It's your lucky day because you get 2 posts from me. This post I thought I'd give you a taste of european music. I already posted one song Das Geht Ab in one of my earlier posts but I'd thought I'd give you more.
Disco Pogo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p1kfs0G85I
This is from Frauenarzt which is the same group that sang Das Geht Ab. Frauenarzt means woman doctor in German. Germans go insane when this comes on.
Alors on Danse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BLJM1LG63k
By a Belgium guy. And let we dance is what it translates to in English. There's an english version if you care too. French love this.
Show me Love:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZJ29GE5DB4
There are about 1000 remixes of this but this is the closet I could find.
When love takes over:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwHmvPPmMto
This may or may not be out in the states but it has David guetta a famous french dj.
Love is Gone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHTT__uvD2E&feature=related
David Guetta again. He's pretty famous.
Stereo Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d6_5n6u2e4&feature=related
Edward Maya. He ripped off some Romainan group with this song.
Thats about all I can give right now because my ears have thrown in the towel. Not bad whenever you're 8 beers deep but they play this sober as well.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Amster......Dam
So I got back from Amsterdam last night and here are some intial thoughts.
1- The red light district is pretty cool but it is dirty as all sin. Trash everywhere and people walking around stoned or on something else. There is a church and kindergarten in the district as well as tons of sexshops and girls in the windows. Our hostel was in the heart of the redlight district so we spent a considerable amount of time there. The girls in the mornings are butt ugly but the A-team comes out around 8 or so at night and some of them are knockouts. Note though if you go DO NOT take pictures of them. We heard from multiple people they like to keep glasses of urine next to them to throw at people who take pictures. That or come outside and destroy your camera.
2- The rest of the city is pretty cool but not as beautiful as people made it out to be imo. The buildings are leaning everywhere and are all crooked. Outside of the redlight district the buildings get better and there are some nice churches but everyone kept telling me this was one of the most beautiful cities ever and frankly I just didn't see that. There are also urinals next to the canals that drain into them. You also have to watch out for cars, trams, buses, scooters, and bikes. The bikes are the worst because there are so many of them and they have their own lanes that can be mistaken for sidewalks.
3- We took a tour of the city. It was free but you could tip the tourguides whatever you wanted at the end. Very cool and informative. I would definitetly recommend.
4- Saw the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House. Skip the Van Gogh unless you're a huge fan but you have to go see the Anne Frank House. It's where she and her family lived for 2 years during WW2 before they got caught. Surreal would be a good way to describe it. Tiny rooms and an attic with a super steep staircase, and it even has her original diary on display. Must see while in Amsterdam.
Now onto the Coffe shops.
There are plenty of them around. Cafe in the dutch means a regular bar and coffe shop means they sell cannabis. Smart shops sell mushrooms and smoking accessories (bongs pipes papers etc...) The coffe shops have special rules, no screaming or yelling, no loud noise making, no dancing, etc... You walk by all these coffe shops and just see people stoned out of their mind sitting there aimlessly. Our hostel had a coffe lounge in it that also served food. Whenever you'd go downthere they had three couches that always had people stoned or sleeping from being stoned on them. Others were just staring at the TV's. Everyone else was eating doritios and candy bars, I'm not kidding this is actually what I saw the majority of the time I went down there. If you want to smoke you go up to the counter and they give you a menu of what they have. You pick what you want and they can sell it to you already rolled up or just give you a baggy of the stuff. A joint will run you about 3 euros. You can't take it out of the shop. Looking back it was actually sort of depressing.
We even took a trip to the VondelPark which is the biggest park in Amsterdam. It was a nice park but there were a lot of people (about 30%) that where just zonked out on something walking around playing guitars, kicking soccer balls at trees or we watched one guy try to re-adjust his backpack for about 5 minutes straight. Just slinging it back and forth on his back.
All in all worth the trip and would definiteatly check it out if you had the chance. Anyone under 25 would have a great time but for the older crowd I'd skip the red light district and just stick to the museums and parks. They have an Amsterdam pass but I wouldn't get it . The museums are not expensive (around 9-12 euros) and you can walk everywhere the city is pretty small.
1- The red light district is pretty cool but it is dirty as all sin. Trash everywhere and people walking around stoned or on something else. There is a church and kindergarten in the district as well as tons of sexshops and girls in the windows. Our hostel was in the heart of the redlight district so we spent a considerable amount of time there. The girls in the mornings are butt ugly but the A-team comes out around 8 or so at night and some of them are knockouts. Note though if you go DO NOT take pictures of them. We heard from multiple people they like to keep glasses of urine next to them to throw at people who take pictures. That or come outside and destroy your camera.
