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 |   Enga mellom fjella: where from across the meadow, poems sing from mountains and molehills. |
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Enga mellom Fjella  Sentinel Marked as if you own me I bow before the Bitterroots and just like you my rocky soil, my withered grass lays prey to the empty sky. © Kåre Enga 2007 "Sentinel"   Reader's Choice of Poems: "Zmitri" "In the midst of silence" "Waterlily" "For Jeanette ... when she grows old" "Koan on an October sky" Reader's Choice of blog entries from my old blog "L'aura del Campo" :"Death of Jeannie New Moon" "Doing and don'ting. A scene in 2nd person." "Even in chaos ... More hockey poems." "Half-naked dreams? 'Getting the stain out of genes!" "Guitarman, a gift for Gary. Aaron Marable's art." FACES     PLACES            Kåre  Enga~ until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go. ~ Elizabeth Bishop The Fish |
| Sometimes I learn too late. One of the problems in visiting various countries for a short time (5 in 20 days) is that I don't have time to learn the local customs or rules. Mostly I'm guessing. I bought my ticket to Copenhagen ... €72,40. Ouch. I could've saved 30 euros by booking it 5 days in advance. It's the details that are costing me. Even this hostel. I could've been in a cheaper place with proper info ... thanks, Lonely Planet,  .Me today: went to Eutin as I've met musicians from there when they visited their sister city, Lawrence, Kansas. Nice smaller town. Market in the square, old church from 1200s, cheery. Ate a pastry for 85c and tongue in sauce for €2,45. Spoke in English and Spanish to get the pastry. Was wearing my orange Costa Rica t-shirt. Eutin is not a tourist town. Lübeck is. Visited St. Mary's. Burned in 1942 and restoration continues. It's extremely old as well. The great bell that fell had been ringing for over 300 years. They have left it there as a reminder. My feet are sore. My lower back bothers me at times. I get dizzy. I think I'm losing weight. Last day in the euro zone so I spent down. Day 20. Denmark tomorrow. |
| Grey morning but I'm up. Ate a sandwich of Pfeffer-Braten and Maasdamer cheese on Sonnenblumenkern. Sounds better in German. The bread is the dense type common in Northern Europe and should travel well. Almost done with my first mug of coffee. Trip has been tiring, stressful and disappointing ... at times. Part of my problem is my unwillingness to just take a day off and chill. I already have a couple thousand photos and have met people from around the world. So many nice people. Two friendly Russians come to mind. And Hamed from Iran and Lorenzo from Italy... Lots of Aussies and Kiwis. In 40 days I'll be back in Montana. The markets will be opening this weekend and hopefully it'll be warm by June. Plenty of time to rest. Also a good time to really focus on writing. Plan future trips on the side. I've sent a few postcards off but need to make a list and not wait. 5 countries in 20 days means I've seen a bit to write about. And I've made a couple of calls; although Skype has been disappointing. Called my mother. She didn't see me on the telly while watching Queen's day. LOL. What am I learning and why am I here? That's probably bothering me the most. Maybe when I return I'll figure it all out. |
| ME: Plenty of sleep. In bed early, up late. Wandered around Bremen again, entered churches, got lost ... twice. Visited a huge park. My feet are sore. Bremen is truly worth a visit. €19 for a bed; Aldi's = cheap food. Food on street is very good. Ate a schnitzel, an icecream cone, a poppyseed dessert-to-die-for. The center is medieval and/or arty. The Schnoor is charming. The student section ... well ... students! There's a huge park as well, not to forget to mention it's got plenty of rivers, ponds, canals. A photographer's delight. Bought a jar of instant coffee. Some hostels provide nothing or very little. I need my coffee! Good coffee yesterday but coffee in general has been expensive and lousy. Much better in Montana and Costa Rica. So tomorrow .... not sure yet but should go to Lübeck. No hurry though. I have an extra day available on my itinerary. Wish I had more time, money and energy. |
