Homage to Catalonia

Deciding to go to Barcelona and spend time with David was one of the best decisions this trip. Being with a good friend and exploring the alleys, placas and beaches has been incredibly rewarding, and I feel like these past couple of weeks in particular i've learned quite a bit about myself and where i intend to head over these next few years. During my last night here I was able to go down to barceloneta (one of the more popular beaches here) with David and some new friends of mine and just enjoyed the full moon and warm air over a couple of drinks. Biking back to David's place from the beach was a nice last look at the city as well. Even though there arent many bike lanes here, it is still a joy to navigate around all of the one way streets and race cars and motorbikes(and more often than not, win!). Barcelona is a city filled with diversity and movement, and it has been invigorating getting a brief glimpse of life here.

Today i will take a train as far north as i can go in 24 hours (either to Paris or London) and then spend a couple of days there before hopping on a plane and heading back con mi bicicletta. I am uncertain what returning to the states will be like after my time spent abroad. I didnt experience any culture shock during my stay here, and i don't imagine i'll experience any when i get back either, but i hope i'm able to hold onto what i've learned on the road. Knowingly changing both your lifestyle and living environment forces you to constantly explore new potentialities, and I hope that San Francisco will allow me to continue this exploration. I feel so young these days and more than anything i think this trip has allowed me to touch on precipices of freedom and possibility - both of which have been afforded to me at this age through the help of family and friends. I look forward greatly to returning to the familiar and exploring new adventure with all of the people close to me over the coming months.

See everyone soon,
-ian

p.s. - i added what i think will be my last batch of photos of barcelona this morning as well, which can be found here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600995813378/

Dancing, Borders, Infoshops

I've spent the last few days in Barcelona trying to enjoy the public areas which i know i'll miss once i have to leave. Lots of reading, cycling, and photography have filled these past couple of days. Two days ago I was able to go to an exhibit here which focused on borders. It featured around 12 different modern artists - lots of wonderful photography and video work. Later that evening I spent the night at this guy Mario's apartment, whom i met through Diana. We had a small dance party and it was neat looking through mario's record collection and taking photos from the roof of his building. He works as a reporter here in the city and also plays in a band during his free time. Late last night me and David listened to Sublime on his ipod together and talked about music for a while in one of the less populated placas - this seems to be becoming a tradition of sorts for us now. I've also been able to see some of the anarchist infoshops finally, and it was neat visiting the CNT headquarters too. It seems there are still quite a few anarchists in Catalonia, although i wish i was able to communicate more clearly than I am now with my limited spanish.

I'm planning on flying home early in August, so the trip truly feels as if it's winding down now. It seems like a natural conclusion at this point with money running out and I'm a little tired of living out of a pack as well. I feel like there is so much to look forward to in San Francisco i can't say there is any sadness that is accompanying this 'end' - I've been thinking about my 'beginging' in the bay for a while now. I kind of feel like an astronaut here at times, completely disconnected from the 'real' and having my sense of self becoming rather abstracted. Just being able to take each day as it comes along is very different from the routines i lived under while I was in santa cruz and in the bay area. It's been wonderful and liberating, and I'm hoping that once i get back I'll be able to hold onto this feeling and lifestyle I've had during my travels here. On the other hand, I am looking forward to having something physical to call home. I've benefited from the generosity of so many people over the course of my travels, and I feel very fortunate to have had places to stay almost in every town I came across. However, for some reason i think the introverted side of me likes to have some sort of permanent fortress to retreat to and be able to reflect and relax. It'll be nice to have that again. Of course, being able to see my friends and family is going to be wonderful too - I'm looking forward to that the most. I feel like I've changed quite a bit as the result of a lot of the people I've meet here as well as a result of all of that time i spent alone on the open road with my bike. I wonder if it will be apparent at all to other people when i get back.

David gets off of work soon and he had his last class this morning so he was hoping that we'd all go out to party which sounds nice. I was also finally able to find a couchsurfer for the weekend, so I'm glad I'll be able to give David his room back as I've definitely been crowding it with all of my equipment as well as my tall self. Before I head back to paris for a few days and fly out, I hope I'll be able to see more of the alleys of Barcelona. David's headed for Syria to visit Matt at the end of august and then will travel to other parts of the Middle east as well. It'll be nice to hear about his adventures when he returns to san francisco. I think I'd like to organize some sort of big camping trip with all of my friends whom are in california when i get back, it'd be a nice to way to see everyone again and spend some time together. I'll have to make note of that so i don't forget once i return home. That's all that comes to mind right now. I'd better hurry or I'll miss David.

-i

Placas y Estrellas

Barcelona, as a city, is something that I've fallen in love with during my short stay here. The diversity of the people, architecture and neighborhoods really lends itself to exploration and learning and most people i meet are glad to talk to you and hang out. Me and David have been fortunate enough to spend the last few nights in las placas de Gracia(a working class neighborhood in Barcelona) where lots of young people congregate during the evenings in small clusters of 5 or 6. Also, there are groups of Pakistanis whom wander around the city selling Estrellas(cheap beer) for a euro a can, which helps foster the festival like atmosphere in these public areas even more. A couple of nights ago was truly special, as there was a power outage across a good portion of Barcelona. Lots of people decided to come out with candles and torches and las placas were lively and filled with people whom all were there just to relax and enjoy each others company - truly beautiful. It's also been nice to be able to actually speak the language a little bit. It was a definite handicap in Germany in France being forced to communicate in English, but here I feel like I've been able to make some stabs at speaking in Spanish which have worked out alright. I'm hoping to pick it up a little bit more during my stay here.

Yesterday i went to the beach with Pamela whom is one of David's friends here. I biked there along the coast for while and met her on one of the less crowded sections of the beaches. We stretched out on the sand for a while before i got into the warm waters of the Mediterranean. The beaches here are artificial, and some of them are overcrowded to the point where i couldn't see anyone enjoying them, but if you get out far enough there are some nice spots. Perhaps I'll get out to the beaches again tomorrow, I really enjoy swimming in the warm waters here and I think it will be a harsh shock trying to swim in the Pacific again when i get home after being spoiled. I've been sleeping on the floor in David's apartment, and it's been really great of him for letting me stay there. Another girl from Santa Cruz, Diana, is also in town and i may stay a night or two at her place in the coming days.

I've talked to David about this quite a bit and I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned it in my blog a few times before as well, but being able to travel and experience all of these different places across Europe and seeing the variety of flourishing radical spaces has really inspired me and some of my friends to start serious projects in San Francisco. Radical politics in the Bay Area have been completely depressing since the war started, and it's about time to pick it up and start being an active anti-authoritarian force in society again. I've enjoyed dreaming of possibilities with David over cervesas and imagining what San Francisco could become with so many of our active friends moving into the area over the next year. It's nice to have something to look forward to on my return home. Today we plant the seeds, tomorrow the party of our lives!

Here are some new photos that I finally was able to upload. The two new sets are "Tour de France in Marseilles" and "Barcelona". I've been doing a lot of night photography during this trip, and i think a few from Barcelona have turned out rather well. The link is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/

Adios,
-i

Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona a couple of nights ago and have been slowly exploring the city via bike over the past couple of days. I must say that having my bike along with me in the larger cities has been invaluable, as it allows me to traverse and explore almost an entire city in one day, rather than being forced onto subway lines or into crowded areas. Again, much like the other places I've been to on my trip, the alleyways and plazas in Barcelona are what attracts me most about the city itself. The layout of the city really changes how you relate to other people and places within it as well, and having the open plazas with lots of young people sitting around and talking is something i've never found in the states (the situationists called this psychogeography I think). In fact, the preservation of at least some public spaces seems to be what separates most European cities from American ones. It lends itself more to spending time with people rather than spending money with people, which is refreshing.