2- The rest of the city is pretty cool but not as beautiful as people made it out to be imo. The buildings are leaning everywhere and are all crooked. Outside of the redlight district the buildings get better and there are some nice churches but everyone kept telling me this was one of the most beautiful cities ever and frankly I just didn't see that. There are also urinals next to the canals that drain into them. You also have to watch out for cars, trams, buses, scooters, and bikes. The bikes are the worst because there are so many of them and they have their own lanes that can be mistaken for sidewalks.
3- We took a tour of the city. It was free but you could tip the tourguides whatever you wanted at the end. Very cool and informative. I would definitetly recommend.
4- Saw the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House. Skip the Van Gogh unless you're a huge fan but you have to go see the Anne Frank House. It's where she and her family lived for 2 years during WW2 before they got caught. Surreal would be a good way to describe it. Tiny rooms and an attic with a super steep staircase, and it even has her original diary on display. Must see while in Amsterdam.
Now onto the Coffe shops.
There are plenty of them around. Cafe in the dutch means a regular bar and coffe shop means they sell cannabis. Smart shops sell mushrooms and smoking accessories (bongs pipes papers etc...) The coffe shops have special rules, no screaming or yelling, no loud noise making, no dancing, etc... You walk by all these coffe shops and just see people stoned out of their mind sitting there aimlessly. Our hostel had a coffe lounge in it that also served food. Whenever you'd go downthere they had three couches that always had people stoned or sleeping from being stoned on them. Others were just staring at the TV's. Everyone else was eating doritios and candy bars, I'm not kidding this is actually what I saw the majority of the time I went down there. If you want to smoke you go up to the counter and they give you a menu of what they have. You pick what you want and they can sell it to you already rolled up or just give you a baggy of the stuff. A joint will run you about 3 euros. You can't take it out of the shop. Looking back it was actually sort of depressing.
We even took a trip to the VondelPark which is the biggest park in Amsterdam. It was a nice park but there were a lot of people (about 30%) that where just zonked out on something walking around playing guitars, kicking soccer balls at trees or we watched one guy try to re-adjust his backpack for about 5 minutes straight. Just slinging it back and forth on his back.
All in all worth the trip and would definiteatly check it out if you had the chance. Anyone under 25 would have a great time but for the older crowd I'd skip the red light district and just stick to the museums and parks. They have an Amsterdam pass but I wouldn't get it . The museums are not expensive (around 9-12 euros) and you can walk everywhere the city is pretty small.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Note to self, judo isn't the best thing to do........
after getting home from a 9 day trip with your buddies. After almost passing out during warm-ups and then getting owned by teenagers I thought it couldn't get worse, then I almost shit my pants on the mat. I managed to make it to the bathroom in time. Crisis avoided. I was debating not going because I was still recovering from the previous trip but I needed the exercise.
Speaking of the trip it was good. I don't have any pictures because I lost my camera at Dc's wedding. Ask him or Kevin about it they will be more than happy to tell you the story. Anyway London was good, the wheather sucked but thats typical London. First day we went to Picadilly circus, Trafalger Square, Big Ben and Houses of Parliment and then Westminster Abby. Second day we went to Tower Bridge and then Tower of London to see the crown jewels. Or maybe that was the first day whatever that's not important. Crown Jewels were cool to see. Saw changing of the guard at Buckingham and then went and saw Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. We went to the British museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and then wondered around while looking for the Magna Carta which Kevin insisted was inside. Because Kevin is to pussy to ask for help we left without finding it. The next day kevin told us it was in the basement. We went back to find it was not in the basement. So we walked to the train station to catch the train to Paris and while we were walking there we passed the British Library, where the Magna Carta actually is. Of course we didn't figure that out until we were actuallly in the train and it was moving. Go figure.
