Hutchenhousen, Germany

Caught up with Pam, Lisa, Zoey and the kids in Koln, Germany last night. They had taken the kids to FantasiaLand in Bruhl. So they met me at the train station and I rode back with them to Lisa's place. Later today I am going to head home and do a load of wash... then take a few minutes to figure out the rest of my route.

The Netherlands was a lot of fun and a wonderful country. I'm glad to be on my way again though, but I had a great time.

My thoughts on The Netherlands...

First and foremost, let's switch it back to 'Holland' I like that better. Other than that, it is one of my favorite countries. The land is flat and 60% of the country is below sea level... but they work with it. They pump water out of the cities on a constant basis leaving every city a winding maze of canals. I learned quickly that picking out a reference point for direction is worthless, because you can see it but if you walk straight towards it you'll finally find yourself standing directly in front of it, separated by a canal... so you'll have to trudge another few blocks to cross the canal and then get back to where you were headed.
The Dutch tolerance is legendary and it meets expectations. The only thing a Dutchman doesn't seem to be tolerant of is being told he's wrong. But outside of Amsterdam it's not an in-your-face, rebellious tolerance, it's more of a "I know you're doing that thing you're not supposed to do and being a good Dutchman I should certainly turn you in but lucky for you I happened to be looking the other way the entire time you were engaged, so I can't really say anything."

...Visit Amsterdam but don't stay there. See the rest of the country. It's markedly different and more enjoyable to boot.

On the Rails..

Headed out of Groningen. Hopped a Southbound without really knowing where it is going. I think it's going at least as far as Amsterdam.

Groningen, The Netherlands

Having breakfast at the hostel. I'm going to head back to Kaiserslautern today and probably stay until Tuesday morning. I plan on doing the Rhine River cruise and maybe a day-trip to the Frankfurt Zoo with Ryan. Then Tuesday I'll probably head for Paris.
The two Canadians took me out for my birthday last night. We decided to go to a coffee shop one of them had seen the night before. I poured us all a neat scotch before we left and then we bought 2 grams of white pearl weed when we got there. We rolled 2 big fat joints and smoked them both... and I'm still slightly stoned this morning, which makes breakfast even better. I still have about a gram of white widow left, I think I'm going to roll a short hit for the train ride today and give the rest to the Canadians. We had a great time last night.

Groningen, The Netherlands

This is a party hostel. Not right now, at the moment it is pretty calm and serene but I can tell that during high season this is the party palace of Groningen. There is no curfew, check-out time is noon and they serve breakfast until 11 in the morning. No question, those are party hostel hours.
I've noticed something interesting about Dutch traffic. When I first came to Amsterdam I thought that Dutch drivers were simply the most courteous drivers in the entire world; Even stopping in the middle of the street to let someone still standing on the sidewalk cross in front of them.
After being in other parts of The Netherlands I have found that that over-the-top courtesy to pedestrians exists only in Amsterdam. The right-of-way power-chart in Amsterdam reads: Pedestrians first, bikes second and then cars. The rest of Holland seems to be bikes, then cars, then pedestrians. The bikes are fascinating to watch. There are so many of them they just clump together and force traffic (both car and foot) into whatever pattern they want.
I think much of the high consciousness of pedestrian traffic in Amsterdam is simply born out of environment. There are so many hoards of stoned people wandering around aimlessly at all hours of the day and night it's probably a lot safer for vehicular traffic to simply get them across the street and out of the way than anything else.


I'm back at the cybercafe now. The hostel has a lockout policy from noon to three, so it's a perfect time to check mail, update the blog and have a cup of coffee. I decided to stay at least another day here and then head for a short stop at home for a day or two tomorrow. I met up with two Canadians spending five months backpacking Europe. They've been in Holland for about a week and I think they're heading up to the Islands Sunday. I'll probably see if they want to go out and have a beer tonight.

Groningen, The Netherlands

The Simplon Jongerenhotel is a nice hostel. Large and roomy with cheap dorms ($12 + $4 if you want breakfast) and nice extras. Lockers, lounge, food and coffee. Now they just need an internet connection and they'd have it all covered. But I'm back at the net cafe I found which is just a few blocks up the street from the hostel. I could see me staying here for a few days.

