Travel (II) - Europe 6 - Athens Day 0

Click here to view some pictures in Athens

In Brussels' airport while waiting for my flight to Athens, I had a chance to chat with a handsome Greek gentleman. He reviewed my top-10-things-to-do-in-Athens list, and gave me more practical and more detailed advices.

A digression.  He was doing his PhD in psychology in UK, with a research focus on lie detecting for forensic purpose.  Due to my long held interest in psychology, he instantly intrigued me.  I asked for some elaboration on this topic.  The first point he made was to "ignore body language completely".  He said according to research, the correct prediction based on body language was no more than 50%, i.e. a random guess.  The hype of deciphering people based on body language was pretty much a US FBI product.  I was glad to learn all these as I personally did not believe body language analysis based on my own experience.  When I asked how to detect lies, he said to ask many open questions and to see if that person elaborates and if the details make sense.  That instantly reminded me of one of my favorite movies "the lives of the others" where an East German secret policeman used a similar scheme to interrogate people, but with torture.  He laughed and said that's definitely his favorite movie too.  But in UK, the evidence collected through such kind of inhuman interrogation would not be admitted in courts.  He then asked about my PhD research and my current job.  I answered with carefully organized details :-P.  Later he mentioned that he used to major in dentistry and actually practiced for a while, and decided that's not for him, then he started from scratch in psychology.  Fascinating.

He mentioned to me that Aegean airline offers good meals.  That turned out to be true.  Meal on the flight was quite Greek and delicious : pasta with octopus, hummus with coarse texture (the most delicious hummus I had had), and the dessert was a Greek special sweet made from sesame with coca.

It was a short flight of 3 hours from Brussels to Athens.  I was busy writing my blog so did not even notice it before I arrived.  Read about the scoundrel taxi drivers in Athens, also got that "rumor" confirmed by the new friend I made as well as some airport staff, and it was past midnight in Athens time, I dared not to take a taxi from the airport to the city center.  The Metro was also closed at that late hour.  So I opted to take a bus to city center and then to take a taxi to my lodging place - Athena's friend offered us a newly decorated apartment in the center of Athens.  

With all my curiosity about and admiration for mythical Greek civilization and splendid Greek culture, I did not want to close my eyes for one second on the bus, even though that was already past 1 am local time.  I was amused when I saw so many mathematical symbols, sigma, lambda, theta, epsilon..., were part of the store names - "now we know where math was from".  However, what I saw along the streets were less than glamourous - it looked like some corny suburban towns in China.  At the beginning I thought that was only in the remote areas, but when I got off in the city center, nothing looked like a modern city, nor a historical city.  Hmm... 

Even though the taxi ride was short, I guess I could call the driver a scoundrel.  Anyway, it was late at night, and he was kind of old, I did not want to argue but to treat it as a charity.

Athena was already in Athens and she was kindly waiting for my arrival.  Her friend George, who provided lodging for us, was a wealthy ship-owner.  Even though I knew that was a spare apartment of his, my imagination about the condition of the building definately had gone beyond what I saw.  It was an old-looking apartment building.  The elevator seemed like from last millenium.  One would have to open the elevator door like opening a house door by literally pulling the knob.  And it ran with a huge noise.  The interior of the apartment itself was well decorated very recently and nothing that we would complain about.  So, what kind of city is Athens?  I was wondering before I passed out in bed...

Travel (II) - Europe 5 - Brussels, Belgium

Click here to view some pictures in Brussels

April 18th, Monday.  Last day in Belgium before I head out to Greece.  Solo tour for me again.  A few people mentioned before that Brussels is sort of boring compared to many other European cities.  That was quite contradictory with my original imagination of a garden city covered by flower carpet.  It turned out that the splendid flower carpet show is only up once every two years in an even numbered year, and only during the third week of August.  So I was totally going to miss it. 

Belgium is the capital of Flanders, Belgium, and Europe.  It houses the headquarter of EU and NATO.  I did not bother to identify which building is which in the neighborhood of the royal palace and congress, except for the fore-mentioned two.  However, the grandeur and formalness and conservativeness of those buildings kind of suggested that Brussels is a political center in Europe.  

Before heading out to the #1 tourist attraction Grand Place (or Grote Markt as in Dutch), I rested a bit in the big park right in front of the royal palace.  It's obviously a beloved leisure place by locals where I could see people jogging, kids playing, and many baby trolleys.  

Grand Place had a less than glamourous beginning.  It was just a swampy sand-bank between two brooks, known as "broek sella" which gave Brussels its name.  The sand bank was turned into a market and sold French and English textiles, French wines, and German beer.  In the Middle Ages wooden houses were built around the market and by 14th century wealthy families took to building stone mansions which led to the market developing into the main commercial administrative centre.  The Gothic Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) came in 1402 and by now it was also a political center. 

Many have admired the beauty of the Grand Place, wide open cobbled square, surrounded by elegant guildhouses.  I was also impressed by the grandeur of it and the decorativeness.  However, I was not charmed by the style of the decor. 

The side streets were full of souvenir stores, cafes, and restaurants.  Belgium is known for chocolates, waffles, beers, and Manneken Pis, the "Pissing Boy", or "Little Julian".  All were in the vicinity.  

The chubby-cheeked bronze statute of Manneken Pis, created in the 17th century by Jerome Duquesnoy, embodies the irreverent spirit of Brussels.  Although only 60cm in height, he is probably Brussels' most photographed statue.  That day he was stark-naked as usual.  But sometimes he gets dressed.  In fact he has an impressive wardrobe of 600 outfits displayed in the Maison du Roi (or Broodhuis as in Dutch, Royal Art Museum).

I bought a big waffle with dart chocolate, and sat among hundreds on the shoulder of the square in Grand Place.  Pretty nice!

