I Like to Ride my Bicycle, through Holland

The summer is over and I am now back in Manila. However, I have returned to a storm of shit that makes those frogs that Moses sent raining down on Egypt look like a spring shower. Fortunately, for you the reader, this blog is not the proper forum to go into that. Let’s talk about Holland.

After leaving Amsterdam, I worked my south via train, sleeping occasionally but mainly renting bicycles to see the countryside. This worked great until I got to Rotterdam, and then had my bicycle stolen, despite the fact that it had more chains around it than Mr. T. Obviously I wasn’t getting the deposit back, but I figured to keep myself from being charged even more, it was best to flee the country.

Here are 6 pics taken before I become a fugitive.

I sought sanctuary in Dusseldorf, Germany with my Dutch friend Harmen. Harmen has 3 amazing abilities: fast walking, fast talking, and fast drinking. Through this combination, the walking Dutchman convinced me to go back to Amsterdam for another weekend of debauchery. Which I did. We did nothing cultural, and instead remained highly focused on belligerence. Thus, I have no pictures (mercifully) from that final push through the bricked streets of Amsterdam.

Amstergoddam!

On my last night in hamburg i made the mistake of combining large quantities of beer and sauerkraut. Thus i needed some time off of toxins. Too bad i was soon on a train to Amsterdam, where the city slogan is "Amsterdam, where if you ask about it, it's probably legal."

I found a room in a hostel that i felt quite at home in since it had a population density similar to manila. only cleaner. after exploring for 30 minutes on foot, i was told by the police i needed to rent a bicycle or they were not going to be able to control the crowds of people laughing at me. renting a bike is easy, except for the 1.5 hour course you have to take on how to use all 5 locking mechanisms to keep the bike from being stolen. i felt i got a good price until a friend of mine purchased a stolen bike for only 20 euros. he was also cooler than me, since his a stolen item.

I met 2 vikings from Norway and an Australian, so we went off explore the city. similar to Hamburg, i needed to compare the Amsterdam Red Light District to Burgos St., Manila. here's how they competed.

Dirtier: winner is Amsterdam.
Cheaper: winner is Burgos
Most Eastern Europeans in glass window booths: winner is Amsterdam

We soon realized that the red light district was not really for us though, and we concentrated on our forte, which was pubs. once i again, i saw the sun rise.

the next day i went to some museums, the only problem is that after a night out in Amsterdam, even Van Gogh's freakiest shit seems pretty tame.