Trivial Tracks

the theme of this series of photos is "The 3rd World" as if reflection in the water makes the 2nd world, then realistic world the first and the second create harmony of the 3rd world.

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

このアルバムの題は"第三世界"
水面の反射が第二世界をつくり
この現実世界との組み合わせが第三世界を作るように

Author yasu : April 27, 2007 10:54 AM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

finally, i finished moving in to Brugge, Belgium and setteled in. i had only 3 days to prepare the moving after comming back from a trip, couldn't even say good-bye to my best-friend, laura. why did i have to step away from her? not sure, i'll explain it to myself once my sensitive awareness comes back that i've lost over the past weeks.

well, living in Belgium is very good choice and reasonable. for example, well preserved historical sites, welcoming locals, less prices, delicious foods and BEER, multilanguage and well operating public transportation and so on. if you want someone to talk with, just take a walk in brugge and will come across friendly guys, in my case, DJ, travellers, locals and belgian-beer-fan who told me his favorites and helped me to choose some of them;) or when you want to enjoy its sensitive atmosphere without crowd of tourist, go for night walk and listen to what you hear.. sound of footsteps or sound of horses, water flowing..
and when you need some activity, take a bike and visit around small towns or seacoast. Belgian roads for bike are well maintenanced so you can easily go far with bike. even i crossed the border between belgium and netherlands unconsciously when i first rode my new bike:p

sailing on a boat, talking with real lamb and cow by pretending its voice, beating belgian guys to drunk.. funny stuff i've done so far:)

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

やっとベルギーのブルージュに引っ越してきて落ち着いたところ。引越し準備は3日間しかなく、親友にさえも直接会って挨拶ができなかった。

ところでベルギーに引っ越すのはいい選択だと思う。よく保存された歴史建造物、フレンドリーな現地の人たち、低物価、おいしい食べ物と”ビール”、多言語国家、よく整備された交通機関など。
誰かと話したいときは街の中心に繰り出して偶然会った人たちとおしゃべり。自分の場合はDJ、旅行者、現地人、ビールを選ぶのを助けてくれたおっちゃんなどなど。
旅行者の群集から抜け出して繊細な雰囲気を楽しみたいときには夜歩きに出て、そして耳を澄ますと、、足音、馬、水の流れ・・
なにか運動したいときには自転車に乗って小さな村や海岸を訪ねる。ベルギーの自転車道はよく整備されてて長距離の運転も楽。 買ったばかりの自転車を最初に乗った時には気づかずにオランダとの国境をいつの間にか越えていたときもあったかな・・

セーリング、子羊や牛とのおしゃべり、ベルギー人相手にビールで飲み負かしたことなど、面白い体験がすでに味わえた:)

Author yasu : April 21, 2007 6:16 PM | Comment (3) | Trackback (0)

i would say that this is the hardest and most emotional, reckless, thrilling trip i've ever done. without detailed plan or particular preparation, i just bought flight tickets on the day before the departure day and then booked a hotel for the first night.. it's not so special when i travel alone as usual, but not this time. accompanied by parents and an aunt and i was responsible for everything as translator, planner, guide, caretaker, besides the remaining days were running out. i devoted myself and my whole time to make the trips memorable for them. that's the only my goal. thanks to my strong iron will, helpful people who never gave up helping us even if we couldn't understand our languages, and also miracles.
everytime hurdle appears before us, i made the impossible come true. that's what the journey taught me how. Belief in myself, never give up.

some of special things that happened during the trip are,
a small stone fell down from top of a famous cathedral church into my head and now it became my lucky stone. even i looked for other stones on the floor but i cound't find any, which means it was pretty rare.
i managed to rent a car for one day to go around small towns of spain, but the schedule was ridiculously reckless, so i drove like bullet, even though spanish highway has speed limit not like german. followed only my instinct without navigation system nor detail map, the instinct was always correct and never got lost.. so i was able to return the car just in time to catch the important train and kissed the lucky stone. also thanks to perfection of Mercedes at high speed:)
pocket pickers targeted us 3 times and they all failed. carefree japanese tourist is perfect honeypot for them, so they attacked us literally every day in barcelona and i kicked them out every time.. they were lack of moral and also practice.. it seemed like as if pocket picking is legal business in barcelona, nobody cares about it.

after all, this trip became the most memorable one we've ever done. the true journey is not always happy, easy or perfect, sometimes you'll want to cry and get angry at something you hate. this is almost how our life goes on. you can't be happy without going through unhappiness. i continue the journey as long as i live. remember, we're all travellers since we're given birth.

