"Two More Bottles Of Wine"

But it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine...

With all due respect to Martina McBride, she must have been a little loaded, because I am certain the time was 6 a.m., and it was two bottles of beer, but more on that later...

Spring break meant a breakout from North Africa to a pair of European countries I've not been to previously, Belgium and Switzerland.  First on the docket was Belgium; I flew out of Mohammed V Airport direct to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and the unofficial capital of Europe - it's the host of many European Union institutions.

I booked my Brussels accommodations through Airbnb.com and wound up staying in a spare bedroom at an apartment in the Molenbeek neighborhood.  I found my way there okay from the airport and met A., who I'd been in touch with during the process.  It was a nice enough pad; the bedroom was a room with a bed - worked for me.  His 6-month old baby was absolutely adorable.  Apparently, he shared custody of the little guy with the mother, who lived elsewhere.  I hit the town for a little while, came back, opened the door, and A. wasn't there, but D. was.  This was a bit of a surprise; I hadn't expected anyone else to be there, but he knew who I was; he lived there with A.  80's Flashback!  It looked like it was going to be 3 men and a baby this week.

Armed with some local info from D., I went out again a little later to explore the neighborhood.  Molenbeek has, of all things, a huge Moroccan population!  Everywhere I looked was a reminder of Casa - why the heck did I bother flying here?  I walked into a patisserie named Marhaba (hello, in Arabic) and think I surprised the man behind the counter a bit when I greeted him and placed my order (passably, at least) in his mother tongue.  I'm extremely limited in that language, but at least know enough that I won't go hungry :)

At the nearby canal there was a cultural festival a-happenin'.  I enjoyed a glass of horchata while sampling some Latvian delicacies as performers walked tightropes across the canal.  Our first pic comes from a piece of public art in the area that I particularly liked:

An interesting building there is Le Petit Chateau, which was once an army barracks, but today is the refugee center for persons seeking asylum in Belgium:

I was told that the Atomium was a can't-miss attraction.  I took the Metro there and found this remarkable structure next to Mini-Europe.  I wasn't paying to get in, but was determined to get a quality pic.  I slipped into a little area, held my camera through a netting, praying I didn't drop it, and got this:

It was built for the 1958 World Fair, a symbol of an era when atomic energy was thought to be the future solution for world energy needs and represents an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.  Moving walkways connect exhibits in the molecules.  Ironically, across the city named is a 10-floor parking garage named Parking 58 that I learned offers some of the best views in the city.  Here is a shot of the landmark in the distance:

  

Oh, wait, that pic is from online; the overcast weather ruined my shot below :(

Well, how about this evening shot of the Grand Place/Grote Markt (Belgium is officially bilingual and all street signs are in French and Dutch, which is sometimes confusing) with its 300 yr-old buildings:

Or, the Royal Palace:

Or, the massive Palace of Justice:

Or, the Sacred Heart Basilica:

Next, we move onto a tiny but very famous icon - the Manneken Pis!  The origins of this lil' feller depend on who you ask.  Did he wee-wee and extinguish the wick of an invader's bomb?  Did he get lost and his father declare if he found him he would build a statue of him doing whatever he happened to be doing at the moment?  Whatever, he's a rock star!  People adorn him in hundreds of different costumes at various times:

Since we've moved into the realm of bodily functions, I'm happy to declare that I resisted the overtures of some nearby prostitutes!  WOOT, WOOT!!

In other entertainment, I enjoyed some incredible Belgian chocolate from Leonidas, Godiva and Mary (I had to be thorough).  I ate some famous frites (overrated, in my opinion).  Finally, I had (more than a few) fine Belgian beers.  On tap (pun intended) were some Trappist brews (crafted by monks).  Then, I got gueuze, a sour, naturally fermented beer that is unique to Belgium that to date has not been to be reproduced anywhere else.

During my time in Belgium, I also spent an afternoon in Bruges, about a hour-long train ride away from Brussels.  The entirety of the historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and as it is fairly small, you can in a day walk all over this remarkably preserved centuries-old city.  I can think of no other description than to say I felt I was in Disneyland - and in this case I mean it as a compliment (while the same is a complaint of locals).  Though, while it is well-scrubbed, it is real, and real old.  Once you are over the canal and within the walls, you are transported to one of the very best-preserved medieval cities that exists.  I was told by a Belgian that city hall has a key to every residence and can enter any one at any time of the day or night to ensure that no unauthorized changes are being made to structures.  The historian in me approves; the civil libertarian in me, not so much.  Let's just go to the pictures...

