beer – Jen Goes Rogue

By Jen Hawse on City Review, Europe tagged beer, Europe, love, reflection, travel

Spinning the Globe — Going from Vienna to Amsterdam

Hello followers! Last I left you we were in Hungary, sharing how Budapest wasn’t exactly as we’d expected. I don’t want to skip any of our journey, so let me share a word or two about each of the other European countries we spent time in during the past few months.

Vienna, Austria, is a sculpted masterpiece.

It’s in the top 5 most beautiful cities in the world for me

It’s as if the city streets themselves are a museum in Vienna. Details on the sculptures around the city are vibrant and create a story in your mind, capturing more than a stagnant moment. While here, Jason and I indulged in currywurst from street carts and ate apple strudel in memory of my dad. Viennese coffee has whipped cream on top, in case you wanted to know what indulgence tastes like. Nearly next to our hotel was a 50 tap craft beer bar that almost featured Flying Dog (they were out when we were there). While hanging by the bar we saw a guy wearing a Capitals sports team hat. Jason asked which sport the Capitals are and he said hockey. Fun! The US and Czech Republic seem to have the same idea for great team names. Ha! Travel magic.

One of the world’s oldest amusement parks

Vienna has one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and, while we didn’t ride any rides or play any games, it was a treat just to walk through this treasure. It was made in the days of World’s Fairs. Why don’t we do those anymore? Le Sigh.

Other Viennese activities including strolling by Freud and Mozart’s homes and going to a museum completely dedicated to globes of the world. It We only stayed a few days, with an entire evening spent mulling over whether we leave our shitty Airbnb or not, but that just meant we got to have a beer at an adorable bar and played “Let’s learn English!” with our bartender. She said/motioned that she had something that would make us more comfortable. What it was, we weren’t sure, but when she finally brought it out for us we told her it was a “seat cushion”. She laughed, waved her hand, and said that wasn’t a word she’d be remembering. I don’t blame her, how often do you use the words “seat cushion”? She was adorable and the bar was Native American themed, so all was right in the world.

Fried and fatty food delights! Apple streusel, pork schnitzel, and chicken cordon blue.

Krakow, Poland, is a craft beer lover’s haven.

Krakow is a city we weren’t sure about. We thought we’d have to choose between here and Vienna, but the stars aligned and we were able to go to both! Krakow has a booming craft beer scene that we absolutely did not expect. They love the microbrew culture far more than any other country we went to, minus possibly Belgium, but the feel here is different than there regardless. The town square in Krakow is the largest in Europe and, my goodness, if you want to feel like you’re in an old European city you get that fully there. We made it a point to have pierogies several times, but we never drank any Polish vodka. Probably better that way!

We met up a friend from home and had an amazing night with Craig while he was on his Eastern European tour. It was so nice to see a familiar face. Most people think you come to Krakow to jump off and go to Auschwitz. There’s so much more here than a concentration camp. It has multiple layers of history and beauty. Krakow is an underrated destination that I’d love to visit again.

Prague, Czech Republic, lives up to the hype.

This artsy, busy, quirky city still manages to be fairly affordable. Our Airbnb was the pinnacle of charming, although getting in the right room was an adventure! After a 6 hour train from Krakow we made our way through downtown to a tram that we just could not figure out how to purchase tickets for. That left us walking with our packs in the heat up a tall hill for miles until we found our apartment building. When we walked up a women who spoke only a few English words said, “Where are you from?” We said, “We have an Airbnb.” She said, “Follow” and took us to an indescribably small apartment that didn’t remind me of any reservation we’d made. After a few minutes I said to Jason, “This isn’t right! We have to find our host!” We connected to the apartment’s wifi and sent a quick message to our host who told me she was waiting outside. Great! We found her right away and checked into our perfect little abode. After learning the basics we devised a plan to get the keys to the other couple who must be wondering where their Airbnb host is. We walked out to the drive and, with perfect timing, a young British couple walks up looking for their apartment. I yelped, “Have we got a story for you!” and promptly showed them to their room. Jason and I were both a flutter with excitement, but neither of these two seemed to find the situation nearly as funny or entertaining as we did. Their loss! In the end everyone had what they paid for and we got a great travel story to share.

