Well, not a whole lot experienced last night. Jason had abruptly gotten sick and we headed back pretty early. We ended up staying up late and watching the Super Bowl. Congrats to the Chiefs, but the 49ers ultimately lost due to some poor coaching decisions in my opinion. Today we walked around the city most of the day. There is a small neighborhood that is considered “Free Town” they live by their own rules and the Danish government decided to avoid conflict and let them do their own thing. It was pretty cool to see all the buildings there.We didn’t see many people that seemed to live there but it was a neat ex
That is exactly how that entry ended. In my next entry I explain why it is cut off but if I tell you now it is repeating myself. It’s suspense! No better time for suspense than right now. The world is shutting down over an invisible and globally mutual enemy. COVID-19, which just started to rear it’s ugly head at the beginning of when I took this trip, is still all that is being talked about on the news. People are hoarding things when they shop. The biggest thing being toilet paper… I still don’t understand it. I think people need to be more considerate. This pandemic is showing the worst of people but I feel like it can also show the best. That’s a lot coming from me. I consider myself a realist but people think it’s usually negative. Truth is, reality is often not pretty. I want it to show the best, where instead of taking all of an item you pause to think, hey, there are many others that may need that and leave some for them you are doing great. You have an asshole but aren’t one. If you are one of the ones hoarding, keep in mind that no matter how much toilet paper you have you’ll be a dirty asshole until you clean up your act.
Copenhagen is a beautiful so far. We are staying at a nice hotel near the city center. It’s right by the water. Out behind the hotel is a huge wharf. There are a line of triangles you can walk through. It’s probably roughly 200 feet and as you walk through a voice emanates from it and the triangles light up as well when it is dark enough. They make a variety of noises from being operatic to kinda creepy and sinister. It was really cool. People have seemed friendly so far. It’s a big difference already, from our experience in Hamburg. Time to rest up at little and head out later to see how the night life is.
The the hotel we stayed at was The Admiral. It was a very nice place for our last couple nights to stay. I discovered the the singing triangles or whatever they were after I had showered. I ended up there by walking around the back of where the hotel was in search of where Jason and Matt had gone to get a bite to eat. As I had started walking I could hear it at first and it sounded like vikings were rowing a boat was my first thought. It knew something was going to be along the way and lo and behold it was those. There was a pretty consistent opera singing sound they eventually were giving off but when I had first discovered it was when it was making some creepy and stranger noises. It was very cool. I have attached pictures and you can also download the video below if you wish to hear the sounds for yourself. Hope you enjoy.
On the train heading to Copenhagen. Apparently, saturday night a lot of shit goes down in the Reeperbahn district of Hamburg. All night long and even into the early morning I heard sirens going off. It was crazy. It made me wonder what was going on out there for it to be that active. They must be a bunch of heathens and I’m happy I wasn’t out all night to see the carnage that create sirens to go off all night. Another thing is, on the train when the porter came by to check our tickets Jason asked if there was a cafe cart on the train and he said “Maybe in Denmark.” Jason then asked “Do we switch trains in Denmark?” To which he replied “Maybe.” What the fuck does that mean? It’s a yes or no question. He made it clear he wasn’t going to go out of his way to help. Fuck him. I’m not sure if he was German or Danish but if he was Danish I hope it’s not a sign of things to come hospitality-wise. We shall soon see.
I remember how angered I was by that porter. I don’t know if he was trying to be funny or what but I do remember being confused by his attitude and really pissed. As you can tell from my entry obviously. He may have been from somewhere else other than Germany or Denmark so I’m not sure why those were the only two places I listed he could be from. I suppose because I was traveling from Germany to Denmark. Eh, either way that’s irrelevant. The bottom line was, judging by first impressions, he was an odd, cold, and rude man. The question did echo in my head on how the people would be in Denmark. We had encountered a Danish bartender once on one of our trips in Ireland. He was a bit odd and had a weird sense of humor. He was also curt and come to think of it similar to how the porter was. I’m not saying the porter for certain was Danish but he did have similar traits to that bartender. I started to have fears of having to interact with these personalities. We would know soon enough.
Just got back after dinner. The place we wanted to eat at was fully booked but the woman was nice to direct us to another Indian restaurant down the street. I had chicken tikka masala. It wasn’t as good as Tulsi but it was ok. Jason had chicken vindaloo and I had a little of that and it tasted better than my masala. While walking back we observed a fight nearly break out. Also, a little further along we witnessed a couple of guys getting thrown out of a bar. It seems like a pretty ruckus place on saturday night. I’m thinking that big cities are not the places to travel to. They all seem to be one and the same. Buskers, homeless, and dirty streets. I can say however, I don’t seem to mind Cork or Dublin as much. I wish I could’ve taken more out of Hamburg. Unfortunately it receives a low grade of D. If we could’ve had the ability to enjoy the bars without having to deal with second-hand smoke perhaps the grade would be higher. Much like Paris, I don’t foresee any reason to come back to Hamburg. Again, I feel fortunate to have experienced it but I don’t need to come back. Let’s see what Copenhagen has in store.
