Amsterdam And Koln, June 22-27

Germany and Amsterdam, June 22-27


The river traffic on the canals.


More boats, canals, and trees.

Bicycles like you wouldn´t believe!

Slightly psychadelic cafe.

Have any of you Molson Canadian beer drinkers seen this idea before? (Are there really any molson canadian beer drinkers??)

Amster. Damn.

Rick´s cafe and lots more bikes.

Greg and Sheila!

Koln, Germany. The gothic Dom cathedral.

I met up with Greg in Germany and went into Trier to meet some of his Volvo coworkers who were celebrating the solstice with capirinhas and traditional Swedish drinking songs. The town of Trier was also bustling with wine bars, beer wagons, and concerts. The next morning came far too early, and we had a 4.5 hour drive to Amsterdam ahead of us to meet Sheila. We walked along random canals, watching the traffic on the water, while avoiding getting side-swiped/front-swiped/back-swiped by all sorts of human-propelled mechanisms… bicycles, bicycles with multiple passengers, cyclists holding umbrellas and cellphones, wheelbarrows with seats, pedals, and loaded with children. We decided to fight back and rent cruiser bikes of our own to terrorize tourists, locals, and traffic alike. Later in the evening, I went for a walk through the red light district to see the general mayhem and watch people. There were heaps of hen parties, stag parties, and friends betting on which one of their buddies would last longer behind the red curtains.

The next few days were spent relaxing back in Germany before I departed for Prague. En route, I spent a day in Koln (Cologne) before jumping on a night train. Koln was dominated by the Dom, a massive gothic cathedral. I twisted up the 509 tight-knit spiral stairs of the cathedral to overlook the city before wandering into the streets filled with tattooed, pierced, and generally more attractive people than I´d seen elsewhere in Germany.

Granada Spain, June 20-22

The concentrated hub of Granada called the Albaycin, is a hill full of tangled alley ways brimming with Arabian tea houses, with sensual music and sheesha filtering in the streets. Intimate tapas cafes spill out into the cobblestone alleys, the only sounds being footsteps, conversation, and music. From a square on top the Albaycin, a few locals and tourists gaze across to the mystical Alhambra. In one corner, a guitarist coaxes their friends into singing Spanish and American classics. Not far away, another guitarist and gang entice a flamenco dancer into rhythmic gyrations, communicating back and forth with only their art.

Siesta in Seville

I took an overnight train ride from Barcelona to Seville, the 4th largest city in Spain. Seville was the setting for famous legends such as Don Juan, a backdrop for Attack of the Clones, and is also the setting for operas such as Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Fidelio, and the Marriage of Figaro. Sevilled seemed to exemplify the definition of 'siesta' with the lone exception being the smell of a bullfight recently in the air. The manicured gardens were extensive, and the streets were lined with orange trees, tourists, and fashion shoppers browsing the shaded alleyways of the shopping district.

I stayed for two nights at the Oasis hostel ate cheap Thai food, drank wine, and hung out with a bunch of Quebecois and two guys who claim they earn their current living by playing online poker! The next day was spent exploring, siesta-ing, and tapas eating, combined with a free flamenco show. They say you don't get anything for free, but this time I got more than I wanted (of the flamenco, that is). I also ran into some other people who were from all over Canada, and the company was worthwhile! I decided to leave Sevilla in favour of a new exciting venue... Granada!

Barcelona Spain

Ola!

On the day I was supposed to leave Canada, I decided to book an immediate ticket from England to... well, on a complete whim... Barcelona Spain. On the airplane from London (England), I sat next to a girl who turned out to be from Toronto, and whose sister was living in Barcelona. After arriving in Barcelona, my first mission was to find a place to stay which proved rather difficult for 4 reasons... 1) it was late 2) major car show in town 3) massive Sonar music festival 4) my Spanish stinks. After I finally got settled, I got hold of Brooke who invited me out for some drinks with her and her sister´s friends until they left for some sleep. My jetlag hadn´t yet kicked in, despite my lack of sleep, so I decided to wander around La Rambla (a very popular urban esplanade) until 3am.The next day, I had another dilemna... where to stay. It seems this problem won´t go away. Damn Maslow and his triangle... I decided to put that off for a little while, since I wanted to see the Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi. Every aspect of this religious temple contains hidden symbolism, and strives to mimic nature in terms of structure and form. Brilliant! After the tour, I got down to business and secured a hostel that was quite out of the way. I also managed to book a pension for 2 nights in a row which relieved a lot of stress.

After wandering La Rambla again and venturing out to see the ocean, I got hold of the girls again. The younger sister was incredibly hooked up with a local promoter, and I got put on the guest list for a rather intense party on a cargo ship docked in the main harbor. Apparently the owners of the boat are a Spanish version of the Cirque du Soleil, bought the boat and now rent it out for parties, hence the very large and Burning-man-like hanging dude from the crane - one of their old show props they no longer needed. The event was sponsored by Vice Magazine which began in Montreal, and has since become very successful internationally for their content on debauchery, sex, drugs, violence, and social issues. Free beer, free jaeger, and since we knew the organizer, free hard liquor! The deck of the boat was filled with crazy people revelling in the party atmosphere, while down in the bottom of the boat, the DJs were spinning and the people were dancing. I ended up meeting a bunch of awesome people from Bristol England, who were a complete blast to hang out with! The evening ended with me and my soon-to-be-hangover walking back to my out-of-the-way hostel, arriving after the sun had already come up.

Yesterday I needed some recovery time, and went to the beach down by the Olympic site. The volleyball was out in force, the water was beautiful, the sand was warm, and the women were topless! Actually, it was really no big deal. I wish that North Americans were less inhibited, but perhaps that would also involve eating a lot less McDonalds! My next stop will be in Sevilla, then on to Grenada to see the Alhambra.

Halycon Days Out West

My temporary retirement started with a trip out to Western Canada to visit Scott in Vancouver, my Dad (John) and step Mom (Judy) in Victoria, then a few people out in Calgary.

This is the view over Vancouver from the top of Grouse Mountain. This particular assault upon the Grouse Grind reinforced (quite heavily) the fact that I need to get back into shape!

This is my dad and step-mom's 28' Hunter sailboat. We took it out for 2 nights and 3 days, sailing to Roche Harbor, Poet's Cove, and Sidney, before returning to Oak Bay, Victoria.


Apparently I'm a little too serious about all this sailing business, but I figure I had better brush up on my skills (in other words - get some) in case I end up in Marseille caring for someone's yacht. Who am I kidding... I'd likely be swabbing the decks. I forgot to bring my water wings, but I'm still having fun!

Just chillin to the max, laying in the sun, pullin' my rope.

The first night we stopped in a hidden little place called Poet's Cove, then moved on to Sidney for the second night.


I was just curious to see how thing thing operates when in tilt mode.

A short walk along Portland Island uncovered some grass covered cliffs that provided a great place to lounge in the sun and graze upon the pesticide-free grasses.

This is the view from just outside my dad's house in Victoria. The mountains in the background belong to the Olympic National Park in the States.


Just off the shore of Victoria is Chatham Island where we anchored for a BBQ dinner on the boat and a stroll around the island.


This is a bald eagle that was sitting in a tree on Beach Drive in Victoria. Just days before, a pair of these eagles destroyed an enormous amount of blue heron eggs in a sanctuary.

The Lilac Festival in Calgary was one of my favorite moments when I lived there. This year there were more than 100,000 people that cruised up and down 4th avenue to listen to live music, shop at the booths, enjoy the beer gardens, and people watch.

Lake Moraine is one of my favorite places to hike, but unfortunately it was too early in the season.