the first of many christmas markets

The train from Groningen to Hamburg was much easier than the last trip. The ticket lady gave us, what we like to call an itinerary, so we knew exactly where to go and when to change trains…go figure?

Our change-over was at Bremen, the second largest city in Northern Germany.  Annika and Ben told us it was worth a visit so we decided to get some lunch and take a later train to Hamburg. We found this huge  Christmas market in the heart of town hall with all these tasty Christmas smells and festively decorated stalls. Little did we know that we just found what is considered as one of the best Christmas markets in Germany!

Mai was particularly excited to come to Bremen as her Mum used to read the Town Musicians of Bremen to her as a child. Like a true Japanese tourist, she insisted I take a photo of her in front of every character statue.  We ate our first of many authentic German sausages, which was sooooo good and we stopped to get hot chocolate on our way back to the train station. Hot chocolate is amazeballs (yes, that is a word) in Europe, especially when you’re cold!

We booked a few nights at the Generator Hostel in Hamburg, which was great ; right near Central Station, clean, good beds and lots of charging facilities (this one we’ll recommend). We arrived fairly late and were, as always, looking forward a good night’s rest!

   

fitness > 8km run - groningen, the netherlands

It was fairly dark and cold when I ran out the door but by the end of the run I was so glad to have left the house. A bit of a change from KL; rainy, 1 degree celsius and the paths were all icy! I ran through a beautiful park and there were surprisingly a lot of other people running around too. After being so used to running in the sunshine of Australia, I was a little concerned that running in the cold wouldn't be very enjoyable, but you learn something new everyday! I've also decided that if a bunch of old guys can run in the freezing cold, I can too. 

farewell amsterdam, hello groningen!

We had a nice last day in Amsterdam. Being out of the party scene finally got us sightseeing. Mai and I rented some bikes and rode over to the Van Gogh collection at the Hermitage, which was pretty impressive. One pointer though if you’re riding in the cold is to wear some bloody gloves! We also rode passed the Rijksmuseum and took our obligatory photo at the ‘I Amsterdam’ sign. At least it was a nice sunny morning for us!

 

That afternoon we jumped on a train to Groningen to visit a friend, Annika.  We met doing our dive course in Cairns a few years ago. We thought it would be fairly simple. We paid for a train ticket, but interestingly there was no information about which platform to go to. When I asked the information desk he informed me that we also needed to change trains and be sure not to miss it! Surely they could have given this information at the ticket booth!? We were meant to meet Annika at 4.30pm. The train took longer than the designated 2 hours and by 5pm we were a little worried that we were going in the wrong direction! We asked a train official who didn’t speak too much English but managed to explain that there was a train crash and we were going the long way around. We assumed that this was being announced but we had no idea because it was all in Dutch. Also, the Dutch don’t seem to believe that having a train line map, or even a screen that says the next station displayed is helpful for customers. After learning that it could be a considerable amount of time before we reached our destination we managed to borrow a mobile to call Annika to let her know what was going on. She told us of a bus to catch from central station to her place and after  long day, we were greeted by her welcoming friend, Ben at the bus station. The next day I sorted out some credit for my phone!

Groningen is a nice little university town in the north of The Netherlands. It was much colder than usual when we arrived and we were quite tired. Annika and Ben cooked a nice meal and we stayed up for a few hours chatting over some beers. After a well-deserved sleep I woke up pretty early so decided to go for a 8km run through the parklands. When I return Annika had a traditional Dutch breakfast ready with lots of jam and bread and coffee. They like their bread here! That night we went out into town for dinner but none of us (except for Ben) were in the mood for drinking much! We had a pretty early night. Think we needed the rest as the next day we were off again! It was so nice to stay with you Annika, we had a lovely relaxing time and my door (provided I have one) is always open where ever I am!

fitness

5km run - Oslo, Norway

I have a great deal of respect for people who live I cold climates. Heading out in the snow to exercise is bloody hard work and a true mental challenge. I had been in Oslo for 3 days already and I had to get outside for a run! I woke up earlier than usual and left Mai in a state of dreaming while I faced the cold crispy air outside. It was actually the perfect morning, still, calm and clear. I ran from the apartment to Vigeland Park and although I didn’t have  much of a plan, it was so huge that I managed to just run around in circles in amazement, run up a few staircases and get a sweat on. Vigeland Park is a stunning 200-piece sculpture park and a must-see in Oslo, especially when it was completely covered in snow. When I returned I told Mai we had to go back, but unfortunately it never happened! So glad I saw it for myself though.

