As fun and exhilarating as it is to go to new lands and see new sights and experience new cultures, I must say that the mere act of “Traveling” is a chore. In the last three weeks, I will have been on 4 transatlantic flights, 2 intra-continental flights, numerous above-ground trains, several buses, taxis and shuttles, and dozens of subways. And my feet, oh my feet, how they have walked and walked.
Some general rules of thumb for making the Traveling easier: Pack light, don't be in a hurry, plan ahead, keep your eyes open, have a really good map with you, and don't be afraid to ask for help. I have found ticket office people and even fellow passengers to be most helpful for the befuddled and confused tourist willing to smile and ask how to proceed.
That said, I am glad that my initiation into international travel involved countries where English is the primary or secondary language. We Americans don't have to try as hard as other people because English is so prevalent all over the world. Still, being in a place like London, and then in the Netherlands, it is much easier to navigate when signs are in English and people all around are speaking English—or can switch to English from Dutch without missing a beat.
Transatlantic plane travel is tedious. There are so many restrictions to luggage weight and type, to carry-on items, to all the security checks, that by the time you actually get on the plane, it's a relief just to sit and watch the bad TV and videos that are streamed to each seat screen. Travel by plane between European airports---in this case London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol---was a piece of cake, being an hour long flight and seemingly fewer security checks. Still, those airports are huge and I regretted the heavy small bags I had to lug through each one. The best advice for the within-airport trek is to have all luggage on wheels.
Europe is far ahead of America in the development of train travel. The trains that I rode on were generally clean, comfortable and readily available with good connections. The express train that runs from Heathrow airport to the center of London deposited me within 15 minutes to a station a mere block from my hotel. I rode several times on aboveground trains to outer parts of London; they were quicker than a taxi through that part of town. The trains running between Amsterdam and Leiden were clean and efficient---except for the one that stopped 5 minutes out from the station, sat on the tracks for 45 minutes, then headed back to the station, citing technical difficulties. All of the hundreds of passengers were off-loaded and sent down and up stairs to a new platform to crowd onto another train. I also failed to understand the signage at the platform at the station in Leiden and took an unplanned detour through the station at Haarlem, changed to a different train, and changed again in order to arrive at the airport ---what should have been a simple on-off 20 minute trip turned into an hour long trip with miles of walking around train stations.
Subways, or the Tube, are by far the most efficient way to travel in Central London. Provided you understand the transfer process and can figure out the closest station to your destination, it is easy and generally quick. Trains run regularly without excessive delays. The hardest work involved with the subway is the endless walking underground during transfers from one line to another. The Underground engineering works do have the annoying habit of closing certain lines on the weekends, so it is crucial to keep a map handy and always have an alternate route in mind.
The iconic Big Red Bus in London is a must-ride at least a couple of times. However, this is not nearly as easy for the unfamiliar tourist to figure out. You have to know streets and intersections to know which bus to get on and then where to get off. Tickets are not sold on the bus, so unless you have the Oyster card, an electronic pass card, you can't ride just any bus. In Amsterdam, we discovered the tram, which allows payment on-board and runs between major parts of the city quickly and efficiently. The Stop-and-Go is a small shuttle which will allow you to get on and off anywhere along the Prinsengracht Canal for one Euro.
I love the British taxi. Drivers can get you anywhere you want to go, but for a pretty sum. They are comfortable and can do a U-turn in the middle of a street without hitting a curb. Riding in a taxi is also a must-do, as it is shocking to see all the cars driving on the wrong side of the street and the drivers steering from the wrong side of the front seat. The best time to take a taxi is when you need to get to a hard-to-find destination and your feet are very tired.
Walking is a given in a huge city like London. You will walk to a station, between stations, to your destination, and back to the station. If you don't know your exact route through habit or familiarity, you must have a good map with you. Even then, you must keep your eyes open, watch street signs, beware of traffic coming at you from the wrong direction, and dress for the weather. One of the difficulties for the tourist is to know which direction you are headed. When you emerge from a subway station, you are not oriented and have no idea on which corner of a given intersection you have been dumped. Then you may find yourself walking your tired body around in circles and back.
