Wow, this weekend I have been working like hell... but not in ESTEC, at home checking flights. Naoko will come and visit me next February for one month and we wanted to go to Egypt for around 10 days. I have been checking the web for cheap prices, going to travel agencies... to get the best deal. By the way, it wasn't at the travel agency where I got it... they asked 1500 euros for 10 days in Egypt!! Incredible... i am still laughing. Actually, i got it much much cheaper.
Well, it is not only about egypt why i am writing this post. The next months are going to be hectic. Some conferences deadlines around Feb/March and too much travelling. This is the summary:
Beginning of Feb: carnival in Maastricht
Mid-Feb: weekend in Spain
End of Feb: weekend in Ireland
Beginning and Middle of March: Egypt
End of March: Eastern vacation (I still have to figure out what to do...)
Beginning of April: weekend in Prague
End of April: possibly London again
And that's it... I really think it is too much. I feel like an exchange student who has a limited time to visit Europe before coming back to his country. Actually, all this started in November when I noticed I was really leaving Europe for some years. In fact, as I already told you, I will go for a PhD in either the US or Japan. And that will be in September. And after that, I don't think I have the time to travel that much. Therefore, I had only some months left to visit as much of Europe as possible. I made a shortlist of the cities and countries I wanted to visit, which was:
- Berlin
- Portugal
- Ireland
- Vienna
- Prague
- Budapest
- Athens
- Egypt (well, i know it is not Europe but it is closer to Europe than to any other continent I am going to! ;-)
- Copenhagen
As you can see, I have managed to visit or book flights for almost all those places! It looked a really ambitious list at the beginning and I thought about cutting it down... but finally, Copenhagen is the only place I might not go to. I will go to Athens and to Vienna/Budapest in May, June or July. That is almost for sure! If I am not tired of travelling by then!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Something about books
As I have mentioned some times before, I do not want this blog to become a blog only about travelling... and the last posts are pretty much about that though. Therefore, now I will talk a bit about miscellaneous things.
The first one is about reading. Rikel has talked several times in his blog about the 50 books in a year challenge. That means reading a book every week (more or less), which is quite ambitious! However, since mid August I have been reading at that rhythm. I have read many books recently. Therefore, I have decided I am going to keep a record of the books I have been reading from the beginning of the year. For the moment, I have already read 2 books, even though I was travelling until 4th January. The books I have read are:
- "South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami (in Spanish)
- "The trial" by Franz Kafka (in Spanish)
The first of the two books was superb. I read my first book by Murakami last year (it was "Tokyo Blues. Norwegian Wood") and I got completely hypnothized by it until I finished it. Really good! His language is fluent and not too complex, but some sentences and reflexions are simply so good, so clever. It makes your feelings arise and your wits be alert for the next big statement!
The second book is a classic among classics I had been wanting to read for a very long time. It is one of Kafka's most famous books. It is a posthumous novel and therefore, unfinished. It looks like a collection of chapters not properly linked. And the final chapter is too short, like if it had been written on a rush. It is necessary to know Kafka's biography to understand it properly. The book is fantastic. It is about a man who is arrested and who has a process started against him. However, he is not aware of anything he has done wrongly... and nobody can tell him why he is being processed! The whole situation is so absurd. Besides, the precision in his language makes the situations are grotesque at some point. It reminded me of the "esperpento" by the Spanish writer Valle-Inclan (in "Luces de Bohemia" for instance). The whole situation seems strange but the poor man cannot do anything to stop the on-going process. Finally, he ends up giving up. It is a really strong critism about bureaucracy and law. Fantastic. It is a pitty this guy died so soon. When I was at high school, I read "Methamorphosis", and it looked to me as a very strange book. I should read it again soon to compare what is my feeling towards it at the moment. It is interesting to check how the meaning and significance of a book can change when read at different points of your life.
The next book I will read is "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami again (in English). I will keep you informed. Good night out there!
The first one is about reading. Rikel has talked several times in his blog about the 50 books in a year challenge. That means reading a book every week (more or less), which is quite ambitious! However, since mid August I have been reading at that rhythm. I have read many books recently. Therefore, I have decided I am going to keep a record of the books I have been reading from the beginning of the year. For the moment, I have already read 2 books, even though I was travelling until 4th January. The books I have read are:
- "South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami (in Spanish)
- "The trial" by Franz Kafka (in Spanish)
The first of the two books was superb. I read my first book by Murakami last year (it was "Tokyo Blues. Norwegian Wood") and I got completely hypnothized by it until I finished it. Really good! His language is fluent and not too complex, but some sentences and reflexions are simply so good, so clever. It makes your feelings arise and your wits be alert for the next big statement!
