#because british tourists in amsterdam are the worst

[russell-crowe]

i used to really love the uk. for a while, i traveled there frequently for concerts and other events because it was so easy and affordable—only about 20 quid to get there from amsterdam. (cheaper if you were willing to suffer on a flixbus) at first, it was exciting, but over time the novelty wore off. i found myself going to london once every 1–2 months, navigating without google maps because i already knew the way to all my favorite venues and hotspots. i’d spend a lot of time just hanging out with friends in their local bars and stage dooring and wandering around st james park because i love the little squirrelly buggers there

then there was the time i went to manchester and saw someone steal a scooter in the middle of the street while everyone acted like it was nothing. or those endless trips from southend to amsterdam that familiarized me with the concept of "easyjet tourism" and the increased awareness of miserable british people using amsterdam as an escape from their shit. my fondness for the uk started to fade. when covid happened, my cultural interests shifted even more toward scandinavia and thus my travel budget also went more to that.

but now, i’m looking back at my trips to the uk with a sense of nostalgia i guess. it’s like dipping into a warm pool and pretending it’s heated by something pleasant instead of… well, piss. surprisingly, i’m really excited to visit again. i’m going on a trip in february that feels like a throwback to pre-covid times: meeting a friend, seeing a favorite performer (rhod), buying way too many dvds, and taking photos of those gloriously miserable beige buildings.

the country is objectively a bit of a mess (understatement), but there’s a strange charm to it that i can’t quite shake. i think back to how i went to a bilingual high school where we spent six years immersed in a quasi-posh british education within an ordinary dutch public school setting. and part of me is annoyed that i am doing the country equivalent of getting back with my ex, but also... sigh. i am excited. :)

[gusty-wind]

CHILLING REPORT FROM HOLLAND'S Prime Minister Geert Wilders

Every word in this paper has deep thought-provoking effects.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me. I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself. It is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States was the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe.

First, I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is http://changing.You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe, a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders, if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I can not read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe . These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe , street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, and city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe . With larger congregations than there are in churches. In every European city, there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam , Marseille, and Malmo in Sweden . In many cities, the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.

In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.

In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin . The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.

In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels , because he was drinking during the Ramadan.Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya , Israel . I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization. A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live.

San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening  if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate.

[tetsunabouquet]

My most recent horror painting, Let Them Eat Cake. Now, I know there are worse places to be right now in the world, but I do want to spread awareness about the DRF- Dutch royal family. In Europe, the Netherlands is amongst the countries who were struck the hardest by the econominal crisis in the pandemic. We actually have the worst inflation rate inside of the EU. Months ago, it already reached the heights of children fainting publically in places like classrooms because of malnutrition and it's reached the point where people are striking up conversations about having cafeterias at school. We never had those before, because the Netherlands is such a small country so a lot of us live nearby school or we have a friend who does. It's normal in our culture to leave school grounds for lunch to go eat at home and its not even that strange if you eat lunch over at your best friend's house if you live too far. As I mentioned before in my ramblings about the school I live next to, their vandalism is caused precisely because they are allowed to leave school grounds and they often cause ruckus at the local supermarket because once you hit secondary school stage your parents will let you buy your own lunch if its close to a grocery store. Which brings me to the horrors of the Dutch royals. Some royal families like the British have taken the classy move of trying to make the royal family cost the public less money like selling off the Queen's horses. All the whilst being an actual tourist attraction. The Dutch royal family, is the only one I know off, that has the sickening audacity to ask for more money. All the whilst being nobodies who don't actually earn the country any extra money. I mean, remember how I mentioned our king's Argentinian wife before? She attended a foreign political event with our Prime Minister a couple of years ago and journalists literally mistook her for his girlfriend despite being a queen. Regarding her, she is the daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta, you know the minister back during the Argentinian dictatorship? He wasn't invited to the royal wedding because it would cause a political scandal, and she even admitted in an interview that she liked being in power or something along those lines years ago. Yet because of pretty privilige, the general public has never treated her like the walking red flag she is. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. I could rant for ages about the brat that is Amalia. IDC that she's in her late teens. She got to have her 18th birthday during the pandemic because their 'palace backyard was spacious enough for social distancing', insulted over a third of the country when she stated she prefers dating German boys as our men are rude and got one of her daddy's friends to kick out his family so the historical fancy building could be used for her and her friends so she could have the average college experience- when an average college experience could just as easily have been achieved to move in with her cousin Countess Eloise who's also studying in the city. How many college students can afford such an expensive building in Amsterdam? That ain't an average college experience- that's being a rich pampered daddy's girl. My cousins shared a flat when they went to college in the same time. That's what being an average college student is. She had to move out of that building because of the number of death threats she got, and whilst the King and Queen coddle her and sulk to the TV about how they fear for their daughter, all I can say is; "DUH. With how pampered she is in these current times, what else did you expect? More and more average citizens are looking at Amalia's overweight, designer clad body and thinking they could have fed their family for a week with the money she consumnes and wears in a day."

[tripstations]

The Safe Cities Index 2019 shows Tokyo at the top as Sydney overtakes Melbourne

Tokyo has again been named the world’s safest city. Photo: iStock

Sydney has overtaken Melbourne as the safer Australian city in new rankings, though both can lay claim to being among the safest cities in the world.

Meanwhile, risk-averse travellers would do well to head to the Far East, with a new report suggesting Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka are the three safest cities in the world. 

The Safe Cities Index 2019, produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked 60 major cities, looking at everything from crime rates and road safety to digital security and quality of healthcare.

The Japanese capital held onto the top spot for the third year running with an overall score of 92. Of the four main categories, it came first for digital security, second for health security, and fourth for both personal security and infrastructure security.

Singapore and Osaka retained their positions of second and third respectively, but there were shuffles elsewhere in the top 10.

Melbourne was ranked the fifth safest in 2017, but dropped this year to tenth. Sydney overtook its southern rival to climb from seventh to fifth. Sydney outranked Melbourne on two measures, including personal security (86.8 to 89.1) and health security (79.3 to 79.8). The two cities were equal on infrastructure security (93.5) and digital security (89.4). 

Amsterdam – one of only two European cities to make the top 10 – rose from sixth in 2017 (the Safe City Index is released biannually) to fourth this year, moving Toronto down from fourth to sixth. 