Hoping to do some shopping in the local antique market as well as to buy some chocolates in some well praised shops, I headed to Place du Grand Sablon.  To my disappointment, the antique market is only open on Sundays.  However, it's a nice casual place with lots of cafes where locals like to hang out.  Right away I saw Wittamer, a recommended chocolate place that offers a tearoom experience.  I ordered a dessert and a hot chocolate, savoring while sun-bathing.  A little blond girl, probably 4 years old, came over to play with me, showing off her little duck and easter eggs, posing for my pictures, and trying to take pictures for me.  Although we did not share a common language, I had a good company.  When I stood up to leave, she dived into my arms, hugged me tightly and insisted to give me a kiss.  Such a sweet heart. :-)

Regretfully, I did not find the famous chocolate store Pierre Marcolini (39 Place Du Grand Sablon) for their exceptional displays.  Athena later confirmed that it was really beautiful.  I did not care enough to look for it with efforts.  Oh well, next time.

Another regret is that the comic strip museum was closed on Monday.  It's said that Belgium has more comic strip artists per square kilometer than any other country.  Maybe I'll be better off to first read some comic books about Tin Tin, Belgium's famous cartoon character hero, before my visit next time.  I remember B was reading them.  Bummer that I did not pay much attention.

Brussels seems to be the transportation hub in Western Europe.  It seems to have more railway stations than any other cities, and it's well connected by rail to the rest of Western Europe.  I also find its airport probably one of the largest that I have seen.   With my heavy backpack, I was tired out when I eventually reached my gate for the flight to Athens.  And I am sure that I walked the longest distance on the moving walk-way.

Travel (II) - Europe 5 - Luxembourg

Click here to view some pictures in Luxembourg

April 17th, Sunday.  Another solo day for me.  After quite much hesitation between destinations such as Antwerp, Ghent, Luxembourg, and even Paris, I decided to go to Luxembourg.  It was my original choice due to my curiosity about it's unique terrain and it's the third smallest country in Europe.  However, the night before I found it takes a 3-hour train ride to get there.  Hoping that I might be able to sleep or read on the train, I decided to do it anyway.

Took an 8:30 am train from Midi station, slept most of my way there.  At the information desk in Luxembourg train station, I saw a single Asian girl who was asking for tourist info too, with limited English.  She was from Korea.  I suggested we team up and she agreed.  It turned out to be a good idea even though she did not speak much English.  We had fun, she did more research about where to go and what to see, and I had most pictures taken that day for myself :-)

Do you know what is "beauty fatigue"?  It's a phrase originated from a Chinese comedy movie, meaning after a while one gets used to the beauty he/she sees and stops appreciating it (In the movie, it particularly refers to when a man eventually gets tired of his woman, no matter how good looking she is).  

From the beginning of my trip till that day, I had been amazed by the wonderful things that I saw everyday for a whole week already.  It's different everywhere, but the places that I visited do share many common features especially when it comes to architecture.  I was afraid that I might have "beauty fatigue" problem soon.  Well, a visit to Luxembourg broke that trend!  It's unique 3-D terrain, with gigantic valley and long, long bridges, is completely refreshing and engaging.

Luxembourg is diminutive - 57km wide and 82km long - and is sandwiched between Belgium, Germany, and France.  In 963, a count called Sigefroi (or Siegfried, Count of Ardennes) built a castle on a promontory in the forested heart of Western Europe.  So were laid the foundations of present-day capital of Luxembourg.  The strategically placed and fortified city was much sought after.  Besieged, devastated, and rebuilt 20 times in 400 years, Sigefroi's original castle grew to become Europe's second-strongest fortress and earned the nickname "Gibraltar of the North".

Walking from the central railway station to the city center, we first encountered the famous Adolph Bridge, the unofficial national symbol, with a total length of 153 meters, clearance below 42 meters.  The bridge is not over a water body, but a huge valley.  Looking around on the bridge, one will see beautiful houses embedded in thick greens in the valley, and various unique architecture on highland.  Walking down to the valley into a park, one can even smell the beautiful spring.  The Korean girl, M, offered to share her lunch with me.  So we sat on a bench under trees, at the bottom of the bridge.  It's quiet and peaceful.  Small flowers were blooming prosperously.  Various birds were chirping.  It felt like an outer world.  From chatting, I learned that M was at her mid twenties, working as a medical technician in Soul.  She was in her 6 months vacation, which was awarded after working for 4 years - what a privilege.  She took this opportunity to participate some voluntary activities in Belgium to help kids.  She did the same thing before in Japan.  She said Euro was too expensive for her.  

We then walked around the city center to see Notre Dame Church, Place Guillaume II (William Square) where Hotel de ville (Town Hall) is located, and Place d'Armes, an open space where people gather, sitting in front of a cafe and listening to live music.  We took a seat in Le Francais, and ordered some crepe and apricot juice. Beautiful sunshine.  Relaxing surroundings.  M was happy too and found everything special.  She said she never had crepe before.  And it's her first time to make friends when she travels on her own.  

Our next destination was the very foundation of Luxembourg, called Rocher du Bock (Bock Promontory).  My understanding is that is the on-the-ground part of (the remain of) the fortress.  It overlooks extremely beautiful terrains.  Near side, it's C.C.R.N. Centre de Rencontre Culturel Abbaye de Neumunster, a square of light yellow houses with a tall and tippy attic as normally seen in a church.  A river quietly flowing around it.  Further, there is huge viaduct spanning the entire country over valleys and connecting highlands.  Another side, it's multiple-altitude construction of buildings along the natural hill, which embraces the valley.  A stunning scenery that I had never seen before.  

Casemates du Bock, neighboring Rocher du Bock, was a very well preserved and large scale underground tunnel, which, I am pretty sure, was for military purpose.  It was fun to get lost in the underground maze, where one may find look-outs here and there, and a few canons on display.    

