Dutchin it up...
Trip Start
Jan 04, 2005
1
24
35
Trip End
Aug 22, 2005
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Thursday, April 7, 2005
So, as we headed out of Scandanavia, we ran into a few problems. We had planned to take a bus from Copenhagen to Amsterdam but, of course, the bus company randomly changed it's schedule, so we were forced to take a bus to Hamburg..then hang out there for about 8 hrs til 4:40am...then catch a VERY expensive train to Amsterdam...not fun (or cheap)
What can I say about Amsterdam?...it's definetly a strange place. The city itself is beautiful. The canals are georgous..the buildings are awesome..we saw some amazing parks...I visited both the Van Gogh museum and Anne Franks house (Dev had been before) Both were really good, although completely over-run with school groups.
We did our obligatory stroll through the red-light district. It was pretty much exactly what I expected..pretty shady. The scariest moment came when a guy who was walking with us decided to snap a picture. Suddenly, all I see is a woman in a thong chasing him full speed down the street. (tip of the day: NEVER take pictures in the red-light district) Luckily she didn't catch him...I can only imagine what could have happened.
...the tourists in Amsterdam are a strange bunch. I mean, I think its totally fine that people can smoke up legally..but I swear at least half the people in our hostel spent their entire visit sitting in the hostel basement getting high.
good work folks.
So..after our time in the Netherlands, Dev and I boarded a bus headed to Italy. 21 hours and 6 countries later, we pulled into Milan. The bus ride was not as bad as we thought it would be...although they only showed one movie the whole trip...
and it was the Mr. Bean Movie....with no sound....so brutal.
We got to Milano at 5am...spent the day looking around then boarded a train to Parma to visit my friend Jo...yeah!
Ciao til next time.
