[This image is not Amsterdam, but of the London Liverpool Street Station that I found myself passing through on my journey from Dublin to Amsterdam...I think hard to get the feeling from the photo, but it was rush hour in the center of London and I felt like a wafting butterfly caught in a swarming beehive of productivity. Had to take a step back and try to capture it.]
Huhlloh!
Ok, so I chose to take the over land and sea route (ie, not airplane) from Dublin to Amsterdam over a 1.5 day period. The experience deserves way more energy than I have now to explain. And meanwhile (seriously?) I am planning to take another adventure out to a dutch island for a site-specific performance festival, tomorrow--train, bus, and ferry, then camping...yep. Anyway, I got to Amsterdam yesterday, checked my bag in a locker at the train station, wandered around in the beautiful sunny warm weather, soaking up my favorite city in the world, and then met up with Martin (my hospitalityclub host from four years ago!)who is awesome and bought me beers and made me almost the exact same vegetarian meal i remember from four years ago. perfect. and got to sleep in, which i desperately needed. went to the van gogh museum today (this was unquestionably the first and most important thing to do), made myself my own vegetarian meal tonight (ah, so nice to cook in a real kitchen!), and then took myself out to an absurdist play (part of the Holland Festival)...there is SO much art/performance to see here, it is overwhelming, but alas, one can literally only take one moment at a time, so, there you go...
Going out to this island to check it out, then will return to Amsterdam to experience more... Being out at 11pm on a summer night in the middle of Amsterdam is amazing--there are SO many people out, and it's just getting dark at that time, and everything feels easy...that's what this place embodies--life is much simpler than you think it is.
And it's really great to be here on my own, to people watch, all the youngins partying it up, and me being glad i don't have to party, but can feel the energy all the same, and do what i want to do when i want to do it.
Yea! You made it to Amsterdam and you love it! Cara gives you her love. Dad and I are having a great time here in lush, Western Mass, in spite of lots of rain (though Seattle hasn't had rain for ages...). Off to Eric Carle's Picture Book Art Museum today. More later. Have fun on the Dutch island. Lots of love, Mom and Dad
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge range of experiences you are having! I was struck by you going to see an absurdist play and a site-specific performance. Amazingly interesting! Thank you again for sharing. A family in our circus class is moving to India. I told him how much you enjoyed it. I see your mom commented on the rain; we were supposed to have an outside barbecue tonight, at the pool we just joined. Doesn't that figure? But the gardens need the rain desperately, so it is welcome. Thinking of you and your adventuring often...No news about Han yet. We wait.
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