Midnight Special reviewed

Midnight Special saw limited release beginning March 18th.  I think it was mid-March when I began hearing things about this movie on the talk circuit, and by things, I mean almost nothing other than, "Don't learn about the movie.  Just go see it."  This message was also pervasive in the glimpses of advertising I saw as March 18th arrived.  So I looked up to see where I could enjoy Midnight Special in the comfy confines of a neighborhood movie theater.


It turns out, I couldn't.  At least not easily.  Limited release meant about 30 movie theaters around the country (tops), with the closest one being in Atlanta, Georgia.  This was pretty frustrating and I contemplated driving the six and a half hours (each way) to go see it.  I always figured I could visit my buddy, Jim, while I was up there, and maybe talk him into seeing it with me.  With the weekend of March 18th already upon me when I realized all of this, I felt it really couldn't work (if I decided to do it) until the following weekend.  When March 25th came, I struggled to really justify spending that much time and energy to see a movie I knew nothing about.  I checked local theaters and still found nothing available.  So, I passed on it again.


Apparently, it had a wide release on April 1st, but I'm not buying that.  I had looked and looked again, and there was still nothing in all of Orlando.  I resigned myself to the ever strengthening facts being placed before me: this movie was going to come and go, and I will miss it, and then I will need to further wait until it comes out for home release.

Having given up all hope on seeing Midnight Special, I set out Friday to check movie times for The Jungle Book (live-action, directed by Jon Favreau).  Are you ready for it... The Jungle Book does not come out until April 15th.  Yup.  I do not know where my head is at (I do, actually.  Busy at work).

But...wait for it...Midnight Special was in the theater!  So, I set my plans in motion to see it this past Sunday morning.

Image courtesy of Tri-State Pictures/ Warner Bros.

You're probably ready for the actual review by now.  Here it comes.  Finally.

Midnight Special, directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter), is both easy and difficult to describe.  Mainly because I don't want to spoil anything.  I'll tell you about the easy part first.

All key events of the movie revolve around Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), Roy (Michael Shannon), Roy's friend, Lucas (Joel Edgerton), and Sarah (Kirsten Dunst).  There are people after Alton.  Weird things happen around Alton.  The US Government wants Alton, and especially FBI Agent Sevier (played by Kylo Ren--who, apparently, is really Adam Driver).  There are chases and cool sci-fi effects.  There is an ending.

That was the easy stuff.  Here is the difficult stuff.


This movie evoked feelings like Close Encounters of the Third Kind or E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial did.  Suspense, concern, fear, happiness, anger, confusion (at choices the characters made).  Not necessarily in that order.  I don't know what it will do for you, as I don't know what you have or have not seen.  The key characters in this movie all had stronger actors behind them.


Michael Shannon (as Roy) gave a gripping performance.  His role as General Zod (Man of Steel, 2013) is really all I know him for, sadly.  With that said, I didn't need to look any further than Man of Steel to see what sort of depth and character he can bring to a film.  His interactions on screen with Jaeden Lieberher's Alton always managed to show the concrete bond of their relationship.


I thought Jaeden Lieberher did a great job in St. Vincent (with Bill Murray, 2014) and he does another fine job here thrust into the role of Alton.  He takes us on a journey that when we first sit down in our seats, we don't know what we are in for, but we are enjoying it every step of the way.


Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, and Kirsten Dunst round out the main cast nicely, each bringing their characters to life in a way that is always believable in the myriad of circumstances they find themselves in.


This was not the best movie I have ever seen.  But I am putting it up there in ranking.  I think Jeff Nichols did a good job on the narrative, even if 100% of the plot might not feel fully fleshed-out.  I also think that David Wingo did a strong job on the movie's soundtrack, complimenting our emotions as the scenes unfold on the screen.


If you cannot handle a character-driven movie and need huge effects and an over-arching musical score to tell you how you should be feeling, with stereotyped characters doing the same things, then I would suggest you skip this movie.  Midnight Special may not be for you.


If you think things and people can sometimes be weird or misunderstood, this could be a movie for you.  If you can suspend belief in what you know, and open your mind to what you might not know, this could be a movie for you.  If you want to see a simple story unfold into something you haven't seen before, this could be a movie for you.  I just know I enjoyed Midnight Special.


