The Amsterdam Forest is huge! It’s 2500 acres, which is about three times the size of Central Park in New York City. The place is famous for all it has to offer. There’s an area called De Bosbaan, which is a rowing course, for people who do recreational and competitive rowing. There are ponds for swimming, a man-made beach, camping…
I’ve visited Amsterdam many times over the past 20 years, and going to parks is a favorite activity of mine when I’m there, but I’ve managed to somehow miss this park over the years. Like most tourists, I tend to stick to the most popular parks – Vondelpark, Westerpark, and Oosterpark. Well, now that I’m not a tourist, I figured…
Sarphatipark – Named after the Jewish doctor and philanthropist Samuel Sarphati, this small park is a nice chunk of green space right in the middle of the trendy neighborhood, De Pijp. Not surprisingly, this is one of the first parks I explored when I visited Amsterdam, because it’s in De Pijp. This neighborhood is just south of the Centrum. It’s…
Beatrixpark is one of the oldest parks in Amsterdam, dating from the 1930s. It’s in the southern part of Amsterdam, south of The Pijp neighborhood. The park has lots of landscaped paths, a pool, a playground, and a really lovely pond. Although I’ve been to Amsterdam many times, I somehow managed to miss getting to this park. I finally visited…
When I’m in Amsterdam, I tend to spend most of my time in the Centrum. When I decide to go to a park, I usually hit the parks that are relatively close to the Centrum, like Westerpark and Vondelpark. But every now and then, I’ll go out a little further, especially when the weather is beautiful and my plans consist…
Vondelpark is undoubtedly the most well known park in Amsterdam, and probably the Netherlands. Located not far from the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum, and Van Gogh Museum, it gets tons of visitors every year. Although you can find quiet areas in the park to relax and chill out, that’s not why most people come here. This is a park for people…
Located just outside the Amsterdam centrum, but on the completely opposite side compared to Westerpark, is the lovely Oosterpark. This shouldn’t be surprising; WESTerpark is up in the northwest. OOSTerpark (“oost” means “east”) is in the southeast. It’s a big park, with lots of benches, a big lake, lots of birds, and a bunch of nice footbridges. Just as with…
As a retiree, I spend a lot of my time in parks. In New York City, where I live, I tend to alternate between four different parks, depending on my mood. My favorite is Tompkins Square Park, a quiet neighborhood park in the East Village with a low key, punky, edgy undercurrent. My next favorite is Washington Square Park, for…
Though it’s a daunting topic, the author tackles questions about the mind – what is consciousness, how does it arise, why does it even exist – in a very clear, concise (a mere 144 pages) manner, providing quite a lot of food for thought. Questions about free will, whether plants have consciousness, and artificial intelligence (AI) are addressed in a…
I readily admit that it was the provocative title of the book that suckered me in. I was hoping the book would have more of a sociological bent, given that the author has a history of political activism, but it was totally focused on Buddhism and mindfulness. I’ve read a few books on mindfulness and meditation, and I do meditate…
One of the things I had to get used to when I retired was not having a regular routine. My workday used to be pretty structured. When I retired, it took me a while to formulate a new routine. The fact that Mark had to still wake up every morning at 5:20 a.m. dictated the start of my day. I…
Cats and Dominoes
Today we set our sights for Lake Bosomtwe! According to my Google maps, it’s about 5 hours by car, although I heard that this depends on what route you take and what shape the roads are in. Either way, it should be an adventurous trip. Driving is often a good way to get to see and know a country. After…
Today we woke up earlier than usual. Sunday is a very important day of worship for the residents of Lalibela, and the procession of people heading to the church for services is an awe-inspiring sight. Our hotel knows that tourists like to watch the processional, so they had breakfast prepared early for us. Hailu came to pick us up at…
This was a really good, practical book. I go through phases where I meditate regularly, and when I do, my life is much better. But I sometimes let my travel schedule distract me from the practice, and I forget to do it on the weekends, and before I realize it, I’ve let the practice of meditation fall by the wayside. …