For a city the size of London (14 million people) mass transit is the only way it can function. In fact, private cars pay 8 pounds a day to drive within the “congestion” zone of central London. By making this so expensive, traffic is reduced and people are forced to ride buses, subways or take a taxi. Or walk.
My little drive to work each day, originating in my garage mere steps from my house, and depositing me in a school parking lot a few yards from the front door, is laughably easy.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tasty Travels
One of the responsibilities of traveling is to properly experience local cuisine. I take this responsibility seriously, inasmuch as my budget will permit. In London, it is difficult to determine what is really local cuisine. The British cuisine has been much maligned, and in the past probably for good reason. The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs with white toast, topped with baked beans, a tomato, sausages, bacon---a cholesterol nightmare. Fish and Chips is a grease fest. And what is in a Meat Pie?
During my London visits, I have had more Middle-Eastern food than Traditional British. Part of the reason for that is the area where we have stayed has a lot of Middle-Eastern tourists and residents. The food is tasty and relatively healthful. More British perhaps are the interesting sandwiches available in take-away delis, in such combinations as Egg and Cress, Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato, Chicken with Bacon, Cheddar with a sweet red pickle sauce or caramelized onion. The pubs serve the most traditional food, such things as beef stroganoff, shepherd's pie---great comfort food. Otherwise, the restaurants on the streets are a virtual United Nations of Cuisine. Indian, Lebanese, Italian, Mediterranean, Thai, Chinese---the diner can travel anywhere in the world for dinner.
A mandatory experience for a visit to Britain is partaking of Afternoon Tea. This is designed to bridge the gap between late breakfast and dinner. It is best taken in a classy, refined atmosphere with white tablecloths and attentive waiters. The traditional menu consists of an array of crustless thin-bread “finger” sandwiches with such fillings as smoked salmon, egg and cress, cheese with pickle, ham and cheese. Second course is a tender raisin scone, best eaten with dollops of clotted cream and jam on each flaky bite. The final course is an assortment of fruit tarts, chocolate cake bites, and cream puffs or eclairs. The tea is the anchor for the meal---brewed and kept hot in a small pot and served with generous pours of milk and brown sugar chunks. If you actually need dinner after this repast, it should be heavy on protein and low on carbs.
In the Netherlands, traditional Dutch fare is more easily identifiable. Anything cheesy or baked with fruit is most likely Dutch, such as Appel Tart, or Appelflap, as well as chocolate and interesting anise-flavored candies, almond-rich cookies, Stroopwaffles (a waffle sandwich cookie with a gooey, chewy center). The bread is dark and soft with deep flavor. The surprise for me was Indonesian Fusion---which results from the era when the Dutch colonized Indonesia and imported those rich, spicy flavors into the Dutch/Indonesian Rice Table. Think of this as tapas with an island flair.
The marvel for me was the Dutch coffee and hot chocolate. Another benefit of colonialization, the coffee is reputed to be the best in the world. The several cups I had bore that statement out---how can a coffee be so rich that it has a crema normally only present on an espresso? The hot chocolate is so rich, served with whipped cream and a spoon, that it served as a stand-alone dessert.
As much as I delight in other cuisines, I am happy to return to my kitchen where I can create my own “local” concoctions of the fresh ingredients from my state, flavored and influenced by tastes of far away lands.
During my London visits, I have had more Middle-Eastern food than Traditional British. Part of the reason for that is the area where we have stayed has a lot of Middle-Eastern tourists and residents. The food is tasty and relatively healthful. More British perhaps are the interesting sandwiches available in take-away delis, in such combinations as Egg and Cress, Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato, Chicken with Bacon, Cheddar with a sweet red pickle sauce or caramelized onion. The pubs serve the most traditional food, such things as beef stroganoff, shepherd's pie---great comfort food. Otherwise, the restaurants on the streets are a virtual United Nations of Cuisine. Indian, Lebanese, Italian, Mediterranean, Thai, Chinese---the diner can travel anywhere in the world for dinner.