I'm giving it:     8.5 out of 10

So Long (Europe), and Thanks for All the Fish

Pretty sure I mentioned Anna (next to me) and Louise were awesome

Well, time flew, as did I.  I am back in the US after a great flight from London Heathrow.  I love being in the USA. What we have to offer the world in terms of culture, geography, atmosphere, and activities is often fantastic; however, we are such a small part of the world that it is important to never forget there is a whole lot more out there.  Trips like this one help remind me of that.  I gain a bit of insight into somewhere else, and come away better for it.  I did have a few more nuggets of wisdom to share, so I thought I would put out a wrap-up post:

• There is no escaping Hipsters.  They are unfortunately everywhere.  I'm sure this trend won't stick around too long, but for everyone I spoke with, we all decided it has gone on long enough.
• Pub-style/ meat pies in London were awesome.  I didn't get out of London, so I imagine they are equally good all over England.  I pretty much could eat them all of the time.  That would be a problem, since I did a lot of walking everywhere the past ten days and managed to lose absolutely no weight while I was gone.
• Mind the Gap
• There were some very pretty girls in London.  There were also some girls that looked like dudes.  They appeared to equal each other out and provide some balance of attractiveness in this town.  Without having done an in-depth study, I suspect this sort of balance exists in many large towns but largely goes unnoticed.
• When you travel and stay in a hostel, it helps to know a bit of etiquette.  Like don't do a full-blown packing job the morning you are leaving if you are departing early.  Don't use something like a plastic Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud.  Don't leave a huge mess just because you don't have to clean it up.
• Above all, don't pack early in the morning using a Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud and take 90 minutes to do it, and then leave a huge mess behind like a convenience store unloaded its trash all around your beds when you are finished.  Anna, Louise, and I did not need to be told these things, but we were in our room listening to the Argentinian guys early yesterday morning before we were up and out the door ourselves.  I imagine all three of us wanted to just grab them and toss them out the door to speed it along.

I'm sure there are things I've inadvertently left out.  There are things I advertently left out, too.  But I've provided the gist of the trip over the past two weeks.  At the dawn of the day, I went where I set out to go and by dusk I had always found more than I ever expected.  If you think that sounds like a pretty good thing, then go somewhere.


Start by walking around your block or your city.  Get in your car and drive around your state or the one next door.  Close your eyes, point to a spot on a globe, and board a plane to cross an international border.  Just go.


But remember to Mind the Gap and take your towel.

Hogwarts, Here I Come!

I wasn't sure if I mentioned this, but one of my (guaranteed) goals while I was in London was to go to Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.  Why may that be, you ask?  Uh, because that is where they filmed all eight Harry Potter movies over ten years!  Sweet!

Yes.  I went on the Harry Potter studio tour, and it was awesome.  Be jealous!  But hold on while I start my day for you.

First, the morning started with a visit to Kensington Palace.  To be perfectly honest, the plan in my head went something like this after I arrived there:

1. William and Kate were here for the week instead of out at their main place in the country.
2. Pippa comes to visit her niece and nephew.
3. Pippa looks out some random window and sees me in my dashing scarf and clearly American looking jacket and haircut looking very dapper.
4. Pippa comes rushing out to talk to me and we totally hit it off.
5. We end up married and I become some in-law of the Royal family as the Duke of Awesomeness

All of that played out in my head in about the two minutes it took to wander up through the gates to the entrance.  Seriously.



Best to do it at a bit of a run, if you are nervous.
 

None of it came true, unfortunately.  This is probably a good thing as it would have hindered my ability to get to Leavesden for the Harry Potter tour this afternoon.  I guess it was for the best, as I ended up there in perfect time for my tour start.

This place was a blast!  If you are a fan, it is totally worth it.  The authenticity of everything really sets it apart from the great job they've done at Universal in Orlando (although there are no rides).  They put a lot of effort into how they've organized everything and really pulled it off.  You could spend a solid four hours there, and probably longer if you had kids who wanted to do the green screen effects.

Wrapped up there (it was a bit out of town) and hopped a quick train back to London St Pancras.  Some rally/ strike/ assembly was going on across from the station.  As I do in every country when I travel, I try to quickly move past any mobs and not get involved in anything.  Really is a best practice.  In fact, I do that in the USA also.

