Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Ahh.. Holland, the land of oliebolen, raw herring and cannabis. I was quite frustrated in that I did not find the first two! Apparently oliebolen is made only around Christmas/New Year's and herring is just not that popular anymore (vis a vis shitty mass produced krokets and thousands of kebab shops). Instead, I found a coffee shop every 5 ft, filled to the brim with either a) hippy backpackers or b) drug dealers. The hostel I stayed was basically a large hot-box and I was getting high regardless of whether I wanted to or not. When I went to sleep - someone in my room was smoking. When I woke up - someone in my room was smoking. Apparently 'no smoking' only applies to pure tobacco. Maybe I'm just crabby because the air is clean here in Brussels (where I finally found a computer that has both a net connection and a USB port!) so I am lacking the mild sedation I would normally feel.

Aside from the excessive presence of drugs and prostitutes, Amsterdam was quite a nice town. I ran into the same two French guys (Harry and David) from Lyon whom I had met in Berlin during the crazy tour and we toured the cheesy Heineken Experience, along with other more interesting places.