All Kinds Of Levels Of Badass

Ed November 24th, 2008

Amsterdam – Brussel – London: Field report with PICTURES

I’m not sure if you all have noticed but it’s been a while since I last wrote a post. I will assume the lack of concerned emails implies that you are too distraught to use a computer… So anyway, I am now a resident of the epic city of London and have been wholeheartedly dedicating my time to my personal and professional prosperity here (read: I have been partying a lot). Again the blog has suffered from being porly ranked on my priority list. The positive side is that I have finally completed my online portfolio. If you want to take a look and help me critique, your opinions will be… considered. Here’s a link.

Amsterdam. Woooh! Amsterdam. Man, I actually can’t remember all that much of it. And not for the reasons that your all thinking. Well, not primarily because of those reasons. I think what it comes down to is that aside from the nightlife, coffee shops and the odd museum there is not all that much to remember about Amsterdam. It is a bustling, exciting place and I genuinely loved it but that probably has much to do with my interest in… the more popularised tourist attractions of the city. Aside from these however there really is little to mention. To be fair my impression may have been tainted by weeks of travelling some very incredible places.

I had just bought a new lens for my camera. I was sober I swear.

Some of my highlights of Amsterdam:

• The Van Goph Museum – We went to the Van Goph museum on a drizzly, cold morning. It took Kyle and myself a good 30 minutes to find a lighter beforehand (Note: If you are in Amsterdam, pick up a lighter when the opportunity presents itself. They can be frustrating to track down when needed). However once we did, we quickly partook of the excellent local produce and proceeded to the museum. I can highly recommend the experience as the museum is excellently designed and full of some amazing works by a true master, as well as some of his contemporaries. And I am not just saying so because I was baked.
• Coffee shops – It’s Amsterdam. Part of the cultural experience of this city are the local coffee shops, and not just because of the opportunity to smoke horrendous amounts of grass. The shops are often visited by a unique and varied array of individuals. The ambiance produced by considered selection of music and mood lighting can create cosy little areas that are brilliant places to pass a few hours. One evening we enjoyed some tasty chocolate space cakes. Several hours later we were laughing at some youths at a takeaway store who were clearly struggling with their stoned communication. It wasn’t until we experienced the same difficulties that we noticed the stupefying effects of the cakes. Good times. I think….
• The street path lights – Now this one is going to come off a little random but, this is about my highlights so bear with me. Along the sidewalks of the streets, they have these little lights that are capped in stainless steel. The lights sink into the ground during the day and pop back up at night to divide the road with a purple margin. They were freakin’ awesome.

Brussel. We were fortunate enough to have an old uni friend and his partner (Alistair and Kenny), as hosts while we visited Brussel. Not only did we benefit from their local knowledge but they were generous enough to accomodate us for a good half week.

Brussel itself was in my opinion, not too dissimilar from Auckland. Of course much larger and with a massively greater concentration of chocolatiers, but with many likenesses also. Although we spent a good two or three days there, but had probably seen the majority of it’s tourist draw cards after half a day.

A chance shot at a park in Brussel.

Fortunately it is relatively easy and inexpensive to travel in Belgium. We took advantage of this to spend a day at the popular tourist spot Brugge (or Bruges to the Poms). Brugge is one of those European towns that appears to have been uninfluenced by the last half Milena of progress. It is spotted with many impressive churches and cathedrals. This combined with some fantastic shopping makes it a popular destination for travelers. It is quaint, pretty and makes you feel as though you have stepped back to a different era. There is no reason not to visit if you are in Belgium.

The canals of Brugge.

London - the arrival at least. As London is now my home, I will of course dedicate specific entries to my experiences here. However as it is the last stop of our travels I think it deserving that I record my first impressions here.

We arrived in London on a brisk, yet clear blue day. We had accommodation arranged at a friends place (Tom and Jess from our time in Berlin), so we quickly proceeded there. By the afternoon it was cloudy and drizzling. That evening it began to snow. On our first evening in London it snowed for the first time in October for like 50 years. A very pleasant welcome. I mean that too, I have never really experience weather like it so it has some novelty value.

The view from the roof of the warehouse of the Olymic athletes village construction.

The converted warehouse we were staying at has an incredible social ambiance to it. A warm, friendly environment that regularly degrades into debauched revelry. At about 2am on our second night there, as I was trying to process another excessive quantity of alcohol, I was disturbed from my sleep by someone calling. Something about what was called caught my attention. I focused more intently to what was being said:

“Hello? Police”

I snapped wide awake. After throwing on some clothes I rushed to the hallway to see what could possibly draw police inside. I was met by several intimidating, batten wielding, plain clothed policeman. As it turned out they had been patrolling the area and had found our door unlocked so thought it wise to wander inside. And not before freely taking a look through the property and subsequently commenting on the numerous items of drug paraphernalia (not mine, I swear). Fun times.

I am not sure if that level of police presence is supposed to be comforting or intimidating. The people here have a weariness about them that must come from experience. I am regularly warned of the dangers of the streets here. ‘Don’t trust anyone’, ‘Don’t look people in the eyes’. Yet despite this I have yet to see any form of aggression or delinquency. London is a place where complacency will eventually lead to some form of mishap, yet it would diminish your experience if you avoided certain activities or locations from fear danger. It’s just another big, overpopulated city where people are just trying to get by. And its awesome.

• Absurdity we have been involved with , Places we have been to
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