07/27/2009 On the Train to Berlin
We got up around 9AM, had breakfast in our little hotel and then headed out to do a few shopping errands. I HAD to get a new pair of polypropolene underwear. I mistakenly got the "tighty whity" kind, and on a bike trip all those kind do is trap every odor you emanate and magnify 1000X. Imagine all that sweat and heat... A perfect petri dish for bacteria! I bought some boxers... much better. Jordan needed conditioner and skin creams. She is developing a rash that hurts when she bikes. After shopping, we picked up the bikes from the MacBikes rental and storage facility. It cost us one whole euro to store the bikes for two days. I was going to try to find a bike store to replace my rack that broke, but I had a brainstorm. I brought a piece of rope with me to use as a clothes line if needed. I lashed the broken spar of the rack to the two good ones on the same side. Jordan took a picture to record it. I am sure that even the renowned knots-man, Butch Weaver, would be proud of this. I think it will hold until I get home and then I will see if Iain Grant can work his magic on it.
I forgot to mention our sight-seeing in Amsterdam yesterday. We started out by going to the Van Gogh Museum. I am not much of an art afficianando, but his work is beautfiul. Many of his originals are housed there, but unfortunately "Starry Night" (I think that is the name) is not one of them. Next we went to Anne Frank's house. Most of you probably know her story, but I learned a few interesting things while there. Otto Frank, Anne's father was the only survivor from the Frank family, even though he had been sent to Auschwitz. It was amazing how positive his outlook seemed to be after such a horrifying event. It reminded me of a book had to read in high school at St. John's by Victor Frankl called "Man's Search for Meaning", which tried to explain how even in a concentration camp you could find the will to live.
Another interesting tid-bit was that Shelley Winters, in the movie, played one of the workers in the house where the Franks were hiding. She was nominated for an academy award. She wrote Otto Frank prior to the Academy Awards show and promised to give the Oscar to the Anne Frank House if she won. She did win and she kept her promise. The Oscar is proudly displayed there.
Next, we walked through the seedy areas where ANYTHING is for sale. The Dutch have an interesting attitude about drugs and prostitution. It does not seem that religion plays a large part in the life of average people here. The attitude seems more pragmatic... "These things are going to happen, so why don't we make them as safe as possible and profit from them" seems to be how they see it. The sweet smell of marijuana was everywhere. I did notice that most of the shops that sell weed are labeled "Coffee Shops". They do sell coffee, too, but the main business is weed. Everyone who I saw buying it was checked for ID to make sure they were of legal age. Of course, the legal age is 6! Just kidding.
We wanted to take a noon train to Berlin today, but although they had seats for us, there was no room for the bikes until the 2:36 train. We are on the train right now. We put the bikes in car 8 and our seats are in car 4. When I got on, they said I did not have to remove my gear from the bike, but after the train started moving, an announcement came on the PA asking the people with gear on their bikes to please remove it. I had to make three trips getting all of our stuff off the bikes and back to car 4... And I thought this was going to be a day off!
We do not have a hotel reservation and we get into Berlin around 9PM. Jordan is getting a little more used to what, to the casual observer, seems to be a lack of planning on my part. However, it really just gives us ultimate flexibility. If we decide we want to sleep in the street tonight, we now have that option!