Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 17, 2008 in
Commentary 
We only asked ourselves: what would Adam Sandler do?
It was 11 p.m. and we had just finished singing “Twist and Shout” to a very confused but enthusiastic group of Belgians. As I finished my drink, I gestured to the bartender that I was finished, and began cutting my way through the crowd to go to the bathroom. For some reason, no matter the continent, I have been cursed with the bladder of a 70 year old. Right as I was about to reach for my French phrasebook to determine which door was for me, an elderly woman approached me and outstretched her hand. Thinking she was a panhandler, I told her I didn’t have any money. It was then she pointed to the sign behind her:
“Toilet: 50 cents”
Read more…
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 17, 2008 in
Podcast
God help us. You might as well skip to 3:03.
Tags: Amsterdam, Netherlands, red light district, Video
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 17, 2008 in
Experiences 
Some Parisians and us after a game of basketball beneath the Eiffel Tower on Oct. 12, 2008.
We beat up on some Dutch guys in Amsterdam playing basketball last week. Then, in Paris, France, we came upon a similar group and couldn’t spare them. In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, we had a good match, shared some French and won outright.
Enjoy the highlights below.
Read more…
Tags: basketball, Eiffel Tower, France, Paris, Video
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 16, 2008 in
Foreign Perspectives 
What do Maradona and BBQ have in common?
We first met Mattias after waking up our second morning in Amsterdam. Mattias had just finished a few grueling years of studying while working when he decided to put it all on hold and see the world. He figured it was now or never, he told us.
We sat down with our new roommate and asked him to answer our questions about his perceptions of America, what all Americans should know about Argentina, and to determine if Americans travel enough.
Listen to our conversation below.
Read more…
Tags: Amsterdam, Audio, Netherlands
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 16, 2008 in
Podcast
Sean and Chris talk about the famed Red Light District in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Tags: Video
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 16, 2008 in
Travel Tips 
Chris and I researching looked kind of like this
Here at WDSTL, we didn’t just set off on our trip without doing a bit of research. To me, that meant building up a hefty bookmark list of travel blogs and podcasts. Below are five of our favorites and I hope you check them out.
Read more…
Tags: travel blogs
Posted by Sean Blanda on Oct 16, 2008 in
Preconceived Notions 
What does Matt Damon have to do with Switzerland? Read on!
I have a confession to make. Until a few days ago I thought that Zurich was the capital of Switzerland (Alex, I’ll take Bern for 400).
From that thought, you can get an idea of my notions of Zurich. Turns out, it is the largest city in country, so believing it to be the capital is not so out of left field … or at least that’s what I tell myself to feel better. Despite being an international city, only 375,000 people can call Zurich home. In America, that would put it between Honolulu and Raleigh.
Read more…
Tags: Switzerland, Zurich
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 15, 2008 in
Plans 
We are in Zurich, Switzerland - Couchsurfing with a stunning kind and brilliant Serbian, who studied at CalTech and is working at Swiss research institute.
We have reliable Internet but our night of exploration and train travel from Lyon has spent us. WDSTL comes back to life our tomorrow - your night. Must sleep and dream of fondue, Swiss army knives and bank accounts.
Some major changes have happened to our travel plans - like how we’re in Switzerland right now. Will discuss soon.
God bless America.
Photo courtesy of PlanetWare.
Tags: Switzerland, WDSTL, Zurich
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 15, 2008 in
Travel Tips Paris is big.
2.2 million people, more than a fourth larger than Philadelphia. But what’s more, many of the sights you want to see, from the Eiffel Tower, to Notre Dame to the Arc de Triomph, are spread quite widely.
So get smart. Use its fine mass transit at a good cost.
The city’s Paris Visite pass is economical - 7 euros ($9 USD) per day for three days while we were in town. Three or four rides and you have paid for it - without counting cutting time on buying tickets and walking.
Tags: France, Paris, Trains
Posted by Christopher Wink on Oct 15, 2008 in
Experiences Lots of changes afoot, but those details will come soon.
This morning we caught a train from Lyon, France to Strausbourg, where we caught a direct line to Zurich, Switzerland.
Sean had some fun with time lapse along the beautiful views through eastern France to Strausbourg. Enjoy.
Tags: France, Lyon
