Amsterdam Coffee Shop Experience

I never thought I would have to try and imagine an Amsterdam without the coffeeshop experience. It’s like trying to imagine the country of Ireland banning Guiness Beer to all tourists; or the city of London, allowing only those who grew up with pound sterling in their pocket, to enter the front door. The object of your desire will still be there to tempt you, but you won’t be able to obtain it. Not without consequences at least. By the end of this year, it will be illegal for tourists to visit Amsterdam coffeeshops. And, it will be illegal for Dutch citizens to visit the cannabis coffee shops unless they have acquired a yearly membership to the ‘private club.’

Or will it be illegal?

The news about the ‘Dutch coffeeshop ban’ first hit last week and even received some press in the mainstream media outlets. Besides the proposed ban and the implementation of a ‘Weed pass’ –  or yearly membership for Dutch locals – the details are few and unclear. I just chatted with a Dutch friend, Marco, who has lived his entire life in Amsterdam. He ‘finds it hard to believe the Dutch government would go as far as banning the coffeeshops to tourists.’ He also mentioned there is ‘another political party that may try and step in.’ But even he was unclear on the situation and seemed to be starving for more details.

I talked with another friend, Dave, an American who frequents Amsterdam about 3 times a year. He is currently on the ground in Amsterdam and has been there for almost 2 months now. He mentioned ‘he has no idea what’s up but no one here gives a ‘bleep.’ Amsterdam at its finest.

Without concrete information, rumors are running rampant. Some suggest the Mayor of Amsterdam may have the key to make the final decisions, overriding any desire by the far right wing government and some say more details will be revealed later this month. But until more details are revealed, we may not really know the extent of this ban.

Or, if it will really happen.

Art Night Venezia

Judging from the crowds at the few venues we managed to visit, the second edition of Art Night Venezia (or l'arte libera la notte) was a huge success.  From 6 pm until midnight last night, museums, private and public institutions, bookstores, and theaters all over the city hosted performances and exhibitions--all free to the public.

The impossible list of venues we wanted to visit totaled 13--just a fraction of what was on offer--and ranged from an exhibition at La Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in San Polo to another at Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Castello.

Having gotten a very late start, and in the company of a 4 1/2-year-old, we managed a total of just three.

 First among them was a visit to The Palazzo Cini Gallery at San Vio. Jen and I had tried to visit a couple of months ago, only to learn how very out-of-date our trusty Venetian guidebook was: it was closed--and not just for the part of the year designated in our guidebook, but year-round. So last night was our only chance.

How I'd like to post a photo here of Botticelli'sJudgement of Paris, of Pontormo's Double Portrait of Two Friends, or of a particularly beautiful 14th-century Sienese painting of Christ the Redeemer, all gold and pale rose, but photo-taking was not allowed, the guard told me, except with a cell phone. The image at right, of Sassetta's Madonna dell'umilità, is from artwallpaper.org, but is worth a visit to the Palazzo Cini all by itself--if you ever find it open again.

For the guard confirmed that the Palazzo's gallery is now closed year-round, except for special events. He vaguely alluded to the possibility of it re-opening for part of the year again some time in the future--but more in a tone of amiability than conviction. 

Two Guggenheim favorites: Marini & Brancusi

Our next stop was to an institution you'll have no trouble finding open: the Guggenheim Museum. It was, as always, marvelous--and packed with people. Sandro's favorite things there were a very large contemporary outdoor mechanical piece--like a faceless and hence purposeless clock--and a 4 euro can of Fanta from the museum cafe served in a tall glass of ice with a straw nearly as long as his arm by a very nice pair of baristi.

Like many others, he also could not help but remark upon the pipoto (Venetian term for penis) of Marino Marini's enthusiastic Angel of the City, at right.

By the time we finally finished with the Guggenheim, the concerts at our next destination--Ca' Artom, right next door on the Grand Canal--had concluded, so I can't tell you a thing about the inside of that palazzo, now used by Wake Forest University for their study-abroad program.

All indications at our final venue were that the open studios at the Accademia di Belle Arti in the Ex-Ospedale degli Incurabili on Zattere would be happening well beyond the scheduled midnight closing time. But it was already too late for Sandro, asleep in his stroller despite an early evening nap, and we could only devote a little time to works that merited much more.

It was perhaps the perfect venue to end at, however, this hive of energy and creativity and, yes, even hope, along one edge of this city that some people are all-too-ready to write off as merely a museum. Art is still being made in this city, as you can see below, and it was reassuring to see this at the end of the evening, to find that this essential urge does seem to be incurable.

Catalan City De Girona

I came to Girona almost 3 years ago and fall in love with this city. Still i could not skip from it and keep coming back. Also on the other hand Girona keeps surprising me all the time so that i cant not leave her... it is very strange .. and hard to explain .. but those of you who have fall in love with a city can realize how it is ...

Here is a video that we made on Girona

The travel show on Girona

I kind of always felt that a city need to be big and have everything .. but Girona changed my ideology about that. I know feel there should not be any definition to make a city better, it just the experience you have in that city will make you fall in love with. Though my first love is still Dhaka which is a complete chaos. But there is something in Dhaka ... thats like no other city ever...