A mandatory experience for a visit to Britain is partaking of Afternoon Tea. This is designed to bridge the gap between late breakfast and dinner. It is best taken in a classy, refined atmosphere with white tablecloths and attentive waiters. The traditional menu consists of an array of crustless thin-bread “finger” sandwiches with such fillings as smoked salmon, egg and cress, cheese with pickle, ham and cheese. Second course is a tender raisin scone, best eaten with dollops of clotted cream and jam on each flaky bite. The final course is an assortment of fruit tarts, chocolate cake bites, and cream puffs or eclairs. The tea is the anchor for the meal---brewed and kept hot in a small pot and served with generous pours of milk and brown sugar chunks. If you actually need dinner after this repast, it should be heavy on protein and low on carbs.
In the Netherlands, traditional Dutch fare is more easily identifiable. Anything cheesy or baked with fruit is most likely Dutch, such as Appel Tart, or Appelflap, as well as chocolate and interesting anise-flavored candies, almond-rich cookies, Stroopwaffles (a waffle sandwich cookie with a gooey, chewy center). The bread is dark and soft with deep flavor. The surprise for me was Indonesian Fusion---which results from the era when the Dutch colonized Indonesia and imported those rich, spicy flavors into the Dutch/Indonesian Rice Table. Think of this as tapas with an island flair.
The marvel for me was the Dutch coffee and hot chocolate. Another benefit of colonialization, the coffee is reputed to be the best in the world. The several cups I had bore that statement out---how can a coffee be so rich that it has a crema normally only present on an espresso? The hot chocolate is so rich, served with whipped cream and a spoon, that it served as a stand-alone dessert.
As much as I delight in other cuisines, I am happy to return to my kitchen where I can create my own “local” concoctions of the fresh ingredients from my state, flavored and influenced by tastes of far away lands.
Land of Giants
We are in the land of giants---tall, thin, handsome giants with blond hair and high foreheads. Their posture is straight, their bearing nearly regal. This is a novelty to me, a small person in my own home state. I am told that the Dutch are some of the tallest people in the world. No one is certain how this initially happened---speculation is that their calcium-rich diet (you know, all that cheese and milk) led to long, strong bones, which through simple genetics now has perpetuated a type. It is striking, amazing and awe inspiring to me. As they ride their bicycles through the streets, backs straight and heads erect, unhurriedly pedaling, you can almost picture them on the backs of their horses during the days when the Dutch were a world power and people to be feared. Surely those wide foreheads were made for crowns and those tall, upright bearings best cloaked in royal robes.
I suppose this is similar to people noting the abundance of obese people in Iowa when they come to visit. It is a striking characteristic of many midwesterners. Though it used to be a sign of wealth and prosperity to be fat, now it is a sign of unhealthy indolence or indifference. Poor nutritional habits in this case have led to a type, which is gradually perpetuating itself genetically through excessive size and obesity-related diseases even in childhood.
Maybe Iowans just need to get on their bicycles and ride everywhere.
I suppose this is similar to people noting the abundance of obese people in Iowa when they come to visit. It is a striking characteristic of many midwesterners. Though it used to be a sign of wealth and prosperity to be fat, now it is a sign of unhealthy indolence or indifference. Poor nutritional habits in this case have led to a type, which is gradually perpetuating itself genetically through excessive size and obesity-related diseases even in childhood.
Maybe Iowans just need to get on their bicycles and ride everywhere.
Amsterdam Bicycles
The guidebooks about the Netherlands aren't kidding when they talk about it being “Land of Bicycles”. There were more bikes on the streets in Amsterdam and Leiden than there were cars on the frigid January day we were visiting there. These are not racing bikes or mountain bikes or recumbent bikes with riders dressed in high tech bike gear and helmets, set for a 20 mile fitness ride. These are the old fashioned single gear bikes which cause the rider to sit upright and tall, some fitted with child seats or little wagons. Riders are dressed for work, in nice shoes, heels, dresses, slacks, bundled up for the cold. No one wears a helmet, even children who are riding among the bus and car traffic. People carry backpacks, bundles in wicker baskets on the front of the bike; we saw several riders talking on cell phones while riding along. The streets are busier with bicycles than with cars; many of the bigger streets have special bike lanes, and pedestrians are definitely lowest in the pecking order when it comes to right of way. Bikes fill the sidewalks outside businesses and special double decker bike parks fill alleys. Many bikes are properly locked, but just as many are simply parked outside a building. I hear there is bike theft, but mostly by drunk people who hop on one then drive into one of the canals, which are dredged annually for the thousands of bikes which end up in them.