It took us quite a while to play around there.  M had to run for an earlier train back to Belgium, so we bid each other farewell there.

Walking to the east, I reached a really wonderful part of the city with historical museums and nice streets with small cafes.  It's called Grund.  The multi-altitude structure was even more exaggerated in that area.  One can walk up and down, along and on the thick old-brick wall or viaduct.  I was amazed.  This extra dimension in the terrain no doubt adds a lot of charm and fun.

There are many other points of interest that I will be happy to visit should I have more time.  And I did not get a chance to see they history museum.  Also, it was a weekend right before the Easter, the city of Luxembourg was quite empty, just as in Brussels, where a taxi driver told us that only 1 million people remained in the city out of 5 million population.  He said most people have a vacation house in the suburb. 

Sitting on the train back to Brussels, I was quite happy with the decision that I made.  It's an excursion worth venturing.

Five golden rules for finding your life partner

Thus spoke J.Z. :

This is an article I encountered a couple of years ago.  A successful long term relationship probably takes a lot of ingredients to brew.  And it might work differently for different couples.  However, I find these 5 golden rules being very sensible and I have been trying to remember them and implement them in real life.  Want to share this good piece of advice with my friends -

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A relationships coach lays out his 5 golden rules for evaluating the prospects of long-term marital success.

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50 percent, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Ms. Right! If you ask most couples who are engaged why they’re getting married, they’ll say: “We’re in love.”

I believe is the #1 mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love. Though this may sound not politically correct, there’s a profound truth here.

Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come.

Let me say it again: You can’t build a lifetime relationship on love alone. You need a lot more. Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you’re serious about finding and keeping a life partner.

QUESTION #1:

Do we share a common life purpose?

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you’re married for 20 or 30 years, that’s a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose.

Two things can happen in a marriage. You can grow together, or you can grow apart. 50 percent of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life bottom line-and marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION #2:


Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust – i.e. trust that I won’t get “punished” or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings.

Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION #3:

Is he/she a mensch?

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis? Are they serious about improving themselves? A teacher of mine defines a good person as “someone who is always striving to be good and do the right thing.”

So ask about your significant other: What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. There are essentially two types of people in the world: People who are dedicated to personal growth and people who are dedicated to seeking comfort. Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION #4:

How does he/she treat other people?

The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure.

Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed?

To measure this, think about the following: How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as a waiters, bus boy, taxi driver, etc. How do they treat parents and siblings? Do they have gratitude and appreciation? If they don’t have gratitude for the people who have given them everything, you cannot expect that they’ll have gratitude for you –who can’t do nearly as much for them! Do they gossip and speak badly about others? Someone who gossips cannot be someone who loves others. You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.

QUESTION #5:

Is there anything I’m hoping to change about this person after we’re married?

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to “improve” them after they’re married. As a colleague of mine puts it, “You can probably expect someone to change after marriage … for the worse!”

If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them.

In conclusion, dating doesn’t have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating, to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues.

Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don’t want to find yourself in trouble because you didn’t do your homework.

My yoga teacher Kevin

**Yoga is not about twisting the body into a pretzel, but about raising self awareness and compassion.

Kevin is my favorite yoga teacher.  He teaches only once a week on our work site.  Without his inspiration I am not completely sure that I will be such a fervent yoga fan.

I have a lot of good things to say about his teaching.  He has a tremendous repertoire of poses and he picks a coherent set to teacher in one class.  And he adjusts combination of poses based on the class size too.  He then compiles them into a fluid sequence and mandates it at a comfortable pace.  This sounds like routine, but if one has experience with different classes, one will not take it for granted.

But what motivates me to write a post about him is not his capability of presenting a good sequences of yoga poses and governing it well, but his spirituality, his amazing characteristics, and his charity.

Practicing yoga without spirituality, to me, is like a pretty face without content in the brain.  And one can sense it right away without the help of x-ray.  Kevin has the aura of energy that all of us student benefit.  His class never fails to energize me up, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

The prevalent form of yoga classes in the western society is mostly physical.  Our classes too.  So he rarely gets any chance in class to talk much beyond the name of poses and instructions.  The spirituality is embodied in minor details in the instructions.  For example, at the final relaxation pr meditation, he would ask us to only watch our thoughts coming and going without judging, "you are not this body, you are not these thoughts, you are not this ego.  There is something mysterious, inexplainable, unfathomable, that is at some corner of you, waiting to be unfolded, filling you in with courage - no fear, compassion - to give somebody this indulgence, gratitude - how can we not be grateful for such abundance, and love - fearless love";  in Samasthiti (equal standing) he would say "be humble" when we need to have chin to chest; "stay in  the present, not the past, nor the future" when he corrects the warrior two pose when somebody either leans forward or backward; when it's a demanding pose, he'd guide us by saying "breathe your way through, with patience, rather than muscle your way through.  Send your breath to any tight spot, physical and mental"...  These simple philosophies work for me on the yoga mat and beyond.

His spirituality does not come in a stoic manner, in stead, he is quite a humorous teacher.  Somebody might step the left foot forward in a high lunge when his instruction demands the right foot, then he would playfully cup his hands around his mouth and broadcast the kind reminder"the other right foot, the other right foot";  when he introduced nagasana (serpent asana) to us, he suggested us to imagine how a serpent slithers, and because "serpent practice nagasana everyday so they do not have low back pain or tight hips"...

Before a class begins, he often asks what we want to focus on that day.  At the end of a class, we usually have 3-5 minutes to practice our favorite poses.  My favorite pose is Hanumanasana (sort of a front split, named after Hanuman, a divine entity in Indian epic Ramayana).  He once told me that my interest in that pose inspired him so he decided to practice it everyday for a few months.  A couple of months ago when he returned from a trip to India, he brought me a gift, Hanuman with Himalaya held on one hand and his club on another, painted on a piece of ceramic tile.  He encouraged me to keep up practicing.

