If you associated today’s title with the old movie “Escape From New York” (which was once New Amsterdam) then give yourself bonus points.
Germany > Netherlands
So far I have been less impressed with Amsterdam than any of the three German towns I visited. Maybe Amsterdam is not for the solo traveler, especially one who is not interested in the seedy underbelly that this city is know to have?
The cost of room, food, Coke, beer, etc in Amsterdam being noticeably higher than their counterparts in Germany have not helped my opinion either.
Would I return? Perhaps, but never as a solo traveler.
ITP Flickr Pic
“Mind Changing Meal”
My opinion of Amsterdam’s food was that it was not that impressive and was overpriced. Then I had this plate of sausages with bread, pickles, and mustard for 8.50€. Maybe it was because I had four beers by the time it arrived, but damn it was good. I savored each and every bite of sausage in a way that I rarely do when I eat.
Maybe It’s The Eyeglasses?
While walking through the streets a pretty young woman approached me — not what you are thinking. 😉 She came right up to me (this rarely happens in my life) and started talking to me in a language I could only imagine was Dutch because it wasn’t German and it certainly wasn’t English. After she stopped talking I asked her to repeat what she had said, but this time in English.
“Do you live around here?”
When I told her that I was not a local her face immediately changed to the “you are of no use to me” expression that I normally see on pretty faces.
“Oh, never mind then.” she said
And she turned and walked away.
Maybe I just have a “I belong here” face because for years people used to ask me for help no matter In what store I was shopping.
Rijksmuseum FTW
After wandering around for more meters than necessary (I continually got turned around yesterday, yet another reason not to recruit me as an Amazing Race partner) I finally made it to the Rijksmuseum.
The museum was very crowded (with many people fighting to take photos of the artwork, a habit I just don’t get) but for someone like me who loves the Dutch Masters work it was amazing.
On my journey from the hotel to the Rijksmuseum I also passed the Van Gogh museum, as well as the Heineken Experience, but by the time I was done with the Rijksmuseum I wanted to take a more direct route back to the city center.
And Then It Happened… Again
As I was making my way back to the city center I decided I wanted to return to the bar at which I found the hash the day before. Not having any idea of the name or the bar, or on what street it sits, I tried to pick up the trail from Tuesday so that I could follow it to the bar.
As I was following trail I heard “FALSE TRAIL” and looked up to see the hash running my way.
“Fuck, I am on a new trail and not yesterday’s trail” I thought.
I caught up with the hash and walked with the DFLs a bit and was going to have a drink with them at their next beer stop. One of the hashers told me that they were doing a canal hash and this was a run before they jumped onto boats. At that time the hash entered a building that looked nothing like a bar so I veered off to walk solo again.
It appears that I have a knack for finding trail.
Once separated from the hash again I returned to my hotel to take care of a few things including looking up the Dutch word for “brewery” and locating the bar that I was originally seeking on a map. And that’s how I was able to have such an amazing meal last night.
I Am A First-Class Citizen
I had no intention of buying a first-class train ticket to Brussels when walked into the train station yesterday, and I had no intention to leave Amsterdam as early as a 9:30am either. But in order to secure a ticket (and if I have learned anything about European trains is that they cannot be trusted) I had to fork over the cash for a first-class ticket departing at 9:30am.
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
In Brussels!
First and hopefully setback if the hash. By the time I walked to registration they ran out of XL shirts for today. Now I am supposed to get my goodie bag tomorrow. Arg.
The adventure continues!! Was there “day of” registration? That’s the only reason I can see to run out of T-shirts of a given size, otherwise they just cant count.
I think we’re ready for the photo shoot today. A bit more work in the dog room, but mostly just policing the crap.
There were 6 deer in the little pasture last night and one on the driveway. The dogs were out and finally spotted the one on the drive and it was off to the races. Of course Brownie and Maggie had no chance whatsoever, but it’s always amusing to watch. Maggie actually got into the pasture and gave a bit more chase, but the deer were laughing as the went over the fence into out of bounds. Maggie returned, knowing she had protected us from the obvious invasion of deer. Of course, 5 minutes later, they were all back.
