my experience in amsterdam can best be appreciated by understanding the events leading up to my arrival.

i woke up early on the morning of 18 february to make a mad dash for my storage garage in west seattle (a 20 minute drive) to grab a few items i'd need for my trip.   as i pulled into the storage facility, i suddenly had the sinking revelation that i had forgotten to bring the key to the locker.   so it was 20 minutes back to deb's to grab the key, and 20 minutes back to storage.   luckily, i was able to locate the items quite quickly amidst the piles of record albums, cooking utensils, used car parts and bricks.   then, 20 minutes back to deb's to finish packing.   once everything was in order, deb rushed me to the airport for a hurried goodbye.   the ticket counter attendant made me take my bike box down to the baggage office, where they had me prop it up against the wall in the loading area.   it was the only item in the expansive space and no one was around.   i began to wonder if anyone would notice it.   by noon i was in the air.

arriving in minneapolis 5 hours later, i had about 10 minutes to catch my connection.   my friend ashley met me there.   she stood in the boarding line with me up until i entered the gate in order to maximize our conversation for the 5 minutes we could see each other.

on the plane, i proceeded to drink as much free wine as i could in the hopes of being able to sleep in the cramped quarters of trans-atlantic coach airline seats.   it only gave me a headache.   so i watched the film "mrs. brown".

i arrived in amsterdam around 8am local time.... with 7 hours to kill before continuing on to hamburg.   a quick nod from the customs guy and i was on a train to the city center.   i exited the train station and found myself amidst a swarm of pedestrians and bicyclists.   morning sun filtered through the hazy maritime atmosphere, and through my hazy jetlagged mind.   i picked a direction and began walking. i walked a good mile before stopping in a square to catch my bearings.   i didn't want to get lost... or did i?   from thence on, i would simply wander.   walking down a street would produce a side alley that warranted exploration.   places devoid of tourist drew me in for glimpses of solitude.   after i couple hours, i finally noticed the pungent scents of the hash bars.   shall i practice "when in rome..." ?   hmmmm.... only a few hours until my next flight.   probably not a good idea to add hash to jetlag and still be able to function.

unknowingly, i somehow returned to the central station. along the waterfront, i noticed something of interest in the distance.   rising like the prow of a ship was the musuem of technology--a new building by renzo piano (pictured above in green).   i studied the building as best as i could in my delirium, but submitted to simply resting atop its rooftop plaza to take in the views, sounds, smells of amsterdam.

with time left and an empty stomach, i found a quiet italian restaurant, where i filled myself with linguine alfredo while the waiters stood out front making cat-calls at every moderately attractive woman that happened by.

i left amsterdam vowing to return when i could see it through rested eyes.