Around the World: Amsterdam

April 22, 1992

Amsterdam is a sight seeing dream.  I went through two rolls of film snapping photos of statues, boats on the canals, bicycles, buildings, trees and flowers.  Everything is so interesting.

Jane and I went on an exploring wander in no particular direction, stopping at the occasional coffee shop to rest and refuel.  We spent hours walking and enjoying the sights and smells of Spring in Amsterdam.

Febo kroquette.  Nom nom nom.

The discovery of the febo, we agree, is the greatest invention of fast food distribution.  Behind a wall of little windows are cooks preparing individual portions of tasty treats.  Customers can browse and purchase freshly made food that is replaced as the windows empty.  Brilliant!  I took a chance and picked a breaded, tube shaped snack, called kroquette.  It's stuffed with a minced filling that tastes like a turkey dinner.  Something this delicious can't possibly be good for you, but I'm going back for more anyway.

Photo by Helen Olney

Amsterdam takes personal and lifestyle choices to a new level of tolerance.  If it doesn't hurt anybody and no one is being a nuisance, it's generally not a problem.  The city has that easy going air about it. Nothing is worth losing your head over.

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"Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle."

~Hellen Keller

Around the World: Sex, Drugs and Bicycles

April 21, 1992

I arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon.  The hostel is busy, but still had a few beds available and I was able to get one for myself in the dorm and reserve another for Jane's arrival later today.  Yay!

Amsterdam, what a fantastical place!  Idyllic cobblestone paths that line a grid of canals mixed with the crowds of urban existing.  The liberal attitude toward sex and soft drugs makes for an interesting walk through the area.  Parents watch their children play in parks, tourists meander along the canals as they visit the many coffee shops offering a selection of marijuana that can be chosen from a menu, women pose in windows at all hours of the day and night waiting for interested men seeking their services.  It's all so orderly, socially acceptable and openly displayed.  Quite a difference from the "war on drugs" and street corner prostitution in the shadows of night that I'm used to.

Amsterdam.  Sex, drugs...

The attitude at home is that selling sex and using drugs is bad, a scourge of society that leads to crime and other terrible things.  Yet, as I get my bearings in a strange city, carrying a backpack and walking around with a map, I am an obvious target for anyone looking to take advantage.  I don't feel any less safe here than I would at home.   In fact, I feel safer here than I have felt in many of the other places I've been.

The people in the busy hostel keep to themselves.  Beyond civil pleasantries, it's hard to strike up a conversation with anyone.  I stuff my bag into a locker and head off to Schiphol, Amsterdam's International Airport to meet Jane.

... and bicycles

Jane is jet lagged and a little disoriented, trying to take in a new place on only a few hours sleep.  We return to the hostel to tuck her bags into a locker before planning a quiet day acclimatizing to a new place and a new time zone.  We pick up some picnic supplies for a relaxing day in a nearby park.

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“Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.”

~John Green

Around the World: Namur

April 19, 1992

Today, I am being lazy.  No train trips, just exploring the area around the hostel with my hostel mates.  We followed a trail to a hill with a vertical face that begged to be climbed.  Two guys had ropes and proper climbing gear to scale the hillside.  We were content to watch those with more experience climb to the top, about 100 feet up until Hans, my South African hostel mate, removed his shoes and proceeded to climb the face unharnessed and barefoot.

Namur.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia Creative Commons

Wendy, also from South Africa loudly quips, "You should change your name to Foots!"

Hans makes it look so simple, we all decide to conquer the mini mountain before us.  Hans is the only one able to climb to the top.  A few others discover a steep path to the side while I learn at an altitude too high to abandon my climb, a very important piece of information that should have been considered much earlier.

I'm afraid of heights.

I start to carefully climb down and find a crevice along my route.  Tucked inside, I discover Jill has made herself quite comfortable.  She is also frightened of high places and like me, often forgets that a love of climbing and a mild case of acrophobia don't mix well together.  After realizing she was stuck, afraid to continue up or go back down, she crawled into this small crack in the rock, hoping someone might send help.  My offer to descend together gives her enough courage to make an attempt and we manage save ourselves. 

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"Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others."

~Robert Louis Stevenson