Well, here I go again! After 4 months working in Bristol I’m finally off again for a 7 month stint around the edge of Europe, first heading for Egypt, then Jordan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia (hopefully), Finland, Norway, then back to the UK for England, Scotland, Ireland, North Wales and then finally head back home at the end of November this year.
Anyway, some more places I visited around England and Wales in the last month...
THE BRECON BEACONS, WALES
Decided to spend a weekend at the Brecon Beacons national park in Wales, as Wales is known for it's beautiful countryside and I felt that seeing I’m so close to Wales (Bristol is at the border between them), I should at least check it out..
So, a few hours of buses and trains and rugby heading welsh later, and I found myself at the edge of a road in the middle of the Brecon Beacons, near the foot of Pen y Fan mountain, the tallest mountain in South Wales. I was not alone however, having encountered a slightly crazy old welsh man who walked up the mountain every week! Anyway, we decided to go through the more difficult route because I thought it would be more fun. Silly me for thinking that though, because it was quite a struggle climbing the treeless rocky alien like terrain while playing the role of the old man's psychologist (he reckons the welsh discriminate against him because he's welsh. huh? exactly).
Anyway, finally made it to the top to witness amazing views of valleys, lakes and rippled mountainsides. I could also barely see the start of Brecon, the town I was planning to walk to from the mountain top.
So, farewelled my crazy friend, and headed down the trail in the direction of the town.
After a while the trail disappeared and I was lost alone in the mountain valley, surrounded by sheep (there are more sheep than people in Wales it is said). Still, a beautiful tranquil place to be lost, with the reds, yellows, greens and browns of the trees and grass plains that the sheep were also enjoying in the late afternoon sunshine. But I figured as long as I keep heading straight and keep sight of the farmhouses scattered about the place I would be ok. Eventually I made it back to the main road and entered the town of Brecon just after sunset. Phew!
After that I was absolutely knackered, but decided that I would go out for one beer then go to bed.
Several beers and hours later and I was amongst new friends in a nightclub dancing till 2am (when the club closed). My poor feet!
The next day I went to visit Hay on Wye, which is a small pretty town, but with not too much to do except explore it's world famous second hand book stores (seems to be more of these than cafes and restaurants). A great place to get cheap second hand books on almost every topic!
My weekend in Wales over, I was lucky to get a lift back home with Cheryl (the school librarian), who was on her way home from visiting her parents in Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales. She invited me to spend a weekend with her up there to show me the beautiful coast and beaches but never happened due to bad timing and poor weather. So the West coast of Wales will have to wait till October/November when I will be back travelling in the UK...
THE TOURIST BECOMING THE TOUR GUIDE
During the Easter weekend, I had a mate Tim come to visit and do some sight seeing (an Aussie workmate from where I worked back at home, also doing the work and travel thing).
We went to visit Wells, with it's huge beautiful cathedral with unique scissor arches holding the place up. Then we visited Glastonbury, where the smell of incense and joints overpowered you in this hippy town famous for having King Arthur’s gravesite, the holy grail, and the Glastonbury festival. So naturally the place is filled with new age mystical stuff.
The next day, John offered us free tickets to see the FIFA qualifying soccer match between Austria and Wales in Cardiff with him. How could we refuse? The football stadium was quite impressive, but the game was a disappointment (score was 2-0, Austria won, only Tim was happy as he was supporting his Austrian girlfriend, but kept quiet in the crowd of disappointed welsh, especially after the first time Austria scored Tim yelled victoriously "yes" then realised everyone looking at him in stunned silence.)
Next day, I took Tim to Bath where we admired the predominantly yellow architecture, the glorious Bath Abbey, and entertained ourselves watching the street performers (Tim got dragged in one performance and was forced to wear a pink tutu and assist the crazy performer - as you do). I also introduced Tim to the English Sunday Roast (roast meat and vegies with gravy and a Yorkshire pudding - which kind of bland pastry which seems pointless - what's wrong with bread?) and the joys of chilling out in an outdoor cafe while people watching.
FAREWELL TO OL' ENGLAND FOREVER?
It's quite sad leaving my life here in Bristol for I know I will not be coming back here again to work and live like I have been doing - my 2 year working holiday visa is soon to expire, and you can't renew it. Unless of course I marry someone in the UK or work full time for several years - none of which look desirable to me at this point in time! But you'll never know...
I must say, I have no idea how I’d ever get back to real life. Just coming back from Morocco for two more weeks work and already I can't wait to leave again and explore some relatively untouristed area of the world! Perhaps I’m just spoiled...
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
James’ Eye Opening Experience in Morocco
Casablanca - Marrakesh - Atlas Ranges - Aii Benhadou - Quarazate - Vallee des Roses - Doges Gorge - Todra Gorge - Tinehir - Merzourga Sand Dunes (Sahara Desert) -Cascades D'Ouzoud - Fez - Meknes - Volublis - Rabat
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GO TO THE LINK BELOW FOR PHOTOS OF ME IN MOROCCO
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Salaam!
I have just come back from a two week Easter break in Morocco, unshaven, a little sunburnt, a few mosquito bites, and missing my luggage, which just got luckily couriered to me last night by the airline. I've also come back feeling a little more enlightened, having had a wild hectic but very educational and eye opening experience in Morocco amongst one of the most friendliest hospitable nations on Earth. I've been an invited guest to many a local people's homes, rode a camel in the Sahara desert sand dunes at sunrise, slept under the stars to the sounds of drums, singing and sizzling brochettes, sampled delicious local dishes like tajine and couscous, lost myself in the chaos of the medieval souks with it's exotic spices, carpets, friends and villains, admired intricately decorated mosques and Islamic architecture, and traversed through spectacular desert oasises, striking mountain ranges and surreal alien landscapes..
Not bad for my first venture into African territory.
CULTURE SHOCK ON ARRIVAL
Arrived in Casablanca airport after midnight, to be immediately confronted by several shifty looking characters as soon as I stepped outside searching in vain for the bus to the centre, which as it turned out had already left. The shifty characters were actually trying to be friendly, directing me to the Grand Taxis on the end of the street. Already, things were not as they appeared or as I was brought up to believe in the western world.
Grand Taxis are wonderful things. More comfortable and faster than other public transport, they will usually go between cities at a fixed rate, which you would share the cost with 6 other people, which can also work out to be cheaper too! I managed to find a friendly German couple to join me, who chose to pay my share of the Grand Taxi as well. So far so good.
But the night wasn't over yet. I was dropped off around 2am in front of the hotel I had attempted to book over the phone earlier that day (in my terrible French), and was worried when the hotel appeared locked up and closed. I rung the bell hoping for a response. In the meantime, an old Moroccan walking the street decided to come over to chat to me. Which is probably fine if you a) understand their culture of talking to total strangers (which I hadn't), and b) if you weren't alone in the middle of a dodgy looking empty street at 2 in the morning (which I was). Luckily, the door suddenly opened and a sleepy looking guy let me in the hotel (he was sleeping on the floor of the reception).
Thus, survived the first night unscathed with a bit of a culture shock - and to think this was only Casablanca, the most modern international city in Morocco! How would I react to the rest of the country?
SOME THINGS ON MOROCCO
- Moroccans are amazing linguists. Although their main languages are Arabic and French, they often also know Berber, English, Spanish, Portuguese and German!
- Moroccans are the most hospitable friendly nation I have encounted to date. They will talk to and invite random strangers into their homes or a cafe for tea. Moroccans tend to see westerners as "cold". One Moroccan recounted a story of a friend he had who was contracted to work in Finland. Last time his friend called home, he sounded upset, saying that he was lonely and sad because no one wanted to talk to him and were immediately suspicious when he tried to talk to them.
- Most cities in Morocco consist of two parts: The Medina and the Ville Nouvelle.
The Ancient Medieval Medina is a mud brick walled enclosure of souks selling practically everything, twisting alleyways, poor residential areas and kids running around, usually playing soccer. The people are generally very poor, but also very happy, having everything they need right in the medina - friends, family, enough to eat and a few meagre possessions. Most may never escape their simple honest life but they live quite happily.
Walking through the medinas can be pretty daunting if you're not used to the hustlers and touts trying to persistently and sometimes forcefully offering their services as a tour guide or dragging you into shops, hotels and restaurants so they can earn commission. You do learn to be more tolerant and sympathetic though when you hear that these people only survive by doing so.
The Ville Nouvelle is the modern French influenced area of the city with cafes, upmarket hotels and restaurants, amid shabby broken down art deco and art nouveau buildings.
- Everyone seems fascinated with my Asian eyes and my origins because I am exotic and beautiful to them. The amount of attention I get from the Moroccans, I sometimes feel like a celebrity. Kids would run past me while I’m sitting in a cafe, stop, run back, stop, and just stare at me curiously. Then they would continue on their way.
- Wherever I was, Moroccans would smile at me and shout out joyously "Japan", "Jacki Chan", or "Bruce Lee". In fact, a standard conversation would go like this:
"Japan!"
"No, I’m from Australia."
"Ah. kangaroo! But you look like Japan?"
"My parents are from Vietnam/china."
"Ah. Vietnam. Very strong. Kick America out!"
"Thankyou, I think."
"Welcome to Morocco. You are very welcome!"
After this they would invite me to have tea with them, or try to drag me into their shops...
- It takes a while to realise that even if they succeed in dragging you into their shops, they will assume you will be able to buy something, regardless of excuse! An example of one experience:
"Please, come in, have a look, I have beautiful carpets!"
"Sorry, but I have no money"
"It's ok, just to look, no problem, you like, you buy, cheap price"
"OK, but I really don't have any money"
"Here, sit down, we have many carpets"
"Look, what is the cheapest carpet you have"
"We have big and small carpets"
"Yes, but how much do they cost?"
"They can be 600dh-1000dh..."
"Well I only have 100dh on me." (this was true)
pause. sad sigh.
"Ok, thankyou, I wish you good holiday!"
I sure felt guilty about it, but what could I do?
CASABLANCA
Casablanca is a large sized city with a very international flavour, and a small intimate medina by the beach. Casablanca also has the monumental Mosque Hassan II, the third largest mosque in the world with the tallest minaret tower, perched on the edge of a cliff. A truly inspired building, built recently and still incomplete, this mosque would list highly on my 10 ten buildings of the world, amongst the Taj Mahaj and St Peters Basilica. The interior has to be seen to be believed, every square inch decorated with vibrant reds, gold, wood and plaster carved Islamic designs and extravagant crystal chandeliers.
It was in a (literally) "hole in the wall eatery" in the medina that I had my first taste of Tajine, one of their many staples (couscous and brochettes (kebabs) being other kinds). Tajine is basically a casserole, cut up meat with cut up vegetables surrounding it, mixed with spices and sauce and covered and left to stew over a charcoal stove. Eaten by scooping up the food with bread, it is absolutely delicious. Another variation is Kefta, which is meatballs with eggs. Yum.
It was in a cafe in the old medina where I met Hamid and Jino, locals who I spent an afternoon with chatting over "Moroccan whisky", (mint tea), their national drink, tea served very sweet with at least 4 lumps of sugar. Served with the mint directly soaking in the glass itself, or within a silver teapot, which is ceremonially poured into a glass from very high up like a waterfall to create froth, as this indicates the tea is well made.
They invited me for drinks in their house in the medina that night. The house they lived in is essentially a room 2x3m in size, enough to fit two narrow beds, a coffee table, and a chest of drawers with a radio blaring out 80's and 90's ballads from Bryan Adams, Sting and so on... the toilet, around the corner near the front door, is basically a concrete hole in the floor.
Much discussion was had on the politics and war. Moroccans are very open minded and accepting of other cultures and beliefs, as here, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Arabs, Berbers etc all live in relative harmony and peace with one another. They believe that education is very important to distinguish between what is good and bad, and that war is particularly bad because it leads to the destruction of cultures, history and lives. They believe that America's interference in the middle east causes political and economical instability so in the end they are forced to buy weapons and protection from America (because they aren't allowed to make weapons themselves), in return more control and access to their oil supplies. Regardless of whether this is true or not, it seems many people in the Arab nations would feel happier if America would stop interfering and left them all alone.
MARRAKESH
Marrakesh is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco (Fez, Rabat and Meknes being the others). Predominantly red in colour, Marrakesh is quite a large atmospheric place with an enormous medina which I got completely lost in. It took me once two hours through purposely twisting lanes (designed to confuse and disorientate attackers, or these days, tourists) to find my way to the main Djemaa el Fna square where people would gather to watch snake charmers, sword swallowers, acrobats, singers, dancers, watersellers in red costumes laden with gold cups and a waterbag, musicians and even monkeys perform. At night numerous tables laden with different foods (even boiled snails in soup) are cooked right in the square where you just sit on a bench next to a table and choose what you want to eat.
