Amsterdam #1of2

We arrived in Amsterdam in mid-afternoon, for our first visit. We drove around the city awhile, then discovered the Anne Frank Museum, just after it had closed for the day. The house is what we would call a town-house, built right up against other houses, with no side yard on either side. There are three windows on each of three floors, above the doors on the ground level. It sits in a nice neighborhood, along a tree-lined canal, with other three or four story houses.

Among other parts of town, we drove through Amsterdam’s huge, famous red-light district. They really do use red lights, and they really do sit in the windows to advertise the goodies. As we passed one large window, Pupa (Daughter Linda’s friend) said, “That looks just like my Aunt!” Emmy was not impressed with the tour of the “red-light” district.

Emmy and the Lindas just had to find a restaurant that served Rijsttafel, the Indonesian Rice Table, with up to 40 dishes, most of which include rice in one form or another. I preferred to walk around the city — sightseeing is more important than food for me. At one place, when my response to her “question” was, “I’ll have to ask my wife,” the street-lady exclaimed, “You brought a wife to Amsterdam!”

We headed for the campsite located next to the Olympic Stadium south of Amsterdam. At one point we saw a tall vertical sign that said “CAMPING,” but missed the turn, then found another campsite in Amstelveen. After three intense weeks as driver, tour guide, waker-upper, and motivator deluxe, Amstelveen is where, to the relief of Emmy and the two Lindas, I finally collapsed and slept for 10 solid hours.

Two dozen young people were camped in an ancient double-decker London bus that had been outfitted with seats, a kitchen, and a toilet downstairs, with bunks (including, we were told, a secluded “passion pit”) upstairs.

The campground was also home to a large tourist bus with three or four dozen college-age sightseers. In addition to the luggage compartment, the bus towed a large trailer that held luggage, tents, bed-mats and bedrolls, and communal meals were prepared in the “walkup” kitchen. They spent the night in maybe two dozen small tents that were lined up as if by a surveyor, but not, we were assured, always in the same tent.