Amsterdam was my first stop on E08 - a 5 hour layover in the city. I had initially planned for a short escape to the area around the airport. However, when I got there, I realized there was a 15 minutes train to downtown.
Lesson #1: Bring your PIN for your VISA, M/C, A/E to Europe. It’s the one you received but never used.
I tried to buy a ticket from a kiosk. Inserted my A/E and it asked for my PIN. WTF. Same thing with M/C. How the heck am I gonna get my PIN? Ended up getting my ticket with cash at a ticket counter with a 0.50 cents extra service charge. PIN’s are commonly asked in Europe by automated systems to prevent fraud apparently.
Having never been to Amsterdam, I just know what the city is notoriously famous for – sex and weed. However, as I stepped out of Amsterdam Centraal, first thing I noticed were the bicycles. Lots and lots of them. Quick mental check. I was in Amsterdam, right? Not Copenhagen?
Not to disappoint however, a block from the train station, my sights veered left, and I spotted the first signs of one of its famous trades. I was actually surprised to stumble onto this so quickly. Took a quick stroll through the red light district of Amsterdam. I suspect given its close proximity to downtown that it is more or less a big tourism draw nowadays.
This trade seems to permeate everywhere you go in the city. Saw many related shops, boutiques, theatres, sculptures and artifacts around town. I remember Catnipped’s reaction to certain posters at PAX. I wonder how she will react in Amsterdam. lol.
Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the North. As you step outside the downtown core, you will inevitably run into the many canals that run around the city centre. Unlike Venice, one-way streets mixed with both pedestrian and vehicular traffic clog up the sides of the canals. Many instances, I saw delivery trucks with a train of cars behind them. They’ll just stop, turn on their 4-way flashers to make a delivery. lol. Sucks to be the follower.
I guess I should comment about the other famous trade in Amsterdam. I did go and peer in several cafes to see if people were smoking joints. I was not quite sure what to expect. Perhaps I might see people smoking from bowls like in the Middle East. Anyway, of the couple I visited, I did not see any such activity. A bit disappointed. I was told later that smoking in cafe is a touristy thing now. People just do it at home. lol.
Overall, I had a very amused introduction to Amsterdam. It was everything I expected from the city and so much more. Definitely a place I want to visit again for a few days to truly experience. And last but not least, this adorable little cow…
Next stop – Barcelona.
Returned from a two week sojourn in Mediterranean Europe. Wow, I don't even know where to begin. A lot of fun, a lot of adventures, a lot of jaw dropping sights. A true journey of discovery in many ways.
A rough count shows GBO and I combined for over 10k photos totalling over 100GB. It'll take a while to go through and process. In the meantime, a little teaser.....
View of the Grand Canal in Venezia from the famous Rialto Bridge:
All preparations are set. Wow, planning this trip was not easy. Lost a lot of sleep over this in the past 2 weeks.
First, I should have done a lot more research beforehand. Could not have picked a better or worst two weeks to go, depending on how you look at it.
Second, shouldn't leave things to the last minute. Not that it would have really helped on this trip, but no need for that sense of mad scrambling.
Very ambitious schedule. Crossing my fingers that things will go as planned. Cannot wait.
It took me from Mar 3, 2007 until today to get this done. Finally finished Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii. I played it on and off for a few months after I got the Wii, but during the summer, it just fell off my radar. I picked up the game again this January, with a resolution to finish the half a dozen games I collected over the years.
At first, I thought I was close to completing the game after collecting the fused shadows, only to find that I needed to collect 4 more pieces of mirror shards. Grr.
I managed to make it to last 49th stage of the Cave of Ordeals without realizing that I could use the magic armour (you're invincible until you run out of rupees). I had 3.5 hearts left and no fairies in my bottles. Amour saved me and I dispatched those knights soon enough.
Some parts of the game, I had to look up online for what to do. Like the 3rd phase of the last boss fight. Had no idea and just kept on losing hearts. So frustrating. I did like the Warp feature, cause I remember in Ocarina of Time, running around in Hyrule was such a pain!
At the end of the game, the screen flashed "Press (A) - Finish", where Link would apply the final blow on his nemesis. The conscious thought of pressing the button is bittersweet: "Finish" in more ways than one.
Overall, a very good classic Zelda game. One thing regarding the Wii version... long fights, like the final boss battles or Cave of Ordeals were tiring on the wrist. Glad to have played and finished it. Now, if I can get this Zelda theme song out of my head.
Erm.... today, as I was setting down to drop some logs, my work badge in my back pocket got crunched against the bending of my knee. SNAP! I was like.. Oh nooooes. The badge was snapped in half horizontally.
I took the pieces down to security for a replacement. On my way out of the secured area, I was curious whether the two separated halves will still work, so I tapped them against the scanner. BEEP. RFID still functional.
The security dude had a good chuckle when he saw my badge. I wonder how often this happens.