All this under the shadow of the beautiful Koutubia minaret - Marrakech is definitely the most atmospheric place to be in Morocco, especially when you get to sleep on the roof terrace overlooking the square under the stars as I did, though waking up to the sound of their call to prayer from the minarets at 5am is not that wonderful.
The call to prayer which they do at least 5 times a day following Muslim protocol, is quite a sound to hear and an unique experience. Loud chanting and singing over humming and mumbling prayers in the background coming from a loud speaker is impressive enough. Hearing it coming from every minaret in the city by different people transforms the city to a cacophony of chanting and song.
Haggling is an art form in these parts, and takes lots of practise to not get ripped off. I got ripped off buying a pair of sandals for 250dh (it was worth about 100dh, the seller asked for 500dh). But I think I did well buying Moroccan spice, managing to bargain 500gm for 50dh. I was wondering why the seller seemed unhappy Until I saw how much 500gms was (a helluva lot), and I changed it for 200gm for 30dh. (BTW $1AUD is 6dh, 1euro is 10dh, �1BP is 16dh)
THE HIGH ATLAS AND THE SAHARA DESERT
I decided on the spur of the moment to do a 3 day tour through the high Atlas mountains to the Sahara desert... Normally I don't like tours because you are rushed through everything and most of it involves alot of travelling on a bus. But I couldn't pass on the opportunity to go to the places I’ve only read about.
So there I was, with 3 Aussies, 4 kiwis, a lovely Moroccan couple on their honeymoon, 2 German girls and a Japanese guy, all sitting in the minibus, bags tied to the roof, monies paid, waiting for the tour to start. Suddenly, some old Moroccan guy got into the front seat with no introduction or explanation, and drove off with us. Could have been a kidnapper for all we knew, since no one thought about questioning him at all until an hour into the drive when we took the initiative to ask.
We finally worked out that we had no tour guide, just the driver who could only knew French and Arabic, which none of us could speak (except the Moroccans couple, but they couldn't speak English either)! All the driver did was just drive us to places and mumble "photo" (meaning get out and take photos), or point to his watch and signal when to return to the bus, then magically disappear, only to reappear when we had to leave.
We were first driven from Marrakesh to the Tizi n'Test Road mountain pass, where the views from up high in the red, black and brown Atlas mountains were spectacular to behold, some peaked with snow. We soon reached Ait Benhaddou, the first of many kasbahs (fortified mud castles) we were to see. Ait Benhaddou was an impressive kasbah situated at the foot of the hill, the walls coming up the slope to a ruined tower at the top of the hill. The labyrinth of twisting lanes, flat roofed mud brick houses and patterns carved into the walls quite characteristic of the Berber regions we found ourselves in.
Berbers are the native inhabitants of Morocco until they were joined by the Arabs, Jews, French and Spanish people. "Berber" however is only the name used by outsiders (some speculate as a historical derogatory term, i.e "barbarians", others believe it's due to the old name of the North African area they come from i.e "Barbary").
The real name of the people (in Morocco anyway) is "Amazigh", split into three dialects based on regions: "Tarifit" from the north, "Tamazight" from the center, and "Tachelhit" from the south.
Lunch was had at Ouarzazate, a place where many films such as Gladiator was filmed. In fact, many places featuring desert or representing Egypt is often filmed here because it is cheaper. We all decided to break from the itinery and spend some time in the town's medina and were all invited to a carpet shop where they demonstrated how they made the carpets using vertical looms and hand tools, and then we were shown many carpets, to which we were told "if you find a place in your heart for this, you will also find a place in your house, and also in your budget". Nice.
Would have liked to have bought one as they weren't badly priced compared to other places, but then what will I do lugging a Moroccan carpet around Europe for the next 7 months with me?
Driving along the vallee des roses was next, beautiful lush green oasises fed by an underground river, lined within valleys and canyons of red and black rock pinnacles and mountainsides, with many opportunities to stop and take photos and take in the beauty and serenity of the little mud brick villages scattered amongst the oasises. It's amazing to see oasises and life in such a desolate area mostly surrounded by harsh dry mountain and empty tundra terrain.
We stopped at a hotel by the Dades Gorge, where we passed the night listening to our Berber hosts playing their drums and telling stories and riddles over tea and candles - as was done before TV came about. Speaking of which, the only sign of modernity in these parts is the sight of satellite dishes on the roofs of the mud houses! It is sad to see traditional ways being lost as remote places such as these become more modernised. At the same time it is naive to believe they will stay the same forever. As such, it makes me more determined to visit places like this all over the world quickly before they are lost in the depths of time.
The next day, we went to Tinehir, an oasis town known for it's palmeries. We walked through alfalfa fields amongst villagers tending to their crops, into the old medina where we were given yet another carpet demonstration. It's fascinating to watch the time and effort it takes to make a carpet, and we were also taught the symbolism
behind the carpet patterns...
Then it was off to the Sahara desert...
We were driven through occasional sandstorms on a road that was quickly eroding, until we found ourselves in a field of nothing but little rocks as far as the eye can see, except in front of us, where the sand dunes rose out in the middle of nowhere signalling the start of the Sahara desert.
We got to a base in Merzourga at the edge of the desert, where we were shown to the camels sitting waiting for us. Camels are funny, although they can be temperamental, they always seem to look like they're smiling. Which I guess makes them unpredictable cause you never know what they're thinking. Anyway, received an old greasy blanket which I was to throw over the saddle and sit on. Later I was to find out that was the blanket I was to sleep under. Not for the faint hearted.
Anyway, we all got on our camels, and lead by a nomadic Berber desert guide, we rode through the sand dunes in one long caravan, each camel tied to the one in front or behind. Though at one point a renegade camel in the middle managed to break free from the caravan and tried to walk off! Not sure how it did that.
We rode on, stopping to witness the sun set over the sand dunes, though the weather was a little cloudy so it wasn't perfect, but we were hoping the sunrise would be clearer and better.
So, we arrived at a little nomadic camp between a couple of large sand dunes where we were to sleep in a big but well made nomadic tent - a few carpets, string, sticks and pegs holding the whole thing together. Some of us then tried to climb one of the sand dunes. They are alot bigger than they appear, and the top is alot further than you think. Something that seems like 10 meters away actually turns out to be 100 and so on. By the time we reached the top completely exhausted (Walking up a sand dune also is a killer on the legs!), night had fallen completely and it was pitch dark, except the stars that lit up the sky spectacularly and the tiny lamps of the campsite far below. It was incredibly windy on the top, with sand being blown everywhere all over you!
Back at camp, covered in sand, we enjoyed another meal of tajine, fruit, and then sat around in a circle while we entertained ourselves with drumming, singing, dancing, and smoking fruit from a shish? pipe (never found out the name of those pipe things).
Next morning we woke up before dawn and got back on the camels, in time to catch the first rays of sunrise turning the wind formed ripples in the sand turning from blue to red to finally yellow. We could also see some bird life flying about, and also the tracks of a desert fox that must have been out hunting in the night. We rode to the point where we could see the border to Algeria, which is currently closed due to conflicts down south in the western Sahara (Apparently, Algeria wants to take the land from the Moroccans so they have a closer and more direct oil line pipe straight to a port on the Atlantic ocean for shipping to the US and beyond).
And that was it. The rest of the day was the long arduous drive back to Marrakech, where we wished each other farewell and I went to sleep on the roof again.
LEARNING ABOUT ISLAM AT THE CASCADES D'OUZOUD
It was on the bus ride (and Grand Taxi since no bus goes to the Cascades) that I met Mohyiddine, Abdullah and Elhoucine, teachers from Agadir on holiday, visiting an old friend and cafe owner at the cascades. They invited me to join them.
The Cascades D'Ouzoud is the largest waterfall in northern Africa. Different to other waterfalls, it starts out wide as 7 little waterfalls, ending up joining up at the bottom as one large cascade of water, where rainbows and rock pools are abundant. Near the top, trees are full of Barbary apes swinging all over the place. At the bottom lie the rock pools and a tiny Berber village. Halfway down the middle sit hotels and cafes, where I was introduced to Azil, owner of a cafe with the best view of the cascades. It was here that we were provided with free lunch and drinks while everyone caught up, and later that afternoon, after exploring the cascades, we all went up for more talking over food and drinks when all the tourists had left.
It was here that we discussed many things, and I learnt alot about the Islam faith. It really does get a bad reputation; the religion is quite beautiful really. They have 5 pillars to attain in the Islamic faith. These are:
1. You must accept Allah is the one God and Muhammed is his Last Prophet.
2. You must pray 5 times a day, waking up, lunchtime, midafternoon, sunset, and before bed.
3. If you can do so, you must use at least 2% of your wealth to help the less fortunate.
4. If you can do so, fast the Ramadan (30 days, consisting of no food or other pleasures, only water, from sunrise to sunset.)
5. If you can do so, you must visit Mecca (in Saudi Arabia)
I was also taught about the steps involved when you reach Mecca. But this email is too long as it is to go into it.
They invited me to stay with them, 4 of us in a room designed for 2, but very cheap because the hotel owner knew Azil, and gave it to us "friend price". I offered to pay but they all refused, saying that "you can't put a price on friendship, you are our friend and guest and we welcome you".
Next morning, a quick breakfast of Them (hot milk from the Them plant) and Malawi (crepes), and I farewelled my friends and headed up the long bus ride to Fez...
FEZ
Fez is also a very large town with a very big medina. Blue is it's colour, though there are many more references to Green, which is the colour of Islam, with green roof tiles on white and yellow walls. The medina is actually 3 medinas in one hence it's great size; the Fes el Djedid (new medina), the Fes el bali (old medina), and the area between joining the two, with a large gate called Bab Boujeloud, where I stayed in a hotel (terrace) nearby overlooking it. Nice.
The new medina basically contains the royal palace and gardens, but it is the old medina, at the bottom of a valley enclosed within huge mud brick walls that most of the life of the medina is contained. Visited the Kairaouine Mosque, regarded as the holiest place in Morocco (never found out why, and couldn't go in since non-Muslims generally can't go into any mosque in Morocco, - with a few exceptions like the one in Casablanca). Beautiful Islamic designs adorn the 16 entrances into the mosque allowing people to enter and exit
from all sides during calls to prayer.
Also visited the Bou Inania Medersa, which is one of many old Islamic colleges centred around a beautiful courtyard with small fountain, and rooms on the floor above. The walls being adorned with plaster and wood carvings, the wood joints a testimony to expert carpentry.
Visited the tanneries, which are huge pots filled with different dyes etc that skins are soaked into and then left to
dry on the roofs. The smell and the sight of people bustling about amongst it is unbelievable.
Outside the walls of Fez are a huge number of white tombstones high up on the hill. From here you could see beautiful views over the old medina as the sun sets.
Even in the backwards country like Morocco I can't seem to get away from doing IT stuff. One night I went to help set up a printer (in French) for a very grateful cafe owner.
MEKNES
Meknes, less chaotic, less frequented by tourists, another imperial city (green being its colour), and probably my favourite city in Morocco because of it's very laid back atmosphere and souks where you can walk around without being chased after by shop owners trying to drag you into their shops. Quite a nice medieval atmosphere, where you can witness people making clothes, metal and wood work in little workshops along the main street.
Visited the Dar Jamai palace with it's collection of carpets and tapestries amid beautiful rooms. Here I met Ben, a Christian Chinese American from LA, who seemed to be quite knowledgeable about history and religion for an accountant. We went to visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, who was the founder of Morocco. Apparently only Muslims are allowed in, but the guard in front allowed us in as long as we took off our shoes. So we were lucky to see the grave and admire the beautifully decorated interior of the Mausoleum, which is more impressive than the outside.
We then chilled out watching people walk past in the main Place el Hedim while Ben explained the main differences between the religions. I learnt that the Jews and Muslims are actually half brothers, both being sons of Abraham. The difference is that each believe they are the "chosen people". Also, Jews believe in Chapter 1 (Old Testament), Christians in Chapter 1 and 2 (New Testament and Jesus being son of God), and Muslims believe in Chapter 1, 2, and 3 (Jesus just being another prophet, Muhammad being the Last Prophet carrying the final rules God had sent down for us to study so we can learn to be good and thus pass his exam (i.e go to heaven, failure means hell). They also explained that there is much fighting between them because the religions are so close, much as brothers or loved ones fight. They refrain from drinking alcohol to remain pure, and most women (younger and single women usually don't) cover up so men don't think impure thoughts.
Of course, there are also the fundamentalist Muslim groups that they all frown upon (just as there are fundamentalist Christian groups) that are of an oppressive and violent nature. What is important is to realise that they do not represent the true Islamic faith, where they praise God for giving them life and existence, are good to one another, and want to be truly good so they can go to heaven.