David and I have spent the last couple of nights walking around various parts of Barcelona drinking and talking. The cervesas here are cheap, but not nearly as good as what i found in Belgium or Germany, but it still works. I met some of his friends here as some of us went to park together to enjoy some of the music and we were able to get coffee as well. Over the next few days I plan on visiting a few of the museums around the town and tomorrow i think I'll go to the beach with one of David's friends that we spent time with last night. I've become interested in the Spanish civil war over the past year(David seems to be an expert on it), and Barcelona is a city rich with history concerning the subject. There are still traces of the once thriving anarchist movement scattered amongst the commercial areas, including infoshops and even the current C.N.T. headquarters which we passed by last night. I hope to visit many of them during my stay. There is a vast network of squats in Barcelona too, but most of the people in them only speak Catalan and I have enough difficulty trying to get any understandable Spanish out, so we'll see how much i'm able to explore them without being horribly foreign and alien. It's refreshing to see so many people out in the parks as well, and I plan on perhaps going to spend some more time there today.

As the trip slowly starts creeping towards some sort of conclusion, different feelings are setting in than i was experiencing before. I am really looking forward to moving to san francisco and starting some sort of new track in my life. I have to admit traveling for this long without any permanence other than perhaps my bicycle and camera has been grinding at points. However, the sense of adventure and wonder associated with being able to explore and find so many new and beautiful things on a regular basis has far outweighed any of those other concerns. I imagine I'll spend a few more days (4? 5?) in Barcelona before heading out on the road again, to where I still haven't decided.

I have lots of photos stored up now on my camera, but havent found a computer to upload them on yet, i promise in the next couple of days I'll get them up.

Escribiré otra vez pronto,
-i

Le Tour de France

Hmm, it seems like there is quite a bit to say in this post. Paris wrapped up wonderfully and i was able to do quite a few things during the time i was there. Visiting the museums was wonderful, and it was refreshing to race around the city on my bike without any of the gear on it at all. I feel much more in my environment biking through cities than in the countryside for some reason - it's much more of a thrill. Spending time at the anarchist library was really great, and i was able to cook an Italian dinner for everyone one night. We all played the board game "Mae '68" which pits rioters and students against the police in the streets of Paris. Along with a couple of bottles of wine, i really enjoyed making bad jokes about french rioters with everyone and it was a memorable way to spend a night in Paris. I was able to spend some time on the Seine as well, mostly reading and walking along the beautiful water. Paris is known as 'the city of light', which seemed rather appropriate after seeing how beautiful everything is illuminated during the evenings there. I enjoyed Paris a great deal and i kind of wish that I was able to spend some more time there. Perhaps another trip.

I hopped on a train headed for Marseilles two days ago and arrived rather late at night to what seemed like a deserted train station. I biked a couple of kilometers to meet up with my next couchsurfer, daniel, who had offered me a place to stay for a few nights so I could see the races. Daniel grew up in Mexico city and is just finishing up his studies here in Marseilles with a focus on fluid dynamics(he says only crazy people decide to get PhDs in physics). Its been fun hanging out with him the evenings. Last night he had four more couchsurfers (two from Belgium, one from Chile, One from Italy) staying there as well, and we all cooked dinner together and talked for a while - quite an international group. I was lucky enough to sample both mexican and belgium chocolates for the first time too, as both Daniel and the girls form Belgium claimed their own variety was superior. Tonight we will all go to the city center to go dancing.

The Tour de France was spectacular, in all senses of the word. I got to the route a couple of hours before the cyclists arrived so i was able to get a spot right up against the barrier maybe 15 meters from the finish line. Being around so many bicycle enthusiasts and feeling the excitement build as we all watched the race on a huge projection screen was everything i thought it would be. There were lots of promotional giveaways before the riders arrived as well, with people on bikes and little motorcars throwing candy, water, coffee and everything else to people on the sidelines. When the riders did arrive for the final sprint, the energy of the crowd was amazing. It was the first time during this tour that a Frenchman won a stage, so everyone wanted to celebrate afterwards which lead to some free wine(magnifique) for me. Seeing the riders flash by in the final sprint was something else to say the least. This morning I woke up early again to see them ride off, although they were just doing the procession through the city so it wasnt quite as exciting. Overall I'm really glad I was able to see it all in person and it is something i will never forget.

Tomorrow I'm off to Barcelona to meet up with my friend David. I'll probably be there for a good week and am not sure about my exact plans for what i'll do afterwards. Maybe Madrid? Or Paris again? I have lots of photos from the race and will get them up sometime in the next couple of days. Anyways, enough typing - I'm off to the beach for a few hours!

Au revoir,
-i

Some Photos

I arrived in Marseilles late last night after a scenic train ride. Now I'm about to go get a couple of beers and a sandwich and then go get a good spot to see the Tour De France. All of the riders will be arriving in Marseilles today and departing early tomorrow morning. I'm so excited!

Here are the photos (the new sets are "Bike Trip Belgium-France" and "Paris"):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/

The End of a Trip, Paris

It was truly strange to write the title to this post, finally having realized the completion the bicycling portion of my trip. Did I really bike all the way from Berlin to Paris? To tell the truth as I sit here now typing away it seems a tad unreal and it feels like it will take a long while to process the whole experience and form any sort of concrete narrative. The diversity of experience, the time spent on the road with thoughts and ideas racing through my head like what felt like fire, the couchsurfing hosts who were all so generous and giving and really changed the nature of the trip itself for me - all of these things seem strung across a complex web of memory that will take a while to untangle. What an adventure.

I arrived in Paris late last night after a few days of really long riding. I made it across Belgium in a day, and then through France to Paris in another two. The sun finally came out and made for some beautiful days of riding, although my legs are aching this morning from pushing too hard for several days in row. There are some memories from the past few days which stick out that i suppose i would to get down. I stayed with a wonderful married couple in Belgium who cooked me the most enormous and delicious dinner after my first day of long riding. Afterwards they gave me a tour of the town, which is filled with history from the first world war (there were a lot of victims from gassings on the surrounding hillsides, which made the next day of riding through them a tad eerie). The french seem to love cycling and cyclists both, and i got a few morale boosts from people cheering me on from the side of the road in several small french towns as I passed through. The roads in France and Belgium, aren't nearly as ideal for cycling as in Germany or the Netherlands, but cars were still fairly respectful and there wasn't anything too inconvenient to overcome. For the first night in France on my way to Paris I was able to stay with a lovely girl in a small town near peronne. She studied art history and we were able to talk about Marcel Duchamp for a while which was fun, although it made me realize how much i have already forgotten from some of my history of art and visual culture(HAVC) courses in Santa Cruz.

Paris is a beautiful city. As soon as I arrived I biked around the city to get a feel for things before meeting up with seb, anton, molly and will who have all been staying here. I was able to find a wonderful place to stay in the basement of a anarchist social space in town (it's run by the same people whom wrote 'call'). It's very charming and comfortable here. The building has a large anarchist library, a nice courtyard in the back, and even a full kitchen so I will finally be able to get some cooking in again. Today I'm planning on going to get a free lunch from food not bombs with Will before he heads off to Ireland, and then a, planning on exploring the city using the map that Marla drew for me a while back in Berlin. Tomorrow I'll explore all of the Museums and then the day after I'll be off to see the Tour de France in Marseilles via a high speed french train. As always I'm taking lots of photos and will upload them soon.

Salut,
-i

Rotterdam

The last couple of days that I spent in Amsterdam were enjoyable. Unfortunately the heart of the city is so commercialized and expensive that there wasn't much more to do than walk around and take photos. The layout of the city with all of the canals and architecture is the redeeming part of the downtown area, and was more than enough to keep me enchanted with the city despite the commerce. On my last night in Amsterdam I was able to stay with Maria whom lives south of the city center. She lives in a house which used to be squatted and was rather neat to walk around in. She said that the city center itself used to be full of squatted buildings but slowly over the years the city has been able to evict them. It seems as if gentrification is taking place everywhere I go, but for some naive reason i had only thought about it in the context of San Francisco and the bay area before. After eating a lovely dinner that she had prepared (my first asian dish since i've been on the road), we went down a couple of streets to a bar that some punks had squatted and we shared a few beers. We were able to talk politics for a while and then finished the night by getting stoned in her apartment before going to sleep. It was refreshing to see a different side of Amsterdam.