The Basilica of the Holy Blood has what would be called a relic - a vial of blood said to be that of Jesus

The Grote Markt (Great Square in Dutch) includes the Belfry.  It is about 275 feet high.  Ugh.  Here is a pic from outside:

and from above, 366 steps later:

The surrounding area is ridiculously beautiful - I don't even know what words to use, so here are a few thousand words worth:

There wasn't a whole heckuva lot to do, but I didn't want to leave.

Back to Brussels I went, then my next stop was Geneva, Switzerland.
When I got to the Brussels airport, I attempted to take a couple of beers through security - wasn't gonna happen.  I sure wasn't going to waste them!  So, I shotgunned a couple of cervezas at 6 in the a.m.  Made for a nice flight.  Had to be woken up after landing...

I think Geneva has a lot in common with Brussels in terms of general look and feel.  It, too, is a host to important world institutions, like the U.N. HQ in Europe among several others.

There was a big vote by the people of Switzerland the other day, to establish a minimum wage of 4000 Swiss francs per month (even in pricey Switzerland, that is nothing to sneeze at).  I was surprised when it was voted down by a huge margin.  It was not for lack of effort by supporters.  I saw many while I was there.  That such a proposal was put to the people isn't a shock - it fits right in with the mindset of the country, and the history of this city.  (I must admit, I enjoyed the free transit from the airport to the city centre, and the new law that gave me as a hostel dweller free public transport the entire time I was there!)

Geneva has ties to John Calvin - yeah, the same one you studied in your high school world history class.  For my money, the Reformation is the greatest movement the world has ever known (and if you disagree, write your own bleeping blog).  Here is a pic of the Reformation Wall, with a sign from demonstrators, who were having a gathering nearby:

Saint Pierre (Peter) Cathedral is adjacent to the International Museum of the Reformation; from the cathedral, which is the high point of the old town, one can see the Jet d'Eau, a landmark feature in Lake Geneva that shoots 140 meters into the air:

 

We finish with a work of public art across the street from one of the entrances of the U.N.; it is called Broken Chair, and ties into the anti-landmines initiative.  I thought it was a perfect piece.  Special thanks go to Eric Coker, and his wife Kathleen, of Oklahoma City.  My camera died near the very end of my trip, and this gentlemen bailed me out and sent this snapshot:

Ain't gonna let it bother me today
'Cause I've been workin' and I'm too tired anyway
and it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine

Well, I'm sixteen hundred miles from the people I know
I've been doin' all I can but opportunity sure comes slow
Thought I'd be a big star by today
But I've been sleepin' in a warehouse in West L.A.
and it's all right 'cause it's midnight and I got two more bottles of wine

"I Like It, I Love It"

I love travel, but hate the hassle of dealing with the airlines, let alone the taxi drivers and the people who are supposed to help you get transportation!

A week and a half ago I went to Madrid to attend a conference.  Darn.  In order to minimize time away from work and keep down costs I booked a flight with discount carrier Ryanair.  The price was right, even with having to take a train to the Moroccan capital at Rabat.  My info said that I could take a tram from from the train station to the airport.  Works for me.  Or does it?  Let the fun begin...

I get to the one Rabat train station that is supposed to link to the airport and ask the guy in the booth for a ticket for the tram to the airport.  Nope.  Another train?  Nope.  Gotta take a grand taxi.  Oh, how I love doing that!  I hope this isn't the case, and if it is, that the price isn't exorbitant.  I don't know what the market is in these parts.  I ask a few different taxi drivers how much it will cost to get to the airport.  The answers are the same - 200 dirhams.  Seems a bit pricey for what I know isn't too long a ride.  I happen by a guy who looks like a local, and who seems to be speaking pretty good English.  He confirms what the the guy in the booth across the street said about transit to the airport.  I ask him what the going rate for a grand taxi is, and he says don't go over 200 dirhams.  When he ascertains that I an American living in Morocco, he asks if I could speak to a group of American tourists he is leading.  I tell him, if he goes across the street to where a taxi driver is sitting in his vehicle and comes back with a price of less than 200 dirhams, I'll tell them anything he wants me to.  150 dirhams later, I address a group of older ladies...who are from the very same area I am!  Small world...

