Philippines - Sept 13 -17
On Monday Grace (plnt mgr), Marilyn(SC mgr) & Engeleen(quality mgr) were supposed to meet us in the hotel lobby before heading into the office. When I came down from my room the ladies were waiting for us. It turned out Guido was already sitting in the lobby waiting but they assumed it was not him because he looked to be too young to be in this type of job. I tried to up Guido’s status by mentioning that he might be young but he has a doctorate degree, so he’s Dr. Guido! We had a good laugh about it but I could tell they were impressed.
For the opening meeting we met at the main office in Makati Manila which is about 1 ½ hour north of the plant. Grace introduced us to Lito who will be our driver for the week and we were on our way. Driving to the office was quite an experience. For those who have been to Vietnam the scene is very similar. In sections of the city the traffic was horrendous. No lane rules, terrible fumes from the cars, mopeds, and jeepneys. People in the jeepneys were wearing surgical masks or holding a hankerchief over their mouth and nose as to not breath in the fumes. Even though Lito was a good driver there were times when I was so sure we were going to hit something. New York cab drivers are wimps compared to these drivers. Talk about aggressive driving! There were moments when I had to close my eyes. As the week progressed I learned to just work on my laptop and not pay too much attention to the traffic around me.
The traffic in the city is so bad I don’t know how people can stand it. I was told that the 40 minute drive to the office is usually around 2 hours during rush hour which during most of the day! The government actually tried to alleviate this by placing a restriction on people so that there is one day per week when you are not allowed to drive during rush hour. This is done by the tag on their license plate.
It’s humid here but not so hot. I wore a suit (even though it’s short sleeved) since it’s the opening meeting but later regretted it when we did the plant walk around.
After the meeting we drove to the plant in Cabuyao which is the focus point of our assignment. It was a much nicer drive with the lush and green countryside. The plant was located in what they call an industrial park. This is a secure place where are multiple plants from multiple companies. There’s a guard at the entrance of the park and another guard at the entrance of our plant. It’s a small plant and Grace (the plnt mgr) had told me it would only take an hour to go through it. Well, being good auditors, we took over 3 hours. Guido looked in every nook and cranny because that’s where you find things. It was warm and humid and I was sweating like a pig. In a part of the plant they had a big fan going so I would find excuses to pass it!
Thoughout the week interviewees were very nice and treated us very well. Early on we had a conversation about strange foods and Guido had to brag that he ate monkey meat when he was on an assignment in china. The girls found out Guido never had chicken feet. Unfortunately I piped in that I would NOT eat chicken feet. After that it was Marilyn’s mission to take us to eat chicken feet. On top of that she was going to make us eat “ballot” which is an egg with a semi developed fetus of a chicken! YUCK! The fetus of the chick is a delicacy. In Vietnam we have the same thing but it’s duck egg. Just the thought of it was disgusting! You are eating a fetus that already has hair and a shape! The next day when we said that we could not afford to go out to lunch because of our work schedule, they brought in a whole spread of Filipino food. It was so delicious. Crispy roast pork, sautéed squid, beef soup, stir fry, pancit. Marilyn made a big production out of a special order of chicken feet for us. Since Guido readily agreed to try it I had to do the same! I can’t let a white guy show me up! I had to admit the flavor of the sauce was really good but you just can’t deny the fact that you are chewing on a bony chicken toe! What can I say, it tasted like feet even though Marilyn assured me that the feet are washed before cooking! Ha ha
One frustration during our time at the plant was that it was not very high tech. No wireless and even with the manual connection I could not get network access most of the time. My blackberry had no network either so I was totally disconnected from everything. All I could do was to do everything on local drive. On top of that the plant had no air conditioning, except in our conference room which was very loud. Still, we managed to get the work done.
Over the week I have observed that it is the nature of Filipinos are quick to agree and do not want to argue with you. They look to us as authority and do not want to offend. This is not necessarily a good thing and you have to get good at interpreting if they are really understanding what needs to be done and will do it. Or they might have a good reason but just want to agree.
On Tuesday night the team took us to dinner. It was a fun time and I got to get to know the group a little bit more. Again they order a crap load of food. Crispy whole fish, sizzling beef, noodles, roast pork, and crispy chicken skin which you dip in a vinegar base sauce. Ofcourse we ate everything! Also, I had the best mango shake EVER! The mangos here are the yummy small yellow mangos which are more flavorful. They also had a sour mango shake which I tried later in the week.
All this week I’ve been up until 2am only to get up again at 6am. Not to waste a minute Guido & I are working on the laptop during the drive to and from the plant. I can’t wait to get good at the report writing. The process is so stringent it’s insane. There are so many rules on format and wording and it goes through so many reviews. I’m not as fast so I have to spend more time at it. I have had much sleep all week but strangely I was feeling ok. I think it’s the adrenaline and it’s going to hit me hard at some point.
On the way home on Wednesday night I made an executive decision to work the rest of the week at the Alabang office. I was getting frustrated with lack of network connection and it was slowing me down. I was sure the office would be a little more hi tech. In the end I think it was a good move. We had a little stress the night before the closing meeting based on the reaction of the president of the company when we shared our findings. We had to scramble to get as much info from germany as possible in order to be prepared for our arguments if it came to it. For 4 hours on Friday morning Guido & I laid out our gameplan and prepared for the worse which means that there are no consensus and our report is incomplete. This could be a bad thing and not what I need on my first assignment! Anyway, we laid out all scenarios and went through the strategy for each. In the end the meeting went fine and I was so relieved. I came to realize how draining this job could be. But it is so interesting the stress is worth it. Boy, all this week when the stress level was high I was so needing a hug from Gary. We were chatting online every night (or morning for him) through gmail but it’s still not the same. He is so good at providing comfort when I need it and times like this I really miss him being with me L
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Philippines
Guido and I flew into Manila yesterday morning. We had a momentarily scare with lost luggage. We watched until the last luggage came out and did not see any of our bags. I was in a state of shock thinking what a disaster! Guido is already making plans to go shopping. We went with a few other people who also did not have their luggage. It turned out that because we flew business class they had a special section for priority passengers. How the hell were we supposed to know that?! In the end I was just very relieved that I did not have to deal with lost luggage.
