Mussels in Brussels! And beer, and fries, and chocolate, and waffles, and Bickies!

We are now in Brussels.  The bilingual city: Dutch and French.  The first day,  we went to the Grand Place, the large central square.  And what else would be there than a Zumba concert...

Zumba!

We also went to the museum in the Grand Place.  There were some interesting exhibits on the history, the city plans, and art and shit of Brussels.  What we really went was for the exhibit on the costumes that they use to dress up Manneken Pis!

Work it!

Very nice!

Then we got waffles (a common theme in Belgium) and went to see the real Manneken Pis.  He was dressed up.

This was golden...showers (I could not resist)

Afterward, we headed back to the hostel.  Morgan and I visited the hostel pub an met some lovely Americans that were heading out the next day.

The following day, we did a walking tour of Brussels. The guides took us up a tower that had a great view of the city.  The floor we went to was also hosting a art exhibit from a few photography students.  It really reiterated the fact that I don't really get "art".

We also went to the Palais de Justice.  This huge building was awesome.  After the tour, we and three others decided to go for some food.  We along with Camy from Creston, Meghie from Brazil, and Rachel from Singapore headed into town.  We ate waffles, and walked past a rug shop where we started a large crowd.  We decided to check out all the commotion, and low and behold.   Arnold Schwarzenegger!

He's a bit hard to spot, but he'll be back!

After that, we went and got some mussels in Brussels! Yum yum.  Then we stopped by Delirium, a famous pub and beer in Belgium, for some brews.

Beer!

The next day we walked through the city.  Not much happened, just a lot of walking.

The following day, we split up.  Morgan went for a bike ride through the city and Nikki and I returned to the Grand Place.  We bought a lot of chocolate, and visited a comic museum.  Oh and we also got our obligatory waffle. 

The last day in Brussels, we split up again.  Nikki and I visited the Atonium, whilst Morgan went on a day trip outside the city.  

Balls!

Imma model!

The Atonium was built for the Expo.  It is to resemble the unit cell of crystal iron.  Sciency!  We also found some things at the Atonium and in the surrounding park...some caches! Fun!

Nikki and I also decided to get a Bicky burger.  I burger we kept spotting while in Belgium.  After looking for one for about an an hour we found one...right outside the metro station at our hostel.  The Bicky is a deep fried patty, made from a mélange of meats: chicken, pork, and...horse.  My Little Pony! Noooo!

MLP - delicieux 

And that concludes our days in Brussels and in Belgium.  After today, we are splitting up.  Morgan will continue traveling to the UK, and Nikki and I are heading to Paris.  There we will be flying through Iceland in our way back to Canada.

See you all soon!

In Bruges

We made it to the grand land of Belgium, and our first stop in this wonderful country was the tourist city of Bruges (Brugge in Dutch).

We started by getting groceries and settling in a bit.  The hostel bar turned out to be a lively one, one that many locals go to, which is super fun.  The first night, our hostel had a large number of people in it: Australians, Americans, Brits, Welsh, an Icelandic guy, and a Norwegian.  We met Danielle and Chantelle from Australia, and they were super cool. We also met a guy named Christor, from New York...let's just say that I won't be adding him to the Facebook.

The next day we did the touristy stuff.  We climbed the belfry...all 366 steps.  It was really interesting to see the elaborate system of bell mechanics.  

The top of that!

Ooh the view!

Nikki and I then went to the chocolate and fry museum.  Fun fact: French fries are in fact Belgian and not French.  American soldiers were presented with them from some French speaking locals, however they were in Belgium and not French, and the Americans mistook them for being French.  The more you know.  

We were guides on our tour by Choclala, who took us through the historical journey of chocolate.

Choclala - our guide

Chocolate CATS!

...not a chocolate cat, a stuffed car...weird

We were also brought from potato to fry from our new friends Peter Potato and Fiona Fry.  These spuds have a lustrous history...and they are yummo!

