Starry Day

It has been rather unfortunate that the wireless internet access here is either scarce, slow, or expensive. It has interrupted my ability to blog and brief write. As it is already(!) Friday, I write to redeem myself.

Contrary to the reputation, my experience in Amsterdam thus far has been an incredibly relaxing one. Going forward in this post I offer details on particular events/spectacles, but emphasize that it has been the non-events that have been my favorite aspects: The cafes, the cuisine, the architecture, the morning runs, the languages, the diverse faces, the cleanliness, the style, the bikes, the crisp air, and the peeking sun. Intermittently, we saw those things we were supposed to see as well. Like…

The Van Gogh Museum. Now saavy with the tram lines that criss-cross, what seems to be, just about every street, Tex and I jumped on one toward the museum district. Even with labor intensive educational foundation I knew nothing about the life of Van Gogh – and my cousin knew everything. Hell, I didn’t even know the story about him cutting his own ear. An artist in his own rite, Tex thoroughly enjoyed the museum, as did I. Van Gogh’s 2^nd Starry Night was naturally a satisfying sight but I was just as impressed with his other night set paintings. Unbeknownst to me before, he was enamored with the concept of night. It felt good to get an injection of information devoid of any connection to law (although I’m sure an argument could be made somehow).

Keeping with the “Starry” theme we walked over to the old Heineken Brewery for a tour of the grounds (Heineken’s logo involves a red star). We learned the rather simple process for brewing beer. We walked the once bustling brick brewery up-and-down until getting to the best part – the one free beer. I say this because the tour is lacking in many respects, but c’mon it’s about beer. The final part, the bar inside, was incredible. While sipping an Extra Cold Heineken you are surrounded by flat-screen tvs that create one unified wrap around image (HD) depicting different cities around the world. It felt like we were drinking in Rio De Janeiro, St. Petersburg, and New York. Finally, we got lost.

I pursue being lost. I have written about this on past trips. I find such a satisfaction in not knowing exactly where I am, knowing I need to figure out how to get back to comfort. We stumbled right into a street market. I ate some delicious chicken and Tex ate two bags of a variety of grapes. Cheeses, flowers, clothes, pickles, chocolate, fish, and music were all being vended. And just in case the red light district is not enough, one can purchase chocolate in the form of male and female reproductive parts.

Such was our Wednesday. I finished it off with an incredible Indonesian meal and some more brief writing.