amsterdam, netherlands - part 1

amsterdam's the kind of place that surprises you once you get over its reputation as a liberal city full of druggies and prostitutes and actually see the city. it isn't just all about drugs and sex. at least not the sections we went to.

we took a train in from den haag and checked into our hotel, dropping off our stuff before heading to the city centre. our hotel, the novotel europa, was in the outskirts of the city, far away (a 20 minute tram-ride to be exact) from the sights and sounds of the centre. but the fact that breakfast (and a fabulous buffet one at that!) was included and there was a tram stop just a short 5 min walk away made up for the distance. the hotel and room were very modern in design and well appointed.

we had arranged to meet isaac in front of the anne frank huis, intending to go in for the tour. unfortunately, our detour to the hotel took us longer than anticipated and we were late for our rendezvous. as a result, the queue was ridiculously long, stretching around the house and down a block. we figured it would have been about a 45 min wait to get in. on top of that isaac was nowhere to be seen. in fact, he had gone in without us seeing as we hadn't arrived yet. we finally found him when he came out. we considered going in, but didn't particularly want to wait in line. isaac also told us that, while it was interesting, a lot had been changed to facilitate the museum aspect and we were probably better off just reading the diary to get the experience.

we walked around, soaking in the picturesque canals and bridges and ended up in a magnificent looking building that ended up being a mall called the magna plaza. after a quick look around a department store oddly named 'sissy boy', we set off in search of some lunch. being in the shopping district close to the city centre, it was difficult to find non-touristy places. we ended up in, of all places, a kebab shop. it's only ironic for us, since we live next door to a kebab shop in london.

after lunch we set off for, you guessed it, more walking. we wandered around the narrow alleys, and winding pedestrian walkways, passing by the occasional coffeeshop and catching a whiff of, well, you know, until we ended up at amsterdam's famous floating flower market. it's definitely something cas' mom, or any gardener for that matter, would quite enjoy as the selection was massive. besides, the fact that the stores are floating on the canal is quite novel. of course, getting any seeds or plants back home would pose at least a little challenge. we weren't bothered enough to figure out whether it was more cost effective to buy seeds there and send them back or just buy seeds at home. seeing how we don't have a garden, the point was moo. (as in, it's a cow's opinion. it doesn't matter. although we didn't say that out loud. the way the dutch love their cows, they might have deported us on the spot. yes, we know the correct term is moot.)

we gradually made our way back closer to the city centre (mainly marked by amsterdam centraal train station), coming full circle in our little mini-tour. as it was nearing dusk, we started sizing up dinner options. caspian was a little hungrier, so we stopped by a tiny shop off one of the alleys for a snack of a broodje haring (herring sandwich). the shop was a tiny place consisting of a counter, a fridge and maybe four tables at most that was likely only frequented by locals. the gentleman behind the counter was very cordial and appreciated our modest attempts at speaking dutch.

for dinner, we decided to be completely adventurous and have indonesian food! the guidebook had mentioned that there was a sizable migration of indonesians to the netherlands in the 1940s, so we figured we'd give it a try. we found this great little indonesian restaurant off a side street, much less dodgy than some of the other alleys we passed through. the food was yummy, and satisfied the hunger in our bellies!

however, that being said, after dinner, we still managed to have the desire to seek out a place that sold chips. it's rather hard not to want some when every other person you walk past on the street is holding a cone of chips! the place we ended up getting the chips from was "voted #1 holland's fries", rightfully (or perhaps not) named manneken pis. as you may recall, the manneken pis is a statue that we visited in brussels, belgium...hmmm...makes you wonder what the connection is...

after that, we walked with isaac to the train station so he could head back to den haag. as all the shops had pretty much closed by this point and it was too dark to take any decent photos of the city, we decided to pack it in for the night. after all, a second day in amsterdam awaited us the next day...

to be continued...

den haag, netherlands - part 2

sorry. this was a long time coming. will get caught up. promise.

our second day in den haag started with us visiting one of the local markets. (actually, it started with a little adventure of us trying to ride a bike 'dutch style' - one person riding with a second person balanced on the pannier rack above the back wheel. we gave up shortly after and took a tram instead.)

as you may have already determined from reading some of our other posts, we've discovered that we absolutely love markets. and so far, the market in den haag is definitely one of the best ones we've ever been to. it's kept healthily away from anywhere tourists would venture to, a true local hangout. this was a small taste of what life in den haag is really like.

