Last Stop: München

Well if I was skimping on the blog entries before, I’m definitely making up for it now! The final stop on our 2 week excursion was to visit Mel’s friend MJ in Munich. Although not the capital of Germany, Munich has definitely gained popularity amongst tourists, becoming more of a symbolic national core (similar to the Barcelona/Madrid situation). Since we only had 2 and half days in Munich, we made the most of it by visiting the city centre as soon as we arrived.

I think we unknowingly planned the order of our trip in the best way possible, because by the time we got to Munich, Mel and I were starting to get tired of constantly having to figure out where to go and how to get there. It was so nice to have someone take you around to all the sites and explain the significance behind everything – not to mention how to use their insane U-Bahn and S-Bahn subway system – which looked even more confusing than the Budapest one! Oh and for all you car buffs, yes we were taken on the Auto-Bahn in MJ’s BMW convertible…it was sort of strange to see people zipping past us but then again, after staying in a city without cars where people get around by boat, everything else seemed relatively normal.

Speaking of MJ actually, I guess I should tell you a bit more about him. He is completing his PhD in Plasma Physics (I hope I got that right). I think he’s trying to bind the nuclei of atoms together in order to create more efficient, environmentally friendly energy. His girlfriend Beata, who works at the same institute but in a different department, also spent most of our time there with us. MJ made a great tour guide, because his father was a History teacher, but is now the mayor for one of the central districts in Munich – so he gave us a brief overview of the history behind each attraction. What’s sad about Munich is that most of it was destroyed during WWII, however most of the city has been rebuilt and still sparkles.

To be honest, I know that we saw all the important buildings like Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) and Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), and the important areas like Maximilianstrasse and Residenz, but I don’t think I can say exactly which one was what. Suffice it to say that we saw all the important churches, and of course the most popular Hofbrauhaus am Platzl – the largest beer hall in Munich, and there are pictures of it all below. What I can tell you is that the really old-looking gothic building is actually the New Town Hall (19^th Century) whereas the clean white one below it is the Old Town Hall (15^th century), but you’d never guess it from the architecture. Also, the following picture shows two towers in the background – that is a building called the Women’s Church. This has nothing to do with the church being for women alone, but more so because the shape of the towers is indicative of the female form!

The following day was the highlight of our visit to Munich. We drove 2 hours South of Munich along what is known as the Romantic Road. It’s essentially a 180 mile stretch along the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, passing through untouched medieval villages and 2000 year old towns. We were about half an hour away from the Austrian border when we stopped. Our reason for stopping? To see the Neuschwanstein castle of course!

The castle was built by ‘Mad’ King Ludwig II and is what the castle in the fairy tale of Cinderella was based on. Unfortunately the King was declared mentally insane and mysteriously died shortly after completion of the castle (they said he drowned but the water he drowned in was only 30 cm deep…). The castle today remains incomplete, with only 6 rooms that are properly furnished. Again, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the inside – but I think the most beautiful part was the outside anyways. Hiking through the Bavarian Alps and seeing Neuschwanstein alone were worth the trip to Munich. Growing up in a West Indian family, I guess we always learn to appreciate the natural beauty of beaches and other tropical environments. But I’ve never witnessed this kind of environment before. I remember when we first got out of the car and I looked up at the mountains, these giant white fluffy snowflakes were falling from the sky, and there was that silence that snow always seems to bring, as if the clouds and the mountains and the snow were insulating the whole area. I guess not many tourists make it out of the city, so it was a well-needed change of pace.

After we parted ways with the castle, MJ took us to a small village where he grew up. That's where I was able to convince that white miniature horse to eat out of my hand! Nobody thought I could get him to come to me but I did, and I named him Ludwig!