Had a nice low key evening grabbing dinner with Louise and Anna at Generator (the hostel).  I may not have mentioned them by name before, but you know them as the Awesome Danish Girls I've Spent Time With This Week (that whole thing is a title, which is why it is in capital letters).  Tom (my Australian drinking buddy from Camden Pub Crawl) joined us, as did our other Oz roomie, Rory.  Tom is around another night and will head out in London for Australia Day, while Rory is stuck travelling home all through it.  Louise and Anna head back to Copenhagen about the same time I have to head out, too.

Alas, this time has been far too short.  Trips usually are, it seems like.  I won't make this the end, though.  Since I'll have some time to kill at the airport, you can all expect an end-of-trip recap.  And a picture of Louise, Anna, and me.  Because they do exist.

Something Old, Something New

Pub crawl was a blast.  Overall, it was a pretty good value, as we got five free shots (one at each bar) included in the 15 Pounds charge to attend.  That amount also provided for skipping any lines and no cover charges--which we found out the last club we ended at had a 15 Pound cover charge.  It was sort of controlled chaos, but frustrations at the time to get a drink were kept to a minimum.  There was a down side, as two of our group booked the Pub Crawl for the wrong location online.  They had booked St. George and we were booked Camden.  Because Camden was sold out, they couldn't be included.  That put a bit of a damper on the evening.

It ended up being a long night and I don't think we wrapped up back at the hostel until about 3am.  That meant morning would come early and it did.  Which I didn't care about.  My plan was to meet up with Richard at 2pm.  You remember him, right?  My roommate from College Program 20 years ago.  I hopped a train out to Rochester Kent to meet him and got to meet his wife and daughter, too.  They left us at the train station so we could head into the village for "guy time".  This consisted of getting a chance to see the castle in town, which was pretty cool.  It stemmed from Henry III era.  And also the cathedral, which was in remarkable shape considering it was constructed in about 600 AD.  Ultimately, we succeeded in pounding down four pints in a couple of hours and I hopped my train back to London.

We barely got me back to the train on time from our last pint.  I hopped aboard almost as it was pulling out of the station.  We had a brief moment where we looked into each other's eyes.  We knew we would be okay and see each other again soon.  Very touching, I must say.  Realistically although the time was short, I am excited at the thought of seeing Richard and the family soon, since they will be visiting Florida next April.  I am trying to talk him into a Disney Cruise.

Dinner back in London consisted of some delicious pie and mash with the Danish girls and our new Australian roommate (Melbourne).  He has just wrapped up working here for 10 months and heads back home after the weekend.

It was nice to get a chance to hop out of London for an afternoon and see a bit of the country and smaller village of Rochester with Richard.  Which is the photo I'm leaving you here with.

Rochester Castle, with Rochester Cathedral in the background

London Bridge is not actually falling down

London Bridge *was* actually falling apart, which is how it ended up getting sold, moved, and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, AZ all around 45 years ago.  This new one did not have any severed heads on pikes to serve as a warning to would-be criminals and traitors.  It didn't seem to have a whole lot of anything, actually.  I walked across it yesterday and it kept me from falling into the Thames, so I guess it served its purpose.

So, here is a recap from the past 48 hours, since socializing last night was more important than writing:

• I have "Snow White" jotted down and I can't remember why.  Obviously it was from Disneyland Paris, but I'm drawing a blank what it was for.
• I have not yet seen Mary Poppins.  She would have quite a time getting into our room, since we don't have a window for her to fly in through.
• My train trip on Eurostar was pretty awesome.  It showed its record speed of about 207 mph.  We hit about 180 mph for most of the journey from Paris to London.  Nothing in the US comes even close to that.
• The bar here had an (aspiring) DJ a couple nights ago.  He was terrible.  I feel like he thought he was Afrojack, but I am pretty sure I could have done better mixing than he was.  Karaoke was worse, though.
• I remember about Snow White, now.  It was that they have what amounts to the original version of the black-light ride.  I can see how people always thought it was too scary for little kids.
• They have a newer liquor here called Jaegermeister Spice.  It was passingly okay.  I feel like it is meant for people that don't like Jaegermeister, as it wasn't quite as heavy on licorice flavor.

I just realized that I had already written about Snow White.  Now I don't know why I left it in my notes.  This is going to bug me.  Well, I'm not striking anything out, so I guess you've just read that stuff twice over the past few days.

