Amsterdam Monday 2230 hrs

Well, what a bunch of to do this last little bit has been.  For some reason when I signed on everything was literally Dutch to me.  I kept getting routed through to my blog but it had a .nl at the end.  Took me half an hour to get to this page.  For all of you that I worked with in Ottawa, you will not be surprised at this.  How many times did I say just make it so.

A couple of things I need to mention before I get into what has been happening for the last week here in Amsterdam.

1:  You will have to excuse the spelling mistakes.  I switched to a new iPad before I left and the keyboard is rather small for these large ham hock hands of mine.  They were good for farming and manual labour (not bloody likely) and not for small keyboards.  You should see the stuff I catch.  Auto spell check can be quite amusing at times. For instance, where I said ham hocks, this damn thing inserted hammocks.  What one has to do with the other is beyond my comprehension.

2:  Pictures.  I know everyone is asking for pictures, and I do have them.  But getting them on here is another exercise.  And as I used to tell everyone when I was working, I am only paid to think between 7 and 3.  If you really want to see pictures then I suggest google and input the city.  Much better pictures than I can take.  And as I am travelling alone there are very few pictures with me in them.

Today in Amsterdam has been absolutely pissing down with rain.  Which has not been so bad for me.  All this trekking around on cobblestone streets with a satchel slung over my shoulders irritated my lower back.  No amount of scotch and ibuprofen can cure the aches and spasms.  I have been googling North American medicines for their ingredients and then doing comparison shopping for the

 European equivalents.  HINT:  bring lots of drugs you thing you many need when you cross the pond.
I guess I could have tried a coffee shop and smoked the pain away, but even in the 70s I didn't do that stuff.
Since my last post I have been losing my way around this city.  I mean I really get lost, which is quite unlike me.  But every cobblestone street and pretty bridge all look the same after 50 or so.  And after awhile left turns become right turns and so on.  Thank god I am never in a hurry to get to any one place in particular.  And if things really get frustrating, I find a nice sidewalk cafe, park my ass and order a large draft beer.  Everything seems easier to cope with a large beer.
I mentioned in a previous post how I was disappointed with the Rijksmusem and Van Gogh museums because they are intense mindst of relocation etc..  Well, I was vindicated last Friday when I went to the Hermitage Amsterdam.

The Hermitage Amsterdam is affiliated with the St. Petersburg Hermitage and they rotate exhibits to Amsterdam.  I saw a fabulous exhibit called The Impressionsits.  There were works from Monet, Cezanne, Lauren's, Pissarro, Manet, Rodin, and other contempories.  Well worth a visit if you are here in the next couple of months.  It was better then the othe two museums combined.

I am totally amazed by the amount of tourists there are here in Amsterdam.  Amazed, but I really should be use to it.  After all, growing up in Victoria, then living in Vancouver and Ottawa which are all major tourist destinations should make one more or less oblivious to the masses.  But I guess with the limited sidewalk space here and the hordes of people cramming into these tight spaces it becomes more noticeable.

One of the things I like about spending time in cities and trying to live like the locals is that after a bit you start to act like one.  I was actually approached my a less affluent member of society that had stumbled out of a coffeehouse, and he asked me in Dutch for money and I responded with a very polite nee.  Here being tall is normal.  Being a 'tad overweight' for the height is a bit of a problem.  The clothes here are for tall slim people.  I was one of those in 2003 but not now.  And damn they have nice clothes here for men, and the men we nt afraid to dress.  As Olga said, here they have talas in a








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Amsterdam

Last time I posted I was in Ghent.  Since then I have been to Bruges, Ostend and am now on day 4 in Amsterdam.

I absolutely loved Bruges.  I had this wonderful hotel, Hotel Ter Brughe which is a refurbished old building situated in a great area on a canal.  Cobblestone streets, bridges and a light mist, perfect postcard pictures.  This city is easy to walk around and navigation could not have been easier.  People are very helpful and most speak English, except for the grumpy bus driver.  I guess it is the same for bus drivers everywhere, even them driver in Amsterdam was snarky.  Must be a job prerequisite.

I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the British film called "Shirley Valentine", in that movie there are what I call quintessential British toursits, the kind that travel abroad but want everything to be the same as back home.  Well, I seemed to run into this group of four many times in Bruges.  You could tell it was them by that grating voice of the femal ringleader.  One afternoon I sat down for a well deserved pint and I heard that voice again saying "this is the best thing I've eaten since we left home".  I turned around and the silly woman was eating quiche and salad.  Quiche and salad when you have all this great seafood around.  Oh well!

I took the 15 minute or so train ride to the Atlantic coast to the city of Ostend.   Being raised by the ocean I wanted that smell and wave action again.  And for you Vancouver Island people reading this, yes it smells different than the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the Island.
Ostend is a nice places, but man is it built up with high rise apartments right on the beach.

I have a fab apartment in Amsterdam in a great area (Grachtengordel South) that is close to museums, the Vondel Park and numerous sites.  Mind you, in Amsterdam everything's close and in great walking distance.

I went to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museums today.  I managed to get both done ina couple of hours because they are both downsized due to renovations and moves.  What I did see was good, but really wanted more.

This is a great walking city, and I would normally suggest to bring great shoes.  But this city has some of the best damn shoe stores, both men and women that I have ever seen.  Thinking of tossing some old footwear out and replacing them with something newer.

in Bruges

It has been 6 days now since I started this journey.  Since then I have been in Brussels, Ghent and now here in Bruges until Friday when I head off to Amsterdam.

Brussels was interesting, I can say I have been there and that is about it.  Not too terribly exciting, just another capital city.  A lot of student age kids wandering the streets until all hours drinking, making noise and being young.  Tour groups galore as well as Roma panhandlers.

Ghent, Gand or Gent, whichever language preference you have is a lovely place to visit with easy streets and canals to navigate as well as some really impressive architecture.  Warm friendly people and again people hanging on the canals drinking and staring down young girls jeans as they are bending over talking to friends.  Drunks are the same everywhere, god bless them.

Wile Ian Ghent I stayed in the Gravensteen Hotel, which was reasonable and in a great location near al the sites and close to a great neighbourhood called Patersol.  I had lunch at this great place called the Soup Lounge.   For €6.85 I had a wonderful pumpkin soup with meatballs, garnishes, buns and fruit.. Best deal I have found so far.  

Heading out to see the Salvador Dali exhibit and wander around the city to see what is happening.  Tomorrow I will head off to Ostend, on the ocean and see the sites there.  It is wonderful when everything is only a 30 minute train ride away.  Not like Canada where it takes 30 minutes to get to the train.  Speaking of trains I met a wonderful lady named Annelies who helped me on my way to the train in Ghent.   Thanks Annelies