Tag: tourism

Chocolate: To Eat or To Eat More

A significant number of the shops along Bruges streets frequented by tourists were selling pricey chocolate. Words like “handcrafted,” “homemade,” “gourmet” and others of the same ilk were paired up with “chocolate.”

Now I like fine chocolate, and to be honest, am even fonder of not so fine chocolate, the kind that has too much milk and sugar and does not tell us the percentage of cocoa in the mix. You know, because there isn’t all the much. I am not, however, obsessed with chocolate, be it cheap milk chocolate or fashionable dark chocolate. I like the stuff but going without chocolate does not result in withdrawals or anxiety attacks for me. My problem with chocolate is not addiction, but portion control. I may be indifferent to chocolate, but once I do start in on a chocolate bar or a box of bite-sized chocolates, I invariably eat way too much or many, as the case may be. Add some almonds or hazelnuts with or without raisins to the chocolate and portion control goes even further out the window. Because a few nuts lets me justify my chocolate binge by deluding myself the nuts have plenty of nutritious oils and other good stuff. I easily ignore the fact that eating a handful of almonds without the chocolate has all of that nutritious stuff without a lot of the empty calories that comes with a chocolate binge. Yeah, I’ve heard that foodie influencers talk up the health benefits of dark chocolate. Maybe they are right. Or maybe they are just making a virtue out of eating stuff they like. Or maybe they are getting paid to say it is good for us. Whatever, while I do like to eat, I pay little attention to foodies.

The number of places selling waffles seemed to run about neck and neck with the number of chocolate shops. One also could not walk far in Bruges without passing a window full of bottles showcasing dozens of varieties Belgian beer. In the event, I tried and enjoyed with meals several Belgian beers, all of which I had never heard of before. For better or worse, I did not once eat any waffles (a regrettable mistake on my part) or buy any chocolate (no regrets).

History in the Heart of Modernity

On its website, Zaanse Schans urges tourists to “experience historic Holland” by visiting “this windmill village on the Zaan River … just 20 minutes from Amsterdam.” Friends whom I visited in Amsterdam recommended Zaanse Schans, so I boarded a public bus at Centraal Station early on a cloudless, sunny morning and headed for the village.

The ride took a bit longer than 20 minutes, but that was because I boarded a bus that did not go all the way to my destination, and had to change to a second bus midway in the ride. The trip was interesting as it gave me a chance to see some of Amsterdam away from the renowned historical center of the city. Unfortunately, during the trip, clouds rolled in and quickly hid the sun. Patches of blue remained, but the ominous gray clouds were accompanied by a blustery, rather chilly wind and a definite threat of rain. With no umbrella and a windbreaker that would not keep me dry in anything more than a light drizzle, I set off rather nervously from the bus stop on my walk to and around Zaanse Schans.

The village is beautiful, and the old windmills and other examples of traditional architecture are fascinating to look at up close. That said, the area has something of the feel of a village “manufactured” for tourists, of the sort you can see near, for instance, Sapa in northern Vietnam. In fact in an effort to preserve examples of historical Dutch architecture and construction, the homes, shops and some of the windmills (two are in their original locations) that make up Zaanse Shanse were moved from other parts of northern Holland to create the village. This preservation effort occurred in the 1960s and 70s, and eventually the protected area that makes up Zaanse Schans was developed into a tourist destination that nowadays attracts more than two million visitors per year. Some of the buildings are occupied by shops catering to tourists, and there are tours of windmills and a cheese making workshop. The homes in the village are, however, occupied by residents and not open to visitors.

I walked around exploring and taking photos of the relatively small area for about an hour and a half. I even saw a man in yellow wooden shoes. He went through a door too quickly for me to get a photo, but not fast enough to prevent me from wondering why anyone would walk around in footwear that looks so uncomfortable.

