At last the dumbness in my legs leaving after a hectic weekendtrip to Amsterdam. A weekend which was very intensive with a lot of golden grains, many experience and many moments of horror and moments of joy.
Amsterdam is really a city for all kinds of tastes and wallets.
I was rised up in the lark, and then the first early flight to Shiphole, then the shuttletrain to a new borned day in Amsterdam. The first sight of the capital was three nearly awaked ladies who has really past once time, ladies with forms swelling over their corsets, ladies without anything on their hook yet!!
Then further on to Waterlooplein, with one of the biggest fleemarkets, here you can find evrything you need or not need, for exemple gasmasks from second worldwar or carved walrusbone and of course, bargaining about the price is a must here!
A coffebreak, enoying the late novembersun, think about that,, +15 C and almost first advent...
A couple of tired streetmusicians playing an early morning blues.
A postivie surprise was to once again visit the fantastic photoexhibition Earth from above made by Yann Arthus Bertrand, an absolutely matchless artist.
The canals are lined with barges and handpainted houseboats, decorated with balconyboxes and pots with autumntired flowers. A colourful painted bicycle parked by the wharfline. In this town you really have to watch up for thousends of cyclists, cause they are everywhere.
In the early eve a nice supper on an argentinian restaurant, and there are hundreds of restaurants to choose,with food from all corners of the world, but the trend seems to be latinofood.
The tramtour next morning taking us to the district of Jordaan, old querters with many funny shops and cosy coffebars. The tulip museum is worth a visit even if its very small, but its cosily and if you want to find some welldoned handcraft, you can find it here. On the museum you can also learn a lot about tulips, from its early beginning in Turkey to the daily massindustry.
Saturdaymarket in Jordaan calls a lot of visitors, you can meet dairy managers, bakers, farmers and antiquetraders, they have all their specialities to offer you, taste the most fantastic cheese or homebaked bread for exemple, or try some freshly pressed wheatgrassjuice.
After some hours at the farmers market its necessary to rest the legs and wet the throat with a cold wheatbeer or get warmed up by a nice tasty coffe.

If you do wanna see the backside of the medal, visit the Red Light district, a big touristattraction in fact.
Insensibel hookers dressed in leather and chains let the public look at them, and hordes of men walking around and watch young asian girls sitting in their small cabins in the light of the red lanterns.
Amsterdam is also the Mecka of drugs, there are plenty of coffeshops with smoke thick like the fog in Lutzen.
Prospective visitors are able to buy funny mushrooms or smokingpipes in all kind of colours or design.
Grey and washed out drugaddicts walking around like zoombies, also a lot of beggers on the streets.

The floating flowermarket might give some lifeenergy back and this street besides one of the canals is an ocean of colours and forms and fragrance. Bulbs, bonsaitrees, cactees and plenty of cheap and fresh cutflowers.
What about new cutted, crispy tulips, 50 pieces for the prices of 10 euro, in november. You almost faint!!

A caribean dinner the second night, accompained by swinging rhytms and rattling from the bartender mixing marguritas.

Sunday 19 th november and its my birthday, but its also an important day for all children in Amsterdam, its the day when Santa Claus coming to visit and hordes of children with sweaty parents are packed together to get a gleam.

To visit the museum of Van Gogh get the nervs a bit calmer, but the pulse is going up when visit the museum of torture and the museum of sex. On the sexmuseum you can watch old black and white french cards, carved ivory with erotic motives and african phallos symbols. But watch up for the flasher!

And after these days it was only left to take the shuttletrain again back to the airport, find the right flight, kick of the shoes and fly back home again.

A trip to amsterdam claims comfortable shoes, enough money and a big portion of tolerance, cause everything can happen here.

November 2006