Ryanair advertises itself as the most on-time carrier in Europe.  Not so today.  Then, I have the usual adventure of trying to get from the airport to my hotel.  I am very comfortable speaking Spanish, and I knew my hotel was within walking distance from a major transit stop.  I know how to read a map, but when I'm trying to confirm the seemingly simple route I needed to take, the guy at the ticket booth is telling me I'm mistaken.  Worse yet, I can't respond the questions that should be as easy for me as A-B-C.  While I'm being spoken to in Spanish, my brain is wanting to reply in French.  Consequently, nothing is coming out, and the guy is looking at me like I'm a simpleton.  A kindly man nearby manages to explain the hard-to-see complication to me, and I am finally on my way.

I get in late (by Jack standards - Madrid is just starting to kick up its heels) and call it a night.  After the conference the next day, I walk from my convenient location to some of the city's big attractions.  I decide to go see the world-famous art collection at El Museo del Prado.  Though, the pics you get today are from a pair of nearby buildings:

The above CaixaForum Madrid is a landmark building, a former electrical power station now a museum and cultural center.

It is not actually a museum, but every bit worthy of the adulation it gets.

Spain has a deep love affair with ham, as do I.  Hey, if loving ham is wrong, then I don't wanna be right!  I can't tell you the depths of this affection.  It's almost like Kent and Kansas ;)  Anyway, this kicked off a wonderfully long evening bouncing merrily along from one tapas bar to another.  I love pork!!

After the conference ended the next day I made my way to the airport for another (delayed) flight another 150 dhs taxi ride (same guy from 2 days earlier - he said he would be there to greet me, and was), a train ride where I managed to successfully change trains and last, but not least, there was the gauntlet of taxi drivers at L'Oasis train station barking like mad dogs from behind a railing, all waiting to get you into their petit taxi and invent new ways to separate you from your money.

Two days later winter recess is upon us and off to Lisbon I fly.  A slight delay (shocking) and my TAP Portugal is off to the Iberian peninsula.  A bus and a train later I in a place outside the city center for the next 3 nights.  He is a little primer on the capital of and largest city in Portugal...

Lisbon is one of Europe's oldest cities, with roots to Phoenician times.  Built on 7 hills, I was enthralled by the view from the airplane of this ancient metropolis at the mouth of the Tagus River on its way to the Atlantic.  Romans and Moors had their turn before Catholic monarchs ascended to rule.

November 1, 1755 was All Saints Day in Portugal when a cataclysmic earthquake destroyed 85% of Lisbon.  (Tsunamis had an impact all the way to England, Seville, and from Tangier down to Agadir in Morocco).

The rebuilding of the devastated city involved razing the destroyed area and building well beyond the previous borders.  Close to the water instead were built a pair of grand squares as part of a visionary plan that modernized the medieval town.  The first plaza, at a section called Rossio, was the first part of the city center that I got to see when I took public transit into the heart of the city.  I could see the Castle of Saint George from the train station:

This is a most historic area that I spent an entire day wandering around.  A pic:

The second, plaza Comercio is at the mouth of the river Tagus and includes the remarkable arch Rua Augusta:

From the arch:

The third photo shows in the distance the statue Christ the King, inspired by the famed Christ the Redeemer one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  I didn't quite get close enough for a good pic, but here is one from online facing back toward the Lisbon area:

I love that thing.  It is closest to an area of Lisbon called Belem, another very important area, where all the great explorers of the Age of Discovery set out from.  The Tower of Belem a former fortified lighthouse, is a big landmark.  It was when I was in the neighborhood on Monday:

The Jeronimos Monastery is perhaps the signature building in the area.  Today it houses the national museums of archaeology and maritime history.  Only an aerial view does it justice:

There is also the awesome Monument to the Discoveries:

I spent much of 2 days just wondering about, trying to ignore the vermin trying to peddle me pot and coke.  I finally snapped at one scumbag, and he took off when I screamed at him that I didn't want his drugs.  The terrain and the bold use of color made for nice vistas.  The rest of the attached pics are just random shots I liked.  Nice enough place, but seemed dead, no energy at all...

A flying priest...

The exteriors of many buildings were covered in tiles

A friendly animal rights protester.  I wanted to tell her that I love animals, also - grilled, preferably...

She wanted me...

BOOM!  Photobombing a street performer...

TAP Portugal tried to postpone my original return flight by 1 day.  I did their homework for them and said I'd go for same day to Marrakech, a 3 hr train ride from Casa.  The flight is further delayed, the train is late, takes too long...and then the phalanx of cabbies at the train station.  I slept very well last night...

Adios for now...

"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...