Next day we headed to Volublis via Grand Taxi (no direct buses that way) with another guy from Hong Kong called Wing who was at the hostel with me.
Volublis is a very well preserved roman ruin, on top of a hill, famous for it's mosaics, location for Martin Scorseses film "Last Temptation of Christ". We didn't have a guide but I've seen enough roman and Greek ruins to identify which buildings and ruins were what. The mosaics were quite impressive, though alot of it was fading out due to the elements.
RABAT
Left for Rabat the next day. Rabat, the fourth imperial city (colour being white), despite being the capital of morocco, was by far the most laid back city I had encountered. Consisting of a small medina which is almost too civilised that it's souks felt more of a small European market, but also a large ville nouvelle full of government and military buildings which you had to be careful not to take photos of. There are three main attractions in Rabat however.
- Chellah is an old ruined area within medina walls outside the city, overgrown with wildflowers and trees filled with storks nesting on the top, one stork nesting on the top of a minaret of a ruined mosque. A very picturesque and peaceful place, many locals go with their families to picnic, play music, make wreaths of wildflowers and play soccer.
- The incomplete Muhammad V mosque and mausoleum in the city is quite a sight to see. With beautiful gardens filled with fountains, a half built stunted but gigantic minaret which would have been the biggest in the world if it was completed, concrete pillars in the area where the mosque would have been built around making the mosque quite picturesque. The mausoleum was equally beautiful (designed by a Vietnamese architect), where the former king (Muhammad V) lies in amazingly detailed Islamic designs of gold, red carpets and tiled patterns, protected by friendly costumed guards.
- The Kasbah Oudaia, also just outside the city walls overlooking the beach. Here, you would find the Bab Oudaia gate, which is apparently one of the most beautiful gates in the Islamic world, though I can't work out why for the life of me. Inside, white washed walls with blue paint reminiscent of a Mediterranean island village leading to beautiful views of the beach and the ocean, with huge Atlantic ocean waves crashing against the Kasbah and the rocky pier below...
AND NOW BACK IN BRISTOL
And that was it! Was sad to leave, but I hope that I will have to opportunity to go back one day.
Soon, I'll head off again to Egypt and beyond for a 7 month stint around the borders of Europe...
Till next time,
A bientot!
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GO TO THE LINK BELOW FOR PHOTOS OF ME IN MOROCCO
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Salaam!
I have just come back from a two week Easter break in Morocco, unshaven, a little sunburnt, a few mosquito bites, and missing my luggage, which just got luckily couriered to me last night by the airline. I've also come back feeling a little more enlightened, having had a wild hectic but very educational and eye opening experience in Morocco amongst one of the most friendliest hospitable nations on Earth. I've been an invited guest to many a local people's homes, rode a camel in the Sahara desert sand dunes at sunrise, slept under the stars to the sounds of drums, singing and sizzling brochettes, sampled delicious local dishes like tajine and couscous, lost myself in the chaos of the medieval souks with it's exotic spices, carpets, friends and villains, admired intricately decorated mosques and Islamic architecture, and traversed through spectacular desert oasises, striking mountain ranges and surreal alien landscapes..
Not bad for my first venture into African territory.
CULTURE SHOCK ON ARRIVAL
Arrived in Casablanca airport after midnight, to be immediately confronted by several shifty looking characters as soon as I stepped outside searching in vain for the bus to the centre, which as it turned out had already left. The shifty characters were actually trying to be friendly, directing me to the Grand Taxis on the end of the street. Already, things were not as they appeared or as I was brought up to believe in the western world.
Grand Taxis are wonderful things. More comfortable and faster than other public transport, they will usually go between cities at a fixed rate, which you would share the cost with 6 other people, which can also work out to be cheaper too! I managed to find a friendly German couple to join me, who chose to pay my share of the Grand Taxi as well. So far so good.
But the night wasn't over yet. I was dropped off around 2am in front of the hotel I had attempted to book over the phone earlier that day (in my terrible French), and was worried when the hotel appeared locked up and closed. I rung the bell hoping for a response. In the meantime, an old Moroccan walking the street decided to come over to chat to me. Which is probably fine if you a) understand their culture of talking to total strangers (which I hadn't), and b) if you weren't alone in the middle of a dodgy looking empty street at 2 in the morning (which I was). Luckily, the door suddenly opened and a sleepy looking guy let me in the hotel (he was sleeping on the floor of the reception).
Thus, survived the first night unscathed with a bit of a culture shock - and to think this was only Casablanca, the most modern international city in Morocco! How would I react to the rest of the country?
SOME THINGS ON MOROCCO
- Moroccans are amazing linguists. Although their main languages are Arabic and French, they often also know Berber, English, Spanish, Portuguese and German!
- Moroccans are the most hospitable friendly nation I have encounted to date. They will talk to and invite random strangers into their homes or a cafe for tea. Moroccans tend to see westerners as "cold". One Moroccan recounted a story of a friend he had who was contracted to work in Finland. Last time his friend called home, he sounded upset, saying that he was lonely and sad because no one wanted to talk to him and were immediately suspicious when he tried to talk to them.
- Most cities in Morocco consist of two parts: The Medina and the Ville Nouvelle.
The Ancient Medieval Medina is a mud brick walled enclosure of souks selling practically everything, twisting alleyways, poor residential areas and kids running around, usually playing soccer. The people are generally very poor, but also very happy, having everything they need right in the medina - friends, family, enough to eat and a few meagre possessions. Most may never escape their simple honest life but they live quite happily.
Walking through the medinas can be pretty daunting if you're not used to the hustlers and touts trying to persistently and sometimes forcefully offering their services as a tour guide or dragging you into shops, hotels and restaurants so they can earn commission. You do learn to be more tolerant and sympathetic though when you hear that these people only survive by doing so.
The Ville Nouvelle is the modern French influenced area of the city with cafes, upmarket hotels and restaurants, amid shabby broken down art deco and art nouveau buildings.
- Everyone seems fascinated with my Asian eyes and my origins because I am exotic and beautiful to them. The amount of attention I get from the Moroccans, I sometimes feel like a celebrity. Kids would run past me while I’m sitting in a cafe, stop, run back, stop, and just stare at me curiously. Then they would continue on their way.
- Wherever I was, Moroccans would smile at me and shout out joyously "Japan", "Jacki Chan", or "Bruce Lee". In fact, a standard conversation would go like this:
"Japan!"
"No, I’m from Australia."
"Ah. kangaroo! But you look like Japan?"
"My parents are from Vietnam/china."
"Ah. Vietnam. Very strong. Kick America out!"
"Thankyou, I think."
"Welcome to Morocco. You are very welcome!"
After this they would invite me to have tea with them, or try to drag me into their shops...
- It takes a while to realise that even if they succeed in dragging you into their shops, they will assume you will be able to buy something, regardless of excuse! An example of one experience:
"Please, come in, have a look, I have beautiful carpets!"
"Sorry, but I have no money"
"It's ok, just to look, no problem, you like, you buy, cheap price"
"OK, but I really don't have any money"
"Here, sit down, we have many carpets"
"Look, what is the cheapest carpet you have"
"We have big and small carpets"
"Yes, but how much do they cost?"
"They can be 600dh-1000dh..."
"Well I only have 100dh on me." (this was true)
pause. sad sigh.
"Ok, thankyou, I wish you good holiday!"
I sure felt guilty about it, but what could I do?
CASABLANCA
Casablanca is a large sized city with a very international flavour, and a small intimate medina by the beach. Casablanca also has the monumental Mosque Hassan II, the third largest mosque in the world with the tallest minaret tower, perched on the edge of a cliff. A truly inspired building, built recently and still incomplete, this mosque would list highly on my 10 ten buildings of the world, amongst the Taj Mahaj and St Peters Basilica. The interior has to be seen to be believed, every square inch decorated with vibrant reds, gold, wood and plaster carved Islamic designs and extravagant crystal chandeliers.
It was in a (literally) "hole in the wall eatery" in the medina that I had my first taste of Tajine, one of their many staples (couscous and brochettes (kebabs) being other kinds). Tajine is basically a casserole, cut up meat with cut up vegetables surrounding it, mixed with spices and sauce and covered and left to stew over a charcoal stove. Eaten by scooping up the food with bread, it is absolutely delicious. Another variation is Kefta, which is meatballs with eggs. Yum.
It was in a cafe in the old medina where I met Hamid and Jino, locals who I spent an afternoon with chatting over "Moroccan whisky", (mint tea), their national drink, tea served very sweet with at least 4 lumps of sugar. Served with the mint directly soaking in the glass itself, or within a silver teapot, which is ceremonially poured into a glass from very high up like a waterfall to create froth, as this indicates the tea is well made.
They invited me for drinks in their house in the medina that night. The house they lived in is essentially a room 2x3m in size, enough to fit two narrow beds, a coffee table, and a chest of drawers with a radio blaring out 80's and 90's ballads from Bryan Adams, Sting and so on... the toilet, around the corner near the front door, is basically a concrete hole in the floor.
Much discussion was had on the politics and war. Moroccans are very open minded and accepting of other cultures and beliefs, as here, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Arabs, Berbers etc all live in relative harmony and peace with one another. They believe that education is very important to distinguish between what is good and bad, and that war is particularly bad because it leads to the destruction of cultures, history and lives. They believe that America's interference in the middle east causes political and economical instability so in the end they are forced to buy weapons and protection from America (because they aren't allowed to make weapons themselves), in return more control and access to their oil supplies. Regardless of whether this is true or not, it seems many people in the Arab nations would feel happier if America would stop interfering and left them all alone.
MARRAKESH
Marrakesh is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco (Fez, Rabat and Meknes being the others). Predominantly red in colour, Marrakesh is quite a large atmospheric place with an enormous medina which I got completely lost in. It took me once two hours through purposely twisting lanes (designed to confuse and disorientate attackers, or these days, tourists) to find my way to the main Djemaa el Fna square where people would gather to watch snake charmers, sword swallowers, acrobats, singers, dancers, watersellers in red costumes laden with gold cups and a waterbag, musicians and even monkeys perform. At night numerous tables laden with different foods (even boiled snails in soup) are cooked right in the square where you just sit on a bench next to a table and choose what you want to eat.
All this under the shadow of the beautiful Koutubia minaret - Marrakech is definitely the most atmospheric place to be in Morocco, especially when you get to sleep on the roof terrace overlooking the square under the stars as I did, though waking up to the sound of their call to prayer from the minarets at 5am is not that wonderful.
The call to prayer which they do at least 5 times a day following Muslim protocol, is quite a sound to hear and an unique experience. Loud chanting and singing over humming and mumbling prayers in the background coming from a loud speaker is impressive enough. Hearing it coming from every minaret in the city by different people transforms the city to a cacophony of chanting and song.
Haggling is an art form in these parts, and takes lots of practise to not get ripped off. I got ripped off buying a pair of sandals for 250dh (it was worth about 100dh, the seller asked for 500dh). But I think I did well buying Moroccan spice, managing to bargain 500gm for 50dh. I was wondering why the seller seemed unhappy Until I saw how much 500gms was (a helluva lot), and I changed it for 200gm for 30dh. (BTW $1AUD is 6dh, 1euro is 10dh, �1BP is 16dh)
THE HIGH ATLAS AND THE SAHARA DESERT
I decided on the spur of the moment to do a 3 day tour through the high Atlas mountains to the Sahara desert... Normally I don't like tours because you are rushed through everything and most of it involves alot of travelling on a bus. But I couldn't pass on the opportunity to go to the places I’ve only read about.
So there I was, with 3 Aussies, 4 kiwis, a lovely Moroccan couple on their honeymoon, 2 German girls and a Japanese guy, all sitting in the minibus, bags tied to the roof, monies paid, waiting for the tour to start. Suddenly, some old Moroccan guy got into the front seat with no introduction or explanation, and drove off with us. Could have been a kidnapper for all we knew, since no one thought about questioning him at all until an hour into the drive when we took the initiative to ask.
We finally worked out that we had no tour guide, just the driver who could only knew French and Arabic, which none of us could speak (except the Moroccans couple, but they couldn't speak English either)! All the driver did was just drive us to places and mumble "photo" (meaning get out and take photos), or point to his watch and signal when to return to the bus, then magically disappear, only to reappear when we had to leave.
We were first driven from Marrakesh to the Tizi n'Test Road mountain pass, where the views from up high in the red, black and brown Atlas mountains were spectacular to behold, some peaked with snow. We soon reached Ait Benhaddou, the first of many kasbahs (fortified mud castles) we were to see. Ait Benhaddou was an impressive kasbah situated at the foot of the hill, the walls coming up the slope to a ruined tower at the top of the hill. The labyrinth of twisting lanes, flat roofed mud brick houses and patterns carved into the walls quite characteristic of the Berber regions we found ourselves in.
