Good bye Brussels! Good bye Belgium! Land of wonderful beer, chocolate, cheese, and meat products! We bid you farewell.
Yes, our lovely 2 months in Brussels has come to an end. It was nice recharging the batteries here for a couple of months. Sadly (and not so sadly) our journey takes off tomorrow with a train ride to Paris. and from there:
1) Paris, France to Annecy, France
2) Annecy, France to Geneve, Swizterland
3) Geneve to Bern, to Zurich, Swizterland
4) Zurich to Vaduz, Liechtenstein to Milano, Italy
5) Milano to Torino, Italy
6) Torino, Italy to Monaco to Nice, France
7) Nice, France to Dijon, France
8) Dijon, France to Paris, France
Yep - a big roundtrip through the region. 15 days total with 12 or 13 in a car. This is the last "real part" of our honeymoon. Then, we are off to Dubai. no jobs yet, but we will work out something.
We both are excited to move on to the next adventure. Brussels has been extraordinarily chill and a great place to take a break. The people here are super friendly and our flat ended up in the best of places - St. Gilles Parvis. A very multi-cultural neighborhood that has a market every Wed through Sun. The people are great and friendly. No real negatives. We could have had a "better place" to stay - but it didn't affect us too much. Better than staying in a hotel and being on the move constantly.
We leave for Dubai on Oct. 16 and arrive Oct. 17. We will see you all around then! (with tons of pics)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Amsterdam! Sept. 19-21
Amsterdam. The land of (perceived) sin. The Las Vegas of Europe. Nah. Not really. ;) Lo-Lin and I don't party too much. Really - we go to bed well before midnight.
On Friday, we came to the city early and went to the Van Gogh Museum. It truly is a first class museum. In addition to the Van Gogh material, we both really liked the "Druskel Prints" exhibit by H.N. Werkman, a famous Dutch printer. We went to the Diamond factory across the street. Fun times. Then, off to our hotel.
Normally, hotels are hotels. But, we stayed at the QBic Hotel. Ala Japan capsule hotels, this is a bit bigger (not much) and has everything built into the "Cubi". A table, bed, tv, bathroom all in one unit. The hotel is almost fully self-service (check-in/out, food, etc.). It was neat, but I didn't like the lighting. I also didn't like that we had to ring up the caretaker every time we wanted in - because it was inside the World Trade Centre buildings and on the weekends. This was a really neat hotel though and I recommend checking them out. It was right on the metro and tram lines and provided easy access to downtown.
Friday night, we met up with C. Shaa, Justin, and Jeff for some drinks/dinner. Great times. I hadn't seen C. Shaa since my going away party in Iowa City (2005). She lives here with Justin and is a corporate lawyer. EVIL! Nah. It was a great time hanging out.
Saturday, Lo-Lin and I went shopping all day and bummed around. Lo-Lin had her first experience of the Red Light District. For those uninitiated - it really isn't that big and it really isn't as sleazy as you have heard. Yes, there are prostitutes in some of the windows and yes, marijuana is semi-legal - but really, the only thing that makes it crazy is the amount of tourists. Afterwards, we headed to Wynand Fockink....but more on that later.
We then met up Jeff and his friend Joy who was visiting from L.A. We took them down to Wynand Fockink. I discovered this place a couple of years ago when I was visiting Amsterdam - they started in 1679 and still make jenever - essentially gin, before the English taxed the French and caused chaos. It is in a back alley of downtown Amsterdam, near Dam Plaza and absolutely stunning. The staff are amazing well versed and treat everyone extremely well. After a few rounds, we decided to wander around and figure out food. We ended up at some Sichuan Chinese place - it was decent. After that, we went home. exhausted.
Sunday - WINDMILLS!
Before we headed to the windmills, we had breakfast at Pancakes Amsterdam. WOW. I ordered a savory pancake with spinach, pine nuts, garlic oil, and cheese. Lo-Lin, for some reason, got the American pancakes. Surprisingly - the American pancakes were amazing too! They had 3 stacks of pancakes with like...a 1/2 pound of bacon on top, covered in maple syrup. wow. GO THERE.
We then headed over to Zaanseschans...i.e. the land of the windmills near Amsterdam. ;) Lo-Lin, Jeff, Joy, and I hit the tourist destination early on in the day and had a wonderful time. The windmills were turning and you could go in (we didn't - 5 euros for a flight of stairs to stand on it didn't seem like a good investment). The whole place was quaint. Bought a couple of things and then headed back to Brussels.