Paris was great. We nly had 2 days but we hit all the big sights. Eifel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame and the Lourve. The Lourve was great excpet I still don't get the fascination with the Mona Lisa. The painting directly across from it takes up an entire wall and everybody is crammed around the Mona Lisa which is the smallest painting in the room. It's just some lady half smiling. Thats why I'll never be a big art guy. The funniest part though was when we were in Paris and we got to our hotel and turned on the tv. Dan and Kevin wanted to watch some of the french open which is played in Paris. Before this we were walking in the rain for almost an hour looking for our hotel. Kevin turned on the Tv and saw the French open was on a rain delay and said in a deadly serious tone "god it must be raining in Paris" or I wonder how hard it's raining in Paris or something to that nature. Considering all he had to do was turn his head to the right as he was in Paris and was sitting next to a window and was soaking wet from walking around in the rain
Rome was awesome. Went to the Pantheon the first day. Vatican and Sistine Chapel the second day which if you like art you must go to the sistine chapel. The artwork on the ceiling blew me away and I am not the biggest art fan. Then we entered St Peters Basillica. Good god almighty that place in huge. If you're in Rome you need to go see it. Next day was the Colisseum and Forum. The history of this place is amazing. So many old structures still standing and in relatively good shape.
Along the way we may have had an adult beverage or two. The last night we decided to bust out some karoke at the irish pub in Rome and tore that place down thus cementing my place as a karoke legend. They probably bronzed the microphone and put it on a plaque after my use.
World Cup starts this Friday and I will be watching it while talking smack to all the europeons around me. I already got a plastic horn I got from a six pack of beer and they are playing the games on a big screen in a big park in town. Sunday I will rest up because Monday I leave for........ Amsterdam.
Speaking of the trip it was good. I don't have any pictures because I lost my camera at Dc's wedding. Ask him or Kevin about it they will be more than happy to tell you the story. Anyway London was good, the wheather sucked but thats typical London. First day we went to Picadilly circus, Trafalger Square, Big Ben and Houses of Parliment and then Westminster Abby. Second day we went to Tower Bridge and then Tower of London to see the crown jewels. Or maybe that was the first day whatever that's not important. Crown Jewels were cool to see. Saw changing of the guard at Buckingham and then went and saw Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. We went to the British museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and then wondered around while looking for the Magna Carta which Kevin insisted was inside. Because Kevin is to pussy to ask for help we left without finding it. The next day kevin told us it was in the basement. We went back to find it was not in the basement. So we walked to the train station to catch the train to Paris and while we were walking there we passed the British Library, where the Magna Carta actually is. Of course we didn't figure that out until we were actuallly in the train and it was moving. Go figure.
Paris was great. We nly had 2 days but we hit all the big sights. Eifel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame and the Lourve. The Lourve was great excpet I still don't get the fascination with the Mona Lisa. The painting directly across from it takes up an entire wall and everybody is crammed around the Mona Lisa which is the smallest painting in the room. It's just some lady half smiling. Thats why I'll never be a big art guy. The funniest part though was when we were in Paris and we got to our hotel and turned on the tv. Dan and Kevin wanted to watch some of the french open which is played in Paris. Before this we were walking in the rain for almost an hour looking for our hotel. Kevin turned on the Tv and saw the French open was on a rain delay and said in a deadly serious tone "god it must be raining in Paris" or I wonder how hard it's raining in Paris or something to that nature. Considering all he had to do was turn his head to the right as he was in Paris and was sitting next to a window and was soaking wet from walking around in the rain
Rome was awesome. Went to the Pantheon the first day. Vatican and Sistine Chapel the second day which if you like art you must go to the sistine chapel. The artwork on the ceiling blew me away and I am not the biggest art fan. Then we entered St Peters Basillica. Good god almighty that place in huge. If you're in Rome you need to go see it. Next day was the Colisseum and Forum. The history of this place is amazing. So many old structures still standing and in relatively good shape.
Along the way we may have had an adult beverage or two. The last night we decided to bust out some karoke at the irish pub in Rome and tore that place down thus cementing my place as a karoke legend. They probably bronzed the microphone and put it on a plaque after my use.