On our last day in Munich, we wanted to visit the Dachau concentration camp - the first one that Hitler created in Germany. I know it seems really eerie to do but we thought that it was also an important part of history, and definitely part of Munich. Unfortunately (or maybe it was not meant to be), unbeknownst to us most museums in Munich are closed on Mondays, which included Dachau. We decided we wanted to go either way, atleast to pay our respects and see it from the outside. I figured that a place like Dachau would have an aura about it regardless of if we were inside or not. But I tried to stay positive and kept telling Mel "don't worry, we'll get in somehow, someone will be there" and low and behold, when we got there, a man was opening the gate to the camp. I told MJ to go ask him if I could use the bathroom, and the man said he had no idea where it was, but we were more than welcome to come in and look for it! At this point Mel was officially creeped out by my positive thinking, hehe. So even though the actual buildings were closed, we were able to walk around and see the monument they display in every concentration camp (as pictured below). They also had posters up displaying information about how the camp was organized and how long it was operational for. As for the aura, I was completely right. On top of the heaviness a place like Dachau would always have, it was a bitterly cold and windy day, and the entire camp was empty. The three of us stood infront of the massive monument of black skeletal bodies, wound into one another, and all you could feel was absolute tragedy.


The sad aftermath of WWII is visible in every country we visited however. In Paris we found a school where the students and principal were deported to Auschwitz and exterminated because they were Jewish. In Venice, there was the Jewish Ghetto, where many Venetian Jews were also deported to concentration camps. In Munich, other than Dachau, MJ also took us to his old university, where several students (and I think a teacher) were shot dead because they had voiced concerns against the Nazi regime. The entire main hall of the entrance is a memorial to those individuals - I can't imagine as a student, having to walk past something like that everyday to get to classes. MJ said unfortunately a lot of people have become accustomed to the history of the city, it just doesn't seem to have the same impact it once did.






Visiting these places does put a damper on your day in some ways, but I think it's an essential part of the experience. When you see the kind of degradation others have faced in the past, what man does to his fellow man, and how inaction can be just as dangerous as evil acts themselves, it gives you gratitude for all that you do have, appreciation for the opportunities you've been given, and inspiration to do better. Something I've been feeling rather guilty about from all this traveling I've done is that I've learned so much about the rest of the world, and yet know so little about my own country. I could navigate my way through Paris and Venice better than I can Toronto! There's something unsettling about that to me, and I think when all of this is done, I'd really like to spend some time discovering more about Canada. It's tragic that I've never gone back to Montreal since I left 11 years ago! Lately I've had this strong desire to go to Vancouver as well - mainly to see Simon Fraser university but also because it's supposed to be such a beautiful city that combines the natural environment with urban life.

These are pics from the Nymphenburg Palace - actually named after the mythological Nymphs.

But before any of that, I'm expecting Darin in 5 hours - and tomorrow we are going to Edinburgh, Scotland for 3 days and then from there to Dublin for the weekend! I am so excited, I've definitely been bitten by the travel bug (or maybe it was that Venetian mosquito!). I'm sure there's so much I've left out about this trip, and as I recall it I'll be sure to recount the stories on future blog entries. But hopefully you've enjoyed reading my three-part series, and have acquired a decent understanding of our experience - pictures always help with that! So here are a few more random, cute shots I'll end off with. Stay tuned for next week's two-part series: Double D Do the UK (hehe....I'm so silly).








(The mascot of Munich is the Lion - you can find colourful versions of them all over the city - rawr!).

Euro-Trip: Part deux

I’ve had a sufficient break (and my family is demanding I write more!) so onto Paris!

Of all the three cities we visited, Paris was the place we stayed in the longest – 4 full days and 5 nights. The first time I went to Paris was nearly a month ago, and my love affair with the city of lights only grew with this visit. Mel was kind enough to place an emphasis on a lot of the sights I missed during my first visit. On our first day we ventured outside the city to the palace of Versailles. I was actually quite disappointed with the outside of the palace. The front was so plain and square – not impressive at all. But on the inside, the opulence and richness in the design is incomparable to anything I’ve ever seen before. They regarded their ceilings as the most important ‘wall’ in the room – always covered in a massive painting depicting the royalty as Roman or Greek Gods and Goddesses. I think the ‘backyard’ is really what amazes most visitors though. Even on a rainy grey day, you could see how far-reaching the gardens are. I remember learning in French class that a very typical landscaping design for the French are these symmetrical, geometric patterns. Marie Antoinette despised this rigidity in French design, and her area of the gardens is supposed to be quite the departure from the rest of the land. Unfortunately, it would’ve taken an hour by foot to walk through the entire gardens, and Mel and I needed to preserve our energy for the following day.