Berbers are the native inhabitants of Morocco until they were joined by the Arabs, Jews, French and Spanish people. "Berber" however is only the name used by outsiders (some speculate as a historical derogatory term, i.e "barbarians", others believe it's due to the old name of the North African area they come from i.e "Barbary").
The real name of the people (in Morocco anyway) is "Amazigh", split into three dialects based on regions: "Tarifit" from the north, "Tamazight" from the center, and "Tachelhit" from the south.
Lunch was had at Ouarzazate, a place where many films such as Gladiator was filmed. In fact, many places featuring desert or representing Egypt is often filmed here because it is cheaper. We all decided to break from the itinery and spend some time in the town's medina and were all invited to a carpet shop where they demonstrated how they made the carpets using vertical looms and hand tools, and then we were shown many carpets, to which we were told "if you find a place in your heart for this, you will also find a place in your house, and also in your budget". Nice.
Would have liked to have bought one as they weren't badly priced compared to other places, but then what will I do lugging a Moroccan carpet around Europe for the next 7 months with me?
Driving along the vallee des roses was next, beautiful lush green oasises fed by an underground river, lined within valleys and canyons of red and black rock pinnacles and mountainsides, with many opportunities to stop and take photos and take in the beauty and serenity of the little mud brick villages scattered amongst the oasises. It's amazing to see oasises and life in such a desolate area mostly surrounded by harsh dry mountain and empty tundra terrain.
We stopped at a hotel by the Dades Gorge, where we passed the night listening to our Berber hosts playing their drums and telling stories and riddles over tea and candles - as was done before TV came about. Speaking of which, the only sign of modernity in these parts is the sight of satellite dishes on the roofs of the mud houses! It is sad to see traditional ways being lost as remote places such as these become more modernised. At the same time it is naive to believe they will stay the same forever. As such, it makes me more determined to visit places like this all over the world quickly before they are lost in the depths of time.
The next day, we went to Tinehir, an oasis town known for it's palmeries. We walked through alfalfa fields amongst villagers tending to their crops, into the old medina where we were given yet another carpet demonstration. It's fascinating to watch the time and effort it takes to make a carpet, and we were also taught the symbolism
behind the carpet patterns...
Then it was off to the Sahara desert...
We were driven through occasional sandstorms on a road that was quickly eroding, until we found ourselves in a field of nothing but little rocks as far as the eye can see, except in front of us, where the sand dunes rose out in the middle of nowhere signalling the start of the Sahara desert.
We got to a base in Merzourga at the edge of the desert, where we were shown to the camels sitting waiting for us. Camels are funny, although they can be temperamental, they always seem to look like they're smiling. Which I guess makes them unpredictable cause you never know what they're thinking. Anyway, received an old greasy blanket which I was to throw over the saddle and sit on. Later I was to find out that was the blanket I was to sleep under. Not for the faint hearted.
Anyway, we all got on our camels, and lead by a nomadic Berber desert guide, we rode through the sand dunes in one long caravan, each camel tied to the one in front or behind. Though at one point a renegade camel in the middle managed to break free from the caravan and tried to walk off! Not sure how it did that.
We rode on, stopping to witness the sun set over the sand dunes, though the weather was a little cloudy so it wasn't perfect, but we were hoping the sunrise would be clearer and better.
So, we arrived at a little nomadic camp between a couple of large sand dunes where we were to sleep in a big but well made nomadic tent - a few carpets, string, sticks and pegs holding the whole thing together. Some of us then tried to climb one of the sand dunes. They are alot bigger than they appear, and the top is alot further than you think. Something that seems like 10 meters away actually turns out to be 100 and so on. By the time we reached the top completely exhausted (Walking up a sand dune also is a killer on the legs!), night had fallen completely and it was pitch dark, except the stars that lit up the sky spectacularly and the tiny lamps of the campsite far below. It was incredibly windy on the top, with sand being blown everywhere all over you!
Back at camp, covered in sand, we enjoyed another meal of tajine, fruit, and then sat around in a circle while we entertained ourselves with drumming, singing, dancing, and smoking fruit from a shish? pipe (never found out the name of those pipe things).
Next morning we woke up before dawn and got back on the camels, in time to catch the first rays of sunrise turning the wind formed ripples in the sand turning from blue to red to finally yellow. We could also see some bird life flying about, and also the tracks of a desert fox that must have been out hunting in the night. We rode to the point where we could see the border to Algeria, which is currently closed due to conflicts down south in the western Sahara (Apparently, Algeria wants to take the land from the Moroccans so they have a closer and more direct oil line pipe straight to a port on the Atlantic ocean for shipping to the US and beyond).
And that was it. The rest of the day was the long arduous drive back to Marrakech, where we wished each other farewell and I went to sleep on the roof again.
LEARNING ABOUT ISLAM AT THE CASCADES D'OUZOUD
It was on the bus ride (and Grand Taxi since no bus goes to the Cascades) that I met Mohyiddine, Abdullah and Elhoucine, teachers from Agadir on holiday, visiting an old friend and cafe owner at the cascades. They invited me to join them.
The Cascades D'Ouzoud is the largest waterfall in northern Africa. Different to other waterfalls, it starts out wide as 7 little waterfalls, ending up joining up at the bottom as one large cascade of water, where rainbows and rock pools are abundant. Near the top, trees are full of Barbary apes swinging all over the place. At the bottom lie the rock pools and a tiny Berber village. Halfway down the middle sit hotels and cafes, where I was introduced to Azil, owner of a cafe with the best view of the cascades. It was here that we were provided with free lunch and drinks while everyone caught up, and later that afternoon, after exploring the cascades, we all went up for more talking over food and drinks when all the tourists had left.
It was here that we discussed many things, and I learnt alot about the Islam faith. It really does get a bad reputation; the religion is quite beautiful really. They have 5 pillars to attain in the Islamic faith. These are:
1. You must accept Allah is the one God and Muhammed is his Last Prophet.
2. You must pray 5 times a day, waking up, lunchtime, midafternoon, sunset, and before bed.
3. If you can do so, you must use at least 2% of your wealth to help the less fortunate.
4. If you can do so, fast the Ramadan (30 days, consisting of no food or other pleasures, only water, from sunrise to sunset.)
5. If you can do so, you must visit Mecca (in Saudi Arabia)
I was also taught about the steps involved when you reach Mecca. But this email is too long as it is to go into it.
They invited me to stay with them, 4 of us in a room designed for 2, but very cheap because the hotel owner knew Azil, and gave it to us "friend price". I offered to pay but they all refused, saying that "you can't put a price on friendship, you are our friend and guest and we welcome you".
Next morning, a quick breakfast of Them (hot milk from the Them plant) and Malawi (crepes), and I farewelled my friends and headed up the long bus ride to Fez...
FEZ
Fez is also a very large town with a very big medina. Blue is it's colour, though there are many more references to Green, which is the colour of Islam, with green roof tiles on white and yellow walls. The medina is actually 3 medinas in one hence it's great size; the Fes el Djedid (new medina), the Fes el bali (old medina), and the area between joining the two, with a large gate called Bab Boujeloud, where I stayed in a hotel (terrace) nearby overlooking it. Nice.
The new medina basically contains the royal palace and gardens, but it is the old medina, at the bottom of a valley enclosed within huge mud brick walls that most of the life of the medina is contained. Visited the Kairaouine Mosque, regarded as the holiest place in Morocco (never found out why, and couldn't go in since non-Muslims generally can't go into any mosque in Morocco, - with a few exceptions like the one in Casablanca). Beautiful Islamic designs adorn the 16 entrances into the mosque allowing people to enter and exit
from all sides during calls to prayer.
Also visited the Bou Inania Medersa, which is one of many old Islamic colleges centred around a beautiful courtyard with small fountain, and rooms on the floor above. The walls being adorned with plaster and wood carvings, the wood joints a testimony to expert carpentry.
Visited the tanneries, which are huge pots filled with different dyes etc that skins are soaked into and then left to
dry on the roofs. The smell and the sight of people bustling about amongst it is unbelievable.
Outside the walls of Fez are a huge number of white tombstones high up on the hill. From here you could see beautiful views over the old medina as the sun sets.
Even in the backwards country like Morocco I can't seem to get away from doing IT stuff. One night I went to help set up a printer (in French) for a very grateful cafe owner.
MEKNES
Meknes, less chaotic, less frequented by tourists, another imperial city (green being its colour), and probably my favourite city in Morocco because of it's very laid back atmosphere and souks where you can walk around without being chased after by shop owners trying to drag you into their shops. Quite a nice medieval atmosphere, where you can witness people making clothes, metal and wood work in little workshops along the main street.
Visited the Dar Jamai palace with it's collection of carpets and tapestries amid beautiful rooms. Here I met Ben, a Christian Chinese American from LA, who seemed to be quite knowledgeable about history and religion for an accountant. We went to visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, who was the founder of Morocco. Apparently only Muslims are allowed in, but the guard in front allowed us in as long as we took off our shoes. So we were lucky to see the grave and admire the beautifully decorated interior of the Mausoleum, which is more impressive than the outside.
We then chilled out watching people walk past in the main Place el Hedim while Ben explained the main differences between the religions. I learnt that the Jews and Muslims are actually half brothers, both being sons of Abraham. The difference is that each believe they are the "chosen people". Also, Jews believe in Chapter 1 (Old Testament), Christians in Chapter 1 and 2 (New Testament and Jesus being son of God), and Muslims believe in Chapter 1, 2, and 3 (Jesus just being another prophet, Muhammad being the Last Prophet carrying the final rules God had sent down for us to study so we can learn to be good and thus pass his exam (i.e go to heaven, failure means hell). They also explained that there is much fighting between them because the religions are so close, much as brothers or loved ones fight. They refrain from drinking alcohol to remain pure, and most women (younger and single women usually don't) cover up so men don't think impure thoughts.
Of course, there are also the fundamentalist Muslim groups that they all frown upon (just as there are fundamentalist Christian groups) that are of an oppressive and violent nature. What is important is to realise that they do not represent the true Islamic faith, where they praise God for giving them life and existence, are good to one another, and want to be truly good so they can go to heaven.
Next day we headed to Volublis via Grand Taxi (no direct buses that way) with another guy from Hong Kong called Wing who was at the hostel with me.
Volublis is a very well preserved roman ruin, on top of a hill, famous for it's mosaics, location for Martin Scorseses film "Last Temptation of Christ". We didn't have a guide but I've seen enough roman and Greek ruins to identify which buildings and ruins were what. The mosaics were quite impressive, though alot of it was fading out due to the elements.
RABAT
Left for Rabat the next day. Rabat, the fourth imperial city (colour being white), despite being the capital of morocco, was by far the most laid back city I had encountered. Consisting of a small medina which is almost too civilised that it's souks felt more of a small European market, but also a large ville nouvelle full of government and military buildings which you had to be careful not to take photos of. There are three main attractions in Rabat however.
- Chellah is an old ruined area within medina walls outside the city, overgrown with wildflowers and trees filled with storks nesting on the top, one stork nesting on the top of a minaret of a ruined mosque. A very picturesque and peaceful place, many locals go with their families to picnic, play music, make wreaths of wildflowers and play soccer.
- The incomplete Muhammad V mosque and mausoleum in the city is quite a sight to see. With beautiful gardens filled with fountains, a half built stunted but gigantic minaret which would have been the biggest in the world if it was completed, concrete pillars in the area where the mosque would have been built around making the mosque quite picturesque. The mausoleum was equally beautiful (designed by a Vietnamese architect), where the former king (Muhammad V) lies in amazingly detailed Islamic designs of gold, red carpets and tiled patterns, protected by friendly costumed guards.
- The Kasbah Oudaia, also just outside the city walls overlooking the beach. Here, you would find the Bab Oudaia gate, which is apparently one of the most beautiful gates in the Islamic world, though I can't work out why for the life of me. Inside, white washed walls with blue paint reminiscent of a Mediterranean island village leading to beautiful views of the beach and the ocean, with huge Atlantic ocean waves crashing against the Kasbah and the rocky pier below...
AND NOW BACK IN BRISTOL
And that was it! Was sad to leave, but I hope that I will have to opportunity to go back one day.
Soon, I'll head off again to Egypt and beyond for a 7 month stint around the borders of Europe...
Till next time,
A bientot!
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Update on James' life on the other side of the world
Longwell Green - Swansea - Gower Peninsula - Cardiff - Peterborough - Ramsey - Birmingham
Dear all,
Here is a quick (ha!) summary (ha! ha!) of my life in Longwell Green, Bristol, England since January...
THE TOWN WHERE I CURRENTLY LIVE
I had always thought that living in a small countryside village like Longwell Green, would be romantic, beautiful, peaceful and exciting.
I was right about the first three. Excitement however, seems to be lacking, simply because there is nothing to do!
