the Netherlands slash Holland

July 8-11, 2009

Eindhoven. Small, neat and clean airport. Futuristic looking city buses. That was my entire experience. Fortunately or unfortunately, I can’t say.

Amsterdam. Bicycles. Bicycles. Bicycles. If you’re not on one, you’re cautious of being hit by one. ‘Coffeeshops’ are filled with youngsters. Cafes and pubs are filled with young professionals and hipsters.

Stroll through Vondelpark. A Bohemian’s paradise. Cruise on the canals. Or walk alongside them. Shop for vintage treasures amongst the long stalls of the many markets. Smell the fresh flowers and purchase next season’s tulip bulbs in the Bloemenmarkt. See Van Gogh’s brilliance at the museum. Admire the innovative architecture of the city. Discovering the beauty in this capital is easily possible.

Finding the hidden gems takes the help of a local eye and mind. A veteran, wooden-clog craftsman’s workshop. Canal boat graveyard turned independent art exhibit. Picnic atop the Rijksmuseum roof. Great fashion designer windows next to the ladies 'offices' in the Red Light DIstrict. Chess tips from one of the homeless, barely standing players. Bicycle street races in the Oud Zuid neighborhood. Authentic Italian cuisine in a packed basement pizza parlor. Destructed homes from the new underground being built.

Belgium

July 3-8, 2009

A country known for an extensive list of local brews, delicious waffles and exquisite chocolates. Sipped walls of beers, light and dark included. Ate sugary waffles, street vendor and fancy restaurant included. Tasted the delicate chocolates, sweet and bitter included. Belgium is KNOWN for them for good reason. Trust me.

Antwerp. A 'metropolitan' city with a small town feel. The location for my cousin’s vinyl and CD store, Recycled Records. Buy music if you’re in town. Small plug. Family love. Pubs outnumber any other store type. One bar with five hundred and fifty different bottled beers line the wall. All my favorites on tap. All smiles.

Gent. An old-world village my cousin calls home. Two churches and a bell tower make up the historic center. Canals run through the cobblestone streets lined with ancient homes. Small, adorable boutiques with fantastic, specialized goods on display can be found in the tiny side streets. Cuberdon. A traditional sweet, purple fruity candy in the shape of ‘Gent’ noses. You can only by in €4 quantities. An artistic alleyway, legal for graffiti, exemplifies the talent of colorful paint in a can.

Bruges. A romantic getaway for two. Or one in my case. Every other door is the entry to the best Belgian chocolates. A massive array of every person’s specific preferences. Walk on the pathway surrounded by green grass and large trees, cross over a few canals, walk the One main street, shop the large square market and you've seen it all. Take the side streets and discover a little more. A grammar school choir and orchestra concert heightened by the acoustic sounds of the vaulted ceiling cathedral. Four course fresh seafood lunch at a family run, the same family since 1805, restaurant on a canal.

Hungary

June 29 - July 3, 2009

Combine the hilly, green right bank of Buda with the metropolitan, bustling left bank of Pest and voilà, Budapest. The boardwalk along the Danube. Some days it exists, other days it doesn't. On the Buda side, the Castle district and Gellert Hill stand. Holding the impressive Matthias Church, originally built in 1015, under construction now. Fisherman's bastion providing shade for the starving musicians. Citadella park for the locals to picnic. All overlook the Pest side.

The Parliament. A giant building seen from most of the ten, soon to eleven, bridges in Budapest. Walk Andrássy Avenue and find the luxury shops, the outstanding Opera House and the best local, cheap Gulyás, often mispronounced goulash and Fozelék, thick vegetable stew, joint in town. Visit the ever-changing, soon to be all modern, Jewish quarter and find the Great Synagogue. Largest in Eurasia. Second largest in the world.

Széchenyi Medicinal Bath. Largest bath in Europe. A typical day in the Turkish baths. Different degree saunas, steam rooms and mineral baths. The local pros wearing small cloths and swim caps. I played a game of chess while submerged in the outdoor, perfectly tempered pool. Our languages differed, but our facial expressions, chess moves and hand gestures were enough. The intimidating eye of a seventy and some odd year old, Hungarian man was perfection.

Markets. Központi Vásárcsarnok, my favorite, for the building and the goods. A large three story market. All the local cuisine brought in for the chefs and women to choose. Some stands with a long queue. Others with no customers. Easily telling what is best. PAPRIKA! They put it in everything. Gyümölcs leves, cold fruit soup, often sour cherry. I surprisingly enjoyed this. Túró Rudi, a chocolate coated cheese candy only found in Hungary. I surprisingly didn't like this. Somlói Galuska, spongy cake, with rum and chocolate. I loved this. Chefs hate to make it.

And in the night...Abandoned homes and bus stations turned into bars and hangouts coupled with indie, underground Hungarian bands and djs make the nightlife scene unlike any other.