I left Amsterdam early this morning for another full day of riding. I encountered much of the same weather that I've become accustomed to this trip, and was able reach town earlier than I expected. Most of the riding today was along a beautiful river which had quite a bit of boat traffic. Once I arrived in Rotterdam, my coachsurfing host had already prepared a nice curry for dinner which we sat down and ate, and then he took me on a bike tour around city. Rotterdam was practically levelled during the second world war, so almost all of the architecture is new and several futuristic sky scrapers are scattered around the city. We made a couple of stops at different bars along the way and talked about traveling (he had just gotten back from the Himalayas). Tomorrow after quite a long day of riding i should cross the border into Belgium and stay in a town called Antwerpen.

I finished reading 'Junky' a while ago and enjoyed it a good amount. I then read this booklet 'Call' which some French anarchists had given me in Rostock which seems to be written as a manifesto of sorts ~ an interesting read and I hope to go through it again soon. Now I'm reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' which is resonating with me quite bit as I get through the first couple hundred pages. Reading after a full day of riding is really one of the joys of this trip, and with this novel in particular I've been able to think about my own experiences in new ways as a result of picking up the text. I recommend giving it a read.

I also was able to post a few photos of my riding in the Netherlands, as well as from Amsterdam. After getting tired of the rain getting soaked up in my beard, I shaved it off the other day to just leave a moustache, please spare the jokes. Anyways, here's the link~
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600765829662/

Wish me good weather,
i

Half Way

I arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon after two long days of riding from Enschede. The sun has finally come out it seems, and I was greeted by blue skies and little to no wind on both days of cycling which really brought up my mood. Yesterday was my longest day of cycling yet (over 100 km), which wore me out a great deal, so I ended up going to bed rather early last night. I'm coushsurfing with Jaap, who is an old retired school teacher who has lived in Holland all of his life. He's incredibly hospitable and a joy to talk to (he's interested in photography and sailing as well). His sense of humor is right on, and he had some good advice about what to see in Amsterdam. This morning I woke up at around 8, got a wonderful cup of coffee, and took the ferry into the city center. I hate to spread the stereotypical image of Amsterdam, but as I type in this internet cafe, several people around me are smoking joints, and reggae is playing loudly over the sound system. It seems like a little too much of a tourist trap so far, with some luck I'll find some nice areas today.

Unfortunately, the couchsurfer I had planned on staying with in Arnhem bailed at the last minute. I wandered into an internet cafe in town, and luckily another couchsurfer had gotten back to me. I called up Ronald and biked over to his apartment in the northern part of the city. He lives in a shared house and has a nice room with a balcony on the top floor of the building. He took me on a tour of the city and then we went to a couple of his favorite bars where we shared a few beers. Unfortunately I have to confirm the rumors, the beer here is heavenly, much better than anything I've ever had in the states. They say it's even better in Belgium, which I find hard to imagine, so I'm looking forward to visiting some breweries there. Also, with the weather looking better everyday, I'm thinking of camping through Belgium instead of couchsurfing. We'll see how it goes.

Now that I'm in Amsterdam, I'm officially more than half way done with my bike trip. It's not too much farther now to Paris it seems, and the Tour de France is inching closer by the day. That reminds me to mention a neat interaction i had while cycling the other day. While i was navigating through a small town, another older cyclist came up next to me to ask how much weight i was carrying on the back of my bike and then starting up a conversation, i found out that he actually used to be a professional cyclist and had participated in several tour de france races. He said he was 76, which means it must have been quite a while ago, and after we had finished our conversation about touring, San Francisco and the Netherlands, I drafted behind him for a while(he was quite fast, despite his age). It was one of the many chance encounters which I've really appreciated this trip. Well, I should get exploring before it gets too late in the morning and thins get busy here.

Goodbye from Amsterdam,
-i

Enschede

As soon as I had arrived in Enschede, I let go a sigh of relief. I had finally crossed the German border and entered the Netherlands. I don"t have anything against Germany, but after biking through it for almost a week, I was ready for a change in scenery, culturally speaking. There were some immediate changes, some took a little while longer to notice. First of all, the bike ways in the Netherlands are even better than the bike ways in Germany, which i didn't think was possible. They are much wider and are separated from the main roads by concrete curbs which makes biking around the cities and countrysides a joy - no more worrying about aggressive drivers or semi-trucks. Also, as a result of the wonderful infrastructure, there are a lot more bikes, from families, to people going out to drink together, to delivery persons. There's something very pleasant about biking culture(both here and in the states). It just seems to put people in a good mood for whatever reason. I feel theres also a sense of camaraderie amongst cyclists which is wonderful as well. There have been several times where I've stopped to look at maps and had local cyclists stop and want to help.

Another city, another couch surfer. I had contacted Jeroen through couchsurfing and he said that I could stay in his apartment in the University. It took only a short while to find his place, and he was immediately welcoming upon my arrival. The apartment itself is wonderful. He lives without about fifteen other people. The building itself centers around a huge open air staircase, with each room on the edges of the central stairwell area which goes up 3 stories. It"s kind of like a subcultural techie frat house, and it kind of reminds me of living in the wedge - both the good and the bad (scroll to the bottom of the post for a technical description of the systems they've set up here, some really neat stuff). Shortly after I first arrived in Enschede, Jeroen and I went downtown and shared a few beers over dinner. He filled me in on Dutch beer etiquette (first you chill the glass with a cold water fountain, then fill the beer to the edge of the glass with the appropriate label, scoop off the remaining head, dip the glass into cold water to remove spilled beer from the edges, dry, place the beer in front of the person with the logo facing you, etc) and then we went and saw some free music at a venue in the city center, After that, we walked around for a while and he filled me in on the local history(including the great fireworks disaster of 2000), and then we had a few more beers before biking back to the apartment and watching a movie with his house mates. In short, it's been fun to stay here and relax a little bit before i head on the road again.

Speaking of cycling, I feel that I've finally settled into the rhythm of bicycle touring and my muscles don't get sore anymore or anything of that sort. It's been incredibly enjoyable just cruising along the bike lanes and thinking about things each day along on the road. I've also got into the bad habit of whistling songs while i ride, which has resulted in some odd stares from people in the towns. I hope I'm able to maintain this cycling shape when I return to the states but I kind of doubt it. Maybe I"ll join a cycling club in the bay area like the one my dad"s a part of to keep up the habit when I return. I"ll be in Amsterdam in two days now which I"m looking forward to, and then will head off to Paris, bicycling along the coast most of the way.

It"s still raining but I"m used to it now I suppose and it hasn't been too cold which has certainly helped. I packed for warm weather, so I've had to improvise a few things to deal with the rain which has accompanied me so far. Maybe in France it'll be better? Please? Singing off for now,
-i



(sorry in advance for talking about all of the tech stuff)
The apartment is incredibly networked, with a main terminal in the living room which accesses the entire campus network. The guys here have even coded their own gui for navigating the file systems (i think it's their own custom linux distro), and you can even watch regular television stations through the terminal. It has a random episode selector, so for example you can just select the Simpsons and it will start playing a random episode, and the server automatically downloads all new episodes from all of the main series when they are released(Lost, 24, family guy, etc). Theres a touch screen on one of the walls where you click your name if you take a beer to keep track of supplies. The computer itself in the main room is also uses an old beer box as a case, which adds to the aesthetic of the house. It even emulates. I was thoroughly impressed by the whole thing. Apparently this campus is kind of infamous for its warez scene, and has been the target of several raids over the past years. Sorry for letting the technology dork inside of me express itself in the blog, it won't happen again :-).