Remember, try to meet folks from places other than Atlanta, and have fun!!
-FP
No day of registration, just typical hash accounting.
Will try to branch out, though it’s odd how old the people attending this event seem. I mean I know I am ancient at 49, but still.
Going to miss my mid-afternoon naps when I return to the real world next week. Of course I won’t be walking and/or drinking as much beer on a daily basis do perhaps I won’t need them.
Steve – there are 2700 people to register, they may not have all the tshirts there at one time is my guess.
I’ve been following the travels of so many hash friends over there, I am so jealous, but my bank account keeps thanking me for not going.
that would have been fun to watch the deer & dogs.
this afternoon Allan & TJ are going to try to fix an issue with the deck. Pray it goes well.
as for the average age at the hash – its because the older people can afford to travel,the younger folks can’t. I figured that out at the InterAms I have attended.
2700 people?? Holy cats, that’s a lot of hashing in one place.
Issue with the deck?? WTF? We built it right the first time so I can’t imagine what the issue might be.
TOUR SPOILER ALERT:
He freaking won the stage AGAIN!! Please let him be clean. TJ looked good and put a bit of time into Valverde, but was hanging with 3rd and 4th, so it didn’t really matter.
Well yeah, Amsterdam is a big city and you were visiting little towns in the middle of nowhere Germany, so it’s going to be more expensive.
Good point Barb. Wish you and Allan were here as well, but you are correct about the money.
Saw TV Hair, Tripod, Ouch, Tastes Great (who said she got blood poisoning in Paris, and is on crutches), and Shit Happens (again) today — all at registration.
Since I wasn’t their helping install the deck (because I am not handy like that) I can’t imagine what could be wrong with the Deck Majal, but best of luck fixing it.
I’ve pushed the photography off another two hours… like that’s really going to help.
The dog room still looks like (is) a dog room. I don’t think there is any way around that short of putting up a wall.
I’ve decided to embrace the Alan Grove school of thought – buy a house and plan to die in it. Selling/moving is for the birds.
Off to buy another rug and some more houseplants. Then back to clean some more and fret about the freakin’ foyer/living room’s decor.
2,700 hashers?!?! That’s a whole lotta down downs! I really enjoyed my extremely brief stop in Brussels, I hope you do as well.
So far have mostly seen the inside of my hotel room. This vacation life has worn me down.
Going to to explore soon, once I figure out to where I should go.
Stay the hell away from Tastes Great!! Remember, they survived the tsunami on one of their last vacations!! She’s got bad juju.
Bremen isn’t a small town Jenka… no, it isn’t the size of Amsterdam, but c’mon.
The footings under the deck or something has shifted by maybe a centimeter, or maybe an inch (depending on what country you are from). There are a few places that are just a little higher than others on the deck, and you know my OCD perfectionist hubby. So, they are going to pull out a footing, cut it down, put it back, move on to the next one. It doesn’t sound that simple to me, but what do I know…… LOL
and yes, the dog room can only be a dog room, unless you move them completely out & totally change it around. Good luck with the pictures.
And – since we are made of money these days, now the hot tub motor has gone kaput. I told Allan it diodn’t need to be fixed yet, but like he listens to me.
There are places that rebuild motors… that’s what I did with the pool pump a couple of years ago and it is still whirling away. Much cheaper than a new one.
Back from my walk. saw some beautiful small parks, walked into a neighborhood that seemed a little as if I didn’t belong, and then up and down streets trying to decide where to eat, ultimately failing because I am not hungry. Oh well, perhaps I should go out once more and grab a beer.
Hey it looks like I may have butt dialed you, nothing to worry about everything is fine here.
That plate of meat looks fantastic…Totally worth $11.
For those of us with German ancestry, Bremen was a major departure point for emigrats from the mid to late 1800s.
Hahaha! I saw the call come in and the the voicemail. Only problem is that “visual voicemail” doesn’t work for me here so I had to figure out how to call my voicemail to find out that you butt dialed me. 😀