Two items of discussion today.
- Amsterdam. Dude, that Amsterdam shit will knock you on your ass and make your brain stem sizzle. The coffee is good too. I took lots of pictures. I also attended my first MeFi-Meetup. We watched the Dutch football team get beat by the Russians. The facility where we saw it was awesome. It was in a restaurant on the top floor of a building directly on the harbor called Restaurant 11. There was a tremendous view over the city. It is also a nightclub and the game was shown in a huge room with several huge screens along the walls. It was great. Unfortunately the building is being demolished in just a few days so it was one of the last events taking place there.
If you go to Amsterdam, you may be tempted to go on one of those big fancy canal cruises with the huge canal barge where some boring schmuck drones into a microphone. Resist that temptation and book a ride with the St. Nicholas Boat Club. You will not be sorry. This is the tour for those that want to see the real Amsterdam. It is totally relaxed and you can drink, eat and smoke whatever you want on the boat.
If you are looking for a place to stay in Amsterdam, you may be tempted to book a room at an expensive hotel or hostel. Resist that temptation and book a room with citymundo.com. You can rent housboats, rooms, houses and more for a reasonable price.
Amsterdam is famous for, among other things, its red-light district and coffee shops. There is much more though to see. That being said, it is fun to go to the red light district around 5pm, grab a beer at a corner pub and then sit down outside or at the window and just watch people go by. It’s fun to watch families from the Midwest find themselves in there and have their children ask questions like, “Why are those women standing there in their underwear?” Good times.
- European Football Championship
In case you have been living in a cave or just in the Western Hemisphere, you may not know that the European Football Championship is going on. The final is on Sunday and it will be between Germany and Spain. Whenever Germany wins, there is a party. Being the exemplary cultural ambassador that I am, I have been doing my part and joining in the festivities.
The semi-final between Turkey and Germany provided interesting commentary. For some reason there seem to be a lot of German employees calling in sick recently. Almost every bar in town has a big screen tv set up for the games. It has been a boon to the local economy. We’ll shall see who the champions are on Sunday.