Thoughts on the Netherlands, part II

Amsterdam may have been a large and beautiful city, but there are other great places in the Netherlands too. Haarlem was basically a smaller, more laid back neighbor of Amsterdam with a great little history museum and one about Frans Hals. It is 15 minutes away from Amsterdam on the train. The museum I wanted to see in the Hague was closed, but it seemed like a great town too.

But Rotterdam is the non-Amsterdam city that I think deserves the most attention. The architecture is silvery and contemporary and the city is a 21st century European ideal. It is very modern with efficient public transport and some nice green spaces, and is a very cosmopolitan  international town. The architecture institute is definitely worth checking out.

Overall, the Netherlands is one of Europe’s most unique and appreciable countries. One of the things I loved about it was that the Randstad towns were so close together, yet all had their own unique identities.

Thoughts on the Netherlands, part I

I loved the Netherlands. I loved it more than Scotland, and for someone who usually prefers rugged countries, that says a lot about my views on the Netherlands. I loved the canals. I loved the windmills. I loved how cosmopolitan it was. I loved the public transport. I loved a lot of things about it.

To me, the Netherlands is one of those countries, more so than many other countries, which you have to experience to really understand. It’s a country whose travel experiences are more than the sum of its parts.

When I first arrived in the Netherlands I thought “this would be a great country if only it had mountains!”. But over time, I began to realize that the country’s flatness and uniqueness of its own eventually forces you to realize that if it had mountains, it wouldn’t be the Netherlands many travelers know and love. The flatness of the landscape forces you to find other charms to the country, some of which can only exist in a flat landscape. These include the canals, the perfectly straight bike paths, and the unique dam system. 

Amsterdam was an enticing and unique city. It’s canals make it a city like no other in Northern Europe. It’s museums are some of the best you’ll find anywhere. It’s public transport is incredibly efficient. It is a city, in short, like no other on earth.

And that’s only the largest city. In upcoming posts I will discuss the other cities I visited.

How travel has changed my perception of the world

What was once a big planet to me has gotten smaller and smaller in my mind, and that’s a good thing. Travel has begun to truly change my perspective on the world, especially now that I’ve been traveling more frequently than I used to. Before I started solo traveling, I saw the world differently. It used to be that I saw the world as a gargantuan place full of many different exotic, far away lands. When we’d go on a trip somewhere overseas, I’d sometimes stop and marvel at the thought that I was thousands of miles from home. It was a new sensation. I felt like an explorer.

But now, I travel frequently. I’ve realized that the world is actually quite small. When I step off the plane, I feel like just one in seven billion making my way through my life, while the others who leave the plane make their way through theirs. When I go into a train station, I realize I am but one atom in the flow of the world’s people. I am but one of seven billion. I am making my way, doing my small but meaningful roles in a stage that fits 7 billion people. I look up to the sky. I see the same sun that I saw at home. I see that we are same species of people. We all have human body parts and faces, no matter what culture we are from. We live in a world where any one of these people can communicate with any other person as long as they have a computer. We live in the age of a global village.

I sometimes wonder what the future will bring. Will humanity colonize Mars and save ourselves from global warming? Will the world’s economies be stable? And I wonder, just how, in a few centuries time, how historians will look back on the lives of citizens like me. I wonder how this time will be remembered. But how this time is remembered in history doesn’t depend on what happens now. It depends on what happens next. If the technological progress of this time is used for good in the 21st century, my generation will be remembered well. And I hope that happens.

I try not to take the advantages of living in the 21st century developed world for granted. I try to be impressed every time I get off a plane. I always try to remember to remind myself that a less than a few centuries ago, the global interconnectedness of today is something few could have predicted. And I hope that I continue to travel and learn more about the world, and learn about its past, and improve its future. I feel more and more that Shakespeare’s quote below is very relevant, because we are all within reach of each other, as if we are all on but a stage. We are a connected, small, and fascinating world, and travel has helped my realize that more than anything else.

 

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts" -William Shakespeare

The Netherlands: first impressions

I’m back again after a month-long break from my travel blog, and I’m typing this from my hostel bed in Den Haag, the Netherlands. The Netherlands is known for its capital, Amsterdam (which I will be seeing later in the trip), but there’s so much more to it.

My first impressions of the uniqueness of the Netherlands came before I touched down on the ground. Flying into Schiphol Airport on a plane, you can see how neatly the country is “arranged” from a birds-eye view. Everything looks so ideally and tidily organized. The rectangular fields are bordered by bike paths and roads, which make their way from small square-shaped villages through the landscape. The landscape, with its fields, lines of trees, and windmills, is the most unique flat landscape I have ever seen.

When I got off the plane and into the airport, I was blown away by the infrastructure (more so than in the big airport in Madrid). Everything looked cleaner and more contemporary than in Spain, Britain, or America.

I then got on the train at Schiphol airport to go to the Hague. As I expected, the Dutch train was a smoother ride, steadier ride than anything I’d ridden in Britain or America. The train coasted through the countryside as I went past fields with windmills and villages next to them, and bike paths making their way through the landscape.

I then got off the train in the Hague and went for some tasty Indonesian food in Chinatown, then made my way to the hostel, had dinner after relaxing fo ra while, and here I am.

The Netherlands is incredible. I already feel this day has turbo-fueled my love of travel more than my first day in any other country. And I haven’t even visited a single museum yet.

