"Are You Ready For Some (American) Football?"

Miss ya, Hank Williams Jr.!  Tonight Super Bowl XLVIII will kick off around 11:30 pm Casa time.  Ugh.  I remember watching my first Super Bowl in January of '77 when in XI the Raiders whipped the Vikings and Jack "The Assassin" Tatum did his best to decapitate Sammy White.  Oops, not allowed to talk like that in today's NFL, but I digress...

Anyway, I haven't missed one from that time and I am not going to start now, my current location notwithstanding.  Last year the Consul-General was kind enough to host us expats at his beautiful and historic home at the Consulate.  If you read this blog a year ago, you may remember that the residence Villa Mirador was where Churchill stayed during the first Allied wartime conference some 70+ years ago.  That was really cool!  The getting home at 4:30 am part?  Not so much...

This year, the U.S. Marines who provide security for the Consulate have been kind enough to invite us over to their nearby pad, creatively named the 'Marine House'.  It's never uninteresting being an American who is Roman Catholic living in an Islamic nation.  With no disrespect intended toward my Moroccan friends, one nice thing that makes life go over a lot easier is that there are some ways Americans and other English-speaking expatriates can socialize here, from the Churchill Club to Dar America.  There is also a worldwide outfit called InterNations - it sponsors chapters in big cities around the globe and these chapters host monthly meet-n-greets.  I joined the Casa chapter last year; when I actually attend a gathering (no comments, Kent!) I'll let you know how it is...

I assume that tonight the bar will be open and the game will be projected on a wall as one was at a happy hour there earlier this season.  Should be a fun time!  It's getting close to lunchtime - I'll finish this up after the game...

...OMAHA!  OMAHA!  An audible was called, and I went with friends downtown to the apartment of teachers at another American school in the city.  Met a bunch of people and had a nice time.  We left at halftime because some people were getting sleepy (cough, Kent, cough).

Since the game is as over as Philip Seymour Hoffman (too soon?), I'm hitting the sack early.  Pitchers and catchers soon!!!

2013 Holiday Travels - Amsterdam

  Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands, its financial center, and is its largest city, with approximately 1,000,000 residents.  (It is not the seat of government, which is the Hague)  I can't say this with any authority, but I would dare to say, and will, that Amsterdam is the Netherlands' most interesting city as well.  Low-lying Amsterdam has roots reaching back to the 12th century (and more canals than Venice!), and has a glorious history as a center for wealthy traders.  World wars never really affected it, so Amsterdam has largely been free to do its own thing - making money - while developing a well-earned reputation as a haven for "progressivism", defined here as tolerance and acceptance of non-conformists and their ideas/activities.  Amsterdam is a fascinating blend of old Europe and what is becoming the new world.
  I will freely admit I wanted to come to Amsterdam for 2 reasons, and they were NOT the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House (though both excellent places to visit)!  I wanted to see pot-smokers and prostitutes in public!  Simply, I wanted to experience a very different cultural vibe.  I did visit a coffeshop (that is one word, in English, NOT to be confused with 'coffehouse' or 'cafe', which are they say they are).  I also did tour the Red Light District.
  Some notes: Marijuana is technically illegal, but this is largely to comply with international treaties.  It is (increasingly) tightly regulated.  I went to two of them on my walking tour: Dampkring and Grey Area.  The former is where a scene in Ocean's 12 was filmed, and the latter is a favorite of Woody Harrelson, Snoop Lion and other weed-loving celebs.  Both establishments are former multiple-time winners of the Cannabis Cup.  Yes, there is such a thing.

  Some fun stuff:

  The former palace (above) was where Louis Bonaparte resided for a time after his big bro Nappy made him king.  Luigi (his given name) tried be a good guy and learn Dutch.  Unfortunately, when he stepped out onto the palace's balcony to announce himself as king, he instead said 'rabbit".  Easy mistake to make, but he was tagged thereafter as the Rabbit King.

  The XXX on the city flag and coat of arms does NOT refer to the city's adult industry!  It goes back 500 years, probably referring to Saint Andrew's cross(es).  This building housed a woman's prison.  Instead of cutting off body parts someone figured maybe there was another way to rehabilitate criminals.  The sculpture is amusing because it shows what happens if you're bad (the beating on the right) and if you're good (weaving, while petting an animal).  The men's equivalent had a basement which flooded, and you had to work at bailing water to keep yourself afloat.  If you were particularly unmotivated, you died.

 A deflector, to deter men from peeing in corners

  To wrap things up, Amsterdam is a pretty cool city; I wouldn't mind going back sometime.  To answer the inevitable questions: no, I did not smoke dope, and, no, I did not patronize a brothel.  Though, a young German woman did grab my, um, you know, while on the streets of Berlin, but that is another story...

