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 Posted February 10th, 2010 at 2:36PM
This is an account of my weekend trip to the Netherlands the last available weekend during my semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany, fall semester of 2005. I’m able to piece together that it was December 9th through the 12th, although additional details beyond that get hazy. The retelling got long so I’ve decided to split the whole enchilada into several parts, published as they’re completed. Note that no admission of guilt or wrongdoing in any territory should be taken as stated or implied!
It was the middle of December 2005 and I was wrapping up my time abroad in Freiburg, Germany. The following week was final exams, and I would be on a Lufthansa flight bound for the States immediately thereafter. I felt all of the tumultuous, conflicting emotions of a student whose time abroad was drawing to a close. There was relief of some end in sight, being able to see friends and family, and the simple joy of understanding the errant stranger that might ask what time it was. There was trepidation over leaving the former French barracks and surrounding neighborhood that I came to know as home, and the several dozen other exchange students in the program that I had, with varying degrees, grown fond of. I had emerged unscathed from the supposedly unadulterated ‘anti-Americanism’ of a Europe still reeling from Dubya – even given the thumbs up on a train by a Turkish immigrant after revealing my nationality. I had my regrets, but they were mostly of the ‘opportunities missed’ variety.
The study abroad program I entered – IES’s European Union program – nearly finished my Politics degree and included a host of program-sponsored travel throughout Europe, concentrating on EU seats of power and influence. We traveled in groups throughout Europe from west (France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg) to east (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia). In addition, I had spent a free weekend in Dublin, leaving with the pukey smell of the Guinness factory clogging my nostrils and some disorderly Irish kid’s piss soaking my shoes. By the end of the program, my wanderlust was all but sated. There was a single item left on the proverbial bucket list for my then 21-year-old self, and that was to experience Amsterdam.
Now, one fortuitous result of the European Union has been the slackening of borders, to the extent where travel of persons and goods throughout the Union is practically unfettered by traditional political boundaries. Because of this, and because of some particularly enterprising fellow students who had taken a train northward earlier in the semester, I was already familiar with the exceptional products coming from the Netherlands’ coffeeshops and smartshops. In quick summation for those not aware, the Netherlands has had for decades the clear-thinking drug policy of decriminalizing natural substances you might find whilst walking in the woods (or desert, as the case may be). Any free adult is able to walk into a coffeeshop and purchase small amounts of marijuana, or the equivalent smartshop designated for psilocybin mushrooms, hallucinogenic cacti, or any of the numerous other specimen that might alter perceptions and which the Christian god purportedly gave man dominion over.
Being one not shackled to puritanical ideals of consciousness, I felt a strong obligation to blow some legal weed while giving the DEA the figurative middle finger. (The legality of so-called ’soft’ drugs in Germany is a murkier area, much like the rest of Europe.) Sure, I had some other things planned for my trip to the Netherlands, but then I’d already read Anne Frank’s diary and heard of the unfortunate incident involving Van Gogh’s ear, so there were certain priorities above and beyond the museums and canals.
I booked a flight via one of the budget airlines and looked forward to the Amsterdam experience, still temperate mid-December. I would be missing the legendary flower markets, but giddily I could already imagine the picturesque canals snaking through the oldest de Wallen district of the city, the friendly prostitutes soliciting from their black-light-lit rented cubicles, and the now ubiquitous coffeeshops peppering the landscape.
This trip, however, was almost not to be. My status as rookie globe-trotter glaringly revealed itself after I mistakingly left my passport on top my bureau. I discovered this fact just short of arrival at Frankfurt airport, a two hour-odd train ride, and despite the sincerest regrets of airport staff, I had nowhere to turn but back. So back I went, arriving in Freiburg late at night, playing the dejected fool.
“Soul-crushing” would be proximately the correct term, but after weighing the pros and cons, phoning my parents for solace, and in consideration of the dirt-cheap cost of the original ticket and the (slim) likelihood of getting another chance to go, I booked a one way flight the next day and fervently held onto the passport. It was going to happen. I phoned the hostel where I would be staying and told them I’d be a day late. Even factoring in two tickets to Amsterdam, the cost of flying was ridiculously low, to the point where it doesn’t even make sense for an airline to fuel the damn planes. But they did, and so I went.
Posted April 9th, 2007 at 11:09AM
I was doing some reading on green building today, for a profile I’ll be doing on an alumnus for the IC alumni magazine (now ICView, formerly the IC Quarterly). I read through all of the material on the guy’s site, did some googling, and then hit up Wikipedia for more on the basics. Well, what did I stumble on but several references to Freiburg, in the Germany section of a wiki page. It mentions the “Solarsiedlung” which sounded vaguely familiar, and then Vauban, which is where I actually lived during my semester abroad in the fall of 2005.