Kevin has been involved in helping Indian kids to go to school.  He and his wife, together with another couple, have been not only offering financial aid, but also visiting the kids a couple of times a year.  He said they have to "bribe" kids' parents first so that the parents will release kids from labor work.  During the most recent visit in Indian, they successfully sent some girls to the school, first time in that area, in fact, to have girls in school.  He told me that it was by accident that he watched a documentary in MoMa then he decided to help.  As he himself mentioned, they are not rich.  The whole program costs them about 6,000 USD every year.  I guess that does not include flight tickets and other travel expenses.  I was quite touched by such amazing things that they have been doing for Indian kids.  I am personally extremely passionate about kids' education.  Such deeds have definitely inspired me great deal.

He organizes a group of yoga practitioners to go on that trip, couple of times per year.  Besides helping kids, they practice yoga.  He told me after his Feb trip that he was already booking tickets for his Nov trip, and he could not wait to go again.  He said he felt super charged each time from the trip.  His passion and optimism, as well as his big smile, are quite contagious.

I enjoy having a few minutes' of brief conversation with him after class, which could go all directions.  I guess he must be at his 50s, but I find that he is glowing youth and energy and hope every inch of his skin.  Compared to the option of spending my life with somebody at a young age but with a blank mind or a polluted mind, I'd prefer companionship from somebody like Kevin.

Travel (II) - Europe 5 - Bruges, Belgium

Click here to view some pictures in Bruges 

Bruges, or Brugge, is one of the big three in Belgium, together with Antwerp and Ghent.  All of them are quite close to each other.  Bruges is arguably the most touristy place in Belgium, also probably the most authentic.  It's a small town to the west of Brussels.    

In the movie "in Bruges", 2009, one quote goes like this "if I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me.  But I didn't, so it doesn't".  Well, ironically, it ended up attracting a lot more tourists, just like in 1892, when a popular book "Bruges la Morte" described the city as a dark, poor, ugly place, more and more tourists saw romance in it and started visiting Bruges more.  Quite interesting, isn't it?!

Never pretending to be less touristic than what I really am, first day in Belgium, I, together with Athena and P, took a morning train from Brussels Midi station to Bruges.  It was a ride of less than an hour.  We each rented a bike to tour around in Bruges.  That was a rare day, and the last, for all three of us to hang out together.  P would take a flight back to US the next morning.

Bruges is also called by some "Venice of the North".  Same as Amsterdam, it has many canals, accompanied by beautiful architecture.  Differently, Bruges has wider canals, wider roads, clearer water, cleaner roads, and the color of the houses and the roads are much brighter.  So although smaller in scale, Bruges brings out a more pleasant and brighter feeling.  That day the weather was sunny and beautiful, and the air was clear and fresh.  Riding the bike along canals, I felt like a flower blossoming in spring breeze, filled with joy.

At some places, we took a stop to hang out.  The central square (or the markt, as in Flemish, Belgian Dutch), the city center, has been carefully built since the Middle Ages and is remarkably preserved today.  Gothic buildings are part of the city identity.  Church of the Holy Blood is situated on the east side of the central square.  Legend says that it has a remnant of the holy blood of Jesus Christ.  It was not open that day so we only had a look at the magnificent facade.  Belfort tower, at the north of the square, is a 13th century building.  Tourists have to climb the super narrow and windy 366 steps to reach the top.  At two different levels, one can admire the impressive clock mechanism which as 47 bells, each with different sounds and functions.  The climax is a panoramic view of the city from the top of the tower.  We also hung out in a local flea market, and a couple of old churches, and took a refreshing bike ride along the river side where there are a few beautiful windmills.

In the middle of the day, we savored our lunch sitting outdoors.  I, for the first time, tried snails, together with a fish soup.  Nothing too special, I'd say.  Snails do not taste much different from their cousins that are served on Chinese dinner table.  And we wrapped our tour with some crepe with tea in Pancake Heaven.  Despite the sub-par friendliness from the hostess, the crepe was one of the best that I had had.

In Amsterdam, almost everybody speaks English.  However, in Belgium, it's extremely English unfriendly, in Brussels or in Bruges.  Most of the signs are marked with French and Dutch, therefore, no space for English.  Few people speak much English.  West-Flemish is the dialect in Bruges.  

In summary, I was impressed by Bruges.  It's a cute place to chill out.

Travel (II) - Europe 4 - a digression on history of the Low Countries

A digression on some brief history.  In 16th century, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg were still bound together and called the Low Countries, and Philip II, the king of Spain, was its ruler.  When Protestantism swept Europe, the Low Countries embraced it, much to the chagrin of its ruler who is fanatically Catholic.  He ordered the Inquisition to enforce Catholicism, a move that led to the Iconoclastic Fury, in which Protestants ran riot ransacking churches.  Inevitably, in 1568, war broke out and it lasted 80 years (the Revolt of the Netherlands).  In 1579, provinces in the northern Low Countries formed the United Provinces, which was the basis for the Netherlands today.  They were opposed to the spanish rule that was in place, while the southern regions, which eventually became Belgium, were open to compromise.  In 1648, 80 years of struggling ended with a treaty that recognized United Provinces as an independent republic.  At that time, most of the European countries were still monarchs.  

The Netherland's Golden Age lasted from about 1580 to 1740.  The era's wealth was generated by the Dutch East India Company, which sent ships to the Far East for spices and other exotic goods, while colonizing the Cape of Good Hope and Indonesia and establishing trading posts throughout Asia.  Laster the West Indies Company sailed to West Africa and the Americas.  A number of Caribbean islands were also captured in a bid to thwart the Spanish.  My interpretation is that Dutch took over exploration and colonization from waning Spain and Portugal to begin the Golden Age, and ended it with the rising conquering power of British Empire.