The thing I love most about Prague is it’s a tied layer cake. With the coming of every historical era, Prague stacked building after building firmly on top of itself, giving a literal depth to this city. Our Airbnb was situated very closely to a large park with beautiful vistas, a weird art museum, and a woodland gay bar. Looking back on places like this, it’s hard to believe they exist, that I got to see them, and that I’m not still there still today!

That look when you find a random craft beer festival. We were just going to the farmer’s market! Thanks, Prague!

Berlin, Germany, is fresh.

Green beer! Berliner weisse and burgers.

Berlin is newer than many European cities and even newer than some in America. The sad truth is it was basically bombed to the ground during WWII. This tragedy laid the fodder for a progressive outcry and vibrant art scene. This was my second time in Germany, having went to Munich years ago, but first time in Berlin. Being in these places feels like going to separate countries. The contrast is like time traveling in some ways, as Munich wants to preserve that old world feel and Berlin couldn’t even if it tried. Even though it’s been proven wrong through ancestry reports, I grew up believing I had a deep German heritage. You can’t erase that thought from your childhood, or the memory of all those beer steins that lined your kitchen counters. Germany, now as much as ever, holds a special place in my heart. (We’re Norwegian, by the way!)

Being beer people, we did enjoy sampling the more traditional varieties of brews. German beer purity laws, Reinheitsgebot, are to be taken very seriously and have been existence since 1519. The law states that only water, barley and hops may be used to brew beer. How Berliner weiss (green beer above) came to be is another story. We didn’t find any big Munich style beer halls in Berlin, but we did find a few artsy spots and smaller breweries that tickled our fancy. Beer and BBQ, yes please!

Various works of art in Berlin. Top Left: from German Museum of Industry, Bottom Left: Native American nuclear street art. Top Right: punk JFK street art. Middle Right: artistic co-op. Bottom Right: Das Monsterkabinett

Brussels, Belgium, means business.

Brussels is where the European Union is headquartered and the whole city seems to have an aura of seriousness. Stupidly, Belgium wasn’t originally on our list, but after mapping out our European route we thought we had to go and drink some of the world’s greatest beers. So, we split our time between here and the Netherlands and dug into Belgium brews, chocolate, waffles, and fries. We didn’t realize how many of our favorite foods originated from Belgium until we were there! The Belgium waffles, made on the street, available for 1 Euro with powered sugar, was one of the best desserts I will ever eat. Gooey on the inside, but perfectly crispy on the outside and just the right amount of sweetness. Belgium beers are known for their high alcohol content, so it’s good to stuff yourself with bread products before copious amounts of sampling. While in Belgium it rained and rained and so we rested up, ate frozen pizza, and enjoyed our quiet Airbnb, knowing we had days and days of nonstop travels ahead of us.

Cantillon, an old lambic style brewery, located in a sketchy neighborhood, but producing some of the tastiest gueuze beer we’ve ever had.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is the best of Europe.

Friendly, free, liberal, artistic, stunning architecture, people powered transportation, quirky, green, vibrant… I could do this all day. I’m in love with Amsterdam. The first time I went to Amsterdam it was a fucking disaster. I will not share details, but I was not in a good headspace and I it resulted in me having a terrible time. Truthfully though, I knew Amsterdam was, for me, an oyster with a pearl waiting to be cracked open and revealed. It was the absolute must see place on Jason’s list for Europe and, honestly, it was on mine too. Cheers to the power of second chances!

Amsterdam doesn’t judge what you do. If you choose to spend your day relaxing in Vondelpark, watching the people go by and admiring an array of birds and peoples, you surely can. If you fancy finding a sex worker and doing drugs all day, no problem, that’s your choice. If you want to take a canal boat ride and skip the sinfulness entirely, than by all means, right this way. Engaging in professional business transactions? Carry on. The Dutch are a glorious folk who embody a live and let live mentality. We felt we could find a home here and craved more time in this enchanting place. But, just around the bend was an even more fulfilling place for a whole other reason…. Read about it in the next blog post; coming soon!