Magic of Paris

Paris had been the city of Magic for me ... I always had very different experiences from each other whenever i go there... it is so strange that never happened to me before .. I always say in Paris there are many worlds and each time you can see one separate world and the other world disappears. And you can decide which world you would like to see depending on the people that you meet there.

I recorded some live show in Paris .. one i uploaded in Youtube .. Here is the link below

I been in Paris many times. But the best memorable event would be when i lost everything and got back everything in the biggest 4 hours of my life. It was the night wen i was shifting from France to Spain. I was going to take the train from Paris to Girona at 11:20 pm. I took all my luggage and started to go to the station through RER. I had 2 big luggage and 1 bag pack. The bag pack had all important stuffs like the certificates, laptop, hard disks, camera, passport ... I don´´t ever leave this bag normally. On that night i was so tired that i opened the bag to keep a bit rest and forgot to take the bag when i get down from the train. I dont even realize that in that moment. after 10 minutes i found that i dont have the bag. I dont ask me what i was thinking in those times. 

It was Sunday night. I was totally clue less. I tried to talk with the police they said i have to wait. I had to big my luggage to some volts in the stations, cancel my tickets and go home of my friend. I was so frustrated but i just kept remembering myself that this can not happen. I had never did anything bad to anyone... it should not happen to me. 

When i go back to home at 1 am, a call came from the police, who found my bag. and in the bag they found a piece of paper that had the name of my friend and his number written. they called that number to check. I was sooo lucky you can not image. I went to meet the police as soon as possible and found the bag and everything intact. It was such a relieve .. Oh my good ... even now while writing i feel tensed.... 

I have to stop writing now .. but later i will post another event that happened in Paris

Let me know your comments please

A farewell Dinner in Girona, Spain

Here i want write about my last week in Girona. All the last five months i have a great great time with Ehsan, who made my life really easy and fun .. I was working, eating, travelling with him ... before he left we had few dinners together which was awesome awesome ... i really felt proud to be from Bangladesh as him.

let me show you some of our musical talents ;)

We always loved doing that

We always used to fight on our philosophy which is often very different but we always respect each other´s opinions. He is a poet inside, animated .. hard working .. and talented guy... Let me share you one picture of our last last night in girona .. I see my elder brother Shonchoy in him

A dinner at my place

The best time with him would be the night of Cricket in Barcelona on which i will have a separate post next.

Please write me comments to help me get better in my writing !!

Take A bath in Hungary

Missing out on the baths of Budapest is like not visiting the Eiffel tower while in Paris. The only difference is that while one usually visits the Eiffel tower only once, the spas and adventures in Budapest will probably keep you coming back for years to come. Budapest is one of the richest cities in the world in terms of thermal and spa waters. Parts of the hot springs of the Buda side can date back to the Celts and the Romans. The name Aquincum itself (Ak-Ink – rich in waters) refers to the springs: archeological digs have uncovered 14 spas…

Rudas bath's main pool

The waters

The hot waters of Budapest are of karstic origins. Because of the unique geological circumstances, thermal springs from the deeper layers of earth mix with the karst waters. INTERESTING FACT: in total there are 130 hot springs within the boundaries of the capital. The springs provide 30 million litres of warm, and 40 millions of hot water daily, with temperatures between 22 and 76 °C. According to their chemical classification, the Budapest springs belong to the group of hydrogen carbonate waters, which occasionally contain sulphuric compounds and absorbed radioactive materials.     


Baths in Budapest

The 150-year Ottoman rule left its mark in the bathing culture – with real Hamams being found in the pools of which Ottoman pashas and bashas (high-ranking leaders) used to bathe. From this period we have the Császár, the Király, the Rác and the Rudas baths (latter is open only for men on certain days). The number of baths increased again in the middle of the 19th century. In 1934 Budapest officially received the title of “Bathing City” and in 1937, the First International Bathing Management Congress was held there, officially declaring Budapest an international medicinal bathing area. During the second wave of bath constructions in Budapest, beautiful secessionist and romantic buildings such as the Gellért Bath, the Széchenyi, or the small, Bauhaus-styled jewel, the Dandár were built.

Many Budapest hotels have their own thermal baths. The most well-known is the aforementioned Gellért Hotel, but the list includes the renowned Grand Hotel on the island Margitsziget, Hotel Aquincum, or the only Pest-side health resort, the Helia. Lately, a number of complaints have been made about the rooms of hotel Gellért, however, the rest of the hotels offer true first class services. 

In the medicinal baths we mostly find pools with different temperatures, hot air and steam chambers. Facilities include a large, quiet room with beds for resting, and a number of separate rooms for healthcare.  

Bathing, in all cases, is a ritual. Make sure you give it the time it needs. Relax your muscles, and immerse yourself in this century-long tradition.

Bathing time should be 20 minutes. It is best if the parts of the body above heart level do not go underwater. After bathing, wrap up in in a bathrobe or in a large towel without drying yourself, then get in a bed and stay covered up to the neck for 1 hour. If you choose to sit bathing, use up half the time as above, and make sure the kidney area gets underwater. 