Our hopes of a hooting, hollering time in Hamburg had not been fulfilled. It very well could have been because we stayed in a crappy part of Hamburg so I will say that my grade towards Hamburg is strictly on the Reeperbahn district as that was where our time had been spent. I also want to say that as I grade these places it’s only my personal opinion and any low grades are not to offend, infuriate, or otherwise shit on it for the sake of it. It was just MY experience and what I took away from the places. It is meant to be a source of information as well and to give some insight to people. I would never tell anyone to not go to some of the places of which I gave a low grade. It is only my experience and someone else may really enjoy the places I didn’t. To each their own, but mind you I’m not like Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, or Rick Steves. I give my genuine thoughts on a place and won’t sugar coat it if I don’t like something. If anything that’s the reason you’re still reading these, right?
Hamburg has been a pretty drab visit overall. All of us haven’t been feeling the greatest. The Air BNB we are staying at is a shit hole. There’s no elevator and it’s 5 floors up a spiral staircase. It’s also poorly insulated so it gets chilly easy. We had lunch earlier by the harbor and that was meh. It was expensive for lunch it seemed. after that we pretty much came back to the room and rested. There’s not really any museums that pique our interest so we haven’t really had much of a positive experience in this place. It could have been better if the bars didn’t allow smoking. It seems we are going to try an Indian restaurant for dinner tonight. It’s got good reviews so I’ll be interested to see how it compares to the Indian restaurant we have back home. Well, we have a few but the only one I actually trust and enjoy is Tulsi. I’m hoping the spices help to kick the rest of this cold out of me. It’s time to head out to dinner. Let’s see how this place is.
It was almost as if Amsterdam came with us because all we could smell in the Air BNB was the aroma of cannabis from one of the other apartments in the building. The woman who ran the Air BNB was generous to let us know about that as well as there not being an elevator moments before we entered the building. Huffing and puffing we got to the top where our room was. When we entered we were greeted with a bland, dark, and depressing space in which to stay. The walls were white, the floors were gray, and the wooden beams on the ceiling were black. The couch was a large sectional and was gray also. The most morose thing was the sleeping area. It was 2 metal bunk beds and 2 beds tucked up next to the wall with the roof going up so that if you jolted up in your sleep you’d knock yourself back out with a concussion. We named it Block 27 seeing how it was in Germany, it was a depressing place to stay, and we had the Anne Frank experience still fresh in our brains. Jason and Matt stayed on the bottom beds of the bunks and I slept along the wall. I made it out relatively unscathed and only bumped my noggin a couple of times. While the experience of that Air BNB was awful, I’m thankful because it gave me something to write about. On that note, be speculative of photos of where you stay. They can be deceiving.
Arrived in Hamburg yesterday afternoon. It’s a big city similar to how Paris was. The people have seemed friendly but it’s a dirty city. Trash on the streets and once again we have come across dog shit on the sidewalks. Matt stayed in as he was still feeling ill. Jason and I went out and walked around to try to find a good rock n’ roll bar. We came across many it seemed but the kicker is that all the bars still allow smoking. I’m a former smoker and in my 20’s it wouldn’t have bothered me but now I can’t stand the smell of it. Jason doesn’t like it either so it seems we may have found a dud in staying in Hamburg. You never know unless you try though. I know I keep talking about it, but there are a couple funny things that I haven’t documented in regards to Amsterdam. While walking around the Red Light District, off one of the side streets there was a huge church. Also, we walked past Christian Hostels. Not sure if it referred to Christian as in the religion but if so it just shows the hypocrisy of it. I think that there are some good things that can come from religion but as a whole it creates division and delusion I think. Speaking of division, it looks as though Trump is going to be acquitted as the senate voted to block witnesses. It’s a fucking sham. How is it a fair trial without witnesses? Once again, Teflon Don gets away with it. It’s just insane the support he gets despite being a known crook. It’s created a great division in the country. Well, no sense in delving into that. It is what it is. I just remembered another thing about last night. When Jason and I were walking back we hard loud music blaring. We turned around and it was a convoy of cyclists with a police escort in the back. It had to have been close to 1,000 cyclists. This was roughly around 10:30 at night. I have no idea what was going on or what it was for but needless to say it was interesting to see. Thus far, Amsterdam has been the best visited place. Cefalu was nice as well. One more night in Hamburg tonight then tomorrow morning we head to Copenhagen for two nights and then I fly home. I’m looking forward to being home. I miss my pets and my wife. That’s all for now.
