Hockey eh

You don't really realize the importance of hockey as part of the Canadian national identity until you step outside of Canada. Suddenly, the world seems a lot bigger and emptier without the comforting knowledge that Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada is just around the corner. You find yourself wondering what absurd suit Don Cherry is wearing? and what comment will he make that will cause Ron Maclean to cover his face with his hands trying to hold back calling him an idiot? Without the daily update from Dan O'Toole and Jay Onrait you are lost in the world of sports. You have no idea what the TSN turning point of the day was and you can't even begin to guess how the Canucks finished off the third.

Whether you grew up around hockey or not, whether you knew the rules to offside, or when a ref should call slashing or roughing it doesn't really matter. You knew that come May long weekend when the weather started to get nicer there would be a line up of boys on the road curving sticks and dragging hockey nets out of the garage. The sound of chatter and chirping interspersed with the universal call for time out - CAR! Playoffs meant that your Dad would start to sport and unusual amount of facial hair (and complain about it itching the whole time), game 7 meant an undeclared bank holiday and overtime meant you were to follow an undeclared house rule to duck in front of the TV if you had to get up (and it had better be a good reason).

You learned a lot of lessons from watching games too. You learned that its ok for grown men to cry over a loss, that you should stick up for your teammates and that a black eye or a broken jaw didn't mean sit this one out, it means persevere. From hours spent at the rink, either on the ice or in the stands you learned to cheer for a common goal and shake hands no matter the outcome. On the drive home you learned to give praise when deserved and simply say "Next time" when it was not (because there was always a next time). But most of all, you learned that the Canadian national anthem  is sung at the beginning of games not only because of tradition and out of respect, but because hockey is undeniably a part of Canada, and is indelibly painted, just like the blue line on the ice, into the mosaic of this country.

Scotland

There's an image of Scotland I have.
Of rolling plains scattered with cows and sheep.
Of mountains intersecting the valleys of the highlands.
Of a boy, age 16, walking home from school, tie loosened,
his best mates on either side and Irn Bru in hand.
Of white haired ladies at bus stops asking where you're from
and sitting down for tea time at family owned cafes.
Of a pride for tartan and scotch and Sean Connery.
Of unabashed humour, matter of fact conversation,
and hand rolled cigarettes stuffed into denim jackets on the North Bridge.
Of crowds of people on Princess Street holding bags overflowing with Primark clothes.
Of the Royal Mile at midnight, loud and fun and busy.
Of a mosaic of single images that when put together fit side by side into the shape of a country...
That's the image of Scotland I have.

Ireland...

Where to begin? The cliffs, the ocean, the accent, the amazingly interesting history or the guinness? Lots and lots of Guinness. Rather than trying to recall everything I saw and did over my 6 day tour of Ireland, which travelled from Dublin up north to Belfast and many other towns in between, I'll just write the highlights and surprising facts I learned along the way.

1) Dublin castle is the film site of king Henry VIII's court in The Tudors tv show

2) Christchurch in Dublin is the birthplace of Tom and Jerry: the cat and mouse duo were found dead in the organ pipes and kept by the janitor of the church until they were donated by him after his death for their preservation

3) If you have a southern Ireland driving license you cannot get a speeding ticket in northern Ireland

4) southern Ireland driving licenses are written and printed on a piece of paper, no lamination, nothing

5) Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the Guinness storehouse

6) the south uses euros while the north uses pounds that are different than British or Scottish sterling

7) the cliffs of Moher were the film site of scenes for Harry potter: the half blood prince and the princess diaries, also, for some unknown reason your hair stand on end and become static when walking around the cliffs

8) an original bullet hole from the Easter rising still exists in the angel statue in Dublin on o'connel street

9) a river divides the northern town of Derry and separates Protestants from Catholics. Each attend different schools, hold different ideologies, support different beliefs, are stubborn to change and rarely cross paths in town; yet the most annoying problem seems to be the roaming charges they receive from having uk phone suppliers.

10) after the death of Margaret thatcher a minority of Catholics threw a street party, streamers and all. The "wicked witch" was dead.

11) to kiss the blarney stone you have to lie on your back and hang upside down halfway out of the top of blarney castle in cork

12) there is Tim hortons! And molsons!

13) the views are amazing

Welcome to the Netherlands!