the first thing you notice about the market is how many stalls there are. the market stretches across a few blocks and spans two stops on the tram. the market generally has a food section (both prepared and produce) and everything else, encompassing clothing, household goods and general knick-knacks. that we spent most of our time in the food section goes without saying.

we really enjoyed the opportunity to try some local specialties. for breakfast we had haring, a dutch snack that is basically salted raw herring, doused with onions and pickles. we also had a broodje speciaal (special sandwich), which is fried fish on a bun served with more onions and a spicy mayonnaise. i guess since everyone's got onion breath, it sort of evens out.

we saw a few cheese stalls, which was only natural, seeing how much the dutch love their cows. cheese, particularly of the gouda and edam varieties, is one of their more well-known national exports. we also saw the largest fish stall we had ever seen, with just about every manner of sea creature available to be bought (and eaten).

still a little hungry, we then tried a stick of surimi. in the window, it looks like deep-fried shrimp, which looked quite appealing and appetising. however, our first bite revealed that it was not, in fact, shrimp that we had bought, but essentially the same stuff used to make chinese fish balls made into the shape of a shrimp. still tasty, but a little disappointing given what we were expecting.

finally, we had a snack enjoyed worldwide, with a dutch twist: patates met pindasaus, a cone of french fries with peanut sauce. the sauce was very similar to one that accompanies a popular chinese snack - the combo of peanut butter and hoisin sauce that comes with fried dough fritters wrapped in rice noodle.

from there, we walked (cheapest method) back into the city centre, stopping by the buildings of parliament and the escher museum (although we didn't actually go in). we took a break at a cafe and sampled some poffertjes, mini pancakes, and an apple gebak and a pint of grolsch. the cafe was conveniently located next to a shoe shop called 'cinderella' so naturally, we spent a fair bit of time there. until dinner time, actually.

for dinner we took a tram out to the seaside to a cute little seafood restaurant. we started with kroketten, the dutch version of croquettes made with shrimp-meat. for mains we had baked mussels au gratin and grilled trout in a rich shrimp brandy sauce. after dinner we strolled next door to the pub for a pint and fresh mint tea.

we would have strolled along the pier, but it was chilly and windy so staying inside was definitely the better option. we topped it off with some dessert and headed home, again, thoroughly exhausted. not very exciting, we know, but we figured some rest would do us some good before we traveled to amsterdam the next day.

to be continued...

den haag, netherlands - part 1

it had been a while since our last trip and so, after a busy october, we decided to take another weekend break. of course, we had to choose a place to go and, as our list is still quite long, it wasn't a straightforward choice.

well, as it so happens, a good family friend from toronto is doing an internship at the international criminal court in the netherlands. since he's only there for six months, it would be good to take the opportunity to visit.

now, there are a number of routes to den haag (pronounced 'den-ach', as if you're trying to do a

poor imitation of a scottish accent) from london. you can take the eurostar from london to brussels (the same route we took just a couple of months ago) and then transfer to the thalys, another train that takes you to den haag. the eurostar takes about an hour and a half, and the thalys is another hour, which definitely makes this the scenic route.

another option is to take a train up to the eastern coast of england, to a small town called harwich. a ferry will take you across the channel to a port in between den haag and rotterdam. while we were advised this is the cheapest option, it also seemed a little complicated with a lot of transfers. so we decided to forgo it this time around.

the third, most obvious and popular route is to go to fly from london to amsterdam and take a short train ride to den haag. the flight is less than an hour and the train is 30 minutes, which means

traveling time of an hour and a half total (not including all the airport hassle), making this the quickest route. as a bonus, it takes us through amsterdam, so we might as well spend a couple of extra days there too (more on that later). it was also a big thing for us, as this was our first experience with easyjet, one of europe's prominent discount airlines.

so off we went and, just shortly after takeoff, the cockpit informed us that we were preparing for landing. this could be the shortest flight we've ever been on. we were greeted at the airport by a fair bit of rain. unfortunately, schipol (amsterdam's airport) didn't have the telescopic (and, more importantly, covered) walkways that usually connect to the airplane door, so we had to walk down a slippery and rickety set of metal stairs to the tarmac before rushing inside the terminal.

the beauty of a) taking weekend trips, and b) flying easyjet means that you generally don't have that much luggage. this makes it a breeze to embark and disembark. so after clearing customs and adding yet another stamp to our passports, we were out in the main hall of the airport.