I went to the Tower of London today, and that was pretty cool.  Crowds weren't too thick and weather stayed dry and about 50 degrees F.  I did the Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) tour.  Our Yeoman was John Donald and he was fantastic.  He has been doing it for just under two years.  I am sure they are all as good as he was, but since I don't know for sure, I would suggest checking to see if he is doing tours the day you go.  There is quite a bit of history surrounding the Tower and it was easy to spend hours out there.

There are a lot of free museums in town, but the Tower of London cost me $35.  I don't want to hear people complain about the prices Disney charges for admission.  I would pay this again though, as I think it was worth it.

I met up with Richard for lunch yesterday.  He was one of my old Vista Way (Disney College Program) roommates from 20 years ago.  He was nice and waited for me to find him as I visited every statue around the Houses of Parliament.  Because he told me to meet him by the statue.  In his defense, he actually was specific about which statue, and I just had forgot until I was running about 25 minutes late.  We went to a pretty good burrito place called Tortilla.  It pretty much appeared to be a Qdoba/ Chipotle ripoff, but was just as tasty.



View from atop The Monument

My day out in town wrapped up with a visit to The Monument to the Great Fire of London.  That is a mouthful, so it appears as The Monument everywhere.  You can actually trek to the top of the thing for some great city views and it was only 4 Pounds (London Eye is about 20 Pounds).  The down side is that it is steps.  I didn't know how many when I started up and there were no signs telling you how fare along you were, but I was beat when I got to the top.  I counted going down, which turned out to not be necessary.  They give you a little "Good Job" certificate informing you that you made it up 311 steps.  That is a lot of steps.

You already know how the rest of the evening went.  We got four new roommates yesterday, two German guys and two Danish girls.  The German guys went to eat at Shake Shack (crazy to think it is in London and they haven't even spread all over the US yet).  The Danish girls invited me with them to the bar here.  We shot some more pool, played foosball and somehow spent a good four hours in there.  Of the eight of us in our room, six of us have a pub crawl tonight.  The German guys are going to see 'Wicked'.  I applaud their thirst for culture.

Until tomorrow then, cheerio.

Tempus Fugit

You aren't getting today's events, because instead of writing this I spent the evening at the bar with two amazing Danish girls on an  awesome night.  Neither of the girls seemed to mind that I was a solid inch shorter than them.  Because all Scandinavians  are giants.  But I still win. Because I was out with Danish girls and you weren't.

And It Goes By The Name Of London

In all of my worldly travels,  I had never been to Britannia.  I am happy to announce at about 2pm local time I finally made it to England and I arrived in London on schedule at 2:40pm. Pretty exciting to be somewhere new internationally for the first time in almost three years.  I hardly know where to start.  And check this out: it was sunny today.  Plus it was about 15 degrees F warmer than I have experienced in a week.  It was like they were expecting me.

Very impressed with Generator London,  so far (my hostel). No smells that don't belong,  pleasant roommates,  great common areas.  Not grossly expensive.  In-house bar and restaurant.  Fast and free Internet.  I could get used to this.

I am sitting in the bar as I write this (3 quid pints of Guinness) and the bartender and I just watched two German guys go out a glass door that does not lead to the bathroom.  The bartender just told me that the hallway they went into goes nowhere and there are no handles to grasp to come back inside.  Sure enough,  about 45 seconds later we watch them walk back up and they are standing outside the door.  I am glad that didn't happen to me.

I expect to be meeting my Vista Way roommate from 20 years ago tomorrow for a pint and a bite. Walt Disney World College Program: Bringing people from around the world together for over 30 years.  Shameless plug--if you know anyone interested,  encourage them to do it Disney College Program

Okay.  I am wrapping this up.  Still at the bar. Apparently seven hours have passed.  There was a lot of billiards and a cool Australian dude named Anthony. I stand by my belief that the best travelers are Australians.  I am thinking of Katie and Miranda as I write this.  I can now add Anthony to the Melbourne list.

Wishing you were all here. Bach out. 