In 1795 the French invaded.  When occupation ended in 1815, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands - incorporating Belgium and Luxembourg - was born.  In 1830, the Belgians rebelled an became independent, and Luxembourg was split between Belgium and the Netherlands.  In 1839, the Dutch part gained independence and officially became Luxembourg.

Travel (II) - Europe 4 - Amsterdam D3, the Netherlands

Click here to view some pictures in Amsterdam 


Third and last day in Amsterdam.  My ambition was a very much longed visit to the two most famous museums in the city, Rijks Museum and Van Gogh Museum.

Rijks Museum, i.e. the national museum, is the largest in the Netherlands.  It displays the most famous master-pieces of Dutch art from 17th century, usually called the Golden Age of the Netherlands.  No doubt, we all like to remember our good days :-).

The first floor demonstrate the general history through various art forms, and the second floor displays thousands of paintings from masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals, many of whose work reflected different aspects of Dutch national characters.

Paintings of giant sizes could be seen on the first floor, with topics of celebrating victory, the form of the republic, sea battles, canal expansion, portraits of influential people (such as quite a few paintings of Maurice, Prince of Orange, the stadholder of Holland and Zeeland).  There was one painting that had a particularly interesting name of "fishing the souls", which depicted a big group of Catholics on the left bank of a river and Protestants on the right, and both sides had boats in water that were fishing believers.  Beyond the division between the Catholics and the Protestants, there was also the division among the Protestants - there were very strict Calvinists, and more tolerant branch that was headed by Johannes Wtenbogaert, who was the subject of a few paintings.

What's worth mentioning is the Delftware.  Delftware is simply white ceramic work with often blue decor, and it has been a renowned Dutch specialty.  As a Chinese, I have been bewildered why it has been known by the world as a Dutch specialty but not a Chinese one.  The only probable explanation, I think, is that China had always had the closed-door policy for hundreds of years.  It's quite regretful from my point of view.  According to what I learned in the museum, Dutch learned the technique from China to make some simple pieces, but the aristocrats still favor more elaborated and higher qualitied pieces imported from China.  However, in late 18th century when the civil war in China (when Ming Dynasty was being replaced by Ching Dynasty, i.e. Manchurians) caused the disruption of the supply from China, Dutch craftsmen, particularly in Delft, a small town outside of Amsterdam, took this opportunity to enhance their making, as well as adding more western elements, to produce the unique Delftware.  There are both Chinese and Dutch pieces on display.  With my very limited knowledge about ceramics, I would say the most distinctive Dutch is the flower vases in the form of a stacked obelisk.  The museum has a couple of giant such vases, commissioned by queen Mary.  I saw many of them on the markets too, small or big.  But to be honest, it does not please my esthetic appetite at all.

What's also impressive were exquisite dollhouses, and many silver art pieces with Greek mythology subjects.  It seems silversmiths' ambition was outstanding in that period.  It's said that they experimented with forms and tested boundaries of possible.  However, other than exclamations I could not comment more due to my lack of understanding.

The paintings on the second floor showed a wealth of different genres.  Before the Golden Age, the Dutch artists mainly focused on still life, and history paintings, i.e. those that are based on Greek or Roman biblical narrative stories.  History paintings at that time enjoyed highest regard.  When the new era opened, they started to experiment with new genres such as city scenes, Dutch landscape, and daily life of people in winter and summer.  There was a popular sub-genre that depicted companies, i.e. a group of well-to-do people in fashionable clothes, usually gathering in gardens or indoor.  One particular painting that I examined, for example, involved a group of richly-dressed people sitting in a garden, with an Italian house in the background, and with common elements such as exotic birds, fountain (that symbolizes fertility)... The audio tour pointed out an interesting prop in the painting, a monkey in chain.  It was holding an apple, the forbidden fruit.  It's said to symbolize vice and debauchery, and to warn people that enjoy yourself but do not become the prisoner of your sins, i.e. everything in moderation.  I was amused by that comments.  Not sure if it has a grain of truth to the artist's intention, or it is only imposed.

Rembrant practiced all genres in the time when most artists specialized in one.  He also experimented with different techniques.  In his paintings, one would see some meticulously painted faces, the subtle contrast of light and dark, to loose brushwork, to usually free style with rough and thick lump of paint (such as The Jewish Bride, or more appropriately, Issac and Rebecca). 

Vermeer, same as Pieter de Hooch, was a Delft painter.  In one of his most famous works, the Kitchen Maid, for example, he rendered light with utmost care that created perfect delusion of the space, besides the amazingly realistic details.

Pressed by time, I had to rush at the end, so that I could have at least a couple of hours in Van Gogh Museum before we headed to Brussels.

Van Gogh has been liked by me.  I'll try to explain why, but please do not expect too much rational logics, and most likely I picked Van Gogh to like only due to my lack of knowledge about other artists.  

The major reason is that I can feel his passions, through the beautiful colors,  the vivid and energetic depicting,  the amount of works he finished during a relatively short career, as well as through his own words.  

"As long as autumn lasts", he wrote to Theo, his beloved brother, "I won't have enough hands, canvas or colors to paint the beautiful things I see", so there were paintings such as "the furrows" (or called "ploughed fields");  "Tremendously beautiful here in summer... Green is deep and rich, air is thin and amazingly clear"... so there were a series of paintings like the famous "the harvest";  In the painting of the wheat-field with a reaper, which was done after he left asylum which means he was facing death already, one could still feel the pulsating energy and vitality.  

Being a person who is curious about everything, who is touched by every simple beauty in life such as the bright sunshine, a small flower blooming at the side of a road, and a smile from the bus-driver, I like people who appreciate nature and life with similar passion and sensitivity.  For me, these details and feelings build up the substance of our life, and they make me a happy person who looks forward to waking up tomorrow, going to work, and expecting the unexpected.  