2013 Holiday Travels - Berlin

  Berlin is the capital city of Germany, and with 3.5 million people, it's also the largest city in the country.  I heard more than once that Berlin is a very "international" city, with inhabitants having come from over 190 nations; it has always had a very cosmopolitan makeup, dating to before the birth of Christ.  Fast forward to the 20th century...

  After the First World War, Hitler brought his act north and Berlin became the capital of the Third Reich; after the Second World War, the heart of Berlin was a shambles.  The city was then divided among the victors, in a similar fashion as the country as a whole.  To illustrate:



  The fun wasn't done yet.  In 1961, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) surrounded West Berlin with a wall, which did not come down until 1989.  East and West Germany were united in 1990, and Berlin again was a capital city.
  I was born in 1969, and have always been a keen student of politics and history.  In related news, I'm also a geek.  Anyway, I work with many colleagues who were literally in diapers when Germany took its present shape.  I try to tell them that this not-that-old man nonetheless remembers a time not that long ago when the world was a vastly different place.  I can understand my parents having what I'll call nuclear attack fire drills in their school buildings that had bomb shelters; I can understand why the Cuban Missile Crisis legitimately scared them to death.  Coming of age in the 80's, I was still fully able to understand the geopolitics of the planet's 2 superpowers.  That's just the way things were.  I couldn't believe when I was in college and the Berlin Wall crumbled.  I never imagined it could happen.  To wit: Rocky 4 may be a jingoistic farce today, but it well represented the times when it came out in '85.
  Fast forward again - a WW2 bomb claimed lives yesterday as it detonated in a town near Bonn in Western Germany when it was disturbed at a construction site.  Apparently, unexploded ordinance from that time is found fairly frequently (though usually without fatalities).  That, of course, is a history lesson that Germans could do without.  What about the period of roughly 35 years after the war?  It is understandable that the Berlin Wall initially took a real beating; a lot of it soon became roadway and fodder for other construction projects.  Then, as the number of remaining sections dwindled greatly, many people wanted to keep some of it as an historical reminder.  Very recently, there was a big kerfuffle about moving a strip for a commercial project.  The builders had the go-ahead, but had to do their business under the cover of darkness in order to evade protesters.
  On a lighter note, Berlin is a city with a relatively young population with people from all over the globe.  It has a great array of museums.  Some of them can be found on Museuminsel (literally, Museum Island).  The best-known is the Pergamon Museum, noted for its art and architectural collections highlighting ancient Greece and the Middle East.  The Topography of Terror and the Berlin Wall Memorial are open-air sites and can't-miss.  The DDR Museum was good also.  The three gave great insight to what the Nazis did and what life was like in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany).  I was steered away from the Checkpoint Charlie Museum.  Here are some photos of Checkpoint Charlie and of the wall, in original and new locations:

Sign at Checkpoint Charlie

An American soldier (photo, top-right) is forever on guard

A long stretch of the Wall in its original location

It was difficult to comprehend that I was looking thru a gap in a once-divided city.

 At a design studio

Selfie outside a hotel

The Brandenburg Gate

 The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

view from within

  Interestingly, "everyone is getting a memorial" in Berlin.  The Jewish people are the most noted victims of the Nazis, but not the only ones.  I saw a sign for a homosexual memorial, and was told that the handicapped, etc. were also "getting theirs".

 Hitler's bunker...

...was underneath this courtyard playground

On a final, more playful note, this hotel by the Brandenburg Gate is where Michael Jackson infamously dangled his infant son from a window :)

Auf Wiedersehen!

2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 3 - Prague

  Prague has an important history that dates back to the 9th century.  It became a home for Bohemian kings, some of whom sat as emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 14th century, New Town was constructed as an extension of Prague's historic center Old Town, and still exists today.  Later, Prague fell under Habsburg rule, and in 1918, after WWI, it became capital of Czechoslovakia.  The city was virtually unscathed by WWII.  After the fall of The Wall, the city's population surged to almost one and one-quarter million, and became capital of the Czech Republic after the split into two countries 20 years ago.  The West has since discovered Prague, and made it the top tourist city in Central Europe.  This is the scene I encountered Christmas night as my train rolled in from Vienna.

  When it comes to cultural features and spectacular architecture, in my opinion, Prague is almost right there with Vienna, and I will argue offers more in terms of celebrating its history .  My mind is still enthralled with what I've seen the last several days.  Where to start?  Well, I guess Prague Castle overlooking things here is the rock star:

  It is enormous; probably no other ancient castle is larger.  If Prague Castle isn't the feature attraction, then I suppose Charles Bridge, in the foreground would be.  It doesn't look like much until you get a lot closer (below); the statues lining both sides are fantastic!