Versailles: Vanity knows no Bounds

If I walked around proclaiming myself to be awesome, as I so often do, then it would be sweet to build a palace to go along with that.  Since I have not built said palace, then perhaps I am not quite as awesome as I typically announce.  Yet, anyhow.  Apparently King Louis XIV was pretty awesome, because he went and had Versailles built over a couple of decades.  This isn't going to be a history lesson, so you can find out more here: Versailles: A pretty cool place

What this is going to be is a few things I thought were pretty cool during my day there.  But first, let's start with the not-so-cool.  My 50 minutes worth of train rides (only two of them) turned into almost 3 hours due to delays and incidents while waiting in the stations for both.  "Incident" was the only word I understood besides the station name I was heading to.  For all I knew, the incident was a cow crossing the tracks and got hit shutting things down for a while.  Or some sheep got lose and roamed all over the place.  There were plenty of those in the middle of the Palace grounds, too.  Like cow fields scattered around Orlando.  Eventually, the trains got me there and it was so easy to get around.

I think I'll use the bullet point summation again.  That worked well yesterday.  Here is what I learned:

• The first thing you see when you leave the station in Versailles is a McDonalds.  I love McDonalds, but even I thought this was pretty sad.  Maybe the reigning monarchs during that time really loved their Big Macs.
• I forgot to mention this in my not-so-cool things.  I got there and the place was closed.  Seriously--it had been open and then they briefly closed it.  They were only explaining why in French and I didn't care too much whatever the reason was.  Bottom line, as I have walked up the outer courtyard to get to the place and find this out, I felt like Clark pulling up to Wally World only to see that "Closed" sign around the moose's neck.  I was ready to punch someone in the face.
• I've just unintentionally referenced the Griswolds two times since I've been in Paris.  Weird.
• They have a really cool free audio soundtrack for the whole Palace.  You can play stuff on demand and there is also auto-starting features when you walk into some rooms.  I was pretty impressed with it and wondered where else it could be put to good use in tourist areas.
• The Palace of Versailles is ridiculously huge and extravagant.  I understand that is the whole point of the place, but it is staggering once you are in and walking around.
• Then you go out to the Gardens.  That just makes the Palace seem small in comparison.  The Gardens were amazing, and this is in the winter.  I can't imagine the sites and smells of the greenery and water in the spring and summer.
• The Trianon and Marie Antoinette's cottage were also remarkable.  You can learn about them through the same link above for Versailles.

Alright.  Time to run grab a drink.  I leave you with the photo of the day.  This is the Queen's toilet.  I am still not entirely sure how it works, but I do like the fireplace in the bathroom.


Royal bathroom: I don't know how you flush, but the fireplace in there is pretty sweet.

The Only Snow on Main Street Should be Man-made

Disneyland Paris is a pretty enjoyable park for the most part.  I spent the day there, at both Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park (their second gate).  It was a blast!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.



I know you can barely see it, but there is snow.

Remember the three Spaniards that I had in my room?  These little snots were the most obnoxious and inconsiderate travelers that I have ever encountered over a (roughly) 100 nights of hostel staying.  I am hoping their behavior is atypical for Spanish guys in general; however, it was bad enough that the Algerian and non-speaking dude moved rooms--as did I.  I guess none of us were about to wait around for a second night to see if they would kick them out.  They basically acted like they were in a private room--shouting, talking super loudly, eating and leaving trash on the floor, keeping the lights on pretty much through the night.  I thought non-speaking dude was going to go ballistic at one point.  The hostel totally had great common spaces for them to do all of this.  They just chose to do it in the room.  I was ready to shove them into their lockers and leave them.

But they got me in a new (and quieter) room right away this morning and then I was on my way to a chilly day in the theme parks.

As I sat on the suburban trains (RER) on my hour journey there, I decided to see if I could pronounce anything.  So, before we'd arrive at a station, I'd say how I thought it is pronounced.  Then, I'd hear them say it over the speaker as we pulled up to the station.  My record was two in a row.  I got about 17 wrong.  I think there were 20 stops.  I had a solid failure rate of 85%.  Not too shabby, if I was going for worst possible.  Even with this struggle, I managed to find my way to the parks.  Probably because it is at the end of the line.