Skulptur Projekte Münster

I just got done spending a whole day biking around Münster looking at all of the sculpture scattered around various parts of the city center. I was impressed by some, confused by others, and simply couldn't find a few despite maps. I arrived into town late last night and meet up with Annabell whom I'm couchsurfing with. She and her housemates all study here in town and it's been fun hearing about their experiences. She studies biology here and was able to slip me into her lab this afternoon to show me what she's working on. Later on tonight a few of us are going to all go out and share a couple of beers before i go to sleep and head off again tomorrow morning. I don't think there's been a single day without rain here since I started my bike trip - what luck. I'm hoping by the time I arrive in Amsterdam whatever storm has been tormenting me will have dissipated or moved on to annoy some other pour soul. Forecasts say tomorrow will have heavy showers. Tomorrow will also be my last day in Germany as I expect to cross the border into the Netherlands at around 3 or 4.

Münster above all is a college town it seems, with students constantly bustling around every corner and conversing in every nook. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the nature of the city is the way bikes seem to be what brings life to the streets. There are more people biking than there are driving or walking, and if you stop in the wrong place you'll be sure to hear the ringing of bicycle bells warning you to move out of the way. It's as if a critical mass has been spread out and expanded over the entire city, and everyone just considers it a normal part of everyday life. There are tangled jungles of bikes of all kinds in the bike parking structures which are found on the main streets and yards, and few people seem to worry about even locking them up.

I found out my cousin from Scotland will be doing a bicycle trip of his own in France later this month. It would be neat to try and meet up and talk. A few years back he visited us in California, but that was a while ago and it would be fun to see how we've both changed. I'll cross my fingers and hope our schedules line up in one way or another. Anyone at home following the Tour de France? I'm getting more excited by the day that I'll get to see a couple days of the race in person. Hope all things are well, adios.
-i

I uploaded more photos to the Berlin bike set which can found here (mostly photos from Münster and Documenta): http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600572299665/

Documenta 12

Just finished a full day of going to all of the different museums across Kassel that were a part of Documenta 12. It was nice to bike around town without all of the gear on my bike, and the weather remained fairly nice as well. The variety of the art was truly amazing, with performances going on in several of spaces, tons of digital video and digital photography, as well as public sculptures spanning across the city itself. I'll be going to a film later this evening that's a part of the program as well. I don't think I've ever experienced anything quite like this. Having an entire town reorganized to support modern art in the way Kassel has is invigorating. The cafes and restaurants that surround the main square are charming as well (I indulged and bought myself a fancy lunch with some students visiting from China). Documenta takes place only once every five years and I was thinking that it would be fun to try to come back when it's up again, perhaps with other people this time. I wonder where(who) I'll be in five years? I took lots of photos and will post them sometime later this week.

Couchsurfing in Kassel didn't work out so I ended up staying at a hostel for the past couple of nights. It's a hostel specifically for backpackers, and the two people that run it are really friendly and talkative. One is from Chile, the other from Germany. They both listen to a lot of ska in the downstairs hangout area (I swear, no matter where I go in Germany, ska is playing), and it was fun to hang out last night with everyone and play table soccer over a couple of beers. I also finished reading 'For Whom the Bell Tolls', and will start reading William S. Burroughs's 'Junkie' which David Z. lent me. The g8 seems to be what everyone wants to talk about, which is fine although it seems really long ago now.

I'll head off to Münster tomorrow to see the sculpture project. It should take a couple of days by bike and I should be able to camp in between here and there if there isn't any rain. This area of Germany actually has some hills, so we'll see how I do with all of that gear. I always hear that everyone gets addicted to cigarettes while there in Europe and (don't worry mom) I'm glad to say that I haven't, although I do feel that I have become a tad dependant on coffee. I've really enjoyed being able to stop mid-ride in a cafe to get a cappuccino and read a little bit, then head back out on the road. After Münster I should be able to bike out of Germany in less than a day, and to tell the truth I'm looking forward to seeing new places that have less bratwurst stands and more radical spaces. That's it for now. Until the next internet cafe,
-i

Bicycle Photos

Here is the first batch of photos from my bike trip (excuse the bad self portraits):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600572299665/

Two Days In Hannover

I've spent the last couple of days in Hannover staying with Myriam in her flat. Biking to Hannover was actually rather pleasant, and I was able to avoid rain until I reached the edge of the city. We met in the cafe where she works and then we walked over to her flat where I was able to unload my bike and take a shower. Afterwards we headed over to an antifa demo which was great to take part in. Demos are so different here in Germany. The police don't seem to be nearly as fascist as they are in the u.s. and there just seems to be more of an empowering attitude. People also seem a little more militant and arent afraid to take and hold space. I don't want to repeat thoughts from earlier posts so I'll leave it at that. After the demo was over, we went back to her flat and made a quick salad before biking over to a youth center for a show. We ended up hanging out there for a while with a bunch of the antifa kids and we won at table soccer 3 times in a row (I'm a natural, apparently).

Myriam and myself also talked politics for a while yesterday which was refreshing. I really enjoy hearing different perspectives on issues that I've become involved in over the years, especially from a foreign perspective. It's a nice feeling to know that despite the great distance between here and home, that people seem to be thinking about and struggling over very similar things. After these first few weeks of traveling around, I'm convinced that there is some form of universality to be found in anarchist struggle which renders borders between peoples and cultures insignificant. Again, I find that I am constantly inspired by experiences here.

I was able to sleep in this morning for the first time in a while and then woke up at around 11 or so as Myriam was heading out for work. I explored what she described as the 'cool' part of Hannover, and I'm about to head out grocery shopping to cook dinner for her and her flatmates tonight. Afterwards they had planned on going rock climbing at the gym, and I think I may give it a shot although I have no experience with anything of the sort. I'll spend the night at Myriam's again tonight and then pack up tomorrow morning.

I decided that I definitely wanted to catch 'Ducumenta' while I was here in Germany. However, heeding advice I received from my father in an e-mail: 'Don't spend toooo much time in Germany. France is livelier and sexier', I think I'll probably head to Kassel via train with my bike, and then bike to Münster from Kassel so I don't cut the rest of my trip too short. Documenta only occurs once every 5 years and features modern art from all over the world, so I'm rather excited to see the diversity of work. It seems like it's a pretty big deal in the modern art discussion, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Writing in this blog has been rewarding and I think forcing things into words gives me an examined perspective as I move across the country. I think the part I'm struggling with however is this notion of the record being both public and private. Sometimes I'm not quite sure who I am writing this blog for: who is my audience? I certainly started it as a way to have a record of this trip for myself, but it's become something else and in a way it's a nice way of connecting to home. As this is my first experience writing in a blog, I suppose it will take a while longer before some of these issues become better defined. So long,
-i

p.s. - I'm planning on posting photos of my trip later this evening. I'm interested to see how they turned out.

Couchsurfing and Weather (Days 2-3)

The past couple of days have been very fulfilling and it's been comfortable settling into the second phase of my trip. I ended up biking yesterday until around 4 or so until i reached downtown Magdeburg. I sat down for a cup of coffee and did some reading, and then headed over to Katja's house. Her flat was fairly close to the city centre and was rather spacious. She studies biology and hopes to do research on AIDS and malaria when she finishes her graduate work. Her roommates had actually been fairly involved in the organizing surrounding the g8 which gave us quite a bit to talk about. Katja ended up cooking a wonderful pasta and preparing a fresh salad for us and afterwords we all went to a pub and I drank my first dark German beer (good, but i still prefer murphy's).

This morning I headed out at around 9 or so and reached Braunschweig at around 5. I had a little trouble finding Simone's flat but was able to find it eventually. her and her fiancee Christoph are both very nice and just walked me over to an internet cafe. They had cooked some wonderful potatoes and there was fresh bread for dinner too (all of this delicious free food this trip is really spoiling me). After this post I suppose I'll go back and share a couple of beers before I get to sleep (didn't get enough sleep last night because of the pub). Tomorrow i'll be couchsurfing with an anarchist girl in Hanover, and will probably go to an anti-fascist rally with her in the evening which should be interesting.