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The world’s top 20 safest cities in 2019

Tokyo 92.0 Singapore 91.5 Osaka 90.9 Amsterdam 88.0 Sydney 87.9 Toronto 87.8 Washington DC 87.6 = Copenhagen 87.4 = Seoul 87.4 Melbourne 87.3 Chicago 86.7 Stockholm 86.5 San Francisco 85.9 London 85.7 New York 85.5 Frankfurt 85.4 Los Angeles 85.2 = Wellington 84.5 = Zurich 84.5 Hong Kong 83.7

Gone from the top ten altogether are Stockholm (then eighth, now 12th); Hong Kong (then ninth, now 20th) and Zurich (then tenth, now 18th) New top-ten arrivals included US capital Washington DC at number seven – a sizeable leap from 23rd in 2017; a time period, interestingly, that coincides with Donald Trump’s presidency – and Copenhagen and Seoul, which tied for the eighth position.

London this year placed 14th, up from 20th last year, just ahead of New York, at 15th this year. Rome was rated the least safe city in Europe at 30th, followed by Milan (29th), Barcelona (26th), Madrid (25th), Brussels (24th) and Paris (23rd).

At the bottom end of the table, Lagos – a new entry this year – was rated the least safe overall with a score of 38.1. Nigeria’s largest city was bottom, too, in the health and personal security subcategories.

Behind Lagos was Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, (which dropped from 53rd in 2017 to 59th this year); Yangon, in Myanmar (up from 59th to 58th); Karachi in Pakistan (from 60th up to 57th); Dhaka in Bangladesh (up to 56th from 57th); and Cairo, Egypt’s capital, which dropped from 50th to 55th.

What do these findings tell us?

“Humanity is a predominantly urban species, with over 56 per cent of us living in cities,” the report reads. “By 2050, 68 per cent will do so, reflecting a speed of urbanisation even faster than previously predicted. This process is occurring most visibly in developing countries, some of which struggle to deal with the extent of change.”

It was quick to point out that despite Tokyo’s consistent position at the top of the charts, and the fact that Asia-Pacific cities make up six of the top ten, their geographic region does not have a statistical link with results.

“Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka lead because of their specific strengths, not because they happen to be in Asia,” it states. Rather, the results underline the importance of getting the basics right.

“Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, ‘All happy families are alike: each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ A look at the top five cities in each pillar – digital, health, infrastructure and personal security – yields a similar message,” the report goes on.

“In each area, leading cities got the basics right, be it easy access to high-quality healthcare, dedicated cyber-security teams, community-based police patrolling or disaster continuity planning. Even among the leaders, the weaknesses of those not in first place tended to vary from city to city. Those who want to improve need to get the basics in place and then consider their own specific situations.”

Why, then, is Japan so successful?

With two of Japan’s cities making the top three, Tokyo’s Governor Yuriko Koike said of the report: “One idea is that of ‘self-help’ mutual help and public assistance.

“The hope is that residents should take the initiative to help themselves when needed. And they should then work together to help others. The administration should be there to provide backup.”

Our Tokyo expert Danielle Demetriou reflects this, writing: “Perhaps one phrase that best sums up the Japanese spirit is ganbatte! (with obligatory exclamation mark). Loosely translated as anything from “do your best!” and “stick with it!” to “be strong!” and “hang in there!”, it is something of a national mantra. It reflects the utmost importance Japan places on doing your absolute best – not for your egotistical self, but for the wider good of the collective community.”

Incidentally, Japan has won itself another accolade of late: that of having the most popular tourists in the world. A YouGov poll published last week asked residents from 26 countries to rate which nationalities behaved the best abroad, and Japan won hands down. British tourists, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well across the board. Both Spain and Germany ranked us as being the worst holidaymakers, and nearly 60 per cent of Britons agreed, and said their fellow countrymen were deserving of this bad reputation.

The Telegraph, London

Enter to win a luxury Thailand resort holiday valued over $7,500

One lucky reader and their companion will get the chance to stay at the exclusive The Naka Island, Phuket. The prize includes return economy airfares, 6 nights at The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, a 60 minute treatment spa at Spa Naka and more.

To enter, visit traveller.com.au/mythailand2019 and view prize details and TCs.

Annabel Fenwick Elliott

Sep 3 2019

The post The Safe Cities Index 2019 shows Tokyo at the top as Sydney overtakes Melbourne appeared first on Tripstations.

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[tauers-go-dutch]

The Emerald Isle

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Ryan and I finally made our way into the land of the leprechaun people drinking in pubs this past weekend. Like we’ve been doing all summer, we headed straight to the airport from work on Friday and hopped on an EasyJet plane. Except this time it was RyanAir. They are The. Worst. They intentionally seat you apart from your travel friend out of spite because you didn’t willingly pay them an arm and a leg  (ok, four euro each way per person, but it adds up) to choose your seat, which makes boarding take twice as long as necessary while people try to play a big game of musical chairs and sit next to their travel companions while also trying to make sure they still get to keep their window seat. It is ridiculous.

We did get to sit next to each other despite our assigned seating, and eventually made it to Dublin. I’d heard mixed reviews and didn’t quite know what to expect. Everyone who liked Dublin said they liked it for the beer. Well, guess who really doesn’t like beer? Also, the weather was going to be about on par with Amsterdam’s, meaning it was going to be cloudy and rainy all of the time. (We read a statistic at the Amsterdam airport that said 87% of those flying out would have sunnier days than in Amsterdam. We were part of that 13%.)

As soon as we got into town, I was hooked. Dublin isn’t a pretty city, but it’s not ugly either. It just has charm. It’s own special every-building-looks-like-an-Irish-pub charm. Yes, your cheesy neighborhood Irish pub is what an actual Irish pub feels like (just maybe less corporate).  After finding our hotel we headed to dinner.  Ryan is very invested in food research, so he always does a great job finding spots long before we arrive at our destination.  Ryan chose a burger place called Bunsen.  They are a local chain that has a smaller menu, literally and figuratively, than Five Guys.  But the burgers are on point!  We finished the night at an Irish pub.  By the way, most of the Irish pubs serve craft beer, usually focusing on local brews.  Ryan was very impressed with the craft beer scene, and in fact didn’t have a Guinness the entire time we were there. (Is that blasphemous?)

