Chilling out in London (and photos, finally)

Pity the Aussie one is ugly
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The close of my last entry was a bit rushed, because I was in a net cafe and was running out of time, so let me explain a few things. The Berlin bears are this international friendship things where each of the united nations countries (I think that's right) gets a seven-foot bear to decorate, then they are all placed in circle in a city square facing each other. They are in Berlin at the moment, but have been travelling around and were in in Sydney earlier this year. It's a great sort of initiative, the sort of thing everyone can appreciate because they are very colourful and inviting. The photos are attached to this entry.

Aya Sofia, Istanbul
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The Holocaust memorial I was talking about is a pretty new thing, which involves all these large blocks of stone, placed in a grid pattern over a huge area. You walk between them, and the gound gradually drops away, so that they start at knee height and gradually grow around you as you walk to about 15-20 feet. The effect is meant to be disorientating, and have you getting lost in it.

Everything in Amsterdam smells like pot all the time, and you have to look everywhere before you cross anything, or you're liable to get run down by a cyclist. There's about ten bikes for every car, and the are as many bike paths and canels as roads. Pedestrians aren't always so well catered for. But it's just a matter of working out which are the bike paths and which are the footpaths.

Inside the Aya Sofia
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I braved the crowds for the Anne Frank House, which is the most popular tourist attraction there (aside from the drugs and prostitution, I guess). I was under the impression for some reason that where they hid from the Nazis was basically a wardrobe, but it's not, it's more like a whole house, with about five rooms, hiden behind another. Not to trivialise it, however -- there where eight of them in this tiny house for two years, and they could never go outside. Very moving.

Been in London for a fews days now and I haven't really done much of the touristy stuff yet, but have scoped out plenty I wanna do in the next few weeks. It's nice to go at a slower paces after the tour, do whatever you like (including nothing, sometimes), and even have a good eight hours some nights. Went to the Camden Markets on Saturday, some huge markets where you can be buy some very odd stuff and home to a wonderful collection of freaks and weirdos. One also visited The Church, a big, sweaty, sloppy booze-up in the middle of Sunday afternoon for expats (Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans and Irish, mainly). It's a few very messy hours and then out into the afternoon sunlight. Nasty but fun at the same time, and a real eye-opener.

Guess where? Sydney, right? Wrong. In Sultanahmet, Istanbul.
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Really liking London so far, which is almost a surprise because I wasn't so sure I would. Just a little scared about my bank balance, being here. Taking off the Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Festival and to see Bridie in a few weeks, but will be here for a little while yet.