The second part of my European journey, which i shared with Emily, was also full of adventure and despite the differences across the borders, it felt like the Western Europe as a whole forms a coherent unity in a lot of ways (which made me wonder how stupid it is that there have been so much war in this continent through the course of history and the EU really makes a lot of sense). Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin were therefore a continuation of my previous European travels- a lot of art galleries, museums and eating baguette, cheese and drinking cheap but good wine (esp. heavily in Paris), but each of these cities also has unique charms and each couchsurfing host we stayed with also made the place special. Paris really is a romantic city, while Amsterdam has a funky feel and Berlin i don't know how to describe but for me it had macho imperial feel.
PARIS
Although i was looking forward to taking the underwater train from London to Paris, the train turned out to be really expensive and the only option i had was taking a bus- which was a grueling 8.5 hour ride including 2 hours on the boat... Then i was picked up by my host Cecile and Emily, and the first place she took us was a birthday party at a squatter. I had read about squatters (abandoned buildings inhabited by outsiders) a while ago but it was my first time seeing them in person- and it was fascinating to hear about their legal battles as the law states that if the inhabitants sufficiently improve the condition of the abandoned building, they are allowed to stay in the building.
And the group was not one i was used to meeting but am fascinated by- trans-genders and the birthday girl who worked part time as a porn star- and although i could not chat with them much about these issues because of the language barrier in addition to the fact I just met them, there were some Americans around and it was fun chatting with them- and this was only the first of the many parties and picnics that Cecile would take us to. That night, i was tired from my trip and after drinking a little more than i thought, I slept through a fire drill in the middle of the night and although Em claims she dragged me down outside the building, i have no recollection of the event.
The next morning we got an early start and i just followed Em into Paris. As she has been learning French for the past couple of years and was familiar with many things in Paris, all i had to do was sit back and follow her wherever she went. We started along probably the most famous street in Paris leading from the Arc de Triomphe to the Obelisk and the Louvre, and it was amazing to get an aerial view of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe as i was standing in the middle of probably one of the largest round-abouts in the world and could see the roads stretch out all around me.
Then we headed to the Eiffel Tower to meet Cecile and her friends for another birthday picnic. I loved the way the tourist sites like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower blend seamlessly into the lives of Parisians as a lot of people picnic at these places- (i also played soccer with some French guys on the lawn in front of the Louvre). Paris has a lot of green space which probably adds a lot to the romance of the city, then we walked along the Siene River (also a very romantic river) and fortunately we found a museum with history of jazz exhibition and free jazz concert which got me very excited- and jazz as often a language-less form of art I think is as universal as soccer. Then we kept on walking and passed the Louvre, Notre Dame, and ended up at the Pompidou Center. On the way we got locked inside a park so had to climb fences- which felt a little cool- and Em was surprisingly good at climbing fences despite her injured ankle. Walking through the heart of the city, i loved the architectural unity in the city as well as the harmony between the traditional buildings and the more modern additions like the Pompidou Center and I.M.Pei's famous Louvre pyramid. And also loved the way all the lights in the city came on together at the sun set.
That night, we headed for another party despite our fatigue around midnight and after Cecile told us we had missed the last metro at 2:30am, we were stuck at the party till the first metro at 5:30am... (Paris was not as convenient for night life as Berlin- which has 24 hour buses and metros on weekends for partying yeah!) But it was another amazing party and met some hilarious guys like an Italian Cal-Tech physicist who works in predicting earthquakes and tsunamis and hid a naked guy's clothes- and the naked guy who likes to take off his clothes at parties turned out to be a very nice high school literature teacher. And also met a French girl who has lived in the US and told me the French only talk about sex but don't do it much- according to her it's the Germans who really act more than they talk.
As the next morning was the first Sunday of the month which meant free museums, Em and i were intending on getting an early start but having partied till sunrise that did not quite work out. But we did go to the Louvre and i did see some amazing paintings, sculptures and other pieces of art. The Louvre was also interesting in that it contained not only conventional forms of art but also everyday French objects from bygone eras and some artifacts from the Middle East that the French probably pillaged on their conquests. I did see the Mona Lisa and although i did stare at it for fifteen minutes, there were too many people to enjoy the art seriously and i actually liked a lot of other paintings in the museum more. Then we went to the Pompidou Center- or the inside-out-pipe-center- which contained more modern and contemporary art and after the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay (which has a lot impressionist paintings) and the Pompidou Center, i felt like i got a pretty good introduction to the history of the Western art. I should also add that these places are all huge (esp. the Louvre) and am looking forward to another visit to these places.
During the weekdays, there thankfully weren't so many parties so our lives calmed down a little and we moved around for other gems of Paris. One of the most memorable places for me was the Church of Sacred Heart- which was not far from the 17th zone of Paris we lived in and was surrounded by cool cafe area that a lot of famous artists lived in. After a little praying/ meditating/ thinking inside, i felt so full of love somehow and i wondered why we could not love universally but preferred our family and friends more than the person sitting in front of me. Evolution probably provides the answer for family (genes) and friends who are often more likely to reciprocate and help us. But love is probably the purest and best when it is unconditional and do we only love our acquaintances because we want to be loved? But then soon after i realized it was much easier said than done because even just traveling with Em i could have been a lot more self-less and loving but wasn't willing to compromise and give up what i wanted to do a lot of times.
