why am I not cold?
Aachen was fun, but nights out with people of my age wasn't exactly a novelty (despite the different accents and the funny names on beer the bottles). Good people, filling food, sports, attempts to turn me into an alcoholic (no, it wasn't the other way around, Jenny)... it was all nice and comfortable, but I think I ended up feeling pushed into a corner. I need my space, and having social engagements and things to do 24/7 overwhelms me a bit. So, instead of finding myself jostling with the crowds in Venice, I´m here in Stockholm.
Amsterdam was the first stop after Aachen, and admittedly, it didn't seem like the ideal place to go to clear my head. Still, it was on the way to Sweden, and I thought that I'd may as well see what the fuss was about. At first, the city felt like a high-school dropout, but it really grew on me. Fortunately, it was easy to feel the effect that the "coffee shops" and red lights (the window shopping is not a myth) brought to the city without having to take too close a look at them, and by the end of my stay, the easygoing tolerance of Amsterdam had convinced me that I really liked the place. Bike rides in the most beautiful farmland that I've ever seen didn´t hurt either. I don't think that I could've been any happier exploring the idyllic countryside, alone with nothing but a bike and a half-decent sense of direction.
I even managed to catch a movie the last night I was there, and it felt like drinking a hot cup of tea after a day in cold weather.I'd had enough of exploring and taking in the city, and thought that a night out with my Brazilian room-mates ("we went to the hash museum today") was the last thing I wanted to do. So, I bought myself a movie ticket, sat back and chilled out for a while. Gezellig. I have been away for over a month, so had no idea what any of the movies were meant to be about. The poster for The Motorcycle Diaries looked decent, but the guy at the ticket booth told me that the movie was in Spanish with Dutch subtitles... I bought a ticket to Finding Neverland instead, as it was the only other movie showing at the time. It was a nice enough film, and fine, I'll admit that I may have had a teensy little lump in my throat at the end. As a kid, I enjoyed the magic of Peter Pan without ever having the courage to delude myself into believing in fairies, so always felt like the bad guy. Maybe I'm still being a bad guy by thinking that you don't need to imagine a fantasy world to experience moments of wonder, why live in a Neverland when there's enough to be in awe of right in front of you? Who need pirates and fairies when waking up every morning is weird enough? Perhaps I´ve missed the point... in any case, I enjoyed myself at the movies.
Copenhagen was the next stop after Amsterdam, and I only spent about a day there. I arrived in the morning after a cosy... no, a cramped night's sleep in a train. Six bunk "beds" in about the size of a bathroom. Oh well, it was good enough for me. There was only one other person in the room. He didn't speak English and didn't snore, so I got a decent night's sleep until the guard shone a torch in my eyes when he wanted to see my passport.
What do you know, there's a line behind me because people want to use the free internet. I'd better get off the computer then... more tomorrow, perhaps.
Amsterdam was the first stop after Aachen, and admittedly, it didn't seem like the ideal place to go to clear my head. Still, it was on the way to Sweden, and I thought that I'd may as well see what the fuss was about. At first, the city felt like a high-school dropout, but it really grew on me. Fortunately, it was easy to feel the effect that the "coffee shops" and red lights (the window shopping is not a myth) brought to the city without having to take too close a look at them, and by the end of my stay, the easygoing tolerance of Amsterdam had convinced me that I really liked the place. Bike rides in the most beautiful farmland that I've ever seen didn´t hurt either. I don't think that I could've been any happier exploring the idyllic countryside, alone with nothing but a bike and a half-decent sense of direction.
I even managed to catch a movie the last night I was there, and it felt like drinking a hot cup of tea after a day in cold weather.I'd had enough of exploring and taking in the city, and thought that a night out with my Brazilian room-mates ("we went to the hash museum today") was the last thing I wanted to do. So, I bought myself a movie ticket, sat back and chilled out for a while. Gezellig. I have been away for over a month, so had no idea what any of the movies were meant to be about. The poster for The Motorcycle Diaries looked decent, but the guy at the ticket booth told me that the movie was in Spanish with Dutch subtitles... I bought a ticket to Finding Neverland instead, as it was the only other movie showing at the time. It was a nice enough film, and fine, I'll admit that I may have had a teensy little lump in my throat at the end. As a kid, I enjoyed the magic of Peter Pan without ever having the courage to delude myself into believing in fairies, so always felt like the bad guy. Maybe I'm still being a bad guy by thinking that you don't need to imagine a fantasy world to experience moments of wonder, why live in a Neverland when there's enough to be in awe of right in front of you? Who need pirates and fairies when waking up every morning is weird enough? Perhaps I´ve missed the point... in any case, I enjoyed myself at the movies.
Copenhagen was the next stop after Amsterdam, and I only spent about a day there. I arrived in the morning after a cosy... no, a cramped night's sleep in a train. Six bunk "beds" in about the size of a bathroom. Oh well, it was good enough for me. There was only one other person in the room. He didn't speak English and didn't snore, so I got a decent night's sleep until the guard shone a torch in my eyes when he wanted to see my passport.
What do you know, there's a line behind me because people want to use the free internet. I'd better get off the computer then... more tomorrow, perhaps.
posted by Gene at 6:32 am
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