I sat near the front of the coach and soon met Mike, from Delaware. He mentioned that he had met one of our fellow travelers the night before and that we should look for him. His name was Jamie, he was from Australia and like the two of us was traveling alone. Once Jamie got on board, the three of us immediately started talking. The conversations started out somewhat formal - you know, what we did for a living, how long we were "on Holiday" for, etc. Shortly after we left the hotel Dave pulled the coach over and we learned that we were going to be receiving the Currency Packs that we had purchased the night before. He also spent around ten minutes telling us about our new "home away from home" the beautiful new coach that we were on. There were 3 main rules to coach life:
- 1. No Drinking on board. This is due to strict laws in Europe and, as we would soon find out, enough alchohol would be consumed off the coach.
- 2. No #2's in the coach's restroom. We would be riding on top of whatever we put into that tank for several days at a time as there was limited places to dump the tank along our journey.
- 3. Anyone who felt the need to shall we say "toss their cookies" should do so in one of the several rubbish bags on board. These bags even had convienient "ear straps" (also known as handles!)
We were soon on our way to Amsterdam, Holland. Our route for the day took us south to Dover, U.K. where we boarded the P&O Ferry to cross the English Channel. These ferries are unlike anything that I have ever seen in the states. They are HUGE passenger ships with hollowed out bellies for cars and coaches.
Jamie, Mike and I headed right for the cafeteria on the upper decks of the ferry. We had traditional English Breakfasts - Eggs, Bacon, Tomato and toast. Feeling somewhat content with full stomachs, we decided to try the duty free shop, since it was raining and going outside would be miserable. The Duty Free proved interesting, as I bought several Swiss Toblerone Chocolate bars to keep my sweet tooth under control. Jamie bought a bottle of Jim Beam for those times in the hotel when he just needed a drink!
Nearing the end of our channel crossing, we re-boarded the coach and soon picked up our tour manager Daren Humphries. Daren immediately announced that each tour had to have a theme song - and he had just the perfect one for us! He then proceeded to put on "Get The Jiggy With It" by Will Smith. I must admit, this song was not one of my favorite songs before this trip. Daren announced that we would hear this song EVERY morning as we started our day on board the coach. This should be interesting, I thought.............
Daren told us a bit about himself and some info on what to expect over the next 16 days as we trotted accross the continent of Europe. He informed us that those of us who were traveling alone would soon find out who our roommates were going to be. It was at this point that Mike told Jamie and I that he had a single room for the trip. Jamie and I decided that if we had a chance to choose who our roomate was going to be that we would team up. As it turned out, Daren informed us that we were scheduled to be roomates anyway. In retrospect, I'm not sure if Daren thinks it was a wise idea, but who knew that the two of us would be the chief "pissheads" on tour!
At this point we are motoring though France and Daren announced that we would be traveling through four countries in one day. It's not every day that you do something like that! We started in the U.K. and traveled through France and would soon pass through Belgium on our way to Holland, Whew! This day would turn out to feel like the longest coach day. We left London at 7:30AM and would arrive in Amsterdam at 6:00PM.
Daren announced that since it was the night that the World Cup Football (Soccer to us Americans) Final was to be played, AND since Lizane (the lone Brazilian on our tour) was decked out in a Brazil Jersey, AND since we all wanted to party - that he would lead us to a section of Amsterdam called Leidseplein to watch the game. There were several bars and coffeeshops (pot bars) here in which to party. The Dutch have multi level bars with drinking bars upstairs and smoking bars downstairs. It seemed really strange that someone could walk up to a "bartender" and order a certain type of pot and have it rolled for him right there! The Dutch culture is certainly very different from American Culture! By the way Mom, I did not partake in this part of the culture - Just the Heineken!
I told Daren that I had planned to stay with my cousins Anne and Jackie from Massachusetts who were living in Amsterdam at the time and he gave me the group's itinerary for our two days in Holland. This included a canal boat ride on the second night (Monday) and a trip to a sex show (after all, it IS a part of Amsterdam's culture!). We agreed that my cousins Anne and Jackie would meet us in Leidseplein for the game and that we would all meet up for the canal cruise the next night.
Well, I have heard how CRAZY Amsterdam can be, and the World Cup Final Game was not dissapointing! We downed SEVERAL Heinekens during the game while Lizane got more depressed! The French had beaten her native Brazil! As it turns out, Jackie and Anne talked Jamie and myself into staying out with them and crashing at their apartment in town as opposed to returning to our hotel in the suburbs. This was probably a good call as we closed the Bulldog Bar and had consumed many of those AWESOME Dutch Heinekens! Why doesn't Heineken taste that good here?
The next day Jamie returned to the Hotel to join the group for a morning in the countryside and demonstrations on Cheese Making and clogs. I decided to stay in Amsterdam and Anne, Jackie and I toured the city. We spent the day seeing the major sights and I was amazed at how many people spoke English.
I took my camera to a camera store and they confirmed that the computer had malfunctioned! It would have to be sent in for warrantee work in the states. I was afraid that they were going to say that, but I dealt with it and bought a great little point and shoot camera. It turned out to work fine and I now have several fantastic pictures from Europe - many of which are included here.
Anne and Jackie decided to join us on the canal boat ride Monday night with the rest of the group. Daren had told us that the 40 Guilder price ($20.00 US) included all you could drink Heinekens and Wine. Well.....that seemed to be all this group needed to hear. We decided that we wanted to break the record for consumption in the 1 hour cruise! Daren would later say that he has never seen a group of total strangers come together in such a big way!
After we finished our boat ride (and they literally threw us off the boat) I went with several of the other travelers to see the Live Sex Show. I was aprehensive to go, but the group talked me into it, after all sex is a big part of Amsterdam's culture. My cousins Anne and Jackie decided to sit it out but insisted that I should see it. I would meet them after the show. It turned out to be very interesting! Let's just say that the Dutch are NOT ashamed of their bodies or sex. The "performers" are all married couples and they volunteer to do these shows! This show was not for the prudish!
Having had such a long day, Jamie and I decided to head back to the Hotel after the show and a brief walk through the Red Light District where I got screamed at by a "window dweller" for stopping in front of her window to tie my shoe! The red light district is also an interesting place - half naked women in big windows inviting you into their rooms for sex! Suffice it to say, a quick walk through here to the coach was enough culture for a while.
We said goodnight to Anne and Jackie and returned to our Hotel. Since it was still relatively early, we decided to meet up at the Hotel Bar and have a nightcap. It was here that we got to know Tim from Australia and Matt (a.k.a Kiwi) from New Zealand. We had a few more Heinekens before calling it a night. after all, we were going to Germany Tommorow!
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| Jackie, Anne, Me & Jamie have a few Heinekens! | Hey Janice, who let that Kiwi on the boat?! |
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| The Bulldog Bar/Coffeshop in Leidseplein. | The Bulldog's Logo! |
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| Statue of Rembrandt in Rembrandsplein. | Rembrandt's House. |
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| Anne Frank's House (with red curtains). | The Dutch ALWAYS lock up their bikes! |
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| Westerkerk Cathederal. | Note that Diet Pepsi is Pepsi Light in Europe! |
© 1998-2000 Geoffrey S. Cable
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