Next on our list was the Eiffel Tower – which I saw at night on my first trip. This time we got a view of the city in the morning, and as sparkly as the city gets at night, I much preferred the day-time view (and the temperature!). After the Eiffel Tower we headed to Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs d’Elysees. If you’re thinking I was just as ambitious with the walking as my first time in Paris, that’s not the case. Mel and I bought day-passes on the Batobus (boat-bus) and were able to visit everything by travelling on the Seine River. We were also really fortunate that a jazz festival was happening all over the city while we were there – so in the evening we went to this artsy restaurant where a really famous American trumpet player was performing with his band. The restaurant also featured a Michelin starred chef – I know only restaurants get stars but I think he must’ve been the chef at a restaurant that received the stars.

Before we went to the jazz show though, Mel had some laundry to do – and lucky for us there was a Laundromat near our hotel. So we went to do her laundry and while we were waiting this man came in and started speaking to us in French. I was able to carry on an entire conversation with him about the political situation in France and how nice it was that even though everyone in Paris had a different ethnicity, they were all still considered French. His opinion was quite different – he sees the French umbrella label as false. Even doing something as simple as Mel’s laundry in Paris gave us this opportunity to converse with the locals and interact. It was also a lot of fun to construct sentences outside of “Could I have a glass of water?” and “Where is the bathroom?”!

Our last two days in Paris were mainly spent wandering the more bohemian districts. We went to Montmartre and saw Sacre-Coeur (still my favourite), we also discovered that at the bottom of Montmartre is where all the ahem, ‘cabaret’ shows are. It was an interesting dichotomy to have this beautiful church overlooking all these seedy shops below. Disturbed by all the sex shops, Mel and I continued to Le Marais, a much quieter district in Paris – but still typically Parisian. One of the main streets in the area was lined with café’s and patisseries (Pastry shops) and we were just in time for lunch! We bought some pizza, tarts and macaroons and a basket of fresh strawberries and sat on the grass in the Place des Vosges – the oldest square in Paris, and also where Victor Hugo lived. It was such a sunny, warm day and Mel and I were so perfectly content eating our strawberries and people-watching – until the grass-patrol kicked everyone off!

The last day we saved for the Catacombs – which were closed for alterations! Honestly, what kind of alterations do bones really need?! Anyways, since we were already in the Montparnasse district, we decided to go visit the cemetery where many famous authors, playwrights, philosophers and others are buried. It was kind of strange to be in a place where so many great thinkers like Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Baudrillard and Emile Durkheim are put to rest. Usually I find cemeteries really disturbing places to see, but this one had a much different atmosphere. I know it’s just corpses and not minds or souls there, but it was a nice way to pay my respects to all the people that have helped shape my intellect, or even my artistic abilities like Vincent d’Indy and Samuel Beckett!

From there we headed to the Latin Quarter – named for the language all the students were studying at the Sorbonne all the time. This was a really fun area to visit because it was lunch time and all the university students were out in the Luxembourg Gardens, sun-bathing and socializing (and unfortunately smoking too). The youth culture in Paris is one of the most fascinating I’ve observed. The way they interact with each other, the importance placed on style and communication technologies, there’s this kind of adult immaturity about them that I don’t understand. They look so old with their cigarettes and dress-sense, and yet act so infantile…it would definitely be a paradox worth studying one day.

After the Latin Quarter we went to the Louvre – and this time we used a one hour audio-tour of the highlights in the Louvre which was helpful for navigation and information purposes. I learned a lot more about the history and meaning behind the most important pieces that I wouldn’t have known otherwise – and the GPS on the handset was perfect for finding our way through that maze of a museum! Speaking of museums, we also visited the Musee d'Orsay earlier in the week - known for its Impressionist and Surrealist paintings such as Van Gogh, Monet and Manet.