Steam baths are 35-40 °C chambers with high humidity levels. During steam bathing a comprehensive cleansing of the skin and sweat glands takes place, there is an increase in blood pressure, furthermore, steam also loosens secretions and can stimulate discharge of mucous from the lungs and throat.

In the steam bath, perspiration is increased very quickly, and because of the hot air, it can not evaporate, thus creating heat congestion. Since this is highly strenuous for the heart and the blood circulation, even the completely healthy visitors are allowed only 10-15 minutes inside, while people with health problems can visit only on doctor’s orders. After the steam bath, your body has to be cooled down gradually, first in warm, then in colder water, followed by at least 30 minutes of rest.

The temperature in the hot bath chamber is 60-80  °C, but its air is dry, less humid, so the perspiration can evaporate properly. It can be used to keep healthy people in shape, or to decrease the weight of sportsmen.

1. Shower
2. Relaxing in a warm pool
3. Cold pool
4. Steam bath
5. Ice cold pool
6. Steam bath
7. Ice cold pool
8. Pools with different water temperatures
9. Shower
10. Rest and relax wrapped up in a beach towel

Bathing ethics

- Keep your voice low.
- Only swim in designated pools (Swimming in warm water is unhealthy!)
- Don’t jump into the pool, no handstands in the pool either.
- Don’t bring any toys, balls, newspapers, food, or anything fragile to the bathing area.
- Give way to people coming out from the steam chamber.
- At the relaxing rooms, just be quiet and relax.
- In the Turkish baths (on single-sex days), you get a privacy cloth along with the beach towel, it might look strange, but it’s worth using it.

The medicinal waters are not only used for bathing, but also for water cure purposes. Springs at the Lukács or the Rudas bath are especially suitable for this purpose. The water cure is advised if you suffer from arthritis, spine diseases, disk problems, stenosis, circulation problems, asthma, or chronic bronchitis. The medicinal vapours of the water are inhaled leading to many health benefits. 


While bathing, keep in mind:

- Don’t bathe on an empty stomach, nor with a full one, or immediately after consuming alcohol.
- After taking a hot bath,  a steam bath or using the sauna, don’t leave the place with a heated body, make sure your body cools down gradually.
- Bathing for more than 40 minutes in the hot water pools is not advised. In most baths, there is a warning sign with the suggested time spans.
- Bathing should be followed by a rest.
- The steam chamber strains the heart, so its usage is advised only to healthy visitors.
- In the sauna or the steam chamber you shold not spend more than 15 minutes. On one occasion, you should visit these 3 times, however, a round should not take more than 30 minutes.
- The sauna and the steam chamber should only be visited 2-3 times a week.
- Stepping out of the sauna or the steam chamber, as you get in the cool water pool, you can experience dizziness or nausea – after getting out of the pool, it is advised to take a short break before going back into the sauna.


You should not visit the bath if you have (or you are in):

- fever, cold or flu
- involuntary urination or defecation problems
- infectuous diseases
- menses, pregnancy
- heart and circulation problems, high blood pressure
- virulent phase of locomotor diseases
- reuma with inflammation symptoms
- virulent phase of certain diseases (tonsillitis, any kind of gastro enteritis)
- tumour diseases
- bad overall health condition
- certain muscular or cutaneous diseases

If you have some sort of illness, or you are just not sure whether you can visit the bath, make sure to consult your doctor.

Bratislava or Partyslava!

The celebrations bringing in the New Year in the centre of Bratislava have become a tradition in the past several years. Last year around one hundred thousand people welcomed in the New Year on the streets and squares of Bratislava, with around every fifth person from abroad.  The Bratislava New Year’s Eve celebration that go by the slogan “Welcome to Partyslava”! is now a mega-event, on a par with the celebrations of any other major European city.

The Main Square will again be at the epicentre of the festivities, together with the neighbouring Hviezdoslav Square in front of the opera house and the embankment along the River Danube between Nový Most and Starý Most bridges. Access to the fun zones in the city centre is through check points, which have a preventive function. For several hours on the last day of 2007 the Main Square will be alive with live concerts from the very best of the local rock and pop scene. The programme will culminate in the countdown of the last few seconds of the old year, during which the Mayor of Bratislava will give the order for a huge illuminated crown to be raised above the square. 

In the early evening the area in front of the national opera house will already become a large dance floor with DJs playing various genres of lively music, reaching a peak after midnight. In the half hour or so leading up to the arrival of the New Year, tens of thousands of locals and visitors will make their way to the Danube embankment to bring in the New Year 2008 together under a huge fireworks and lights display. In the past few years the fireworks have been launched directly from boats floating on the Danube, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

So if you decide to celebrate the arrival of the New Year 2008 in Bratislava – or rather Partyslava, as the city was called a few years ago by some visitors from abroad – be prepared for some madness, but also a cheerful crowd of locals, where even the typical Central European cold will be warmed.

Here is video of this city to make you wanna go ....