Not drinking Guinness

The next day we walked through the city to meet up with a tour group.  Remember Ryan doing his food research?  Well this was a food tour showing off the local foodie scene as hosted by a local food blogger (@frenchfoodieindublin).  It was a blast!  We started off with a lesson in Irish food history, but also learned the personal history of each restaurant and cafe.  We learned about how this coffee house is in a collective (think The Source) that was started up by local DJs and has expanded to four locations across the city to support local artisans.  Then we met the owner of a local bakery, serving delicious scones, and listened to her story about immigrating to Ireland and challenging herself to obtain a permanent visa and start a business.  We learned about French chocolatiers, Dutch cheese makers, and traditional ice creamers using milk from Dingle dairy cows (it’s just fun saying Dingle).  The only bump was the traditional chipper (fish and chips).  I don’t care for fish, and Ryan agreed that it was only ok.  But otherwise, we enjoyed the experience, which ended with a whiskey tasting.  I gave my samples to Ryan, who really enjoyed them.  Well, I did enjoy the Writer’s Tears Red Head, if only for the name.

First stop: Vice Coffee Inc. 

Next up: Scones for breakfast! 

Somehow we missed a photo of the ‘Chipper’ Fish & Chips. Dessert is more important. Whiskey-infused chocolate. 

Murphy’s Dingle ice cream! Shout out to my favorite Murphys! :) 

Finally, cheese! 

Finally-finally, whiskey!

After the food tour, we walked (for about an hour) up to the Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin’s famous, or infamous, prison. On this tour, it was abundantly clear how little we know of Irish history.  However, the prison was a great experience.  We learned of the rebellion in 1916, which was unpopular at the time among the Irish and was quelled easily by the British.  However, the British were extremely brutal, arguably monstrous, in the way they treated the revolutionists, which sparked a new fire in the general public to fight for independence.  Because of this, the leaders of the revolution are looked at almost as the forefathers of the independent Irish state.

Kilmainham Gaol 

A cross where the final rebel was executed. He was injured in the rebellion and unable to walk across the courtyard to where the others were executed, so they dragged him from the hospital where he was being treated, sat him there by the door in a chair, and executed him via firing squad. 

The rebel Joseph Plunkett was allowed to marry his fiance inside the jail, less than 10 hours before he was executed. It was allowed so she would receive a widow’s stipend, and to the left is a letter he wrote to her that day, telling her never to marry again. 

Afterwards, we made our way back to the city center (stopping by for a few photos at Guinness, of course), and found dinner.  We tried Boojum, a local Irish burrito joint which was actually pretty good.  We agreed it was still no Chipotle, but about as good as Qdoba.  Then began the bar crawl.  We hit a few beer bars, including The Porterhouse at Temple Bar, the famous (or again, infamous?) bar in Dublin.  We had some drinks with locals and one creepy German.  After several drinks, including a Crooked Stave that happened to be on tap (hometown shout out!), we worked our way to a cocktail bar for a night cap.  I have to say that Dublin lived up to its reputation in the best possible way.  Clearly I had a good time meeting Molly Malone as we headed back to our hotel.

We took the photos. We did not drink the beer. 

St. Stephen’s Green, near our hotel. Much of the 1916 rebellion occurred in this park. 

Sláinte!

Molly Malone selling her cockles

The next day, we got up and had more delicious coffee.  The story of this cafe is incredible, and so is the coffee. We went to a local brunch cafe and had more incredible food (Turkish eggs).  We originally had high tea scheduled, but I decided to cancel so that we could explore the city and do a little shopping.  The day was filled with more pubs (including the oldest in Dublin), Irish wool, chocolates, boutiques, surprise Hare Krishna celebrations, and rain (remember that statistic?).  We did manage to see St Paddy’s Cathedral, but didn’t wait in line for the Book of Kells.  Oh well, we had so much fun we desperately want to come back already, so we still have something to do when we do.  Until next time, Dublin.

Mmm Turkish eggs

Hare Krishna parade

‘Near here is the reputed site of the well where St. Patrick baptised many of the local inhabitants in the fifth century A.D.’

PS: kudos to the tourists in their mid-forties passing us by.  They left us with this little gem…

Man - What do you do when you crawl a pub?

Woman - I’m not sure, but I guess we���ll find out tonight.

I sure hope the Irish helped them answer that question :)

PPS: Could you tell when Mariah stopped writing this blog and Ryan hopped in and took over?

Tot Ziens!

[newstfionline]

Monday, June 7, 2021

Employers and the need for workers (NYT) For the first time in a generation, workers are gaining the upper hand. Companies are becoming more willing to pay a little more to train workers, to take chances on people without traditional qualifications and to show greater flexibility in where and how people work, our senior economics correspondent writes. The share of job postings that say “no experience necessary” is up two-thirds over 2019 levels, according to one firm. The shift builds on changes already underway in the tight labor market before the pandemic, when the unemployment rate was 4 percent or lower for two straight years.

Ransomware attacks are closing schools, delaying chemotherapy and derailing everyday life (Washington Post) It can feel abstract: A group of organized but faceless criminals hijacking corporate computer systems and demanding millions of dollars in exchange for their safe return. But the impact of these ransomware attacks is increasingly, unavoidably, real for everyday people. These crimes have resulted in missed chemotherapy appointments and delayed ambulances, lost school days, and transportation problems. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May led to gas shortages and even dangerous situations caused by panic buying. This past week, hackers compromised the JBS meat processing company, leading to worries about meat shortages or other key food providers being at risk. Last fall, the Baltimore County Public Schools system was hit with ransomware and forced to halt classes for two days, which were being held virtually. As recently as Wednesday, ransomware attacks were causing problems across the country. In Martha’s Vineyard, the ferry service transporting people to and from the Massachusetts island said it had been hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted its ticketing and reservation process. “It’s not only that it’s getting worse, but it’s the worst possible time for it to happen,” said Robert Lee, chief executive of Dragos, an industrial cybersecurity firm. He says on average, there are likely 20 to 30 big ransomware cases happening behind the scenes in addition to the ones making headlines.

Drought and rain (NYT) A severe drought of historic proportions has much of the Western half of the U.S. in its grip. Nearly all of California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and North Dakota are in drought, and in large areas of those states conditions are “severe” or “exceptional.” Wildfires of a size normally seen in summers have already occurred in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Experts are concerned that this summer’s wildfires will be severe and widespread. Reservoirs in California hold about half as much water as usual for this time of year. On the other side of the Pacific, the annual summer monsoon in South Asia begins this month. Years of data suggests global warming is likely to make monsoons worse.