So, what is Longwell Green like? It is pretty much a typical old English village, with old stone houses, some still with thatched roofs with occasional moss, medieval wooden painted houses, hilly curved roads, meandering creeks and rivers. The locals are quite friendly, courteous and pleasant. It's really quite nice here if it wasn't so cold and boring...
Being in a town situated halfway between Bristol and Bath means that you hear two types of English accents: the "Jane Austen I am Posh Upper class" accents from Bath area, and the "Aye me lover Pirate working class” accents of the Bristol area. (It's fun getting them to say "Shiver me timbers!" )
THE HOUSE WHERE I CURRENTLY LODGE
I'm currently again lodging at the house of John Barnett, who is a 52yo language teacher. An avid bird watcher, walker, soccer player and fan, John basically works to travel! He's been to over 150 countries around the world, speaks 10 languages, and by the time I leave here in late April, he would have done mini trips to Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Estonia. He is going to do a 6 month trip to South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand later this year, with plans to be in Melbourne to visit when I get back home by December.
Goes to show you're never too old to travel...
We agree that Portugal is the best country in the world, Berlin is one of our favourite cities, but disagree totally on Greece (he hates it, I love it).
He is also my "travel advisor", whilst I am his "IT technical support guy".
THE PLACE WHERE I CURRENTLY WORK
I'm here working again for the Kingswood Partnership Pathfinder Project, a collaboration of 7 schools in the Bristol area, prompted by the government to find ways to combat disaffection, improve learner engagement, reduce drop out rates, and allow learner flexibility and personal choice via use of an extranet system, work related vocational learning practises and personalised learning processes. My job is to train teachers and students to the extranet system, run pilots, and think up, develop, and test ideas, modifications and solutions to meet the above aims.
Beats working for a pittance in a pub...
WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO SINCE JANUARY
Unfortunately not much really, since I’ve been pretty much stuck here working. I've worked in the London British Education Trade Show, went to a football soccer match (Port Vale vs. Swindon), walked through snow, proposed marriage to Cheryl the pretty funny 24yo welsh school librarian (long story – the kids made me do it I swear!), a few parties, visits to friends and some little trips to Wales and parts of England..
A PARTY IN PETERBOROUGH, EAST ANGLIA
Went to Peterborough for Jasmine's birthday party, a 27yo English gal who I met in Lisbon, Portugal last year. A very independent lively vet nurse with an admirable tendency to know what she wants and then does it. She's worked in many places around the world that people dream of, from working at an orphanage in Madagascar, to vet nursing in Ibiza.
The party was also a farewell party as she is going to South America and the Galapagos, followed by Australia. Unfortunately she'd be back in England by the time I get home, but she may come back on a work visa if she can find decent work in Oz.
Peterborough, like most East Anglia towns, has an impressive gothic cathedral to rival Spain and France. It also boasts a Greyhound racing stadium (I made a net loss of 40p) which is where the party was held. That's about all Peterborough seemingly offers though.
RAMSEY - NAMED AFTER A RAM
The party ended up in her little home village of Ramsey, in the only pub that was open till 1am, meaning the whole village was in there drinking - it was that crowded! And apparently it was one of their quieter nights!
Legend speaks about a ram and a bull having a fight on top of a hill. The ram won. For some reason the town though it was such a significant event that it was worth naming itself after it.
Ramsey's "attractions" consist of an onion factory and a new windmill. Hmmm. Actually, it does have the largest Abbey in England (big, bold, beautiful - an interesting place to go to school which it is now used for).
BIRMINGHAM - A SHOPPERS PARADISE
Birmingham is England's second largest city, and indeed a shopper’s heaven, with shopping malls, shopping malls, and shopping malls...and did I mention shopping malls? And if that wasn't enough, there are outdoor shopping malls and walkways (lined with, funnily enough, shops) linking all the malls to each other!
But apart from that, Birmingham does have some impressive neoclassical and gothic Victorian architecture around the joint.
Also a very noticeable large ethnic population - Anglo Saxon people do seem to be the minority.
CARDIFF, THE WELSH CAPITAL
Went to Cardiff to visit Aurore - a 22yo sweet melancholy French girl from Rennes, Brittany. A penchant for creperies, good coffee, soppy movies, fashion, and anything French (just like a typical French girl), she was an au pair who lived nearby and hung out with me before the uncontrollable kids finally made her give up and go live and work in a casino in Cardiff instead! Alors!
Anyway, Cardiff - a university city with its state of the art football stadium that seems to dominate over everything else in the city. Apparently one of the best entertainment venues in Europe is the Millennium centre by the waterfront. Pleasant, but not the most exciting city I’ve been too (but then I’ve been spoilt).
SWANSEA, AN UGLY PRETTY TOWN
During school holidays I Went to Swansea and Gower Peninsula nearby - considered an area of outstanding natural beauty in the UK. Unfortunately, the poor weather and a nasty fever made me ditch my plan to go to the picturesque Brecon Beacons mountain national park afterwards.
Anyway, Swansea... Despite everyone's opinion that it is an ugly town, I thought it wasn't so bad...in certain parts anyway. The town is surrounded by hills that have along its slopes colourful muted townhouses with peaked roofs all lined up close next to each other, facing the sandy beach below which goes out for miles in low tide.
Swansea has not much to see, besides the small ruined castle, the beach, the largest Tesco convenience store I’ve ever seen, and a prison on the beach - meaning that prisoners can smell and hear the beach, but can't see or enjoy it. That'll teach them!
However, Swansea does has a vibrant nightlife, all seemingly centred on a small street in the city centre where a plethora of bars, clubs, pubs, and shivering girls in short skirts and furry boots (fashion similar to Bristol) abound.
In all, I do like Wales... the countryside is beautiful indeed, and the people are extremely friendly and talkative with a great sense of humour. Shame about the lousy weather though.
MY FUTURE PLANS
I'm going to Morocco for 2 weeks during the Easter break, then at the end of April I plan to leave for Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Rep, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, then back to England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, then back home by December this year. That's the idea anyway...
Au revoir!
Dear all,
Here is a quick (ha!) summary (ha! ha!) of my life in Longwell Green, Bristol, England since January...
THE TOWN WHERE I CURRENTLY LIVE
I had always thought that living in a small countryside village like Longwell Green, would be romantic, beautiful, peaceful and exciting.
I was right about the first three. Excitement however, seems to be lacking, simply because there is nothing to do!
So, what is Longwell Green like? It is pretty much a typical old English village, with old stone houses, some still with thatched roofs with occasional moss, medieval wooden painted houses, hilly curved roads, meandering creeks and rivers. The locals are quite friendly, courteous and pleasant. It's really quite nice here if it wasn't so cold and boring...
Being in a town situated halfway between Bristol and Bath means that you hear two types of English accents: the "Jane Austen I am Posh Upper class" accents from Bath area, and the "Aye me lover Pirate working class” accents of the Bristol area. (It's fun getting them to say "Shiver me timbers!" )
THE HOUSE WHERE I CURRENTLY LODGE
I'm currently again lodging at the house of John Barnett, who is a 52yo language teacher. An avid bird watcher, walker, soccer player and fan, John basically works to travel! He's been to over 150 countries around the world, speaks 10 languages, and by the time I leave here in late April, he would have done mini trips to Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Estonia. He is going to do a 6 month trip to South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand later this year, with plans to be in Melbourne to visit when I get back home by December.
Goes to show you're never too old to travel...
We agree that Portugal is the best country in the world, Berlin is one of our favourite cities, but disagree totally on Greece (he hates it, I love it).
He is also my "travel advisor", whilst I am his "IT technical support guy".
THE PLACE WHERE I CURRENTLY WORK
I'm here working again for the Kingswood Partnership Pathfinder Project, a collaboration of 7 schools in the Bristol area, prompted by the government to find ways to combat disaffection, improve learner engagement, reduce drop out rates, and allow learner flexibility and personal choice via use of an extranet system, work related vocational learning practises and personalised learning processes. My job is to train teachers and students to the extranet system, run pilots, and think up, develop, and test ideas, modifications and solutions to meet the above aims.
Beats working for a pittance in a pub...
WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO SINCE JANUARY
Unfortunately not much really, since I’ve been pretty much stuck here working. I've worked in the London British Education Trade Show, went to a football soccer match (Port Vale vs. Swindon), walked through snow, proposed marriage to Cheryl the pretty funny 24yo welsh school librarian (long story – the kids made me do it I swear!), a few parties, visits to friends and some little trips to Wales and parts of England..
A PARTY IN PETERBOROUGH, EAST ANGLIA
Went to Peterborough for Jasmine's birthday party, a 27yo English gal who I met in Lisbon, Portugal last year. A very independent lively vet nurse with an admirable tendency to know what she wants and then does it. She's worked in many places around the world that people dream of, from working at an orphanage in Madagascar, to vet nursing in Ibiza.
The party was also a farewell party as she is going to South America and the Galapagos, followed by Australia. Unfortunately she'd be back in England by the time I get home, but she may come back on a work visa if she can find decent work in Oz.
Peterborough, like most East Anglia towns, has an impressive gothic cathedral to rival Spain and France. It also boasts a Greyhound racing stadium (I made a net loss of 40p) which is where the party was held. That's about all Peterborough seemingly offers though.
RAMSEY - NAMED AFTER A RAM
The party ended up in her little home village of Ramsey, in the only pub that was open till 1am, meaning the whole village was in there drinking - it was that crowded! And apparently it was one of their quieter nights!
Legend speaks about a ram and a bull having a fight on top of a hill. The ram won. For some reason the town though it was such a significant event that it was worth naming itself after it.
Ramsey's "attractions" consist of an onion factory and a new windmill. Hmmm. Actually, it does have the largest Abbey in England (big, bold, beautiful - an interesting place to go to school which it is now used for).
BIRMINGHAM - A SHOPPERS PARADISE
Birmingham is England's second largest city, and indeed a shopper’s heaven, with shopping malls, shopping malls, and shopping malls...and did I mention shopping malls? And if that wasn't enough, there are outdoor shopping malls and walkways (lined with, funnily enough, shops) linking all the malls to each other!
But apart from that, Birmingham does have some impressive neoclassical and gothic Victorian architecture around the joint.
Also a very noticeable large ethnic population - Anglo Saxon people do seem to be the minority.
CARDIFF, THE WELSH CAPITAL
Went to Cardiff to visit Aurore - a 22yo sweet melancholy French girl from Rennes, Brittany. A penchant for creperies, good coffee, soppy movies, fashion, and anything French (just like a typical French girl), she was an au pair who lived nearby and hung out with me before the uncontrollable kids finally made her give up and go live and work in a casino in Cardiff instead! Alors!
Anyway, Cardiff - a university city with its state of the art football stadium that seems to dominate over everything else in the city. Apparently one of the best entertainment venues in Europe is the Millennium centre by the waterfront. Pleasant, but not the most exciting city I’ve been too (but then I’ve been spoilt).
SWANSEA, AN UGLY PRETTY TOWN
During school holidays I Went to Swansea and Gower Peninsula nearby - considered an area of outstanding natural beauty in the UK. Unfortunately, the poor weather and a nasty fever made me ditch my plan to go to the picturesque Brecon Beacons mountain national park afterwards.
Anyway, Swansea... Despite everyone's opinion that it is an ugly town, I thought it wasn't so bad...in certain parts anyway. The town is surrounded by hills that have along its slopes colourful muted townhouses with peaked roofs all lined up close next to each other, facing the sandy beach below which goes out for miles in low tide.
Swansea has not much to see, besides the small ruined castle, the beach, the largest Tesco convenience store I’ve ever seen, and a prison on the beach - meaning that prisoners can smell and hear the beach, but can't see or enjoy it. That'll teach them!
However, Swansea does has a vibrant nightlife, all seemingly centred on a small street in the city centre where a plethora of bars, clubs, pubs, and shivering girls in short skirts and furry boots (fashion similar to Bristol) abound.
In all, I do like Wales... the countryside is beautiful indeed, and the people are extremely friendly and talkative with a great sense of humour. Shame about the lousy weather though.
MY FUTURE PLANS
I'm going to Morocco for 2 weeks during the Easter break, then at the end of April I plan to leave for Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Rep, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, then back to England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, then back home by December this year. That's the idea anyway...
Au revoir!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
James' German xmas and Berlin New Year
Hildesheim - Hasede - Berlin - Potsdam - Longwell Green (BRISTOL, ENGLAND)
Hey peoples,
Sorry, this is going to be a long one, haven't written for a long while,
So deep intake of breath, and -
stage left to
BREMEN
Left Bremen after having dinner with locals in their student residence, then taken to a club called "The Tower" which was pretty cool... which left me with not much sleep which was bad because I had to meet Charlotte and her family the next day..