When I began my walk just before 8:30, there were still not many visitors and the places offering tours were not open. I had planned to look inside a windmill and visit the Zaanse Schans museum next to the village before heading back to Amsterdam. In the end I went into a cheese making workshop, but that was it. Once inside I did not pay much attention the cheese making process, instead spending my time eying the huge wheels of Gouda and trying to convince myself I could fit one in my carry-on suitcase for the trip home. Keep in mind, that carry-on was my only suitcase for the three and a half week trip; I learned long ago to travel light. Be that as it may, reason prevailed and I did not return home with several thousand calories of cheese that my waist line absolutely does not need.

As for going in to a windmill or the Zaanse Schans museum, it turned out I was still subject to a fickle weather day. When I first arrived there was a gray, threatening sky and blustery wind, which gave way to warm sunshine and puffy white clouds, then finally to more clouds and the threat of rain again around 10:00. Unprepared for rain as I was, I decided not to take a chance, and headed to the bus stop and a bus back to Centraal and lunch. It did finally rain for awhile in the late afternoon of that day, and I did get a little wet before escaping to my hotel room. But, all in all, it was an excellent travel day.

Copenhagen’s Unique Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli’s Chinese pagoda and a roller coaster loop that turns people on their heads.

On the Vietnam Airlines flight to Denmark, I sat next to a Swedish man returning to Stockholm via Copenhagen from a business trip to Vietnam. We got into a rambling conversation ranging from his involvement with a startup business that recycles discarded pieces of synthetic fabrics that are cut away in the production of garments to life in Vietnam, the decline of the United States in the hands of malevolent fascists, to things to do in Copenhagen.

The company he works for has been created around some useful ideas, a reminder to me that there are literally thousands of niches in our mass consumption, growth-is-always-good global economy for businesses with ideas that make life on earth a bit less wasteful and a bit more sustainable.

But his thoughts on things to see in Copenhagen were of more immediate value to me. Among other places, he recommended I visit Tivoli which, as I understood his brief description, not entirely accurately as it turned out, was a beautiful space enclosing an amusement park.

No rides for me. I’m headed for a table and an icy cocktail in a tall glass.

On my second day in Copenhagen I set out around 7:00 am and walked over to Tivoli Gardens only to find the place would not open until 11:00, and when it did, I would need a ticket costing around $23 to go in. I returned late afternoon on my third day, and after buying my ticket and entering the Gardens, I discovered that Tivoli is indeed a beautiful place which features far more than an amusement park that requires a fee to enter. In addition to more than two dozen amusement rides inside the park (each of which requires the purchase of another ticket), Tivoli Gardens also has: a wide variety of restaurants and eateries within, ranging from several restaurants with Michelin stars to a food court serving different kinds of street foods; replicas of a Chinese pagoda (that looks more Japanese to me) and a Moorish palace; regular music, theatre and dance performances, as well as events for kids; and a very pricey five star hotel on the grounds if you are interested in spending a night or two.

When you’ve had enough walking, there’s plenty of places for a drink or a meal.

A ticket to enter the park, plus a few rides, and then drinks and dinner, an outing to Tivoli can turn into an expensive day in no time, especially for a family. Though there are various ticket deals varied to what people want to do during their visits. And there is an annual pass ticket for locals who are likely to visit Tivoli several times during the year.

The five-star Nimb Hotel is inside the Moorish palace.

As for me I spent a couple of hours walking around on a beautifully sunny and warm early June afternoon soaking in the sights and the ambience. I came across a gathering of people watching a broadcast on a huge outdoor screen. I stopped to listen to the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, a 40ish woman named Sisse Marie Welling of the Green Left party, talking with a hot shot from Michelin about Copenhagen’s efforts to turn itself into the foodie capital of Europe. Sure. Why not?

While the city’s goal did little to inspire, it did get me thinking about having a proper dinner at one of the many restaurants in Tivoli Gardens. After spending some time reading restaurant reviews, I ended up in a place called Paafuglen that serves Danish cuisine. I did the works: an aperitif, first course of seasonal white asparagus in a creamy sauce, a main of baked haddock with new potatoes and washed down with a bottle of piss elegant sparkling water, ice cream for dessert, and finally coffee. It was a delicious, memorable dinner, the service was impeccable, and it was not cheap.