I'm not going to regale you with the details of my whole day, but here are some take-aways:

• Apparently if you are a guy wearing a parka and it doesn't have a fur-lined hood, you are doing it wrong.  That is all the rage everywhere I've been so far.
• There is a shanty town in the woods right before you get to Disneyland Paris stop.  It was beyond unattractive, and certainly sad because of what it represents.  I can't image something like that along I-4 leading up to Disney World.
• Although selfie-sticks are banned, I lost count of how many people were using them.  I guess the Cast Members don't care.
• Speaking of not caring, they also don't care about where the smoking sections are, because they let people smoke everywhere.  Including in attraction lines.  I can't remember how long ago we allowed smoking in lines.  Decades now, I think.
• They had a really cute movie-mashup called Cinematique with Martin Short--and it wasn't all too old, so I guess that is still popular there (it was pretty packed).
• I forgot how much cooler their Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Caribbean are compared to ours back home.
• They still have the original Snow White ride there.  Man, it has to be scary for little kids still.
• They bundle ice cream with their meals in the quick service restaurants.  Which was awesome.
• There were snow flurries during the afternoon parade and on into the evening.  This was due to the fact that it was a brisk 29/30 degrees F all day while I was out there.  Those temps start wearing you down after a while.  Fortunately it wasn't breezy, at least.

I made my way home in one piece.  I tried to remember how the stations were pronounced.  I did marginally better than going there.  Tomorrow, it is off to Versailles.  Former home of some famous dudes and chicks who ruled France, or something.

Gare du Nord: The Armpit of Paris

Describing Gare du Nord as an armpit is a disservice to clean armpits that do not reek of body odor (BO).  That is because Gare du Nord smells worse than the foulest of armpits that have not had any deodorant and antiperspirant applied.  And that person chose to then walk for twenty miles in the jungle.  And then that person chose to take a dive into a compost pile that had an ample mixture of manure in it.  And then that person rolled around in the compost pile.  After *all* of that, the person gets out and gives you a big hug.

That is how this Paris train station makes you feel.  But, wait!  I bet your thinking, "No big deal, Chris.  You aren't staying in the train station, right?"  And no, I'm not staying in Gare du Nord.  That isn't enough though.  The smell of the sewer has permeated multiple blocks all around the station.  Forget the City of Light.  This is the City of Stink.

I persevere in my determination to pretend it doesn't exist as I sit and write this in St. Christopher's Inn (just down the street).  The hostel itself is great.  Attached bar.  Good prices.  Clean all the way around.  No axe-wielding psychos (refer to my post on why hostels are not like the movie Hostel for clarification).  I've got three Spaniards, an Algerian, and someone that I suppose could be mute or just antisocial.  This should be an interesting three nights.

The train trip in was great.  No problems out of Groningen and I caught the high-speed Thalys direct from Amsterdam Central to Paris.  Looking forward to the next couple of days.  Probably tucking in a day at Disney, since it's been 15+ years since I was there last.  Plus, I get in free.  So, I've got that going for me.  I've done a lot of the museums, Notre Dame, and many of the other "required" cultural stops.  That leaves me with a bit of free time.

I'll probably just go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and hit on chicks.  Maybe the breeze will keep the smell of desperation away.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

My Stay at Hostel DirkLein = 5 stars (out of 4)

As I get ready for bed, I am disappointed this is my last night staying at Hostel DirkLein.  Another super enjoyable day and it is clear the weekend with Catheleine and Dirk is just what I had hoped for.  We were all sort of bums and slept until noon, but that doesn't surprise me since we didn't crash last night until 3am.

They gave me breakfast!  With a real plate and glassware.  Pretty fancy for me, since I am used to wolfing down my Sausage McMuffin and throwing the trash in the nearest receptacle upon finishing.



It's the Netherlands.  So naturally there is a canal.

Since my plan was to be a local and absorb the culture, I did what any young Dutch male would do.  I sat on the couch and played video games with Dirk.  This lasted a bit before I struck out to walk around the city center.  Groningen has a great feel to it.  With a population of 200,000 it isn't too big or too small and they have quite a great variety of stores, eateries, and locales that probably all appeal to the (about) 32,000 students at the University here.  Being a college town gives it a boost, too.  Bottom line is that most European cities just seem to have a whole lot more charm than our own.

Side note: I was pretty excited there were some Christmas lights up still all over the city center and streets leading up to it.

I didn't know it when I snapped this picture, but we ended up having dinner at the establishment on the left with the Red/Blue lights on the building.  Apparently these lights are almost too tacky for Catheleine, as we just about skipped it for something less flashy.  A quick look through the window and we decided to brave it there.  It was a good choice--dinner was tasty and they had me try a Dutch staple--croquettes.  Sort of a fried mashed potato, I think.  I still am not sure, but they were yummy.  The menu was all in Dutch.  Please note this is not to be confused with croquet, which is an entirely different thing and obviously not a choice of food.