Running along a canal in The Netherlands

8km run - Groningen, The Netherlands

It was fairly dark and cold when I ran out the door but by the end of the run I was so glad to have left the house. A bit of a change from KL; rainy, 1 degrees c and the paths were all icy! I ran through a beautiful park and there were surprisingly a lot of other people running around too! After being so used to running in the sunshine of Australia, I was a little concerned that running in the cold wouldn't be very enjoyable, but you learn something new everyday! I've also decided that if a bunch of old guys can run in the freezing cold, I can too. 

Elise running in Malaysia

7km run - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I decided to go for a run on an extremely warm afternoon in malaysia, it was about 85% humidity! I ran from Mike's apartment (a family friend we were staying with) to Ampang Point. I must admit, I got some pretty strange looks running along the main road!

too much amsterdam

After being pretty hung over during our walking tour of the city the next day we went back to the hostel. We went into the smoking room and had another joint (I haven’t really bothered telling you every time because the stuff was just on tap). Ever since that day the smell of tobacco has been completely different and I couldn’t handle being around it. At first I thought I was just stoned and paranoid but it still smells absolutely vulgar. I still can't handle being around the stuff. Surprisingly, I still like the smell of weed.

Princess left  for Bruges and Mai got the munchies so Andy took us to a great kebab place.  We then decided to get some mushrooms. Yes, again (when in Amsterdam). These were pretty different. Not much to look at but plenty to talk and laugh about. We sat on a sea of pillows in the smoking room. Andy and I had the giggles big time. Mai was gazing in to space. Finnish Guy wasn’t on mushrooms but was enjoying watching us in our own little world with Long Blonde Hair Guy (who was Australian but living in London and just got deported that day because he didn’t have his paperwork!  One moment, I took of my jacket and layers and then the next, I panicked and gathered my things on my pillow and announced, “My world is falling apart!”. Cracker night.

The next day we all woke up with really sore shoulders, and realised that we’d been sitting up against the wall for about six hours straight. My shoulder is still sore as I write this. The three amigos that were left when to get a  coffee hit and a big Dutch feed. We came to the realisation that there is indeed, such a thing as too much Amsterdam.  Don't get me wrong , the Flying Pig is a great hostel. It's cheap, you get a nice breakfast, the poepl are firendly, and best of all, it has some of the best parties in town. But we knew enough was enough when Finnish Guy (the guy who had been there for three weeks and wanted to work at the hostel) had his hands buried in his face…uh…face buried in his hands. I rest my case. We needed out!

Mai and I decided to ‘check out’ of the Flying Pig (after they told us they had no more beds for that night) so we booked into another hostel a little out of town and were excited to get out of the hustle and bustle for a night. We learnt one thing. Never check into a hostel that has ‘budget’ in its title (i.e. International Budget Hostel). You’ll pay a not-so-budge price, but you are guaranteed to receive budget facilities.  The lady at the front counter was quite rude, the rooms were absolutely freezing, the beds were like planks of wood (with sacks of sand for pillows) and the doors had alarms that sounded like a pigeon being stabbed when you opened them. We also learnt that we need to ditch some stuff because walking up a Dutch staircase with a big backpack is not possible for two little midgets.  If you didn’t already know Dutch stairs are considered the most dangerous in the world because they are insanely  steep. So step in fact, that they are better thought of as ladders.  We managed to survive. Somehow.

the heineken experience

The next day was bloody freezing but blue skies as far as the eye could see. We went for coffee at what I thought, was the best coffee shop (sorry, café) in Amsterdam. The only place with soy milk! Princess and Andy Pandy were pretty convinced it was a 15minute walk to the Heineken Experience. After an hour and a half, Mai and I were pretty convinced that despite what people say, guys don’t know how to read maps. Oh well. What better place to get lost than in Amsterdam right? 

Out of all the things to do, if you like beer, The Heineken Experience is great value for money. We paid €15 for entry, got a taster and two pints, a free canal ride and a bottle opener that isn’t very practical. After that unnecessarily long outing Mai and I were late to meet our first couchsurfing host at central station. I think he got pretty annoyed and ended up leaving. Good first experience! Woops. We agreed that we really need to get a phone because you can’t always rely on wi-fi. Oh well, back to the hostel for another few nights.

