Beer and Waffles

After bidding a fond farewell to the Venice of the North, we ventured south for a quick overnight stop in Bruges (like the movie...get it?).  It's a bad ass little city that really does make you feel like you're walking on a movie set.  Beautiful architecture, funky shops, quaint houses, and lots of fun watering holes that serve endless varieties of delicious beer.  After walking around town for a bit in the afternoon, I partook in a fun little beer tasting event at the hostel.  Unfortunately, my travel companion is an avid non-beer drinker so I was flying solo in this adventure...or so I thought (more on that earth shattering news to follow).  I had the pleasure of testing 6 different varieties of beer and not only did I enjoy all of them, I also made a few pals in the process.  We drank and danced the night away, I almost incited an international incident (involving a mistaken case of snack mix theft), we fled the scene of the alleged crime, and all was right with the world. 

Bruges, in pictures:

Hey, Bruges.  I like you a whole lot. 

Basilica of the Holy Blood, where a vial of Jesus' blood is said to be housed.  We didn't actually see it, but I heard one report that it looks like beef jerky.

Lions and the Bruges coat of arms and bears, oh my!

Pretty city

Weird nubbin trees

This is Chas, world renowned beer hater, moments before taking a sip of the beer he was peer-pressured into ordering...

And here he is post-sip!  That's one satisfied customer.  A momentous occasion to be sure.

One fun thing about Belgian beers is that they all come in their own unique glass that is designed to maximize the flavor of the beer.  Here is an especially awesome one.

The rag tag Bruges wrecking crew.  Two Americans, two Aussies and a Brit.  A winning combination to be sure. 

Wall of Beer.  Be still my heart.

Delirium. Or should I say DeliriYUM?  Hahaha, that was terrible.  Sorry.

Duvel translates to devil.  So when you get drunk off of this you can just tell people that the devil made you do it.

Oh yeah, Belgium also produces delicious waffles.

And chocolate, if you're into that sort of thing.

After we left Bruges, we took a train to Brussels to catch a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Chas was gracious enough to give me this really amazing window seat.  The views were spectacular.

Although our time in Bruges was brief, the impression it left was quite large.  While I wish we would have had more time there, I kind of like the fact that it was such a whirlwind experience.  Only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer, but that just means there will be plenty of things left to explore the next time I visit. 

Next stop: Scotland....

Amsterdam the Man!

Top of the mornin to ya!

Coming to you live and in color from the bustling metropolis of Dublin, Ireland.  I offer my sincerest apologies to those of you who might have taken the time between posts to mean that I had been arrested, hospitalized, and/or kidnapped.  Miraculously, none of those things are true.  The reality is that when you're exploring new and exciting lands with your pals, there isn't much time for quiet reflection and bloggery.  But fear not because I'm here to start making up for lost time.  I've got four countries to recap so I'll probably be breaking it up into a riveting quadrangle of fun.  Let's get crackin, shall we?

Ok, so after I departed Prague, I spent a few days exploring the countryside of the Netherlands and then made my way to Amsterdam to meet up with Chuck Huck.  Amsterdam is just about what you would expect - hookers dancing listlessly in red-lit windows, constant smell of weed wafting in the atmosphere, bikes everywhere, picturesque canals, etc.  Although we both agreed that we were a few years past our prime in terms of being able to properly party there, we still had a great time and saw lots of ridiculous stuff.  A few highlights:

As luck would have it, I arrived in Amsterdam on the day when Ajax, the local footy team won the Dutch title by defeating Twente by a score of 3-1.  So it was like the Super Bowl of Holland and people were celebrating as such. 

I was slightly concerned when drunk people started lighting flares...

But then I saw a big line of riot police and felt better.

The police diverted all pedestrian traffic leading back to my hostel about 2 miles out of the way, but had they not I probably would not have seen the Ajax team bus cruising by with all the players waving to their adoring fans.  This picture doesn't really do the experience justice, but it was a pretty cool thing to witness totally by accident.

Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Charles Huckestein has just entered the building!

A fun game to play when you're traveling is to try to fit as many cultural icons/stereotypes as possible into one photograph.  Here we see bikes, canals, and coffee shops. 

Taking pictures of the prostitutes in the red light district is creepy and weird...so all you get is a picture of the Bananenbar.  I can't say with any certainty what goes on there, but I'm pretty sure it's disgusting.



Artsy fartsy shot from the gallery at the Weed Museum.   

 

Who knew condoms could be used so creatively? 

Here's a picture of huge flower bulbs for those of you who enjoy morally sound activities.

Biking in Vondelpark.  I would venture to say that bikes outnumber people in Amsterdam.

If you want to keep a low profile and blend in with the locals, a good start is to wear a giant sombrero at a crappy Mexican restaurant.

Chas showing off our spacious digs aboard the Vita Nova houseboat/hostel.

In all my travels, I have noticed that the one beer that is available everywhere is Heineken.  So that's nice for the Dutchies.

Home sweet home, the Vita Nova.  If you ever stay here, make sure you book a room as far away from the bathrooms as humanly possible.  You're welcome in advance.

So that wraps up the Amsterdam portion of things.  It's definitely a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lives.  Lots of fun stuff to see and things to do and experiences to be had.  Oh and if you do go there, be prepared to get lost all the effin time.  Canals are confusing.

Next stop: Belgium...

Prague Blog - The Big Finish

And we're back!  Turns out I'm a total liar and a few hours actually means a few days.  Hopefully by this point you've had some time to recover from the first installment and haven't keeled over from all the excitement.  Ready for more?  Hold onto your hats...

Crazy Czech hooligans rooting on the Bohemian 1905 squad.  As you will note by the packed stands, this is the hottest ticket in town.

