Amsterdam, June 26, 2010

And we made it to Amsterdam...


The train station is a really cool building. I'm really into taking pictures of clocks on this trip for some reason (I think I'll post a bunch of those pictures at some point) and there is a very strange clock on the station that I can't figure out. Does anyone know what it's doing?


We went on a canal cruise. It was pretty cool, but a ton of people and hot. We sat with two interesting men - one from Munich and one from Serbia. They were both nice and engaging, but the Serb was far more interested in talking than in listening to the "tour" - which, granted was not that fascinating, recorded and repeated every sentence in about 5 different languages. So I didn't learn much from the tour, but I did convince a Serbian man that some Americans were pretty cool. A good day's work. ;) When he asked me if I had ever been to the Balkans, I did tell him that I had just been in Kosovo, but I was careful not to refer to it in anyway that would indicate whether I thought it was a country or not. I have no idea if there would have been any harm in that, but I did not want an argument of any kind.


There were some beautiful house boats and tons of people hanging out drinking and smoking in boats. Seemed like a great, relaxing Saturday afternoon.

We eventually found this great little Thai restaurant. From the front, it didn't look like anything special but there were some reasonable prices. Then we went through to the back patio. It was so beautiful! Food was really good and not too expensive.


After dinner we randomly found two other people from our group. That was fun. We hung out with them for a while, wandered through the red light district (an interesting sight for sure) and after some very amusing conversations, took a late train back to the Hague.

All in all - Amsterdam seems like a large, tourist-oriented city. I got my key chain, saw some unique sights, and happily returned to a slightly calmer environment.

The Netherlands - June 20 - June 27, 2010

The Hague

I took a train from the central train station in Amsterdam to the Hague - it's about 30 minutes away. By chance, I ran into 3 other girls in my program in the station, so we all took the train to the Hague together. From that station, we took a tram and arrived at our hotel without too many more adventures.

The hotel was great in almost every way. I know I'm rather spoiled, but I was so very happy to sleep in a comfortable bed that is larger than dorm beds, to have easy access to a private shower, and to not have random people walking in and out of the room at all hours. I'm sharing a room with a friend from DU - Anne - for the duration of the program. One person is so much easier to share with than 5 or 7. =) The only complaint I have about the hotel is breakfast. We were segregated! We had the lower class breakfast and the rest of the hotel had the nice breakfast. We could pay extra money (of course) - but I resorted to sneaking and stealing. I was slightly bitter and wanted better food. We paid A LOT of money; we deserved it.


The Hague is a beautiful city. There are trees everywhere and everyone rides bikes. There is a great tram system. Along every street, there are places for cars, for trams, for bikes and for people. I was slightly confused every time I crossed the street, but managed to avoid being hit. It was an easy walk from our hotel to the beach - the North Sea. There was a great boardwalk with restaurants along the beach - many of them gave out blankets to keep warm, but of course we managed to choose ones that did not.


We had pretty good food at an Italian place with a waiter who looked like he had fallen out of General Hospital. We found a grocery store with cheap food - and ended up spending about 20 euro there for 2 people for 4 lunches and a dinner. The little fridge in the room was a godsend.

Support for World Cup teams is prevalent in all European countries - here there are orange accents everywhere.

Did anyone read the Lupine Lady?
Oh, and we had classes too.

Really, they are pretty interesting. We have some really good - renowned - professors. My favorite is Nanda, which is helpful because he teaches at my school. What really makes the experience so remarkable, though, are the courts that we are able to visit and the people who have talked to us at those courts.

On Tuesday, we went to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We had a presentation from one of the head prosecutors - he worked on the Milosevic trial. He gave a very interesting and informative talk about some of the history of the region and a few of the specific cases. Without going into too much detail, it is really quite an experience to try people for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It's hard to figure out how to put those things into the normal context of "crime" and "trial."