Mexicans vote in midterm elections seen as referendum on president (Reuters) Mexicans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote for a new lower house of Congress, state governors and local lawmakers, in a race seen as a referendum on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policies and efforts to shake up Mexico’s institutions. All 500 seats in the lower house, 15 state governorships and thousands of local leadership positions are up for grabs, with some 93.5 million Mexicans eligible to vote. Since taking office in 2018 after a landslide victory, Lopez Obrador has expanded the role of the state in the energy industry and radically cut back on the cost of government to channel resources to the poor and his priority infrastructure projects. Though voters tend to criticize his government’s record on job creation and fighting crime, they are more skeptical of Mexico’s former rulers, now in opposition. Lopez Obrador has also benefited from the vaccine rollout.

Peruvian voters face choice between 2 polarizing populists (AP) Peruvian voters will choose between two polarizing populist candidates Sunday in a presidential runoff held as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the Andean country and festering anger has led to fears of more political stability. Political novice Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori, making her third run for the presidency, have both promised COVID-19 vaccines for all and other strategies to alleviate the health emergency that has killed more than 180,000 people and pushed millions into poverty. The pandemic not only has collapsed Peru’s medical and cemetery infrastructure, left millions unemployed and highlighted longstanding inequalities in the country, it has also deepened people’s mistrust of government as it mismanaged the COVID-19 response and a secret vaccination drive for the well-connected erupted into a national scandal. Amid protests and corruption allegations, the South American country cycled through three presidents in November. Now, analysts warn this election could be another tipping point for people’s simmering frustrations and bring more political instability. “I think in both situations the risk of social unrest is high. It’s a time bomb,” said Claudia Navas, an analyst with the global firm Control Risks. “I think if Castillo wins, people who support Fujimori or support the continuation to some extent of the economic model may protest.” But Navas said “a more complex scenario will evolve if Fujimori wins because Castillo has been able to create a discourse that has played well in some rural communities with regards to the social divide and saying that political and economic elites have orchestrated things to remain in power and maintain the social inequalities.”

Normandy commemorates D-Day (AP) When the sun rises over Omaha Beach, revealing vast stretches of wet sand extending toward distant cliffs, one starts to grasp the immensity of the task faced by Allied soldiers on June 6, 1944, landing on the Nazi-occupied Normandy shore. On D-Day, more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. This year on June 6, the beaches stood vast and empty as the sun rose, exactly 77 years since the dawn invasion. On D-Day, 4,414 Allied troops lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded. Normandy has more than 20 military cemeteries holding mostly Americans, Germans, French, British, Canadians and Polish troops who took part in the historic battle.

Amsterdam is crumbling (NYT) Amsterdam, with its scenic canals lined with picturesque, 17th- and 18th-century buildings, a major European tourist destination, is slowly crumbling. Sinkholes are appearing in its small streets, and nearly half its 1,700 bridges are rickety and need repairs, frequently requiring trams to cross at a snail’s pace. As a huge project to shore up the canal walls gets underway, the city is beginning to look like one gigantic construction site. The fundamental problem is the state of the walls: About 125 miles of them are so dilapidated that they are in danger of collapsing into the canals, potentially taking buildings and people with them. Like much of the Netherlands, Amsterdam lies below sea level. Built on a swamp and heavily expanded in the 17th century, the city sits atop millions of wood pilings that serve as foundations. The Royal Palace on the Dam, for example, rests on 13,659 of them. Virtually everything in central Amsterdam is supported by these pilings. “At the time these were built to carry the weight of horses and carriages, not of 40-ton cement trucks and other heavy equipment,” said Egbert de Vries, the alderman in charge of what promises to be an enormous rebuilding project. As modern life changed the city, many houses were fortified with cement and concrete, but the underpinnings of streets and canal walls were ignored.

Young Chinese take a stand against pressures of modern life—by lying down (Washington Post) Young Chinese are rebelling against society through a simple act of resistance: lying down. Examples of the tangping, or “lying flat,” way of life include not getting married, not having children, not buying a house or a car and refusing to work extra hours or to hold a job at all. “I stay at home and sleep and watch television series. Sometimes I go out for walks, read books and just think a lot,” said Daisy Zhang, 28, who described herself as “lying flat” for the last two weeks after leaving her job in the film industry in Wuxi in China’s Jiangsu province. Tangping has emerged over the last few months as the rallying call of Chinese millennials who have had enough of the rat race. Some compare them to the 1950s Beat Generation in the United States. Others call their behavior a form of nonviolent resistance or “ideological emancipation” from consumerism. Supporters portray it as a rejection of struggle and endless striving. Critics say it is defeatist. Ultimately, observers say, tangping is a reflection of China’s disenchanted middle class, faced with stagnant wages in increasingly expensive and competitive cities. “People realize there is no upward mobility,” said Yicheng Wang, a PhD student in political science at Boston University who studies propaganda and popular discourse. “It’s a negative acceptance. My life is like this. It will always be like this.”

After unending conflicts, Gazans wrestle with rebuilding—and whether it’s worth it (Washington Post) For the 2 million residents of Gaza, last month’s hostilities were just the latest in an endless cycle of war, the fourth to convulse the Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean in just 13 years. The latest fighting was impossible to escape as Israel struck more than 1,500 targets in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and other Gaza-based militants fired more than 4,300 rockets, wreaking terror on the other side of the border. More than two weeks after the cease-fire, life has returned; even beach cafes have reopened. But existence remains shaped by destruction and reconstruction. Families are being forced once more to rebuild and repair their homes, their businesses and what they can of their lives—their suffering compounded by losses on top of losses, trauma on top of trauma. After significant damage to family property in three of Gaza’s four conflicts since 2008, Kayan Abu Safiya is not sure it is worth rebuilding. “Everything you build here will be destroyed,” he said as he surveyed the pile of rubble that had been an apartment building he erected to house his many offspring as they grew up and got married. “Working, investing, getting money to help my children, and it all goes in one second.”

[steamishot]

Mid-November

Wow. It’s been an eventful past two weeks. I feel like I’m still on vacation mode because it’s almost Thanksgiving and then winter break a few weeks after that. Work has been at a steady pace – I have things to do so it’s not totally boring, but it’s not very busy to the point of being stressed out.

The day before Halloween, I came to work half day and then bounced. 10 hour red eye flight to London later, I arrived at noon. I waited for Matt who arrived an hour later from NY. He had just got a haircut, and they didn’t do him good ($5 NY Chinatown haircut), so he wasn’t as attractive when I first met him. He also gained weight from residency and the stress aged him. On my flight, I also got a swollen eyelid. I remember feeling pretty sad on the flight because I didn’t wanna look dumb with a swollen eyelid in my Europe photos lol. I felt it when I woke up from a nap, and immediately asked a flight attendant for some ice. The swelling did go down, but it lasted for another 2 days.

London was pretty fun. I had the impression that the UK has the worst food in the world (lol) but I was pleasantly surprised by the food we had! It could be that we just chose good restaurants (on the fancier/more expensive side). We reached a level of comfort where we farted a lot throughout the trip and pooped freely in front of each other. I was also surprised that our digestive systems were keeping up with all the eating we were doing. Not once did I feel constipated, as I felt in Asia after overeating. We were pooping like 3-4x a day I think lol. Because of the cold, my face started peeling after a few days too.

Before arriving to London, a small concern I had was being an “outsider” because of my American accent, but I think because London is a big multicultural city, I didn’t feel like I was different. I heard plenty of other people with American and non-British accents. I really liked their transportation system, the tube. It was smaller than any other subway I’ve been on. Instead of buying a pass, we were able to use our contactless credit cards as a substitute. It cost about $9.50 for unlimited tube usage per day, which is a bargain imo, given how efficient their system is. I also loved their style – dark and grungy, just like their weather. Their milk tea was surprisingly delicious too.

Amsterdam – our hotel was really nice. Architecture is beautiful. I can understand how my cousins who visited from France seemed unimpressed by LA – our city is not very aesthetically pleasing architecture wise. I ate a space cake and at first thought it was a tourist trap because I didn’t feel anything. But after an hour and a half, it finally hit me. I had a nice high and was giggly/happy.

Matt and I came back to LA, and it was his first time back in LA after 5 months. We spent 6 nights together in Europe, 2 nights in our respective homes, and then 3 nights at his place, 1 night in our respective homes, and the last night at his place. I joked to myself that LDR is like periods of neglect, then periods of smothering. I did feel annoyed with him during some points of our time together and I wasn’t used to the amount of time we had together – I craved for alone time after our trip. I learned that it’s best to just voice it instead of bottling it in, but it’s sometimes hard to when he’s a tired resident and you feel a little sorry for them. It took him like a week and half to return to his old, happy and relaxed self. Traveling isn’t quite relaxing because we’re always on the go. When he got back to LA, he was still extremely tired, and had feet pain from months of being on his feet for long hours without appropriate shoes.

I had 3 meals with his family (his dad is still in China) by his mom’s invitation – Saturday dimsum, Sunday Japanese lunch to celebrate cousin’s birthday, and Tuesday hot pot dinner. His mom also bought me a blouse. It was a coral color and too girly/not my style, and it looked a little cheap lol. It was a nice gesture, but I ended up giving it back to her because it didn’t fit. Matt will be coming back to LA for an interview in Palm Desert in a few weeks, and she was already planning what to cook. Tuesday was their family’s first time going to eat hot pot ever. Their dad is not a fan, and the two boys and mom never really cared for it either. Matt only started eating hot pot (my fav) after I introduced him to it. It made me happy when his 15 year old brother said- I always thought hot pot was not good until today. The whole family (and grandma) all enjoyed the dinner, and the mom said she’ll make hot pot at home (first time) the next time matt’s in town. She extended the invitation to me. By the third meal, I felt more comfortable being around them. Their family is much more academically inclined. His mom and cousin were talking to me about Chinese proverbs and history.

I also met all his close friends on Saturday night. I was intimidated at first, but once I was in the space I was pretty comfortable and was able to talk to them easily (alcohol helped). Another friend brought his white girlfriend out, and it was everyone’s first time meeting her too. I looked through his group chat the next day, because I was curious if they said anything about me lol, and one guy said “Just wanted to say, your gf is very kind. Considerate. Same thing” which got lost in the chat because they’re not very responsive to people’s texts. The next morning I got breakfast with another one of his friends and someone from the night before.

With my past partners (D & J) where I’ve met family/friends, I was never too crazy about the idea. It could be that I’m more social now, an age thing, or that Matt’s friends and family are the type that I mesh well with – but I had a great time with them. They’re lowkey, smart, into yoga, and clean eating (and they’re older, so they’re over the partying phase). Definitely nicer than David’s ratchet friends. I’m thinking about what to gift Matt’s mom for treating me well when I see her next. Feels like I have a mother in law lol.

Another cute thing we did was a “family day”. Months ago, Matt talked about wanting to do a family day like all go to Disneyland together. His mom brought up Venice canals and we ended up going there – mom, grandma, brother, and two cousins after the cousin’s bday lunch. His family’s not really the type to go out and do things together as everyone’s quite busy and they don’t value family time/just hanging out very much. We got a really cute group photo and the mom was in our faces one time taking a photo of us lol. Matt ended up sending the group photo to his dad in China. After all this time with family and friends, I felt integrated. I have a better idea of what my sister in law feels when she hangs out with us. The dynamics do change.

Eating with their family, I thought “man, big and tall boys must be expensive to raise because they just eat so much”.  It was nice to see him interact with his mom and being excited over food. At the restaurant he would ask her “mom can we order this?” like a little boy would, and the two boys (even though both are ~6 ft tall) seemed like little innocent boys to me. The mom also commented that the brother’s new haircut is nice because it makes him look like a teenager. Instead of his past haircut that made him look in his 20s. I always thought the whole looking older than you are was more of an issue with teenage girls, so it was interesting hearing that about a boy. They also walk around in their underwear at home. His mom commented that he needs to watch his weight LOL and told me to help him because he doesn’t listen to her.

On veterans day, we had a relaxing day – pho for breakfast, walk at a park, couples massage (amazing massage for cheap, but uncomfortable at times because I had just eaten), hot yoga at a bougie studio that his friend goes to. By Tuesday night, he returned back to happy and relaxed Matt. He looked younger, happier, his eye bags were gone, he was more attractive also bc he got his hair fixed, and he was more present.