Biking had been great, although there has been a single day without rain so far on my trip. The rain here isn't quite as bad though it seems. It's never quite as cold as it is in san francisco when it pours, and the rain seems to only last for about 20 minutes at the longest when it does come down. I was able to get some nice sun at the end of my ride today, and Christoph was saying that the weather is supposed to be getting better of the next couple of days. We'll see.

That's it for now I suppose. I'm looking forward to Münster to see the sculpture project there (http://www.skulptur-projekte.de/information/) and am toying with the idea of going off course a little ways to see Dokumenta
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documenta). We'll see how I feel after the first couple of days in Münster. I've been missing my friends and family a lot lately, although the weeks ahead have a lot for me to look forward to. I suppose I'll have to wait until August to throw a big party to see everyone again. Bye for now.
-i

Bike Trip, Day One!

After talking to FedEx on the phone yesterday for a while, it was looking like it would have been at least another week before I was able to get my bike gear and start my trip. I made the decision to just buy new gear in Berlin and head out, rather than delay the tour for any longer. So yesterday I went around to various bike shops and picked up everything I needed. After putting everything together and loading up the bike, I got together with Marla and Seb for a nice dinner out celebrating my last night in Berlin. It was wonderful to see both of them and it made me excited about finally being able to head out on the road.

This morning I woke up at 8 and hopped on my wheels. I biked about 87,1 km (a little over 50 miles) altogether today and it went well. I got rained on a few times, but each shower didn't last longer than around 15 minutes or so and it still remained fairly warm outside. At one point it really started to come down but fortunately I was in a small downtown area at the time and was able to duck into a cafe for a while and grab some good coffee. The German countryside is beautiful and it's a joy to be able to see all of the fields and old villages along the route. The bicycling infrastructure is also really impressive, much better than anything I've seen in the states, with almost every major road having a separate bike lane or path which are all very well maintained. I started this morning near the center of Berlin and finished in the small town 'Brandenburg an der Havel'. Bradenburg reminds me of Ashland, Oregon a little bit as it's a small rural town that seems to revolve around a few small theaters. It has a simple charm to it and it fits nicely into the surrounding landscape. Today was also my first experience with biking on cobblestone which shook me up a little bit. The cobblestone is only really in the downtown areas anymore it seems, and it caught me off guard the first time I road onto it, jostling me around on top of my handlebars quite a bit.

It's put a big smile on my face finally getting my bike fix. Now that I've found a hostel in Brandenburg I think I'll go get a nice big dinner to fill my empty stomach and the maybe find a small cafe to do some reading in before going to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be headed for Magdeburg and will be staying with someone I meet through couchsurfing. Just me and the open road for the next few weeks!

-i

-p.s.: i love getting posts from people, but please leave your name after it if you do leave one so i don't have to guess as to who it is :-). I also took some photos and will try to post them at the end of the week. Hope everyone is doign well.

A few adventures, and a few more days of waiting.

So where to begin... It's been a few days since my last post partly due to the fact that I've been moving around quite a bit and partly due to the fact that I've been dealing with bike issues as well. I suppose I have good and bad news. The good news is that I finally was able to pick up my bike from FedEx(yay!). I have to admit that during my time here I had been going through bike withdrawals and it was nice to assemble the bike out of the box and finally have a pair of wheels again. The bad news is that the second box I shipped, the one which contained a lot of the tools and equipment that I need for touring, is somehow still in Oakland, California. Fuck - Fed - Ex. I've had nothing but problems dealing with them, and it's been driving me a little nuts trying to work through their bureaucracy. It looks like I won't be able to receive that second package until around Thursday or so, which gives me a few more days before I can officially start my tour. Perhaps it was meant to be.

I've been thinking about interesting ways of occupying the next few days while i wait for the second package and a couple of ideas have come to mind. Going to Copenhagen and visiting the squats there seems like a rather nice idea, although I've heard it's expensive to travel there. I've managed to befriend a few people who are visiting Berlin that live there, so I could have a free place to stay. The other option would be to do short day trips around Berlin on my bike to get in better shape again. We'll see.

Let me try to recap what's happened since my last post. I've been able to do some nice things in Berlin and to tell the truth I've fell in love with the city. As far as my tour goes, I've been able to map out quite a bit of it in detail, and through couchsurfing.com, have lined up some places to stay in several cities across Germany. Couchsurfing is a great community, and there are often too many people in each city offering places to stay, so you have to pick one over the others. What a nice world we live in where there's an overabundance of people willing to take you in without any cost. I've been sleeping in various places over the past few days, one night at Resa's (a friend of Anna's, whom Marla is staying with), and am now sleeping in this radical housing project near Rosenthaler Platz. I was able to cook dinner at Resa's flat with Marla a couple of nights ago which was wonderful (although the couscous was rather soggy, oops) and was also able to catch a few films as well(Crybaby, Pan's Labyrinth and Short Bus) on her laptop over the course of a couple of nights which was refreshing.

Yesterday was the German version of the Gay Pride festival in Berlin which took over one of the main streets in Kreuzberg. I ended up going with the usual gang and had a few beers and then wandered over to Kopi for the after party which is where things went crazy. Like I said in an earlier post, I haven't been feeling like Kopi is exactly my scene, but last night was an exception. There was a drag performance in the basement(which completely went over my head as they were speaking German) and then they were doing lip syncing performances to old German folk music which was rather amusing. The entire squat ended up turning into a giant dance party with a punk show going on in the stage area, dance music being played in the bar and the basement show going on, and I ended up staying there until around 7 or 8 this morning. Afterwards, a friend of ours from Berlin took us for a walk to a truly unique and beautiful area of town.

We were all still a little drunk and very very tired but we decided to tag along anyways. We hopped a fence or two and ended up in the middle of a large network of abandoned train warehouses. It seemed like every surface in the place was covered in the most beautiful graffiti, and we must have spent at least an hour and half wandering around. The place was beautiful beyond words, and I hope to go back at least one more time before leaving Berlin. I took lots of photos which are now on Flickr(link at the bottom of this post).

One thing I'd like to note is that Capitalism seems to have a very different feel here in Berlin than it did at home. It seems much more abstract and conceptual, and less pressing and encroaching. For example, in the States it seems as if you must always be working to financially afford your life and not go into debt. This is partially due to the ridiculously high rent costs as well as the number of hours a week one is forced to work (which continues to rise with each year). Also, there is a huge lack of public space in the U.S., with more and more of our meeting and gathering places becoming privatized. You can truly feel the vice of capital pressing in and encroaching on most areas of life in the states. In Berlin however, there seems to be an overabundance of housing (a lot of the big apartment buildings near half empty, or so I hear) and you can grab a nice large flat for between 200 and 300 Euro a month. On top of that it is not too hard to receive money from the state and then do some undocumented work on the side, not to mention that you can get paid to go to school. All of these things in combination make the city seem so much more relaxed and less frantic. People seem to have much more leisure time, and this radically changes the atmosphere in the neighborhoods. Activities become less about spending money and more about spending time with other people.

This notion of travelling has also gotten me thinking about identity and the concept of home in new ways. Not having a concrete place where I can retreat and take care of individual things like writing, reading, drawing, and even just relaxing changes the way you interact with the world quite a bit. I feel like I've become a less of an 'atom' and more of a leaf being carried by a gust of wind. I think this is due to the fact that I'm dependant on other people for housing and because I'm always moving around from place to place, from experience to experience. I suppose in fewer words I feel like I'm taking a lot more in than I am contributing, and this is a big change for me as I tended to be rather introverted while I was in California. I talked to Marla and then Mikey about this for a short while, and I feel that it's something I haven't quite figured out yet. Perhaps it'll make more sense when I'm done traveling and out of the storm.

These are all things I need to think about for a while more before I'm able to draw any conclusions, which should keep me busy for quite a while.