In conclusion, I still love Paris. I’ve seen the tourist districts and the local districts and they both have lovely experiences to offer. The food, shopping and sights satiate the appetite of all my five senses. I must’ve been born there in a past life because it feels like a second home. If there’s one place I would recommend everyone see in their lifetime, Paris would be it.

(psssst! Shant - do you have a big enough vacuum? Eeek! Hehe)

One other thing, before I forget - this trip to Paris will be especially memorable for Mel and I because it was when we found out that she got into teacher's college! This girl was meant to be a teacher - everywhere we went, she was taking pictures of historical sights that she thought would be interesting visuals for her lesson plans! Can you believe she is already thinking of her future students?! I know I've congratulated her already but I'm so proud of your achievement Mel! I knew you would succeed, just like I know you will make such a gifted teacher - because I learn so much from you everyday. I never forget how lucky I am, not only to have taken this journey with you, but a journey of the past 9 years together. Thank you for coming to visit me, I miss you already!

Ok...part three in this series coming up soon...

What a trip! (Part One)

I'm finally back in Leicester, after my two week excursion with Mel, and what a journey it was. I know a lot of people are dying to hear about it, so let's get started:

The day before we flew out to Venice, Mel and I decided to spend the day in London. I have to say, we covered A LOT of ground in seven hours. We visited the Tower of London - an ancient fortress where many historical figures were imprisoned and/or executed, and of course where the famous crown jewels are kept. I found it rather ironic that I had to stand on a conveyor belt to see diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other jewels that once belonged to the country of my ancestors, sitting in glass cases in London. Oh well. We saw the greats like Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and Piccadilly Circus. Mel, being the 'historian' that she is, wanted to stop at the British Museum - which is FREE! Of great interest were the Rosetta stone and Cleopatra's tomb. I really wanted to browse through the Eastern Religions part of the museum, but by the time we got there someone had pulled the fire alarm and everyone was escorted out of the building. Good thing entry is free, I'll just have to go back another day.




After our lovely and fast-paced day in London, we spent the following four and a half days in Venice! Venice is such a unique city. When we were landing, all I could see was water out the window. And marshland. There was no runway in sight! But we landed in one piece, in a city called Mestre - the closest airport to Venice. From there we had to take a shuttle boat through the marshland. I even got bitten by an Italian mosquito! Things weren't looking too good for us. When we docked in Venice, Mel and I felt hesitant about our decision. The whole area was grey and murky - we had no idea where to find our hotel. It took us probably 45 minutes to navigate our way through Venice's narrow streets and pull our luggage up several bridges before we found our hotel. So that stereotype about getting lost in Venice - very true. The streets are poorly labeled, and oftentimes the same name will be used for three or four streets, even the postman doesn't get it. Typical directions are given like this: go down this street, turn left. Cross two bridges, turn right. Go to the end of the street, cross another bridge and it's past the church on your left hand side. Thankfully we booked a charming hotel with helpful staff, close to the main areas, and they always gave us relatively clear directions.

After a hearty plate of pasta and a not so restful night’s sleep (there was a canal right outside our room that water-taxis would speed by all night long), we ventured back to the pier to see the sights. Venice only has one piazza or ‘square’ called San Marco (St. Mark’s). This is where all the most famous sights are: The Basilica di San Marco, Bridge of Sighs, Palazzo Ducale, Grand Canal and the Campanile di San Marco. It was only at the moment where we walked into the piazza did I realize why Venice is such a renowned city. I won’t even attempt to describe the architecture - you can draw your own conclusions from the pictures (posted below)




Unfortunately, a lot of the churches we visited would not allow photography inside. The only images I have of the inside of the Basilica are in my memory. The best way I can describe its magnificence is to say that the small mosaic scenes on the outside of the basilica is what covers every inch of the inside. From the ceiling to where the walls meet the floor, are enormous depictions of Christ done entirely by mosaic patterns. As you walk around the church, the light hits the walls at different angles, and the golden mosaic sparkles like the Grand Canal on a sunny day. To think of the time it took not only to build the basilica, but to create and construct the mosaic on the inside, brought tears to my eyes. What love and devotion for God those people must have had to create these beautiful places not just for themselves, but for the worship of Divine Creation. As Wayne Dyer would call it: a labour of love. I remember when we left the basilica, I asked Mel if we could just sit outside for a few moments, and we sat and looked at this wondrous creation – amongst all the buzz of the tourists it brought a feeling of peace to the piazza.