We also visited the Versailles and a lot of other tourist places and stayed with another CS host Emmanuel for two nights but enough on Paris... :) oh, and one more thing- crepes. I ate so many crepes in France- mostly chocolate (nutella), cheese, jam, egg, ham- but was also a little sad that there weren't many gourmet crepes in Paris- the best one i had was Boston, which had some African name and had lamb, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach- absolutely delicious. Although I enjoy crepes, I ate so many than I would because I thought i) I will be selling crepes this summer with Hanna and ii) other European cities won’t have as many crepes but neither turned out to be true so excessive crepe eating was quite unnecessary…
And lastly we were also invited by Cecile to come swim at a naked swimming pool but unfortunately (or fortunately) we missed the train stop so oh well… Em and I also got caught by the police free riding on a bus and I learned that fees are negotiable as Cecile somehow brought down the price from 40 euros to 20. When the police came into the bus to check tickets, it was like seeing a bear and after debating whether we should run out of the bus or pretend to sleep, we decided to pretend to sleep but that turned out to be not a good idea as the police woke us up anyways to check for our ticket.
AMSTERDAM
As it was the Easter weekend, all the hostels were full in Amsterdam and despite having sent many many couchsurfing requests, it seemed like all the Couch hosts were booked out too. But then Hannah saved me, as she had a friend Sergio from Barcelona in Amsterdam and he led us to a squatter under the bridge which was a convenient 10-minute walk away from the center of the city. Compared to the squatter in Paris which was a house, this one was huge as the space was originally built as an exhibition hall. And there were lot more people living inside as well- they had renovated the space so it contained the kitchen, and they were also working on getting a shower (so for the three days i was there i could not take a shower unfortunately...)
The squatter was a very interesting place for me- most people living them identified themselves as anarchists (although this is an umbrella term with many many colors), and although i always thought anarchists to be anti-government people, most seemed to be more dissatisfied economically with the state of today's capitalism.
But it was also ironic to me that they are living off the excess of the capitalist system that they criticize so much- People build too much and therefore have unused buildings so the anarchists live in them- people produce & waste too much goods & food so the anarchists take them- they get most of their food and clothes, furniture etc from dumps and supermarkets- and I would like to have been on one of these scavenge hunts but didn’t get a chance.
And i was not sure how much work they are doing towards building an alternative, more just system- people whom i met in the kibbutz (more on kibbutz soon in Israel part) were working hard to be self-sufficient and provide for themselves, but how much were these squatter residents working? Some of them i talked to told me they don't really do anything and i was reminded of my friend who loves the idealism of hippies but is disappointed by their lack of action... Many had outside jobs but some of them seemed like they drink and smoke pot all day. But there definitely was a lot of artistic talent- a lot of cool graffiti, live music and DJ action- and they were also working on turning the building into a multi-media center and some i heard are genius programmers and hackers.
The people i met there were all definitely lovely people though- i met a Palestine guy and a Romanian girl couple who had moved there from London, and they are people with really bright and beautiful minds and hearts but didn’t know what is going to happen to them/ the squatter in a couple of years. They were very interested in creating a more just society and although I got the impression they felt powerless, they somehow saw a revolution coming…
In the squatter, i learned to sleep with the music blasting (music often played till 4am and even later on weekends but i'd learn to go to sleep with the help of some alcohol). Although most people I met were friendly and kind, i did have a negative experience in the squatter as well- which was getting all my valuables (wallet, camera & laptop) stolen- Fortunately, i had a little bag with emergency cash and credit card so i wasn't in that bad position- but the camera and the laptop have not only financial but a lot of emotional value and i was very depressed to see all my writings, music and photos (photos of Paris & Amsterdam- two cities i loved) go. My camera had also been with me everywhere and it had been such a loyal camera, and losing my wallet also sucked a lot because i had a lot of people's contacts from all over the world. I was pretty seriously distraught after all my stuff disappeared and the first thing i wanted to do was pack up and go home, but talking to my family helped and they were really supportive so on and on i continued with my journey.
If there is a modern day equivalent of Sodom and Gomora, perhaps Amsterdam will be the most likely candidate- and i didn't like the Red District vibe. Amsterdam is a beautiful city architecturally and naturally with all the canals (loved biking through it), but i hated being able to smell weed and see drunk people in the middle of the street and look at countless scantily dressed prostitutes street after street in the Red Light District. Ironically, we found a Christian hostel in the middle of the Red light district and i had some nice chat with the girl working there- i love talking to (non-evangelizing) religious people... :) but i have to admit that i did go to the sex museum though- and although it was interesting for a little bit, it was too much (btw, I feel like the sex museum is for people who are a little too timid to go to a prostitute or a live sex show )... and in the central Dam Square they had also installed a glitzy little amusement park which i also did not like too much as it just seemed commercial and overwhelm the subtle natural charm of the city.
Basically Anne Frank memorial house seemed really out of place in this crazy city. I had also read Anne Frank’s diary when I was little, and it was quite a powerful experience visiting the actual place where she lived.
Along with the paintings of genius Dutch artists such as Rembrandt and Verneer, the main museum in Amsterdam also boasted fascinating items from the Dutch Golden Age- when the tiny Netherlands was one of the world's dominant powers. I've heard the theory that Jews were a big help as tolerance in the Netherlands attracted a lot of rich Jews fleeing from persecution around Europe (lesson here: tolerances brings prosperity? :) but no matter how they did it, i'm really impressed by power & determination of the Dutch people- despite their meager population of sixteen million (this is today), they have conquered the sea worldwide and more than half of Holland was reclaimed from the sea. They have also built mega corporations like the Royal Dutch Shell and Phillips (incidentally the Dutch were the first to conceive the notion of a corporation), have produced unearthly soccer players, amazing painters, rich culture, Heineken and marvelous botanical techniques which were in good display at the Kukenhof gardens. The sight of rows and rows of tulips under a windmill was such a typical Dutch sight, and they had produced some wonderful hybrids of the flowers.