In the time since I had written this in my journal Trump was indeed acquitted. Things have appeared to get even stranger. The DNC again seems to be trying to fuck over Bernie Sanders. All of the candidates that have started dropping out have decided to endorse Joe Biden. That’s a big fucking problem for me because the guy can’t remember shit and he fucks all kinds of things up. Not a person I want in charge of the country. The only hope is that somehow Bernie does win the nomination but I don’t know if that will happen. I hope it does because then I will want to vote come November. If Biden gets the nomination, it’s going to be difficult. I may just write someone in and that will be the first time I’ve done that. I can’t vote for Trump and I can’t vote for Biden. I will tell you I am voting AGAINST Susan Collins. It’s time she goes. I’ll do the same if we are voting for governor. Janet Mills has got to go too. Anyways, sorry to bog you down with political stuff. That’s not my intent but at least you know where I am standing. Bye for now!
On the train heading towards Hamburg. It is actually the second train, as we had to switch to another in order to get there. Matt is now also sick. It’s a little alarming seeing how all we’ve been hearing about on the news is this damn Coronavirus. I don’t think that’s what’s going on though. I think I got sick and in turn Matt probably got it from me. On another note, I wanted to reflect a little more on Amsterdam. There was a really cool bar that was in the Red Light District called The Excalibur. It was a great Rock n’ Roll bar. It was a place that Lemmy from Motorhead frequented. There were several pictures of him there. I also saw a picture of Scott Weiland. It was just a fun bar to be at. Now, onto the Red Light District in general. It’s not as dirty and drab as people may think. It was lit up and yes, there were some drug peddlers there but they didn’t push too hard. There are also several windows or booths that had lights and the sex workers stood in those as advertisement. Sometimes, tapping on the glass to get your attention to try to get business. Sorry girls, I’m married. It was a neat experience and I wonder if that’s something helps to keep some crime down. There’s nothing more dangerous than a man with a loaded gun. I don’t mean that in the literal sense. Being a man, I know what it can be like wanting to get your rocks off and when you can’t it can put you in a foul mood. It’s nature. Also, another thing I noticed is they aren‘t scared to shut someone off if they think they’re too drunk. I saw someone get shut off last night. I think of all the times I’ve been to Ireland I’ve only seen it once. That was a gimmie though because they were so drunk that while pouring the bottle of beer into the glass, they didn’t even do that. They just poured it all over the counter of the bar. I’m looking out the window at the German country side. It’s green and pretty similar to Ireland in a way. I just got thinking about it. I think in the future I’d like to do a sort of WWII trip. Go and see some of the concentration camps and such. Jason has been to one that’s about an hour away from where he is currently living in Austria. He told me that the stuff they did there was unthinkable. Experiments on people and pulling out their teeth if they had gold in them. He also told me that Hitler would have them do things on twins and would see the reaction on one if they did something to the other. Some really fucked up shit. Ever since the Anne Frank house I’ve been intrigued to really learn more about that time period. I guess with how horrible it was it just seems like it wasn’t real. You don’t want to believe it’s real. Unfortunately, all the evidence and the accounts of that time, prove it really was.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t done much to delve deeper into things related to WWII since I’ve been back from this trip. I have it bookmarked in my brain to delve into when I really feel inspired. That’s how a procrastinator’s brain works. At least that’s how mine does. I will say when it’s time for the lights to come on I tend to tighten up and perform my best. It’s the way I went through high school. I never was really interested in some of the things I learned so those subjects I didn’t grade as well in. The things I did like I excelled at. Some classes had a certain structure that I could take advantage of. The one that really sticks out was Sociology I believe that was the name of the class. The teacher had the class designed so that he would have everything we tested on was out of our text book. We would have a homework packet that was due at the end of the week and then the next class we would have a test. I slept that whole class and still aced it. Why? Because I could. I would wait until the night before the homework packet was due and do it all. It was all fresh in my mind from doing it the night before and the teacher didn’t lie. Everything on the test was what I had read. Easy fuckin’ peasy. I had a fellow student come up to me rather agitated and ask ” How the fuck are you acing this class!? You sleep the whole time!” I told him what I did and he just walked off in disbelief. Who ever said procrastination was a bad thing?
This morning we head out towards Hamburg, Germany. Amsterdam was a great city. Well, it’s time to check out so that’s all for now.
I wrote this entry in the fleeting moments before we left our hotel room that morning. I think I expected to get more down but there wasn’t time. We had a train to catch and we were excited to see what Hamburg would hold in store for us. Jason had heard a lot of good things about it and he had booked an Air BNB in the Reeperbahn district. There was supposed to be a good rock scene and we were going in there for 2 nights on the weekend. Friday and Saturday. We were hoping to find some good rock n roll bars and hopefully see some live music as well. The air bnb looked like it was a nice place from the photos. Hamburg was sounding like it was going to be a fun time. All that was left was getting there.