| Me... No hot water in the hostel. Orange party in Amsterdam. No ... didn't see the royal family in person. I decided to leave Holland and go to Bremen in Germany, walked a lot after getting here ... a 6 hour journey by train and bus. Nice chats with Dutch, Germans, Turk. But way too tired now and most consider going to bed early. I do have opinions and insights about my trip that I'll have to share when I'm more lucid. No travel for me tomorrow! |
| ME: Too much walking. Too many photos. Tomorrow I'll go to Amsrerdam, but right now I'm very tired. May check in later. May not. Peace. |
| Me: €4,40 return trip Delft/Den Haag. Museum was closed so I just walked around. Ate 2 powder sugared pastries, 3 steamed buns and took lots of pictures. Den Haag feels like a large city. I prefer Delft. When I go back I want a local guide. It'd help. Payed for two more nights here in Delft. Not totally charmed by the place but it's not expensive and there aren't many empty beds in Holland. This way I won't stress. I can focus on getting to the gardens north of Leiden or to Amsterdam. One complaint about the bank ATMs ... why do they give €50 bills. That's a lot of money when I'm spending 2 or 3 euros. Should write a couple postcards since I bought a few and have the stamps. Details ... Hope you all are fine. I'm already starting to feel orange. |
| Me Cold wet yesterday. Today cold and sunny. Got up, ate breakfast, layed back down. Had nice chat with Hamed from Iran. He was amazed and amused that I knew so much about his country and culture. I was amazed how much I could remember. So ... didn't leave hostel till after noon. Ate a sate broodje and a zaum broodje and a stroopwaffel. I'm surviving on local fast foods. Last night it was a meatball sandwich (broodje) and an almond pastry. Although it doesn't compare with the wonders in Paris it'll have to do. No complaints. Even managed a black current soft drink last night. Impossible to find in the US. Bought postcards. Need to scribble on them next. Then find stamps. Called Nick in Montana and my aunt in Carolina but connections were poor. At least they know I'm alive. Otherwise ... payed €21, 30 for tomorrow night here in Delft so I don't have to think ... there's no room in Haarlem ... maybe Den Haag. Trip is going as it goes. Some days aren't as productive. Did get to see New Church where the House of Orange is buried and the Old Church with its porcelain art display. 21:48 and the hostel is ghostly and I'm drinking coffee. |
| Rainy drainy day. Caught the 12:18 train from Brugge to Delft. Cost €40. About 3 hours. Chatted with Belgians, a Scot, Russians who helped transfer. Almost missed getting off. Walked to Tourist info and was told hostel was a block away. I'd walked past it. I wandered around, ate, took some photos but I am exhausted. Maybe if I rest. |
| Added after Smitty's comment: Went to Gent. About 25 minutes by train. Walked or hours. Nice person at hostel called Delft for me to confirm my reservation. There are no rooms tomorrow here in Hotel Lybeer or at HI in Gent. Ate a rhubarb crême brulée, a raspberry Gent nose (like a big gum drop), mussels! This region is known for its mussels. Gent isn't medieval (real or fake) and it's grittier then Brugge. Thousands of students though give it a culture all its own. I wonder which I'd prefer to live in. The quiet of Brugge is nice but the vibes in Gent are great. Brugge is more touristy. Anyhoo, today turned out fine. Earlier entry: My stupid... Computer works. Posted two photos. Today I want to visit Gent. And I will... as soon as tablet charges... Went to free harp concert last night but bought 3 CDs for €50. I figure it's a gift to myself. Money? Ack... over where I want to be after 10 days. And Holland won't be cheap. Maybe I can hock my computer? So... off I go! 40.998 |
| Me: Writing on a French keyboard. Had trouble entering my password! Oh well... c'est la vie. Maastricht was wonderful. But no internet. Bruges is beautiful. Cobblestone and Flemish buildings. Both authentic and "fake". Lots of buildings built in 1800s in the old style. Brilliant! Students with funny accents here right now. They're from Exeter. No one seems to understand the concept of "close the door". Montanans may be hicks and counter-culture but they aren't oblivious or uncaring. Traveling helps one appreciate one's own home as well as point out shortcomings. http://www.travelpod.com/ is a place to travel blog someone just told me. Entries will continue to be short until further notice... 40.976 |
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