I got word from my father today that it looks like my grandfather will pass away soon so he's flying out to Wisconsin to be with him. I have a lot of great memories of my grandfather. He used to take me and my Brother out on the Mississippi to go fishing and would build us snow forts in the Winter. He would make the most beautiful wooden carvings of various ducks and birds by hand. He had a good sense of humor and was very proud of his Scottish heritage. I lived with him and my grandmother in Wisconsin for a summer, and I feel like I got to know them quite well while I stayed with them. Him and my grandmother also payed for my college, which is a gift I knew I would never be able to thank them enough for. He lived a full and happy life and I am thankful for being able to know him. I'll miss him.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to get it all down. Here's the link to the Flickr images, the only new photos are in the Berlin set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/

Hasta luego.

Walking and Exploring

I've spent the past couple of day walking around Berlin and exploring various parts of city which has proven rather fruitful. A couple of night ago me and the Palo Alto kids went to a party at a squat called 'New Yorck' (previously just Yorck before they were evicted), which was serving cocktails and raising money for legal costs. It was a really nice change of pace with people just sitting around sipping on fancy drinks with Latin music playing in the background. I bumped into Marla there, and then a few minutes later bumped into Lucas. I had meet Lucas in Santa Cruz when he had come to visit Anna at the coop, and it was refreshing to see a familiar face. We had intended on seeing each other at the camp, but were never able to meet up. Long story short, he invited us to go on a walk around the Berlin the following afternoon.

Me and Marla ate lunch at a vegan Sudanese restaurant, and then meet up with Lucas at one of the U-Bahn stops. From there we walked along the river for a while through some parks until we reached this monument to all of the fallen red soldiers during the siege of Berlin at the end of the second world war. The monument itself is huge, with large paths and grassy areas all leading up to a large sculpture of a red soldier smashing a swastika. He holds a child in one arm, and a large sword in the other - socialist realism at its finest. After sitting around near the statue and talking for a while, we continued walking along the river until we had reached an abandoned theme park which had been shut down in 1994. I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic architecture which made me immediately fond of the place, and is perhaps what had attracted me to Kopi squat when i had first arrived in Berlin. Afterwards, Marla and myself ended up walking around for a little while and grabbed falafel, and then I walked around Berlin and did some night photography before heading to bed.

Speaking of which, I have been spending the last few nights in one of the guest flats at Kopi which has been working out alright, although i do feel that its getting old and I figure I'll try to relocate for tonight. Kopi, as a building, is magnificent. However, I have grown tired of the street-punk culture which is pervasive throughout the squat. It's altogether too masculine and macho for my tastes and it's impossible to just relax and think with music blasting at almost all times in all places. I'm glad that I got to experience it for a while, especially with the eviction possibly happening fairly soon, but I've found other parts of Berlin more attractive.

This morning I finally got in contact with a competent person at fedex and they gave me good news - it appears as if I'll be able to pick up my bike tomorrow afternoon, which would allow me to head out first thing Friday morning. Finally! I'm still crossing my fingers however, as i fear of more delays. After dealing with Fedex, i decided to go to the Jewish Museum here in Berlin, which is by far my favorite thing I've come across so far. The building itself was constructed in such a thoughtful and creative way that you feel as if every turn, corner, ceiling and light all are occupied by meaning and intention. There are a lot of interactive video and sound installations, as well as some constructed spaces which i have to say really shook me to the core. I don't want to go into too much detail, as I feel like i couldn't accurately express my experience with the museum in words, but I would highly highly recommend that people visit this museum if they ever make it to Berlin - it is not to be missed.

I have lots of photos but haven't found time to upload them yet. Will post again once my bike is up and ready to go. Until then, -i.

Art in Berlin

I received news today that i will have to wait on my bike for at least a couple of more days while customs approves the package. Dealing with all of this bureaucracy for just a bike is rather frustrating, and i hope it all wraps up soon. Now that it looks like i have at least a couple more days in Berlin, I've decided that i good use of my time would be to look at a lot of the museums and universities in the area. Over the past couple of days I went to the Guggenheim here in Berlin as well as the Berlinische Galerie, which houses a lot of modern art which has some sort of relationship to the city. The Belinische Galerie had a lot of Dadaist works which were nice to see in person for the first time. I photographed a lot of the work which attracted me, which can be seen here:

http://flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600390569847/

Yesterday I ended up walking around Berlin for quite a while, going into various galleries and museums. I was able to meet up with Marla for a short while for dinner and coffee and then decided to walk home along the wall again at around midnight or so. I ended up staying at Kopi squat with a bunch of friends in the guest flat, which is attractive mainly because its free and everyone whom lives there is quite friendly. It's been raining off and on for a few days now, and I'm hoping that it will let up before my bike tour begins. I was worried that this delayed start was going to negatively impact the rest of the trip, but after looking at a calender I think I should still have plenty of time to see everything I had planned to.

It's odd being away from home, and I think its just starting to hit me a little bit that i will truly be on my own for a good while during my travels. It's not a bad feeling necessarily, and I think the change of pace is something which I'll learn form, but it's something I haven't experienced in a while and I'm curious to see how it will unfold. I'm planning on visiting the Jewish museum tomorrow as well as one of the main checkpoints between East and West Berlin. Cheers, -i.

The Kopi Demo

So today is the first day in a while where I really don't have many concrete plans other than hanging out and perhaps visiting a couple of museums. David left Berlin today to go back and start classes in Barcelona, while Will and Mikey just got back into town yesterday for the demo. I've gotten rather used to walking around Berlin now, which is a nice feeling, and there still is much to explore. I finished plotting my bike route for the next week or so the other night, and am now just waiting on fedex to get back to me about the customs holdup on my bike.

Yesterday was the much anticipated Kopi squat demo that a lot of us had been waiting for. The polizei had declared it an illegal demonstration before it had even begun, and we had to go through searches from riot cops before were allowed to get close to the meeting point. There was a small black bloc at the front of the march along with a couple of sound vans. A lot of anarchists from Copenhagen had come down to support Kopi as well. Quite a few Germans had gone up to support Ungdomshuset, a squat that was recently evicted and bulldozed in Copenhagen, when the police had attacked it and I suppose the Danish wanted to express their solidarity. Eventually the police ended up blocking the demo, not allowing it to go any further, at which point the black bloc decided to charge the police lines in an attempt to continue the march. It quickly became a shoving match with the cops beating on people in the front lines, and with the bloc trying to hold ground and stay together. Me and my friends ended up getting shoved around quite a bit in the confrontation, but no one was seriously hurt and we all avoided arrest.

Later that night, a spontaneous march started in the the radical district which was much more lively and celebratory and focused less on confrontation than the earlier march had. Marla, David, Night and Myself were all enjoying coffee in a cafe when we heard the chanting outside. We all quickly finished our cups, left money and spent a little while wandering around the neighborhood until we had found the march again. This time the demo was filled with people chanting and drinking beers. The polizei ended up taking a hands off approach, although a snatch squad grabbed several people during the demonstration for doing things like walking on cars. When the march reached a park, the police got a bit more aggressive and again a few shoving matches began. People dispersed fairly quickly after that. One can't help but feel energized by the movement here. There are definitely a lot of the same problems here as in the states concerning sexism and racism within the movement, but the amount of commitment that people put in here is spectacular. A group of us talked about our experiences here in all the demos for a while last night before going back to Kopi and having a few beers.

I'm off to go to a few museums now and then later tonight theres another get together at one of the squats. Until next post, -i.

Last Days in Berlin

Being in Berlin continues to be beautiful. Me David and Marla all went to see a film together last night along with a bottle of rum, which added quite a bit to the experience. Afterwards we went to a dance party at a queer squat and then walked home in the rain. Had some nice coffee this morning and then spent quite a while dealing with German customs figuring out how to get my bike cleared. It looks like everything worked out fine and well, so I'm going to pick it up on Monday. Tomorrow is the big day of the demo and everyone is excited about what's going to happen. There are a lot of internationals still around from the g8 whom will be participating, and a large crew of people are coming down from Copenhagen to support the squat. I'll be sure to take lots of photos when we arent dealing with the polizei.