3 things about Amsterdam;
Bicycles
Canals
Cafes
They are everywhere at anytime in any place. That about sums it up.

Out of all the cities I have visited this one seems to be the most live able. Although the city center is buzzing with tourists, most of which are either trying (poorly) to ride bikes or trying to (poorly) avoid bikes or trams, the city itself has a hometown feel. The canals are beautiful, day or night, and the architecture of the quirky narrow buildings and houses are great to look at.

I had heard stories about Amsterdam. Mostly about the legalization of marijuana and prostitution. But I was still not prepared to wander along the city and end up in the red light district, where women casually sat in glass paneled doorways waiting for someone to knock and then let them in. The thinking behind it's legalization seemed mainly to be control. If it is legal then the government and police forces can sanction and supervise it. It would be interesting to see the statistics behind it all in comparison to other cities. Despite all that though I never really felt unsafe or lost in the culture, to them it was commonplace, and as a visitor you adapt quickly. The highlight of the trip was a visit to anne frank's museum, which is located in the original building where she hid during nazi occupation, and a day trip to Utrecht to meet up with a friend.

Anne franks father, Otto frank had set up the musuem in the 1960s with the help of the city and donated Anne's original diary and countless pages of writing. At the time of her capture, there were over some 1,000 pages of writing and editing that she had accumulated during her time in the annex. These pages were sparred by the nazi ambush through some miracle and returned to otto after he survived the war and internment camps. The rooms are left empty to symbolize all the empty lives and rooms of Jews that suffered during the war, but some pieces of furniture, wall decorations and the original secret bookcase remain. It was truly a humbling experience to stand where that family stood and only begin to comprehend what they experienced.

On a lighter note, the next day was spent in a town called Utrecht which is about a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam. There I met up with a friend who I had met just before leaving Canada, and she showed us around her hometown. We visited their clock tower, church, a beer festival and an amazing bar called Olivier's. During the Protestant reformation Catholics were faced to hide their places of worship in buildings that looked like simple houses or in other secret locations. On the outside, Olivier's looks like a normal storefront or house, but once you step in there is a huge organ at the back wall, a high vaulted roof and acoustics that bounce conversations back and forth. After the tour, we were treated to a traditional dutch dinner ( I won't attempt to spell the Dutch names of food) that consisted of homemade soup, meatballs, sausage, potatoes with kip, and a yogurt and vanilla desert. Delicioussss. You truly appreciate a good meal after eating out or sneaking sandwiches in your bag from breakfast at the hostel. Then it was a few drinks with her friends and a very late train ride back to Amsterdam, complete with riding on the back of a bicycle to the station. A new experience for me that the dutch found funny to watch as a I struggled to balance on the cobblestone streets.

The day after was dinner out with some Brits we met at the hostel and a flight to Dublin in the morning!

Belgium

Brussels is a city that sits closest to the border of France. It's unique geographical location is evident everywhere in the city. Shopkeepers and clerks greet you in French and street signs switch between their ditch, French and English names. It seems like residents know at least 2 languages and live in the intermediate city using both. It's not uncommon for the curved streets to change names at intersections ( a confusing fact that led to almost 2 hours of wandering to find our hotel) and the all streets in the city center wind about in circles filled with restaurants, waffle stands, chocolate shops and speciality beer stores. Needless to say, the main food groups in Belgium seemed to be sugar and starch. Equally delicious. Because we arrived on Easter weekend a lot of the museums in town were closed but I did manage visit the main church, parliament buildings, academic area and a couple parks. Brussels in itself probably isnt my favourite city but the grand place is the highlight. It is a sequence of large buildings with ornate decorations that line the surroundings of an exposed square where merchants sell paintings and people mill about or eat at the many restraints below the buildings.

After exploring Brussels it was onto to Bruges. Only about an hour or less away by train, Bruges is a quiet city with cobblestone streets, bare trees in the winter, and small bridges that cover over canals. We visited a small pub called De Garre that was tucked away in an alleyway and served house brewed beer which I would highly recommend. Further out of the city centre tourists dissapeared and there were only a few bikes and people walking about their daily routines in the streets. If you've ever watched in Bruges you can visit the locations where the movie was shot and go up the clock tower. The quiet town is a nice change from loud tourists and busy city centers. After that, it was off to Amsterdam!