Well, the second thought is that probably most artists have such passion and sensitivity, otherwise, they would not have been so creative.  :)

During his relatively short career as an artist, Van Gogh took influences from his environment and made changes to his works for good. 

His early works were kind of dark and muddy, such as his first major composition "the potato eater" in 1885.  When he went to Paris in 1886 and encountered modern French art of the day, he first thought they were "ugly, badly painted, badly drawn, wrong in color, utterly inadequate", and he was "bitterly, bitterly disappointed", but his attitude changed when he made acquaintance of 2 young artists Emile Bernard and Henri de Toulouse-lautrec.  He became a modern artist, employed the light color and started to paint sun-drenched river views like an impressionist.  

At that time, Japanese art was popular in Paris, Van Gogh was obviously fascinated by it.  In his works, Japanese print, woodcuts, and Japanese subjects such as blossoms and courtesan often appear.  What's more, he also learned from Japanese art the decorativeness, bright colors, and daring compositions. 

Today we all recognize his trademark brushwork of applying small strokes of different colors, purposefully unblended.  For example, in many of his self portraits, he uses small touches of blue and yellow, two completely opposite colors, unmixed.  He took this technique from a school called Pointillism.  Other famous painters such as his contemporary Claude Monet also employed this kind of brushwork successfully. 

But he did not take everything presented to him.  For example, he felt that symbolism was not his cup of tea.  This, as far as I understand, was a major reason for his fallout with his friend Paul Gauguin, and this fallout was an important reason for his mental distress (he cut off a piece of ear) and ended his golden creating period in Arles, south France.  (Background info : Impressionists based work on visible world.  In 1885, symbolists began to develop a fascination for the mysterious. They sought inspiration in dreams, fantasies and feelings, the world of literary mind and various types of religious belief.  They painted from imagination, painted symbols of a more deeply felt, invisible world, which no longer suggested reality.  Van Gogh's friends Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard are major players)

So much more to write about Van Gogh.  I'm a bit tired.  So will only introduce briefly about the museum.  Van Gogh left to the world about 900 paintings, 1100 drawings, and 800 letters.  This museum houses about 200 paintings, 550 drawings, and most of the letters, showing Van Gogh in all his moods.  Also there are selected works by his heros, friends, and contemporaries.  When I visited, there was also a huge exhibition of Piccaso in Paris.  I totally did not have enough time but I remembered one sentence said by Piccaso : in art, one has to kill one's father.

Travel (II) - Europe 4 - Amsterdam D2, the Netherlands

Click here to view some pictures in Amsterdam 


Second day in Amsterdam, I toured the city on my own, because P and I have different interest, and Athena had business meetings.  After breakfast, I went directly to Anne Frank House.  It is said to have long lines all day so it's better to go early.  I was taking leisure stroll on the side streets, taking pictures etc.  Suddenly some beautiful shoes inside a store window caught my eyes and I had to have a look.  And it happened that they had some sale that day.  I ended up spending 2 hours there and bought 8 pairs of shoes (would have been 9 if I did not lose one pair).  Woman!! :-P  (BTW, really beautiful shoes!  Unique and extraordinary design.  Shoe lovers can check out United Nude) I was only happy that P was not there to disturb my shopping spree.  Luckily it was close to the hotel so I sent them back.  In the store, I chatted a bit with a staff who in fact came from New York.  He said he used to work in Ritz Carlton in NY and was able to travel cheap.  After seeing many places, he decided he wanted to live in Amsterdam.  It had been 2.5 years and he said he still moves too fast compared to locals.  "NY legacy", I commented.  He laughed to agree.  

With the high spirit from successful shopping, I could not help humming while I walked back.  After that I decided to go to a nice restaurant to have something Dutch for lunch.  In a restaurant close to central station, I had smoked eel, which is a typical Dutch specialty, and Dutch pea soup.  Both are satisfyingly delicious.  

According to the plan, Anne Frank House will be my next stop.  However I was intimidated by the long line, so I decided to walk around and pay a visit to Begijnhof (Begijn Court) and the historical museum first.  

Many tourists like to bike around the city center as well as some neighboring areas, such as Jordaan and Pijp, where one can experience authentic local life.  I walked south along the Prinsengracht, the most picturesque of canals; then turned east on local streets to Begjin Court.  On the way there were many small boutique clothing and accessories stores, as well as small cafes.  Such leisure walk is always pleasant.

Begijinhof is the oldest house in Amsterdam, in the very center of the town.  Beguine, according to what I understand, was a nun that did not want to live in a covenant so did not take the vow but lived like a nun and did good things to help people.  It was a quiet garden surrounded by many old houses, which are occupied even today.  There is a chapel inside the garden, where I saw quite a few people praying - more holy feeling than most churches I visited.  I did not have time to really see the historical museum but only walked around some public space in it and learned that it was an orphanage before.

When I turned around to Anne Frank House, I took a detour to Jordaan, to the west of the city center, where supposedly there are many small brown cafes (local small cafes, often having a candle on the table, cozy, relaxing, where local people like to hang out at and are known for warm and friendly atmosphere even towards tourists).  Local residential buildings are kind of common looking, without too much character.  The community was clean, orderly, and very quiet.  Blossoms could be seen here and there.  I took a seat in a small cafe, named Wester, right across the canal to Anne Frank House, in front of which there was still a long line.  Ordered a cappuccino and some Dutch cheese, drew a book from the shelf, and I started reading about haemorrhage, the basic knowledge, the treatment, and the psychological and social impact.  The waiter, a handsome young man who is running the entire store on his own, was gentle and friendly.  I had a somewhat long conversation with the woman sitting next to me.  She was a new-yorker too, just moved to Amsterdam recently for a project to design a casino.  She said for the past 3-4 years she lived in Hongkong and Maccau and managed the project of designing the casino by Las Vegas Sand.  