In the planning stage we were told that it was not safe enough in the Philippines to handle our own transportation to our hotel which was about 40 minutes south from Manila airport. The plant here arranged for the hotel to pick us up. I also asked to have a driver while we were here since I was also warned to not even take a taxi on my own. There was danger of kidnapping. Gary was a little concerned when I told him this.
Getting out of the customs area I saw more security personnel than regular people. It was a little intimidating. I suddenly missed the safe feeling I had while traveling in europe. The city of Manila is not too impressive. It looks crowded and a little run down. There were a lot of jeepneys on the road. This is their form of public transportation. Picture an extended jeep with no door in the back where passengers get on. Inside there are two long benches where the people would sit facing each other. The sides of the jeep have open slats for windows so that as they drive by you can see the back and heads of the passengers. They are usually sandwiched in there like sardines. There is a lot of polution some of these passengers are holding hankerchiefs over their nose and mouth. The routes of these jeepneys are painted on the sides of the vehicle. This is definitely a far cry from high tech germany!
Our hotel was really nice. I would rate the Bellevue as a 5 star hotel. The service is incredible. I think there are more staff members than guests! There seems to be multiple people helping us at all times and they are always addressing us as mam or mister. Very polite people. When we ate at the hotel restaurant there seems to be multiple waiters doing different things for us. They even asks "mam, may I please take your plate away?" Funny but all this is also a far cry from non customer service oriented germany!
Guido wanted to set up his stash of cokes and snacks for our late nights of report writing all this week so we took the hotel shuttle to the mall that's about 1/4 mile away. OMG, huge mall that includes dave and busters type of entertainment, tons of restaurants, a supermarket, cinema and I'm not sure what else. There were also a million people in there so I felt a little suffocated. Ofcourse Guido was the only white guy there so we got some stares. Guido was hungry for lunch so we stopped in what looked like an asian fast food restaurant. It was so cheap. Funny set up. As you are waiting in line there's a girls that come around to take your order. Then she gives you the slip to give to the cashier. The cashier then gives you your drink and a number for you to put on your table (picture Sizzler). When I gave her my smallest bill which was 500 Philippine pesos (equivalent of $USD 10) she did not have enough change so she said my change will come later. Then there are these guys that are running around with big platters of food delivering them to the tables. It was fascinating to watch them zip around with a tray of noodle soups and plates of food on the finger tips of one hand. We each had a bowl of noodle soup, some dim sum dumplings, my favorite vegie rau muon, all for less than $2 each. Guido wanted to come here to eat everyday but I put my foot down. I really didn't feel comfortable and we stuck out like sore thumbs. The fact that there were security and police all over the surrounding streets made me feel uncomfortable. Our hotel had several nice restaurants so I didn't feel a need. The shuttle guys from the hotel said we could call and they would come to get us. I did NOT realize my phone did not have network connection so we could not call for the hotel shuttle!! Guido talked me into walking back to the hotel since we had no other choices. Besides, we could literally see our hotel in the distance. I was so nervous the whole way back. Even if there were lots of cops around you never know if they will decide to arrest you for whatever reason. All those warnings made me super paranoid but we got back fine.
There's a spa at the hotel! This time I didnt want to lose the opportunity so I booked a facial and massage, all for $35! Unlike the traumatic experience of my massage in Vietnam this was on par with Scottsdale. My therapist was a very sweet and polite young girl who softly says mam before she starts a sentence! Surprisingly she had a very firm touch which was exactly what I needed. The only scare I had was when she suddenly climbs up on the table to straddle on either side of me so that she can really massage my back. I had a flashback of Lorraine's traumatic massage experience in Vietname so I had to ask her "are you going to walk on my back? Because I don't want that" To my relief she said no, only shiatsu massage does that. I assured her that I definitely did not want a shiatsu massage! Other than that I was so relaxed I nodded off a few minutes. After my massage she took me to another room for my facial. The only weird part was when she gave me a masque she put some kind of cloth over my face and then spread the cream over it. When done she merely peeled off the cloth. After my treatment she brought me a hot cup of tea. It was a perfect end to my spa experience.
Fun time was over and I had to some pre work for our meetings the next day. It was midnight before I forced myself to go to bed. This was my first time as lead for an assignment so I was a little nervous and excited.
In the planning stage we were told that it was not safe enough in the Philippines to handle our own transportation to our hotel which was about 40 minutes south from Manila airport. The plant here arranged for the hotel to pick us up. I also asked to have a driver while we were here since I was also warned to not even take a taxi on my own. There was danger of kidnapping. Gary was a little concerned when I told him this.
Getting out of the customs area I saw more security personnel than regular people. It was a little intimidating. I suddenly missed the safe feeling I had while traveling in europe. The city of Manila is not too impressive. It looks crowded and a little run down. There were a lot of jeepneys on the road. This is their form of public transportation. Picture an extended jeep with no door in the back where passengers get on. Inside there are two long benches where the people would sit facing each other. The sides of the jeep have open slats for windows so that as they drive by you can see the back and heads of the passengers. They are usually sandwiched in there like sardines. There is a lot of polution some of these passengers are holding hankerchiefs over their nose and mouth. The routes of these jeepneys are painted on the sides of the vehicle. This is definitely a far cry from high tech germany!
Our hotel was really nice. I would rate the Bellevue as a 5 star hotel. The service is incredible. I think there are more staff members than guests! There seems to be multiple people helping us at all times and they are always addressing us as mam or mister. Very polite people. When we ate at the hotel restaurant there seems to be multiple waiters doing different things for us. They even asks "mam, may I please take your plate away?" Funny but all this is also a far cry from non customer service oriented germany!