World Cup starts this Friday and I will be watching it while talking smack to all the europeons around me. I already got a plastic horn I got from a six pack of beer and they are playing the games on a big screen in a big park in town. Sunday I will rest up because Monday I leave for........ Amsterdam.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Munich since I have some time
So me and my German friends decided to go to Munich for Friday and Saturday. Let me just start out by saying that we didn't see close to 40% of the city. It is massive and if you want to visit I suggest 4 to five days. Anyway we left Winterthur and traveled through Austria and then got into Munich at about 1 in the afternoon. We checked into our hostel and then took a train into the heart of the city. Munich is beautiful to say the least. All the buildings are old, there's tons of churches and plazas to see. I got to work on my German skills as well. I am now what I call childlike meaning I can hold small simple conversations. So we walked all through the city and I was amazed how many parks Munich had. They were massive to, not some small plot of land. So we walked around and then went back to the hostel to shower and go see one of my friends buddies at a small German style pub. First off when you enter the pub there are long benches, no individual tables so you just have to walk up and sit down next to some strangers. Took a little getting used to but it wasn't a major concern a
fter about 15 minutes. So we ordered some beers and then my friends suggested I get the Hacksen. It is the piece of meat you see me with in the pic. Jesus skateboarding christ that thing was massive. It also came with some potato looking thing and a sourkraut salad. All that for 13 euros or about 16 dollars. I ate what I could before my stomach ripped in half. Meanwhile we kept drinking beer. Then after dinner we sat around for about 2 hours just drinking some more. Then went out to the club district. It was cool cause they had an old industrial plant/complex that they converted into clubs restuaraunts and bars.
fter about 15 minutes. So we ordered some beers and then my friends suggested I get the Hacksen. It is the piece of meat you see me with in the pic. Jesus skateboarding christ that thing was massive. It also came with some potato looking thing and a sourkraut salad. All that for 13 euros or about 16 dollars. I ate what I could before my stomach ripped in half. Meanwhile we kept drinking beer. Then after dinner we sat around for about 2 hours just drinking some more. Then went out to the club district. It was cool cause they had an old industrial plant/complex that they converted into clubs restuaraunts and bars. The next day we hit an old palace, saw the stadium where the soccer team plays, toured the local university and then hit the HofBrau Haus. This place is like what you see in the movies. Huge indoor beer hall that serves 1 li
ter beers. Just one big massive party. The food was good as well. My friend remarked that thank god we didn''t come there yesterday like we were thinking about doing because as he put it it would have been mass murder. He was probably right. Come to think of it if I didn't eat an entire pig the night before it probably would have been mass murder as well but anyway. We had some beers there and then went to another bar so my friend could watch his favorite soccer team play. Soccer over here is insane. We were in this small back room packed with other fans. There were about 5 or 6 different games going on at the same time. There were chanting, yelling, laughing you name it. And they were drinking like fish.
ter beers. Just one big massive party. The food was good as well. My friend remarked that thank god we didn''t come there yesterday like we were thinking about doing because as he put it it would have been mass murder. He was probably right. Come to think of it if I didn't eat an entire pig the night before it probably would have been mass murder as well but anyway. We had some beers there and then went to another bar so my friend could watch his favorite soccer team play. Soccer over here is insane. We were in this small back room packed with other fans. There were about 5 or 6 different games going on at the same time. There were chanting, yelling, laughing you name it. And they were drinking like fish. All in all a fun trip and I will have to make it back to Munich in the future.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Crunch Time/ I hate trains
So I was so close to saying something good about the Swiss culture for once. So close. See whenver I gripe about the Swiss, it's always the older Swiss I'm talking about. The younger Swiss are cool, nice, and easy to get along with. The older ones well thats a different story. The wiggle room for laws is zero. I saw two young swiss get a ticket for crossing an empty street while the signal was red. No cars in sight, yet they got a ticket and they didn't even argue.
Another example is mine. I hate riding trains here because basically you're just waiting to be fined for something ridiculous. I was going to Zurich with some friends and we bought our tickets from a small self service kiosk. Turns out I bought the wrong one. I somehow ended up buying a ticket from Winterthur to Winterthur, and not a round trip either. I didn't realize my mistake till the ticket checker informed me. I argued with him for about 10-15 minutes. He kept saying sir you bought the wrong ticket. I said I know but it was an honest mistake. Sir why would I buy a ticket from Winterthur to Winterthur that left in 3 minutes. I'm not from here I still bought a ticket it's not like I just hopped on the train with no ticket. He answer every time was youj bought the wrong ticket. Thanks for telling me man, appreciate the fact you are telling me something we both know and you cannot respond to any of my arguements as to why I bought the wrong one. See in any other country in the world if you hop on the train late, you can actually buy a ticket from the ticket checker. Oh sir I'm sorry but I was going to miss the train so I didn't have enought time to get a ticket. Ok sir no problem where are you going to. Zurich. Ok that will be 15 francs. Boom done. Not in Switzerland. So now I owe 80 francs to the Swiss transit. I thought about not paying it, but I don't want to get to the airport in Zuriich and have them tell me I can't leave because I owe Switzerland 80 francs.