13 Dec

By Jen Hawse on Asia, City Review, Travel Philosophy tagged asia, beaches, beer, guesthouse, holidays, malaysia, religion, travel

Paradise Muddled — Losing and Finding My Place in the World

If there’s one thing life is exceedingly good at it’s being in flux. Change is constant. When on the road, change is more omnipresent than going through the routine of life at home. True, holidays, birthday, weekends, all of these break up the mundane, but when you’re existing in a new city, country, and timezone on a rotating basis you’re faced with change in a new sort of way. While often positive, change can throw you into sadness when you were happy with the ways things were or refresh you when you’re so f’ing done.

It’s been just under three months of straight traveling and, I’ve got to say, I’m tired. It’s not from the constant motion, that is something that I strangly embrace better than sitting idly. I’m a mover, not a sitter. I’m simply tired of being away from home. The holidays are hard for everyone, whether you’re a fan of your family or trying to find the first ticket out of town. For me, I’m missing the normalcy this time of year brings. Cookies, christmas trees, holiday parties, wrapping presents, silly sweaters, they’re all reasons to love December. Being without them this year means Jason and I will be most likely losing weight during December instead of gaining it. There’s a plus!

This is my first year away from home during the holidays and second year without my dad, ever. His birthday is New Year’s Eve, so the holidays were even more special to me because of this. I loved having Lauer’s cake with him before heading out for a night with my friends. I can’t describe the guilt I feel for being away from my mom right now. The importance of family is even more greatly magnified in it’s absence. Being away feels unnatural. No matter where in the world I am I’d feel this way, so Malaysia or otherwise, I should be home for the holidays.

The irony in all this is, the last place we stayed was emphatically our favorite thus far in terms of feeling homey. Langkawi, Malaysia, had so much to offer that extended beyond the food and beaches. In Langkawi, we met people that we really connected with. We made six(!!) new friends at our guesthouse! More than anywhere else we’ve been, for certain. These are folks that we are looking forward to keeping in touch with and who are sharing journeys much like ours. The guesthouse itself was really conducive to people meeting and spending time in the commons area. Beers from the vending machine were $.50 (best price on the island!) and there was coffee, tea, and food on demand 24/7. So, you could basically stay up all night drinking and making friends, which we did on three separate occasions, and had an amazing time doing it.

One of the couples we met are world travelers from Britain who are going from Southeast Asia to Asia to South America on a year long journey. They’re our age, which was pretty refreshing when most of the folks we’d met thus far were in their early twenties. Nothing wrong with early twenties people! I have made plenty of friends 10 years younger than me and love the general positivity and freshness of that age, but meeting people our age on their “gap year” was a welcome surprise. We are so grateful that we met you all Hannah, Paul, Charlie, Aggy, Kate, and Mike Willy Holder! I’m sorry we didn’t get a few pictures together! <3 <3 <3

Beyond the people, although it’s quite difficult to go beyond people, Langkawi was small enough for us to feel comfortable renting our first motorscooter while big enough to give us a variety of activities. Going to the beach everyday is enough, but there was far more than available. I can tell you immediately from getting to the guesthouse I thought, “I wish we had booked another week.” Malaysia has very high vice taxes, because it’s a muslim country and muslims don’t drink, so while the true price of alcohol is rather cheap here the tax is exorbitantly high. Langkawi is a duty free city, meaning it’s tax exempt. If tax wasn’t included our beers would cost $.50. Today, at the store, the beers priced at about 2.00 each, or $12 for a 6 pack of crappy beer. This was the same thing we found all over Malaysia. Even if a bar or store wants to charge less they can’t due to tax regulations.