Guido wanted to set up his stash of cokes and snacks for our late nights of report writing all this week so we took the hotel shuttle to the mall that's about 1/4 mile away. OMG, huge mall that includes dave and busters type of entertainment, tons of restaurants, a supermarket, cinema and I'm not sure what else. There were also a million people in there so I felt a little suffocated. Ofcourse Guido was the only white guy there so we got some stares. Guido was hungry for lunch so we stopped in what looked like an asian fast food restaurant. It was so cheap. Funny set up. As you are waiting in line there's a girls that come around to take your order. Then she gives you the slip to give to the cashier. The cashier then gives you your drink and a number for you to put on your table (picture Sizzler). When I gave her my smallest bill which was 500 Philippine pesos (equivalent of $USD 10) she did not have enough change so she said my change will come later. Then there are these guys that are running around with big platters of food delivering them to the tables. It was fascinating to watch them zip around with a tray of noodle soups and plates of food on the finger tips of one hand. We each had a bowl of noodle soup, some dim sum dumplings, my favorite vegie rau muon, all for less than $2 each. Guido wanted to come here to eat everyday but I put my foot down. I really didn't feel comfortable and we stuck out like sore thumbs. The fact that there were security and police all over the surrounding streets made me feel uncomfortable. Our hotel had several nice restaurants so I didn't feel a need. The shuttle guys from the hotel said we could call and they would come to get us. I did NOT realize my phone did not have network connection so we could not call for the hotel shuttle!! Guido talked me into walking back to the hotel since we had no other choices. Besides, we could literally see our hotel in the distance. I was so nervous the whole way back. Even if there were lots of cops around you never know if they will decide to arrest you for whatever reason. All those warnings made me super paranoid but we got back fine.
There's a spa at the hotel! This time I didnt want to lose the opportunity so I booked a facial and massage, all for $35! Unlike the traumatic experience of my massage in Vietnam this was on par with Scottsdale. My therapist was a very sweet and polite young girl who softly says mam before she starts a sentence! Surprisingly she had a very firm touch which was exactly what I needed. The only scare I had was when she suddenly climbs up on the table to straddle on either side of me so that she can really massage my back. I had a flashback of Lorraine's traumatic massage experience in Vietname so I had to ask her "are you going to walk on my back? Because I don't want that" To my relief she said no, only shiatsu massage does that. I assured her that I definitely did not want a shiatsu massage! Other than that I was so relaxed I nodded off a few minutes. After my massage she took me to another room for my facial. The only weird part was when she gave me a masque she put some kind of cloth over my face and then spread the cream over it. When done she merely peeled off the cloth. After my treatment she brought me a hot cup of tea. It was a perfect end to my spa experience.
Fun time was over and I had to some pre work for our meetings the next day. It was midnight before I forced myself to go to bed. This was my first time as lead for an assignment so I was a little nervous and excited.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
It's not just a cup of coffee...
How ironic that the importance of this 15-20 minute ritual finally dawns on me on my last day in the DD office.
On Friday I met a colleague for lunch. I have worked with Gunter from the Scottsdale office but we never met in person. I had told him back then that he did not sound like a typical german because he just loves to joke and laugh and is very expressive in his speech. He agreed and said his friends also accused him of being italian in actuality.
Anyway, Gunter & I had a nice lunch and conversation. He made me laugh with stories about his wife and grown kids. Actually just his way of talking made me laugh. He is very expressive and is constantly throwing his hand up in the air. One would say he talks with his whole body. I thought it was cute that he loves the fact that men and women are different. The world would be so boring if we were similar, or so he says. Gunter also gave me some valuable insights on personalities of some managers that will help me.
We were having so much fun but our lunch was done. He then suddenly said "coffee?". I didn't want our time to end so I agreed. We walked to the coffee section of the cafeteria and ofcourse I got my latte machiano. I told Gunter that I never drink coffee in the states because it upsets my stomach, but here I have no problems. But stilll, I don't drink it unless I feel like I need to wake up. He told me that coffee is an important ritual there. It's an opportunity to network and socialize. You can get far by inviting a colleague for coffee and discussing a work topic with him. It softens up the situation and it's less formal than a meeting. It's also a good chance to catch up with colleagues.
SO, suddenly I recalled the few situations where Laszlo would peek his head in my office in the morning and said "coffee?". Each time I would say no thank you because well, I didn't want any coffee and I already got my cup of tea for the morning. After about the third time he gave up asking me. THEN I remembered the few times Emrah would ask me "coffee?" after walking back from lunch as we pass the coffee room on our floor. Our floor has a little kitchenette with this gigantic coffee maker that can make weak coffee (for me), strong coffee, cappucino and expresso. There is also a little high table where you stand to drink your coffee and chat. Ofcourse I told Emrah no because well, I didn't need coffee. I thought people drink coffee because they need a caffeine boost! AND, there were other colleagues in the past few weeks that asked me that deceivingly simple question of "coffee?" Oh well, I don't think any of them took it personally. I just know that next time I am back in the DD office I will have to make sure to initiate a few invitations for coffee! Oi vay!
On Friday I met a colleague for lunch. I have worked with Gunter from the Scottsdale office but we never met in person. I had told him back then that he did not sound like a typical german because he just loves to joke and laugh and is very expressive in his speech. He agreed and said his friends also accused him of being italian in actuality.
Anyway, Gunter & I had a nice lunch and conversation. He made me laugh with stories about his wife and grown kids. Actually just his way of talking made me laugh. He is very expressive and is constantly throwing his hand up in the air. One would say he talks with his whole body. I thought it was cute that he loves the fact that men and women are different. The world would be so boring if we were similar, or so he says. Gunter also gave me some valuable insights on personalities of some managers that will help me.
We were having so much fun but our lunch was done. He then suddenly said "coffee?". I didn't want our time to end so I agreed. We walked to the coffee section of the cafeteria and ofcourse I got my latte machiano. I told Gunter that I never drink coffee in the states because it upsets my stomach, but here I have no problems. But stilll, I don't drink it unless I feel like I need to wake up. He told me that coffee is an important ritual there. It's an opportunity to network and socialize. You can get far by inviting a colleague for coffee and discussing a work topic with him. It softens up the situation and it's less formal than a meeting. It's also a good chance to catch up with colleagues.