CHARLOTTE
For those who don't know, Charlotte is a 22yo German girl I met at CEBIT Trade show when I was working there for a week in Hanover, then we ended up dating when I met up with her in Germersheim, and now just friends (I’ll spare you the details), being invited over to spend xmas with her family...
Anyway, so there I was, emerging at Hildesheim station, tiny flakes of snow drifting down, covering me and the long stemmed rose I had bought with snow like fine icing sugar. I walk, hoping to catch the eyes of my friend waiting for me, and then... I walked right past her*! Whoops!
(*I did the same thing to her in Germersheim. Don't know how or why, I mean, how hard is it to spot a blond haired blue eyed girl in a crowd in Germany anyway? )
Charlotte actually lives in Hasede, a tiny old village in the outskirts of Hildesheim, a small town in the outskirts of Hanover. Nearby is a small forest where, in Autumn, one can go pick and eat wild mushrooms (though some are poisonous).
Charlotte's father is a salesman who LOOKS and ACTS EXACTLY like an older version of Robin Williams (the actor, not Robbie Williams the singer). I kid you not. Funny and kind. The mother is a retired pharmacist, loves to laugh, unfortunately does not speak English so it was difficult to communicate with her without Charlotte around (Charlotte is studying to be a translator).
A GERMAN CHRISTMAS
Christmas in Germany is a lot different to what I expected. In fact, most of the Christmas traditions we know come from the US or England. For example, there is no Christmas turkey, the closest approximation may be a goose. Christmas dinner instead consists usually of various types of sausages, hams, boiled potatoes, and some sort of strange green spinach.
The tree is usually decorated a few days before Christmas, with ornaments made, baked or bought. Real candles are placed on the tree, but only lit on Christmas eve onwards, and only in the presence of other people (for sensible reasons).
Christmas eve is the main day of celebration, with Christmas dinner, followed by the lighting of the candles on the tree. Carols may be sung (I played the piano while they all sung in German), then the opening of presents commences, usually handed in person from the giver to the receiver. All these events are celebrated with much wine and champagne...
Afterwards, should you feel so inclined, you would go to the Christmas Midnight Mass, which was quite nice despite it all being in German. The choir and orchestra would sing/play many hymns, which I tried to sing along with as best I could.
Anyway, when Christmas was over, I farewelled Charlotte and her family and took off to spend New Years in Berlin...
BERLIN NIGHTLIFE
So, there I was again in Berlin, the first place I had visited on my own. Having already done most of the touristy things, I thought I’d instead investigate what Berlin is famous for - the nightlife.
Much money was spent, drinks consumed, beautiful girls met, friends made, and of course lots of fun had! Most nights I didn't get home till 7am.
Some of the places I ended up visiting were:
-A-Trane (an expensive Jazz bar in West Berlin),
-Goldmans Bar (Me and mates cheated on Bingo night by crossing most numbers and yelling out "Bingo!" when a number was called that existed on our card. People were too drunk to notice!)
-Delicious Doughnuts (small groovy place, plays acid jazz etc)
-Mudd (dingy basement off main street, plays alternative music)
-Red Saloon (big nice place, played Britpop when I was there)
-Watergate (Great views on the edge of the River Spree, played good D&B and okish trance when there)
-Tacheles (large squat house in east Berlin, filled with squatter run bars, clubs, even a cinema and art gallery. Awesome trance/techno, chill out room)
-Kulturbrewerei (large place, 13 floors, in the backstreets of East Berlin)
-Dunukler (one of the oldest clubs in East Berlin, played gothic music when I was there)
-Matrix (Huge place, went to student rock night, lots of fun)
THE VERDICT
So, what can I say about Berlin Nightlife? It ROCKS! Berlin has something for everyone, from Goth Rock to Acid Jazz to Drum and Bass to Rock/Pop to Techno/Trance... On New Years it even had an American Country/Western music event - for 50euros!
Berlin has a vast number of clubs, bars and cafes that allow this diversity, due to the fact that Berlin has no real centre. You have the East centre, the West centre, the centre between the two, the Turkish quarter, the Jewish quarter, the student quarter... which means there are always things happening everywhere, anywhere you happen to be.
Combine this with the 24hr kebab stands, brilliant 24hr public transport, and that Berlin is quite a cheap city (especially on the east side), and what you have is a great place to go party!
Berliners are very much into their techno music, and also has a raging gay scene. Indeed, the odds that you would have accidentally walked into a gay club is very high! (I've done it twice!)
NEW YEARS IN BERLIN
So, New Years Eve in Berlin...
Started by having many drinks at the hostel with a bunch of cool hostel folk, then we all went to the Tiergarten in West Berlin and the front of the Brandenburg Gate. It was teeming with people, it was very hard to move through the packed crowd in front of the huge stage they set up where terrible music was played.
We then decided to move to the other side of the Gate to East Berlin to see what it was like there. They had blocked off entrance to the Brandenburg gate unfortunately so we had to walk around it. However, imagine our shock when we crossed to East Berlin and discovered that we couldn't go back to the West side because it was too full!! They had guards and fences allowing the west to come to the east but not the other way around. I don't know if they see how offensive that action was when you look back and see that was the same purpose of the Berlin Wall!
Anyway, so we were stuck in East Berlin, still we had fun, as we waited for the countdown (which was in German of course), I had a good view from a ledge over the crowd, and when it was new year, fireworks were lit (mainly by the crowd than New Year Organisers), sparklers were lit, and I had a bottle of champagne which I shook, opened, and sprayed over peoples heads! It was a great festive atmosphere, yet also a little scary walking down the main street to Alexanderplatz avoiding being hit or injured by the fireworks and crackers people had lit everywhere.
We decided to crash this house party in East Berlin that someone had told us about. We didn't know the actual apartment number though, just the building and street. So what we did was press all the apartment buzzers and ask each one if this was the house party. We woke up three people before the 4th said "Ja" and buzzed us in without asking who we were. It was quite strange being there because we knew no one, and the person who told us about it never showed up. But we all had fun talking to all of them anyway.
Later on, we went down to Watergate club, where we stayed for the rest of the night.
And, if I wasn't tired enough from New Years Eve, the next day (New Years Day), we all went to Tacheles and I didn't go home till 2PM!
TOURISTY THINGS
I did do some touristy things though, mainly things I had missed. The Checkpoint Charlie museum for one, which depicted how people tried to get over the wall, via rope and pulley, tunnels, swimming, rafting to Denmark, construction of home made gliders, planes and even a hot air balloon, modified cars with hidden spaces, stolen identities...one person even escaped between two hollowed surfboards tied to the roof of a car!
The Jewish museum is a must see for those into modern architecture. It was designed as a smashed star of David, with angular walls, floors etc to create the feeling of despair, desolation and disorientation experienced by the Jews.
Did a day trip to Potsdam, just outside Berlin, where a number of beautiful neoclassical/baroque palaces, residences, gardens and parks were built.
SO WHERE AM I NOW?
And now I am back in Longwell Green, Bristol, England, for another few months working to make some money to finance the next part of my travels. Just recently got back from a week in London working at the British Education Technology Trade show. More on that next time I write.
FUTURE TRAVELS
My plans are to leave in mid March to go to Egypt, (possibly Jordan, Israel, Cyprus) to Turkey, then Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia/Czech, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moscow, St Petersburg, Finland, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, then back home at the end of November.
Phew! Done. It wasn't that bad now was it?
Till next time,
Adios,
James
Hey peoples,
Sorry, this is going to be a long one, haven't written for a long while,
So deep intake of breath, and -
stage left to
BREMEN
Left Bremen after having dinner with locals in their student residence, then taken to a club called "The Tower" which was pretty cool... which left me with not much sleep which was bad because I had to meet Charlotte and her family the next day..
CHARLOTTE
For those who don't know, Charlotte is a 22yo German girl I met at CEBIT Trade show when I was working there for a week in Hanover, then we ended up dating when I met up with her in Germersheim, and now just friends (I’ll spare you the details), being invited over to spend xmas with her family...
Anyway, so there I was, emerging at Hildesheim station, tiny flakes of snow drifting down, covering me and the long stemmed rose I had bought with snow like fine icing sugar. I walk, hoping to catch the eyes of my friend waiting for me, and then... I walked right past her*! Whoops!
(*I did the same thing to her in Germersheim. Don't know how or why, I mean, how hard is it to spot a blond haired blue eyed girl in a crowd in Germany anyway? )
Charlotte actually lives in Hasede, a tiny old village in the outskirts of Hildesheim, a small town in the outskirts of Hanover. Nearby is a small forest where, in Autumn, one can go pick and eat wild mushrooms (though some are poisonous).
Charlotte's father is a salesman who LOOKS and ACTS EXACTLY like an older version of Robin Williams (the actor, not Robbie Williams the singer). I kid you not. Funny and kind. The mother is a retired pharmacist, loves to laugh, unfortunately does not speak English so it was difficult to communicate with her without Charlotte around (Charlotte is studying to be a translator).
A GERMAN CHRISTMAS
Christmas in Germany is a lot different to what I expected. In fact, most of the Christmas traditions we know come from the US or England. For example, there is no Christmas turkey, the closest approximation may be a goose. Christmas dinner instead consists usually of various types of sausages, hams, boiled potatoes, and some sort of strange green spinach.
The tree is usually decorated a few days before Christmas, with ornaments made, baked or bought. Real candles are placed on the tree, but only lit on Christmas eve onwards, and only in the presence of other people (for sensible reasons).
Christmas eve is the main day of celebration, with Christmas dinner, followed by the lighting of the candles on the tree. Carols may be sung (I played the piano while they all sung in German), then the opening of presents commences, usually handed in person from the giver to the receiver. All these events are celebrated with much wine and champagne...
Afterwards, should you feel so inclined, you would go to the Christmas Midnight Mass, which was quite nice despite it all being in German. The choir and orchestra would sing/play many hymns, which I tried to sing along with as best I could.
Anyway, when Christmas was over, I farewelled Charlotte and her family and took off to spend New Years in Berlin...
BERLIN NIGHTLIFE
So, there I was again in Berlin, the first place I had visited on my own. Having already done most of the touristy things, I thought I’d instead investigate what Berlin is famous for - the nightlife.
Much money was spent, drinks consumed, beautiful girls met, friends made, and of course lots of fun had! Most nights I didn't get home till 7am.
Some of the places I ended up visiting were:
-A-Trane (an expensive Jazz bar in West Berlin),
-Goldmans Bar (Me and mates cheated on Bingo night by crossing most numbers and yelling out "Bingo!" when a number was called that existed on our card. People were too drunk to notice!)
-Delicious Doughnuts (small groovy place, plays acid jazz etc)
-Mudd (dingy basement off main street, plays alternative music)
-Red Saloon (big nice place, played Britpop when I was there)
-Watergate (Great views on the edge of the River Spree, played good D&B and okish trance when there)
-Tacheles (large squat house in east Berlin, filled with squatter run bars, clubs, even a cinema and art gallery. Awesome trance/techno, chill out room)
-Kulturbrewerei (large place, 13 floors, in the backstreets of East Berlin)
-Dunukler (one of the oldest clubs in East Berlin, played gothic music when I was there)
-Matrix (Huge place, went to student rock night, lots of fun)
THE VERDICT
So, what can I say about Berlin Nightlife? It ROCKS! Berlin has something for everyone, from Goth Rock to Acid Jazz to Drum and Bass to Rock/Pop to Techno/Trance... On New Years it even had an American Country/Western music event - for 50euros!
Berlin has a vast number of clubs, bars and cafes that allow this diversity, due to the fact that Berlin has no real centre. You have the East centre, the West centre, the centre between the two, the Turkish quarter, the Jewish quarter, the student quarter... which means there are always things happening everywhere, anywhere you happen to be.
Combine this with the 24hr kebab stands, brilliant 24hr public transport, and that Berlin is quite a cheap city (especially on the east side), and what you have is a great place to go party!
Berliners are very much into their techno music, and also has a raging gay scene. Indeed, the odds that you would have accidentally walked into a gay club is very high! (I've done it twice!)
NEW YEARS IN BERLIN
So, New Years Eve in Berlin...
Started by having many drinks at the hostel with a bunch of cool hostel folk, then we all went to the Tiergarten in West Berlin and the front of the Brandenburg Gate. It was teeming with people, it was very hard to move through the packed crowd in front of the huge stage they set up where terrible music was played.
We then decided to move to the other side of the Gate to East Berlin to see what it was like there. They had blocked off entrance to the Brandenburg gate unfortunately so we had to walk around it. However, imagine our shock when we crossed to East Berlin and discovered that we couldn't go back to the West side because it was too full!! They had guards and fences allowing the west to come to the east but not the other way around. I don't know if they see how offensive that action was when you look back and see that was the same purpose of the Berlin Wall!