Eventually I went over to line up for a tour in Anne Frank House before it takes the last visitor.  I honestly did not expect much.  I knew it was a hiding place for two Jewish families during the World War II, and a teenage girl Anne Frank wrote her famous diary there.  The book has been published in about 70 languages.  Therefore I did not expect more than some display of old furniture and some manuscript.  However, the experience turned out to be profound even overwhelming.  It will be an unforgettable memory for me, I think.  

It was a small quarter in an office building.  With a few helpers, 8 Jews lived there for more than 2 years hiding from the Nazis.  According to Anne's diary, they had to have the dark blinds shut most of the time, and they dared not to run tap water or flush the toilet some time of the day, so that nobody in the neighborhood would notice their existence.  It does not take a big heart to empathize their living situation.  As a teenager, Anne was yearning for freedom, for laughter in open space, for the very basic human rights that every of us has long been taking for granted.  She said she had goals, she knew what she wanted, and she was hopeful that the war would be ended and her dreams would become true.  At the same time, she was trying to make an interesting life out of whatever was given to her - she decorated her room with some small pictures she collected, she was reading the magazines that the helpers delivered to her, and she was getting ready to publish her books once the war was over.  Her sister, 3 years older than her, was taking a latin lesson.  Unfortunately, a few months before the liberation they were arrested and sent to the Holocaust.  They did not survive except Anne's father.  

Anne was a good writer despite her young age at that time - after all her biggest dream was to become a journalist after the war.  Her thoughts were deep, even deeper than what her father perceived her.  There are excerpts on the wall, and there are short intro videos in a few of the rooms.  Part of the original diary and her other journals were on display.  

From this experience, one can understand what discrimination and persecution of innocent people mean.  Everybody has the responsibility of fighting against prejudice.

At the end of the exhibition, there was a hall with a few flat TV screens showing some pre-recorded videos of some controversial issues in today's world, and some polling devices for audiences to vote for opposite opinions.  Those are quite interesting topics and also difficult to judge, from my perspective.  For example, should head-scarf be allowed in public school  Should crucifix be allowed to display in the classrooms of public school?  Should neo-nazi symbols be allowed in public?  Should Hitler's Mein Kampf be allowed to publish in Manga (Japanese cartoon style)?  Should the anti-semist EDL be allowed to march in public?  Should the holocaust denial group be allowed on facebook or on internet in general? ...  

We are in a complicated world with zillions of issues.  Is there a solution for every problem, or we'll have to live with conflicts and struggle till the end of our days?  I do not know.  And I am not very optimistic about having all the problems solved.  I simply do not see how the interest of different parties could line up.  At the same time, many people share Roosevelt's point of view of "between justice and peace, I choose justice".  Sounds justifiable, but - whose justice is it?!  Everybody fought for "good" causes, and conflicts will never disappear as long as there are different parties that have different definition of justice.

When I stepped out, it was already close to 9 pm.  After taking a couple of deep breaths, I tried to enjoy my night walk in Amsterdam, with all problems unloaded from my mind.  

Travel (II) - Europe 4 - Amsterdam D1, the Netherlands

Click here to view some pictures in Amsterdam 


Amsterdam is my main focus in the first half of my trip (first 1.5 weeks in Copenhagen, Hamburg, and all the Low Countries) , and it did not disappoint me.

Regarded as Venice of the North, Amsterdam is featured by layered canal rings.  I am fond of having water around the living space, as it symbolizes vitality and liveliness to me, not to mention the extra beauty that water can create.  Imagine my joy at the sight of layers and layers of canals, and rows and rows of beautiful old style buildings, with canal rings and building rows orderly sandwiching each other.  Often there are big white swans and special ducks in the water, which is not as clear as I would want it to be.  Buildings in the city center of Amsterdam tend to be dark in color, and the roofs are mostly triangle in cross-secion.  The facade at the top have various interesting shapes.  Careful observation will lead one to notice the hooks or pulleys at the top - this is how residents move stuff such as furniture into higher floors.  The staircases of these old buildings are unbelievably narrow and steep.  If one person is mounting ahead of you, his feet will be almost right above your head.

Morning of our first day, April 13th, it was a very pleasant feeling walking across canals, bridges - it was still relatively quiet and peaceful in many touristy areas, air was fresh, sunshine was fresh, spring breeze was fresh, and I felt fresh.  I suddenly realized why I like this sort of environment so much.  It is very much like some scenic spots in my home town in China, somewhere known as "water town to the south of Yantzi River", where dark-bricked old houses, narrow windy rivers, and high-arch bridges are essential elements.  Nostalgic in a different continent.  Interesting!

Dam Square is the center of the city center.  Royal Palace Amsterdam is right at Dam Square.  Today the palace is used mainly as a venue for stately reception as well as special events of the royal family.  However, when it was built in mid 17th century, i.e. the Golden Age for Holland, it was served as a town hall that housed city council, the judiciary and administrative officers.  Then it was the largest public building in Europe, and was so much loved by the Dutch that they called it the "eighth wonder in the world".  In the early 19th century, Holland's first king, Louis Napoleon, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, chose it as his residential palace - this is some interesting history that I did not know of.  Later, Emperor Napoleon himself took it over although he did not stay much.  The audio tour mentioned Bonaparte many times introducing every displayed room.  The palace is majestic and lavishly decorated.  What I was most impressed by was numerous splendid crystal chandeliers.  The citizen hall, the main hall, is all shiny marbles, with giant global maps etched on the floor.  Everywhere in the building there are elegant art decorations such as wall hangings, statues, and carvings.  As P was not into it, I had to rush through.  I believe there is more to it than I described, such as the meaning of those statues etc.