That night we met some great people, Torbjørn and Aina from Norway and Elise and Louis from Canada.  We went to a cool pub in a small alleyway.  It was called Garre, and they have their own house draft that you can't get anywhere. It is a 12% beer, with a three per person limit, and it was DELICIOUS!  We went out to another pub called the Pasterhole, in English.  It is underneath a church.  We partied Bruges style and it was tonnes of fun.  We even hardcore parkoured back to our hostel...mostly we just put our feet in walls.

What was not fun, however, was the 12 new Dutch roommates we had.  They were a group of douche bags that liked to get in at 5:00am and make the most noise possible.  

The following day, we kept it pretty tame.  We tried to get waffles, failed, and got a Danish instead.  Then we napped.

In order to counteract the gaggle of goons, we went to bed early.  And like clockwork, they arrived at the wee light of the morn...and woke us all the fuck up.  

The next day we said goodbye to our new friends, Torbjørn and Aina, and headed for Brussels.

Belgium, second stop, coming soon!

Nikki! Cheese! Fluorescence! So Much Joy

We eventually successfully picked up our new travelling partner Nikki, who was flying in from London.  I originally told her I was going to pick her up at the airport, but somewhat last minute told her that we would meet at the central train station.  We got there and waited about thirty minutes.  We went back to the hostel and when we finally got WiFi, we found out thy we missed her by one minute...but it all worked out. We just took it easy and caught up.

The next day, we did a walking tour of Amsterdam.  Stephanie out tiny tour guide was super chipper! She showed us some cool places, told us about some history, gave us some cheese, and even took us to the thinnest house in Amsterdam. It is only 1.8 metres wide!

In the middle, one window wide 

Afterward, we had some cake and went to the park.  We tried to decide on a place to go out, but we're having a hard time coming to consensus.  We eventually settled on De Spuyte, a small bar.  De Spuyte making a decision on venue, it ended up having 100 different beers to choose from, more decisions to make....

The next day, our last day in Amsterdam, we decided that it would be a good idea to see the Anne Frank House.  We left to be there early, before the crowd developed.  Too bad the line was around the block when we got there. So we thought we'd come back later.  We thought we would hit up the Electric Ladyland, but it didn't open till 13:00.  So we wandered, sampled cheese, I bought cheese...I also ate the cheese...the whole wedge.

You're beautiful! You're beautiful; it's true...

Then we decided to check out Electric Ladyland again, but then we saw police on the street.  So we ducked into a small cafe, well we thought it was a cafe.  It was in fact a coffee shop.  I got a coffee.

We eventually made it to Electric Ladyland, a fluorescent art museum.  It wa absolutely phenomenal! Below is some art! 

A structure created by our guide

Another piece thanks to our guide

Before, sculpture covered in minerals and stones

After, sorry bad quality

And some naturally occurring minerals

Our guide was absolutely amazing! A psychedelic product of the 60s, he was so knowledgeable and passionate about all things fluorescence: art, history, and science.

Then we took things a little less light, we visited the Anne Frank House.  It was absolutely astonishing to think about this story, and how a little girl's diary could transcend to so many people.  The situation was atrocious, the story outstanding and thought-provoking.  

And those were our days in Amsterdam. Now onto Belgium! CHOCOLATE!

(Amster)dam gurl, you f(el)ine...it was worth a shot

And we're back! I am going to split Amsterdam into two parts: first the part with just Morgan and I, and the second with our new travel partner, Nikki!!!

And now let's get underway.  Amsterdam brought hope and promising experiences, at least Morgan and I thought this because we finally trained with no major delays or rerouting! Success! Praise the Cat Lord, or whomever!  We even made it to our hostel without getting lost. 

We decided to take it easy the first night. I did some laundry, fun! Then Morgan and I met two lovely roommates, Izzy and Harley (apparently his parents thought it clever to name him after a motorcycle.  His words not mine).  They were really sweet.  They hail from Northern England and provided Morgan with some sound travel advise for the UK.  Later that night, Morgan and I ventured into the Red Light District.  It was very interesting.  It was a bit strange seeing all the women in the windows, but I am a proponent for legal prostitution.  So I really couldn't care less.  What I didn't really like, however, was the cat-calling all the surrounding men did.  I suppose it is to be expected, but still unnerving.  

