Markus and Brian's Excellent European Adventure

Little bit o' chillin', little bit o' illin'

We're at the end of our second day here in Amsterdam. It's past 5 in the morning here, but I'm restless and had a fair amount of sleep earlier in the day -- getting over the jetlag will probably be a bit harder than I thought.

As for Amsterdam, a wide-eyed, innocent Canadian like me has a hard time providing context and comparing Amsterdam to anything else I've seen; I've never been out of North America in my life. But, I'll give it a shot! Amsterdam is liberal. The attitude here is mellow. Accepting. Anything goes, and you won't really get judged for it. At least, that's how things are here in the hostel; there are so many backpackers and travellers here that getting the local side of things is difficult; you're a dime a dozen, and I think I've met more Canadians than anyone else here at the Pig.

But within the hostel traveller world (and likely this hostel in particular), everyone wants to meet everyone. It's like frosh week all over again. The hostel, in downtown Amsterdam, is a narrow storefront-type building you'd find in any city. Walk in, and you'll see a bar, a chillout area by the main window (with tons of cushions and very short tables where people smoke up regularly), a pool table, and the check-in desk. And everyone seems to be having a great time. The "just relax" attitude permeates the hostel, and the whole city.

Example: I wake up this morning, and step into one of three shower stalls out in the hall. (Very spartan and tight, of course.) Close the door, turn on the water. Then I hear the door to the stall on my left open up, and what sounds like two people walk in. And shortly afterwards, they're going at it, with the occasional bang against the wall or an escaped sound. And it doesn't really seem to bother me at the time; it's just par for the course, and seems almost natural and expected. Go ahead! Enjoy your vacation! Van Gogh museum, or shower sex romp, what's the difference?

Well, we picked number one. Visited the Van Gogh museum yesterday, which is actually filled with way more non-Van Goghs than his own works...it's very interesting to see the paintings and other influences Van Gogh had. Quite a few Monets in there, actually, which I was a big fan of. And they had some major Van Goghs too, of course, like the self-portraits, the sunflowers, and the Potato Eaters. I was disapointed that Starry Night is elsewhere, though.

Today, we tried to see Anne Frank's house (too busy, will come back tomorrow at an odd hour I hope), went shopping at a major supermarket for lunch and dinner (which we'll be doing frequently to avoid going bankrupt; also, no frozen meals to be found anywhere, it's all fresh), and made the obligatory curious-and-highly-amused-onlooker visit to the Red Light district. Crazy, crazy place; a whole district of side roads, main roads, tiny little alleyways, all filled with red light-rimmed glass doors with prostitutes either looking bored or trying to catch your attention. The doors are built into the side of otherwise normal looking buildings.

Most of the time, though, we spent chilling at the hostel. Talked to a lot of different travellers; I played chess with an English girl, Markus talked with a guy from Vancouver who's been working in Ireland for a year now (he's the second European Canadian we've met; they both have loved telling new Canadian visitors how things are different). I managed to piss off an American guy who was getting upset at the notion that other people might disagree with his government's views, and he started the conversation. Other Americans we met were great: Markus and I spent a good 3-4 hours drinking and chatting with two girls from Chicago, Molly and Catherine (group picture coming soon!). We discussed many of the differences between Americans and Canadians and they were good sports when we put them on the spot as representatives and justifiers of all things south of the border. They're heading back home soon, but I hope we run into people like them again. (Hope your trip went well, if you're reading this!)

Well, I should go now. It's quite light out and I feel the need to wake up the 41 or so other people in my room as I crawl into bed. We really enjoy reading the emails you guys have been sending so far; once I get the website up and running, you'll be able to put comments on each posting.

Cheers,

Posted by Brian at May 21, 2003 05:58 AM