I still feel rather anxious about just sitting around Berlin and am getting really excited about finally heading out on the road. Tonight we're going out to grab dinner and possibly see a documentary. Perhaps the thing that I've enjoyed most on my trip so far is being able to spend time with some truly inspiring folks. Getting to know people in these circumstances where trust is very important has lead to some wonderful interactions and memories. I only look forward to the countless more I'll meet along the way.

I'm almost done reading 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Hemingway. It focuses on the spanish civil war, something i've become more interested in recently, and there is some wonderful writing - especially concerning the portraits of the characters. Disappointingly however, Hemingway comes off rather sexist in a lot of the way the female characters interact with the protagonist.

Got to talk to my family on the phone today. It was wonderful to be able to hear their voices and that everyone was doing well. It's the first time i've been able to talk to them since I first left.

That's it for now I suppose. I'll post again soon I'm sure. Friends: Send e-mails letting me know how you're doing, i miss you all. Take care, -i.

Photos

I finally was able to post some new photos. They can be viewed in the sets 'Berlin' and 'Prague'. The link is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/
About to go pick up my bike and put it back together. Will try to post again soon.

Back in Berlin

We left Prague yesterday afternoon via a beautiful train ride. Our last night in town, we were able to wander out of the tourist area, across one of the main rivers, and found a charming neighborhood filled with wonderful bars and restaurants which was wonderfully absent of tourists. After eating some Czech food(meat for David and cheese for me), we went to a beer garden and had a few before heading back into the town center to sleep. The most amazing part of Prague without a doubt is the beautiful architecture which decorates all of the alleys and squares. You don't really get anything like it in America because the buildings are all so new in comparison. On the train ride back we ate in the dining car and enjoyed the beautiful scenery which surrounded the tracks.

Now that we're back in Berlin, we're trying to get a few errands done (getting my bike, David has to visit the Syrian embassy). Last night me and David meet up with Marla and we all went to this squatted trailer park in the radical district. They were showing this Israeli movie , 'Yossi and Jagger', outdoors with a projector. The film is about two gay soldiers who fall in love while in Lebanon. Apparently the movie is quite a hot topic of debate, as it was seen as important to the queer community in gaining visibility within Israel, but the film is also criticized because the army is romanticized and there are also no Arabs portrayed in the film. The war is portrayed in a way which makes it seem like an everyday occurrence, and is completely blind to the horror of the situation there. I suppose I would have to agree with the later criticism, and it kind of falls in line with my critique of the queer movement in the united states (gay pride parade, etc) as a whole. This desire to become part of the mainstream at any cost is rather awful, and queer friendly or not, the military and the greater social structures as a whole need to be overthrown. Enough of that for now. After the film we walked back to where we were all staying which took us along the Berlin wall. It was amazing to see all of the graffiti and murals which now decorate it.

Later this afternoon myself, Marla, and David are all planning on visiting several art museums throughout Berlin and perhaps grabbing dinner together. The demo to defend Kopi squat is this Saturday, and then I'm hopping on my bike the following Monday. I feel like I'm learning a lot on my travels and i have been having a lot of ideas for art/political projects which I'm looking forward to bringing back to the states after my trip is over. Berlin is a wonderful city, and studying art here seems like a more attractive idea the longer i spend here. Until next post, -i.

p.s. - I have lots of photos to post, but havent found the time to upload them yet. I'll do so at the next possible opportunity. Miss everyone.

Prague

Prague is a city of borders above all else. Borders between the rich and poor, borders between the tourist and the local, and borders between men and women are all very distinct and well defined. The city seems to be constructed in a way so as to allow the rich(us) tourist(us) men(again, us) to spend money and have a 'good time'. From the vast array of restaurants to the strip clubs and sex shops around every corner, I can't help but feel trapped in this economy of travel. How much of this has been created specifically to please the traveler, and more importantly how much has been erased as a result? American music plays loudly from every bar and hip dance club, and fast food restaurants are planted all over the landscape. We'll see how the rest of the experience here goes.

Me and David woke up in our hostel yesterday and went and had breakfast at this wonderful place called 'Bohemia Bagel'. I had a couple of bagel sandwiches and a wonderful cup of coffee. David had to type up an article for Fault Lines (a radical newspaper in san francisco) about the g8, so he spent a while in the Internet cafe taking care of that, while I explored the town and took photos. Afterwards, we went hunting for hostels, which took much longer then we thought, and after drinking a couple of russian beers, we finally found a nice one on the edge of downtown. We put down our heavy packs, our backs wet from carrying them around all day in sunny prague, and decided to try to find dinner. We stopped at an Italian place which was rather good, then found this amazing czech bar which seemed fairly local and drank until we were both too tired. Today we are planning on going to several museums (There's a Dali exhibit, as well as a large museum about the communist occupation of the czech republic), and will also hopefully make it back to that great bagel place for brunch. It's looking like it's going to be a hot day again, but it will be nice to see Prague and enjoy some art as well. Have lots of photos to upload, but I will probably not be able get them up until I get back into Berlin tomorrow night. Hope everyone is well.

Reflections between Berlin and Prague

So I'm currently writing from Prague (sorry in advance for the long post). While we had initially planned on all going to Copenhagen, after reviewing our options, it seemed like visiting the Czech republic would be fun as its probably my only chance to get a glimpse of eastern Europe before I start biking west. Me and David took a train down yesterday through an incredibly beautiful countryside, while Will and Mikey headed north to Copenhagen. Prague is an intriguing city, with the separation between the poor areas and tourist districts being quite distinct. Me and David stayed in a hostel last night near the city center and are planning on exploring the museums and neighborhoods over the next couple of days. Today we used the gps(thanks joe!) to find this bagel restaurant that we had heard a lot about - it was fun to navigate through alleys and streets using military satellites. We'll see what these next few days bring. Everyone is planning on meeting up back in Berlin in a few days for an action.

The summit is now officially over, and feelings seem to be mixed as far as how it went overall. The g8 summit was not shut down, and the police were able to maintain control over the area for most of the time. Perhaps the moment when we were most successful was the first day in Rostock, where we were able to shut down the city and hold ground against the advancing police. Afterwards the pacifist blockades seemed to work rather effectively as well, however it became clear that as a whole, activists are too vulnerable in rural areas such as the fields and forests surrounding Rostock to be effective against the state. With fleets of helicopters patrolling the camps and the surrounding wilderness 24 hours a day, theres not much room left for clandestine action. When we look at past successes that the radical left has achieved, from seattle to san francisco to genoa, we see that they all have been in major cities with dense urban environments.

On the last day of the summit, there was a mass migration to Berlin for an RTS in the radical district, but it seems that not enough of us were able to migrate in time. The police have been controlling all of the trains and have been detaining people seemingly at random. The march was able to go for a couple of blocks before being controlled by the police and it quickly turned into a face to face confrontation between the block of protesters and lines of riot squads. Another critique of the summit was that there seemed to be more of a focus on decentralized militant action rather than on mass public demos, which led to a lot of plotting and not enough time in the streets. We always operate best when there is a large diversity of tactics going on at the same time, from black blocs to lock-downs to parties in the streets, it seems that all groups benefit from a range of activities happening at the same time. This strategy tends to confuse the hell out of the state, who can really only effectively focus on one thing at a time due to it's hierarchical structure. There will always be another summit to mobilize against, and I hope the lessons learned in the countryside of Germany will be applied thoughtfully. Rather than chase these summits to remote countrysides where the g8 security apparatus has a strategic advantage, we must instead bring the demonstrations back to the cities where we fight best. We must send a clear message with our actions that if a country hosts a g8 summit, that their economies will be ground to halt.

