Springtime in Amsterdam

Tulips are the most sensible of flowers... Show and go.....

I can think of no better time to arrive into Amsterdam than just as the tulips are coming into bloom. Bright - cheerful - colorful sights greet one at every turn as you explore the streets and canals of the city.  I love tulips as the harbingers of better weather heralding the news with spectacular displays that are extinguished almost as quickly as they appear. A very sensible flower in my view...always leave them wanted a little more.

I had a few days of work/play in the city so contented myself with half days of faithful service to my computer and the rest simply wandering with no particular place to go. No maps - no agenda...just wandering.......................

 
My amazing daughter Stevie has visited Peru, Mexico and Africa in the past few months so may have been infected with the same wanderlust. A prouder Dad I couldn't be :)


In  addition to the shameless wandering I also indulged in my favorite dinner on each of the nights I was in the city. As pictured below, a Merlot so thick you can stand a fork in it - a wheel of Camembert, a dry sausage and of course a baguette just warm from the oven. All for less than $20.... the Europeans have their priorities straight in my mind. Food and then everything else. Healthy? Hmmmm...not sure about that.

Fat Bastard - Camembert - Sausage and a baguette...oh yeah!!!!!

The sun was warm (not Africa warm) enough to draw Amsterdamites out to the street cafes and neighborhood pubs for drinks of all sorts. For me - a number of beer stops were clearly a necessity due to extreme thirst and the very real possibility of expiring mid-step due to dehydration. Why take that chance. A sparkling conversation with a stranger generally ensues .... in this case a Dutch couple in their 80's out for their daily beer.

Belgium after the bombing........

 

I took the train to Brussels after Amsterdam and and while mainly working while there, I did have to travel through the city using the trams, bus and trains. The Maalbeek station was still closed and the aftermath of the bombing and security was both omnipresent and menacing; a constant companion to the Belgians who have had to reconcile their beautiful peaceful lives with the acts of terror that left 32 dead and over 300 wounded.

At Gare Midi, the south train station, 5 of the entrances are closed pushing commuters to a single point of entry and down a roped corridor where you are scrutinized for anything that could be used to inflict more pain and suffering. On the left is the view from the front desk at the hotel where I stayed. I am getting ready to exit and make my way through the heavily armed guards who are in no mood for jokes or idle chatter. To get out of the hotel - you have to push by these guys who are so focused on their task they neither give way or exchange any kind of greeting. Interesting and understandable  - and a clear example of the tension gripping this normally friendly and hospitable city. I share in their grief, and those elsewhere who continue to have their lives torn apart by what must be the actions madmen and woman.


“There are few things more dangerous than inbred religious certainty.” ― Bart D. Ehrman,



Thanks for reading - Layno