Groningen, The Netherlands

I arrived about an hour ago. Hostel reception doesn't open for another hour but they let me drop my bags. So I took a short walk around the city and found a cybercafe. At first impression this seems like a nice little city. It's fairly clean and has a sizeable shopping district for its size. There is a buzz in the air and the city is full of life despite the fact that it's snowing. It is a heavy, water-laden snow, just enough to be a slight nuisance. I have to check on the price of the room, but if it is cheap enough I might stay here 2 days. Then I will probably head back South for Germany and France.

On the Rails...

On my way to Groningen; Picked up a train from Heemskerk to Amsterdam and then hopped on a northbound. The Netherlands has a wonderful public transportation system. The same ticket is used for all buses, trams and local trains. All throughout the country. You can buy a strip of tickets in Amsterdam and use them in whatever city you may be visiting. There is also the trientaxi which, for a fixed price of about $3.70 ($4.20 if you buy your ticket from the driver instead of at the station) will take you to any destination within about a 20-minute radius of the train station as long as you can produce a valid arriving train ticket.

Heemskert, The Netherlands

Just had a lovely breakfast in the castle dining room. Now I've returned to the ballroom for coffee and a smoke. I think I will walk back to the train station from here. It is only about 2km and it''s beautiful, though downright nippy, day.

Heemskerk, The Netherlands

Getting ready to check out of Slot Assumburg this morning. This has been a really great place to stay. They really cater to the tour groups and internet access is highway robbery at $7 per hour but otherwise it's a wonderful stay. I slept like a rock both nights and they serve a great breakfast. At $22 for a bed in a 6-bed room including sheets and breakfast, I would stay here again. I saw an older couple check into a double room yesterday and I believe they paid $55 for it.
After we came back to the bar last night there was a tour group of, say, 17 - 20-somethings and the bar had suddenly turned into a lively place. I am going to head north this morning, up to Groningen, a college town at the top of the country. I booked a dorm bed in a hostel there yesterday afternoon.

Heemskerk, The Netherlands

Sitting at the castle bar having a great conversation with my roommate, A South African making his way from Dublin, Ireland back to South Africa. He is a market researcher just coming off a few months in Ireland. We are about to go have a smoke and then come back for a few more beers.