  Just one example of what I guess are a couple dozen:

  I can't put a number on how many beautiful churches and other historic buildings I viewed.  From what I've learned, the Gothic-style Tyn Church is maybe the big dog:

  Apparently, the Astronomical Clock is famous.  Yawn.  My Munich tour guide said that a major travel publication recently named the Glockenspiel the 2nd-most overrated tourist sight in the world.  In the top spot was this:

  Whatever.  My personal favorite, though, was the Municipal House, a civic building and concert hall.  This is a Googled image of the Art Nouveau wonder:

  Oh, wait this is what I originally saw:

  My camera can't do justice to what my eyes saw.  I turned a bend, then caught myself moments later with my jaw dropped, mouth hanging open.  You just had to be there.  Instead of two days, I wish I had two weeks for all of the fascinating museums.  I would really need that long.  Maybe another year.  Onward to Berlin!

2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 2 - Vienna

  Vienna is the capital of Austria, and with about one and three-quarter million people, its largest city.  Celts (not from Boston) first settled there approximately 2,500 years ago, then Romans some 500 years after.  In time, Vienna became home to the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty, the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, among other entities.  It is renowned about the globe for its musical and other artistic contributions to the world.  Then I showed up.

  First-class train travel is the way to go!  I didn't have a choice but to purchase it when I bought my rail pass, but I'm glad I did.  4 hours passed by very quickly and comfortably on the way in from Munich.  I picked up some more euros, got my bearings and took a tram to my hostel, and it was a very nice one.  I crashed and woke up to the day before Christmas.  The city was pretty dead, and I chose to walk the Ringstrasse.  It is a 5km circular road surrounding the inner core of the city, something like a beltway, but it has a unique story.  The Ringstrasse was constructed to replace city walls erected during the 13th century.  It is a boulevard, and it was built for show, but there was a practical element to it, too.  Napoleon III of France had shown that wide streets couldn't be effectively barricaded by revolutionaries.  The things you learn...

  As I mentioned, the Ringstrasse was a vanity project.  The idea was to demonstrate the glory of the Habsburg Empire.  For better or worse, they succeeded, big time!  The following photos are of some of the principal structures along the way:

the Vienna State Opera:

Academy of Fine Arts (twice rejected Hitler):

Parliament:

Rathaus (Town Hall):

Burgtheater (Austrian National Theater):

University of Vienna (founded 1365):

Votivkirche (Votive Church):

Weiner Borse (Stock Exchange):

Urania (Observatory):

Österreichische Postsparkasse (Postal Savings Bank):

  There are other palaces and wonderful green spaces.  The city is gorgeous!  Next stop: I go to "Czech" out Prague (insert rim shot) - I'll be here all week, folks!

2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 1 - Munich

  Got up Saturday morning and made my way to the Casa airport with no problem, hit a bit of a snag when the officer at passport control didn't like that I had only a photocopy of my residency renewal, but eventually talked my way through to the C-15 gate.  The screen said that a flight to Amsterdam was to be the next to board.  I grabbed an airline employee who said to disregard.  I was dubious.  When my appointed boarding time passed, I asked another employee what was going on and he said not to worry.  Uh-huh.  A Dutch lady overheard my conversation and informed me that the info on the screen was accurate and that my gate was moved...to A-5!  I ran my tail off and got on in the nick of time.  At least the flight was pleasant.

  I eventually found my way to my hostel, checked in and went in search of dinner.  Shockingly, places serving sausages and beer weren't hard to find.  I went back to room and crashed in bed...for a while, anyway.  You see, I was in a 6-person room; the other 5 beds were taken by a group of young men who came in late night, loud and drunk.  Lovely.  We'll get back to them later.

  On Sunday morning I took a fantastic free walking tour of the city.  How, you ask?  It's actually a pretty interesting concept.   A marketing (not tour) company uses the services of guides who are independent contractors who earn no compensation whatsoever from the company; in fact, the guides must pay the company 2.50 euros per person in the group - they make their money by tips from the tourists.  I ran the numbers in my head - the way I figure, everyone wins big time.  My guy was great!  I walked around the city centre for 3 hours being highly informed and entertained for the duration, and paid a lot less than if I had taken a bus tour.

  A little about Munich...it is the capital of the state of Bavaria, and at about 1.5 million people, the 3rd largest city in Germany, with a documented history back to 1158.  I can't begin to detail here the very lengthy and fascinating history of this city.  But, I will give you a few tidbits that will give you a new perspective on some things you thought you already knew.  I know I was quite surprised at some things I learned.

  3.5M bombs dropped on Munich in WW2 - how did several prominent churches along one stretch and a main road perpendicular to them survive?  Easy - they formed a cross which was used by Allied bombers for navigation.  You've heard of Mad King Ludwig, right?  Yeah, well, he wasn't crazy in the least.  But, he was gay, which was legal for everyone...but the king, who had to produce an heir.  It is most likely that he was the victim of a political assassination.  You should check out the history of his family - what a crew!  You know that Hitler guy?  And the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall on Earth?  They have a very interesting connection that is not widely spoken of.  Hitler re-branded the political party he spoke for as the Nazi party at a meeting there.  I could go on and on forever.  What a time I had!  How about some pics?