I’m not sure if I ever actually blogged about it, but Vauban was a French barrack until 1992, when it was turned into housing. 16 of the 20 units are for students of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität. The remaining four were expropriated by.. well, squatters basically. The entire complex is quite green and sustainable: portions using greywater, passive and active solar power, and all of the related tricks.
Regardless, I followed links till I happened upon pictures of Vauban. And, believe it or not, I sort of miss that place. Vauban, Freiburg, and Germany were certainly pretty interesting. I wish I did more while I was there.
Vauban, Freiburg entry at Wikipedia
Some info in English
Photos of Vauban (Click on the street names (the long ugly German words mostly ending in “Straße” at the end of the page)). And here’s where I lived! This site is great.
EDIT: Looking over my Germany category, you know another thing I miss? Glühwein. Ach!
Posted January 15th, 2006 at 11:56PM
At long last — the last in the western europe trip series. The “Germany” category on this blog is quickly coming to its end. Expect a post or two about Amsterdam, and maybe a few retrospectives about my time in Europe, and that’s it. I liked blogging about my study abroad experience, but now feel like I could have done a much better job. And I wish it wasn’t dragging out like this, months after the fact. 
Franktfurt
Paris
Brussels
Luxembourg
Luxembourg reminded me strongly of the last leg of the Eastern Europe trip — Estonia. Both Luxembourg City and Tallinn were remarkably small capitals, cold, with small populations and no real night life. Well, Tallinn probably had a better nightlife than Luxembourg City.
Anyways, unlike the previous posts, I can’t give a day by day write-up for Luxembourg. I left the itinerary for the trip at home, and can’t really remember what we did, exactly. This is probably for the best, since the other posts were a bit too methodical, dwelling on time frames instead of actual experiences.
Also probably for the best — We only spent one night in Luxembourg. We arrived Thursday, November 10th. To my recollection, it was already dark out when we arrived at our hotel. This hotel was very funny. It was on the outskirts of a small pedestrian shopping area. The rooms were small (stereotypical European hotel small), the building itself was very tiny, and while they offered a continental breakfast, they had no dining area to speak of. This meant that the night before, each lodger had to go to the front desk, and tell them what he wanted for breakfast (the only choice was between beverages) and when. Then, the next morning at the allotted time (for us; for some their breakfasts arrived late, or not at all), you opened your door and there was your breakfast, sitting at the doorstep. Free room service.
This night in Luxembourg, me and the roommate set out to find a late-night snack, and perhaps a bit to drink. It was hard to find either.
It was only about ten or eleven, but nearly everything was closed. A few token restaurants remained open, and we finally ate at some random Italian place. There were also a handful of bars, but nothing too inviting. There were other comparisons to be made with Estonia. The time we spent in Luxembourg, it was pretty cold, with a nice wind whipping about. That late in the year, it got dark early in Luxembourg (similar to Tallinn, where — compared to what I’m used to — it gets dark early pretty much year round). And there was hardly anyone walking around. Ever. But especially at night, this was true.
The day after, we had a lecture or two, to justify spending time in Luxembourg. There was a city tour, but I ducked out, intent to find some grub. We went to a Chinese buffet (all you can eat, in Europe — odd, no?) and were disappointed when we found out that nearly everything had meat in it. A lot of seafood, shrimp even in the rice. Ah well.
Sometime midday, on Friday, November 11th, we set back for Freiburg. I forget how long the drive was, somewhere between four and five hours would be my guess. We got back late, but a lot of us were glad to be back. This trip was expensive, and while we didn’t have the busy schedules that we had in eastern Europe, it had been a draining experience (a lot of time spent just traveling?). Combine all of this with the fact that a week or so after we got back, all of our term papers were due, and you’ve got a generally so-so tour of western Europe. Still, I can finally say I’ve been there.
Posted January 12th, 2006 at 2:44AM
Franktfurt
Paris
Brussels
Luxembourg
I had a better time in Brussels than I did in Paris. True story.
We arrived in Brussels around 8:15pm, on Monday, November 7th (how long it’s taken me to finally get around to this). The hotel in Brussels was fine, I remember little about it. I do remember we did have trouble finding it however. It was right next to a church, and every morning, at six or seven, the church bell would begin ringing — a deafening sound in our room, waking us up. It was apparently rung by hand, since it was uneven, and even worse was the fact that it seemed to ring until whoever was in charge got tired. The first morning in Brussels, it had to of went on for five minutes!
