, art, ponds, open areas and places with trees. Really lovely. It was a great place to ride around. Peaceful and no traffic to deal with. We returned the bikes on time.

We stopped for lunch in Vondelpark at the cafe Vertigo. I had bitterballen, dad had a tuna sandwich, and we both had iced tea. It was a very warm day today, not the same grayness like the past few days. My shoulders are a little red, but not burned.



The Van Gogh Museum was very crowded when we went. So many people, so many on headsets. Except for the top story, it was all a crowd. It was a magnificent collection. A real history of his work. I can see why his early work didn't sell. It was not very light and used a muddy pallet. It really shows the amount of work one person has to do just to get to the skill level required of a "stereotypical" piece. He left behind a massive body of work. I wonder what he would have produced had he not killed himself.

After another break at the hotel, but no naps this time, we went out to eat. We settled on eating outside at an Argentinean Grill. We split an order of ribs, I had a salad and fries as well. Very filling and tasty. At least we ate out once in Amsterdam instead of just getting stuff from the supermarket below.

Tomorrow we leave for Brussels.

Mac Bike & Me

I went to the Rijksmuseum! So beautiful and wonderful and amazing and huge and big and with all these masterpieces, many of which were plucked from my Art History book! Where do I begin? Well a big part of the building is under construction, so we couldn't go into most of it. That is okay though, the masterworks available to behold were more than enough stimulation.

Right off the bat, the first painting to be seen is Bartholomeus van der Helst's Banquet in Celebration of the Treaty of Munster. It is 232x547cm huge. It is impossible to take it all in really. There was a model ship and bits of old ships in the room. The bottom floor was organized by history and eras, while the top was groupings of artists and those who studied and took after them. Willem van de Velde's Battle of Terheide is a large canvas depicting an image of Dutch ships battling. It was rendered with intricate ink work with fine little crosshatched lines. Perfect lines really. Adrian Pietersz van de Venne has never seen a rainbow before in his life. A work by Dirck van Delen featured a little flap which when moved changed a part of the scene in the painting. Dad seemed to really enjoy the nautical focus. There were over elaborate dollhouses, fine porcelain and delftware, exquisite flower vases, cabinets with inlaid wood work that must have taken years to do, and the gaudiest and shinest silver work I have ever seen. Okay it wasn't really gaudy but considering it was made with silver doesn't help the bass relief’s any.

Upstairs were the textbook masterpieces. Avercamp's humorous Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters, Dirck Hals' The Fete Champetre, Judith Leyster's The Serenade, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Willem Kalf, Pieter de Hooch, Jan Steen, and so on. It is a long list of masterwork. To see them in person just blows away any printed work. Vermeer and Rembrandt have such a knack for texture that you can't see otherwise. All the subtle differences in the styles and modeling. Hardly anyone, or no one at all, paints like this anymore.

The Night Watch has its own room. It has a whole wall devoted to just it (and it needs a whole wall). Parallel to it is Frans Hals and Pieter Codde's The Company of Captain Reynier Reael. Also big but more of a portrait of a group of people than a scene like the Night Watch. And oh what a scene! The painting seems to have always been printed in books very dark so I always thought it was a group of people outdoors. Seeing it in full, it is actually a group in a large hall. They also appear to be illuminated by daylight and just stand in a dark hall (it was recently cleaned, revealing the full scope of it). It was noted that the title was given to it some years after its completion, when it was darkened by time. With the painting was a reproduction someone did. A smaller version by Gerrit Lundens. It was painted before Night Watch was cropped so we can get a general idea of what the huge piece looked like before it was shortened to fit on a wall.

The rooms were painted in a way that best complimented the work. They clearly had time to perfect the layout and collection. There will be no changes to this exhibit anytime soon. And rightly so. I could come back an infinite many times and there will still be things I haven't seen or noticed. Like any well known museum, there were hoards of people on headsets standing in the way. I like to get nose to nose to art and it is hard to do that when people stand observant, but distanced. There were two tours on the second level going and they hogged up a lot of space.

I picked up a guide book to the museum and some postcards in the giftshop. After that we got something to drink on the Museumplein and decided our next moves.

We rented some bikes from Mac Bike and rode on towards Amsterdam Centraal. It is harder than it looks. The maps do not indicate which direction the roads go and making ones way around in unfamiliar area via way of the street is a pain. Sometimes I felt I was in the wrong lane, othertimes it was hard to figure out where the crossing was. Ohh very frustrating. Parking was also near impossible near the station. The bikes go on for eternity. Thousands of bikes chained to one another. We found a pipe to chain on to. Tickets to Belgium were acquired. I had to pay to use the toilet at the station. I got a hamburger from an Automat in the station. It was okay for very fast food.