Amsterdam is and always will be a neat place to go.
16 pictures
On Friday, we came to the city early and went to the Van Gogh Museum. It truly is a first class museum. In addition to the Van Gogh material, we both really liked the "Druskel Prints" exhibit by H.N. Werkman, a famous Dutch printer. We went to the Diamond factory across the street. Fun times. Then, off to our hotel.
Normally, hotels are hotels. But, we stayed at the QBic Hotel. Ala Japan capsule hotels, this is a bit bigger (not much) and has everything built into the "Cubi". A table, bed, tv, bathroom all in one unit. The hotel is almost fully self-service (check-in/out, food, etc.). It was neat, but I didn't like the lighting. I also didn't like that we had to ring up the caretaker every time we wanted in - because it was inside the World Trade Centre buildings and on the weekends. This was a really neat hotel though and I recommend checking them out. It was right on the metro and tram lines and provided easy access to downtown.
Friday night, we met up with C. Shaa, Justin, and Jeff for some drinks/dinner. Great times. I hadn't seen C. Shaa since my going away party in Iowa City (2005). She lives here with Justin and is a corporate lawyer. EVIL! Nah. It was a great time hanging out.
Saturday, Lo-Lin and I went shopping all day and bummed around. Lo-Lin had her first experience of the Red Light District. For those uninitiated - it really isn't that big and it really isn't as sleazy as you have heard. Yes, there are prostitutes in some of the windows and yes, marijuana is semi-legal - but really, the only thing that makes it crazy is the amount of tourists. Afterwards, we headed to Wynand Fockink....but more on that later.
We then met up Jeff and his friend Joy who was visiting from L.A. We took them down to Wynand Fockink. I discovered this place a couple of years ago when I was visiting Amsterdam - they started in 1679 and still make jenever - essentially gin, before the English taxed the French and caused chaos. It is in a back alley of downtown Amsterdam, near Dam Plaza and absolutely stunning. The staff are amazing well versed and treat everyone extremely well. After a few rounds, we decided to wander around and figure out food. We ended up at some Sichuan Chinese place - it was decent. After that, we went home. exhausted.
Sunday - WINDMILLS!
Before we headed to the windmills, we had breakfast at Pancakes Amsterdam. WOW. I ordered a savory pancake with spinach, pine nuts, garlic oil, and cheese. Lo-Lin, for some reason, got the American pancakes. Surprisingly - the American pancakes were amazing too! They had 3 stacks of pancakes with like...a 1/2 pound of bacon on top, covered in maple syrup. wow. GO THERE.
We then headed over to Zaanseschans...i.e. the land of the windmills near Amsterdam. ;) Lo-Lin, Jeff, Joy, and I hit the tourist destination early on in the day and had a wonderful time. The windmills were turning and you could go in (we didn't - 5 euros for a flight of stairs to stand on it didn't seem like a good investment). The whole place was quaint. Bought a couple of things and then headed back to Brussels.
Amsterdam is and always will be a neat place to go.
16 pictures
Sept. 13 - Bruges, Belgium
Lo-Lin and I had agreed to go to Bruges for a day when I got back from Dubai. On the plane back to the EU, In Bruges was showing on the flight. Hilarious mob movie based in Bruges with Colin Farrell. I highly recommend it -- plus the movie was shot in Bruges, so going there after seeing the movie was fun (he was shot here!).
Bruges is a city that still has much of its medieval architecture and is what I remember as being "classic Europe" in my grade/high school textbooks. I think they took every picture from German castles and Bruges and put them in the textbooks. The city is stunningly beautiful and is filled with canals. Wandering through the city, you could tell the people there tried to keep it "the old way". I highly recommend going there for some relaxation.
A couple of the highlights
Now, for some pictures. 27 pictures
This first picture was taken in the morning.
Bruges is a city that still has much of its medieval architecture and is what I remember as being "classic Europe" in my grade/high school textbooks. I think they took every picture from German castles and Bruges and put them in the textbooks. The city is stunningly beautiful and is filled with canals. Wandering through the city, you could tell the people there tried to keep it "the old way". I highly recommend going there for some relaxation.