Anyway, so we were stuck in East Berlin, still we had fun, as we waited for the countdown (which was in German of course), I had a good view from a ledge over the crowd, and when it was new year, fireworks were lit (mainly by the crowd than New Year Organisers), sparklers were lit, and I had a bottle of champagne which I shook, opened, and sprayed over peoples heads! It was a great festive atmosphere, yet also a little scary walking down the main street to Alexanderplatz avoiding being hit or injured by the fireworks and crackers people had lit everywhere.
We decided to crash this house party in East Berlin that someone had told us about. We didn't know the actual apartment number though, just the building and street. So what we did was press all the apartment buzzers and ask each one if this was the house party. We woke up three people before the 4th said "Ja" and buzzed us in without asking who we were. It was quite strange being there because we knew no one, and the person who told us about it never showed up. But we all had fun talking to all of them anyway.
Later on, we went down to Watergate club, where we stayed for the rest of the night.
And, if I wasn't tired enough from New Years Eve, the next day (New Years Day), we all went to Tacheles and I didn't go home till 2PM!
TOURISTY THINGS
I did do some touristy things though, mainly things I had missed. The Checkpoint Charlie museum for one, which depicted how people tried to get over the wall, via rope and pulley, tunnels, swimming, rafting to Denmark, construction of home made gliders, planes and even a hot air balloon, modified cars with hidden spaces, stolen identities...one person even escaped between two hollowed surfboards tied to the roof of a car!
The Jewish museum is a must see for those into modern architecture. It was designed as a smashed star of David, with angular walls, floors etc to create the feeling of despair, desolation and disorientation experienced by the Jews.
Did a day trip to Potsdam, just outside Berlin, where a number of beautiful neoclassical/baroque palaces, residences, gardens and parks were built.
SO WHERE AM I NOW?
And now I am back in Longwell Green, Bristol, England, for another few months working to make some money to finance the next part of my travels. Just recently got back from a week in London working at the British Education Technology Trade show. More on that next time I write.
FUTURE TRAVELS
My plans are to leave in mid March to go to Egypt, (possibly Jordan, Israel, Cyprus) to Turkey, then Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia/Czech, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moscow, St Petersburg, Finland, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, then back home at the end of November.
Phew! Done. It wasn't that bad now was it?
Till next time,
Adios,
James
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
James visits the German Christmas Markets
Lubeck - Hamburg - Bremen
Gutentag!
A few last things about Scandinavia....
Stockholm: A shoppers paradise, filled to the brim with department stores, gallerias and designer clothes shops. If you can afford it that is.
Copenhagen: A bikers paradise, filled to the brim with bikes left in every nook and cranny in the streets, against shops, congregating in the middle of a square, all seemingly abandoned, but cunningly locked securely. In fact bikes have so much power I think they even get more footpath space than us lowly pedestrians. Speaking of walking my leg has improved a lot since I walked into a lamp post the other day...
And then I went to Germany...
Arrived in Lubeck at night, the best time to really admire the town with the laser lights beaming from the towers of the cathedral in the centre of town to the towers on the beautiful large medieval city gate, almost looking like tightropes made of coloured light. Lubeck is a town that many people don't care to visit: usually they catch a cheap EasyJet or RyanAir flight to its airport and then catch a bus direct to Hamburg, without even stopping to admire this beautiful medieval red brick town, with Romanesque/gothic striking architecture, and the friendly people.
Nobody does Christmas markets like Germany!
And why not, as the markets, much like most Christmas traditions, all mainly stem from Germany itself. After all, isn't that why I’m here now? (Or am I deluding myself and am really here to see about a girl? (who I’m seeing tomorrow) )
So what is a Christmas market? Basically the townsfolk set up wooden huts/stalls decorated with Christmas lights, tinsel, greenery etc, and sell (exquisite expensive) Christmas decorations, candy, gifts, and all sorts of good food and wine. "Gluhwein" is a spicy hot wine, good for the cold days - bratwurst sausage and roast stands, fried potato cakes, battered fish, burgers... sautéed champignons with onion and garlic yogurt sauce is not what I expected to see but it's everywhere...
There's also rides, Ferris wheels, Christmas parades, musicians... In Hamburg even a flying Santa and reindeer - they tied a sleigh to a rope between the town hall and another building on the other side of the square, then a motor dragged it through to the other side. Only problem was once they got to the other side, the only way Santa could go was BACKWARDS to where he started. Which slightly destroyed the illusion of "bye kids, Santa is leaving now" but hey it's the thought that counts!
Hamburg is Germany's 2nd largest city. It also is one of the largest ports in the world, and Hamburg's Reeperbahn has reputedly more prostitutes than Amsterdam.
More expensive too, but hey how would I know?
Still, there's lots more to see in Hamburg. I've been through the famous Alter ElbeTunnel (Old tunnel under the Elbe river), which I have recently noted features in many German film clips!
Not many people are backpacking these days, in fact there's only a tiny few people in the hostels I’ve been in Germany, and they only speak German so I’ve been pretty much on my own these last days.
Bremen is a nice town, has a very dramatic town centre with the twin tall towers of the cathedral imposing itself over the rest of the square - the spectacularly intricately garnished town hall adding to its glory. Not to mention the bright colourful Christmas market in the square itself! And a first for them - they also now have a
medieval Christmas market too!
Visited the Becks Brewery there, where I had consumed many free beverages (which this email is being written under the influence of),
and met some locals, who will show me around Bremen tonight...
Speaking of which I’m about to go meet them, so...
Frohe Weihnachten!
James
Gutentag!
A few last things about Scandinavia....
Stockholm: A shoppers paradise, filled to the brim with department stores, gallerias and designer clothes shops. If you can afford it that is.
Copenhagen: A bikers paradise, filled to the brim with bikes left in every nook and cranny in the streets, against shops, congregating in the middle of a square, all seemingly abandoned, but cunningly locked securely. In fact bikes have so much power I think they even get more footpath space than us lowly pedestrians. Speaking of walking my leg has improved a lot since I walked into a lamp post the other day...
And then I went to Germany...
Arrived in Lubeck at night, the best time to really admire the town with the laser lights beaming from the towers of the cathedral in the centre of town to the towers on the beautiful large medieval city gate, almost looking like tightropes made of coloured light. Lubeck is a town that many people don't care to visit: usually they catch a cheap EasyJet or RyanAir flight to its airport and then catch a bus direct to Hamburg, without even stopping to admire this beautiful medieval red brick town, with Romanesque/gothic striking architecture, and the friendly people.
Nobody does Christmas markets like Germany!
And why not, as the markets, much like most Christmas traditions, all mainly stem from Germany itself. After all, isn't that why I’m here now? (Or am I deluding myself and am really here to see about a girl? (who I’m seeing tomorrow) )
So what is a Christmas market? Basically the townsfolk set up wooden huts/stalls decorated with Christmas lights, tinsel, greenery etc, and sell (exquisite expensive) Christmas decorations, candy, gifts, and all sorts of good food and wine. "Gluhwein" is a spicy hot wine, good for the cold days - bratwurst sausage and roast stands, fried potato cakes, battered fish, burgers... sautéed champignons with onion and garlic yogurt sauce is not what I expected to see but it's everywhere...
There's also rides, Ferris wheels, Christmas parades, musicians... In Hamburg even a flying Santa and reindeer - they tied a sleigh to a rope between the town hall and another building on the other side of the square, then a motor dragged it through to the other side. Only problem was once they got to the other side, the only way Santa could go was BACKWARDS to where he started. Which slightly destroyed the illusion of "bye kids, Santa is leaving now" but hey it's the thought that counts!
Hamburg is Germany's 2nd largest city. It also is one of the largest ports in the world, and Hamburg's Reeperbahn has reputedly more prostitutes than Amsterdam.
More expensive too, but hey how would I know?
Still, there's lots more to see in Hamburg. I've been through the famous Alter ElbeTunnel (Old tunnel under the Elbe river), which I have recently noted features in many German film clips!
Not many people are backpacking these days, in fact there's only a tiny few people in the hostels I’ve been in Germany, and they only speak German so I’ve been pretty much on my own these last days.
Bremen is a nice town, has a very dramatic town centre with the twin tall towers of the cathedral imposing itself over the rest of the square - the spectacularly intricately garnished town hall adding to its glory. Not to mention the bright colourful Christmas market in the square itself! And a first for them - they also now have a
medieval Christmas market too!
Visited the Becks Brewery there, where I had consumed many free beverages (which this email is being written under the influence of),
and met some locals, who will show me around Bremen tonight...
Speaking of which I’m about to go meet them, so...
Frohe Weihnachten!
James
Sunday, December 19, 2004
James embraces Swedish culture with meatballs at IKEA
Hej,
Ah, Scandinavia, the place where a Danish pastry is called "Vienna Bread" a hotdog is French, and the PUB is a department store...
Anyway... a flip of a coin sent me via night bus from Copenhagen to STOCKHOLM! Yay!
First impression of Stockholm was the magnificent array of light illuminating the whole city even at 6am when I arrived by overnight bus. In fact all the towns I passed in the night were brightly lit up by thousands of lights... I hate to see the electricity bill in these parts...
Stockholm is a very beautiful city indeed, with bright earthy yellow, red and orange coloured buildings in the old town amid narrow cobbled streets; large baroque townhouses along the several waterfronts; period romantic old villages and houses in the green open-air museum of Skansen park with the Nordic zoo containing wolverines, reindeer, bears and seals; Christmas markets abound selling xmas paraphernalia and candy amid outdoor ice skating rinks filled with children... including me, not the most graceful ice skater mind you, but I survived unscathed...
The hostel I’m staying at is pretty cool. Located close to the centre of Stockholm, it has a free sauna, free pasta, and free internet! How can you go wrong with that? Met some pretty cool people here too; to name a few: - Daan, a funny 19yo Dutch guy who likes watching MTV with a talent of sweet talking his way through anything - then there's Zoe, a funny 23yo funky Aussie chicky who makes jewellery;
Lorna, a Maltese 30yo woman with a beautiful singing voice; Holly and Jasmine, pretty Aussie sisters 19 and 15 years old who we somehow managed to smuggle into all the clubs and bars we went to even though you needed to be 20 or older to enter (thanks to Daan)...
Watched the Noble Prize winners and participants from all over the world entering the Concert hall where the awards ceremony takes place every year in Stockholm on December 10th. Was uneventful but still nice to be part of such an important global occasion.
Also was there for the Lucia light festival, where a very beautiful girl is crowned St Lucia, who, with her crown of candles, is paraded around Stockholm and then sings with her choir at Skansen, and finalised by fireworks (which were pretty dismal apparently). it was funny how all the guys at the hostel were saying how hot she was until someone mentioned she was only about 14! Whoops!
Anyway, to embrace Swedish culture, guess where I went? That's right, IKEA!! The first designer furniture store they ever made right here in Stockholm! And, to further immerse myself in the Swedish experience, I ate Swedish meatballs in their restaurant! Swedish meatballs are nothing special actually, but still something one has to do...
Didn't get the chance to eat Reindeer though, so I guess I won't feel guilty for having eaten Rudolph this Christmas...
Sweden/Stockholm has a few downsides. One is that you can only go to clubs when you're 23 or older, and even some bars won't let you in unless you're at least 20! Also, you can only buy decent "cheap" alcohol at government run bottle/wine shops called "Superbolaget" (which, following Aussie culture of abbreviating everything, I call it the "SysBo"). Otherwise you would have to pay extortionate prices (12-20 AUD) just for a beer in a bar! Stockholm is very expensive, comparable to London...
Did manage to have a very cheap Saturday night clubbing with hostel folk however. Firstly we bought many bottles of wine from the "SysBo", then made our way to a "cheap" bar in the south of Stockholm. Then somehow, Daan managed to sweet talk the security guard at a very popular Swedish nightclub to let us straight in past the queue for free, and then have her look after our coats
all night! (Because the cloakroom was full) Not sure how he did it but we were all very impressed!
Anyway, I’m writing this in a very tired state having just arrived in Copenhagen from overnight bus (so hope this email makes sense), in order to catch another bus to Lubeck, Germany, later today. Then I’ll go to Hamburg, then Bremen, then Xmas in Hildesheim...
Ah, Scandinavia, the place where a Danish pastry is called "Vienna Bread" a hotdog is French, and the PUB is a department store...
Anyway... a flip of a coin sent me via night bus from Copenhagen to STOCKHOLM! Yay!
First impression of Stockholm was the magnificent array of light illuminating the whole city even at 6am when I arrived by overnight bus. In fact all the towns I passed in the night were brightly lit up by thousands of lights... I hate to see the electricity bill in these parts...