Heemskerk, The Netherlands

I arrived at Slot Assumburg last night. The castle is wonderful. It was built in the 1200's but as a facade only, the outside (as well as the inside) walls are thin and it wouldn't have withstood any serious attempts to overtake it. It was built with the thought that looking impenetrable would be enough to invoke a thought of "Bullocks to this, I'm not going to waste the time and money to sac a castle." And it must have worked, since it's still standing 800 years later.
Inside the castle has been commercialized into a standard youth hostel. The main hostel chain in The Netherlands is the StayOkay chain of which this hostel is a member. The outside of the castle is authentic 13th century castle, inside, if you weed through the 20th century requirements to run a hostel you will still find period furniture and rooms. The outside moat completes the look and feel of the experience.
Heemskerk is a sleepy little town. I took a long walk today and found the tiny shopping district along with a supermarket and a place to get some fries. I stopped at a bakery and picked up a cookie and some snacks for later since I don't expect to make the trek back into town again tonight. I thought of renting a bike and were I staying here longer I would most certainly do so.
Heemskerk would be a nice place to stay when visiting Amsterdam if you're not coming specifically to party all night or have become youthfully-challenged enough to want the combination of a bustling night-life and a quiet place to rest your head. It's calm, quiet and only about a 30-minute train ride from the city with trains running every hour. You wouldn't save much, if any, money in accommodation but the standards and security of your dollar will about double.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I spent the morning at the Nat'l Museum. The paintings were unbelievable. I had seen them before but it always amazes me how large they are. I was standing so close to Rembrandt's The Night Watch that I could have reached out and touched it (I didn't... because they get really, really, really annoyed when people do that). The Van Gogh museum was having a special exhibit making it double the price and a hassle to go and get advanced tickets and an entry time for admission. So I opted to skip that one this trip. I've seen it before anyway. The last time I was here I went through the sex museum and the marijuana/hash museum and I don't see a need to return to either of those. I thought about going through the Anne Frank house again but really, once is usually enough for that stuff.
Besides, I really want to get to the castle. I'm looking forward to a few days in a more-calm city with some time to relax. Amsterdam is going 24/7 and it never lets up. I had dinner last night at a great Chinese place. The kitchen was actually upstairs and they transferred the food and dirty dishes via an old hand-over-hand dumb waiter. The weather has been good but still a slight chill in the air. Not nearly as cold as it was in Scandinavia but still chilly enough for a jacket and sweatshirt.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I've got to get out of this city today. Amsterdam is sort of like that evil friend everyone has... the one that doesn't do anything too, too horrible but keeps you out until 3 in the morning when you wanted to be in by 10 the night before. It sucks you in and distorts all sense of time and date. There is one guy at the hostel who has been 'leaving tomorrow' for the past three weeks. Another guy there bought a 3-month Eurail ticket and only has 2 weeks left on it and hasn't been out of Amsterdam. It's really easy to lose a few days here without even thinking about it.
I went back down to the train station to find a train to Beverwijk this afternoon. There's one leaving at 1651 so I'll catch that one. Which leaves me enough time to head down to the Nat'l museum and the Van Gogh House.
I'm currently in the freeworld internet cafe, Nieuwendijk 30. This is about the best net cafe in the city. Always an open pc, 2 Euro an hour and cheap drinks. It's a coffee shop as well so they have a smoking menu and good espresso. Of the many, many cafes here that offer net service, this one is the best.
The hostel I stayed in last night, doesn't really have a name that I could find, but it was 15 Euro and a nice relaxing place. No frills (what do you want for 15 bucks) but had bathrooms and showers in the room (5 person room) locked storage locker, couches in the room and plenty of chill-out space downstairs. Not much of a bar or crowd other than people staying at the hostel. It's right across the street from the net cafe.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I got a room a little while ago at a cheap hostel. I'm going to stay here tonight and work out how to get to the castle tomorrow. I don't know if it's worth still trying to get down to the museums today or not, but then again, I have seen them so if I don't get to them it won't be that big a deal.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

I met up with Marc and his girlfriend last night after finally getting here and stashing my pack in a locker (unfortunately, I also stashed my cell phone and had to run around to get a phone card and stop at a net cafe to get his number). I met them at the Boom-Chicago where they were just premiering their new comedy act. Marc used to work there so we had a front stage table. It was a great show and I had a good time. Then I crashed on Marc's sofa last night. He was a wonderful host and I had a great night's sleep on his extra-comfy couch.
This morning I woke up and took the tram back into Central Station so I could get some things out of my locker. I figured I would take advantage of my morning sobriety and update the blogs. While I was in Osnabruck, the only net cafe I could find was running Netscape and you can't update a blogger with Netscape. But now I'm at the Easy Internet Cafe with a cup of coffee and most of my wits about me.
Today I will probably head to the museums. I haven't decided yet if I want to stay another night here or head to Assumburg Castle a day early. I think I will just walk around a bit and see if there are any cheap rooms available. If so, I might stay here one more night.
So far Amsterdam has been as fun as always, but my age is showing, and I'm not a party-person anymore the way I used to be. But I'm still having a great time.

Henglo, The Netherlands

On the train to Amsterdam the car I was riding in caught fire and we had to shuffle down to the next car. About 15 minutes later we pulled into the next station and after about half an hour they told us the train wouldn't be going any further. The next train should be here in about half an hour. And then will arrive in Amsterdam about 2 hours from now.

Osnabruck, Germany

Getting ready to check out of the Penthouse Backpackers hostel. Will catch an 11:51 train to Amsterdam. Had a really great time here. Met Bob (Austrailia), Laura (Wisconsin, USA), an unnamed Polish guy very drunk and still drinking at six this morning, Paul (Steve) and a German band staying here after a gig last night.