We decided to drown our sorrows for being ‘bad people’ and making the poor guy wait in the snow.  The good thing about the Flying Pig is that it has a really good social scene with a bar and everything you need. Not surprisingly Princess and Andy Pandy were already on the juice.  The level of intoxication was indicated by the fact that Mai had straw stuck in her hair for like half an hour. It was clearly time to go to the red light district. 

It was snowing pretty hard core outside so we walked in and out of bars and documented various shenanigans along the way. It’s a good thing (or a bad thing) that Mai is fairly snap happy so we have evidence of the night. After a pretty confusing cab ride that took us across the city and back, we went back to the hostel and continued on with the night. Mai and I went to have a smoke and surprise, surprise, Finnish Guy was there. The guys went back out to the red light district.  Don’t know what their fascination was but I don’t think I want to know!

downtown high

We were pretty excited to get off the red eye flight from Kuala Lumpur.  Screaming babies were in every direction within a two metre radius of us for the duration of the 13hr overnight flight. I told Mai that that seems to be the norm for me lately and she was pretty determined to blame me  and my bad luck for the lack of sleep.

It was surprisingly easy to get from the airport to Amsterdam central. Just a short train ride and a five  minute walk in the darkness of the winter morning and bam! Our first destination. We arrived at the Flying Pig downtown hostel at about 8am and since we couldn’t get into our room until later we set out to explore. What does one ‘explore’ in Amsterdam exactly?  The infamous Coffee Shops of course!

Now in Amsterdam, the Coffee Shops sell weed and the cafés sell coffee, however you can get coffee from a Coffee Shop too. Got it? We wander from downtown into uptown and come across a well-established joint (excuse the pun) called, Barney’s. Much to my disappointment Barney and the crew from How I Met Your Mother weren’t there sinking their usual pints.  My disappointment was brief and soon replaced with anticipation. We were aware of the hype around the whole Amsterdam scene, but I must admit it was pretty surprising waltzing up to the bar, looking at the menu and ordering some buds like you would a drink. There’s so many to choose from it’s a little overwhelming.  We go with the ‘Laughing Buddha’; easy smoking and relaxing, with a bit of giggles on the side. I roll a somewhat smokable joint, and in what seemed like a moment of pure genius (moments like these often accompany smoking pot), I vowed to master the art of rolling while in town. As expected, I wasn’t in the best state to even practise properly. But that’s another story.

The first night was what I thought, pretty laid back. Well, until Mai got a little drunk some young Australian girls from Adelaide and I decided to do some shrooms. As you do. We sat in our dorm room and ate the ‘truffles’ by methods suggested by the supplier; chewing  each mouthful for two minutes without swallowing until finished. That wasn’t very fun. I was told to just put them on a pizza but apparently the more you chew the better the effect. Mushrooms were off limits for Mai who was pretty much passed out by this stage. The other girls and I went upstairs to the hostels smoking room to ride it out. These mushrooms were pretty visual, not vey giggly or social so we kind of sat there just watching everything, completely fascinated. There were sparkles coming off everyone, the books were bouncing out of the shelves and I swear I could see the energy of the room interacting.  Pretty good night and the best of all, no hangover.

The days were still wet and snowy. We went for a walk and Mai’s boots kind of flooded so we had to dry them with the hair dryer and get some waterproof spray. We sat in the smoking room and met a guy who became a fairly familiar face, we have no idea of his name still and he was always referred to as, Finnish Guy (his name was difficult to remember ok?).  He travelled from Finland to work around Europe and after being at the hostel for three weeks, was hoping to get a job there. As we all walked over to the pool table for a friendly match, the sun came out. Score! Sorry Finnish Guy, we have to go take photos. We run around the cobbled streets and charming canals like two kids in a theme park (or two stoners in a coffee shop?).  It was such a beautiful afternoon. When we came back, Finnish guy was still there (he became part of the furniture really) playing pool with some other highly entertaining lads. An Australian and a Canadian who we later named Princess and Andy Pandy. They weren’t travelling together or anything, but just met and seemed to be pretty rowdy already. We had a few drinks and went out to dinner. We lost Finnish Guy to the pool table.  The whole night’s conversation was pretty much based around pronunciation of different words and Andy was convinced Mai wasn’t Japanese because of her Australian accent. Later on, the lads went to explore the red light district and it’s dodgey alleys of decadent  dealers. Mai and I passed on that scene.