Whoa Amsterdam...
I made it to the hostel, but not without some woe involved. Second mistake of the trip and a very costly one. I got to the central station in the heart of Amsterdam. It turns out I could've saved myself about €30.00 if I just got off at Schipol, the airport. I got a cab and asked him to drive me out to the hostel. It turns out it's on the beach and the hostel at this point advised me to take the trains, but with the check-in desk closing at 1:00AM at the latest and me being at the train station in a cab around 11:30PM, I decided to just go with the consequences. We drove back in the direction of the airport. Damn!! That was a mistake if I only knew. Then from the airport it was another 20 minutes. Whoa! The final cab fare came to €100.00!!! That's quite a bit of moolah, but I got there by midnight. This was one worry off my mind, but a very costly one. So I go to check in and the guy tells me my original booking is full and that I have to move to a room with 8. Yikes!! So I have to take it and it's slightly cheaper. I finally go to sleep for a while dealing with snorers, hackers, and just lots of shuffling around of people I don't know. They were already in bed when I arrived so late. After a rough night's sleep with a wonderful pillow on a fairly comfortable bed, I woke up at 7:00AM to get my day started. I got a shower in, which I didn't think would happen, and made my journey into Amsterdam to meet the ship. I was anxious to get there considering my main luggage cases were on board. After taking the bus and the trains, I'm glad I didn't do that journey last night on rough schedules. I would've never gotten to the hostel. So I finally made it to the ship and got on seamlessly. I got off with my cases with no questions, met some people, said my hellos and goodbyes, and I was on my way. 
Thank God for a wonderful cast of folks to store my luggage and such. Whew! I called the next hotel and it turns out I could store my luggage there at no charge. SCORE!! I thought I would have to deal with storing my luggage at the train station and lugging it twice AND paying for it. Fabulous! I found the hotel okay and now know where I can find it. I was off on my way to the city for exploring and to find the shuttle back to the hostel. I DID find the shuttle, but the only one available was leaving at 7:00PM. Fine. I give up. I'll take it. No use worrying about getting back and forth such a long distance through windmills and tulips to bother with trains and busses. Yes, there are windmills and tulips. I saw them, or at least I saw the windmills and the distinctly Dutch thatched roof homes. It was a scenic ride into town. I wandered the streets all day looking through Amsterdam in various shops and taking in the people traffic. It's the rugby world cup and all the Dutchies were sporting their orange and being obnoxious as sports fans do throughout the city. I was in search of internet that would work on my computer and I wasn't being successful. I took some relaxing moments with coffee or a sit in the park or at various times just to wind down after a stressful evening and morning. I stumbled on this place near the university called Pannekoeoken "Upstairs." It was on a street called Grimburgwal right off the main street of Rokin. What caught my eye was the open door with the incredibly steep stairs that looked like you were scaling a wall. It was typical of the Dutch canal homes. It was a tiny place with only 3 tables and one cook. It was like I was eating in someone's personal kitchen. The establishment had a rainbow flag outside for friends of Dorothy and I decided after much thought of sitting down at a restaurant to just go in and enjoy something truly Dutch. It was truly amazing. A pannekoek is a Dutch crepe that is slightly thicker than a crepe, but just as big in pan size. It's stuffed with what ever and you can pour this thick honey syrup over it called stroop. I'm not a fan of the stroop myself. I tried this once in Vancouver when my close friend Phil came to visit me in Canada in 2000. I knew it was familiar and I was experiencing it right here in Holland. I got mine filled with bacon (ham), cheese, and pineapple. It was DEEElicious! I had a pot of green tea with it and I was finally feeling relieved. The place was happening too. People kept coming in, but with others and me there it was full. All three tables. He was doing good business tonight. I left there and decided to check one more place. I'd been checking all the hotel spots to see if I can crash in on their business centers. All were charging exorbitant prices for internet usage. Yuck. All the internet specialty cafés didn't have a cable or wireless connection to connect with my computer and all the "coffee" shops claiming to have wireless were really smoky and had a weak signal for this sickly computer. I stopped in at the Radisson SAS hotel and wha-la, free internet WITH cable! SCORE!! I was hooked up! Finally! And fast too. Seamlessly. I did some catching up and left there satiated. I headed over to my shuttle where I was whisked away to the country and here I sit in B.F.E. with not much to do. The wind is really brisk outside and the town is pretty quiet. It's a beach town and I think they're at the end of the season. It's time for me to go home. This trip was fabulous. Especially London, Paris, and Prague, but I think now that I have all my possessions in tow, it's time to be in with some familiarity. I sit now in a pot filled bar that is the check in desk of the hostel. It's called the Flying Pig and this is the party hostel. People, like in the cruise ship world seem to be in cliques already and I don't have anyone to break the ice with or to help me out. 
