Canals, Cycling, and Cannabis...

I’m sure most people already know that Amsterdam is famous for the canals, the insane cycling, and the legalization of marijuana.

Side note: Mushrooms used to be legal too, but too many high tourists jumped out of windows with the intent to fly… so they’re illegal now.


As you cycle, walk, skip, kart-wheel (however you prefer to transport yourself) around the city your nostrils are frequently acquainted with a quick whiff of that pungent ganja fragrance. At most cafés you can easily get a morning joint with your morning coffee and then proceed to smoke it freely on the streets of the city. 

Another thing I think Amsterdam should be recognized for is its abundance of dog poop. Almost everywhere you look on the sidewalk you’ll find a nice little brown present waiting for you to lose concentration for just one second and… SHIT, (literally) your clean shoe has met its match. 

The other day, I actually witnessed a dog trying to poop ON me. As I rode in the bike path, I saw it—a little, furry, brown pup hanging its butt over the edge of the sidewalk, about to drop one into my direct line of action. I stiffly evaded it, laughed out loud and gave myself a pat on the back for dodging the doggy doo doo. The next day as I was walking Stijn to school, I had one of those moments where you think to yourself ‘what on earth is that god awful smell?’ and then you realize ‘oh, wait, it’s me’. So, I checked my shoe and sure enough, the dogs of Amsterdam had got the best of me.

Little Fun Fact...

Beer is good for your hair. So let's drink to luscious locks!

It Begins: Amsterdam

I am a recent college graduate, so as any recent college graduates can understand, I have been pummeled with questions like “What next?” or “What do you plan to NOW?” …and so on and so forth. To such questions I would respond “travel”. And then the expected query—“to where?”. In return, my rehearsed response of “The Netherlands (Amsterdam!), South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, little stopover in Thailand, and then probably onto Australia for a bit and then New Zealand.” In turn I received a variety of retorts, but the most common was “why?”… so I reply “I simply can’t see myself doing anything else right now.”

Now, I find myself sitting in an apartment in Amsterdam awake at four in the morning. I’m firstly jetlagged, but secondly in what you might call an old-fashioned stand off with a mosquito. We can all agree that there is nothing more annoying and infuriating than the high-pitched buzzing of a mosquito flying around your head. It was this particular sound that awakened me this morning. I tried to ignore it, until finally it foolishly landed on my face. I declared war. I turned on the light and sat perfectly still until I heard my enemy behind me. I turned with lightning speed and smashed it, first try, with my “Getting Started in Dutch” book (shouldn’t have messed with me). Contented and proud of myself, I went back to bed only to be awakened five minutes later by another mosquito obviously coming to avenge the death of his brother… 

The next morning, sleep deprived and groggy, I had my first experience riding a bike in Amsterdam. If you imagine being a sperm fighting to reach the egg (of course you can, you used to be one) then you can imagine cycling here. There are thousands of bicyclists all crammed into a small bike path, riding the same direction, passing you, ringing bells, then the occasional motorbike practically running you over…it becomes a fight for life. As you can imagine, I was in no shape for this sort of activity that morning, but I somehow survived the many obstacles that tried to obliterate me that day.

 

And So it Goes...

CURRENT TRAVEL PLANS: California, USA - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Cape Town, South Africa - Windoek, Namibia - Gaberone, Botswana - (Somewhere, Australia) - (Raglan, New Zealand)

Since I was a child my life has been a vortex of plans, school and schematic patterns. I find myself walking in circles around my hometown. I've lived in Santa Cruz, California for twenty-two years (my whole life)… I can’t say that it has been a negative thing—just unchanging and almost detrimentally comfortable. 

I just graduated college. Ahead lies a blind spot in my life. I can only see where I intend to be in ten years. I can’t see what’s in between—I can’t visualize what is about to ensue. 

Yesterday I was immersed in a perfect moment. Caught between day and night, the sun hung low on the horizon. Its light was subdued, melding together comforting shades of yellow and orange. Engulfed in this instant, I compared it to my own circumstance—here I am, caught between a college graduate and an employee with a full time job, between a girl and a woman, and between being tied down and a free traveling spirit. Suddenly, I felt a wave of contentment—I realized I must accept this period of transition. It is beautiful; suspended in time, just like the sun on the brink of setting beneath the horizon.