Amsterdam

Not south pacific related but I just got back from Amsterdam and want to talk about it! Amsterdam is the craziest city I have been to in my travels so far. And yes, a bit of that has to do with what I am sure you are thinking, but it is a great city in its own right. I have been there twice, once on my biking trip through Europe, and once for my freshman year spring break trip. Both times were nuts, though I think my first time around was the craziest week I have ever had.

We were staying in a campground a little outside the city, full of biking bums like ourselves, and it was great. We would all bike into the city en masse and hang out in the parks and squares, usually in an altered state of mind from some substance or another. Hell, my friend and I spent one whole night riding around on hallucinogenic mushrooms, watching laser light trails along the edges of our vision as we flew along at incredible speed (or so we thought). We also got to see a lot of the museums the city is famous for, such as the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House. Going from the amazing art at the Van Gogh to the incredibly somber mood in the Anne Frank House was a sobering experience.

One of coolest things we ran into with the nightlife was Febo, which is like a drunk food dream. It is a wall of short-order food that cooks, or elves, make behind the wall and place in small little cubicles. You pay one euro, and you can buy whatever food you see on the wall. Pure genius if you ask me. They also had little food stalls that sold vlaamse frites (sp?), which were wax paper cones of thick cut French fries, drenched in ketchup and eaten with a tiny fork.