This “Bike for Transportation” concept is slow in coming to Iowa. We blame it on the weather---and for sure, who can possibly ride a bike anywhere when the snow is sixteen inches deep or a 50 mile hour, negative 20 degree wind is blowing? But it goes deeper than that. The people in Amsterdam rode in spite of the 23 degrees, and there was even some ice here and there on the pathways. The main reason is that the city is designed to accommodate the bicycle, drivers are used to dealing with them, it's OK to ride a bike wearing your suit and dress shoes, and there is no pressure to wear a helmet thus causing the dreaded Helmet Hair. We also suffer from Suburban Separation, which causes us all to live very far away from where we work or go to school. It is not only impractical to ride 10-15 miles across busy 4 lane highways, it is a danger to all on the road. But the real reason is the American love affair with the car. Until that changes, with all its implications for industry and consumerism, we will not become a nation of bicyclists.
Then again, there is that fact that you can drive in a car across the Netherlands in about 4 hours, which does not even get you all the way across the state of Iowa. And it's flat, totally flat out here. The bicycle in the Netherlands is an example of a culture supremely adapting to its best features. Before we decry our apparent laziness or lack of environmental consciousness, we should remember the fundamental differences between our countries.
That, plus the fact that many Americans would never consider riding bicycles so worn and ugly as the Dutch. It does deter theft.....
This “Bike for Transportation” concept is slow in coming to Iowa. We blame it on the weather---and for sure, who can possibly ride a bike anywhere when the snow is sixteen inches deep or a 50 mile hour, negative 20 degree wind is blowing? But it goes deeper than that. The people in Amsterdam rode in spite of the 23 degrees, and there was even some ice here and there on the pathways. The main reason is that the city is designed to accommodate the bicycle, drivers are used to dealing with them, it's OK to ride a bike wearing your suit and dress shoes, and there is no pressure to wear a helmet thus causing the dreaded Helmet Hair. We also suffer from Suburban Separation, which causes us all to live very far away from where we work or go to school. It is not only impractical to ride 10-15 miles across busy 4 lane highways, it is a danger to all on the road. But the real reason is the American love affair with the car. Until that changes, with all its implications for industry and consumerism, we will not become a nation of bicyclists.
Then again, there is that fact that you can drive in a car across the Netherlands in about 4 hours, which does not even get you all the way across the state of Iowa. And it's flat, totally flat out here. The bicycle in the Netherlands is an example of a culture supremely adapting to its best features. Before we decry our apparent laziness or lack of environmental consciousness, we should remember the fundamental differences between our countries.
That, plus the fact that many Americans would never consider riding bicycles so worn and ugly as the Dutch. It does deter theft.....
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Off and Running--er, Walking
In London now for two days, and I've walked at least a third farther than I've really needed to. This is due to several factors:
1. The streets of London are randomly organized, randomly named, and randomly change without warning.
2. The street you start on can be renamed at least three times before you find your intersection.
3. The street you are looking for may have a different name than the one you are looking for at the intersection where you think it should be.
4. Some streets never actually show up on the map in the London Streets A-Z book (eg Portobello Road)
5. I'm seriously challenged when it comes to map reading.
6. My chief map reader is not traveling with me.
Despite these setbacks, I have managed to find all the places I have looked for, and a lot of unexpected things in between. Yesterday I took the long route from Oxford Street, shopping mecca, back to Sussex Gardens street and my hotel. I did not mean to take the long route, but factors 1,2 and 3 as listed above were at work. Today I set out to find a nearby museum and walked three blocks in the wrong direction before realizing it (factor 5). Later in the day I accidentally found a road that was not on the map, one I wanted to go to, on my way to another place. These were factors 3 and 4 at work. Of course if factor 6 were different, none of the extra huffing and puffing would have been necessary.
