November 16, 2004

Whew! Finally back!

What frickin' planet am I on, anyway??? I just returned from an awesome vacation with my

friend Art, to Amsterdam and Berlin, Germany. Duh, not Berlin, France.....

My body is still on Amsterdam time, so you'll have to forgive any nonsensical rambling. Of

course some of the names in the stories will have to be changed to protect the not-so-

innocent, but I can assure you all, a good time was had... No, not THAT kind of a good

time, but a good time nonetheless. Somewhere in my writing journal I wrote down a heap of

travel tips, but I can't find that right now, so Ill do my best to remember some of them.

1. Do not take an SLR (Big camera with lenses and such) if the point of your trip is to

just have fun, with pictures being secondary. A small film or digital camera will get a lot

more miles on it.

2. Fancy Dutch vodkas that are served in America, ie Ketel One, Vanhoo, VanGogh,are not

available at ANY bar in Amsterdam, nor any Dutch liquor store for that matter. That is

CRAP.

3. German beer doesn't give you a hangover. EXCESSIVE German beer, that is another story

altogether.

4. After you pack your bags for the trip, take out half of everything you packed, and

double the amount of money you take. Travel light, that is a law. Travel rich, that is the

biggest law.

5. Don't expect everyone to like you, you know, the charming American that you are. I don't

know why they wouldn't either, they just don't.

6. Dress in layers.

7. Just because a large majority of people may not succumb to your charms, don't discount

everyone as a total asshole.

8. If you meet someone that lives in Ibiza during the summer, and spends the cold winters

in Amsterdam, you just may have met a VERY cool person worth getting to know.

9. Stay hydrated.

10. Keep your mind open, and remember that you are a guest. Use your ears twice as much as

your mouth, maybe three times as much.

Posted by Broch at 08:11 AM|
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