A couple of the highlights
- The Belfry of Bruges. For 5 Euros a piece, we went up the 366 steps - luckily stopping at points in between. The stairwell starts wide and then narrows so that only one person can go up (or down) at a time. A logistical nightmare. I imagine many people have taken a spill down those narrow stairs. The views were amazing and the bells started going off as we got to the bell tower (my ears rang all day).
- Canal tour. I've been on the ones in Amsterdam before and this way, by far, better. Open boats through the canals let you see an inaccessible side of Bruges.
- Friet Museum (and Chocolate Museum). I liked the friet museum (potato fries) way too much. The museum showed the history of the potato from its North American roots all the way through today's friet shops. It was fun, cute, and, at the end, delicious. We had some fries - mmm good. The Chocolate Museum was neat for historical value, but way overcrowded.
Now, for some pictures. 27 pictures
This first picture was taken in the morning.
Sept. 1 - 9 - Dubai Job Hunt
I went to Dubai, United Arab Emirates from Sept. 1 through 9th for a more in depth job hunt. The time I was there was the beginning of Ramadan. Yes, it is a religious holiday and everything slows down, but my primary purpose was to meet people I had talked to electronically already (all expats) and to see if I could turn over any stones while I was there.
A brief Muslim religious lesson about Ramadan. Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance of the time during which the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammed. It is a time of personal reflection, worshiping God, self-discipline, and sacrifice. Therefore, Muslims fast during daylight hours and break at iftar - resulting in obtaining of food during the day being difficult. From a non-Muslim experience: no drinking of anything, eating of anything, smoking, or chewing gum in public. There are also no movies at the theaters. On the other hand, iftar is a nice relief to the day's fasting. I went to proper iftar dinners at a few hotels. Very extravagant and rich food. It was really good.
I spent most of my time on the phone, meeting with people, or applying for jobs...and not much time taking pictures. In addition, it was really hot - between 105-110 F the entire time. I made the mistake of going for a pre-dawn run and was wiped out.
Here are the 3 photos I took:
BTW - if anyone knows of a economist/financial analyst/consulting position in the Middle East or North Africa - my email is mike AT triple-zero DOT net =)
A brief Muslim religious lesson about Ramadan. Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance of the time during which the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammed. It is a time of personal reflection, worshiping God, self-discipline, and sacrifice. Therefore, Muslims fast during daylight hours and break at iftar - resulting in obtaining of food during the day being difficult. From a non-Muslim experience: no drinking of anything, eating of anything, smoking, or chewing gum in public. There are also no movies at the theaters. On the other hand, iftar is a nice relief to the day's fasting. I went to proper iftar dinners at a few hotels. Very extravagant and rich food. It was really good.
I spent most of my time on the phone, meeting with people, or applying for jobs...and not much time taking pictures. In addition, it was really hot - between 105-110 F the entire time. I made the mistake of going for a pre-dawn run and was wiped out.
Here are the 3 photos I took:
BTW - if anyone knows of a economist/financial analyst/consulting position in the Middle East or North Africa - my email is mike AT triple-zero DOT net =)
August 22-24 - Rotterdam and Den Haag
Before I headed out to Dubai, Lo-Lin and I wanted to take a quick trip to the Netherlands. Some stuff fell through, so we decided on Rotterdam and Den Haag rather than Amsterdam. I had been to Rotterdam previously, but never Den Haag. This time, due to being "lost in my head" because of the Dubai job search - I didn't take that many pictures.
Rotterdam is a neat place. It has a unique balance of class, along with an industrial infrastructure. It kind of reminds me of Chicago. The weather wasn't so amazing the entire time: cold, drizzly, windy - but it was nice to have a weekend away from Brussels. We didn't really do much besides walk around and explore, but that was more than satisfactory for us. As per usual, we stopped at Pizza Hut to check out the menu - and were sadly disappointed. Very Americanized. We had "all you can eat" at the Japanese restaurant. The food was decent, but we had to go RIGHT when they opened - they have a reservations list that is filled well in advance. Our hotel, NH, was super nice and comfy. On the Sat. night after Den Haag - we ate out, got some beer and came back to watch some TV.
Den Haag - we didn't know what to expect. You hear about the place all of the time because of the international courts, so we expected a very opulent place. It was. The city was pretty relaxed, food was crazy expensive, and the shopping was even more expensive. We didn't buy much - just wandered around and took pictures. We ran into an outdoor sculpture art show (see pics).