unlike toronto, amsterdam's train network runs right to the airport, making connections super easy. the hard part was figuring out how to get tickets for the train. luckily, the little dutch that we had learned came through for us and quite shortly, we were on a train headed for den haag. actually, the timetable said the train would be leaving from platform 4 and the train was actually on platform 3. we were a little confused, as the sign on the train did say 'den haag', so we asked someone who was nice enough to confirm our suspicions for us.

the train ride was quite nice, rain notwithstanding. the route takes you by lots of very flat countryside with large expanses of field and farmland separated by canals. a few sections were dotted with cows (which the dutch love) and sheep.

we arrived at the den haag centraal station and had some time to kill before we had arranged to meet with our friend at the courthouse so we decided to go for a quick walk around the station to see what we could find. we came across a grocery store called albert heijn, and since we love to compare retail experiences in grocery stores, poked around inside to see what it was like. we picked up a bottle of water for 40 cents and carried on until we found a little restaurant for some breakfast. (one of the tradeoffs of flying easyjet is the early flight with no in-flight meal)

we had read about dutch specialties and decided to get an early start on trying them out. we ordered some pannenkoeken (pancakes) and an appletaart met slagroom (apple pie with whipped cream). to drink, we had chocolademelk (hot chocolate) and something called a wiener melange, which is like a cafe au lait.

after breakfast, we took a bus to visit the international criminal court. we actually went in to observe part of one of the trials going on, which was kind of interesting. but trials can only get so interesting, so after we'd had enough, we set off for our friend's flat.

the flat was on the top floor and was very spacious and nice, if a little cold. the stairs start off fairly normal, but by the time you get to the top, where the staircase winds around itself, it's quite steep and you are quite tempted to start using your hands, as if rock climbing. we imagine it can be quite treacherous in the dark, since the steps near the top are very narrow, only about a couple inches deep, and about half a foot tall.

the rest of our day consisted of walking around the city centre to see a couple of landmarks (e.g., the queen's house) and strolling through the shopping district. it soon got dark and we soon got hungry again, so our friend took us to a rustic cafe/pub for some traditional dutch fare (including some roast venison with root vegetables and frites in a skillet), which we thoroughly enjoyed.

satisfied and a little exhausted from a full day of traveling and walking, we retired back to the flat to unwind and prepare for the day ahead.

to be continued...

life in london: 2

2. accents

to the average north american, the british accent is very attractive. people are probably wondering whether we'll come back with an accent ourselves. the short answer is no.

what we didn't realise until we got here is that there isn't just one british accent. in fact, there are quite a few. actually, there's a distinct accent for just about every major city in the uk. because of that, the only way we'd be able to pick one up is to surround ourselves with only one accent, say, by moving to the countryside. (the other reason is that a surprising number of people in london don't even have english as their mother tongue).

here's a short list of different accents that you may come across:
london (cockney)
manc (manchester)
yorkie (yorkshire)
geordie (newcastle)
scouse (liverpool)
brummie (birmingham)
brizzle (bristol)
essex
and the public school accent (the 'proper' british accent that most people probably imagine when they think of a british accent)

toss the irish (north and south), welsh and scottish, aussies, kiwis and south africans in the mix too because there are plenty of them about to.

by the time we leave, we probably still won't be able to recognize all the various accents, let alone pick one up.

life in london

there may be a few of you who are wondering what life is like in london. beyond what we've already written about (like grocery shopping), we'll try to capture the tidbits we've picked up in the 7-ish months we've been here.

1. standard vacation in canada = 10 days. standard vacation in london = 23 days. london 1, canada 0.

we're still here

sorry for the radio silence for the past little bit. rest assured, we're still alive. it's just been a little 'manic', as they say here, lately. but we've got a few updates coming your way shortly. so stay tuned!

brussels, belgium

the end of august brought about another bank holiday, meaning our first long weekend after starting work and an excellent opportunity to do some more traveling. unfortunately, we didn't plan quite early enough and prices were a little bit higher, most likely due to the higher anticipated demand from the holiday.

in the end, we settled on another eurostar vacation. after all, we figured we might as well take advantage of our wonderful location, a scant 10 min stroll from st. pancras international train station. we also figured we'd continue to get the most out of our french education and decided to head to brussels. after we booked our trip, we found out that our aussie friend, dan, was also going to be there at the same time.

make no mistake about it, this was going to be a culinary-themed holiday. our objectives were simple: 1) chocolate, 2) waffles, 3) fries, 4) mussels, and 5) beer. everything else was optional. belgium has plenty more to offer, and there is lots to do in brussels. but we would be more than satisfied if we covered off our modest list.