Nevertheless, I managed to see The Wallace Collection, an astounding museum of amazing paintings, furniture, porcelain, armour and paintings, all amassed by one family in a house that was built to showcase the collection in the late 1800's. It was given to the British people and is kept now as a public museum with free admission. I actually looked at the whole museum, though I needed some shoring up with a lunch of quiche and tea in the charming museum restaurant. I must admit I skimmed through some of the armor, impressive though it was. Some college art class was blocking all the displays, sketching different specimens, so I had a good excuse to keep moving.
Empowered by finding that treasure, I set out for a known subway station and got off at another that I thought would be close to the road where I hoped to find Books for Cooks, purported to be the largest bookstore of cookbooks anywhere. I thought I had the route all figured out but never did find the connecting road. After a few false starts and retracing of steps, I did indeed find the bookstore and enjoyed perusing its truly huge number of cookbooks. I ended up being only a few storefronts away from Portobello Road, which was another destination. This is the road I still have yet to find on the map. I have stared at the quadrant where it should be and it is not there. It is supposed to be an antique market, but the antiques only show up on Saturday.
Much as I might like to look at all those antiques when they are on display, the chance of successfully finding the road again at the right time is relatively small. Unless I feel like walking for more miles in various directions, interesting as the sights might be along the way, I will stick with a known route and save the wandering for when my feet don't hurt and I have a map reader accompanying me.
1. The streets of London are randomly organized, randomly named, and randomly change without warning.
2. The street you start on can be renamed at least three times before you find your intersection.
3. The street you are looking for may have a different name than the one you are looking for at the intersection where you think it should be.
4. Some streets never actually show up on the map in the London Streets A-Z book (eg Portobello Road)
5. I'm seriously challenged when it comes to map reading.
6. My chief map reader is not traveling with me.
Despite these setbacks, I have managed to find all the places I have looked for, and a lot of unexpected things in between. Yesterday I took the long route from Oxford Street, shopping mecca, back to Sussex Gardens street and my hotel. I did not mean to take the long route, but factors 1,2 and 3 as listed above were at work. Today I set out to find a nearby museum and walked three blocks in the wrong direction before realizing it (factor 5). Later in the day I accidentally found a road that was not on the map, one I wanted to go to, on my way to another place. These were factors 3 and 4 at work. Of course if factor 6 were different, none of the extra huffing and puffing would have been necessary.
Nevertheless, I managed to see The Wallace Collection, an astounding museum of amazing paintings, furniture, porcelain, armour and paintings, all amassed by one family in a house that was built to showcase the collection in the late 1800's. It was given to the British people and is kept now as a public museum with free admission. I actually looked at the whole museum, though I needed some shoring up with a lunch of quiche and tea in the charming museum restaurant. I must admit I skimmed through some of the armor, impressive though it was. Some college art class was blocking all the displays, sketching different specimens, so I had a good excuse to keep moving.
Empowered by finding that treasure, I set out for a known subway station and got off at another that I thought would be close to the road where I hoped to find Books for Cooks, purported to be the largest bookstore of cookbooks anywhere. I thought I had the route all figured out but never did find the connecting road. After a few false starts and retracing of steps, I did indeed find the bookstore and enjoyed perusing its truly huge number of cookbooks. I ended up being only a few storefronts away from Portobello Road, which was another destination. This is the road I still have yet to find on the map. I have stared at the quadrant where it should be and it is not there. It is supposed to be an antique market, but the antiques only show up on Saturday.
Much as I might like to look at all those antiques when they are on display, the chance of successfully finding the road again at the right time is relatively small. Unless I feel like walking for more miles in various directions, interesting as the sights might be along the way, I will stick with a known route and save the wandering for when my feet don't hurt and I have a map reader accompanying me.
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