An Unhealthy Obsession

So, I have mentioned bicycles in my last several posts, in part because it is what stuck in my mind from the descriptions my Dutch friends had given me and partially because none of what they told me about Holland's love of bicycles was an exaggeration.

It starts with a string of bicycles tied up along the streets lining the canals.
Then it was truckloads of them.

I snapped this shot while we were on the train, because I was surprised by the size of the bicycle parking lot. Jennifer assured me that this was a small one.

She was right. At the main station, there were bicycles as far as the eye could see...

... in both directions.

So, at this point, I bet you're thinking, "Isn't this a HEALTHY obsession?" Not when it involves the bar...

I understand drinking while you're cycling, but cycling while you're drinking? That's an obsession! (For those that are confused, the bar travels around, powered by the pedaling of the patrons.) I have to say that the Dutch always make me smile.

Amsterdam It!

Jennifer, Marije, and I spent a day in Amsterdam touring the sites. It was a little rainy and there was a lot of construction going on (something about foundations, sinking buildings, etc.), so I don't have a lot of pictures, just a lot of memories.

Classic old Dutch building.
And, of course, me at the canal.

The beautiful train station.

We took the canal boat tour to get out of the rain.

Not much more to show you or to say, because I was just having a great time with some great friends.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle...

According to my friends, there are 17 million people in the Netherlands and 34 million bicycles. I'm not sure how accurate this statistic is, but I am inclined to believe it based on what I have seen now. Since I had been told so much about the Dutch and their bicycles, it was imperative that we ride bicycles during my visit. We rented bikes at a national park and I have to say that these might be the nicest rental bikes on the planet.

Here are Marije (left) and Jennifer (right). Yes, I took that picture while riding. I like to refer to it as the "Dutch way" to photograph.
Here is the lovely countryside.

We stopped partway through for a break and lots of pictures.

Jennifer's self-portrait.

And Jennifer was kind enough to photograph my bicycle for me so I wouldn't forget it.

After our ride, we went for a walk through a town whose name I don't remember (sorry, girls, it didn't all sink in)...

... and dinner in the town square.

Typically Dutch

I went to visit my Dutch friends Marije, Jennifer, and Humphrey in Utrecht (see Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam entries). It was so great to see them and I was really looking forward to this visit because they had told me so much about the Netherlands and all things Dutch.

When Marije and Humphrey picked me up at the train station, which involved jumping out at me from behind a pole followed by lots of hugs, they wanted to know what I thought of their lovely country. I said I was disappointed because I hadn't seen a single pair of wooden shoes yet. My little joke prompted Marije to buy we a pair of miniature ones to hang on my backpack. How cute is that?

I stayed with Jennifer, who really wanted to make sure that I had a "Typically Dutch" experience. This involved seeing Dutch things (like "typically Dutch cows", canals, and lots of bicycles) and eating typically Dutch foods.

[typically Dutch houses along typically Dutch canals...]

[typically Dutch bridge over typically Dutch canal...]

[typically Dutch church tower...]

[typically Dutch gargoyle...]

[typically Dutch sand castle representation of typically Dutch church tower...]

[Yup, it's a pretty good model...]

[typically Dutch street, with cyclists, of course...]

[typically Dutch food, which apparently includes crepes with tons of syrup... (That's Marije on the right.)]

And most importantly, my typically Dutch friends, Marije, Jennifer, and Humphrey.

I feel so Dutch now.

Brahms

I just spent five relaxing days in Italy with Candi and Maya. Even though they live in Venice (Mestre, the land-locked side), we didn't set foot on the touristy island. We did drive there and back, but that was just to give Maya more nap time. Instead, we ate home-cooked food, talked for hours, relaxed, walked in the park, and played with Maya.

Here's Maya, by the way, with her varied expressions. This is one happy and laid-back kid.

(I promised Candi I would post all the pictures.) Oh, and here's one with Candi.

As I rode the train away from Italy, I realized that I still had Brahm's Lullaby gently floating through the backdrop of my mind. I will miss Candi very much and Maya with her outstretched hand, always waving at me.

Things to Do in Vienna When You're Dead (Tired)

After a grueling night train from Lviv with an OCD compartment-mate, I had about six hours to kill in Vienna before catching a train to see Candi in Venice. Hmmm... what to do with six hours in Vienna, considering I walked nearly every inch of it in 2001.

First stop was Schoenbrunn, the summer palace of the Habsburgs. It is a pretty place to walk in the morning and I recalled them having really nice apple struedel. I didn't want to show up at Candi's empty-handed. Especially when she is providing me a peaceful haven for nearly a week.

Notice the weird tree grooming, where one side is natural and the other flat.

But they do it to get this effect when you approach the house...

Not a bad back yard, eh?

But it seems appropriate for the house...

... and a shot from the front driveway...

Is that where I left my summer cottage? (This will forever be the yardstick by which I measure a palace.)

OK, that filled two hours. Now what? Then I discovered something I had never seen in Vienna -- the Prater, which is basically a small amusement park/carnival. I hadn't been here before because my travel partner at the time thought rides were no fun. Turns out it was him that was no fun, but I digress.

The famous spectacle in the Prater is the giant ferris wheel which was erected in 1897 by an English engineer named Walter Basset. Apparently, these were all the rage at the time. Being an engineer by training, myself, I had to first explore all that the park had to offer before deciding how best to part with my money. (I mean we are talking euros here. They're actually worth something!)

In the final analysis, it was a choice between 8 euros for a relaxing 20 minute ride in a piece of lasting history over a beautiful city OR 1.5 euro to spend 45 seconds being slung back and forth through mechanical, whiplash-inducing S-curves, swooped up and down hills that bounce you right out of your seat, and slammed against the side of a steel car as you are whipped around spiraled tracks on the Wilde Maus. Well, it's obviously a no brainer, right?

Yup, my back still hurts from those s-curves.

Some People Should Not Be Allowed to Influence Young Minds

Today, while walking down the street, I was explaining the police extortion scam to my new Kiwi friend, when we were approached by an English-speaker. I am usually very careful about what I say, but so few people in Ukraine seem to speak English that sometimes you forget that someone might understand you. I was a little embarrassed until we discovered that she hadn't really overheard our conversation, just that we were speaking English. She was an English professor at L'viv University who hadn't decided what to do with her English majors on the first day of classes, so she asked us to speak to the class about our respective countries. Whew!

The university is in a very pretty old building and has been in continuous operation since 1661 (longer than any other in Ukraine.)
We talked with the fifteen or so girls about our countries and had a lot of laughs. The students were a little shy, but one girl was brave enough to ask a few questions.

Of course, it happened to be laundry day and I was looking a little messy when someone wanted me to stand in front of a group and represent my country. Oh well. At least I got to show them the matryoshka doll that I bought for my niece, Katie.

It was actually pretty cool to get to meet some local students. I wish we could have spent more time with them.

A Tribute

Hands-down, our favorite place to eat in Ukraine was Pyzata Hata, which is a cafeteria-style eatery with good, hearty food at cheap prices. Some people ate here two and three times a day. I tried to keep it to one.
There are sinks just inside the door so you can wash your hands. We never did catch on as to whether the custom was to wash them before or after, so I'm sure we offended someone.

The seating is at heavy wooden tables on hard wooden chairs.

And the ladies behind the counter serve up delicious dishes like borscht, perogies with sour cream, chicken kiev, potato salad with capers, fish, and tomato salad. On any given day, there are probably two dozen foods to choose from and I never spent more than five dollars.

It's a backpacker's dream.