  I took this one after paying 1.50 euros for the privilege of climbing about 300 steps to near the top of Saint Peter's, the oldest church in the city.  The church on the left with the iconic twin towers is Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady), and the one in the foreground is the Neues Rathau (New Town Hall), with its world-famous Glockenspiel.

The Hofbrauhaus:

  The Nationaltheater, the renowned opera house.  You MUST read up on its history; it's one of the most riotously funny stories ever, esp. the fire suppression system that was 2 centuries ahead of its time...and failed (because, um, water freezes in winter).  Check it out

Just a glimpse of one of the famed Christmas markets:

  Apparently, Verona, Italy is a sister city to Munich.  There is a statue there of that Juliet gal, Romeo's squeeze.  If you give her a flower and rub her you'll be the recipient of luck in love.  Verona gave one to Munich.  It seems that people are quite fond of rubbing one particular part of her anatomy...

  Back to those rambunctious boys.  They could not seem to use their access card to enter the room, and didn't think of, oh, I don't know, getting it redone at the desk.  They had to knock and wake me up to let them in.  I plotted my revenge.  I got a small measure of payback in the morning.  At 9:45 a.m. I went to get my stuff from my room so I could check out before 10.  When I walked in, the lads roused a bit and asked if checkout was 10 or 11.  Hee hee hee...

At the train station to ride the rails to Vienna - bye bye, Munich!

Settlin'

Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
I've been leaving it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make...

Easy for Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland to say...I've been back here for 4 months and have taken 10 flights in visiting 5 countries.  I'm flying out in a week so I can take the train through 4 more nations.  And the year is young.  The way I figure, I don't how long I'm gonna be here, so I'm going to take full advantage and see the wonders of the world with my own 2 eyes.  I want to view in person the things that have only ever previously existed on a page or screen.

In the meantime, I continue to live in the midst of the never-ending circus that is the "white city" of Casablanca.  Despite my best efforts, I've yet to get run over.  Yet.  I'm glad I did a double-take on a still-dark Friday morning when a city bus barreled the road with its lights off as I crossed in a pre-dawn stupor on my way to my pick-up point.  The way people drive here is crazy, which also defines how people cross streets seemingly without a care in the world.

I'm also not certain why perfect strangers have absolutely no problem whatsoever asking me to just give them my hard-earned dirhams.  If you want to sit on the street with a hand out, OK.  If you approach me in a reasonable manner, I don't like it but can live with it.  Don't approach me as if you have a right to my money, and certainly do not give me grief and/or follow me when I decline.  I'm not the biggest or baddest, but I stand 6'3" 250.  Why would you voluntarily choose to mess with me?  Guy came r-e-a-l close to getting put to sleep last night, and would've if not for the presence of cops.

I think I have an answer to that question, and it is rooted in the culture.  I already knew such things as that if 2 men are having a very animated conversation, they are not necessarily having a heated argument.  I've seen a couple of incidents this year that expand on that concept.  I was at Derb Ghallef (the city block-sized black market) one afternoon when I saw 2 men jaw-jackin' at one another.  I stopped to witness the impending fistfight.  Alas, no such luck.  In the States they'd have been throwin' dukes in a heartbeat.

Very recently, I left a grocery store to see a man whose vehicle had been pulled over by a policeman.  They were along a busy road at rush hour.  What the man was yelling I have no idea.  What amazed me was the fact that he was doing it literally face-to-face with the officer.  And this was allowed to happen?!  There is not a single cop in the U.S. who wouldn't have, at a minimum, cracked his head open like a ripe melon when the guy got within reach.  He would very possibly kill him.  Guess the rules are different here.  Still amazes me, though.

I bet the guy wouldn't mess with Marines!  And that's who I was with last night.  Well, I was with colleagues at the Marine House, where the aforementioned (Men's) Dept. of the Navy personnel who work at the consulate live.  They were good enough to host a Happy Hour for us expats.  Tons of fun.  Been eating out way too much.  Sushi last night, Chinese last week, etc.  Too easy to do here.  City living isn't quite my cup of tea, but it has its advantages, I suppose.  My guy at the hanoot is cool.  The kid at the KFC is determined to teach me a new French word when I come in.  The parking guy on my block seems decent.  Almost takes my mind off of the 2 bodies I came upon at the Piss Corner a week ago.  I have to assume that contributed to someone's decision to just have that corner painted.

Ah, the fun never ends here.  The are few certainties in life.  Death, taxes and Casa cabbies will try to cheat you.  I wish I knew what the future held for me.  I used to, until I didn't.  But I do know I'm going to accept an offer to return here next year.  Heaven help me...

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain't enough this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything...