Europe With a Phone Glued to My Hand [2]

what follows are merely photographs I took on my phone while in Europe.

~ Netherlands and Belgium edition ~

welcome to Amsterdam: ft. tiny little car, how do humans even fit in there...

and welcome to ARTIS: the zoo across the road from my hotel.

the easiest it has ever been to get to a zoo.

zoo architecture: ARTIS is beautiful.

the otters have something out of The Hunger Games.

the animals: a porcupine, an ostrich, and an enormous false gharial

the Groote Museum: the room for the stupid (??), a giant question mark in the central hall, and a scent tunnel that made me nauseous.

before the day is over: a vegan burger from a restaurant in the zoo, which was actually quite delicious [don't ask me what the burger was made of, I could not find information on the menu when I went back to check, but it was yum]; one of the green handheld audio guides I was absolutely obsessed with; my microbe stamp collection.

food in The Netherlands: a "chubbydog" [a chicken hotdog with bacon and fried onions]; a supermarket haul from Albert Heijin; an apple and cinnamon sugar pancake.

the sex museum: Batman getting a blowjob, some ivory penises, and some enormous ones in the hallway -- they were taller than me.

in Oude Kerk, pt. i: the old church in Amsterdam.

in Oude Kerk, pt. ii: look, there I am with one of those audio guides again, I love them.

this door in the third picture is the iron chapel, where the church kept important documents in a safe, including the birth certificate of the city.

sweet treats: I went to the Tony's Chocolonely Super Store, waited patiently in line, bought myself a white chocolate block which was delicious, and bought this Verkade chocolate in Zaanse Schans from the museum. [The museum talks about the history of Verkade, amongst other things.]

finding NEMO: the science museum in Amsterdam is incredible, spread out across four massive floors, and features a rooftop you can almost see in the first picture.

ft. a selfie because I squinted in the sunlight for YOU.

outside in Amsterdam (1): the first two are the views from the rooftop of NEMO; the third picture is the greenhouse at Hortus Botanicus from the bridge, crossing the canal.

Vondelpark: a rotunda, an ogre in a cape, and a trash can with room for a pizza box.

Rijksmuseum, pt. i

Rijksmuseum, pt. ii

Rijksmuseum, pt. iii: an enormous dollhouse, a gorgeous library, and a chess set.

Rijksmuseum, pt. iv: an Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian dress; a model replica of an asylum seeker community; and a wombtomb. I wonder what it would be like on the inside.

Rijksmuseum, pt. v

gallery architecture: the Stedelijk Museum, which looks on the outside like a gigantic bathtub; the Rijksmuseum from quite afar; and the Van Gogh Museum, which does not look at all like a member of the Van Gogh family designed it.

Van Gogh pt. i

Van Gogh pt. ii: including some LEGO recreations of the life and times of Vincent Van Gogh, a legendary artist. Truly incredible to see his artwork in person and collected together like this.

outside in Amsterdam (2): I want to live here.

Zaanse Schans: the fabled windmill village, a tourist haven, but nevertheless gorgeous and peaceful and there were sheep. I love sheep.

village life: snapshots of the cheese museum, including some "sheep young" cheese; and the menu for the pancake restaurant, including such unhinged choices as "pineapple and cheese", "apple and bacon", and something about plain cheese on a pancake unsettles me.

love in the time of clogs: we worship our lord Miffy, we love the fancy clogs, and we purchase our own souvenir clogs. These cow-print clogs would fit a newborn, but they will sit happily on my shelf as a reminder of my time in The Netherlands.

miscellaneous in Zaanse Schans: ft. this little mushroom and various implements for a chocolate factory. I felt like a real Mike Teevee.

the Wereldmuseum: where I brandished a weapon, took a picture of a list of martial arts movies, and studied the Privilege Pyramid [apparently it's not a privilege to be queer?? I hate it here sometimes.]

the Stedelijk Museum: contemporary art through the ages, including a Yayoi Kusama [the boat] and a Mondrian.

the Stedelijk Museum: contemporary art through the ages, including a portrait of Akasha from Queen of the Damned and some tasteful nudity.

Lomanstraat and back: these trees make a nice tunnel of green.

someone asked if I was "going to buy this building". [I wish.]

welcome to Brussels: the architecture of Belgium's capital, including whatever "Drug Opera" is [it looked like a restaurant].

food in Brussels (1): these fries were heavenly [the sauces were ketchup and aioli]; I could have housed down all of this chocolate in seconds because everyone knows Belgium makes incredible chocolate; that cherry tart slice was so good.

street art: the murals of the city streets. I spy with my little eye a wild Tintin.

out and about in Brussels: this nude pink dude was everywhere, I could not outrun him. let's be grateful he wasn't peeping in my hotel window at night.

the clock tower in the third picture is a train station, Brussels North.

le politics: activism on the streets.

ft. boykissers.

selfie break

Pairi Daiza, I am coming: this incredible zoo is in the absolute middle of nowhere but after some screw-ups with the train in the morning - both my fault and not - I was finally ready to experience the true absolute reason I was in Belgium.

Pairi Daiza, my eternal love: even the journey through the gates is gorgeous.

first impressions: Pairi Daiza is incredible. The theming is something else.

Here: the walrus cave, a ginormous underwater viewing area for walruses; the snowy owls; and a mysterious minecart track [which I believe is merely a hallway for guests staying overnight, which I desperately want to do next time.]

somehow still in Belgium

the zoo continued: turtles, a giant cup of pasta, and the threat of a tiger eating your child. I love this place so very much. It's no wonder I went twice and ate up every millisecond of it.

Pairi Daiza: I couldn't believe I was seeing a Siberian tiger for the very first time.

The third image is the entrance to one of the Brown Bear-and-Wolves overnight lodgings, and if I ever get the opportunity I will be staying in one of them.

animals: some beautiful walruses, a silly hippopotamus pressed up against the glass, and the ugliest bird I have ever seen in my life.

zoo with the views: more of the stunning architecture and views of the zoo, including the mountain/volcano the gorillas call home for their indoor area.

more of the zoo: the first picture is inside a RESTAURANT, which also doubles as habitats for many a creature; the second picture is my lunch the second day I went to Pairi Daiza, which was tuna on peach halves with salad [was surprisingly delicious]; the third picture is some alligators in the reptile house.

last looks at Pairi Daiza: a secretary bird, one of my favourite birds, sitting on the meshing of their aviary; the one bird that wanted to fight me for coming inside its aviary; and another picture of walruses because they're so beautiful and MASSIVE.

Choco Story: the chocolate museum.

obviously my favourite part was the taste-testing of various chocolates near the end, but it was actually quite an interesting journey learning about the history of chocolate and how white people colonised it too.

the sewer museum: I went into a real Belgian sewer. and it did not smell nice.

the middle image was where I walked while listening to an audio guide talk about the smells I was smelling. which is sewerage. because I was in a sewer.

the comic art museum (1): ft. national treasure Tintin and also Gargamel!!

comic art pt.i: queer comic art; a cheeky little comic strip about the Scream painting; and a comic strip for The End of the Fucking World [I love the tv show].

comic art pt.ii

the comic art museum (2): someone tell me why the pig from The Wind Rises is here...

ft. the Tintin book I bought, The Shooting Star, and the pralines I very quickly devoured over the next few days because they were so incredibly delicious and heavenly.

food in Brussels (1): a Mama Mia pizza; a waffle from Galet; and a French taco from O'Tacos which had a cordon bleu inside it??? It was strangely delicious, even if it tasted like something I should have been making myself at home.

Atomium: constructed for the World's Fair in 1958, Atomium is a colossal atom, now a major tourist destination for Belgium! The second and third images here are models and designs for the World's Fair in 1958 here in Belgium.

the view from up here: the Belgian horizon from the viewing deck of Atomium. When you first enter Atomium, you skyrocket to the highest of the spheres and take in the view. You see so much of the surrounding region from above.

coloured Atomium: I actually didn't hate that staircase.

a handful of the spheres in Atomium were glorified light shows or the glass was coloured various colours, more exciting than empty spheres I suppose.

Mini Europe: dwarfed in many ways by Atomium, Mini Europe is like travelling around the country in under two hours. All the notable, exciting, incredibly-designed landmarks of the countries from the EU [and those that left with Brexit], shrunken down into miniature size. That is the Eiffel Tower! I've been [to the mini version in Belgium]!

mini landmarks pt. i: the Collegiate in Dinant, Belgium; Westminster Palace in London, England; and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre in Paris, France.

mini landmarks pt. ii: the Plaza De Toros in Seville, Spain; the Mnajdra Temple in Mnajdra, Malta [a bit special to me and my heritage]; and the Campanile or Leaning Tower in Pisa, Italy.

The Design Museum: there was an exhibition on skateboarding but I only took pictures of the skaters on the walls; there is a permanent collection of plastic furniture that makes me desperately want to run wild and design a Big Brother house entirely out of plastic.

selfie break: look, I did make it to Paris after all.

Cathedrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule: a backdrop for a photoshoot.

I hope her photos turned out spectacularly.

It is such a gorgeous, spellbinding cathedral.

last looks in Brussels: return of the pink man.

goin' home: after snacking on potato chips like bookmarks and being heavenly tempted by fruit that was definitely not fruit but likely contained a lot of sugar, I was headed home, and there are no other pictures of my two flights because I never want to be reminded of them again.

until next time, Europe.