Last day in Amsterdam………nothing planned, nothing scheduled. Last day. We c.ould do laundry. No. Could take the train to Delft. No. Could rent bikes. No.
Nothing…..lets just walk…………..and walk………………and walk……………………take a break and spend an hour on a canal boat………….sleepy……………..eat at French restaurant…………………..find outdoor market……………………sleepy……………….went to the train station…………..crazy…….went to library……
The public library in Amsterdam is the best. I have spent hours there on free internet, in a high tech, prosperous, state of the art facility. Five stories high. Adjoined by a wine bar. Close to our boat hostel at Pier 3. Yesterday, I had to print out a flight itinerary. I learned from a Dutch women employee how to buy a library voucher (all automated) print my file, input my voucher number, print my document by scanning the voucher and getting change back via the voucher change scan…………….man, I don’t go to many libraries. Is this normal?
Today at the library, the venture was getting Wi-Fi. I wanted to download some pictures to the blog and I had them on my laptop. This took me 2 hours. Down to floor 0 for request to get Wi-Fi access. Up to floor 2 to register for Wi-Fi access. Down to floor 0 to activate registration. Up to floor 2 to get on-line. Down to floor 0 to get directions on how to get on-line. Up to floor 2 for directions on how to get on-line.……finally connected. This, of course, was all in Dutch/English. Me knowing no Dutch. Ahhhhhh….this is the experience of traveling, YA? (that is Dutch)
So, yes the library is very high tech……just not all its visitors. But, as you will notice the blog finally has some new pictures and I was listening to a live band performing on floor 5 of the library while I uploaded them. Does our library allow live bands? I doubt it. Amsterdam is high-tech AND liberal.
I have loved this liberal city where women hold hands, men pee in front of everybody, bicyclists are of all ages and varieties, condoms hang on display in windows and the smell of cannibus floats thru the air. (I keep seeing the “Canalboat” sign and think it says “Cannibus”-Dutch). I haven’t come to terms with the legal prostitution . However, if the result is men that are content, women that are financially independent and there is a statistical reduction in rape, maybe it is not all bad.
Who am I to judge?
Nothing…..lets just walk…………..and walk………………and walk……………………take a break and spend an hour on a canal boat………….sleepy……………..eat at French restaurant…………………..find outdoor market……………………sleepy……………….went to the train station…………..crazy…….went to library……
The public library in Amsterdam is the best. I have spent hours there on free internet, in a high tech, prosperous, state of the art facility. Five stories high. Adjoined by a wine bar. Close to our boat hostel at Pier 3. Yesterday, I had to print out a flight itinerary. I learned from a Dutch women employee how to buy a library voucher (all automated) print my file, input my voucher number, print my document by scanning the voucher and getting change back via the voucher change scan…………….man, I don’t go to many libraries. Is this normal?
Today at the library, the venture was getting Wi-Fi. I wanted to download some pictures to the blog and I had them on my laptop. This took me 2 hours. Down to floor 0 for request to get Wi-Fi access. Up to floor 2 to register for Wi-Fi access. Down to floor 0 to activate registration. Up to floor 2 to get on-line. Down to floor 0 to get directions on how to get on-line. Up to floor 2 for directions on how to get on-line.……finally connected. This, of course, was all in Dutch/English. Me knowing no Dutch. Ahhhhhh….this is the experience of traveling, YA? (that is Dutch)
So, yes the library is very high tech……just not all its visitors. But, as you will notice the blog finally has some new pictures and I was listening to a live band performing on floor 5 of the library while I uploaded them. Does our library allow live bands? I doubt it. Amsterdam is high-tech AND liberal.
I have loved this liberal city where women hold hands, men pee in front of everybody, bicyclists are of all ages and varieties, condoms hang on display in windows and the smell of cannibus floats thru the air. (I keep seeing the “Canalboat” sign and think it says “Cannibus”-Dutch). I haven’t come to terms with the legal prostitution . However, if the result is men that are content, women that are financially independent and there is a statistical reduction in rape, maybe it is not all bad.
Who am I to judge?