The next day, we also decided to do a leisurely tour.  We stopped at Katten Kabinet, a cat art museum! DREAMS!!  It was great; below are some pieces I liked.

Number one attraction

Pet and master become one

Yup, I'm a fan

This one's a bit of a twist...

Apocalyptic Art - a catastrophe

All in all Katten Kabinet was purr-fection. There was even a live exhibit, Lily. She was eighteen human years young and super cute! I even PAH'd (pre-antihistoed, aka took an antihistamine preemtively).  

Later that day we took a tour discussing the importance of Coffee Shops in Amsterdam, and what the future of marijuana drug use will be like for Amsterdam.  Currently, marijuana is not legal, but decriminalized, and looked over by officials.  But because the officials want to "clean up" the Red Light District, licenses for coffee shops are not being renewed.  It was all very informative and everyone has an opinion on it.  If you have one, please feel free to leave it in the comments.

The day after that, Morgan and I did a bicycle tour of Amsterdam.  It was nice to ride around and see all these cool places.  However, it was terrifying as shit!!  Bikes almost double cars, and they all have the right of way.  Also, strapping a group of people to bright red bikes, really make us a target for locals.  Well, that and our faces plastered with pure terror!  But it was actually fun.

That night, Nikki arrived and that will lead us into part 2 of Amsterdam!

Until next time!

Cologne (Köln), You Stink!!

I am happy to report that we made it to Cologne (Köln) without any troubles!

loljk

 

We were rerouted and delayed by 2 hours.  Let me first start by saying that Köln doesn't stink but getting here did.  Our trains were delayed, and we got off at the wrong in-city S-Bahn station so we had to walk about an hour in the rain to get to our hostel.  But we made it!

Hostel 404 - we found you!

We got in late once again, so we just decided to head to get food and hit they hay.  We went to a wonderful restaurant right across the street.  We both had Kölner schnitzel and beer.  It was fantastic!

The following day we went to the city square and visited the enormous cathedral famous here in Köln.

It was big and religious!

In the cathedral, there was also a treasury.  It was really neat to see all the jewels, and staves, and artifacts.

We then walked over to the Chocolate Museum!  It was amazing, and we made our own chocolate bars! Can you see it?

The Spenny - Pistachios, Black Currants, Cayenne, and Ground Vanilla Bean

Miao

We then walked over to Hohenzollernbrücke, the great bridge in Köln.  People like to put locks on the bridge with their and their love's initials on it to symbolize their eternal and lasting love.  Too bad about half won't work out! Lawl!

Locks!

This person understands true love - Miao

And that was Köln! It was great, but tomorrow we head out of Germany and on to Amsterdam! Wish us good luck in our travels.  And let's see if we can make it without any major travel delays.

See ya!

We're in Berlin! Win!

We arrived in Berlin a few days ago, and I am just now getting to the blog post.  As I mentioned last time, it took us a while to get to Berlin due to what else, flooding.  But we got there late at night.

The next day, Morgan and I decided to take a "personal day". He did some laundry, we did some grocery shopping to make some our own meals, and lastly we went to the Ritter Sport store in Berlin. It was outstanding! So much chocolate, and so many variations!

All the flavours in tower form

So much to purchase!

Spencer in his dream job!

But I contained myself and only bought a few varieties.

That night we decided to hit up the rooftop patio of our hostel.  There we met Richard and Tom from Mancester.  They were loads of fun, and we even made it out to a club that evening.  I shook my booty and all that stuff.  It was loads of fun, and we were out until 4:00am.  Who was I even?!?

The next day, feeling less chipper than normal, Morgan and I opted for some touristy things.  We went on a walking tour and saw some great things of Berlin.

Oooh pretty gate!

From outside the Holocaust memorial

From inside the Holocaust memorial

One of the more interesting stops on our walking tour, was the site over Hitler's bunker.  Because the Germans don't really think it important to remember that site or really that piece of history, it ha been turned into a car park.  Lawl!

That evening we took it easy, and made a homemade version of currywurst.  Guys and gals, this shit is delicious.  It is one thing I bring back from Germany, it is this!