We rounded out the evening with a movie.  Check this out-- two Cokes and a large popcorn ran me $10.00 (barely even that).  The concession stand was like a quick-mart with non-ripoff pricing.  I imagine moviegoers in the US would do it more so if you could get that kind of pricing and choices in a theater.

I forgot to mention the weather.  It has been a brisk 20-35 degrees F each day.  While I was ready for it having checked out the forecast--I wasn't *really* ready for it.  And people were still riding their bikes for transportation.  Not just one or two, but all over, and not just students.  They had me freezing just watching them.

Alright.  Time to pack for the morning (early train) so I don't miss my transport to Paris.

On the Road Again

I totally lucked out on my long haul from Minneapolis to Amsterdam and had no one sitting next to me, so that was a plus.  The flight was pretty uneventful, but I did finally get to see Everest.  Watching it on an 8" screen was probably not as impressive as seeing it in a theater on the big screen, but I missed that window of opportunity when I chose to see Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials this past September ( I imagine I had some busy weeks which is why I didn't see them both).  Anyhow, as I mentioned I had an uneventful flight.  Coming into Amsterdam Schiphol on international flights is so easy and efficient, or at least always has been for me.  No sooner was I off my plane than I was on my train to Groningen (about 2h 15 min to the north).

The train wasn't bad.  Pretty much exactly like riding Metra into Chicago from out of town.  Except there weren't a bunch of guys listening to loud music and pounding down 40oz beers like they were going out of style.  Instead I had a guy sit next to me, who was no bigger than me, and somehow take up about 60% of the space of both of our seats combined.  How he managed to spill that much into my seat, I'll never know.  I know if I wasn't tired and jet lagged that I probably would have created an international incident.  Boy, did he get lucky.

Dirk picked me up at the train station.  You may remember Dirk from my travels four years ago to Istanbul.  He is now married to Catheleine (they were dating then).  Hylke and Marlies were with them on that trip.  If you don't remember, look back on this blog about the fantastic group from the Netherlands I got to meet.  I'm not going back over it now.

So, Dirk picks me up at the train station in his car.  The SMART car looks like a limo compared to the compactness of Dirk's vehicle we're in.  My knees were up to my chin and Dirk is probably about 6'4".  I try to imagine Sean in a vehicle like that and realize he would have to rip the front seat out and sit in the back to fit his 2 meter height.  Nevertheless, we get back and squeeze out to make our way to their awesome apartment.



Jochem is awesome!

They've been super gracious in letting me stay a couple nights with them in Groningen.  Completely love their place.  An awesome high-level floor apartment with great views over the city and across the street from work for them.  Plus--they have a really cute dog, Jochem (I had met him years ago, too).

They had a great plan for my first night--playing some poker and having some drinks.  This was a blast, as I really enjoyed getting to meet a bunch of their close friends.  I pretty much wish I could bring them all home to meet everyone back there--they are all that fun and enjoyable to be around.  Hylke was there, but Marlies couldn't make it, so that was a bit sad.  I don't expect this to be my last trip to the Netherlands, though.  That means there's always next time.

After drinks, cigars, and poker, I came out ahead 35 Euro by taking third place--which was a nice treat this evening.  I'd like to say I lost on purpose, so as not to be the American who came in and mopped the floor with them playing poker, but that isn't my style.  I lost because I had bad cards and I am not good at bluffing.

I've watched the first half of the Packer game.  I am just too tired to stay up and watch the second half.  I'm also too tired to keep writing away--and most of anything else would continue to be glowing praise for the people I've been surrounded with today.

I hope all of you have had as enjoyable day in the United States as I have had here.

What the?!? Where did two years go???

I'm sure none of you have really been asking yourselves where my blog postings have been.  But you probably should be.  I didn't even remember what account I had this stuff under.  Two years since I've written anything!  My last post was my review of The Wolf of Wall Street.  I stand by it.


I took a look over all of my old posts tonight, actually.  You know what?  I write some funny stuff.  So, I figured, why deprive you, Reader?  You've done nothing to deserve less of me in your life.

So,  what's prompted this resurgence?  It's travel time!  On the docket: Groningen, NL/ Paris/ London.  Delta was offering a great deal to fly on miles,  so I figured I would use some of mine that were banked.

I've buckled up and I'm ready to fly. I suggest you follow along with me and enjoy the nonsense.