Brussels to Amsterdam - Day 60

Date: October 17th, 2009
Distance: Cheating by train!
Country: The Netherlands
Song of the Day: I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

After (lots) of breakfast at the hostel, I packed up and went to the train station. I guess the ticket was good for any train of the day. I missed the first train because I couldn't find the steward to ask it if there was room for my bike. After that I realized a) there was no way to talk to the steward before getting on the train and b) there would never be enough room. So I waited an hour for the next train and just got on. It was packed, but I found space to stand with my bike. No one bugged me about being there.

I did get some minor bike upgrades done. I created a good mount for my headlight on my front rack. (There just isn't anymore room on my handle bars. Then again, one of the things taking up space was my GPS...) I also re-wrapped my areo bars. So they look good again. I also did some sewing. I needed to make a case for my mini-cards. But my first attempt was a mess. And I didn't have enough time to finish a second.

Amsterdam itself was fairly nice. It really is a bike friendly city. There are bike lanes everywhere. Along with that though are lots of people in those bike lanes. So it can be a little treacherous going around. But not bad.

I had made a reservation at the hostel before I left Brussels, but it took me a bit to find it. The streets in Amsterdam are weird. Or, I should say not a nice grid pattern. But I found it, and got checked in.

After getting check in, I went for a bit of a cycle around the city. Just to see what it was like. It really is just ringed with probably a dozen canals. So in that way it is unlike any city I have ever been to. Despite that, getting around isn't bad. There are bridges everywhere and as I mentioned before the bike lanes. One other weird thing, the city seems to lean. Everywhere. Buildings just aren't straight. It isn't quite as bad as a Dr. Suess book, but it is quite visible. I guess they musthave some guy in tehre who blesses the buildings (or prays that they stay up). So they are probably sound. It is still odd to walk under a building that is obviously looming out over you.

I also needed to find a place to put my bike. It is probably one of the nicer ones in town. People just seem to use trashy city bikes. Most of which have racks or panniers for carrying stuff. So I didn't want to leave mine on the street. I guess the best place is outside the train station. There is a 3 floor bike park there monitored all day and night. But even that really isn't enough. It took a while to find a place to lock it. But I did get it locked up, and I hope that it will blend in with the hundreds or thousands of other bikes there.

Then I headed back to the hostel. Went to the hostel bar again. I ended up meeting a couple of people. One guy, Larry, was from Long Island. He had just come back from a wedding in Italy and was taking a couple days in Amsterdam before going back home/to work. There were also two brothers there from outside Los Angeles. They were at the end of three weeks traveling Europe. We hung out for a while talking about all sorts of things. All three of them were looking forward to getting back, but not going to work. I can understand. I know I am going to be happy to be back home and just veg out for a bit.

After that the brothers left to find a "coffee shop", but Larry and I headed out to find a club. I guess the clubs in town don't really open until 11:00 at night. So we had a bit of time to kill. First we went to a bar that was pretty lively. People were dancing to mexican pop music of all things. But it was fun. We met a couple of Dutch kids out for a night on the town. Eventually the music turned to more modern stuff, like today's Song of the Day and some Michael Jackson.

Oh, I also started talking to this guy from South Africa named Rob. I guess he had joined up with the French forign legion, but had been kicked out for fighting with one of the other recruits. Which was bad because he said he wanted to "go mercenery in Africa." Now he might have just been messing with me, but he seemed pretty serious about it. Best of luck man!

Larry and I stepped out to get some pizza. Then met back up with Rob outside the club. I guess it still hadn't opened. So we ended up sitting at this cafe for 45 minutes waiting for it to open. When it did, they wouldn't let me in because of my knife again. Damn, why do I always forget about that? Maybe because I just don't think of it as a weapon... So they wouldn't let me in, at all though, which is crap. So Larry and I said goodbye to Rob and left.

Basically we just wandered around Amsterdam for a while. We ended up at a place in the red light district drinking coke. Yes, they really do have women standing in doorways. No, I didn't visit any of them. I also didn't smoke any pot here. Which I guess makes this blog a bit boring. Sorry about that.

It was interesting to watch the transactions going on though. Some guys would walk up to a girl, then think better of it and walk away. Othere groups of (drunken) young guys would walk up, talk about it and wander off. Then other guys would go up, haggle with the lady of the evening and either go inside or head off to look for a better deal.

While we were there the police drove by as well. Didn't do a thing. I mean this is Amsterdam right? So I don't know why I was surprised. I guess I don't see why it is illegal (prostituation or drugs frankly) in the states. Or maybe, it is the line at which it becomes prostitution that seems weird to me. Still, seeing women in windows was a bit creepy and weird.

After we finished our cokes, the bar started closing. So we just called it a night.

-Dravis