SO, suddenly I recalled the few situations where Laszlo would peek his head in my office in the morning and said "coffee?". Each time I would say no thank you because well, I didn't want any coffee and I already got my cup of tea for the morning. After about the third time he gave up asking me. THEN I remembered the few times Emrah would ask me "coffee?" after walking back from lunch as we pass the coffee room on our floor. Our floor has a little kitchenette with this gigantic coffee maker that can make weak coffee (for me), strong coffee, cappucino and expresso. There is also a little high table where you stand to drink your coffee and chat. Ofcourse I told Emrah no because well, I didn't need coffee. I thought people drink coffee because they need a caffeine boost! AND, there were other colleagues in the past few weeks that asked me that deceivingly simple question of "coffee?" Oh well, I don't think any of them took it personally. I just know that next time I am back in the DD office I will have to make sure to initiate a few invitations for coffee! Oi vay!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Things I will miss....
Things I will miss when leaving Germany
- the fantastic bakeries. Seriously, there's at least one bakery in every corner! I only buy what I want for the day, it's going to be hard going back to packaged baked goods! The bread is SO GOOD!
- my 25 minute walk to work. It's a great way to unwind and listen to my ipod while burning calories!
- the day to day interactions with my department colleagues. I haven't blended so well with a group of co-workers since my time with redken 20 years ago. Everyone is so nice and helpful and interested about me as I am interested about them. We work very hard but I have so much fun with them. It's crazy but I actually look forward to coming into work and seeing everyone.
- easy access to traveling to surrounding cities and countries. The trains are so easy to use here.
- Altstaedt (Old Town) - such a great place to hang out to eat, drink or just to walk along the river. It a place where tourists and locals go to. You can find any kind of restaurants you want. You can't help but get caught up in the festive mood.
- the fantastic bakeries. Seriously, there's at least one bakery in every corner! I only buy what I want for the day, it's going to be hard going back to packaged baked goods! The bread is SO GOOD!
- my 25 minute walk to work. It's a great way to unwind and listen to my ipod while burning calories!
- the day to day interactions with my department colleagues. I haven't blended so well with a group of co-workers since my time with redken 20 years ago. Everyone is so nice and helpful and interested about me as I am interested about them. We work very hard but I have so much fun with them. It's crazy but I actually look forward to coming into work and seeing everyone.
- easy access to traveling to surrounding cities and countries. The trains are so easy to use here.
- Altstaedt (Old Town) - such a great place to hang out to eat, drink or just to walk along the river. It a place where tourists and locals go to. You can find any kind of restaurants you want. You can't help but get caught up in the festive mood.
- opportunities to practice my very poor german. Even if I don'tt speak it, it's still good to hear it spoken. I am not so intimidated by it anymore!
- the lunch routine at work. Everyday around noon we start to walk down the hallway to collect each other for the 5 minute walk to one of the cafeterias. If someone's office door is closed then we know they are not there or could not join. We have fun conversations during this time and I get to hear all the gossips! Even more interesting are the different perspectives whenever we talk about a certain political or cultural topics. The reason is the various ethnic origins within our group. Maybe more than half of our department (total of about 25 people) are german but the other half are made of bulgaria, hungary, turkey, kenya, el salvador, brazil, china, russia, spain and ofcourse me from the united states!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A short comment from Gary - guest blogger :-)
I am writing this on my last night in Dusseldorf. I will try my best to sum up my impressions from the past 11 days spent in Germany and in Amsterdam.
Just to let you know, I have been to Germany on three separate occasions in the past and every time provides me with a uniquely different experience. Dusseldorf, and all the surrounding cities, are simply beautiful. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy the style of the old European city-scape with the cobblestone streets, small cafes and historic buildings. The Rhine river played a big role in the scenery for this trip. Anh and I spent a lot of time walking along the pathways that wind along the rivers edge watching all the long barges fighting the strong current as they carried their heavy load to somewhere far away. The cool days filled with a mixture of sun and rain made for a nice change from the heat of the Phoenix summer.
Amsterdam was a pleasant surprise for me. I had missed an opportunity to go there sixteen years ago because of a train strike, but the wait was worth it. No where else have I ever seen so many people riding around on bicycles. I also hadn't been aware of just how many canals there are out there. The number of waterways must rival that of Venice but Amsterdam seems to have a better mix of roads, walking areas and canals than does Venice. Anh and I also enjoyed a big beautiful park outside our hotel called Vondelpark. This is their Central Park and I really loved it. The scenery was beautiful and the air was cool and fresh. I could have spent a whole day in the park alone. And if you are wondering, you don't need to be a pot smoker or sex fiend to enjoy Amsterdam.
Oh, by the way, it want everyone to know that the true highlight of my trip was seeing Anh and sharing these great life experiences with her. P.S. she is looking over my shoulder as I write this last paragraph.
Just to let you know, I have been to Germany on three separate occasions in the past and every time provides me with a uniquely different experience. Dusseldorf, and all the surrounding cities, are simply beautiful. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy the style of the old European city-scape with the cobblestone streets, small cafes and historic buildings. The Rhine river played a big role in the scenery for this trip. Anh and I spent a lot of time walking along the pathways that wind along the rivers edge watching all the long barges fighting the strong current as they carried their heavy load to somewhere far away. The cool days filled with a mixture of sun and rain made for a nice change from the heat of the Phoenix summer.
Amsterdam was a pleasant surprise for me. I had missed an opportunity to go there sixteen years ago because of a train strike, but the wait was worth it. No where else have I ever seen so many people riding around on bicycles. I also hadn't been aware of just how many canals there are out there. The number of waterways must rival that of Venice but Amsterdam seems to have a better mix of roads, walking areas and canals than does Venice. Anh and I also enjoyed a big beautiful park outside our hotel called Vondelpark. This is their Central Park and I really loved it. The scenery was beautiful and the air was cool and fresh. I could have spent a whole day in the park alone. And if you are wondering, you don't need to be a pot smoker or sex fiend to enjoy Amsterdam.
Oh, by the way, it want everyone to know that the true highlight of my trip was seeing Anh and sharing these great life experiences with her. P.S. she is looking over my shoulder as I write this last paragraph.