After the g8 was over, we stayed in Berlin for a couple of days exploring the different neighborhoods and talking about everything that had happened. There are lots of beautiful squats all over Berlin, and there are incredible and magnificent people at each one. The largest and most well known of them all, Kopi squat, is being evicted soon due to the property where the squat is located being sold. Theres been a large mobilization against this attack, and theres a demo in Berlin on the 16th to defend the squat. We've spent a few nights at Kopi since we've been in Berlin, and it is the stuff of dreams. Around 60 people live there and they have a bar, several room for shows/parties, and a huge courtyard area where there are always people hanging out. The other night we stayed until around 5 in the morning for this amazing 80's dance party with a bunch of anarchists/squatter punks(photos to come). I don't want to rant on and on about this place, but after spending some time there, it has become clear that it is worth defending. After we are done in Prague, and Mikey and Will come back from Copenhagen, we are all planning on participating in the demo and then heading our separate ways. To tell the truth i am quite anxious at this point and just want to hop on my bike and start going. The Kopi defense action will be an incredible way to say goodbye to everyone in my affinity group - afterwards I feel that I'll be able to get out on my own and really explore.

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There are lots of fleeting memories from the camps and days of actions which I want to record before they drift away. These are the moments amazed me: the group of Greek anarchists that occupied a section of a train headed for Berlin when it was stopped by police and they were told they would not be allowed to enter the country. They were able to hold the train car for close to 24 hours. The Black Bloc in Rostock, numbering in the thousands, all marching through downtown and chanting together, with fireworks exploding overhead. The industrial towers in camp Reddilich being occupied for scouting purposes and having messages scrawled on the sides. The barricades. Squeezing 15 people into that tent, all being ready to defend the camp at a moments notice. Some awful memories, but things I do not want to forget: the searches and checkpoints and helicopters and sirens. The wonderful kitchens scattered across the camp with delicious food. The bar. The nightly screenings of g8tv. All of the friends and comrades who were so helpful and nice in every moment of need. Laughing with David and Marla at the convergence center. The countless internationals whom we shared drinks with. The Israeli and Palestinian anarchist cluster. There is really too much to write, but this week will live with me for a long time to come. I'm inspired and changed by the incredible nature of the camp, and am looking forward to what i will find on my bike travels. Until next post...

Photos

I just uploaded photos from the g8, mostly from Berlin and the demos there. The link is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600329545511/
It's hot as hell here in Berlin, it's nice to be able to buy cold beer and walk around the radical districts drinking with friends. I'll write more about the end of the summit soon, hope everyone is well.

Police and the Fence

So the summit is almost over now, and we've started to see what has been effective at disruption and what has not. As always, a strategy of a diversity of tactics has been rather successful. While the police have been focusing on militant actions to crack down on (and have been rather successful), the pacifist strategies have been able to go and successfully blockade a lot of the gates in the fence. As a result of the police being too spread out, the pacifists have also been able to get to the actual fence and tear some of it down, which is wonderful news. The police have figured out that camp redelich, the camp where me and my cluster are staying, houses most of the militants of the summit, and have attempted to raid the camp twice now. However, due to watch towers and perimeter security as well as the well built barricades and alarm system, they have been unsuccessful.

It's really unnerving to be woken up at 4 in the morning to screams of 'Polizei, Polizei!', and having less than a couple of minutes to get all of your gear together and get to the front barricades. However, like i said before, people have always been able to mobilize fast enough to get to the entrances, that police have chosen to back off. While i think that the pacifist movements in the united states are for the most part awful and really create no change, the pacifists in the European movements seem to be much more confrontational and effective, and their theory seems well grounded. Most of the arguments are tactical ones rather than moral ones, which is an important distinction. The latest news that Nazi's have tried to raid the convergence center was scary to hear at first, as one of my friends Marla is living there and running a lot of the infrastructure. The police ended up surrounding the nazi's before they attacked, but still the thought of preparing defenses to fend off a bunch of fascists is something i'd rather not think about. Doing militant actions in the middle of fields and forests doesnt seem to work out too well, as there are not places to hide or escape when helicopters are trailing overhead. Some of the more militant folks in the camps seem to be frustrated as there havent been any big successful actions since saturday's confrontation, we'll see if anything gets mustered up for the last day of the g8.

Me and some friends from my cluster are all planning on going to Copenhagen after all of this is over to just relax and have fun for a few days before heading to berlin where i'll pick up my bike and start my trip. It will be fun to live in the squatters district there and meet up with a lot of people from the summit. I havent been taking really any photos of the demonstrations for a lot of reasons, mostly legal ones, so i'm looking forword to be able to pull out my camera as Europe is such a beautiful place.

Still running.

Hey everyone,

The past few days in Rostock have been rather interesting. All of the camps and convergence centers-IMCs have been blockaded as fear of police raids seems to be prevelant among all groups. Whether this is all rumor or based on legitimate concerns is not really for me to say, but people seem well prepared and don´t seem to be too scared of the possibility. There´s a history of the camps being raided at past summits. Ever since the riots on Tuesday, Police here have turned Rostock and the surrounding area into an occupied territory with checkpoints and searches becoming more and more common around the city and camps. It´s odd living under such conditions, and a part of me feels even more committed to shutting down the conference to spite of their efforts to crush the demonstrations.

The activist camps here are incredible. They are organized into different barrios with seperate themes [anarchist, zapatista, etc}. Everything has been built from the ground up by a group of radical German carpenters. Theres an internet tent, a large bar were people go after demonstrations, and even showers. It´s amazing to be living with such amazing people - everyone is so nice and contributes so much to the camps and centers, and it gives me hope for what a decentralized nonheirarchical society could be like. The diversity within the camp is incredible as well, both from the perspective of nationality and discourse. It´s the first time i´ve been around so many anarchists for such a long time, and it´s truly inspiring to both hear stories from and run in the streets with these people.

Me, David and Marla all went to an immigration-no border march yesterday which was really interesting. The police kept on blocking the march, saying that there were 500 violent protestors in the crowd, which is complete bullshit. The organizers usually have trucks throughout the marches here with soundsystems on the backs which really add a lot to the atmosphere. It was definitely the most entertaining symbolic march i´ve ever been to. The speakers were all radical/militant and would denounce the cops whenever they provoked demonstrators. Me and David took photos. You can read about it on indymedia here - http://de.indymedia.org/2007/06/180867.shtml .

Also, a couple of other links are good for checking up on news. The first is the indymedia ticker- http://de.indymedia.org/ticker/en/
the second is g8-tv, a show thats produced here everyday and played at the camps- http://g8-tv.org/

Our blockades are starting in a couple of days now, so things should get interesting. Will the g8 be shut down? Despite the cops turning northern germany into a police state, i think we have a shot at making something happen. Have a lot of stories, but not enough time to type them. I´ll try to write again soon. Take care.

First days

Hey everyone,
Sorry this is so short, but internet is scarce here and i don't want to take very long. The first day of action in Rostock was amazing. The police here are frighteningly militarized, but the anarchists here were able to hold there own, very different than demos in the us. Me and Will managed to escape the rally before the police sealed it off. We're in one of the camps now, and everyone is really friendly and incredibly well organized. Will make a longer post later on, but i hope everyone is doing well. Coverage of the days events are here:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/06/02/18423868.php

And I'm off!

Hey everyone! I'm finishing all of my packing as i type and will be headed off to Germany for the g8 at around 5 this evening. My plan is to go to the summit, then a few of us are going up to Copenhagen to decompress, after which i'll hop on two wheels and head west all the way to Paris, south to Barcelona, and then back up to Ireland. I also promised Anna that we'd go to a demonstration in Berlin together, so i'll have to figure out a way to get back to Berlin to visit. We'll see how the plan changes as things come up.

Last night I went to the Poet and the Patriot, a nice pub in santa cruz with a lot of my close friends to say one last goodbye. It was beautiful to see everyone, and to tell the truth it was sad to drive over 17 for the last time. I'll try to update this regularly, although i don't think i'll be able to post much during the actual summit protest. If you're interested in following how it goes, a couple of links to check up on are:

http://dissentnetzwerk.org/ (click on 'en' at the top)
and
http://de.indymedia.org/en/

I cant wait to head off for the trip, and i'll miss all of you greatly. Have wonderful summers everyone, let's keep in touch.