Day 28, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Day 28: Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The day is ours to conquer, but without our intrepid Luna. When the coach leaves the hotel to head to town, she takes a shuttle the other direction to hop a plane back to Toronto. The first of our gang to leave- sad! The tour doesn't end 'til tomorrow morning but some leave today and others, like myself, stay in Amsterdam tomorrow while the rest head back to London on the coach where their adventure ends.

So, the remaining seven head to town and everyone else wants to see the Anne Frank house. I get dropped off there with them and while they go to check that out, I head to the post office to mail off my many souvenirs that I've picked up (I've been carrying an extra duffel bag full of stuff for about a week now.) And, yes, I am keeping the Prague brick, it's in the mail even as I type. I am humming Christmas carols as I step out of the Post Office and, not seeing any cars, step into the street. That's when a guy on a bike angrily dings his bell (a sentence I didn't know was possible) and swerves to miss me. There are sooo many people on bikes here! Silent, but deadly killers. I wander around for a bit and then join back up with the team. The overall vote is to just wander and shop, I think we're all cultured/museumed/churched out.

We wander around and soon get separated in the crowds so I hang out with Brett, Deanna, Tanya and Michael. We go up to the bike parking lot and take some pics and by that time I'm done wandering and ready to head back to the hotel. Except for Michael, the others have signed up for a dinner excursion so they all stay to meet up with the other excursion people and Michael and I hop on a train to the airport, then take a shuttle from there to the hotel. We make plans to meet up in about 3 hours for dinner and I begin an exciting afternoon of doing laundry (thankfully this hotel has a laundry room for us to use.)

I join Michael and some others at the hotel's Italian restaurant for dinner. I'm planning on heading back into town later to join the gang for a canal cruise excursion so I have an exciting dinner of tomato soup. It was the worse tomato soup I've ever had- it tasted like they opened a jar of Ragu and dumped it in a bowl and heated it up. So, I have about 3 bites, pay my part of the bill and excuse myself so I can run back into town.

I leave the hotel at 7:15pm and I'm supposed to meet up with the gang at 8pm. I'm going to try something fun for this part of the blog, join me, won't you? First we must go back in time.

The dinner excursion gang: After we parted ways in the afternoon, they decided to head back to the red light district and partake in the "coffee shops". An Amsterdam "coffee shop" is a business that is legally allowed to sell marijuana and as long as you smoke or eat it there, you are totally legal as well. So, they all test out various marijuana desserts and take a few puffs, and then it kicks in.

Amanda's adventure: I take the hotel shuttle to the airport and run down the stairs to catch the train. I see a train going to Blah Blah Blah Terminal that is about to leave. I look around for a ticket machine and can't find one. If I miss that train, odds are I'll be late getting to the meeting point and will miss the cruise. So, I decide I was lucky enough to jump a tram without a ticket, surely I could do it again on a train. I hop on, take a seat, and try to put on an innocent face.

Meanwhile, back with the gang: I will be excluding names from this point, you all know who you are (and that you're making me smile even as I type this). Person #1 is no longer responding to anything. From what I hear, Dave and Enzo were wiping food from their face as they was no longer able to feed themselves (wow- this anonymous stuff is hard to type!) Persons #2 and #3 kept asking "have you been on the cruise yet" every five minutes. I'm sure Persons #4 - 7 have stories to tell as well, but their stories have eluded me thus far.

Meanwhile, back on the train: The train starts moving and a thought comes to my mind... it seems to be moving in the wrong direction. I did hop on the right train, right? Just then, a guy who works on the train says something in Dutch to the guys sitting across from me. i think the jig is up and I'm about to be busted for not having a ticket. The guys are getting agitated and finally I hear the train guy say in English, "I was just trying to tell you that this car isn't heated and that you might want to move to the next car." He then looks at me, smiles, says something in Dutch and moves on. Yea! Innocent face works! I follow the guys into a heated car and sit down. That's when the other train guy comes up to me and says, "Ticket, please."

