Netherlands

Reading time: 5 minutes

Themes: Adventure, exploration

13 June

My first journal entry from my trip to the Netherlands was about insomnia, as many of my nights abroad were. I didn't have a very firm grasp on my anxiety back then, and it was clear from my journal entries. When I left London for Brussels, I was nervous but optimistic. A friend of my sister is from the Netherlands and had a connection with which he hooked me up, which made me feel more comfortable - I just had to get there first. I slept the whole train ride under the English Channel and awoke in Brussels, panicking a little at the lack of English. This was my first ever exposure to a place that spoke little-to-no English, but luckily I spoke enough French. For the rest of my train travel on the European continent, I had a Eurail Pass that needed activating outside of England (they omitted Eurail on their transit systems). I was able to do this pretty quickly at the train station in Brussels, and I was off to catch my train to Rotterdam. I had to transfer trains in Rotterdam, and on the final stretch, I met a man from Minnesota doing the same thing I was at twenty-six. We had even been in London at the same time, so there was plenty of conversation.

I had some time to kill upon arriving in Amsterdam, so I camped out in the Eye Film Museum bathroom, the first building I encountered at the port. I spent about two hours sitting on a toilet seat with my laptop on my lap, editing photos on the complimentary wifi (something that was surprisingly challenging to come by on the road in 2016). I finally caught the ferry and walked a half-mile into Dam Square. The first order of business was to get a new SIM card at the local Vodafone. One of the things that I treasured most on my first Europe trip was a SIM card ejector. I learned quickly that having one was essential, and after losing a couple, I eventually kept a jerry-rigged paper clip stored with my passport. I was sitting outside the shop putting the card in my iPhone when a toothless, snotty homeless man with a giant grin came and sat next to me and pulled a pipe full of cannabis (I think) out of his shirt pocket offered it to me. I smiled and kindly rejected his offer as I envisioned myself being pulled out of my body and into an alternate universe as I inhaled whatever happened in that pipe. I sat there with him, completely silent, exchanging only facial expressions and hand gestures as he hit his pipe, exhaled, and walked away. My first impression of Amsterdam was certainly one I'll never forget.

I struggled with Dutch more than with any other language on my trip. The public transport system confused me, and being from Colorado; I had never seen so many people in one place. I eventually got some help from a woman who spoke a little English and managed to make it my stay at Niek's house with mixed feelings about Amsterdam. The city was beautiful and historic, and the architecture was like nothing I'd ever seen. There were tons of people crammed everywhere, and everyone seemed to be doing their own thing with no regard for others. Already, the stereotypes surrounding cannabis and bicycles had made themselves apparent to me. I got a tour of my excellent accommodation after meeting Niek and his partner, both lovely people who spoke excellent English. I had the entire top floor of their three-story luxury apartment, complete with a washer and dryer. I immediately fell asleep upon arrival and made it until two in the morning, then fell back asleep until three in the afternoon the next day. Additionally, it didn't get dark until after ten o'clock, which I had never experienced before. Needless to say, my circadian rhythm was jacked up.

14 - 16 June

When I woke up in the afternoon, I showered, and Niek let me borrow a bike to ride around the city. I cycled into town through a beautiful grove past two giant Daschund statues overlooking the road. The night before, I had depleted my meager 500MB of data on my SIM card since the wifi didn't reach my room, so I got a new one first thing. Shortly after, I managed to break the gear changer on the bike that Niek had lent me, so the next hour was spent trying to find a bike repair shop. When I did, I was told it would be 12 euros (a relief), but the bike wouldn't be ready until tomorrow, so I left it and figured out another way home. I decided to do some grocery shopping but had to use Google Translate on almost every product. I had to ask an employee for help finding the milk, which translated to "waar is de melk?". I eventually realized that Dutch was somewhat familiar to my native tongue after a couple of translations, plus I managed to get food for the entire week for 10 euros. Though it wasn't the highest caliber of food, I was happy. When I got home from my adventurous day, Niek was up and listening to music. We got a chance to talk, and three hours later, we were three beers deep and still going. We talked about everything: longboarding, snowboarding, music, mountains, and hash. I passed out shortly after, attempting to get back to a somewhat regular sleep schedule.

At eleven in the morning, I rode a different spare bike into town without Niek noticing. He had hooked me up with a little electric boat for the day from his old company - it was waiting for me on the famous canals of Amsterdam. I rode past my Daschund friends and found my boat, activated by a code on my phone. I took the opportunity to do a lot of filming and documenting. Early into the ride, it started raining, so I hid under a bridge for twenty minutes or so until it passed. Soon the sun re-emerged, and the rest of the ride was magical. Seeing Amsterdam from the canals was one of my favorite experiences ever. The simple joy of captaining a little electric boat on my own made me feel so free and wild - this is what I came here for. It was like all the desires and hunches I had followed were coming to fruition. After my boat ride, I had one last item to check off my Amsterdam bucket list: buying cannabis that wasn't from a homeless guy. I found a 'coffee shop' that looked appealing on the map called Abraxas and biked over. It was themed like a magical forest which sealed the deal for me. I bought a pre-rolled cannabis joint and biked home. The park near my temporary home was verdant and attracted me more than anything else in that city. I spent a lot of time there just sitting and listening to the animals and people, so I chose to relax as the sunset. As I sat, I was content beyond belief in a country so far from home, completely alone and uncertain about where I was going or for how long. "This is why I travel," I thought. When I got home after my eventful day, I engulfed six orange creamsicle popsicles with no self-control - worth it. The following day I packed up and said goodbye to my hosts. I stopped at a couple of familiar retail outlets in Dam Square to get a couple of new items of clothing before catching my train to Brussels. Amsterdam certainly had grown on me by the time I sat, looking out the window of the train, passing the Danish countryside on my way to Sweden.

Thanks to Niek and his partner for the hospitality and generosity they showed me during my stay.