Tivoli Gardens, a unique, delightful place that was absolutely worth the price of admission.

The Old Town Hall, Ribe, Denmark

The old town hall of Ribe pictured in part here is in the center of the old village near the town square and Ribe Cathedral. The original town hall on this site was built in 1496, though it is not clear to me whether the building pictured here is the original structure or a newer one. Today the old town hall houses a museum that I did not visit and occasionally hosts local weddings.

Mostly I like the colors and textures in this image: the wall with old and new red brickwork, the wooden door with its wrought iron decorations, granite foundation stones of grays and browns, and cobblestones in the foreground. The street light in front of the building casts a shadow giving the image depth.

Copenhagen’s Iconic Nyhavn Canal

The iconic – or cliche – it’s your choice – photo of Copenhagen invariably shows a row colorful buildings along the Nyhavn. I had always assumed that Nyhvan was a Copenhagen neighborhood featuring a lot of colorful architecture. As usual, on this trip, I did not do enough homework about the places I would visit before showing up at the scene. In fact Nyhvan is a canal commissioned by the Danish King Christian V and completed in 1675. The Nyhvan let ships unload trade goods and fish in Kongens Nytrov (Kings Square), an area at the end of the canal also developed by Christian V, who did a great deal to expand Copenhagen during his reign. In any event, it is only the roughly 300m waterfront of the Nyhvan Canal that is lined with colored buildings and this appears to be the only place such buildings are to be found in Copenhagen.

Over time, as ocean-going ships became larger, only smaller ships engaged in local trade came into the canal. By the mid-20th century even this trade had declined and there were no ships visiting Nyhavn. Efforts to revitalize the canal began in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, in addition to traditional buildings of many colors, there are several old sailing vessels moored to the piers along the waterway. The entire Nyhavn canal area serves as a sort of outdoor museum for Copenhagen.

My own Nyhavn colorful buildings cliche photo was taken on a gray, overcast morning; the light was very flat. If I had been paying more attention to content and less to exposure and color in the flat light, I probably would have chosen a group of buildings that did not include a Chinese restaurant. The place seems a little incongruous in a photo that is supposed to be representative of traditional Copenhagen.

I took the photo below with my back to the buildings in the photo above. It shows some of the sailing ships docked in the canal, and gives more sense of the overall look of the Nyhavn area. This was taken on the day after my first visit to Nyhavn. I stopped briefly on my way to another part of Copenhagen to get a photo of the old boats docked along the canal. The morning offered up some hazy sunlight that gives the entire scene a bit of a glow.

The Belfry of Bruges, Belgium

Belgium just happens to be on my mind right about now, so I decided to take a break from Denmark and the Danes today.

Bruges was the first city in northern Europe visited by merchant vessels from Genoa in the 13th century, becoming the endpoint of seaborne trade going through the Straits of Gibraltar, along the eastern Atlantic coastline, and through the English Channel to the low countries in the north. Today much of the center of old Bruges is a beautifully preserved UNESCO World Heritage site drawing tourists from all over Europe. The Belfry, visible from everywhere in the old city, stands in the Grote Markt in the center of Bruges.

As for Belgium being on my mind, I just finished watching that country’s national team defeat the US team 4 to 1 in a World Cup football match. While I sympathize with the US players who now have to come to terms with being beaten and knocked out of the World Cup competition, I can’t say I am put out or upset that the US lost. Given the performance of the garbage representing our country right now, the US does not deserve to win any accolades these days. It is as simple as that.

Belgium moves on to a Quarterfinal match with Spain on 11 July.

