This is the second part to my story about my trip to Europe a few years ago. After visiting Haarlem, we took a train to Amsterdam. I enjoyed this very much, as I have very little occasion to ride trains where I live. When we arrived, it was a little cloudy, and soon it began to rain. We purchased tickets for a canal boat ride. Luckily, it was covered.
My traveling companions had purchased various snack-y items which we indulged in. Three of us had decided we would like to visit the Van Gogh Museum, so we got off at that stop. The others rode the boat and would come back later and meet up.
There was a VERY long and slow moving line at the Van Gogh Museum, despite the rain. Not the most pleasant wait, but it's VAN GOGH people! Worth it. We made it inside and rented headsets, so we could walk around the museum and have some description and background information in English (very cool). Unfortunately, it is against the rules to take pictures inside the museum and really, a picture wouldn't do it justice. For me, walking through that museum and seeing painting that Van Gogh actually painted, seeing the thickness and bumps in the paint, it brought tears to my eyes. I think it was partly because of how important art was to my mother and I wished I could share those moments with her. It was a wonderful tour.
After the museum tour, we met up with our fellow travelers and went to dinner at a wonderful Spanish restaurant. I wish I could remember the name, but I do remember that I tried some squid and it was pretty good.
Dinner was very relaxing and enjoyable. We left afterward and then things got a little weird. Aside from the amazing experience at the museum and the canal boat, two other things stand out for me about Amsterdam: 1- the bicycles-see below picture. There are easily more bicycles than people.
The other thing is the complete atmospheric change between day and night. I was a bit of a loner amid this group of people and perhaps that will explain part of the weirdness. I was with my father, his wife and another young friend of theirs referred to as "the Preacha's daughta," all of whom do not drink, smoke or have any experience with any type of drugs. In contrast, and as a big surprise to me, our hostess (a relative of my step-mother's) has a pretty big drinking problem. Of course, no one seemed to notice this despite pretty obvious clues, so I was in a bit of a spot. I, on the other hand, just to clarify, am a rare social drinker, used to smoke years ago and while I don't use drugs, I did experiment a tad when I was super young and since then have worked with substance users. To make things even more awkward, I am the only non-conservative.
So, back to the story. After the restaurant, our hostess and her friends decided to go to an Irish pub. I didn't think much about this at the time. My step-mom decided to indulge her sweet-tooth and we headed into an ice cream shop. We got inside and she said the man behind the counter, "Do you have any coffee ice cream?" in her very strong New Hampshire accent. The man answered, "I don't serve Americans." It was really loud and she did not hear him, so she asked again. This time he said, "We are closed." The shop was very small and we went out to the street to discuss what happened. My stepmom didn't really know what to make of it. I told her what he had initially said. We were all genuinely not sure what made him say that. The only explanation I could think of is that maybe he misunderstood her and thought she was insulting him.
So then, we were standing in the street. We didn't see any sign of our companions, so we decided to look in some stores.
Did I mention there was a strong smell of marijuana smoke coming from the "coffee shop" next to the ice cream place? Okay, just setting the scene, so we start shopping, but each and every shop we went in was filled with marijuana products. I was amazed by the millions of different things they came up with to do with marijuana. So we are standing in this shop, when The Preacha's Daughta holds up two items: one was pair of socks with a marijuana leaf on them and the other was a keychain that said Amsterdam. "Which should I get?" she asked. I suggested that since that was a marijuana leaf on the socks, she should probably go with the keychain. She dropped those socks like a hot potato!
So, we went back out into the street. We tried walking back and forth in front of the Irish pub to get our companions' attention/pity. Nada. We walked up and down the street for awhile. Eventually our hostess came out of the pub. She clearly did not want to interrupt her bar time. We told her what had happened with the ice cream guy and she went ballistic. Ever seen a drunken fundamentalist Christian cuss someone out? Well, let me tell you...it was something. Basically, she told him he was a disgrace and that she would pray for him, over and over, but in a threatening tone. I was a little afraid.
After this, she went back in the pub. We basically stood around and got a contact high until she was ready to go. We walked back to the train and rode the train back to Haarlem. The train ride was a little less fun on the ride back than the way there.
Still, despite the weirdness, I loved Amsterdam. I think I loved the day version a little better though.
Check back in to hear more about my long strange trip!
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