our hotel was located in the european quarter, really close to the EU headquarters by schumann metro station. while it was away from the city centre, that also meant it was quieter in the evenings. in actuality, it was beginning to seem like nothing is really that far in europe, as we could walk to our hotel from the city centre in about 15-20 minutes.

the brussels known to tourists is quite small, and revolves around the square known as the grand place (meant to be read/said with french pronunciation). the square itself has a lot of heritage, with guildhouses and the town hall dating back to the 15th century. by comparison, canada (yes, the country) was born yesterday. we read that karl marx wrote the communist manifesto in one of the guildhouses lining the square. the square is dominated by the town hall (hotel de ville). we know very little of architecture (although being in europe, you can't help but learn), but the gothic building was very beautiful and intricately built.

the rest of the city centre is basically in a one mile radius spiraling out from the grand place. other notable sights we visited included the famous, if slightly irreverent, manneken-pis, which is a statue of a peeing boy. yes, really. galeries royale de st-hubert, a very pretty and posh covered shopping arcade. we also stopped by the comic strip museum; belgium has a fascination with comic strips and both tintin and the smurfs (yes, those smurfs) were created by belgian artists. we walked into the museum of chocolate (where else would you find one?), but felt that 4 euros was a little too much to pay to learn about chocolate without actually getting to eat any.

but the real stars of this trip were ennumerated earlier. it is hard to find a block without at least one chocolate shop. godiva, leonidas, and neuhaus are all internationally renowned chocolatiers. you can get strawberries dipped in a chocolate fountain at leonidas and chocolixirs - extremely rich milkshakes - from godiva. that's not to mention the stacks of truffles and pralines. but the clear winner had to be wittamer, located by the grand sablon, whose pralines were absolutely divine. flavour so rich and texture so smooth had to come at a price, but it was worth every penny.

equally ubiquitous were the waffle shops. there are actually two different types of belgian waffles. the type normally found in north america are of the brussels variety. they are light and fluffy, but don't taste like much on their own. that's why they're usually accompanied by toppings such as strawberries and chocolate. the other type is the liege-style waffles. these waffles are more dense and sweeter, usually with a caramelised crust. they also look like they have the corners trimmed off, although we never really learned why. after trying both (many times), we find that we prefer the liege-style waffles. the fact that you can get them on the street from a trolley just makes them that much cooler. our friend also tried one from a van off the street - similar to an ice cream van, except they sell waffles too.

as a bonus, we also found another trolley that sells...wait for it...escargots of all things. it was located on a street corner by manneken-pis. needless to say, we had to sample such a bizarre phenomenon. they were different form escargots we have had previously, the type that's basically baked in garlic butter. these were stewed in a peppery broth, but equally tasty.

the third regular sight in brussels is the chip shops. a wonderful snack that would be very dangerous for our waistlines were we to live here. the chips (i.e., french fries) are really good here, probably better than in paris and definitely better than those found in london. for a little extra, they'll add a dollop of mayonnaise or some other sauce (the concoction of mayonnaise and ketchup is quite good) for you to dip. very convenient, and not overly expensive, a cone of chips is a great way to avoid hunger while walking around. they also make a great complement to the bowl of mussels, which can be found at almost every restaurant.

there was one section of very touristy restaurants. the menus are for the most part less expensive (around €10-16) than the more local restaurants. the trade-off is that the food is pretty standard fare (steaks that aren't really that good, chicken) and the service is what you would expect for tourists. on these menus, you won't find any belgian specialties. walking down the strip, you are regularly harassed by restaurant staff trying to get you to dine at their establishment (much like walking down brick lane in london). but if all you need is some mussels and fries, then they're a good option.

finally, a quick note about the beer. during our three days there, we managed to sample eight different beers. keep in mind that we're not really the drinking type. here are the beers we tried: bockor, hoegaarden, maes, leffe, stella artois, jupiler, kriek, chimay. some we have previously encountered in canada, but others were distinctly local. as a note, stella isn't really a big beer in belgium - most of the locals drink jupiler more than anything else. chimay is a beer made by trappiste monks and has 9% alcohol. and kriek (at least the variety we tried) is a fruit beer and we weren't sure whether it wanted to be a wine or a beer more. teresa notes that it tasted like cough medicine.

all in all, we quite enjoyed belgium. it was a delicious holiday and we would very much like to visit again. we're getting hungry just writing this recap. but, of course, there are other places we still need to see...