Matt’s mom dropped him off at union station the day he flew out, and she gave him a full frontal hug for the first time. I asked, what’d you do? And he said he gave her a full hug too. In the past, it was like no hug, then side hug. First time full frontal hug.

Now I’m barely settling in and getting into the swing of things. Have to clean up my room/house. Things to look forward to:

Girls night – DIY pizza

Hiking

Simple Plan concert

Thanksgiving/ Friendsgiving potluck

Black Friday shopping - clothes/mattress

Matt coming back for a weekend

NY/Washington DC, Philly

[up-bookends]

America as the Last Man Standing

Geert Wilders is a Dutch Member of Parliament

Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing.

You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration.

All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entireMuslim neighborhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, streetby street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.

In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.

Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear, 'whore, whore.' Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.

In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.

In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during theRamadan.

Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe.San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.

The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages -at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.

Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to theQuran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the frontlines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, SouthernThailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe, American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

[fredericksmeg-blog]

Week One.

Here it is, my first official blog post of my study abroad semester. *confetti cannons* As of right now, I’ve been in London for a little over one week. I am full of potatoes and shame. This might be a long one, so buckle your seat belts.

If you don’t know me very well and you’re reading this: Hello, welcome to my mess of a life.   If you already know me really well and you’re reading this because you’re genuinely interested in my life: I’m so sorry in advance. If you’re my parents and you’re reading this: Forgive me for how much money I’m spending right now (see above: shame). Also, Dad, Happy Birthday! If you’re my boyfriend and you’re reading this: Hi Will I miss you. If you’re my dog and you’re reading this: Sunday, I am so proud of you for learning how to read.

For the next 16 weeks, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will be my home. This is undoubtedly the most expensive property I will ever, ever live on. Kensington is a beautiful and clean bubble on the West side of central London. I live on the south edge of Hyde Park, and I essentially live across the street from the Royal Family (in Kensington Palace).

I live in a quad in the 6-person basement flat of our building with Natalie, Bri, and Jasmine. It’s nice and secluded. Our bedroom window is conveniently located in the front of the building, so we can hear all conversations of people leaving and entering, as well as lots of families queuing to get into the Dutch Embassy next door every single morning.

In the past week, I’ve been almost constantly in motion and have had about two minutes to breathe. I flew in with my dad and my uncle last Tuesday morning and spent a day with them after we arrived. We got back to our hotel, crashed, and then met up with Will Spangler (A note: there are 2 Wills in my life, and the most important difference is that I am dating one of them and not dating the other one. Use context clues. I believe in you.) to explore Soho via its pubs. I beat jet lag easily thanks to the numerous pints I consumed trying to keep up with my dad and my uncle.

The next morning we went to the British museum, a trip in which I saw the real Parthenon marbles for the first time and had a pathetic and very public little cry in the Duveen gallery. After that, I got to my program, where I unpacked, registered for classes, and went to Sainsbury’s for groceries in a pack of something like 9 people. After that, I headed out with Will (who lives in the same building as me) and an ungodly number of people in our program for some food and a beer. Honestly the first week of this program has felt eerily like my first year of college. 

On Thursday, we woke up and explored Hyde Park for a bit until we had orientation at 2. After we were talked at for a while, we came back to our flat to change and get ready to go to the theater as part of the program. After a very upscale dinner at Pret, we saw The Play that Goes Wrong as the Duchess Theater in the West End. It was actually pretty funny, thankfully. When it ended, we decided to dedicate one night and one night only to a terrible chain of Irish tourist pubs called O’Neill’s. Naturally, it was in Chinatown, and featured a cover band that played Basket Case, All The Small Things, and I’m a Believer in a row. Now that I’ve had that lovely experience, I could not be happier to never go there again.

On Friday, we woke up for an earlier orientation, which was as exciting as it sounds. Around 1, I met my dad and our family friends (the Milnes!), who live about 45 minutes outside of London, in Borough Market for lunch at a place called “Fish!” It was delicious and it was really nice to see them, after probably nearly a decade. I hung around with my dad for a bit before I came back to Kensington for our relatively uneventful welcome dinner. After that a few of us headed to a pub and we just sat and talked for a while, it was nice. I am a big fan of pub culture. 

On Saturday morning we had a bus tour of London, which I am always a fan of. We saw all the usual tourist stuff, good times had by all. We were dropped off outside of the Houses of Parliament, where we had tickets for tours later in the day. In the meantime, we went to the National Gallery (very briefly), got lunch, and walked to Buckingham Palace. Our audio tour of Parliament was actually amazing. I had been in the building before, but I watched the House of Commons meet as a guest in the upper balconies. This time, we walked inside the actual houses, which are the smallest, most ridiculously ornate rooms I’ve ever seen. I’m always amazed by the traditions in this country, and the audio tour was as good as it could have been. We came back to Kensington after our tours and flopped around, made dinner, and decided that we would trek to Shoreditch that night. Shoreditch is the “trendy” neighborhood of East side of London, and it supposed to have lots of great food and bars. We went to a bar that played exclusively 90’s music on Saturdays, which was a great time, and then we explored a few more to try to figure out where we’d want to come back next time. We ended up in a bar that played Build Me Up Buttercup. Blessed.

On Sunday I slept through all of my alarms and woke up less than 2 hours before a very formal afternoon tea, which was amazing (the tea, not the panic that I woke up in). I think I drank 6 cups of tea. I also had the most amazing macaron of my life. After tea we went back to our flat and bought tickets to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, because why would I ever pass on that. On Sunday night I met my dad and my uncle for dinner before they left to go back to the States, which was really nice but also sad. I am garbage at saying goodbye to people. Later that night we booked flights for our first trip! We are going to Amsterdam on the 19th. 

Monday was the first day of classes, but I didn’t have any. I was incredibly lazy for the first half of the day, and then I went out to get some productive shopping on High Street Ken so that I have enough food to actually cook meals. Late on Monday night we went to Harrods, which was a complete maze and a work of art in itself.