The second book is a classic among classics I had been wanting to read for a very long time. It is one of Kafka's most famous books. It is a posthumous novel and therefore, unfinished. It looks like a collection of chapters not properly linked. And the final chapter is too short, like if it had been written on a rush. It is necessary to know Kafka's biography to understand it properly. The book is fantastic. It is about a man who is arrested and who has a process started against him. However, he is not aware of anything he has done wrongly... and nobody can tell him why he is being processed! The whole situation is so absurd. Besides, the precision in his language makes the situations are grotesque at some point. It reminded me of the "esperpento" by the Spanish writer Valle-Inclan (in "Luces de Bohemia" for instance). The whole situation seems strange but the poor man cannot do anything to stop the on-going process. Finally, he ends up giving up. It is a really strong critism about bureaucracy and law. Fantastic. It is a pitty this guy died so soon. When I was at high school, I read "Methamorphosis", and it looked to me as a very strange book. I should read it again soon to compare what is my feeling towards it at the moment. It is interesting to check how the meaning and significance of a book can change when read at different points of your life.
The next book I will read is "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami again (in English). I will keep you informed. Good night out there!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Berlin IV. The other places
In other to wrap up the series of posts on our visit to Berlin last December, I will show you some photos of other interesting places we went to and I have not commented on them yet.
For example, the German Parliament, the Reichstag. It was remodeled by the famous architect Norman Foster and his main contribution to the building is its glass dome from where the congress men and women can be seen while they are debating.
Not far away, and next to Brandembrug Gate, the Holocaust Memorial can be found. It is a collection of concrete blocks of different sizes and localized on a wavy ground. It creates uncertainty on the people who go through it... At every corner, and this is every two meters, you can crash with people coming in the perpendicular direction... it is also quite oppresive... many people compare it to a graveyard.
In Berlin, there are also many flea markets, like this one we went to. It looked like a lot of rubbish was being sold... :P
For the cultural tourists, and specially for those interested in churches, there is a square downtown where there are two twin cathedrals. They are one in front of the other and are exactly similar. When we were there, there was a Xmas market in the middle of the square.
Another of the most beautiful places in Berlin is the cathedral together with the television tower which can be seen from all the city. That tower is next to Alexanderplatz. Actually, wherever you are in Berlin, you can see the tower and you think averywhere is near... it kind of makes the city smaller than it actually is!
Finally, the cathedral is connected to the parliament and the Brandemburg Gate by means of a famous avenue called Unter den Linden ("under the lime trees", "bajo los tilos"). The trees there were gorgeously illuminated... where is the Kyoto Protocol? I think everybody forgets about it around Xmas... if not all along the year...
And that is all for Berlin. After all these posts, I think you can get an idea what it looks like!
For example, the German Parliament, the Reichstag. It was remodeled by the famous architect Norman Foster and his main contribution to the building is its glass dome from where the congress men and women can be seen while they are debating.
Not far away, and next to Brandembrug Gate, the Holocaust Memorial can be found. It is a collection of concrete blocks of different sizes and localized on a wavy ground. It creates uncertainty on the people who go through it... At every corner, and this is every two meters, you can crash with people coming in the perpendicular direction... it is also quite oppresive... many people compare it to a graveyard.
In Berlin, there are also many flea markets, like this one we went to. It looked like a lot of rubbish was being sold... :P
For the cultural tourists, and specially for those interested in churches, there is a square downtown where there are two twin cathedrals. They are one in front of the other and are exactly similar. When we were there, there was a Xmas market in the middle of the square.
Another of the most beautiful places in Berlin is the cathedral together with the television tower which can be seen from all the city. That tower is next to Alexanderplatz. Actually, wherever you are in Berlin, you can see the tower and you think averywhere is near... it kind of makes the city smaller than it actually is!
Finally, the cathedral is connected to the parliament and the Brandemburg Gate by means of a famous avenue called Unter den Linden ("under the lime trees", "bajo los tilos"). The trees there were gorgeously illuminated... where is the Kyoto Protocol? I think everybody forgets about it around Xmas... if not all along the year...