The court rooms - both in the ITCY and the ICC (see below) - are very interesting. The simultaneous translation is fascinating. The people in the court room all wear headphones, as do all observers. Everyone speaks his or her own, native language and translators translate it into all other languages needed. In the case we heard, the protected witness (who was hidden from the audience) and the accused spoke Serbian, the judges spoke English and some of the attorneys spoke French. So the witness heard Serbian through his earphones whenever anyone other than the accused spoke, the judges heard English and the French attorneys heard French. There is also a channel on the earphones that allows you to hear exactly what is happening in the courtroom - all languages. Really fascinating. And I really wish I was fluent in more languages.

Wednesday we went to the International Criminal Court. The President of the Court came and spoke to us for nearly an hour. We also had speakers from the Office of the Prosecutor and another office. All interesting conversations. We were only able to listen to a case very briefly there - which was unfortunate because it was very interesting and we understood much more about the case when we went in. In that case, the defense attorney was cross-examining a witness. The witness was also protected, so we could not see him, but he was a young man (teenager) from the Congo. He had seen and been subject to unspeakable violence and joined a group of some people who fought back at times. He had been testifying for over a month. He wanted to go home. I simply can't imagine being in his situation...any piece of his situation.

Thursday was the Court of Justice at the Peace Palace. The building is beautiful. Inside, there are gifts from all over the world. It was built to house the Permanent Court of Arbitration. In 1903, Andrew Carnegie donated $1.5 million to build the palace. The Permanent Court of International Justice, created by the League of Nations, was housed there until it was replaced by the International Court of Justice of the UN in 1946. Outside, there are beautiful gardens and a Peace Flame encouraging all nations to join in movement for peace. On Wednesday evening, a few of us walked past the Palace on the way back from dinner and found one of the bushes outside smoking. We never quite figured out what was going on, but we eventually got the smoke to go out. We decided we saved the Palace from fire and thus saved international peace.

Friday was a nice day because we had classes in the morning and the afternoon free. I went with one friend to a market further away from our hotel and the "lawyer center." It was fun - cheap food and goods. I really like markets like that - they are fun. I acquired a few pairs of earrings and a few scarfs. I considered getting a rolling suitcase or duffel bag...I'm not sure what the best option is - so I have maintained my indecisiveness a bit longer. We had a good dinner that night and it was very nice to have a bit of a break.

Amsterdam

Saturday, the plan was to spend the day in Amsterdam. Anne and I headed out around 11 or so and were unable to get to any train station in the City because it was Veterans Day. A parade route was set up and there was no getting around it. We talked to a few nice cops who said that there was actually still time to get through, but we should stay and watch the parade anyway. So we went and had lunch at an outdoor cafe and watched the parade. We tried to leave a bit early, but then found that there literally wasn't a way through the parade route. So we watched the people walk by yet again. There were people from WWII and other conflicts the Netherlands has been involved in - many from the New Guinea Campaign. There were also representatives of, what we assume were all branches of current Netherland's military. The most interesting thing was how many people came out to watch the parade. The people lined the streets...

We eventually made it to Amsterdam around 3:30pm or so.

...more to come

Berlin - June 17-19 2010

Well - I am behind. I had high hopes, but forgot the whole going to school part of this adventure. Also, it seems as soon as I get to the hotels that cost a pretty penny, I can no longer get free internet access. Very frustrating. However - a quick update on Berlin:

I was very excited to get there and there was a lot I wanted to see. I did manage to get to quite a few, but exhaustion really started to catch up with me. Naps are very important. I stayed in a hostel in a boat that is moored on the east bank of the river Spree. I was comfortable and clean, but a bit overpriced. Also, there were certain moments when the fact that I was never standing completely still was a bit of a problem.


The first day there, I went back to the central Berlin station. Huge. I booked an overnight train to Amsterdam and scoped out the territory a bit more. Later that day, I went on a walking tour of Berlin. That was very interesting - we walked all around - saw many things - Museum Island, the Raichstag, the Brandenburg Gate...Check Point Charlie - known as "Disneyland Berlin" by our tour guide - is interesting in theory, but everything there - from the soldiers to the signs - are fake.