Gary's last weekend in DD
Sept 4 & 5
We got back to DD on Saturday late afternoon. It was great to see that the sun was out, a big change from the last couple of weeks where it rained on and off. I took Gary back to Altstaedt to a very different scene. With the warmer and nicer weather it seemed like all of DD was out. It was the most crowded I've seen. I was glad he got to see what I was trying to describe before. When we were here the weekend before, it was raining on and off and it was cold. As a result it was not as crowded. We sat on the edge of the river to watch the pretty sunset. We went back to Ratinger street to find Braueri Fuchshein which according to trip advisor had the best Alt beer and great german food. Well, I did find it but the place was absolutely packed. Even the sidewalk outside was packed with people drinking beer. It's not like the restaurants back home where the hotess will take your name down and call you when your table is ready. When I did find a waiter and told him we wanted to eat. He told me to find a table and left with his tray of Alt beer. We did walk around the restaurant and all the tables were full. I did read that you will probably have to share a table so I was ready to do that. But there was not a spare spot in this crazy restaurant. I told Gary this was too stressful for me so we left. A few restaurants down the street we found Braueri Uel. It turned out to be perfect because we got to sit outside and the waitress spoke english AND she gave us an english menu. This was a rare event in DD! During the course of our dinner we got to watch Ratinger street (remember this was "the longest bar in the world") fill up with hundreds of people. Some would be eating at the tables outside but most would stand along the bar tables scattered along the edges of the sidewalks drinking beer and conversing with friends. I tried to take a picture of the whole scene, hopefully it came out ok.
On Sunday Gary & I had enough time to take another short hike in the hidden forest by the apt before meeting up with my colleagues Juliana and Laszlo. We had made plans to go to Benrath castle. The castle was a 15 minute tram ride from my place. This was not the traditional sleeping beauty castle that most people would picture. Instead it was more like a palace. It reminded me a lot of Versaille (but much smaller) with its extensive gardens. The palace itself was small in size and served more as a vacation home. We paid for a guided tour and it was well worth it. The inside was incredibly ornate. Unfortunately there were no furnishings but the details of the ceilings, walls, and floors were incredible. The strangest part was that we had to wear these huge wool slippers over our shoes so as to not harm the floors. It was awkward at first but we eventually learn to glide rather than walk. You had to be there.
After the tour of the castle we walked along the extensive gardens. The whole property had to be almost half a mile in length. We walked to the end to the Rhine river and stopped at a Biergarten to enjoy a nice beer. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
My last night with Gary !! :-( We decided to make it quiet and had some pizza at a local take out place in Holthausen then took a long walk towards Benrath to watch the sunset on the river. I will miss Gary but will see him in 4 weeks. Now it's time to focus on work again and get ready for my assignment in Philippines and Taiwan.
We got back to DD on Saturday late afternoon. It was great to see that the sun was out, a big change from the last couple of weeks where it rained on and off. I took Gary back to Altstaedt to a very different scene. With the warmer and nicer weather it seemed like all of DD was out. It was the most crowded I've seen. I was glad he got to see what I was trying to describe before. When we were here the weekend before, it was raining on and off and it was cold. As a result it was not as crowded. We sat on the edge of the river to watch the pretty sunset. We went back to Ratinger street to find Braueri Fuchshein which according to trip advisor had the best Alt beer and great german food. Well, I did find it but the place was absolutely packed. Even the sidewalk outside was packed with people drinking beer. It's not like the restaurants back home where the hotess will take your name down and call you when your table is ready. When I did find a waiter and told him we wanted to eat. He told me to find a table and left with his tray of Alt beer. We did walk around the restaurant and all the tables were full. I did read that you will probably have to share a table so I was ready to do that. But there was not a spare spot in this crazy restaurant. I told Gary this was too stressful for me so we left. A few restaurants down the street we found Braueri Uel. It turned out to be perfect because we got to sit outside and the waitress spoke english AND she gave us an english menu. This was a rare event in DD! During the course of our dinner we got to watch Ratinger street (remember this was "the longest bar in the world") fill up with hundreds of people. Some would be eating at the tables outside but most would stand along the bar tables scattered along the edges of the sidewalks drinking beer and conversing with friends. I tried to take a picture of the whole scene, hopefully it came out ok.
On Sunday Gary & I had enough time to take another short hike in the hidden forest by the apt before meeting up with my colleagues Juliana and Laszlo. We had made plans to go to Benrath castle. The castle was a 15 minute tram ride from my place. This was not the traditional sleeping beauty castle that most people would picture. Instead it was more like a palace. It reminded me a lot of Versaille (but much smaller) with its extensive gardens. The palace itself was small in size and served more as a vacation home. We paid for a guided tour and it was well worth it. The inside was incredibly ornate. Unfortunately there were no furnishings but the details of the ceilings, walls, and floors were incredible. The strangest part was that we had to wear these huge wool slippers over our shoes so as to not harm the floors. It was awkward at first but we eventually learn to glide rather than walk. You had to be there.
After the tour of the castle we walked along the extensive gardens. The whole property had to be almost half a mile in length. We walked to the end to the Rhine river and stopped at a Biergarten to enjoy a nice beer. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
My last night with Gary !! :-( We decided to make it quiet and had some pizza at a local take out place in Holthausen then took a long walk towards Benrath to watch the sunset on the river. I will miss Gary but will see him in 4 weeks. Now it's time to focus on work again and get ready for my assignment in Philippines and Taiwan.
5 days in Amsterdam
August 31 to Sept 4
Gary & I had a wonderful stay in Amsterdam. With Gary here and work getting more hectic I havn't had too much time with my blog so this will have to be a condense version of our trip.
First our train trip went smoothly for the first time! As a matter of fact it was probably the train I accidently took when I meant to go to Belgium a few weeks ago! Since it was a nice straight 2 hour shot from DD to Amsterdam I bought us first class tickets. It was only $100 euro pp. Gary got a kick out of the posh experience. We didn't have to fight for seats since the first class area was only about 50% occupied. The seats actually leans backa and there were trays to pull down for eating and for the ipad which Gary used to watch a movie. While he was occupied I tried to keep up with all the activites of work. I knew that this was not going to be 100% vacation but Gary did not seem to mind, thank goodness.
