June 1 - Amsterdam



Hey. Ahhhhhhh. hmmmmm. uuuuhhhhh. hi. what?



So Berlin was awesome. Such a beautiful city, and such a cool time there. After I left you, after such a seriously comical night was such a great way to start. Friday I woke up sorta early and headed over to the Holocaust Memorial, which was tough. Very sad statistics, there was a strong focus on a lot of families history, which made it almost tougher to take. Then I headed over to Checkpoint Charlie, went thourhg an exhibit titled the "Topography of Terror,"which was on the site of the former SS (a group of powerful, ruthless Nazi police) headquarters. It gave a history of the old, famous German building in the pre-Nazi days, then when the a-holes came to power they took it over. Then, later, we bombed the shit out of it, so it no longer exists. Also hit the Jewish Museum, Alexanderplatz, scared the shit out of myself again on a walk up to the top of the Berlin Dam, the big cathedral. I did so much that day that I took it pretty easy and woke up early to go check out the Schloss Charlottenburg (a big castle used mainly by Prussian-era rulers as their residence). I was out the door at 9:30am and found a massive party scene on the way to the subway I had to take. Literally hundreds of people raging like it was normal that people were raging at 9:30am. Turns out the German Bundesliga's (best pro soccer league) tournament final was that night, Werder Bremen and Bayer Laverkusen. Saturday night. In Berlin. It was nuts. People everywhere in jerseys, singing, chanting, drinking, screaming, cars honking, drinking, yelling and drinking. I was taken aback and seriously impressed.

Anyway, Napolean compared the grounds with those of Versailles, so pretty massive and opulent. Wandered through there, with a nice gardens in the back, then cruised back over to Alexanderplatz, a big shopping/eating district. Then I headed back towards my hotel....and the massive outdoor sauce-fest. Had a beer or 2, then found an irish pub with the English tournament final...yes. Cept it was full of Bremen and Laverkusen fans, in the bar, chanting, drinking, singing, banging drums. Crazy. Beers were flowing pretty easily, but I had a 6:45am train - had to do it, it's like 6.5 hours from Berlin to Amsterdamage. Errrr... Asterdam.

So I got in yesterday afternoon, and realized I was staying about a block from the Van Gogh Musuem. It was my top priority coming here, and I walked right in after the hotel checkin and perused. Again, I'm not really much of an art guy, but Van Gogh is great. This museum had over 200 of his paintings, plus several other exhibits with other artists. Then I wandereda bit, and then found a canal cruise and hopped on a sweet hour long cruise through the canals. The bridges are cool and it was a nice, chill time on the back of a boat. It was 80 and sunny yesterday so everyone had their boats out, so it was very peaceful. After that, I walked some more. And for those of you who have been to Amsterdam before probably know what I'm talking about. But walking around here can be hazardous to your health - the bikers and scooter drivers here are fucking nuts. I mean crazier than a shithouse rat. I am legitimately terrified of that little ringer bell that bikers use - you know, when they are just about to anally probe you with their front tire. Same as that hummm the scooter makes when it;s going. I had such a traumatic first walk in the city that I wanted to go to my hotel, curl up in the fetal position, and weep. I swear this happened - at two different times, about 4 and a half minutes apart - a biker almost castrated me with his front handlebars. 2 different dudes, flying, ringing, nearly de-nutting me. Making matters so much better, I almost had 2 scooters give my colon an unscheduled check up. So yeah, the bell and humm crush me - I tense up and almost crap my pants. It's terrifying. Whenever I hear one behind me, I simultaneously execute a 3 part safety jump. 1. jump in the air 2. with left hand, quickly check shorts, and 3. land on nearest curb or as close to building as possible. Those drivers freaking crazy. Anyway, sorry for the ramble. It's been a great time here, Amsterdam's laid back lifestyle has been a perfect, relaxing last stop before heading back to London tomorrow to finish up the trip. Can't believe I've been gone this long and yet it feels as though it's gone so quickly.