The Palazzo Ducale holds the complete opposite sentiment than the basilica. The building is often described as a frosted birthday cake, in its pinkish red marble and white stone. The palace is quite beautiful inside as well – lots of typical Italian artwork and furniture covered in gold and rich velvet. But what was really interesting is the dungeon where all the prisoners were held. This connects to the famous Bridge of Sighs – named not for the romantic sighs of those who view the bridge from the outside, but for the sighs each prisoner would release upon gazing at their final view of the Grand Canal before being lead to their execution in the adjoining building…creepy, I know.

Other important sights were the Rialto Bridge and the Jewish Ghetto – a district far north where Jews were restricted to living (so much so that a wooden bridge had to be built to connect the ghetto to the rest of Venice after WWII). On one of our days we took a trip out to the island of Murano – famous for its Venetian Glass Blowers. As much fun as the tourist spots were to visit, I think both Mel and I enjoyed wandering the streets of Venice, accidentally discovering hidden beauties and eating in tucked away authentic Italian restaurants – where you have to order your food in Italian and listen to the waiters singing love songs! Speaking of food, of course we made sure to drink cappuccinos in the morning, and try the tiramisu, as well as the delectable Venetian pastries and gelato – all sinfully delicious. Since Venice is along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, they are well known for their fresh seafood. Although I wasn’t adventurous enough to try the squid ink linguini, I did sample some of the more typical dishes. It’s no wonder that they have to close up for siesta in the afternoon after eating such hearty meals for lunch!









So onto what most people don’t exactly understand about Venice: why is it sinking? The answer is twofold. The first reason involves the way the city was built. When Venice was first founded, workers drove large poles through the muddy land into the more stable sand and clay at the bottom of the water. This allowed for a more solid base to be created by oak planks and marble – impermeable by the water. However over time, the weight of the buildings has been pushing the poles deeper into the sand bed, hence why the city is sinking a few centimetres per century. The other part of the problem is that Venice is also drowning. Due to global warming, water levels continue to rise, causing hundreds of floods each year and more generally speaking, expediting the sinking process. There have been attempts at saving the city – such as injecting concrete into the foundation, which failed. More recently Project Moses which is supposed to be completed by next year, but most likely will not be operational until much later – consists of steel gates that can hold back water when the tide becomes dangerously high. But even Project Moses has its uncertainties, as the government lacks the 3 billion euro budget required to complete it. There are also environmental concerns of the consequences from interfering with the normal tides on the marine life and the health of people who eat the local fish. Oh here’s another lovely bit of information about Venice: they have no sewage system. All their waste is flushed into the canals and washed out into the ocean twice a day. So that beautiful greenish-blue colour the water has is highly unnatural to say the least. Apparently the Summer months are the worst times to visit Venice, since the hot weather heats up the water, releasing an unpleasant odour throughout the city. We were fortunate enough to be there while it was relatively cool and missed the stinky stew.

I think at this point I’m going to break for an intermission before tackling Paris and Munich. Hope I’ve given you a sizeable taste of my journey thus far. To be continued…

Yes...I'm still alive

I know, it's been 2 weeks since my last post...I'm a horrible blogger :(

Today I submitted my group assignment AND my individual essay, so I hope you can understand how swamped with work I've been lately (hence my lack of blogging).