Meanwhile, back with the gang: People are starting to get concerned over person #1 and keep checking him/her to make sure he/she is still breathing. Person #2 and #3 are still asking "have you been on the cruise yet?" Persons #4 - #7 still have blanks to fill in.

Meanwhile, back on the train:
Me: Aw crap."Um, two questions. #1- is this train going to Amsterdam Terminal?"
Train guy #2: "No, it is a direct to Rotterdam Terminal."
Me: "And does Rotterdam mean Amsterdam in Dutch?"
Train guy #2: "No, it is a different city and will take us 26 minutes to get there."
Me: "Hmm, okay, that brings me to my second question, i was going to buy a ticket to Amsterdam Terminal when on got on, so I guess I'll buy one for Rotterdam instead."
Train guy #2: "You can't buy tickets on the train, and there is a 35 Euro fine for getting on a train without a ticket as well as a fine for not having the additional ticket that you need to take a direct express train."
Me: "Oops"
Train guy #2: "This is what we're going to do, you're going to sit here, and when we get to Rotterdam, 26 minutes from now, you're going to continue to sit there for 30 minutes which is how long the train will be there. Then, this train makes a return trip to Amsterdam and you will get off at the Terminal station there. Since it's Christmas, I'll let you off the hook."
Me: (sheepish/somewhat scared smile): "Thanks".

I send a text to Natasha saying that I'm an idiot and I won't be making the cruise. We get to Rotterdam and, true to his word, the train sits there for 30 minutes. However, they turn the train off, except for the lights. So, I'm sitting by myself, in an empty train car, in dead silence. Creepy isn't the right word, it was more than that and I was picturing all the different ways my life was about to end. People start filing in and we finally start heading back to Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, back with the gang: They are now on the cruise (so I'm guessing person #2 and #3 stopped asking "have you been on the cruise yet?") where there is an open bar in which, those that are still conscious, heavily partake in. So, Dave and Enzo are surrounded by 20-30 tour members who are potted up and now drunk (Person #1 is still unconscious but breathing). Good times.

Meanwhile, back on the train: I am watching "The Simpson's" movie on my iPhone and singing along to "Spider Pig" as I now seem to be living on this train. As we were heading back to Amsterdam, the train ahead of us is breaking down and seems to have a max speed of about 30 mph. So, a return trip that only should have taken 26 minutes took over an hour. To make up for this inconvenience, they are offering us free tea and coffee. I feel guilty enough that I tried to mooch a free ride, so I say "no thank you" to the free tea, and get a very puzzled look from the guy serving it. Train guy #2 stops by my seat as we pull into the Amsterdam airport stop (where I hopped on) and said that we'd be at Amsterdam Terminal in about 15 minutes. I said I was getting off here, my night was done. I thanked him for not "booking me Dan-o" and wished him a Merry Christmas.

I get back to the hotel about 10 minutes before the group does- enough time to call John and tell him what a moron he has for a sister. I'm in the lobby when the gang stumbles in and I immediately get a lot of "I love you" drunk hugs and everyone talking at once telling me what Persons #1, #2, and #3 did. I see Dave walk in after them and he looks absolutely shell shocked. i give him a "thank you for taking care of my inebriated persons" hug and tell him about my moronic adventures. Then, I buy him a beer, he earned it. See what happens when we lose our level headed Luna? We need our Canadian leader back!

Most people head immediately to bed to sleep off Amsterdam and I stay in the bar long enough to do a Christmas countdown and wish those that are still relatively sober a Merry Christmas. Then, I head to bed. A heck of an ending to our tour.

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Photos

Amsterdam house hoists
The doorways are so narrow, the only way they can get big pieces of furniture in so to hoist them up (see pully up on roofs) and go in thru windows.

Comments

[Chris]

You started a Betty Ford clinic in Amsterdam?
"...The train kept a-rollin', all night long..."

[edna]

I wish I would have thought to get Mammie and Pappie's address from way back when when they lived there. It would have been neat to have you take a picture of it to show to her. But alas my brain just wasn't thinking. What a whirlwind. I feel anxious everytime I read your blogs because you're so busy. It sounds like you have made some wonderful friends. Friends you will have for life.