Mỹ Sơn: Legacy of the Cham People

About one hour to the west of Hoi An, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mỹ Sơn, was an important religious center of the Cham people. The earliest Cham settlements in what is now central and southern Vietnam date back to the 3rd century CE. At some point early in their history, the Cham came into contact with Hinduism and adopted some variant of that religion. While there is debate about the extent to which the Cham in Vietnam were a unified kingdom, there is no question that Cham polities functioned throughout much of Vietnam for hundreds of years. They were traders and seafarers – Hoi An was originally a Cham port city and trading center – who developed a sophisticated civilization that presented formidable challenges to the Vietnamese living in the northern part of today’s Vietnam. For many years, there were ongoing conflicts and wars between the Cham and the Vietnamese. As the Vietnamese moved south, they eventually overran the Cham and absorbed their culture, though it was not until the 19th century that the last Cham enclaves were subdued.

Vietnamese friends have told me that the Cham people have been completely assimilated into the Vietnamese nation. While I suspect that is largely true, I have read that there is still a small, distinctly Cham ethnic minority in the country. How and to what extent Cham culture and customs have influenced the development of Vietnamese culture, I simply do not know enough about the very complex history of interaction between to two peoples to comment.

I have made two trips to My Son. The first time I went, it was a cloudy gray day. The second time I went, it was a cloudy and raining gray day. The photo above is from my second visit in November of 2024.

Temple on a Mountainside, Kyoto

Located in the foothills around Mt. Otowa to the east of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera Temple overlooks modern Kyoto. The temple was established in 788 CE during Japan’s Nara period, and affiliated with the venerable Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism. Today, the monks caring for Kiyomizu-dera belong to the Kita-Hosso sect. Taken from the balcony of one of the smaller halls, this image shows the temple’s Main Hall and the pagoda in the entrance area on the far right with the city of Kyoto in the distance.

The West Gate is in the foreground with the temple’s pagoda directly in back. I am facing due east at 9:00am on an overcast morning. Why I have no photo of the larger, more impressive main gate to Kiyomizu-dera just to the left of where I am standing to take this photo is absolutely beyond me. I do, however, have a photo showing part of the main gate taken from inside the entrance with Kyoto in the distance. To the west, some blue sky has broken through the clouds.

For awhile it appeared that the day would become bright and sunny as the photos of the pagoda above and, below, of the West Gate from inside the entrance to Kiyomizu-dera suggest.

Kiyomizu-dera’s Main Hall sits on a steep incline and is supported by a wooden trellis that sets the building’s platform some 13 meters above the base of the incline below. My photo of the Main Hall does not really do justice to the building itself because I am distracted by the size of the crowd on the platform. It is no surprise that crowds of people want to visit a site like Kiyomizu-dera with its magnificent examples of Japanese temple architecture in a beautiful setting offering breathtaking views of its surroundings. I am taking the photo below at 9:45 in the morning on any old Tuesday in October. The crowd is bound to be larger by midday, and one can only imagine what happens on weekends or holidays. It is no wonder that some locales are instituting reservation systems that allow access at a specific time on a given day for popular sites with high volumes of visitors. If they are not in Japan already I would not be at all surprised to see such reservations systems arriving soon in Kyoto and elsewhere in the country. With literally billions of people able to afford relatively low-cost flights and budget tours, the problem of unsustainable over-tourism is not likely to get better in the foreseeable future.

A short way up the hillside from the main temple area, this small pagoda overlooks the Main Hall. By this time the clouds had returned and there was not much sunshine left. I did not make it all the way to the pagoda, instead turning to head down to the Otowa Waterfall at the base of the incline with the Main Hall at the top. Water is indeed falling from three pipes into a small pool, though Otowa is not what we generally think of as a waterfall. Be that as it may, Wikipedia tells us that Kiyomizu-dera means “pure water temple.” Those who drink a cupful of water from the falls are purified. I decided a single cup was unlikely to meet my needs for purification and kept on walking.

Despite the crowds of people, there were quiet spots and moments of peace for contemplation throughout the temple area.

The Japanese Bridge in the Evening

After weeks of endless cloudy days and rain, yesterday was dry, sunny and gorgeous, offering a perfect opportunity for a dinnertime stroll through the Hoi An Old Town. The recently refurbished Japanese Bridge – it was built in the 16th century by a community of Japanese traders living in the area – looks great, all clean and shiny and lit up in the evening.