Actually, again according to the tour guide, the guys dressed as soldiers are actually professional
strippers at their day job. Who knows...though some were very attractive. :)


I stood on top of what was Hitler's bunker (it is now a parking lot) and sat in the space between the two Walls - the Death Strip - the changing number of feet of mines, tanks, barbed wire and snipers required to shoot to kill on sight. Just over 20 years ago, I would have been killed for setting foot there. It was strange information to try to assimilate.


The Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe is interesting...a square of different sized pillars - it gets deeper and deeper as you walk through.


The next day, I went to the Jewish Museum - also very interesting. It follows the history of Jews in Berlin since the middle ages. I then - more or less - moved from one cafe to another. Saturday, I wandered. I picked a market over the Holocaust Museum, cheap pasta and a world cup came over a few other options, and an extra gelato over more tours.

Berlin was great - I would have enjoyed time there a bit more if I had come a bit more rested. It felt really good to stay in one place for at least a few days. I was able to live pretty cheaply (except for the hostel), and that was helpful. It is definitely different to both travel and stay by yourself. I had a perfectly fine time and talked to a bunch of really nice people - but started missing friends and easy company and certain comforts. SO - if anyone feels like they really know Berlin, let me know and I'll go back with you!

My train to Amsterdam was supposed to leave around midnight. It did not show up until more than an hour later, so I spent quite a lot of time in the huge Berlin Central Station...it does get a bit chilly. I slept fairly well on the train and woke up to have a very nice conversation with the Scotsman who lived in the Netherlands in my cabin. He was returning from a visit to Prague to see his Russian fiancee and her daughter. Very nice man. Still - best part of traveling is meeting interesting people. And realizing how small the world is: I met a guy on the train from Berlin to Amsterdam from Louisville Colorado.

The school portion of this whole adventure started in the Netherlands...

I love the trains here. Seriously, can someone explain to me why we don't have trains in the States? I mean, we do - and far more on the east coast - but not like this. These are more comfortable than airplanes and make so much sense. Okay - enough of that.

I arrived in Nuremberg and was met by another friendly face (thanks Stephi!). It's so great having someone to show me around and share some of this experience with. I am glad I'm doing it on my own - I know it's "an experience" and "good for me" and I am very glad to know I can do this myself...and most of the time it's fine - but it is still great to have some company.



So, Nuremberg. There are many parts that have been cleaned up and made "cuter" for the benefit of tourists, but even so - it is really charming in parts. Apparently, Nuremberg is/was known for hand-made toys. There are still many little shops with wooden toys. The contrast between the old wall and the modern, new buildings is very striking.



There is a great old fortress overlooking the city - seems like it was a remarkably effective one too. Huge walls.


Nuremberg was bombed quite a few times during the war. Many buildings were re-built shortly after the war and many are still in the process of being rebuilt. Again, interesting contrast. I went by the place the synagogue stood - there is a simple memorial - the Nazis burned it in August 1938 - three months before Kristallnacht.


I wasn't able to see the court building where the Nuremberg Trials were held; it's a bit outside of the city...I did, however, have Nuremberg sausages (no, there is no connection) - fabulous little things! Much smaller than bratwursts - about the size of breakfast links, but oh so much better. I even had some beer - yes - I figured you have to in Germany - but it's not an experience I'm rushing to repeat.

The view from the fortress is great. There is a beautiful rose garden, and the gardens in general feel like something that belongs in a medieval castle.

After a wonderfully restful night in a beautiful apartment with family friends, I went to Bamberg - one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by bombs. There is this great little strip near the water (the river Regnitz, I believe) that is called "Little Venice" - it really increased my desire to go back to Italy...I'm still resisting.