Prior to Langkawi we spent one week in Penang, or colonially known as Georgetown, another tropical island in Malaysia, but without the remote and extensive beaches. It was more of a city with resorts dotting the coastline that weren’t easy to get to, so we mostly stuck with the city center. Penang is hip. The street art is rich and abundant. You can tell they encourage creativity here. Another huge plus, this place had the best Indian food I’ve ever had! Truth be told, I wish I had just eaten Indian food the whole time I was there because I foolishly thought I’d find more Indian food in Kuching and Langkawi and have yet to find the right stuff. Nothing beats fresh, properly cooked naan bread. Nothing! And this stuff was cheap. I’m taking under $2 per meal. We had Indian food for Thanksgiving, because I’m not a huge fan of turkey anyway and, as they say, when in Malaysia!

Before Penang we were in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, or KL locally. KL was a true melting pot of the poorer, former Malaysia and the rich capitalism that’s coming to take hold. The Petronas Towers were the world’s tallest building for a few years and are still a symbol of progress in Malaysia. There is no qualm here in their embrace of fossil fuels. They love dinosaurs and have erected statues of oil molecules and have dino parks throughout the city. Corporate sponsorship is not hidden nor frowned upon like it is in the US. Petronas actually means Petroleum in Malaysian, so their state capital’s symbol to the world is the Petroleum Towers. To each their own.

Perhaps this embrace of petroleum is the reason why walking was fairly dreadful in KL. The city is not intentionally built for pedestrians. We were at the central transit station trying to get to the closely located major tourist destination, the botanical gardens, and it took us over 30 minutes to walk what should have taken us under 10. That’s because there is no proper civil engineering in KL and roads are basically thrown on a map wherever they’ll fit, which forces you to take taxi’s. We are not great taxi takers, we would rather slug through a stupidly difficult walk instead of succumbing to the several dollar charge that is an unnecessary taxi ride in our minds. So, we slugged and dangerously dodged cars and were pretty unhappy with the structure of KL.

On the bright side, the Batu Caves, just outside of KL, were the first place either of us had encountered wild monkeys and provided a great get away from the city. After about an hour on their subway we arrived to find history, beauty, and some interesting creatures surrounding us. The caves are 400 million years old and the Hindu temples here were originally built up in 1891. The main golden Murugan statue that greets you at the base of the 300ish steps is 140 ft tall. During our visit Murugan was under construction, but c’est la vie. Upon summiting the cave entrance we were handed a bucket of rocks, each, as our way of “paying” for entry. This wasn’t necessarily required, but the construction worker at the base of the caves said, “You been here before? No? You take this”. So, we walked up 300 steps with a bucket of rocks! Builds character!

Today, in Kuching, we’re laying low. This would seem like a great thing for me right now and my weary traveling bones, but in fact it’s making me a little crazy. We planned it this way, but I don’t sit idly well. Jason, on the other hand, is a fantastic sleeper and sitter. He doesn’t mind days in front of the computer, coding or watching movies. I panged with guilt and frustration over this, whether at home or away, but especially during the most delicate time of year that is the holidays. So, since we arrived, I’ve read one short book and am about 1/3rd of the way through a 2nd along with beginning French lessons via an app again. I might pick up on German too, what the hell! While the guesthouse isn’t perfect it’s great for the price ($16.50 per night in total) and the staff are immensely kind to us.

Since I was a child I learned about Borneo and filed it in the, “I’ll never get to go there” category. Well, I’m here, Kuching is on Borneo, the oldest rainforest in the world and one of the most biologically diverse places that exists. Granted, we’ve seen zero biodiversity as of yet, being in the little city of Kuching, but it’s our goal to go out and explore the rainforest very soon. We hope to see some hornbills and proboscis monkeys in person, while avoiding alligators and vipers, oh my! But, while we’re not jungle trekking, we’ll be laying the lowest we’ll have been this entire trip and having lazy days walking around the quaint waterfront, talking to the guesthouse staff, and generally relaxing. Maybe it’s a good time to adjust some habits, pick up some new ones, or let go of old ones that don’t serve us any longer. Resolution time is coming!

Miss you all! I am thinking of you during the holidays. The holidays don’t mean a thing if it’s not for your friends and family that make them special. I love you and thank you for making my life special and meaningful.