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In Bruges

I made it to Brughes. I know, I know, I saw the movie and heard how its a tourist trap and a bit fake. But look here, the first thing I did when I arrived was attend a Belgium beer tasting at the hostel. Find my notes below about Belgium beers:

Duvel beer : 2nd most favorite drink amongst the locals. Give the bartender the hand sign of devil's horn when ordering it in Belgium. Each Belgium beer has its own distinct bitterness and served in the proper glassware. The glassware brings out the beer's distinct and original taste and smell. The glassware in particular for duvel has a laser engraved "D", in the bottom of the glass. The glassware makes you drunker faster apparently.

A good bartender serves beer should leave a bit of beer in the bottle and give the bottle. Beer here, should not be drunken fast, it is about savoring the flavor with good conversation.

Trappist beers are brewed by monks. There are only 7 Trappist beers in the world, and six of them are from Belgium.

These beers aren't for commercial sales, they make the beer just for appreciation of the taste. The money goes back to the monks only so they can make more beers.

2. Orval beers- 6.2 % alcohol. Monasteries brew this beer. The legend of how the beer was developed is the following. A woman's husband had just finished battling in war. The only thing she had of their love was a ring. The wife lost her ring while bathing in a pond. She lost her ring and prayed to God that if someone found her ring she would build a monastery. A giant fish jumped out of the water holding the ring in its mouth. And she opened a brewery that to this day brews orval beer. This beer is bitter and has a sour aftertaste.

3. West malle triple- strongest of most of the Belgium beers. 9.5 % alcohol. Any beer over 13% is considered a sparkling wine. This beer has a alcoholic finish with a sweet start.

4. Chimay- comes in three colors- blue, red, and white. The blue is the darkest of the three. It is a sweeter beer, but not sugary sweet. It's a full body dark beer with malted hops.

5. Brugs - more refreshing than most beers. It should be served cold and goes down the smoother than most beers.

More notes to come the internet connection is good in Brughes.

I cry a river over you.

I had a wonderful time in the Netherlands for all the conventional reasons. The Anne Frank museum was more moving than any of the concentration camps or any sadness I've seen while traveling. I wanted to go to Amsterdam for educational reasons. Anything but, would just be futile. I am hear to learn about history, culture, and myself. In order to do this, I need to be crystal clear.

I spent half my stay in Amsterdam and the other half with my new friends Asa (from Norway) and her boyfriend Simon in Ulrecht. We rode bikesaround medival gothic cathedrals and talked about politics and music till late. They are both studying music at the conservatory here in town. When I left early in the morning for Brussels, Asa gave more a slice of her banana nut bread for the road. One of the many acts of kindness they showed me.

The title of this post is after a jazz song that is playing in the background. Dutch Jazz is another thing Asa and Simon introduced me to. They showed me a video of a french horn musician who played a beautiful piece to the meter of the donging of the church bell's in Ulrecht's dome.

Internet connection is shit in Brussels. I went to the NATO headquarters today. More to come later.

Coffee shop...

... I am at my first. hrmm

Amsterdam.

I am here for the weekend. I took a night train from Berlin to Amsterdam. It was the first time I had a night cart all to myself. I slept very well and woke up early and had a Caprisoone (caprisun) and fitness bread with chestnut paste.

It's rainy and grey. It feels fitting with the landscape here. Today, I am going to the Van Gough museum and later tonight I will check out Stubnitz, a boatparty with bands playing along one of Amsterdam's canals.

Tomorrow, Rembrandt museum and then Sunday Anne Frank house.

The Party

Roman Polanski´s short film called "The Party", was set in the courtyard of Lodz´s National Higher Film School. The film was of a social gathering of students and faculty. In order to add some excitement to his film, Polanski hired a group of local "hooligans" to disrupt and cause some mayhem to the clueless guests. Polanski was kicked out of school for this stunt, but created his most acclaimed short film.



The fountain from "The Party":

From Warsaw, Lodz, Poland

Vote.

Another American told me I could go down to the embassy and vote early. She voted at the American Embassy in Hungary without any problems.

So I went down to the American Embassy in Berlin to get it out of the way. I spoke with a stoic German guard who thought it was funny that I wanted to vote so soon. At first, I thought he was lecturing me by his expression and the tone of his voice. I was keyed in he was joking around when he said he wanted to help me vote for Obama. After telling him I was registered in California he said I shouldn´t worry about voting that there are enough Democratic votes and my vote really didn't matter. This conversation lasted for five minutes before he told me that I couldn't vote at the embassy. Who says Germans don't have a sense of humor?

I will try the American Embassy in Holland.