amsterdam, day 2

us, over a canal, one a rainy day.



we went downstairs to get our breakfast. for such a nice looking hotel, i expected something that would be a bit more than what we had been getting at the small hotels. that did not come to pass, however. in fact, the food was barely edible (and this is coming from a person who doesnt care about food too much). i also decided that when we went back upstairs, that i should take a shit. maybe there isnt anything in the amsterdam water afterall, because whoever designed this toilet was a moron. it isnt a typical bowel that i am used to, but rather there is a sort of plateau in the toilet, much higher (and closer to your ass) than where the water is. in fact, when one does shit (or piss) it just sits there, on that plateau until you flush the toilet, which then washes it down the drain. that said, there is a much stronger chance, and it is easier for little scraps of shit to remain in the toilet (as does happen anyway with normal toilets). it is a bit hard to describe, but the reader will have to trust me that it is retarded. in any case, because i had coffee yesterday, my shit smelled particularly bad (it must be because of the coffee because usually it smells like roses; paola can confirm this). in any case, the toilet room (which is different from the bathroom) stunk up very quickly. it was only then that i realized that there was little ventilation in this bathroom, not even a fart fan. i figured just close the door, and hope that it does not get into the room too much (but i was scared because if we closed the door, then where would the stink go?). in any case, when we got back later that day, the stink was gone; perhaps the maid did something about it. all this said, i have to say that the worse bathrooms in europe have to be in amsterdam (the only thing that will stop amsterdam from getting this distinction is if in paris or barcelona the toilets actually spit the shit back out at you).

before getting on to the day, and since we are already on this pleasant topic, allow me to share somehting else with you. it seems as though it is all across europe that public bathrooms have to be paid for. i dont understand how this is the case. i suppose that they feel that the public is paying to keep the bathrooms clean. however, while the bathrooms are usable (by somone like me), they are not especially any cleaner than most public bathrooms in america. that is not to say that they are filthy, but only that they are decent. certainly, i have come across those bathrooms in america where there is shit splattered all over the walls, and someone has written their name in shit (in a sort of disgusting finger painting style), and i have not come across bathrooms like that here. but most of the filthiest bathrooms that i go to in america (like the one described) are not public, but rather inthe back of bars or something. not only that, but seeing how many people use these public bathrooms, they must be making a tremendous profit (they are not paying the person who cleans the bathroom that much).

so after making our hotel room unsuitable for cockroaches, we went out to start our day. we first went to rembrandt’s old house. it was interesting to see how the great painter lived, but still a bit boring for me. i did like the collection of etchings and drawing that they had on display.

berfore that we walked around the new market, which is a flea market. paola searched for the perfect t-shirt, while i waited, thinking that they were all pretty much the same from vendor to vendor. we walked around that area a bit, and learned that, as in berlin, there are a lot of people who ride bicycles in amsterdam. in fact, they have their own part of the road, apart from the sidewalk and the street. these bike paths are usually make with red brick. in fact, because bikes are not loud like cars are, i think that they are a bit more dangerous than the cars. this is especially the case because, as in berlin, the drivers are actually very considerate (especially when compared with italy and greece), but the bicyclists behave as thought they own the road. all they do to alert people is turn their little ringer (the same sort of ringer that i once had as a kid, with the lever that is pressed around a can-shaped bell, and sounds like a fr-fr-fr-fr-fring; i remember my parents giving me this sort of bell, and i hated it, thinking it was the stupidest, uncoolest thing anyone could put on their bike, and i would be damned if i actually used it to alert someone, lest i reveal what a dork i am). in any case, paola almost got killed by a biker because she forgot the grade school rule: look both ways when you cross the street; perhaps she did not forget it, but rather she applied it, only looking for cars, and not paying attention to bikes who might run into her.

it started to rain, and continued to do so pretty much all day. so in the rain we looked for the oudekerk, which is the oldest building in amsterdam. it is a gothic style church, dedicated to st. nicholas. after being in rome, i wasnt so impressed by this church, so we left.

we walked to anne frank’s house to take a tour through that place. i suppose that since most people read the diary during high school, that a lot of people feel some sort of connection, and want to take the tour (i didnt read the book in high school, thus felt no connection, and had no desire to walk through another person’s house). the line was very long, and since it was raining, we decided to pass.

we decided after walking around the shops a bit to go back to the hotel, and snuggle rather than let our feet get even more soaked.

later that night, we decided that we should go out to have dinner. on our way out, paola stopped to ask the desk woman if she knew how to use the phone card that we got becuase we could not figure out how to use it from the room (i am sure that it is now a loss that we have to accept). since we had asked her ealier that day about a club that i want to go to tomorrow, she gave us free tickets for anotherr club for tonite. that was neat. so we took them, not knowing if we would go or not. we went and ate chinese food again; it was teh first decent meal that we had since getting here. while at dinner, i realized that i was in some sort of funk. i didnt quite know why. it didnt seem as though amsterdam was impressing me. paola then made the suggestion that i was not inspired by amsterdam, and this was exactly what the issue was. weed wasnt that good, i couldnt get any prostitutes (in virtue of being with paola, i even asked; though i must admit that after hearing whatever price they might charge, i wouldnt do it anyway, since (in the worst case scenario) i could use my hand for free), and didnt feel like clubbing too much. we made the obserrvation that, although being free to smoke weed and get prostitutes is very cool in theory, it brings with it an unsavory element: namely those people who want to smoke weed freely and buy prostitutes. so the vibe did get a little gross here. perhaps the world class clubbing (most of my favorite djs are dutch) would bring my spirits up.

we went to a bar and got some drinks and i smoked a little before we could decide whether or not we wanted to go out. again, the smoke did not effect me too much. last nite we shared a joint, but tonite i had one all for myself. all the same, little effect. paola thinks that i dont know how to smoke properly, by inhaling it into my lungs. she might be right. oh well, my loss, i suppose. since they were playing some cool music inside the bar, we were influenced to go to the club that we had tickets for. also, since it was after 12, we would have to take a cab home (since the busses dont run so late), and we thought if we were going to have to pay for a cab, we might as well pay a little more to check out this club, so we did. we went and got in with no problem. once we were inside, though, we didnt quite feel like staying, and we werent feeling like we were having a good time. certainly, it was still too early, and if we would have stayed later, the club would have filled up a bit more, but we decided to go anyway. we i think that i have grown out of the clubs now; im happy just chilling out with paola, and relaxing together.