We got to Amsterdam by 5pm and took Tram #2 to our hotel. The Zandbergen hotel was on the outskirts of old town Amsterdam but it was right next to a pretty park and the tram goes right in front of the hotel so I thought it would be ok. It had high ratings on trip advisor so I didn't think we could go wrong.
The first thing I noticed about the city was the number of bikes on the road. OMG! There were more cyclists than cars! The second thing I noticed was how beautiful it was with all the old ornate buildings fronting the many canals throughout the city. It reminded me of Venice but very different. Amsterdam was much more vibrant and ofcourse bigger.
It was a 15 minutes tram ride to our hotel. I've read some complaints about the steep stairway up to your rooms which could be bad if you had a room on the 3rd or 4th floor. Luckily they gave us a nice room on the 2nd floor with a big private patio. We enjoyed sitting on the patio having a drink and snacks at the end of the day. The patio faces the inside of a big courtyard which was very peaceful.
I was excited about the fact that the hotel rented out bikes. Gary was skeptical about me handling the busy streets of Amsterdam. I was skeptical about the bike being small enough for me. Both turned out fine. We were smart and started out riding into the huge Vondelpark across the road from the hotel. They call this the "central park" of Amsterdam. I think it's nicer because it has many more ponds and lakes lined with weeping willows with ducks and swans and blue herrings. There were bikes along the paths but not crazy and all you have to do is get off the bike path to find a peaceful area to enjoy the park. People here use bikes as a mode of transportation so it wasn't all recreational for them. I got a kick out of the many ways people use a basket to transport stuff. There were a few sled-like wooden boxes in front of the bike in which a little kid can be a passenger.
We decided to be adventerous and look for a windmill located on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately the map showing the windmill was not a detailed one so we only had a few landmarks to go by. Not by design we ran into another big park with a huge lake and on impulse decided to explore that park even though it was a little east of where we wanted to be. It was so nice to ride to ride through the tree lined bike paths. No tourists here that's for sure. There was a little cafe next to the lake so we stopped for latte machiano and ice cream. There were benches along the lake that demanded we stopped to sit and enjoy the view. We eventually found the little village of Sloten and got to see the windmill. It was a fantastic sight. Apparently this windmill was the only one open year round. We stopped in to take a tour since neither one of us have either been inside one. Our guide Pancho was very informative and showed us how the windmill is still used today to pump water into the next canal to control the water level. It's amazing how they use a very simple system of dikes and water pumps to keep the city from being flooded. All of Amsterdam is below sea level so if not for these dams and dikes the city would be under water. We got to see all three levels of the windmill. It's amazing that to this day they don't use anything mechanical. It's all wood and wind. In the old days Holland was the premier place for windmills. These mills were working mills for sawmill factories, to make cheese, or to make paint. Now there are only a few left. It was a fascinating tour and we were glad to have found it. Afterwards we stopped in the restaurants across from the windmill for a late lunch. We did go back the way we intended to come and it took half the time. Still, we were glad we did go the long way since it was such a beautiful ride. As Gary said, we got to Sloten by hook and by crook. For me it was a magical day. It was not at all touristy(not mentioned in tour book) but very memorable. Since we got the bike for the whole day we rode into the city center. I knew I would get more nervous as the streets got more narrower and the streets more crowded so Gary assured me we could park the bike wherever we wanted and walk the rest of the way. I was proud that I rode all the way into old town. We did park them at one point in order to explore the red light district. Just like the locals we chained our bikes on one of the iron rails.
The red light district was quite an experience. We went through all the streets in a couple of hours. At first Gary was shy and didn't look too long but by the end of the night he was being more friendly to the girls! I've heard so much about this area but it didn't hit me until I was there. It was one of those scenes where you were appalled but can not look away. It was surreal. Some of the girls were really playing it up, some looked bored and some looked disgusted at the onlookers. At one point we stopped along a bridge and watched a scene of a man negotiating with one of the girls and then went in. We were curious how long he would be in there - 15 minutes. I dared Gary to go ask how much but he was such a chicken. As we walked along these streets there were some pretty strong odor of pot. Actually, you can catch this smell throughout the city. Gary was mad that on his backpacking trip after college, he and Vinny missed Amsterdam because of a train strike. He was thinking of all the partying they could have done in those days!
Thursday was going to be our museum day. There were dozens of museums in the city but we chose to do only two mainly because of time limit. We spent 4 hours in the Van Gogh museum. The audio tour really gets you into the details of his art and his tragic life. Van Gogh created over 700 paintings and 1000 drawings in only a span of 10 years. He was dead by age 37 by suicide. From over 1000 letters to his younger brother Theo they have been able to piece together his life. I usually don't last this long in a museum but I really love his paintings and enjoyed looking at them.
After the VG museum we went to Ann Frank's house. I have known about the story of Ann Frank and her diary but to go to the actual house where her and her family hid from the nazis was so impactful. The whole thing was so tragic. We got to see the inside of the building including the hidden bookcase in front of the narrow staircase leading up to their "secret annex". They did a really good job with the museum and it gave us a good idea of what the family went through. I definitely learned a lot more about Ann and her short life. It was amazing that the two families lived in such a small space for 2 years. It was so sad that the father survived only to lose his whole family.
That night we went back to the red light district to see one of the shows there. I wont' go into details but let's just say that it was shocking! You see EVERYTHING. What was more shocking were the old couples in there. Are you kidding me?! What is grandma and grandpa getting out of this?!
On Friday we signed up for a canoe trip around the wetlands north of Amsterdam. Yes, the Hampsons don't do all the obvious tourist things. Anyway, our guide Majel is the sole owner of Wetlands Safari. She does not own the canoes so we had to meet her at the train station where we all hopped on a local bus to get to the hotel that owned the canoes. For $38 euros it included 4 hours of paddling, transportation, drinks at the hotel bar before and after, and a picnic lunch. There were a dozen of us on that day. Let me just say that this was one of the best canoe trip I've ever been on. We paddle right from the hotel and go through a small village. The waterways is only about 10-15 feet wide. On either sides are grassy banks with profusions of flowers that are part of people's backyards. On occasion there are small foot bridges that are only about 3 feet over the water so we were warned to duck very low or you will bang your head.