I only spent a few hours in Bamberg before getting on the train to Berlin. All the traveling was starting to catching up with me at that point - I passed out on the train for about an hour. For the last hour or so of the journey, I was joined by a group of 50-ish year-old Australians on a tour. I had a fun conversation with one of them - all of them who saw me thought that my bag (and I) was slightly crazy...I agree. I still say backpacking and school and court do not all go together.

Okay, it seems I was not able to write about Berlin, but it will happen soon. Maybe I'll even get to being able to write about the day on which I'm writing!

Zurich - June 14, 2010

Off the plane from Pristina and into Zurich. It took me lots of internet searching to find a bed for less than $40...for this traveler's budget, that's a lot of money. What I did find was the top room/floor of a hotel that had been turned into a dorm room. It was nice, clean and very convenient. My 24-hour public transportation pass (8 CHF = reasonable) let me get on a tram that dropped me only a few feet from the hotel. I am getting better at packing, but, regardless, I am still wandering around with a large backpack and a heavy briefcase...though I was no longer getting stares for being blond, I'm hard to miss with all that. It felt great to lay down for a few minutes. There was a small balcony with a table, chairs and great view:


And then I went out for a walk. Wow.


Walking along the water...I took pictures of other tourists in exchange for pictures of me.


If there was ever any doubt in my mind, I am now completely convinced that I have obnoxiously expensive taste. Zurich is amazing. Breathtaking. I would love to stay there...I need far more money. I had a bratwurst, a roll, and water for 12 CHF on the banks of Lake Zurich - I decided to say I was paying for the view.


Along my walk I watched lots of small children, swans, boats and musicians. I watched the end of the Japan/Cameroon match at a sidewalk cafe with 20 or so passing cyclists. I found this "ugly duckling:"


Cute, huh? :)

I'm not really sure what else to say about Zurich. Generally speaking, everyone was nice. Oh - I did have an interesting conversation with a man originally from the Congo. It was a bit tricky - I definitely do not speak French - but interesting. He said that the racism in Zurich is fairly extreme - he was comparing his experience to that of his siblings in Paris, and said that Paris was much easier. The guy got obviously disappointed when he misunderstood me and decided I said I had a boyfriend. The extent of the disappointment was enough to keep me from correcting this thought, and I am pretty sure I enjoyed the conversation far more after that point, while he enjoyed it far less. I found that very amusing. Regardless, I had never spoken to someone from the Congo before and his perspective was very interesting. Two last things -

Mountains and Water - outstanding views


And Gnomes!



It was a very good evening. The next morning, I got on a train for Nuremberg...

Kosovo - June 11, 12 and 13, 2010

I have a ticket stub that says: Istanbul, Turkey to Pristina, Kosovo. I still can't quite get over that.

Just in case any of you find yourselves heading to Kosovo in the near future, I will pass on one small piece of advice: when you get off the plane, get to the front of the bus that takes you to the airport - passport control is immediate and it feels so nice to NOT stand in that crazy long line (thanks Alonit!).

It was WONDERFUL to see Alonit at the airport when I came out - she is working in Pristina for the summer and has a cute apartment. I had one brief moment of nervousness - when a airport security woman asked me if I had anything to declare; I said no; she gave me a strange look and asked where I was coming from; I paused (momentarily forgot) before saying Turkey; What are you doing in Kosovo?; meeting a friend; Who put on these (touching one of the locks on my backpack); I did; You did...okay, go ahead. I had no desire to go through a complicated Kosovar customs. But no problem.

Alonit gave me a crash course on Balkan history/present. Of course I don't completely understand anything, but I got a much better idea than I had before (I wont try to attempt much of an explanation here). One helpful fact - they love Americans. When I first started traveling (in Cuba or Mexico or Italy), I mumbled when people asked me where I was from and as soon as I could, I declared my dislike of Bush. Last year, as soon as I said I was American, the vast majority of people smiled and said "Obama!!" In Kosovo, I saw more American flags than I have at any point in the US (except on the 4th of July) - America was instrumental in Kosovo's achieving independence.