After the station we went to the recreation of the boat the Amsterdam. The NEMO place where be bought the tickets reminded me of the Seattle Sciene Center and OMSI in Portland. I think it was the same sort of place. Lots of little kids running around shouting. We went on the boat right behind a whole hoard of kids. They shot the cannon and everyone went ohhh. The recreation had little papers pinned up describing things. It was nifty. Lady Washington is better though. It shoots more stuff and actually sails about.

We bought some ice cream and went to go on a biking excursion along the Amstel river. We stopped at the Waterlooplein to check out the streetmarket going on. Lots of cheesy tourist things, a couple bike accessories stalls, vintage shops, flea market places, cheap shirts, etc. I found a lovely elephant patterned scarf for 5 euro. There was a mannequin head with a beard that I wanted really badly but it would have been a challenge to haul home.

We continued down the Amstel river. After passing the houseboats, the path went away from the river and we never quite got back on it. We looped around and tried to find our way back but no such luck. Eventually we went along another river for a bit, checked out a small park, saw some large Raptor sculptures, went through a roundabout, and decided to head back. Biking in Amsterdam is great as long as it is a designated road, far removed from traffic. Once in the city it becomes the territory for those who know what they are doing and where they are going. Sure you see more of the city this way, but it goes by so fast.

I kept up with dad on my bike no problem, but I lost him a couple times and had to stop.

We got a quick snack at the market but I was overwhelmed by exhaustion and fell asleep as soon as I laid down. By the time I woke up it was too late to go out (well not really but I was still tired and groggy). It is a shame we haven't really eaten out much in the city. Also a shame the Amsterdam leg of our trip is cut a little short due to scheduling only three nights in the hotel, instead of four.

The Longest Day, I'm OK

Today has been so long. In my time, I was in transit from 7:30am to 10:30pm. When I arrived it became 7:30am again and I had to stay awake till 3:00pm because that was when we had to check into the hotel. I took a nap and now it is 10:42 pm and I can sleep.

I have taken extensive notes thus far of what I have done. Here are some highlights.

I got the new David Sedaris book at SeaTac. Another collection of brilliant essays. I had some fish and chips at the airport before I left. The shuttle had to take the scenic route due to a jack knifed semi on I5. I still got there early. Got my ticket in a few minutes, checked my bag, went through the port, got to the gate, got my seat, relaxed. The flight wasn't full and no one was seated next to me so I could spread out a little. I had the pasta option for dinner. Watched Phone Booth, The Avengers, and Bullitt. Took a nap. Read some of Sedaris. Before I knew it we were landing! The sun followed us the whole way. This is the first night I have had in like twenty hours. But I think my body will adjust nicely now with little jet lag.

Accidentally went to the wrong baggage claim. Here they have a sanitizing spray you put on a tissue and wipe the toilet seat with, instead of a toilet seat protector. When I got to the right baggage claim my bag was just coming out. Picked it up, went through claims, and there was dad! I got through the passport guy really quick to. He let me crouch under the barrier and go into the other line. He had a faux hawk and was really nice. The airport smells like...something that I smelled in Japan. Not bad. Familiar.

We changed my money (most of which is gone because the hotel is cash only).

The airport has a rad meeting place. It is a huge red and white checkered seating structure and it has a screen of "meet me" texts. We picked up our train tickets and there was one waiting when we got downstairs. Nice, double decker, and quiet. We transferred to the smaller train with little difficulty. Everything is nicely numbered. It creaks and struggles along. It isn't as smooth as the Portland streetcar.

We dropped the stuff off at the Abba Hotel. Our room wasn't ready yet. We grabbed breakfast (which was my fifth consumed meal thus far). The stairs in the hotel are some of the steepest i have ever seen. They barely fit my foot and are almost as tall as they are wide. They are steep and spiral upwards. Not for a non nimble person. Not at all.

Amsterdam has as many people on bikes as people in cars. They have a nice separated lane. Every street has 10 bikes parked on it at a minimum. Most have about twenty to thirty. The bike lots seem completely full. People just lock up the tires it seems and don't lock it to anything. Lovely big clunky bikes. None of the slim fixies that are present in Portland. Also I only saw one person in bike gear, the rest are just in street clothes. Some guys ride in suits, girls in nice dresses. I saw one man with a huge bushel of plants on a shoulder. It must have been three, four feet long. He had bags draped over his other hand and was in a nice suit with good shoes. He just rode off from the store as casual and balanced as could be.

We took a canal boat tour to see the sites and to relax. The bridges are so low. Inches of clearance with the tour boats. The houses are amazing. They are kept really nice on the outside. Probably really modern and maintained inside. The tour said that they used to use the canal water to brew beer. Then the water got overly polluted. We past by Anne Frank's house. One of the house boats we passed had a cat flap. Water cat? The sculpture on the Maritime Museum looks like Sean Connery.

