Amsterdam again

After one night at Oktoberfest I was off to the Dam, this time alone. I checked in to an even crappier hostel than the last time (no powerpoints, no hot water in the showers, smelly). It was late when I got there, so I chilled out for a bit and went to bed.

The first thing I wanted to do was go back to Vondelpark, the most beautiful park I've ever seen. I took my guitar and my mp3 player and just went from spot to spot looking at the incredible views and watching the people.
I watched a small group of musicians jamming. They played a banjo, a mandolin and a saxophone.
I was sitting by a pond when a man who looked quite a bit like Tom Morello came over with a loaf of bread and started feeding the ducks. He was wearing a blue tracksuit and always had a cigarette hanging from the edge of his permanent smile. He threw the bread as if he was playing catch with his nephew, overarm and underarm. Then a young boy and his mother came over to watch, and Feed the Ducks Guy smiled some more, and offered the boy some bread to throw, but he ate it instead.
I met some local kids, who complimented me on my ridiculous purple guitar. They were cool. One of them reminded me of Stef Gawler. We discussed how beautiful the park is, what an incredible city Amsterdam is, and how cool the Dutch are.
I saw a topless man walk past holding a chewed up stick to his lips, his eyes darting around, and when he passed me I saw that his back had welts and a big cut that was bleeding quite a lot, and he started (continued, I presume) to whip himself on the back with the stick. He stopped very suddenly opposite a playground full of children and started shouting and throwing his limbs around, like a speed freak doing tai chi. Then he went away. I wonder what else he did that day.
I watched three people, a girl and boy in their mid-twenties and their older mentor, practicing some kind of martial art with wooden swords and staffs. They would slowly go through a series of moves, step by step, then speed it up.
I lay down under a tree and watched the branches blow in the breeze, criss-crossing and forming patterns and pictures, and I felt joy like I never have before, and cried.
I sat on a small hill with legs crossed and my back straight and staring at the horizon listening to A Non-Objective Portrait of Karma by Circle Takes the Square. I felt my body join with the music, and cried.

Then the sun went down and I made my way though the streets and over canals, dodging bikes and trams, back to my hostel, in the red light district, where rowdy groups of british shouted stupid things about the prostitutes and at them, and where you can't make eye contact with anyone because they will give you one of the most heartbreaking stories you've ever heard and then tell you that Jesus said that you would give them a coin, and where every twenty feet someone hisses in your ear "hey, coke, ecstacy".

I did find a nice spot near my hostel where I could sit on some steps leading down to a canal, and smoke and listen to music in relative solitude.

I went to a bar that was mostly empty except for a few locals, and they made me feel very welcome. We discussed how incredible the city is, and I told them a bit about my travels and Australia, and how much I love the Dutch and their language. They told me where I could pick up a bike for as low as 5 euros, but I forgot.

I found a metal bar in the main strip of the red light district called Excalibur. It was run by an American guy who would drum (quite well) on the bar along with Metallica or Fear Factory whatever was playing. When a group of girls started singing some pop song he came over and told them that they have to stop because people don't want to hear that shit.

I spent my last two nights hungry due to cash flow issues, and I tried my hand at begging. It didn't work.

I was gonna go to a museum this time, but then I got high.


I love Amsterdam. There is just so much happening. I spent a lot of time sitting in the streets smoking and watching the people, and it was always entertaining. I love Dutch, and I love the way you can get anywhere in the city in 10 minutes on a bike, and I love the canals. I love so much about it. I did want to move to Berlin for a year or two, but now I'm very seriously considering Amsterdam instead.