And of course, yesterday I had 3 classes, each of which was 3 hours long. My first class, British Life and Cultures (everyone in the program takes some form of this course), was actually pretty enjoyable and I had a good time listening to my professor curse casually and tell us which pubs to go to. Next I had my required art class, which is about art archiving/collecting. We went to the Whitechapel gallery on the East side of London and saw exhibits by William Kentridge and the Guerrilla Girls, both of which were very cool. Kentridge’s exhibit was honestly kind of entrancing. He works with film and objects, and one of his works, The Refusal of Time, is 30 minutes long. I shit you not, me and Emily watched the whole thing and it was nuts. It’s a film with an insane score, and in the middle of the room there was a wooden machine that was rigged to make it imitate breathing. It was actually so great. Around 5, we hiked it all the way back to Kensington for our 6 - 9 pm class on British Media, which was mostly about the BBC; very interesting but so long and so late. We talked about Sherlock though, so I was into it.

Today we did so much. I woke up early, ate breakfast, and typed the majority of this blog. Emily, Bridget, Sarah and I went into central London later in the afternoon and walked around the Covent Garden area, checked out St. Paul’s and the Millennium Bridge, and then went into the Tate Modern, which is one of the coolest art museums I’ve ever been in. We grabbed a beer at a pub called The Founder’s Arms, which is situated right on the Thames and it was absolutely beautiful to look out at London at night. And now we’re just kind of vegging.

So. There it is. The First Week.™   

If you want to follow my escapades geographically, let me direct you to this Google map, because of course I did this:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qDdsb_E9C_cO6K_ohuqzx0CH1JY&usp=sharing

The places I’ve been before (including my previous trip in 2014) are in red, the places I’ve been before and need to return to are in dark blue, and the places I want to visit are in light blue.

Final Thoughts (Tomi Lahren can eat my shorts):

I’m going to be posting on Instagram stories much more than Snapchat (mostly because I can save them in a better format and it’s overall much better quality). My username is megfred73, if you don’t follow me already (Shameless self-promotion, I’m the worst). 

I also have to run an Instagram for my art class, which is going to be transportation themed photos. It’s all required, but if you’re into that my username is mfred_london.

As always, the ignorance of some of my peers absolutely astounds me. Saying “mind the gap” in a British accent on a quiet tube is not the way to go, especially if you’re going to be living here for four months. To go along with this, I am so shocked that American news is frequently front-page stuff over here. It is absolutely crazy how many more people here follow world events than we do. Example: most Brits followed the US election, the majority of people in the US did not follow the Brexit decision. And it is difficult to follow US news here! I woke up this morning and Twitter was on fire because our President-elect was in a pee-pee scandal?! How do Brits get used to this?

I am having a really good time. I am an anxious and easily overwhelmed human being and I have daily moments where I am absolutely terrified, but I just want to say, I am good. Everything is good.

That is about it. Until next week.

[tripstations]

UK travel: More than 200 flights cancelled across London’s airports

More than 200 flights to and from airports in the London area have been cancelled on one of the busiest days of the year.

British Airways’ passengers are worst hit, with more than 120 cancellations. Most were domestic and short-haul European flights, with travellers to Berlin enduring five cancelled round trips and Edinburgh passengers suffering four – plus another from Gatwick.

Six BA round trips to Munich and Rome were grounded.

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Key holiday destinations were among the cancellations, including flights to Athens, Ibiza and Malaga.

Two BA transatlantic flights to Boston and San Francisco were also grounded.

leftCreated with Sketch. rightCreated with Sketch.

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The Jardins du Trocadero became an oasis for Parisians and tourists on the hottest day in the city’s history

The Independent

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A pigeon cools down in a puddle by the fountains at Jardins du Trocadero in Paris, 25 July, 2019

The Independent

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Temperatures reached close to 50C in some parts of Paris on 25 July, 2019, though the official record temperature was measured at 42.6C

The Independent

4/8

Temperatures got so high in Paris that Slushy machines melted in the heat

The Independent

5/8

People cool down in the fountains near the Eiffel Tower in Paris

The Independent

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The Jardins du Trocadero in Paris filled with tourists and residents on the hottest day in the city’s history

The Independent

7/8

The temperature in the Paris metro reached up to 43C during the heatwave

The Independent

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Ticket machines for the Paris Metro ceased to function in the extreme heat

The Independent

1/8

The Jardins du Trocadero became an oasis for Parisians and tourists on the hottest day in the city’s history

The Independent

2/8

A pigeon cools down in a puddle by the fountains at Jardins du Trocadero in Paris, 25 July, 2019

The Independent

3/8

Temperatures reached close to 50C in some parts of Paris on 25 July, 2019, though the official record temperature was measured at 42.6C

The Independent

4/8

Temperatures got so high in Paris that Slushy machines melted in the heat

The Independent

5/8

People cool down in the fountains near the Eiffel Tower in Paris

The Independent

6/8

The Jardins du Trocadero in Paris filled with tourists and residents on the hottest day in the city’s history

The Independent

7/8

The temperature in the Paris metro reached up to 43C during the heatwave

The Independent

8/8

Ticket machines for the Paris Metro ceased to function in the extreme heat

The Independent

In total more than 20,000 BA passengers had their flights cancelled. They are entitled to be rebooked on the next available flight on British Airways or one of its partner or rival airlines. But this weekend there is very little slack in the system. 

Also at Heathrow, KLM grounded two return trips from Amsterdam. Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines all cancelled flights from their hubs.

At Gatwick, easyJet cancelled at least 40 flights. Links to Amsterdam were hardest hit, with three round trips grounded.

Flybe passengers suffered at least 10 flight cancellations, including links between Birmingham and Glasgow and between Southampton and Manchester.

Two problems were mainly responsible: extreme weather in the UK and across Europe, and a systems failure at Nats, the air traffic-control provider. Its radar displays for Heathrow and Gatwick failed for several hours.

By 3pm Nats said: “We have now fixed the issue sufficiently to safely increase traffic flow rates.”

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But by that stage some extremely long delays had built up.

The record was set by a departing British Airways flight from Heathrow to San Francisco, which left 26 hours late.

A BA arrival at Gatwick from Malta was 22 hours behind schedule. 

Other British Airways flights to Gatwick from Dalaman, Verona and Naples were at least 18 hours late.

Scott Lewis reported from Turkey: “I am current stuck in Dalaman waiting for BA2563 to leave. 

“Due into Gatwick at 11.45pm yesterday and it looks likely to be 7pm this evening, a 19-hour delay.”

From Luton, easyJet cancelled round trips to Geneva, Malaga, Naples and Nice.

At lunchtime on Friday, the Eurostar service between London St Pancras International and Paris became the latest casualty in the transport carnage over the busiest weekend of the year.