Alonit introduced me to some guys she's met (*cough* *cough*) and the four of us went to Prizren - a great town that really reminded me of Boulder. It was crazy hot. But - of course - there were wonderful water fountains. You can drink the water out of basically all of these fountains all over the place. It's great. Did I mention it was hot?



There is a creek that runs through the town...I was so very tempted to jump in - and that was before I saw all the little kids doing it!

I love this picture! Alonit and Julie


And Veli and Abnor.


After a rather strange lunch, we walked up to a great, old fortress that sits above the city. There were great views - but did I mention that it was hot? The view from the bottom looking up:



And one once we made it to the top:


69 countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent country so far. I know it's hard to see, but I wanted to post this picture - it says thank you to each of those countries in their own language. It's quite something to see people so proud of their country, what they have and honestly thankful for those who helped them get there. Still many problems, of course - but there is also great hope and progress.

However, evidence of the war and the trauma and devastation is ever-present...


On Sunday, we went to a forest area just outside (I think?) of Pristina. There was a huge swimming pool which we did NOT go into :( - but we had a great walk and a huge meal and watched kids playing. There are so many young children and young families and it felt like half of the whole city was out playing and having a good time. Kosovo is a Muslim country; there are many mosques and I did hear the call to prayer a number of times. However, you would never know it from the general population. Though there are some people who practice and wear conservative dress, the vast majority of the population seems to be very secular and quite fond of tank-tops and short skirts. Many also have this fabulous trait of dark hair and amazing blue eyes. Not sure of her eye color, but this little one was great fun to watch.


I wish I could have stayed longer. Kosovo was great. However, this is a trip of near-continuous movement, and I was off Monday morning. Back to the airport, out of the land of fabulously inexpensive food and into a place where a spare $50,000 would have come in useful just to eat on a semi-regular basis. :)

Istanbul, June 10 2010

Tonight is my last night in Istanbul. It's been a fairly crazy few days, but much fun. The mosques here are stunning. I think of everything I've seen, those are the most amazing. They pepper the city. I went on a short boat ride on the Bosporus tonight at sunset - a bit chilly - and saw just how many there are along the coasts. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are stunning. I really enjoy hearing the call to prayer at least a few times a day. I'm not sure I could ever be dedicated enough to anything to do it 5 times a day (well - other than eat and all that other required stuff).


Something about the Arabic script I really find lovely...

Did I mention the Blue Mosque is huge??


The food here is great. So far I haven't had any food problems, which for me is rather impressive. Basically, I've been eating meat. Bread and meat. And oh so good. The smell of grilling meat is a frequent treat. I'd recommend coming here regardless of your food habits, but I would imagine it would be a bit tricky for vegies. Though I also recommend the apple tea - just go into a carpet store and it will appear.

The bizarres were fun. It is a bit tricky to go to those things knowing 1) money is tight and 2) anything I buy I have to carry for 2 months...but I got out without too much damage. However, I did decide (not for the first time) that it would be really fun to be rich for a little bit. I really liked some of the hanging lamps. One of my friends was quite taken with the rugs - they were offered an amazing deal, but seeing as they are backpacking for the next 3 weeks, they couldn't "buy today!" and ended up with a rather offended shop keeper. They do not actually mean "information only! decide to buy later" :) But that is the same everywhere. Oh, the spice bizarre was very cool - smells are fascinating and Turkish Delight (in the varieties I tried anyway) is much better here than at home and, so far, has had no negative White Witch of Narnia effects. I also found a huge lamp...I tried, but no genie came out...



They call Istanbul the City of Seven Hills...no kidding...but why stop at 7? They are everywhere! My legs and feet are feeling the workout.


Took a short boat ride on the Bosporus...I'm really a sucker for sunsets on water...