And that is all for Berlin. After all these posts, I think you can get an idea what it looks like!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Berlin III. Berlin Wall
The third article about Berlin will talk about the Berlin Wall, one of the most famous elements of the city. The wall was built in 1961 during the worst moments of the Cold War, to separate the areas occuppied from Soviets from the areas occuppied by the Western powers at the time. Besides, it cut the city in two areas, breaking appart families, friendships... It is without any doubt one of the most infamous creations of the human being. Anyway, since it fell in 1989, it is still there to tell us what should not be done. The wall surrounds all Western Berlin and passed by the Bradenburg Gate. It was not a wall, but two with a contention zone in the middle. The Bradenburg Gate, the symbol of Berlin and Germany, stayed in that contention area for 28 years! Nobody from Berlin could see it for all that time...
Now, there are remainings of the walls in several areas of the city. These are the most important (or at least i think so...):
- Downtown, between the Holocaust Memorial and CheckPoint Charlie:
- Postdammer Platz. There are still a several pieces of the wall in the middle of the street. This square is the symbol of modern Berlin and it was in the contention zone until 1989!
- East Side Gallery. This is the longest remaining part of the wall. It extends for several kilometers and has been painted by artists, some of them famous. We walked along it for a while and these are some of the most interesting paintings we saw.
The last two pictures are courtesy of Jorjaibjes.
Now, there are remainings of the walls in several areas of the city. These are the most important (or at least i think so...):
- Downtown, between the Holocaust Memorial and CheckPoint Charlie:
- Postdammer Platz. There are still a several pieces of the wall in the middle of the street. This square is the symbol of modern Berlin and it was in the contention zone until 1989!
- East Side Gallery. This is the longest remaining part of the wall. It extends for several kilometers and has been painted by artists, some of them famous. We walked along it for a while and these are some of the most interesting paintings we saw.
The last two pictures are courtesy of Jorjaibjes.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Berlin II. Tacheles
In Berlin, near one of the main metro stations, Friedrichstrasse, you can find one of the most surprising things we came accross in that city. It is a shopping mall turned into a squat! It is called Tacheles. The whole building together with the surroundings has been squatted and inside there are concert rooms, artists painting modern art and any other kinds of underground art. At night, this place gets full of people willing to party, but we couldn't make for it... time is too limited... always...
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Happy New Year 2008!
Happy New Year to everyone! It has been a long time without updating my blog but it has an explanation: I have been on holidays in Spain for almost 3 weeks and I have come back to the Netherlands just this morning. Therefore, I haven't have any free time to write here. Sorry.
But the situation is going to change... Now I have many things to talk about: I have to wrap up the summary of my trip to Berlin, I have to talk about Xmas somehow and I have also been to Porto in Portugal recently! All this will come soon.
First of all, I had a really nice dinner with my university friends in Valencia around 27th Dec. To that dinner, Rikel, Mifergi, Rafi, Marcos and Rollorod could make it. Pedgo and Tonaka could not come for different reasons and Gerard was with us for a while at Roberto's pub, so we could meet him for a while. "Chavales, hay que repetir la cena!! y ya no habra excusas! tenemos que ir todos la proxima vez a liarla!"
Now, of course, some photos I took during the dinner:
But the situation is going to change... Now I have many things to talk about: I have to wrap up the summary of my trip to Berlin, I have to talk about Xmas somehow and I have also been to Porto in Portugal recently! All this will come soon.
First of all, I had a really nice dinner with my university friends in Valencia around 27th Dec. To that dinner, Rikel, Mifergi, Rafi, Marcos and Rollorod could make it. Pedgo and Tonaka could not come for different reasons and Gerard was with us for a while at Roberto's pub, so we could meet him for a while. "Chavales, hay que repetir la cena!! y ya no habra excusas! tenemos que ir todos la proxima vez a liarla!"
Now, of course, some photos I took during the dinner:
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Berlin (I)
Well, the winter seems to have frozen my blog and my energy... these days I do not feel very much in the mood to write lenghty posts, it must be the cold weather in the Netherlands. Anyway, I have an obligation with you, my readers, and I should tell you about my last trip. This time it was Berlin!
When I decided to organize a trip to Berlin with some friends, I did not really know what there was there appart from the Brandenburg gate, the wall or other World War II historical elements... the rest of the city, I expected it to be just like any other German city I had been to. However, once there, I was quite surprised! So far, I had only been in cities from Federal Germany... and Berlin was in the Democratic Germany side of the country before the fall of Berlin's wall and the reunification. Therefore, the main influences in the city are from eastern Europe... Actually, this city reminded me of Moscow or even Helsinki. This also had an influence on the people and buildings. The underground scene in Berlin is pretty well developed, not only in clubs or music, but also in clothes, graffitis in buildings or even squats! One of these days I will post some pictures from Tachelles, a complete shopping mall which has been turned into squats! There are rock shows, artists' exhibitions and other stuff going on there. Cool!