The time has come for pictures:
9 pictures, mostly of Den Haag
Rotterdam is a neat place. It has a unique balance of class, along with an industrial infrastructure. It kind of reminds me of Chicago. The weather wasn't so amazing the entire time: cold, drizzly, windy - but it was nice to have a weekend away from Brussels. We didn't really do much besides walk around and explore, but that was more than satisfactory for us. As per usual, we stopped at Pizza Hut to check out the menu - and were sadly disappointed. Very Americanized. We had "all you can eat" at the Japanese restaurant. The food was decent, but we had to go RIGHT when they opened - they have a reservations list that is filled well in advance. Our hotel, NH, was super nice and comfy. On the Sat. night after Den Haag - we ate out, got some beer and came back to watch some TV.
Den Haag - we didn't know what to expect. You hear about the place all of the time because of the international courts, so we expected a very opulent place. It was. The city was pretty relaxed, food was crazy expensive, and the shopping was even more expensive. We didn't buy much - just wandered around and took pictures. We ran into an outdoor sculpture art show (see pics).
The time has come for pictures:
9 pictures, mostly of Den Haag
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sorry for the lack of posts
It has been almost a month and we didn't post at all! Sorry. Lo-Lin isn't the posting type. She says she will post in Chinese (maybe).
It has been quite a month. First, I went to Dubai for my job search. I met a few great people, had some good conversations, and stayed in my hotel because of the heat (105-110 degrees Fahrenheit the entire time). Sadly, I didn't come back with a position - but we are going to keep trying. I've only recently figured out how to express the position I really want - in construction/engineering it is called "project controls". Lo-Lin has started looking for a statistician's position too. We will be headed back to Dubai from Oct. 17 through Nov. 13.
We'll be posting about our recent trips in the next few posts: Den Haag/Rotterdam and Bruges. Lo-Lin went to Antwerp and Gent by herself so she may post something. =) This weekend: Amsterdam!
On a side note, the American (and world) economy is hurting because of the recent collapses. I don't know what to think. I'm a heavy believer in a free market economy with appropriate controls. As an established free market economy - aren't firms that show irresponsibility liable for their actions? Maybe we should let them fail and allow the market to self-correct rather than tax the individual to rescue these irresponsible firms. The type of action the government has taken allows for a propped up system of irresponsibility in the financial services sector (and housing too!). Let them collapse and allow the properly investing firms to pick through the bones. Yes, I'm a bit of a pessimist, but really - why should I pay for the irresponsibility of others - especially those that are highly educated and know better?
It really is a slippery slope - shouldn't the government cover my individual investor losses because I made irresponsible decisions? Even though my losses are much smaller - why should we have a discriminatory practice (big loss vs. small loss) of who receives assistance and who does not?
It has been quite a month. First, I went to Dubai for my job search. I met a few great people, had some good conversations, and stayed in my hotel because of the heat (105-110 degrees Fahrenheit the entire time). Sadly, I didn't come back with a position - but we are going to keep trying. I've only recently figured out how to express the position I really want - in construction/engineering it is called "project controls". Lo-Lin has started looking for a statistician's position too. We will be headed back to Dubai from Oct. 17 through Nov. 13.
We'll be posting about our recent trips in the next few posts: Den Haag/Rotterdam and Bruges. Lo-Lin went to Antwerp and Gent by herself so she may post something. =) This weekend: Amsterdam!
On a side note, the American (and world) economy is hurting because of the recent collapses. I don't know what to think. I'm a heavy believer in a free market economy with appropriate controls. As an established free market economy - aren't firms that show irresponsibility liable for their actions? Maybe we should let them fail and allow the market to self-correct rather than tax the individual to rescue these irresponsible firms. The type of action the government has taken allows for a propped up system of irresponsibility in the financial services sector (and housing too!). Let them collapse and allow the properly investing firms to pick through the bones. Yes, I'm a bit of a pessimist, but really - why should I pay for the irresponsibility of others - especially those that are highly educated and know better?
It really is a slippery slope - shouldn't the government cover my individual investor losses because I made irresponsible decisions? Even though my losses are much smaller - why should we have a discriminatory practice (big loss vs. small loss) of who receives assistance and who does not?
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