Dad and I went to the Hard Rock cafe to get some sweets. They had an original cell from Pink Floyd the Wall and a mask from the movie as well. We had milk shakes. Our waiter was from Oregon and sang along with the music playing in the cafe. Dad got himsel a pin and a tee shirt. The cafe had the super effective hand driers, like they ones they have in Japan. It blows the air down and off instead of warming it.

In wandering around the Museumplein, we came across a book store that looked like it had beautiful art books within. And it DID! So many and a great selection. I did a little loop of the place and found a book about digital illustration. It was a "speciale prijs" and in English, plus the info looked worthwhile, so I bought it. Have to remember the store; Boekhandel Robert Premselz.

We walked around the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. At about 2:00pm we headed back to the hotel. We stopped and got some ice cream and watched people go past. We got into our room which is three flights up. We went to the store below Abba Hotel and got some snacks. Cheese, meat, bread, Kinder surprises, candy, chocolate, yogurty milk, Dubbel Frisss, etc. Dad ate some food and I went to sleep. Woke up at around 8:40 and we went out to see the city as the sun went down. I had a sandwich and we listened to a band play one song before the coppers shut them down. Walked about in a loop circle, got a little side tracked but we found our way back to the hotel all right.

There was a man playing with fire in a nearby plaza. He juggled it, made jokes, ate an apple while juggling the apple with fire and a machete. He had half his head shaved and had a sort of outfit. His voice was strained as he exclaimed his jokes. We gave him some change and went on our way.

Now I sleep. Tomorrow we hit up some museums.

big days

My last night home. The next time I sleep, it will be in Abba Hotel.

This morning we tried to book a Holiday Inn room in Brussels but had no luck. There was sort of a room at the airport hotel but that would have been really bad and way far from the city.

Today mom and I visited the Grandparents.

First up was the Grandparents Pedersen. Grandma came down stairs as we were milling around in the house. We hugged and talked for a bit and I left to go visit Kirie and Celia.

I stopped by Celia's to see her new place. I called out and heard her but didn't see her. Since I couldn't locate her, and she stopped responding, I went to Kirie's.

Kirie had a faboo new cut. We sat out on the porch and talked while the dogs climbed all over me. Lovely day at Pulali.

Upon return to Celia's we found her. She gave me a big hug and cried a little, which got me crying a little as well. Sometime's it suddenly hits you how much you have missed your family. She also had a faboo haircut (it was done at the same time as Kirie). The cabin looks great. The downstairs in cozy. The kitchen looks great. She has a great sense of space. She will get the house in shape and the gardens will be of the same old grandeur she always creates.

Celia and I ate chips and sat on a bench looking out at the Puget Sound.

When we arrived back at the Grandparents, food was out on the table. Salmon, boiled veggies, and not boiled carrots. A nice little simple supper. Perfect for my tastes! Grandpa joined us. After we finished and mom broke out the rhubarb crumble, Kirie came over. When all the food was consumed and the dishes were put away, I put on an art show!

I wowed the family with my progress in paintings. Ooohs and ahhhs were had as they beheld my skills. And the final portraits blew them all away! The prints were less impressive and things got a bit muddled when I tried to explain the processes behind them.

Things quieted down after the show. I chatted with Grandpa John about art and then at around 6:00 we left for the Spencer's.

With a handful of chocolate covered raisins, I showed off my paintings again with similar reactions as the first. I'm so proud of the work that I did in that class. We left a little bit quick as I had to pack.

That only took about an hour as I had a detailed list and only really had a small selection of clothes to choose from. My outfit is all picked out for tomorrow. I get up. I shower. I eat something. I leave. I get on the shuttle. I check in. I go through security. I wait. I board a plane. I arrive in Amsterdam. I go through customs. I get my bag. I hug dad. I enjoy Europe.

See you everybody!

blues and yellows

We had plans to go to the Rhodedenderon Theatre today and see Beauty and the Beast with Nathan and Rubie but cold, miserable weather kept us in. Well it kept me in and my whining kept mom and I from taking a hike.

She gardened and I lazed. She tried to watch a little of Breaking Bad with me but it wasn't to her taste. Watched some QI. I finished all seven episodes of the first season of Breaking Bad. They did a great job with the few episodes they had. Easily could have been strung out but it wasn't. Can't wait for the second season.

Mom and I rented a movie from Seabeck Store. We went with the Darjeeling Limited. It is very much a by the book Wes Anderson movie, so if you like his films you should like this one. If not, well who knows. Beautiful color pallet; very rich in turquoise and canary yellow. I enjoyed it.

Did some laundry. Tomorrow I will fold it and put it in my suitcase and get packed up and leave for Europe the day after. Dad will have his computer but I will not have mine. I will probably not be blogging as much through my travels, if at all. I will have journals and will post about my travels when I get back.