WC. 2014. #16

[worldcitizen1723]

Day 16

We are Going to delft today
That is the plan we went to sleep with
We wake up and prepare for a day on the road

This is the mate's expedition
He has been talking about wanting to do this since before we left.
Okay
I ask - do you have all the info you need? Do you have a sense of direction for when we leave the train station? Do you know where you would like to go? Do you know the train schedule? He answers affirmatively. He tells me someone told him it only takes about 20 minutes. I say check the train schedule before we leave. He checks, looks up suddenly saddened and reports that it takes an hour to go to delft. He then says that's two hours on a train.... That's 2 hours not in Amsterdam....I say well, not really- you can count the hours you will be in delft too. He looks chagrined and says, I don't wan to go to delft.

Really? I ask. He nods affirmatively. Wow, you have been talking about wanting to go to delft since before we came... I don't want to leave Amsterdam he says.

And THAT is always the problem - it is hard to pull oneself away from Amsterdam

Okay

The Rain pours from the sky

Okay

Now that the big day trip has been cancelled

The rain stops

Without a plan yet again, we stroll with the pooch to 137 and sit outside
Until the next cloudburst forces us inside

Quiet this morning at 137
Some proper women tourists
You know the type - perfect hair, stockings, sensible heels and trench coats
They stop at the door, come into the vestibule and stand and sniff the air
A sniff sniff here, sniff sniff there
Then they walked out

The rain stops and we go back outside.
Williem the postal worker that we met at paradox and his wife walk by, spot us
Stop and join us. We got to talk a lot more
They have been together for 40 years in the Netherlands
She was from Miami originally then lived in San Fran in late 60's
She was talking about how much she hated the Netherlands
The have only recently been living in the Jordaan. Which she sees as a tremendous improvement. She says they started out in a small southern village and have been slowly working their way towards Amsterdam.
That it had been horribly difficult in trading up with real estate to get to Amsterdam. She said that outside of Amsterdam it really is a racist horrible place to live. She confessed that it was almost impossible to get used to coming from America. I find that statement interesting, because I do think of the states as being racist - but she says it is much worse here. She thought Amsterdam was so great because It is populated with a majority of expats and not Dutch. Interesting perspective, one you do not get to hear that often.

Back to the boat before the next big rain. The app is fantastic!
Drinking tea and eating some delicious thingy the mate brought back
We hear sirens. They get louder and then stop. Look around and spot an ambulance directly across the canal from us. It seems someone is being taken out on a stretcher from the Women's Home (I think that is what it still is). Once the ambulance drives off. I turn my head and look out the opposite window on to the street side- the corner of Prinsengracht and Westerstraat a man has just been hit by a hit and run bike and is lying on the ground unconscious
The rain is beginning to fall again

Geez 2 in less than 10 minutes

The man in the street is alone. 2 Dutch women on bikes stop. One whips her jacket off, rolls it up and puts it on the wet street under the man's head
Someone else comes out from a shop with umbrellas - one is black with green marijuana leaves. A sanitation worker drives by and stops. A policeman comes.
At some point the policeman is carrying the marijuana umbrella. It seems to take an inordinate amount of time for the ambulance to arrive. He is now conscious. He is carefully and delicately scooped up onto a stretcher. The woman takes back her now soaked jacket gets on her bike and rides away with her friend. I feel bad that this individual,was alone. Hope it was not a solo trip to Amsterdam...what a bummer


The rain has stopped for a bit
We decide to walk

Traipse around centrum
And
Niew market

There is a concert at the bike tunnel at central station
This has been on our minds since we ditched delft
It's part of the grachtenfest

We stand in line waiting our turn.
At the door we find out we need tickets
There is a waiting list, but we can probably get in
Tickets are 16.e.
The sun has finally started to shine
The tunnel is dark and cold and lined with folding chairs
I am certain it will sound magnificent
But that sun feels so good on the body
We turn around and leave
Better to be wandering nowhere in Amsterdam
Then in a dark dank tunnel listening to music
At least for today.

We wander
I am not sure if I will ever tire of these strangely angled buildings
We somehow end up at
Barney's for my one chocolate milkshake of the trip
It was thick, chocolatey and delicious
Stroll back home
The clouds thicken
The Rain falls
We enjoy a Simple meal

Winnie is back in the dam
Yippee
She heads on over for a delightful
Evening visit.

Life is sweet in Amsterdam

[Dogbreath]

Thanks again WC for yet another most excellent report.....

Dogbreath

[Old Fart]

Missy says make sure to see the purse museum if you haven't yet. Bush Doctor is right down the street if I remember correctly, we've always liked that one. Sorry about the rain and your little dogs dick.

See you in Colorado next time?

[Mokum Dream]

You really should visit Delft (Pronounced Dell-uft). You can buy a ticket that entitles you entry to the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk and another I've forgotten the name of. You can learn all about Willem van Oranje - he's actually buried in the Nieuwe Kerk and you can walk on his grave so to speak (Though I didn't) - for a couple more euros you can ascend the tower too and get views for miles around. It's a beautiful city and there are coffeeshops too as well as world renowned pottery for gifts and souvenirs if that's your thing.

[worldcitizen1723]

Missy says make sure to see the purse museum if you haven't yet. Bush Doctor is right down the street if I remember correctly, we've always liked that one. Sorry about the rain and your little dogs dick.

See you in Colorado next time?

Odds are weighed in that direction

[worldcitizen1723]

You really should visit Delft (Pronounced Dell-uft). You can buy a ticket that entitles you entry to the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk and another I've forgotten the name of. You can learn all about Willem van Oranje - he's actually buried in the Nieuwe Kerk and you can walk on his grave so to speak (Though I didn't) - for a couple more euros you can ascend the tower too and get views for miles around. It's a beautiful city and there are coffeeshops too as well as world renowned pottery for gifts and souvenirs if that's your thing.

Sounds good
But it will not happen this time
I am a wuss
Not prepared for such cool and wet weather
And that is what the rest of our time here is about

But more important can not wedge the mate from this town
...and then there is the dog..

[chichi123]

Question, does the dogs member still work?