Antwerpen

Graffiti Art Park - Some of our European friends would be rolling their eyes that after spending two days in Antwerpen these are the photo's that I decided to post. In truth, Antwerpen is a beautiful city with a great blend of old architecture, cobblestoned streets, and ultra modern office buildings. We had a wonderful time exploring. There were so many restaurants to choose from that we decided to "graze around" and just ate appetizers at 5 different places one evening for dinner.

Of course, Beth and I are always trying our best to get off the beaten path and see how the locals really live. We discovered this little park just south of the historic center....not on any tourist map. It's set in a mix of older buildings and looks like it is actually formed over a demolished building site. It did have grass, but there were many brick foundations scattered about. The city must encourage graffiti here, because every square inch was painted. We spent nearly an hour wandering around the murals and trying to figure out each artists message. Some of this work was incredible! I took a particular interest in the bottom painting. Something about the futility of the snowmen trying to cross the water to be with the woman, and her apparent lack of fear or encouragement hit home for me....Beth - can you explain that one for our readers ? ;-)

Bicky Burger - Antwerpen

I don't know why I'm drawn to these bizzare little window advertisements in Belgium. I get the biggest kick out of trying to figure out why anyone would be more apt to eat here just because a chubby old naked lady looking lasciviously at an overtly phalic bundle of fries is painted on the window. Well, ok. We went in for some fries....so I guess it worked - but that still doesn't explain the psychology of it all.

What a Life!

Beth was traveling to Seattle for work this weekend, so I thought that I'd head into Amsterdam for some fun on my own. Did I hit a few coffeeshops and then saunter through the red-light district? I have no recollection of that and to the best of my knowledge no evidence to the contrary exists. However, I do remember exploring some of the islands and ports scattered around the city and I have the pictures to prove it. These cargo barges, which were docked in the inner harbor, fascinated me. They double as a house boat, complete with car and motor boat. You can see the crane that will lift either mode of smaller transportation off the main boat so that the owners can get out and explore their port-of-call. This particular barge looked like it had some very cozy living quarters decked out with plants and cats in the curtained windows. And keep in mind, those are full size, trans-continental shipping containers that he's carrying....it's quite a load. I'd guess it's a lucrative business by the number and quality of these rigs that I saw. And I bet it's one hell of an interesting life hauling stuff around the world in a self contained house, dropping into exotic ports. The bottom picture shows the beautiful inner harbor of Amsterdam, beckoning the owners of the barge to come on in and stay a while!

Herman Renz Circus

A classic traveling circus, this little troupe arrives each year in Haarlem for the holidays. Beth and I had never been to a circus before and we were intrigued by the old-fashion style show, the small, intimate venue, and the local holiday tradition. However, our experiences with the Idaho Stampede Rodeo back in Boise had us a bit nervous about going to see performing animals...not exactly our taste in entertainment. But after talking with some of the locals and doing a little background checking on the internet, we decided to give it a go. So, we borrowed a friend's 11 year old daughter and went to the evening show last Monday.

Once the lights went down and the ringmaster entered the big-top, we were in for a brilliant, fast-paced show that kept a smile on our face for most of the 2 1/2 hours. The performers were outstanding and exhibited some great (and bizarre) talents. Their knack for showmanship belied their well rehearsed routines. A pair of clowns (of course 1 was a midget) kept the action moving as the crew cleaned/setup between each act. Some of the strong-men and gymnast sets were really well done. And only in Holland can one see a Russian babe in a studded leather g-string gyrating on the flying trapeze to entertain the "kiddies".

The dogs, horses, goats, and chickens (yes, chickens) loved performing. They went into the ring with gusto and really appeared to be enjoying themselves. On the other hand, the lions and elephants seemed a little bored with the whole ordeal. The only animals that outright did not like being there were the house cats. They hissed at the trainer before they would do a trick. Once the trick was over, they jumped back into the carnival cart and seemed to be much more content watching the action from the sidelines.

An excellent light and water shows were the only high-tech additions, but when these were synchronized with the live orchestra it all came together with a lot of old world charm.

We'll adopt this as one of our own new Christmas traditions