I was only rooming with one guy in Brussels, and he was a cooler head than my previous roommates in Paris. That Monday night I was feeling a bit better than I did in Paris, so I went out and walked around. Nothing memorable, the hotel was in a tiny Asian section of town, so I ate some Chinese, bought a bottle of wine, and headed back to the room. We watched TV, called it an early night.
The next day was Tuesday, November 8th. We had to wake up early, for meetings at NATO headquarters. We had three meetings here, and two of them were actually excellent. The first was informative, who presented a lot of valuable info (he was “an American, but representing NATO, not America”). And the third turned out to be a fairly conservative diplomat (“representing America”). He was fairly provocative — the first speaker left his personal opinion out of it, whereas the third’s presentation was full of it. There were three or four Germans in the room, and he ruffled their feathers quite a bit. But the guy made me want to come back, take the Civil Service Exam, and work for the government. He was smooth.
This was one occasion where a sort of cultural difference appeared, which was interesting to watch. While the American students were relieved to meet someone who wasn’t full of officious bullshit, the Germans in the room were offended with his casual, opinion-laden style of presentation. The two different groups had hugely different reactions to this guy. It’s possible that the age difference came into play — although one of the Germans was one of our teacher assistants, who was in his mid-twenties. I mark it up to cultural differences — the sort of difference that makes “outsider politicians” like Bush winners in the US, while career politicians like Schroeder and Merkel earn Germany’s top spot.
After spending awhile at NATO, and having an hour lunch break, we traveled to the US-EU Mission. And these two meetings were a complete waste of time. The first women treated us like preschoolers — I felt dumber after leaving the room. While the second person, who was soon about to be transferred to the diplomatic mission to Kazakhstan (or some other backward -stan country (big freaking deal)), kept the self-important attitude of the US diplomat at NATO — without any of the charm, intelligence, or information of the former.
After this, we departed for a city tour of downtown Brussels. The tour was pretty good; the guide was nice and informative, although she recommended a really crappy restaurant that a friend and I tried and were totally disappointed with. We got a nice historical overview, and an explanation of all of the official buildings. Brussels is a city of bureaucrats — and that’s not said in any sort of disapproving manner. Brussels is the center for three or four governments and major organizations (Belgium being a heavily-federalized country, I believe both the national and state governments are housed in Brussels).
I can’t really remember what I did this night, since it’s been such a long time (damn it, half of the reason of blogging all of this was so I’d have a place it was all written down). I believe I just walked around downtown Brussels a bit with the roommate. We bought a bottle of wine, and sat on a park bench drinking. We had dinner somewhere that was unsatisfying (I swear, I didn’t have a single decent meal on this entire trip) and probably called it a fairly early night.
Wednesday, November 9th, we had a light program at the European Commission. I can’t remember anything remarkable about these lectures, so I imagine they were just marginal. Originally, we were suppose to have a meeting with Greenpeace, to see how an NGO interacts with the EU. But those plans apparently fell through, and we didn’t get to go. One I was actually looking forward to too.
This night I do remember, because it was sort of a let-down. In the morning, I checked the cellphone, and found a message from someone — alerting me about a nearby bar which had one Euro pints. Damn, we missed out. But a lot of people were going back again, so after doing the requisite wandering around trying to find food with my roommate (he was one of the other few vegetarians in our group, so that problem was shared), we headed to the place. It was sort of early, nine or ten I think, and we only caught a few people that we knew there. After a few drinks, we split. Later on, I heard about another couple of friends who showed up later, and had an absolutely crazy night in Brussels. If only we had stayed a bit longer.
Thursday, November 10th was our last day in Brussels. We met with the Council of the European Union early. Another unmemorable time. A lunch break, then we met with a representative of the European Anti-Poverty Network. This meeting was really bad. Absolutely nothing remotely interesting or informative. We left Brussels and headed towards the last leg of our journey, Luxembourg, at about five in the afternoon. Brussels was actually quite a nice city, and I would have loved to explore further. Maybe I’ll get another chance someday. Pff.
Posted December 19th, 2005 at 11:19AM
Just a quick note to say that I’m back in the US. I still need to write about a bunch of things, mainly Brussels and Amsterdam. And probably a holistic look back at the semester abroad. But for now, I’m not going to be too active, since I’m home, on dial-up, and have better stuff to do.
