Upon my arrival, I collected my carryon from the overhead bin (being careful when opening the bin as contents may have shifted in-flight) and headed into the airport concourse. There were teams of people headed every direction and I was reminded of those nature programs where you see the schools of fish or flocks of birds moving seemingly randomly but in unison at the same time. It had a perverse loveliness to it.
By dint of following the signs to reach passport control I found a desk which had signs above it: "EU Passports" and an arrow indicating a queue; "All Other Passports" and an arrow indication a much longer queue. I made my way for the desk and was intercepted by a woman in uniform thrusting a plastic bag at me. "You need to put all gels, liquids and creams into this bag!" she exclaimed.
"Why?" I'm just trying to get to the exit so I can catch the train into Amsterdam Central Station.
"You're in the wrong place." She said exasperated. "Go that way." And pointed in a seemingly random direction which was in a direction contraindicated by the signage intended to tell tourists where to go.
Eventually, I found the correct place and queued to exit the airport. The train to the city was much better than the last time I took it! With the sun up and no rain you could see the canals everywhere!It reminds me (other than the bare trees) a lot of some of the richer homes in the neighborhoods in Florida where there were artificially dug waterways so that the developer could sell more "Waterfront" property. Those neighborhoods eventually end-up looking like combs stuck into the water with a central road and other coves stick out at 90-degrees with canals separating the radiating fins of land.
The difference is that those are to increase the value of the land. These were built for drainage, defense, and as an avenue of transportation.The train ride was, other than being able to see the city as I approached it this time, uneventful. I got off the train at Amsterdam Central Station and made my way to the hotel. This is where another of those "interesting" little mishaps of the life of a traveler took place.
"What do you mean you don't have a room for me?" I asked trying to remain calm when the desk clerk told me I had no room available. Of course I do! Here is my reservation number. I made it online!
"You may have a number…" came the tart response, "…but you have no room. We are full and have no record of your reservation!"
To say that I was a bit stressed at this point would probably be accurate. But hey, Amsterdam is a huge place. There must be a hotel room somewhere. I saw a hotel booking office at the train station. I'll try there first.
I walked back to the train station and entered the hotel booking agency. "These things happen." Was the wizened response from the agent behind the counter, "But you have arrived on the day of the big party so rooms are going to be scarce. I will look for something."
"Thank You." I said thinking to myself "Party? What party."
"I'd like to stay somewhere near here in the central district if that it possible." I continued." Most of the things I want to see are within a twenty-minute walk from here according to the maps."
The agent said he had a bed and breakfast that was showing availabilities. It was on the fringes of the red light district and that I could be there in five minutes.
That was good enough for me. Five minutes later I was standing in the bar at the B&B. It was a nice enough room, and at 75 euros per night, it was not a bad deal. The bar (which had a separate entrance) at the hotel, from its décor obviously catered to a crowd of a specific taste. The guy behind the counter asked me if I was in town for the party. And I asked what he meant. He looked at my leather vest and jacket and then said that there was a leather fetish party at many of the clubs this evening. It was a huge annual event. Well, at least I knew what party the guy at the train station meant!
I explained that was pretty much not my cup of tea and thanked the guy. Asked for directions to a couple things I wanted to do today and then headed up to my room.
I have plans this afternoon to take a walking tour of the central part of the town, take a look at the red-light district in the daylight and then see the Ann Frank house. I shared these plans with the Desk Clerk (who I later learned was one of the owner/operators of the hotel) and he suggested that I change the order of the things I wanted to do a bit.
It's now just about one. I've unpacked, made myself a cup of coffee and put my feet-up for a few minutes. As suggested, I'm headed out to the Ann Frank Museum first. More on that tomorrow.
I hope that wherever you are today, any surprises you have are pleasant ones!
Don Bergquist - 16 February 2007 - Amsterdam, Holland, The Netherlands
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