am i getting closer to the truth?:)

photo album part 1
photo album part 2
photo album part 3

このポルトガル・スペインへの旅が今までで一番辛くて、感情的で、無謀で、ワクワクしたといえるだろう。プランや準備なしにとりあえず飛行機チケットを前日に買って、初日のホテルの予約だけして出発。自分ひとりの時には特別なことではないけれど、今回の場合は自分のほか両親と叔母の付き添い。そして役目としてガイドや通訳、旅行プランナー、世話役まで一人でこなさなくてはならない。それに彼らの滞在残り日数はなくなっていく。 とにかく旅が思い出になるようにだけ願って最大限の努力を惜しまなかった。
この集中力と、言葉が通じなくても親身に助けてくれた人たち、そして奇跡のおかげで度重なる困難が現れようとも不可能を可能にした。 それは今回の旅が教えてくれたこと。 「信じて諦めるな」

特筆する出来事をあげると、

教会の屋根から一つの小さい石が自分の頭にめがけて落ちてきた。その石は今では僕の幸運の印として大切にされている。

やっとのことで借りられたレンタカーでスペインの小さな村を訪ねることとなったが、予定が無謀だったため、発射された弾丸のように車を走らせる。カーナビや詳細な地図もなしに自分の直感だけを頼りにしたが、その直感が常に正しかったため迷うことなくようやく時間ぴったりに大切な電車に間に合い、そして幸運の石に感謝。もちろんベンツ車の驚異的な高速安定性にも感謝:p

スリに３度遭い、３度とも撃退。注意不足のスキだらけ日本人観光者はスリにとっての打ち出の小槌。ということでバルセロナでは毎日スリに襲撃され、そして毎回たたき出す。良心と練習不足の連中。あまりに誰も無関心なのでスリはバルセロナでは合法なビジネスかと錯覚。

結果として今回の旅は一番記憶に残るものとなった。 本当の旅とはいつも楽しくて、楽で、完璧と決まっているわけではなく、時には泣きたいときや激怒することもある。これは人生についてもいえること。 不幸を切り抜けることなくして幸せは味わえない。ぼくは生きている限り旅を続ける。生まれたときからすべての人は旅人なのだ。

真実に近づいてるかな？:)

Author yasu : April 11, 2007 1:50 AM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

Author yasu : April 11, 2007 12:23 AM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

Author yasu : April 11, 2007 12:23 AM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

Author yasu : April 11, 2007 12:20 AM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

finally, i've got enough time to update the blog.
the trip to these countries seems as if long time ago but it's been only 2 or 3 weeks. this is simply because i took trips and visited many cities in a very short period, we visited more than 2 cities almost everyday.

ようやくブログ更新する余裕がでてきた。
このオランダ・ベルギーへの旅は自分にとって大分前のことのように思えるが、実はたった２，３週間前。短い期間に一度に旅を繰り返したせいだろう・・ 一日に２箇所以上の街を訪れるのは当たり前。

well, the one of main purpose of this visit was to bring my baggage into my new room in Brugge, Belgium by car during the trip. but in the end, it was very good oppotunity to look around the country before start living there. small but diverse from place to place.

今回の主な目的は観光がてらに自分の引越し荷物を前もって車でブルージュ（ベルギー）へ運んでしまうこと。だけど住む前にこの近辺を色々見回ってみるいい機会だった。小さいけど場所ごとの多様性に富んでいる。

in Netherlands,
Utrecht - crowded with the young and tourist. home town of Miffy.
Gouda - cozy and relaxing tiny town with pretty houses.
Kinderdijk - not just a place of windmill! treasure box for those who like to take artistic photos.

オランダ：
ウトレヒト － 若者と観光客に溢れる。ミッフィーの生まれ故郷。
ゴウダ － 落ち着く小さい街でかわいい家がたくさん。
キンデルダイク － 風車があるだけの場所じゃない！ 写真家には非常に魅力的な素材に溢れる。

in Belgium,
Damme - isolated small town as if it's hidden.
Brugge - now it's my city, you'll often have an illusion of being medieval ages. very well-known sightseeing spot but still you can find your own favorite and secret place..
Gent - outstanding medieval atmosphere with gothic architectures. though, erectric wires of tram are getting in the way.
Brussels - complete mixture of race and culture, nations. the core city of european union. but the question is, what are you gonna do in this typical capital?
Namur - couldn't find anything interesting..
Dinant - gourmet. the city of fort. foods served in this region close to border with france are delicious!

ベルギー：
ダム － 隠されているかのように孤立した小さい街。
ブルージュ － 今の自分の街。しばしば道を歩いているとタイムスリップが味わえる。超有名観光地ではあるが、それでもなお自分だけのお気に入りの場所を見つけることができる。
ゲント － ゴシック建造物で圧倒的な中世の雰囲気。トラムの電線が非常に視界の邪魔。
ブリュッセル － 完全な人種・文化・国の融合。EUの首都。ただ、この典型的な首都で特になにをする？
ナミュール － 特に面白いものが見つけられなかった。。
ディナン － グルメ。 要塞の街。 このフランス国境に近い地域は食べ物が非常にうまい！

photo album part 1
photo album part 2

Author yasu : April 9, 2007 6:45 PM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)

If you cannot see the photos above, try Flickr's Slide Show

Author yasu : April 9, 2007 6:40 PM | Comment (0) | Trackback (0)