After about half an hour we cross a main canal way to get into the wetlands. There were mazes of waterways that ranged from 40 feet wide to 3 feet wide, all flanked by tall grassy reeds and cat tails. You really have to know your way around because it would be easy to get lost. We were the only ones on the water so it was so peaceful. The day was cool and partly sunny so it was perfect. Majel said that it's a typical dutch sky to have clouds and that most dutch painting will have clouds in the landscape. At one point we stopped at one of the "island" and Majel showed us the crazy way you can bounce on the ground. Apparently the island was made of mossy tundra that was two feet deep and floating on water. When you walk it felt like walking on a sponge and with water seeping through. I have never seen anything like it! When we jump up and down you could feel the ground sloshing around. Afterward Majel spread out a tarp and pulled a never ending array of food. Various cheeses, sausages, fruits, spreads, breads, carrots, etc. We all dug in and it was the best picnic ever!! Majel says that the milk of the cow is process differently here and that's why their cheeses are creamier. I just know that I never eat cheese at home but love them here. Majel was a treasure of information. She grew up here but spent a year in San Francisco. Throughout the day she shared with us the ways of life here. Her english is pretty good and our whole group happened to be americans. She says that the dutch do not generally like to canoe. They are sailors and prefer the bigger boats! The canals freeze up every 2-3 years, enough so that people can skate on it. She says that the dutch are more long distance skaters, rather than the round skating rinks the americans know. Anyway, when the canals freeze up everyone takes vacation time and go skating. It was also trippy to learn that the homeless people here have a union! That's crazy! You can get $800 euros of unemployment a month and for some, it's enough to live by.
We went through another village on the way back and I loved it. There were so many water lilies in the water. I would say the canoe trip was the highlight of our trip. Gary said it was a tie with our day on the bikes.
Our train leaves on Saturday at 2:30 pm but we managed to squeeze in a walk in Vondelpark, some souvenier shopping (I got my patch!), and a very touristy canal boat ride.
I must say that there was a role reversal on this trip. I have always been the one to read maps and navigate us around. This time I could not get my bearings right and Gary was the confident one with the map. I was very impressed with him and happy to hand over the responsibility to him. The city is not on a grid system so it's not the easiest to find your way.
It was a great trip and we both enjoyed it very much. We were so lucky with the weather where the days were mostly sunny, a nice break from the rainy germany a few days before. Amsterdam has never been on top of my list because all I hear about it is the marijuana and the red light district. It sounded seedy and not highly desirable for a visit for me. I have since found that it's so much more than that. I really love this city and would definitely come back. It's an easy 2 hour train ride from DD so it's an easy weekend trip.
Gary & I had a wonderful stay in Amsterdam. With Gary here and work getting more hectic I havn't had too much time with my blog so this will have to be a condense version of our trip.
First our train trip went smoothly for the first time! As a matter of fact it was probably the train I accidently took when I meant to go to Belgium a few weeks ago! Since it was a nice straight 2 hour shot from DD to Amsterdam I bought us first class tickets. It was only $100 euro pp. Gary got a kick out of the posh experience. We didn't have to fight for seats since the first class area was only about 50% occupied. The seats actually leans backa and there were trays to pull down for eating and for the ipad which Gary used to watch a movie. While he was occupied I tried to keep up with all the activites of work. I knew that this was not going to be 100% vacation but Gary did not seem to mind, thank goodness.
We got to Amsterdam by 5pm and took Tram #2 to our hotel. The Zandbergen hotel was on the outskirts of old town Amsterdam but it was right next to a pretty park and the tram goes right in front of the hotel so I thought it would be ok. It had high ratings on trip advisor so I didn't think we could go wrong.
The first thing I noticed about the city was the number of bikes on the road. OMG! There were more cyclists than cars! The second thing I noticed was how beautiful it was with all the old ornate buildings fronting the many canals throughout the city. It reminded me of Venice but very different. Amsterdam was much more vibrant and ofcourse bigger.
It was a 15 minutes tram ride to our hotel. I've read some complaints about the steep stairway up to your rooms which could be bad if you had a room on the 3rd or 4th floor. Luckily they gave us a nice room on the 2nd floor with a big private patio. We enjoyed sitting on the patio having a drink and snacks at the end of the day. The patio faces the inside of a big courtyard which was very peaceful.
I was excited about the fact that the hotel rented out bikes. Gary was skeptical about me handling the busy streets of Amsterdam. I was skeptical about the bike being small enough for me. Both turned out fine. We were smart and started out riding into the huge Vondelpark across the road from the hotel. They call this the "central park" of Amsterdam. I think it's nicer because it has many more ponds and lakes lined with weeping willows with ducks and swans and blue herrings. There were bikes along the paths but not crazy and all you have to do is get off the bike path to find a peaceful area to enjoy the park. People here use bikes as a mode of transportation so it wasn't all recreational for them. I got a kick out of the many ways people use a basket to transport stuff. There were a few sled-like wooden boxes in front of the bike in which a little kid can be a passenger.
We decided to be adventerous and look for a windmill located on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately the map showing the windmill was not a detailed one so we only had a few landmarks to go by. Not by design we ran into another big park with a huge lake and on impulse decided to explore that park even though it was a little east of where we wanted to be. It was so nice to ride to ride through the tree lined bike paths. No tourists here that's for sure. There was a little cafe next to the lake so we stopped for latte machiano and ice cream. There were benches along the lake that demanded we stopped to sit and enjoy the view. We eventually found the little village of Sloten and got to see the windmill. It was a fantastic sight. Apparently this windmill was the only one open year round. We stopped in to take a tour since neither one of us have either been inside one. Our guide Pancho was very informative and showed us how the windmill is still used today to pump water into the next canal to control the water level. It's amazing how they use a very simple system of dikes and water pumps to keep the city from being flooded. All of Amsterdam is below sea level so if not for these dams and dikes the city would be under water. We got to see all three levels of the windmill. It's amazing that to this day they don't use anything mechanical. It's all wood and wind. In the old days Holland was the premier place for windmills. These mills were working mills for sawmill factories, to make cheese, or to make paint. Now there are only a few left. It was a fascinating tour and we were glad to have found it. Afterwards we stopped in the restaurants across from the windmill for a late lunch. We did go back the way we intended to come and it took half the time. Still, we were glad we did go the long way since it was such a beautiful ride. As Gary said, we got to Sloten by hook and by crook. For me it was a magical day. It was not at all touristy(not mentioned in tour book) but very memorable. Since we got the bike for the whole day we rode into the city center. I knew I would get more nervous as the streets got more narrower and the streets more crowded so Gary assured me we could park the bike wherever we wanted and walk the rest of the way. I was proud that I rode all the way into old town. We did park them at one point in order to explore the red light district. Just like the locals we chained our bikes on one of the iron rails.