Great place, Istanbul. Would love to come back - and would love to see more of Turkey. People are very friendly and helpful. Interesting thoughts on Turkey joining the EU - everyone wants it to happen, some are more optimistic than others...personally, I have a hard time understanding how you can be in negotiations about anything for more than 30 years!

Okay - signing out from Turkey. Somehow it seems remarkably strange to say that I'll be in Kosovo tomorrow...

Istanbul - June 9 and 10 2010

Some pictures - just a sample - there are oh so many more.


This is from the Spice Bizarre. There are so many amazing smells! Of course you can more or less get the same thing at every stand...makes you wonder why each vendor thinks that if he yells enough, you will decide to buy the same thing from him that you just turned down from the previous guy...

Me. Sitting outside the Archeological Museum. Very cool place...


Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya). Amazing. Awesome. Pick an adjective. It was the largest cathedral in the world for over a thousand years...or something like that. Church, mosque, museum... stunning place.


Again, words don't really do it justice. I'm not really sure what it is about mosques in particular, but I just find them beautiful. I get church-ed out far faster than mosque-d out. I loved hearing the call to prayer every few hours. When I first got to the Blue Mosque, we couldn't go inside because it was prayer time. There are fountains outside around the base of the mosque to wash hands, feet, face, ears...


My fabulous friends Cate and Trevor. We had tea (rather expensive if I remember) at a rooftop bar. Look one direction, you see the Blue Mosque; look the other direction, you see Hagia Sophia...and out in yet another way is the Bosporus. Great spot. These two are off spending the rest of June in other parts of Turkey. I only got two days with them, but that was great. Trevor was the only one of us brave (or stupid?) enough to try the fermented carrot juice (I don't know if that's really what it was - it was purple and had pictures of turnips on it)...but I missed the remarkable face he made. So they get this picture instead. :)

Istanbul - Tuesday, June 8th 2010

Hi! Wow. Even though I am sure I could figure it out, I have no idea how many hours I have actually been here. It's about 7pm on Tuesday and I got in last night - so perhaps in a normal world, that would mean I have been here just over 24 hours. We'll assume that is correct. 9 hours difference really does make a difference.

I'm staying at a nice hostel. If you're ever in Istanbul, I recommend the World Hostel. Fairly small, but comfortable and clean and on a very interesting street. I thankfully slept in this morning and woke up to find it raining. Apparently, it has been raining here a lot. And apparently all my preparation did not include checking on the weather. But that's alright. I set off wandering, intending to find one of those tour buses that would let me see the city and keep dry. As it turned out, it stopped raining when I left the hostel and I ended up meeting a nice guy who showed me around a bit. So I never got on the bus. I did, however, get remarkably wet - even with my nice little travel umbrella. I got a mini-lesson in Turkish with tea at a beautiful cafe in the middle of a great park (I have no idea if it is in the middle, but it had great views). Complicated language! My tongue seriously did not quite know what to do with it, but I'm getting a little better.

Today was really one of those wide-eyed "wow I'm in a different place" days. I didn't exactly do anything in particular, but I got a little bit of a sense of the city. At least the European side. It really is an amazing change from law school to honestly not care what time it is.

Currently, I am sitting with my computer at a table in the front of my hostel, which is set up like a little cafe with open doors out on to the street. There is a small shop across the street that sells fruit. Down the hill, you can walk to the Bosporus. Up the hill, you can get to the mail squares within about 15 minutes (less, probably if I wasn't looking around at everything). Last night I shared a room with 3 German girls about my age. Tonight (any time now) my friends from Boston should arrive. It's really something to meet up for dinner on the other side of the world.

Two Months in Europe

Hi! So, I'm a little late in the process, but I'm starting a blog to chronicle my trip through Europe this summer. I will try to post fairly often - it's a bit easier than sending out emails. But some of the first posts will consist of emails I've sent already. Sorry if you read duplicates!

Please keep in touch. Let me know if you have suggestions for places to see in the spots I'm visiting!