The day after our day or rest, Morgan and I wanted to visit the East Side Gallery.  This is a series of pieces of art painted onto the exisiting Berlin wall.  It was quite incredible.

Painting on the Berlin Wall

Batman!

Zimmer frei - Get a room, you two!

After that, we went on an underground tour of how people attempted to break through the Berlin Wall from East Berlin into West Berlin.  The tour took us into a preserved area of the U-Bahn (underground rail) and talked about how people attempted escapes using the existing U-Bahn, the sewers, and even digging their own tunnels.  It was quite incredible to think how this part of history really is so fresh.  Looking at the city now, it is hard to imagine how divided it once was.

That evening, Morgan and I met up with our favorite Brits, Richard and Tom, once again for some beer time.  It was a great time, and a wonderful way to part on our different paths through Europe.

After Berlin, we made our way to Köln,  the last stop in Germany before heading to the Netherlands!

Tschüss

Czech, Czech, Czech, Czech, Czech Ch-Check It Out!

On Friday, Morgan and I did a walking tour of Prague.  It was a free tour with our guide receiving tips at the end.  Our guide, a self-proclaimed nerd, Filip (also with a self-proclaimed name status of being most economical for spelling) was absolutely terrific.  Learning English form British and American television, he had an interesting blended accent.

He showed us some of the best sites in Prague. We saw the large cathedral and Astronomical Clock in the central square. He also showed us one of Mozart's concert halls.  He took us around the Jewish ghetto, showing is the Spanish synagogue, the Jewish Cemetary, the Jewish Museum.  Filip also discussed the long and tumultuous history of Prague and the Czech Republic. From the Protestant/Catholic conflicts of the old past to the Communist conflict of the recent past. Prague has been through a lot!

 The Rudolfinium - a concert hall in Prague 

A statue of a ghost (dementor) outside of the Mozart Theatre

After our walking tour Morgan and I sighed up for a pub crawl. The first pub we went to was nice and laid back.  We met four travellers: Stefano and Laura from Italy and Camille and Simon from Quebec.  The second pub was a bit strange.  It was pajama party themed and there were feathers all over the dance floor.  Patrons were encouraged to throw them up in the air and spin and dance and spin and dance like a bunch of idiotic pixie fairies.  I don't get it. Also let be real here.  What if someone had an allergic reaction!!?!?  The third bar was underground, overcrowded, and had poor air circulation.  These are all ingredients for a sweaty, stanky ball pit.  So the six of us went to McDick's! Delish! Exotic!

The following day, our hostel mates and we went to the town of Kutná Hora just outside of Prague.  We joined Hannah from Australia and Lexi from Vancouver to the ossuary there.  The ossuary, built from an old church, contained sculptures and structures made from up to 40,000 skeletons. It was phenomenal and very ethereal. 

Outside the ossuary

Some skulls

The Schwarzenberg coat of arm bones 

Bone sculpture? Put a bird on it!

A chandelier 

The bone church was so great to see.  Mom, take note for Halloween decorations!

After getting back from from Kutná Hora, Morgan and I went to a medieval themed dinner and show.  The building was over 600 years old, and there were fire-blowers, belly dancers, and actors to accompany our meal.  The entertainment was outstanding, and we met some pretty interesting people, a couple from Germany on holiday and two Canadian (always Canadian...) students who were doing internships with NATO and the UN in Europe this summer.  The whole dinner was a great experience.

Our last day in Prague, Morgan and I went to see the Prague Castle and of course the Sex Machine Museum!  There our little brains were penetrated with interesting facts about the history of sex toys.  Very...intriguing.  We also watched a short porno film from 1925 and could possibly be the first recording of "canoodling" with more than two participants!  We've apparently come a long way from that to now. E.g. Bukake (not a Greek meal, well not necessarily).

We then went to the train station to head to Berlin.  Unfortunately, our train was delayed....  It took 70 minutes longer to get to Prague, and we were delayed a total of 2 hours and 45 min to get to Berlin.  Get all the travel delays!!

But we did finally make it to Berlin.  Ich bin ein Berliner!!

Berliner

Toodles!