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I was so excited to go to Amsterdam not only because I had heard that it is one of the
world's most beautiful cities, but also because I had never been to Europe before.
Michael was also excited to return to Europe, but scared to death about the cold temperature.
On our plane ride there, Michael grabbed a newspaper and learned that the high in Amsterdam was
only -3 degrees Celsius (26 Degrees Fahrenheit). Thank god he didn't know how to convert
that number into Fahrenheit (and there is no way that I was going to do it for him) because he
would have commanded the pilot to turn the plane around and fly directly to Los Angeles!
I loved Amsterdam. I thought the city was so quaint with all the canals, cafes, and old
distinguished buildings. It was so cool taking the Eurorail from our hotel to the city center.
In fact, Michael and I became experts at purchasing Eurorail tickets from the automatic machine
in Dutch! Michael told me that when you visit Europe, one thing you must do at least one time
is attempt to ride the Eurorail for free. You see, in Europe, each time you get onto the
train, you do not need to present your purchased ticket to anyone. A conductor will come
around randomly to check. So, we pressed our luck on New Years Day and boarded the Eurorail
without any tickets! I was so nervous, but fortunately, never got asked to show a receipt!
Thank god my one time attempt to ride the train for free is over!
Of course you can't tour Amsterdam without visiting the famous & Red Light
District (aka RLD) and Michael had absolutely no problem taking me there! This is where
certain drugs and prostitution are legal - well, I should really say are tolerated. Michael
and I went into one café called, The Bull Dog. I was amazed at what I saw!
Sure, it did serve all the usual cocktails and beers, but it also had some other stuff on the
menu. It openly served cookies and brownies made from marijuana and hash! Across the street
was a store advertising real, live, naked women in the window! And next door to that was a
shop marketing magic mushrooms and many other types of hallucinogenics. The RLD
is quite a crazy area!
It is to bad that it was so cold in Europe because it would have been fun to take the Eurorail
to Paris one day. I guess that we will have to go back this summer!
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