Posted December 14th, 2005 at 9:04AM
It was a long time coming, but I need to quickly wrap up the second big field trip. Over a month after it happened.. *cough*
Franktfurt
Paris
Brussels
Luxembourg
We got into Paris on November 4th. It was a Friday, and we arrived at about eight in the evening. The hotel was alright, although the elevator was broken and I was in a triple. This night we set out to see some sights. I was not feeling all that great, and after eating at a crappy Chinese restaurant, and seeing the Eiffel Tour lit up, I walked back alone. Paris was a bit intimidating at night – moreso than any of the eastern European cities.
But Paris’ subway system is amazing. I used it every day, and it was pretty easy to use / understand. Very nice.
Saturday, the 5th, we had completely free. I did all of the typical tourist things – Eiffel Tour, the miniature Statue of Liberty, the Arc D’Triumph, Notre Dame, and half a dozen other attractions. A lot of walking. And I still felt bad.
Sunday we also had free, except for a formal dinner in the evening (expenses paid, naturally). I visited the Louvre, and had the amazing luck to get in free (first Sunday of every month). The place was packed, but I saw some art. Mona Lisa. Woo. (I guess?)
The formal dinner was pretty bad, since the other vegetarian and I had to request “special” dinners, which meant crappy leftovers of the sides of everyone else. I’ll say it right now – French cuisine is bad, and overpriced to boot.
Sunday night I walked around the neighborhood around our hotel (NE of the city center area). It was sorta ethnic, sorta funky. A little creepy. Found a used clothing store, bought some pants and a couple shirts.
On Monday the 7th, we had two lectures, which were quite good. One dealt with the French rejection of the European Constitution, and the future of European integration, while the other was a meeting with a group from the EU Institute for Security Studies. The focus was on EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, and it was quite enlightening.
At about three thirty, we departed Paris for Brussels, and I was glad. The weather in Paris was bad, alternatively overcast with occasional rainshowers. I felt terrible the entire time, having some sort of stomach bug, or, more likely, just as a result of a terrible diet on the trip (vegetarian options in Paris are scarcer than any other place I’ve been. Only options were Italian, which I soon grew tired of). And Paris was just generally.. “EH”. The tourist attractions were alright – the Eiffel Tour and Arc D’Triumph being particularly impressive – but the general atmosphere sucked.
I had very low expectations for Paris, since it is such the typical tourist spot. Generally, I think it was probably better than I was expecting. But it still wasn’t all that much fun.
Posted December 7th, 2005 at 4:08PM
Tomorrow at 7pm I fly from Frankfurt to Amsterdam. I have the train ticket to Frankfurt, I have the plane ticket to Amsterdam, and I have a hostel for the four nights I’ll be staying. I’ll be arriving back in Freiburg at about midnight on Monday, so that I can catch a few hours rest before my finals begin on Tuesday. Have two that day.
So far on my list of things I need to do, is:
• cat museum
• modern art museum
• red light district
• Van Gogh museum
• Vondelpark
• Albert-Cuypstr. market
The cat museum is most likely going to be dumb, but it’s sort of funny, an entire museum dedicated to cats. Plus it’s only five euros, and close to my hostel. The modern art museum has a good collection apparently, and Van Gogh is always fun. Vondelpark is the “central park of Amsterdam”, and it looks to be quite big and nice. Albert-Cuypstr. market is a large, outdoor market on a pedestrian street, in a cool neighborhood which I want to check out regardless.
And the red light district of Amsterdam is a must-visit, naturally.
Oh, and then there are the coffeeshops:
• De Kuil
• Amnesia
• Grey Area
• Bluebird
• Katsu
• and possibly Conscious Dreams smartshop
The first three are very close to my hostel. I’ll probably be visiting De Kuil multiple times, it sounds like a really chill place. Practically every other CD they play is Frank Zappa, and they’re also one of the few coffeeshops to serve alcohol. Although I don’t plan on drinking much during this trip.
Grey Area, from what I’ve read, has a really great selection of wares. Amnesia is right in the neighborhood and gets good marks too.
Katsu is close to the Albert-Cuypstr. market, and I actually got a recommendation from someone I know who went to Amsterdam two months ago. The Van Gogh museum and Vondelpark are also in the area. This neighborhood is fairly far south – I might take a tram and hit all of these on one of my days, spend the whole day down there.
Of course, these attractions are just the tip of the iceberg. Amsterdam sounds like a lovely city, and my friend who went recently also said that the food is great. I’ll spend a lot of my time walking around, taking in the sights and sounds. The things I have listed so far are only the things that I must see / do while there.
It should prove to be a good weekend.
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