A problem with the power supply at Paris Gare du Nord severely disrupted services.

The train operator cancelled two trains each way to and from the French capital. All but a handful of passengers were rebooked on alternative trains.

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Links to and from Brussels also encountered problems due to speed restrictions in Belgium because of the extreme temperature.

Eurostar said: “Passengers travelling on that route today can postpone their journeys for free or ask for a refund.”

No additional problems are expected on Eurostar for the weekend. But East Midland Trains from St Pancras will be disrupted on both Saturday and Sunday after damage to the overhead wires close to the station.

Two of the four tracks are out of use. An emergency timetable is planned for links to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Passengers are urged not to travel on the line before Monday. The train operator said holders of tickets valid from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 July were able to to use the ticket next week, or travel on an alternative route – such as LNER via Doncaster or Virgin trains via Manchester.

Network Rail staff will be working through the weekend so that a normal service can resume from Monday 29 July.

The post UK travel: More than 200 flights cancelled across London’s airports appeared first on Tripstations.

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Sunny Spain is still shoring up the troubled travel industry | Business

It’s that time again, heatwave or not. As bound by instinct as the migratory swallow, the summering Briton is still most likely to sniff the air, contemplate the costs, and book a week in Spain regardless. The package holiday remains the dominant form of summer travel, albeit now booked online and personalised. And the Spanish beaches and islands are still the holidaymakers’ favourite destination. But new factors are coming into play that have started to shape our holiday choices – ones whose impact may yet grow.

Brexit

For aviation and tourism, as much as any industry, the B-word has been an expensive preoccupation and alarming spectre. The worst no-deal scenarios – flights grounded or new visa rules – were only formally averted at the last minute. Concerns remain about the free movement of holiday firms’ workers, and the wellbeing of British holidaymakers abroad, from health insurance to passport queues.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the travel-trade organisation Abta, says: “Brexit definitely had a drag effect on summer bookings up until the 29 March deadline moved – despite the arrangements we had in place, people were nervous.” Overall, the impact on bookings as reported by airlines appears to be negligible, with jaded Britons perhaps feeling more in need of a holiday than ever.

pound v euro over last two years

But sterling has fallen by almost 15% against the euro since Britain voted to leave the EU – a pound is now worth €1.12, compared to €1.30 before June 2016. A no-deal Brexit, and likely further fall in sterling, would make foreign holidays more expensive again. Data from Visit Britain data does not show any growth in “staycations”, although outbound travel dipped in 2018. So did inbound, falling by 3% to 37.9 million visitors despite the lure of a cheap pound – a statistic that some in tourism suggest means Britain has alienated EU visitors, the majority of the market.

Bargains from overcapacity?

The silver lining for those paid in pounds has been cheap fares. Big European airline groups such as easyJet, IAG, Ryanair and Lufthansa have seen profits slump on the back of what they have described as weak yields from overcapacity. In other words, fares are low because there are too many airlines offering too many seats. That could alter when minnows go bust, and consolidation returns prices to normal levels.

However, a different reading has been put forward by analyst Andrew Lobbenberg of HSBC, who notes that capacity growth has actually slowed – and supply has also been tightened by the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max, operated by Tui and Norwegian, among others. In Lobbenberg’s view, the problem is a sudden drop in consumer demand – mainly a result of economic worries and fragile consumer confidence, but also environmental concerns.

Overseas visitors

The visitors are becoming the visited, with a new global middle class of rich Asians joining what was once mainly the preserve of Americans and Europeans: good, perhaps, for our inbound tourist economy, less so for holidaymakers competing for a sunbed, Instagrammable beauty spot or holiday let. Eurostar has now started to see weeks where more Asian and American visitors are booked on their Channel tunnel services than French people.

Residents of European cities such as Venice, Barcelona and even Amsterdam, who have long experienced a summer tourist takeover, appear to be reaching breaking point. A backlash against Airbnb holiday lets has resulted in mayors of 10 European cities asking the EU to intervene and legislate.

Terror and instability

This year, inviting passengers to board a Boeing 737 Max might well spark more panic than warning of possible terrorist dangers at the destination. Growing numbers are returning to Tunisia and Egypt – the scenes of shootings and the Metrojet airliner bombing in 2015, but destinations that offer cheaper luxury hotels and longer seasons of sun. Sharm el-Sheikh, however, once the most popular Red Sea resort, remains off limits to UK aircraft.

Eurostar now believes that the memories of the Paris and London attacks are no longer deterring travel. Its chief executive, Mike Cooper, says: “Terrorism in 2015-16 saw a significant dampening in demand, but it’s come back.” Industrial action by French border staff has had a worse effect on customer numbers, he says.

Tui’s Boeing 737 Max aircraft remain grounded. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Terrorism in north Africa and political turmoil in Turkey saw a number of carriers reallocate fleets to the western Mediterranean last year, further fuelling the holiday rush, but pushing up accommodation prices. Travellers are now looking at Turkey again, and Bulgaria – a growing destination outside the eurozone and significantly cheaper.

Green concerns

According to Abta research, a growing minority of holidaymakers claim that they would choose one travel company over another for its environmental credentials: 36% in 2018, from 23% in 2014. A series of announcements from companies – even ones as unlikely as Ryanair – have committed to phasing out single-use plastics. Sustainable travel has become a mainstream concern, and the number of smaller companies pledging ethical tourism has grown.

How deep the industry’s commitment can be is moot, given that leisure travel accounts for 80% of all UK flights. But Tanzer of Abta argues: “We’ve been aware of the environmental impacts for a while. But we think that travel is a good thing – not just for profits. Customers are more aware and questioning, which is right and good, and we have to help them travel sustainably.”

That could mean train travel, for those with the time. When Eurostar ran its first direct service to Amsterdam last year, says Cooper, it carried “754 people who travelled point-to-point on a train using increasingly green electricity. It would have taken four to five planeloads.”

Yet travellers are easily put off. Ticket sales are strong – but far lower in the other direction, the return from Amsterdam to London, which include a forced stop in Brussels for border and immigration reasons. Long-distance rail prices can often exceed plane fares to Europe, and while plane refuseniks appear to be a growing minority, overall air passenger numbers keep growing. More fuel-efficient aircraft have also created long-haul mass market holidays to cheaper destinations. Fewer than 20,000 UK holidaymakers went to Mexico 25 years ago; last year, 677,000 went there.

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