europe: the first 10 days

on december tenth i began my adventure through europe. i knew by the time i got to heathrow that i had packed too much. when i landed in copenhagen and found that i could no longer simply navigate by the signs that were all around me, it hit me how different this experience would be from traveling in britain. i was on my way.
and it was different: different, challenging, surprising, joyful, tiring, exhilarating, and everything in between. here's a glimpse at my first ten days adventuring through the north: copenhagen, amsterdam, and bruges.

part one: copenhagen

a typical small street in copenhagen, i loved the colors there.

tivoli gardens at night: where i learned that churros are delicious, and that europeans celebrate christmas with an amazing amount of flair.

real carnival rides--the carousel was beautiful.

tivoli black and white.

the older, quainter part of copenhagen with its canals.

a beautiful mural on one of the buildings outside christiania, copenhagen's large independent community (aka commune). the whole place was full of murals, but you aren't allowed to take pictures inside because pusher street still sells hash and some soft drugs and the dealers don't want to be documented.

this is the back side of the main gate leading into christiania: it says "you are now entering the EU." we took a tour from one of the residents when we visited christiania, and it was really interesting to hear about how it was founded in the 1970s, and how it has grown since then. they are currently in court with the danish government who wishes to demolish their homes--all of which are handbuilt and quirkily beautiful.

inside the moonfisher cafe in christiania: i stopped for coffee, and spent a long time people watching as residents of christiania came and went, and danish folk songs and christmas carols were sung by a small band. christiania was a fascinating place. a little dirty maybe, but full of artists, and other independent minds who had created a wonderful community together.

part two: amsterdam
amsterdam being beautiful in sepia. i'm sad that it was all too breifly beautiful--i was only there for two days.

this was snapped just outside the cool old cafe bar where i stopped for a frothy cappuccino and some poetry time. inside the cafe they had a cabinet of board games, all in dutch, including scrabble.

a sunny walk in amsterdam. this city is too picturesque for it's own good.

this was too cute: a tiny bike with a lock bigger than it is. the little bike's name is "stingray."

on the way to the van gogh museum, we walked through the dutch flower market. they had ever color and shape of tulip you could dream of...

baby tulips, the dutch flower market, amsterdam.

part three: bruges
welcome to bruges: a city of canals and cobblestones.

i ate a delicious and cheap lunch of soup and bread, and then played checkers over coffee, at this bar in bruges. it was established in 1515.

this is the belfry tower at the center of the city. for the steep price of 6 euro i got to climb some 300 stairs and be deafened by the bells... but the view was worth it.

the view from the top.

bruges was another city of bikes, just like copenhagen and amsterdam.

the proof.

what else does one do in a city of bicycles than rent one...

...and ride it along a canal through the countryside...

...to an adorable belgian village complete with windmill and paddle boat? i know not.

stay tuned for posts about the rest of my time in europe! coming soon: austria, the alps, friends and christmas on a small scale.

cheers,
b