So, in general, Berlin is cool! Berlin mola as Tonaka would say ;-)... well, he did actually already say that!
Now, let's proceed with some photos!
First, as it could not be otherwise, the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of Berlin and even Germany. You can find it in 10, 20 and 50 euro cents coins. Hehe...
And also the infamous Berlin's Wall:
Checkpoint Charlie, a control point between the two sides of the city which has a lot of history (check in Wikipedia), such as the tanks crisis which was about to unleash WWIII...
Of course, being in Germany, what else could we do but drinking nice beer! :)
And one of the twin cathedrals with the Xmas market in the square. Berlin was full of Xmas markets that weekend!
Detail of a graffitti in the part of the Wall in Postdammerplatz.
And this is the most modern thing in the city, the gorgeous Sony Center, a complex with shops, cinemas and Sony stores...
And at night back to Brandenburg Gate.
I will continue posting something more in the coming days!
When I decided to organize a trip to Berlin with some friends, I did not really know what there was there appart from the Brandenburg gate, the wall or other World War II historical elements... the rest of the city, I expected it to be just like any other German city I had been to. However, once there, I was quite surprised! So far, I had only been in cities from Federal Germany... and Berlin was in the Democratic Germany side of the country before the fall of Berlin's wall and the reunification. Therefore, the main influences in the city are from eastern Europe... Actually, this city reminded me of Moscow or even Helsinki. This also had an influence on the people and buildings. The underground scene in Berlin is pretty well developed, not only in clubs or music, but also in clothes, graffitis in buildings or even squats! One of these days I will post some pictures from Tachelles, a complete shopping mall which has been turned into squats! There are rock shows, artists' exhibitions and other stuff going on there. Cool!
So, in general, Berlin is cool! Berlin mola as Tonaka would say ;-)... well, he did actually already say that!
Now, let's proceed with some photos!
First, as it could not be otherwise, the Brandenburg Gate, symbol of Berlin and even Germany. You can find it in 10, 20 and 50 euro cents coins. Hehe...
And also the infamous Berlin's Wall:
Checkpoint Charlie, a control point between the two sides of the city which has a lot of history (check in Wikipedia), such as the tanks crisis which was about to unleash WWIII...
Of course, being in Germany, what else could we do but drinking nice beer! :)
And one of the twin cathedrals with the Xmas market in the square. Berlin was full of Xmas markets that weekend!
Detail of a graffitti in the part of the Wall in Postdammerplatz.
And this is the most modern thing in the city, the gorgeous Sony Center, a complex with shops, cinemas and Sony stores...
And at night back to Brandenburg Gate.
I will continue posting something more in the coming days!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
... And inside the Imperial Palace
This is the second part of my photo walk around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo... as in the previous one, I will just put the photos and a short description ;-) This time, the photos are within the Imperial Palace, in the public gardens.
A perfect example of modern and old Japan: skyscraper together with a traditional guard post.
Leaves were turning to redish and brownish colours
Strange building next to the remainings of Edo castle. Doesn't look Japanese at all!
Big open area where to sit and relax. The remainings of Edo Castle at the back...
Water and walls between the inner and outer citadels
Enjoying a beautiful Japanese garden!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Photo walk around the Imperial Palace
This time in Tokyo, I had the feeling sunsets in Japan are extremely beautiful. Judge by yourselves!
Outer walls of the Imperial Palace
Tokyo Tower at the end of the street, just behind Hibiya
Beautiful outer park of the Imperial Palace
Buildings around Tokyo Station
Nihonbashi
Sunset just out of the Imperial Palace Outer Park
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
My photo with Pedro Duque
During my stay at ISU, Chiaki Mukai, a Japanese astronaut and resident professor of ISU, invited some astronaut friends to our campus. Steven Smith came from NASA and Pedro Duque from ESA.
Being Spanish, to meet Pedro Duque was quite an experience for me! Recently, during my stay in Japan, Estefania sent me this photo in which the Spanish students at ISU MSS06 appear together with Pedro.
Thanks Estefania!
Being Spanish, to meet Pedro Duque was quite an experience for me! Recently, during my stay in Japan, Estefania sent me this photo in which the Spanish students at ISU MSS06 appear together with Pedro.
Thanks Estefania!
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