We went to the Anne Frank house. It was an experience that really put into perspective the dangers during The Holocaust. I remember having to read parts of Anne Frank’s diary in school when I was younger. I want to say as early as 5th grade or so. All I can say was at that time it’s just too early to introduce to introduce that topic to people. I couldn’t stand having to read it because I wasn’t mature enough at the time to actually grasp the severity of the events. After going to the museum and learning and listening to the tour I felt a sense of sadness and empathy. It really did a job showing just how evil the Nazi regime was. 6 million Jews were killed during that time. No crimes committed other than being what they were. One of the most interesting things I did learn in school in regards to The Holocaust though is that the Jews are not a race but a religion and Hitler more or less considered it a race, therefore I have had several debates with people regarding Jews being a religion and not a race. Being Jewish technically means that you practice Judaism and I wonder if all 6 million that were killed during The Holocaust did practice that or if they simply had the similar features of what Hitler determined Jews to be. I find myself wondering if I was not taught properly because anytime I mention that Jews are a religion and not a race I seem to get push back from people. Either I was improperly taught this or all the others who disagree were. It makes sent to me that the Jews are a religion as opposed to a race but maybe I will never truly know. Regardless, the bottom line is all of those people during that time were in danger. It also means we need to be self aware and never forget so that nothing like that happens again. The saddest thing is that the Frank family along with many others were found by the Nazis shortly after the Normandy invasion. The thought they were going to end up being saved, however, that was not the case. The only survivor was the father and he was the one who decided to have Anne’s diary/diaries published. I think after that experience I need to give Anne Frank’s diary a real try now. I’m at the age that it would resonate more with me than at the time it was first introduced to me. I can now actually comprehend what it was like during that time and I would take it more seriously. I know much more about the severity of WWII than I could comprehend at that young age. I can say it is definitely something students show be introduced to but probably when they are older, like in high school. Either way, it is an impactful account of what it was like to be a Jew in hiding. Hiding in fear of their lives. It is also an account of how it was living like that. Unable to use the bathroom at certain times and having to be quiet all the time. Living that whole time in hiding, not enjoying life. Trying to survive and outlast, only to still be found, captured, and eventually dying in a concentration camp. Hitler was a real fucking psycho. It’s crazy that he was able to have the power to have such heinous acts committed against people. It can never happen again. If it does, so help us all because we don’t know who the target will be should it ever happen again.
Yeah, the Anne Frank house was a heavy experience. It really drives home how awful the things that happened during that period were. I’m glad that I went there because I grew a much larger appreciation for Anne Frank’s diary. As I mentioned in the entry I just couldn’t get into it when I was introduced to it. Having been to the museum I have a deeper connection to it and feel it would be good for me to read now. I can say one thing, if you ever go to the Anne Frank house and come out of it feeling the same. You may not have a soul. It was how I found out I did.
We had a late night last night. We didn’t get back to the hotel until around 4:00 A.M. We found a good late night rock n roll bar and it was fun. Amsterdam is an incredible place. Clean, friendly, and good food. There isn’t really too many pan handlers and I haven’t seen a homeless person either. Also, they are civilized and pick up their dog shit. Today is our last night and we leave to Hamburg tomorrow morning. This trip has been a good experience but I am missing home. I’ll be ready to leave once we do. I want to see my wife and dog and rabbit. Jason got some tix for us to go to the Anne Frank House today. That should be interesting. I’m going to go ahead and do it. I think Amsterdam gets an A+. Many may think that Amsterdam is a place for heathens because of all the things you can do should you choose. You can fulfill just about any vice you have whether it be drugs or sex or food, they have it, but it‘s civilized. I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to have an amazing experience. I can see myself wanting to come back. It just has a cozy feeling about it. Amsterdam will be in my heart along with Ireland.
It was amazing to me how pristine Amsterdam seemed. I never saw any homeless people the whole time I was there but it doesn’t mean there isn’t. I’m sure there are but I just never came across any. I have nothing against homeless people at all. In fact I feel for them and for me I guess it was eye opening to not see any of them. We walked a pretty fair amount around the city center also. I think one day we logged almost 10 miles walking around. The reason I say it was eye opening was because it clicked in my head that there must be something they are doing right. Exactly what it is, I don’t know but it certainly worked. I stick to the A+ grade I gave it as it really was an amazing time. Part of it could be where we stayed as well and I can’t guarantee everyone will have the same experiences as I did there. I will say however that it’s not a place I would stay for over 5 days. I feel like that is plenty of time to be able to see a good majority of what you can see there. If you had a gun to my head and asked me to choose between Ireland and Amsterdam I would probably say Ireland. I only say that because there is a sense of rawness in Ireland that I love and you don’t get that in Amsterdam.
Basket of Thoughts 