So what's been going on in the world of Dee for the last 2 weeks? Well, it's official. I'm on my Easter Break. And to celebrate, Mel is coming to visit in a week, and we'll be spending the following 2 weeks in Venice, Paris and Munich! The flights and hotels and trains and buses are all booked and I am in dire need of a vacation (although, I don't think Mel has been on a vacation for over 4 years so I really have nothing to complain about!). Her and I have been friends for the last 9 years now, and this is our first international excursion together. It's so strange to think that we were these two kids not too long ago, merely fantasizing about what our adult lives would look like. And now here we are, actually living those lives, still sharing them with one another. We're beyond excited for this trip.

And the fun just keeps on coming, because after Mel leaves, my brosin Darin (that's brother-cousin...I know, I'm a dork) will be visiting for the following two weeks! He wants to see the U.K. so we'll most likely be visiting Scotland or Ireland, as well as some of the more 'developed' cities in England like Bath and Cornwall. So even though I won't be coming home for the break, it will still be five incredible weeks of traveling and bonding - awww

I guess you've probably caught on to the downside to all this - and that's the fact that my blog will most likely not be updated for the next little while. I'll post something the following Monday but after that I'm quite certain I won't be around much. I'll do my best to upload pictures and details of all my travels once I'm back though - as soon as I find the time.

I know last week I took a pretty big stab at American culture 'invading' other cultures of the world when discussing my essay on globalization. Since doing all my research and actually writing the paper I wanted to clarify a few things. First of all, I've come to the realization that it's not really America that's the culprit in all of this. It's capitalism. Even if you look at the way we categorize the world: developed nations are those with consumerist economies and developing nations are not. We see development from this Western, Marxist lens...that in order to be a self-sustaining country, you need to be a society that consumes. America is merely the best example of this. And advertising only fuels the desire to consume further. So if the entire world is bombarded with Coca-Cola ads telling you to drink coke because it will make you happy and 'cool' then of course people are going to think that consumption is the answer to their problems. And sure, there is room for resistance, room for manipulation - but to what extent really? So maybe the McDonald's in India doesn't sell Big Macs - but there's still the yellow and red buildings with the golden arches - the McIdeology of quantity over quality still exists.

I think the point I was trying to make in my essay was that we need producerist economies just as much as we need consumerist ones. Why do we look at China or India and see them as less developed than the US? They're just following a different model to development. They know what resources they can offer and have made the most of them. Who are we to label them as a developing nation? And this isn't just a theoretical problem, it's a practical one too. We need only look at situations with certain 'packaged goods companies' in the 1980's to understand the implications of 'forced consumerism'. How can we encourage poorer nations to invest what little local capital they do have into baby formula or soft-drinks, when they don't even have adequate water systems? It's counter-productive to their development. Maybe the 'developed world' does it on purpose, to keep the poor poor and the rich rich. Who knows.

And I guess I have the habit of always bringing things back to a spiritual perspective and equating it with religion, but it just seems so clear to me. We all find different ways to reaching divinity, and they're all equally acceptable. So why can't we also respect the different paths to economic development? Sometimes I wonder, how developed can we be if we still have this superior attitude? That's anti-development...it's backwards.

Speaking of religion actually, I just wanted to bring your attention to an issue that I think truly requires global attention - and hasn't because of the lovely media filtering newsworthy material. Essentially, in 1995, Chinese authorities kidnapped the youngest prisoner of war in history - a six year old boy that the Dalai Lama declared as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. In his place, the Chinese nominated a different boy as the 11th Panchen Lama, and have persecuted any Tibetan who still worships the 'true' Panchen Lama under house arrest in China. To this day, him and his family's whereabouts are unknown - and the Chinese government has refused to submit to requests from the U.N. which would allow direct contact with him, ensuring his safety. Last year if the Panchen Lama is still alive, he would have turned 18, and as such he has the right to speak on his own behalf. Although an entire year has gone by, still nothing has been done. Please visit this site and sign the petition that would assist an investigation into his whereabouts. LINK

It's really unfortunate to see religious freedom in Tibet restricted and controlled by China. I hope we can collectively make a difference in whatever small way. Thanks for taking the time to participate.

I'm actually feeling kind of drained at this point, so I'm going to take a cat-nap before the celebrations tonight. Happy St. Paddy's!