5 reasons I love Spain

I am in Spain right now. I have been so far to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Cordoba, and will visit Valencia tomorrow. What do I think of it? It is awesome. The country is so incredibly beautiful, the people are great, the food is great, and the sights are great. Here are five reasons I love this country

1. It has all the conveniences of a modern, globalized nation, but also feels very Spanish

Spain is globalized, with an American chain restaurant here and there (though not as many as I thought I would see), a huge festival in Barcelona with a “Gangnam Style” parade on the Ramblas, lots of Asian restaurants, etc. But Spain is also very Spanish. Few people speak english in Madrid (In Barcelona many people do though), there is a lot of regional pride, and for every American chain restaurant, there seem to be at least six surrounding Tapas Bars or food shops showing off the local cuisine. The Tapas bars are great. I love how Madrid has many Tapas bars that represent different parts of Spain. They are all small “hole in the wall” places, but the tapas and raciones they serve are so tasty.

2. It’s warm

Spain is warm, even in February. The Madrid area is chilly, but as soon as I get off the AVE train Andalucia, it feels warm. Not too hot, but not too cold.

3. The People

The locals I meet on trains and in tapas bars are curious to know what a tourist like me thinks of Spain, and are impressed by my knowledge. The country is very friendly, apart form the pickpockets.

4. The Sights

Spain has so many sights, and each area seems to be good at different types of sights, though all types of sights can be found in all areas really. Want to see Moorish palaces? Head to Andalucia. Want to see great art museums? Head to Madrid. Want to see a variety of great history museums and a great old town? Head to Barcelona. Everywhere you go in Spain, there are great sights.

5. The Architecture

I love the architecture in Spain, both the old and the new. Barcelona with Guadi’s buildings. Madrid with its royal palace. Seville with its white Mediterranean-style buildings. Cordoba with the Mezquita. I love the architecture, and everywhere you go, it is different.

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Spain is an awesome country. It is incredibly varied, in climate, landscape, architecture, and sights. It feels very authentically Spanish. It is just a great place to come and everyone should visit.

 

Why the world is both the best possible and worst possible place to live at the same time

When I travel, I see the world and love it. I see great sites from ages past, I meet great people who have great stories to tell, and despite the connectedness of our world, there’s a great feeling you get when you step into a foreign land (even if the language on the signs is the only noticeable difference at the time), a feeling of freedom, a feeling that you can spread your wings around the world and fly. A feeling you can reach out, reach out to other cultures, enjoy great food, great sites, and yet…

There are also times when the world just doesn’t seem like a very nice place to live. There’s times when it’s night time, the news is on and it’s about some horrible thing that’s happening somewhere. To people who are suffering, whether in poverty, at war, or have lost a family member, the world is never as great as it is to a privileged tourist. There’s times when you can think of America and the Eurozone and think of nothing but economic troubles. There’s times when you can just convince yourself that the world cannot improve. There’s times when you want to believe things but you just can’t get yourself to truly believe them. There’s times you just don’t think there ever will be an end to gridlock in the Washington DC House of Representatives, or the problems being caused by climate change.

And yet, then we are back on the road. We are back, exploring an ancient ruins or old cities. We are back in Europe again, seeing not the collapse of the eurozone or with it, the people committing suicide over foreclosures in Athens, but seeing great places, beautiful faces, and enjoying great food. Then we go back to America, seeing beautiful National Parks, eating at Diners, listening to uplifting American songs of all types, hearing friendly people talk to each other about the latest baseball game when in the park, and just enjoying life.

And then it occurred to me. The world is neither good or bad. It depends on who you ask and when you ask them. And you know what? I’m happy living in a world like that. If everything was perfect or everything was horrible, the world would be miserable and boring. Good and bad are both two sides of the same coin. Throughout each person’s life, the coin flips back and forth, and sometimes spins around in a whirling shade of grey, not knowing which side to land on. The world is not neutral. The world is not good or bad. The world is both beautifully good and horrifically evil. There are too many people in the world, having way too many possible experiences, to ever generalize. 

And the best part is, we are all people.

Though a traveler will always notice differences between language, food, culture, skin color, and politics, more importantly, we’re all human. People who travel realize this. They realize that other countries are not exotic far away lands, but simply different houses in the global village. But then again, though this is to be celebrated, there will always be bigots who don’t realize this. And we should all oppose that and try to stop bigotry to make the world a better place. However, we should also enjoy what we can enjoy. We should take the time to enjoy seeing ancient ruins, we should take the time to try new foods. We should take the time to educate ourselves on bad things too. And you know why? The world is both the most horrible and greatest place to live at the same time. It just depends on who you ask and when you ask them.

1 more month

I am now 1 month away from my trip to Spain. I depart for Madrid February 14th. I always say this to myself at the beginning of the last month before a trip, but I’m going to try not to make sure this month seems to go on with pre-trip excitement frenzy forever. This time, I’m not going to read anything in depth about Spain until the last couple of days before my trip. I’ll be excited about my East-Central Europe trip instead (which is in the summer, still a long way off). That way I won’t be anxiously counting down minutes.

But anyway, the trip I am most excited about is, after all, this summer’s East-Central Europe trip. I’ll be visiting 8 cities, each the capital of a country: Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest. I think it will be a great overview of the west slavic world. Later in my life I’ll be sure to do a trip in which I choose 1 or 2 of those central European countries and just explore each for at least two or three weeks.