The train also sucks because you buy tickets that are valid in zones. I would explain it 
but it makes no sense and I would just throw my computer out the window in anger. Also you have to buy a night pass if you are going to ride the train after midnight. It's 5 francs. So you have to buy your regular ticket, then you have to remember to also buy a night ticket. 2 seperate tickets. You don't buy the night pass. 80 francs. For a country that is so enviromentally conscious, they sure love to use paper at a sickening rate. It's because the people that check the tickets are from a private company and that is how they pay them. How bout you just raise the price of all tickets bought after say 8 pm or so by 5 francs? It would save you paper, ink, electricity, and frustration. The Swiss aren't concerned with logic, they are only worried about making things as expensive as they can. If you come to Switzerland do me a favor. Ride the train, buy your ticket from a kiosk, select the half price ticket option, then intentially buy the wrong ticket. Then when they check your ticket and tell you you have to pay 80 francs, laugh in their face and tell them sure you'll get your check when I arrive back in the States. USA#1 now fuck off. Whenever people tell you we should build a train system in the US, call me and I will refute every point they will ever make.
but it makes no sense and I would just throw my computer out the window in anger. Also you have to buy a night pass if you are going to ride the train after midnight. It's 5 francs. So you have to buy your regular ticket, then you have to remember to also buy a night ticket. 2 seperate tickets. You don't buy the night pass. 80 francs. For a country that is so enviromentally conscious, they sure love to use paper at a sickening rate. It's because the people that check the tickets are from a private company and that is how they pay them. How bout you just raise the price of all tickets bought after say 8 pm or so by 5 francs? It would save you paper, ink, electricity, and frustration. The Swiss aren't concerned with logic, they are only worried about making things as expensive as they can. If you come to Switzerland do me a favor. Ride the train, buy your ticket from a kiosk, select the half price ticket option, then intentially buy the wrong ticket. Then when they check your ticket and tell you you have to pay 80 francs, laugh in their face and tell them sure you'll get your check when I arrive back in the States. USA#1 now fuck off. Whenever people tell you we should build a train system in the US, call me and I will refute every point they will ever make.
So now that that rant is over, I actually got to go to Lugano. It's in the Italien part of Switzerland and it is insanely beautiful. Mountains everywhere, a huge lake, and the builldings are nice. We rode around the lake on a boat for awhile and then went to some small villages. We even walked into Italy for a short while. It's funny because you as soon as you cross the border into Italy, it changes so much. The drivers are worse, the people are louder, and it's dirtier. Great trip and I would reccomend anyone who comes to Switzerland to visit. The picture above with the dotted line is the border of Switzerland Itlay. Above the line is Italy and below is Switzerland. It's located on a bridge so acutally I guess the river is the border but you get the idea. They also had lots of paintings and murals like the one to the right.
My next post might take a while. All my projects are due in the next 3-4 weeks so I have to hunker down and write a million papers.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bern Baby Bern
So since it was Easter weekend and the majority of the people in the dorm left, me and one of the other students decided to take a day trip to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. After about an hour and a half train ride we arrived in Bern. Didn't really know where to go first so we just picked a direction and started walking. The beauty of these small Swiss cities is that they are the perfect size for day trips. We literally saw the entire city in about a little over 2 and a half hours. We were taking our time and weren't rushing anything. The city itself is beautiful. Lots of old buildings and it slopes downward towards the river, giving you plenty of breathtaking views. We went to Albert Einsteins old apartment where he did the majority of his work in the theory of relativity. Very small but it was surreal to think that one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time was discovered in that small room. He also did it when he was 26, my age. My world changing scientific discovery is coming later.
So we walk around some and found this bear park. Not really a park but an enclosure under a bridge that housed 2 adult bears and two cubs. The male and female bear were seperated by a metal fence. After walking around we stopped and ate outside at an Italian restaurant. Very good food and we drank some wine. We ordered water and I forgot that when you ask for water here you have to ask for "stilles" water. If not your water is going to be carbonated. Without thinking I took one big gulp and almost spit it out all over the table. Damn European drinking water. Anyway after that we walked around and took some more pictures and then found some pub and drank a beer or two before departing the city. All in all a good day. Next stop is either Geneva or Lausanne. We'll see.
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