Before we took our excursion trip to Keukenhof, the world famous tulip park, we briefly visited Oude Kerk, which, I guess, literally means old church.  The ironic part is that it's in the middle of the red light district.  Probably because we'd seen so many magnificent churches already, we were not as excited as before.  However, it's always nice to enjoy a moment of peace in midst of a hectic city.

It's the peak season for tulip flowers, which attracts millions of tourists.  On the way to Keukenhof, we passed by vast tulip farms, which is covered by magnificent tulip carpet.  Red, pink, yellow, white, violet... all colors one can imagine.  According to the tour guide, flowers are not important but bulbs.  To avoid consuming nutrients, flowers are often cut off pretty quickly and are fed to animals.  In the tulip museum inside Keukenhof, I watched a video of how the modern tulip farms are operated.  It's amazing how the modern technology and machinery make the production of millions of bulbs so automated.  It's a long process, basically one year each cycle, for the bulbs to be planted (late Nov and early Dec), to grow, to be harvested, and to be processed and shipped to the markets all over the world.  Tulips on display are often planted in three layers, with the late blossom ones at the bottom.  This is call Lasagna Technique, used to extend the display period.  Keukenhof park is only open for two months every year.  However, 30 employees have to work for 10 months each year to design, prepare, and take care of the exhibition.  Every years, there are 7 million bulbs planted, together with 700 kg of grass seeds.  It was an ocean of flowers, carefully deployed, combined with varying terrain in the park, numerous statues, white swans, and typical Dutch style windmill.  I was impressed by the variety of tulips.  According to the video, there are more than 200 types.  To cultivate a new type, it often takes 20 years.  Oh well, Holland has had tulips for a thousand years at least, and I remember reading that the first economic crisis in the history was due to the price inflation of tulip bulbs (12th century?), very much like today's housing price bubbles. 

That evening, we walked around red light district, and visited the erotic museum.  It is in fact quite an exhibition - statues, decorative plates, small opium bottles (from China), paintings, photos, books, cartoon videos, some clothing...  I would not have any problem call most pieces on display art.  It has a collection from many different cultures, particularly many pieces from ancient China and Japan.  Also there are some replica of statues from Maya and Peruvian culture.  

A bar tender told me that there are about 65 girls in the entire red light district, from all around the world.  He said every four years policies swing a bit due to new election.  But in general the government has been trying to limit the business as well as drug.  He said he grew up in Amsterdam, close to that area, and he does not like this hectic environment either, so he married a Thai woman in Chiang-Mai (a quiet city in northern Thailand, where I just visited last November) and his home is there.  He is working in Amsterdam for a few more years to save enough money so that he can retire to Chiang Mai. 

Travel (II) - Europe 3 - Lubeck, Germany

Click here to view some pictures in Lubeck 



Day two in Germany.  For the first time we had a drizzling day.  We jumped onto a train to Lubeck at 10 am.  The suburban areas look very much like Chinese suburb, except for a block or two of traditional European style buildings.  Most of the 2-storied houses and apartment complexes are quite plain.  Looking at the arrangement of the buildings, it does not seem to be well planned.  The surrounding environment is not as pleasant as typical American suburban neighborhood.  Some areas look industrialized, some look agriculture focused.

Well, Lubeck is full of architectural gems and it turned out to be a completely pleasant trip despite it was super windy (no rain in Lubek, luckily).  I am not sure how well known it is, but I remember reading a while ago about its beautiful Gothic architecture from 12-16th century, so this time I was determined to pay a visit after I decided to come to Hamburg.

It's a very small island town.  If not lingering much in any spot, one can walk around it within 90-120 minutes.  The majority buildings have the unique brick-built style that is characteristic of Lubeck. 

The Holsten Gate, Lubeck's famous landmark, welcomes everybody coming into the town.  It was built in 15th century, and in fact has been equipped with 30 cannons but none has fired a single shot.  Both the gate and the town hall are solid looking castle-like.  The dark bricks of the town hall makes a striking contrast to the traditional red-brick construction of the surrounding buildings.  The magnificent facade with colorful decorative round panes, decorative balcony, and towers, look splendid against the blue sky.

There are a handful of churches in such a small space.  We spent quite some time in St. Mary's Church, the major one in town.  The main hall is of high Gothic style of enormous dimensions: the twin spires are 125 meters high, and the vault spans the impressive nave at a height of 38.5 meters.  By such scale, as well as the beautiful architecture and decoration inside, I was quite stunned and amazed.  Sitting on one of the hundreds long benches,  I felt serene and peaceful.  It was built in 13th century, and had been expanded over years after.  This "mother of Gothic brick churches" set the pattern for about seventy churches in the Baltic region.  In the night preceding Palm Sunday 1942, St. Mary's church was heavily damaged in the British air raid on Lubeck.  That night, the bells crashed to the ground.  To this day they are still lying in the chapel beneath the southern spire.  There is a small exhibition about the music in St. Mary's and history of the building.  To my surprise, the organist, whose name I forgot unfortunately, was in fact so great that both Handel and Bach came to study from him for months in early 1700s.  I was also impressed by the Astronomic Clock, but I did not have time to study it.  The display of 14 broken crosses was a bit scary though.  After that, we visited another church, St. Peter's, whose hall is all in white, which is different from St. Mary's more colorful interior.  There is a viewing tower in St. Peter's, from where we had a panoramic view of the beautiful town.

After that, we marched around the town.  Beautiful buildings are literally everywhere.  Thankfully we have digital cameras nowadays so that I do not feel stingy taking huge amount of pictures.  Both Athena and I did not want to leave, although P did not care too much about "old buildings".  The train from Hamburg to Amsterdam would not wait for us, so we had to head back to Hamburg after a lovely 4 hour excursion in Lubeck.