I will first apologize for past spelling errors, as well as for those to come. I usually crank these blogs out right before bed, in a not so attentive manner. That said, amsterDAM, what a weekend.
Thursday morning came rolling in and I realized I needed to use a few travel days with my Eurail pass. 7 Euros of phone calls, a class, and a bit of packing later, I was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. By Thursday afternoon, I was on a train to the sweetest, most spontaneous, most expensive, ridiculous, beautiful weekend Ive ever had. First stop, a 3 hour train ride to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Stepping off the train in the night alone was intimidating, but I had full confidence that my hand-drawn map would get me to the hostel. As soon as I got a few kilometers from the train station, all neon lights and crowds disappeared and only the glow of distant lights on the castles, churches, and cliff sides lit the town. The sight took my breath away. Walking in the dark down a winding road was a little scary at first, but I realized that a few locals were out cleaning up after the Thursday night bar mess. By some miracle (my map was quite inaccurate compared to the real map) I arrived at the hostel, and ran into my first surprise. Totally confused (and having done no research, I had no clue what language to expect) the manager spoke French. I had to dig deep into my brain, as French hasn't come out of my mouth in a few years. Of course, he spoke English to me to save me the trouble of taking 20 minutes to get it all out. Actually, it wouldn't have mattered much, as the locals speak Luxembourgian, a mix of French, German, and Dutch. Almost everyone in the town speaks all 3, its quite amazing. 5 minutes later I was in the cleanest room I've ever seen, sleeping next to a friendly hostel-goer. The next morning I set off to the walk of beauty/pain. Seeing the cites during the day made me appreciate how old place really is. After visiting a crypt, the old towne, the new town, and pretty much walking around the city 2 times, walking a total of at least 10 miles up and down hills and cliff sides, it was time to catch the next train to Bruxelles, Belgium.
3 hours later, I stepped out of one of 6 main train stations in the city of Bruxelles. My map making skills may have been good, but I wasn't prepared for 6 stations. Of course, with my luck, I got off at the wrong one. A group of guys about my age were kind enough (in terribly broken English) to show me towards the direction. After walking for a while, I decided to ask a local shop keeper. He explained that it was an hours walk to the street I was looking for. He did, however, help me find a Metro, and cut my hour walk into a 15 minute train ride. I finally found the hostel (after asking 5 more people where the confusing street was located). Also a very nice, cozy place. Straight to bed for me! The next morning, I took full advantage of free coffee, and heard a few people speaking English. I asked where they were from (The states but studying in Italy), got into a nice conversation about travels, and was asked to join them on their day excursion. Being alone, I figured it better to travel with friends. What a good choice that was. After a Belgian Waffle, a tour of the Belgian Chocolate shop, a walk around the city, barrels of fun on the Belgian Brewery tour (the last brewery in business in the city. The tasting was fantastic), and plenty of laughs, pictures, and fun trips to the bar later, I had to part ways from my new friends and head to Amsterdam for the remainder of the weekend.
Yet another 3 hour train ride later, I arrive in the hustle and bustle of downtown A'dam. No chance on getting lost here; my hostel, as I would soon find out, was located DIRECTLY in the core of the Red light district. Having no prior knowledge of this, laughing was the only thing that I could do. This did lead to the problem that the hostel was completely for baked tourists, and the management made sure not to clean, or as a matter of fact, take any care of the place. The bathroom was horrendous, the room smelled, and there were some already-baked tourists chilling on the floor in the room. I locked all my goods in the locker, and set out to explore.
I'd tell you how many coffee shops there were, but you'd never believe me. The district, Halloween night, was absolutely crazy. Only a few people dressed up, I'm sure 90% of the folks were high. The streets were crowded, the smoke was gloomin, and the red light ladies were dressed in their finest pieces of lingerie. After a long night of checking out the streets, it was time for a long night of restless sleep. One tourist decided to have a sleepover with a random woman, and they talked and "slept" loudly all night. Thanks bud. The next day, after the rude guest left, the rest of the not-high people in the room had something to talk about and get the convo going. I met a nice guy from Australia, and another from Brazil. The Brazilian and I decided to tour the city together. The torture museum was a real hit...ha...and the rest of the day we spent roaming the town, eating some nice chinese dinner (cheapest food you could find) and walking through the red-lights once again. That night was much better sleep.
The next day, I found my way over to the Anne Frank museum where one actually gets to walk through the the entire house and hiding place where the Frank's stayed for over 2 years. The tour was very emotional and I found it hard to keep from tearing, especially when in Anne's bedroom and crossing through the bookcase. The museum was one of the best experiences I've had. Next, a walk around town, and a very happy sight; the Heineken Brewery! Of course I took the tour, I'm glad you doubted me. This place was incredible; clean facility, very informing, state of the art technology in terms of tour material, and of course, beer tasting. Halfway through, there is a "learn to taste" area. I got to pour all the beers and "top them off", and after answering the trivia question correctly (what two ingredients add flavour to beer) I was awarded a few extra glasses. Not a bad prize. Through the tour, I met a few more Americans, and ended up having some beers with them as well. There was even a theme ride inside the brewery. At the end, the bar was incredibly well decorated, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Again, it was time to leave, and the 6 hour trip back home to Marburg was a long and tiring train ride.
Although expensive, the weekend was the best I may have ever had in terms of learning to deal with a budget, learning how to live like a bum (maybe 2 meals a day if I was lucky), meet new people no matter how odd they may seem, take care of myself, and learning how to let loose and live spontaneously. Ultimately, after making 6 trains, finding the hostels from hand-drawn maps, and somehow coming out alive after a weekend of non-stop action and travel, I have learned a valuable lesson in life:
Life is full of responsibility, deadlines and bill payments, but don't get caught up in the stresses and don't take for granted the things that are there for you right now. Rather, live in the now, enjoy your life while you have this day' of course take responsibility, meet your deadlines, and pay your bills, but there may not always be tomorrow to discover yourself, meet friends, or explore the world. Take this moment to smile.
Looking back in hindsight, everything turns out OK. However it happened, however you thought it would happen, your'e hear now, your'e alive, and your fine. As I heard Bob Marley 1000 times this weekend walking in and around coffee shops, I stress this; Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing, is gonna be alright.
Next weekend: Up in the air, but quite possibly Bern, Switzerland and Venice, Italy
Stay tuned my friends, and once again, thank you for reading.
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