The red light district was quite an experience. We went through all the streets in a couple of hours. At first Gary was shy and didn't look too long but by the end of the night he was being more friendly to the girls! I've heard so much about this area but it didn't hit me until I was there. It was one of those scenes where you were appalled but can not look away. It was surreal. Some of the girls were really playing it up, some looked bored and some looked disgusted at the onlookers. At one point we stopped along a bridge and watched a scene of a man negotiating with one of the girls and then went in. We were curious how long he would be in there - 15 minutes. I dared Gary to go ask how much but he was such a chicken. As we walked along these streets there were some pretty strong odor of pot. Actually, you can catch this smell throughout the city. Gary was mad that on his backpacking trip after college, he and Vinny missed Amsterdam because of a train strike. He was thinking of all the partying they could have done in those days!
Thursday was going to be our museum day. There were dozens of museums in the city but we chose to do only two mainly because of time limit. We spent 4 hours in the Van Gogh museum. The audio tour really gets you into the details of his art and his tragic life. Van Gogh created over 700 paintings and 1000 drawings in only a span of 10 years. He was dead by age 37 by suicide. From over 1000 letters to his younger brother Theo they have been able to piece together his life. I usually don't last this long in a museum but I really love his paintings and enjoyed looking at them.
After the VG museum we went to Ann Frank's house. I have known about the story of Ann Frank and her diary but to go to the actual house where her and her family hid from the nazis was so impactful. The whole thing was so tragic. We got to see the inside of the building including the hidden bookcase in front of the narrow staircase leading up to their "secret annex". They did a really good job with the museum and it gave us a good idea of what the family went through. I definitely learned a lot more about Ann and her short life. It was amazing that the two families lived in such a small space for 2 years. It was so sad that the father survived only to lose his whole family.
That night we went back to the red light district to see one of the shows there. I wont' go into details but let's just say that it was shocking! You see EVERYTHING. What was more shocking were the old couples in there. Are you kidding me?! What is grandma and grandpa getting out of this?!
On Friday we signed up for a canoe trip around the wetlands north of Amsterdam. Yes, the Hampsons don't do all the obvious tourist things. Anyway, our guide Majel is the sole owner of Wetlands Safari. She does not own the canoes so we had to meet her at the train station where we all hopped on a local bus to get to the hotel that owned the canoes. For $38 euros it included 4 hours of paddling, transportation, drinks at the hotel bar before and after, and a picnic lunch. There were a dozen of us on that day. Let me just say that this was one of the best canoe trip I've ever been on. We paddle right from the hotel and go through a small village. The waterways is only about 10-15 feet wide. On either sides are grassy banks with profusions of flowers that are part of people's backyards. On occasion there are small foot bridges that are only about 3 feet over the water so we were warned to duck very low or you will bang your head.
After about half an hour we cross a main canal way to get into the wetlands. There were mazes of waterways that ranged from 40 feet wide to 3 feet wide, all flanked by tall grassy reeds and cat tails. You really have to know your way around because it would be easy to get lost. We were the only ones on the water so it was so peaceful. The day was cool and partly sunny so it was perfect. Majel said that it's a typical dutch sky to have clouds and that most dutch painting will have clouds in the landscape. At one point we stopped at one of the "island" and Majel showed us the crazy way you can bounce on the ground. Apparently the island was made of mossy tundra that was two feet deep and floating on water. When you walk it felt like walking on a sponge and with water seeping through. I have never seen anything like it! When we jump up and down you could feel the ground sloshing around. Afterward Majel spread out a tarp and pulled a never ending array of food. Various cheeses, sausages, fruits, spreads, breads, carrots, etc. We all dug in and it was the best picnic ever!! Majel says that the milk of the cow is process differently here and that's why their cheeses are creamier. I just know that I never eat cheese at home but love them here. Majel was a treasure of information. She grew up here but spent a year in San Francisco. Throughout the day she shared with us the ways of life here. Her english is pretty good and our whole group happened to be americans. She says that the dutch do not generally like to canoe. They are sailors and prefer the bigger boats! The canals freeze up every 2-3 years, enough so that people can skate on it. She says that the dutch are more long distance skaters, rather than the round skating rinks the americans know. Anyway, when the canals freeze up everyone takes vacation time and go skating. It was also trippy to learn that the homeless people here have a union! That's crazy! You can get $800 euros of unemployment a month and for some, it's enough to live by.
We went through another village on the way back and I loved it. There were so many water lilies in the water. I would say the canoe trip was the highlight of our trip. Gary said it was a tie with our day on the bikes.
Our train leaves on Saturday at 2:30 pm but we managed to squeeze in a walk in Vondelpark, some souvenier shopping (I got my patch!), and a very touristy canal boat ride.
I must say that there was a role reversal on this trip. I have always been the one to read maps and navigate us around. This time I could not get my bearings right and Gary was the confident one with the map. I was very impressed with him and happy to hand over the responsibility to him. The city is not on a grid system so it's not the easiest to find your way.
It was a great trip and we both enjoyed it very much. We were so lucky with the weather where the days were mostly sunny, a nice break from the rainy germany a few days before. Amsterdam has never been on top of my list because all I hear about it is the marijuana and the red light district. It sounded seedy and not highly desirable for a visit for me. I have since found that it's so much more than that. I really love this city and would definitely come back. It's an easy 2 hour train ride from DD so it's an easy weekend trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)