Stockholm is a very beautiful city indeed, with bright earthy yellow, red and orange coloured buildings in the old town amid narrow cobbled streets; large baroque townhouses along the several waterfronts; period romantic old villages and houses in the green open-air museum of Skansen park with the Nordic zoo containing wolverines, reindeer, bears and seals; Christmas markets abound selling xmas paraphernalia and candy amid outdoor ice skating rinks filled with children... including me, not the most graceful ice skater mind you, but I survived unscathed...
The hostel I’m staying at is pretty cool. Located close to the centre of Stockholm, it has a free sauna, free pasta, and free internet! How can you go wrong with that? Met some pretty cool people here too; to name a few: - Daan, a funny 19yo Dutch guy who likes watching MTV with a talent of sweet talking his way through anything - then there's Zoe, a funny 23yo funky Aussie chicky who makes jewellery;
Lorna, a Maltese 30yo woman with a beautiful singing voice; Holly and Jasmine, pretty Aussie sisters 19 and 15 years old who we somehow managed to smuggle into all the clubs and bars we went to even though you needed to be 20 or older to enter (thanks to Daan)...
Watched the Noble Prize winners and participants from all over the world entering the Concert hall where the awards ceremony takes place every year in Stockholm on December 10th. Was uneventful but still nice to be part of such an important global occasion.
Also was there for the Lucia light festival, where a very beautiful girl is crowned St Lucia, who, with her crown of candles, is paraded around Stockholm and then sings with her choir at Skansen, and finalised by fireworks (which were pretty dismal apparently). it was funny how all the guys at the hostel were saying how hot she was until someone mentioned she was only about 14! Whoops!
Anyway, to embrace Swedish culture, guess where I went? That's right, IKEA!! The first designer furniture store they ever made right here in Stockholm! And, to further immerse myself in the Swedish experience, I ate Swedish meatballs in their restaurant! Swedish meatballs are nothing special actually, but still something one has to do...
Didn't get the chance to eat Reindeer though, so I guess I won't feel guilty for having eaten Rudolph this Christmas...
Sweden/Stockholm has a few downsides. One is that you can only go to clubs when you're 23 or older, and even some bars won't let you in unless you're at least 20! Also, you can only buy decent "cheap" alcohol at government run bottle/wine shops called "Superbolaget" (which, following Aussie culture of abbreviating everything, I call it the "SysBo"). Otherwise you would have to pay extortionate prices (12-20 AUD) just for a beer in a bar! Stockholm is very expensive, comparable to London...
Did manage to have a very cheap Saturday night clubbing with hostel folk however. Firstly we bought many bottles of wine from the "SysBo", then made our way to a "cheap" bar in the south of Stockholm. Then somehow, Daan managed to sweet talk the security guard at a very popular Swedish nightclub to let us straight in past the queue for free, and then have her look after our coats
all night! (Because the cloakroom was full) Not sure how he did it but we were all very impressed!
Anyway, I’m writing this in a very tired state having just arrived in Copenhagen from overnight bus (so hope this email makes sense), in order to catch another bus to Lubeck, Germany, later today. Then I’ll go to Hamburg, then Bremen, then Xmas in Hildesheim...
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Injured James ponders life in a cafe in Copenhagen
Copenhagen - Malmo
Hej!
Still in Copenhagen as you can tell. Why aren't I instead gallivanting around the city or other towns in Denmark you ask? Because I’ve been silly enough to injure my right knee and left calf, that’s why, being to self absorbed enjoying and walking the sights all over Copenhagen, I’ve overexerted my poor legs. Not to mention the sudden transition from hot Melbourne weather to cold Copenhagen weather has not been friendly to one's joints...
Not a good situation to be in, seeing that I’m supposed to be backpacking and all. Health is the most important thing to a backpacker, for without it you cannot really travel. Having said that, it hasn't stopped me and this Italian guy (Antonio) - who had sprained his ankle - from limping to the Carlsberg brewery for the free tour and beers, both limping on the right leg, arms outstretched, yelling "Beer!" in true Zombie like fashion!
As you can see I’m not the only one to have injured myself. In fact, a girl called Marta (Spanish) has injured her foot from walking too much, and Jason (oz) has lost all feeling in his right heel!
Anyway, Copenhagen is an awesome chilled out place. The city is quite sizable, full of gardens, lakes and canals, peaceful, laid back...the streets are clean, people are friendly, and the city at night is a sight to behold.
I love being in the main pedestrian street mall (1.6km long) at 5pm when it's dark, the smell of roasted caramelized peanuts wafting through the crisp cold air; hordes of shoppers in winter coats hustling and bustling past each other clutching shopping, dinner and Christmas presents; the vast multitude of Christmas lights adorning every nook and cranny, tree and building, colours of white, yellow, green and red, illuminating the clean paved cobblestones; buskers playing all sort of music adding to the festival like atmosphere... there's me, sitting by the fountain with a hot chocolate banana crepe in hand keeping me warm... indeed, these are the moments I truly live for, and appreciate more the beauty of life and what it truly is and has to offer if one were to stop and look, listen, touch, taste it...give life it's due attention, for it is surely a magnificent thing, life - a fragile flame so short, and easily, unexpectedly, and tragically extinguished before you know it.
Sights of Copenhagen include “The Little Mermaid” statue, the palaces and castles, the Carlsberg brewery with the famous elephant statues holding up the Carlsberg brewery tower...also the State of Christiania.
The State of Christiania was a "social experiment" run by squatters who took over a large area of land and the city's abandoned army barracks. What they did was turn it into an area that was outside the jurisdiction of the EU and Copenhagen itself - it has it's own laws, no taxes, people live there in free trade in wooden houses and broken down buildings decorated with artistic graffiti. Here you'd find flea markets, hippies, soft drug dealers (hard drugs were abolished years ago), dirt roads, no cars, the feeling you've stepped out of the EU and back in time. In fact, leaving the place you'd read a sign saying "You are now entering the EU". Clever.
Occasional police raids run through the area, but apart from that the state is pretty much left to its own. Probably due to it being a magnet for tourism.
Did a day trip to Malmo in Sweden with Marta, (Spanish). We caught a bus that went over the very long beautiful silver suspension bridge joining Sweden with Denmark,
I think the longest suspension bridge in the world, several kilometres long, indeed a work of art and ingenious architectural engineering... the waters are of artic white blue colour by day, pitch black at night.
Malmo itself is as chilled out as Copenhagen. The 3rd largest city in Sweden, it's the only city I know that has a picturesque open cemetery in the middle of the town square! The architecture of the place is exquisite, copper roofed ornamented buildings, bronze sculptures all over the place, the many bridges, rivers, canals, gardens...a small outdoor ice skating rink set up in one of the smaller prettier German looking squares under the large trees with it's boughs overladen with thousands of Christmas lights...a sea of large red candles - flames floating over the blackness of the grassy banks in the town square at night, awash with colour and light, is a sight to behold.
I meet a lot of interesting characters on my travels, because I have time left I’ll describe a few:
There’s a Japanese guy here called Nory, who speaks perfect English in true American accent. An ex-hard drug dealer in Washington, he's lived all over the world since the age of 4, from Japan to Africa to America to Europe. Only 18 years of age yet I find him to be a quite worldly, generous, funny character. He's going back to Japan soon to work on a farm. As you do.
Marta is the second Spanish person I’ve become quite good friends with after Erik ("Johnny Depp" look-alike from when I was in Lisbon last year). Marta looks a little like Penelope Cruz. Sorta. A great gal, friendly, a vivacious independent spirit with a good sense of humour - one could easily fall in love with her if you weren't careful. She lives in Pamplona, a final year architecture student with a passion for travel as her father is a ship captain who sails all over the world.
Antonio, as I’ve mentioned before, is not your typical Italian stereotype. A RyanAir steward, looks a little like Jude Law (me and my celebrity look-alike observations - it's your fault Emily! ), is witty, good natured, not sleazy, with a soft heart of gold. A good board game player, he was very sad to part company with us at the hostel.
Anyway, time is now running out, so I’ll keep you all posted on my whereabouts through the rest of Denmark and North Germany soon...
Ciao!
Hej!
Still in Copenhagen as you can tell. Why aren't I instead gallivanting around the city or other towns in Denmark you ask? Because I’ve been silly enough to injure my right knee and left calf, that’s why, being to self absorbed enjoying and walking the sights all over Copenhagen, I’ve overexerted my poor legs. Not to mention the sudden transition from hot Melbourne weather to cold Copenhagen weather has not been friendly to one's joints...
Not a good situation to be in, seeing that I’m supposed to be backpacking and all. Health is the most important thing to a backpacker, for without it you cannot really travel. Having said that, it hasn't stopped me and this Italian guy (Antonio) - who had sprained his ankle - from limping to the Carlsberg brewery for the free tour and beers, both limping on the right leg, arms outstretched, yelling "Beer!" in true Zombie like fashion!
As you can see I’m not the only one to have injured myself. In fact, a girl called Marta (Spanish) has injured her foot from walking too much, and Jason (oz) has lost all feeling in his right heel!
Anyway, Copenhagen is an awesome chilled out place. The city is quite sizable, full of gardens, lakes and canals, peaceful, laid back...the streets are clean, people are friendly, and the city at night is a sight to behold.
I love being in the main pedestrian street mall (1.6km long) at 5pm when it's dark, the smell of roasted caramelized peanuts wafting through the crisp cold air; hordes of shoppers in winter coats hustling and bustling past each other clutching shopping, dinner and Christmas presents; the vast multitude of Christmas lights adorning every nook and cranny, tree and building, colours of white, yellow, green and red, illuminating the clean paved cobblestones; buskers playing all sort of music adding to the festival like atmosphere... there's me, sitting by the fountain with a hot chocolate banana crepe in hand keeping me warm... indeed, these are the moments I truly live for, and appreciate more the beauty of life and what it truly is and has to offer if one were to stop and look, listen, touch, taste it...give life it's due attention, for it is surely a magnificent thing, life - a fragile flame so short, and easily, unexpectedly, and tragically extinguished before you know it.
Sights of Copenhagen include “The Little Mermaid” statue, the palaces and castles, the Carlsberg brewery with the famous elephant statues holding up the Carlsberg brewery tower...also the State of Christiania.
The State of Christiania was a "social experiment" run by squatters who took over a large area of land and the city's abandoned army barracks. What they did was turn it into an area that was outside the jurisdiction of the EU and Copenhagen itself - it has it's own laws, no taxes, people live there in free trade in wooden houses and broken down buildings decorated with artistic graffiti. Here you'd find flea markets, hippies, soft drug dealers (hard drugs were abolished years ago), dirt roads, no cars, the feeling you've stepped out of the EU and back in time. In fact, leaving the place you'd read a sign saying "You are now entering the EU". Clever.
Occasional police raids run through the area, but apart from that the state is pretty much left to its own. Probably due to it being a magnet for tourism.
Did a day trip to Malmo in Sweden with Marta, (Spanish). We caught a bus that went over the very long beautiful silver suspension bridge joining Sweden with Denmark,
I think the longest suspension bridge in the world, several kilometres long, indeed a work of art and ingenious architectural engineering... the waters are of artic white blue colour by day, pitch black at night.
Malmo itself is as chilled out as Copenhagen. The 3rd largest city in Sweden, it's the only city I know that has a picturesque open cemetery in the middle of the town square! The architecture of the place is exquisite, copper roofed ornamented buildings, bronze sculptures all over the place, the many bridges, rivers, canals, gardens...a small outdoor ice skating rink set up in one of the smaller prettier German looking squares under the large trees with it's boughs overladen with thousands of Christmas lights...a sea of large red candles - flames floating over the blackness of the grassy banks in the town square at night, awash with colour and light, is a sight to behold.
I meet a lot of interesting characters on my travels, because I have time left I’ll describe a few:
There’s a Japanese guy here called Nory, who speaks perfect English in true American accent. An ex-hard drug dealer in Washington, he's lived all over the world since the age of 4, from Japan to Africa to America to Europe. Only 18 years of age yet I find him to be a quite worldly, generous, funny character. He's going back to Japan soon to work on a farm. As you do.
Marta is the second Spanish person I’ve become quite good friends with after Erik ("Johnny Depp" look-alike from when I was in Lisbon last year). Marta looks a little like Penelope Cruz. Sorta. A great gal, friendly, a vivacious independent spirit with a good sense of humour - one could easily fall in love with her if you weren't careful. She lives in Pamplona, a final year architecture student with a passion for travel as her father is a ship captain who sails all over the world.
Antonio, as I’ve mentioned before, is not your typical Italian stereotype. A RyanAir steward, looks a little like Jude Law (me and my celebrity look-alike observations - it's your fault Emily! ), is witty, good natured, not sleazy, with a soft heart of gold. A good board game player, he was very sad to part company with us at the hostel.
Anyway, time is now running out, so I’ll keep you all posted on my whereabouts through the rest of Denmark and North Germany soon...
Ciao!
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