At this point, I'm not really in the mood. 'Tis funny. I MIGHT have welcomed this environment within my first week, but now I'm just burnt out. I think tomorrow's hotel arrangement will be the best because I SHOULD (knock on wood) get a good night rest and be recharged to come home for more rest and relaxation. I feel like I'm in college right now. It's hilarious. I think I'll go walking some more. I need some fresh air. The smoke and now the wine are starting to really relax me. I hope to be out tonight. Especially with the snorers in my room.
Thank God for a wonderful cast of folks to store my luggage and such. Whew! I called the next hotel and it turns out I could store my luggage there at no charge. SCORE!! I thought I would have to deal with storing my luggage at the train station and lugging it twice AND paying for it. Fabulous! I found the hotel okay and now know where I can find it. I was off on my way to the city for exploring and to find the shuttle back to the hostel. I DID find the shuttle, but the only one available was leaving at 7:00PM. Fine. I give up. I'll take it. No use worrying about getting back and forth such a long distance through windmills and tulips to bother with trains and busses. Yes, there are windmills and tulips. I saw them, or at least I saw the windmills and the distinctly Dutch thatched roof homes. It was a scenic ride into town. I wandered the streets all day looking through Amsterdam in various shops and taking in the people traffic. It's the rugby world cup and all the Dutchies were sporting their orange and being obnoxious as sports fans do throughout the city. I was in search of internet that would work on my computer and I wasn't being successful. I took some relaxing moments with coffee or a sit in the park or at various times just to wind down after a stressful evening and morning. I stumbled on this place near the university called Pannekoeoken "Upstairs." It was on a street called Grimburgwal right off the main street of Rokin. What caught my eye was the open door with the incredibly steep stairs that looked like you were scaling a wall. It was typical of the Dutch canal homes. It was a tiny place with only 3 tables and one cook. It was like I was eating in someone's personal kitchen. The establishment had a rainbow flag outside for friends of Dorothy and I decided after much thought of sitting down at a restaurant to just go in and enjoy something truly Dutch. It was truly amazing. A pannekoek is a Dutch crepe that is slightly thicker than a crepe, but just as big in pan size. It's stuffed with what ever and you can pour this thick honey syrup over it called stroop. I'm not a fan of the stroop myself. I tried this once in Vancouver when my close friend Phil came to visit me in Canada in 2000. I knew it was familiar and I was experiencing it right here in Holland. I got mine filled with bacon (ham), cheese, and pineapple. It was DEEElicious! I had a pot of green tea with it and I was finally feeling relieved. The place was happening too. People kept coming in, but with others and me there it was full. All three tables. He was doing good business tonight. I left there and decided to check one more place. I'd been checking all the hotel spots to see if I can crash in on their business centers. All were charging exorbitant prices for internet usage. Yuck. All the internet specialty cafés didn't have a cable or wireless connection to connect with my computer and all the "coffee" shops claiming to have wireless were really smoky and had a weak signal for this sickly computer. I stopped in at the Radisson SAS hotel and wha-la, free internet WITH cable! SCORE!! I was hooked up! Finally! And fast too. Seamlessly. I did some catching up and left there satiated. I headed over to my shuttle where I was whisked away to the country and here I sit in B.F.E. with not much to do. The wind is really brisk outside and the town is pretty quiet. It's a beach town and I think they're at the end of the season. It's time for me to go home. This trip was fabulous. Especially London, Paris, and Prague, but I think now that I have all my possessions in tow, it's time to be in with some familiarity. I sit now in a pot filled bar that is the check in desk of the hostel. It's called the Flying Pig and this is the party hostel. People, like in the cruise ship world seem to be in cliques already and I don't have anyone to break the ice with or to help me out. 
At this point, I'm not really in the mood. 'Tis funny. I MIGHT have welcomed this environment within my first week, but now I'm just burnt out. I think tomorrow's hotel arrangement will be the best because I SHOULD (knock on wood) get a good night rest and be recharged to come home for more rest and relaxation. I feel like I'm in college right now. It's hilarious. I think I'll go walking some more. I need some fresh air. The smoke and now the wine are starting to really relax me. I hope to be out tonight. Especially with the snorers in my room.
posted by Chris | 6:56 AM
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