Jorts and a man purse.  Czech dudes are very fashion forward.

As you will note by the tightly clenched fist, Kel was fully prepared to engage in her first football-related brawl.  Everyone was remarkably well behaved though.  Bummer.

The Dancing House a.k.a. Fred and Ginger. 

Baby got back.  Life imitating art. 

My new motto. 

When you go to an Irish pub in Prague it's common practice for an old Welsh guy to draw indecipherable things on your ankle.  Or so we were told.

When you go to the discotheque, it's common practice to dance on tables with weird bald guys and Jersey Shore lookalikes.  Prague is wild!

Sunset over the Charles Bridge.  It's famous for being cool.

Pretty

This is Urine Man, an endearing character who patroled the street below our apartment with a strange bizarro world kind of authority.  He spends most of his days talking gibberish into a megaphone, scribbling secret notes in a tattered journal, taking shots of whiskey and somehow managing not to get arrested.  Here he is giving directions to a businessman.  Shortly after this was taken he probably peed his pants.  

At the John Lennon wall.  He looks like E.T. in this painting.

Travel buddies

This picture is in honor of legendary Pittsburgh vendor, Cotton Candy Man.  He fully embodied the Yinzer Dream.  RIP, good sir.

 

If there's one thing you should remember about Prague, it's Urine Man.  So lest you forget, here he is again showing you how to properly ramble incoherently. 

So there you have it.  Prague is a beautiful city and a fantastic place to do dumb stuff with your buddy.  We laughed, we cried, we ate disgusting local cuisine, and most importantly we drank lots of pilsner.  Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Stay tuned for more fun-filled adventures involving Dutch shenanigans, Belgian tomfoolery and Scottish hijinks....

The Prague Blog (with a side of Wien) - Part 1

Greetings and Salutations from the upper deck of the Vita Nova, a houseboat hostel situated in one of Amsterdam's infamous canals!  I am issuing this entry as an epic two-part series because I've got lots of pictures and uploading too many at one time makes my computer's brain hurt a lot.  So please bear with me and don't be mad that the time between blogs has recently doubled.  That's what happens when you're joined by a bunch of clowns and all they want to do is have fun with you.  Again, life = hard.

Got to Holland a few days ago and was taken on a grand tour of the countryside for a few days by a native Dutchie. Quite a beautiful place full of flowers, cheese and beer.  Can't go wrong with that combination.  Today marks the reunion of two of the greatest pricing analysts in the history of WESCO, me and Mr. Charles J. Huckestein.  We already walked through the red light district and took in some of the local sights and smells (get it?).  Now that little jerk is taking a nap and I've got nothing better to do than entertain the masses with more tales of revelry.

My timeline is totally off these days because when you have travel buddies time flies by at a feverish pitch.  So let's just say that I was in Vienna about 2 weeks ago.  I feel slightly bad about my experince there because I was mostly using it as a time wasting stopover before I got to Praha and got to travel with a best bud who I will introduce you to in a little bit.  But anyways, Vienna is really a beautiful city and I saw a lot of really cool buildings and monuments and museums and things of that nature.  Unfortunately I don't really know what any of them were so instead of pretending that I do, let's just focus on funny stuff that I observed there:

Austrians sure know how to party

Weiner references everywhere! What a sick and twisted place

Surprisingly smart selection of music at this little shop

As I've mentioned before, I have the same sense of humor as a 13 year old boy so this is hilarious!

Mozart played with the Weiner Philharmoniker.  Wait til the tabloids here about that one!

Creepy wax Mozart.  He's probably thinking about Weiner related things.

All kidding aside, Vienna really is beautiful.  This is evidence of the fact that my trip there involved more than just cheap penis jokes.

But not that much more.  Haha.  No comment.

So after I departed the most phallic city in the whole world, I hopped on a bus to a little place called Prague.  Maybe you've heard of it?  It's a lovely city full of gothic architecture, pilsner beer and parties all the time.  It was in this cozy Czech hamlet that I was reunited with my wee little sidekick, Kelly.  She is an international woman of mystery so I was honored to be able to travel alongside her for the week.  Much like when my family met me in Croatia, I was overjoyed to see the familiar face of someone so dear to my heart.  Throughout the course of the week did our best to set back US/Czech international relations at least several decades.  I think we succeeded remarkably well.  We stayed in a nice little apartment right off of the main square in the old town area so the location was ideal.  Even so, we managed to get lost all the time.  Czech street names are all Nastrikovy this and Zelenekaostriky that.  Anyways we always made it home eventually.  Here's what our adventure looked like: 

The jetsetter cheesin in front of the main town square.  That castle in the background was the inspiration for the Disney logo...or at least that's what we were told by someone with questionable credibility.  So that may be a tremendous lie.



The world famous Astronomical Clock.  People gather here at the top of every hour to see the most anti-climactic display I've ever seen.  Some little skeleton dude pops out and his head moves about an inch in either direction and then some chimes play and then its over.  Most people look bitterly disappointed when its over so that was more entertaining to watch.



Pilsner Urquell everywhere.  Beer is cheaper than water and the people definitely make the most of that.  I dug it.

Bird's eye view of the city.  Bridges automatically make a place cooler. 



What a diva.  On an unrelated note, we noticed that the people of Prague were fascinated with two things: my hair and Kelly's mocassins.  So from what we could gather, they were jealous.



Interior of the church on the grounds of the Presidential Palace.  Very impressive place.



I'm going to get in trouble for posting this, but it's just too good not to share.  A strip joint called Jag's?  Are you kidding me?  She's still waiting to hear back about the audition...

Just taking in some Czech football.  No big deal.

Ok Part 1 is now over.  Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion.  Should be debuting in a few short hours.  Or maybe longer.  Only the wind knows for sure....