Rodey on the Road

It is my last full day in Europe. I woke up at 7:30 this morning, packed my bags and left the hazy comforts of the Flying Pig. I walked more centrally into the red light district, to my next place of lodgings. Situated between a porn shop and a thai massage parlor, I am staying at “The Shelter”, a Christian-youth hostel. I dropped off my bags and left for the train station, determined to make the most out of my last day in Europe. So I boarded a train and left the country, arriving in Brussels, Belgium . I left the train station without consulting a map, without talking to tourist information, determined to re-capture that feeling that had overwhelmed me at the beginning of the trip, the feeling of something completely new and exciting, of being lost with no hope of recovery, of being utterly at the mercy of something else. Instead I found the powerful feeling of the need to alleviate bladder stress, and learned a lesson- bathrooms in downtown Brussels are hard to come by. So for those of you keeping score, or a list, or a tally of some sort, you can add side of a store on a fairly busy street at noon in Brussels to the balcony and metro garbage can.
Feeling relieved and after fleeing the scene, I treated myself to a belgian waffle dripped in chocolate. I also wanted to see the famous fountain of the little boy peeing, which I felt a deep connection with now, but it was covered in scaffolding and cloth and under construction of some sort, like so many other monuments I had seen. I had decided to turn back as I was in need of a shower and lo and behold, they moved the train station. A couple hours later I decided to settle on the subway and made my way back to the station ,where I caught a train back to amsterdam.

So the plan for the upcoming time frame is to get a dinner, go to bed, wake up at 5:30 tommorrow morning, pack and catch a train to the airport, come home just in time for my welcome back committee’s parade and to ride atop the float that will be used to transport santa later in the year.
That was going to be the plan, but apparently there is a bible study at the hostel. I might be attending that if I can manage to secure a brownie about 45 minutes before hand. See if I can get on the good lords side, or exercise some demons, or something of the sort, whatever it is they do.

The fourth installment in the now entirely inaccurately named, fulfilling the original disclaimers propechy, in a trilogy of posts relating to lessons learned on the road.

1. The words in the other language on the food carton ARE important, do not always trust the picture.
2. Label your food in the hostel fridge
3. It is better to have shoes in rainy and cold weather
4. Getting lost during the day often translates into finding your way at night.
5. Meeting people in the hostel is easier than you think, even if you’ve been doing it for a while.
6. There is nothing like beer to bring people together
7. U.S. soldiers on leave say that they work overseas rather than admitting their occupation
8. Marijuana produces philosophers, sleepers, gigglers and a marine who advised me to pee in comfort as he hadsecured the perimeter.
9. One espresso is no longer enough
10. Chocolate croissants are good in the Netherlands too.
***and for a limited time offer, lesson learned 11**
11. They don’t require ID in coffee shops, despite what the signs may say

09:38- Train arrives in Amsterdam central station 10:11- I arrive at Hostel 10:12- Notice people smoking up in hostel 10:20- drop stuff off in luggage room and leave to wander town 10:25- Offered sex by prostitute in window 10:37- Arrive at Sex Museum 11:45- Leave Sex ... [Continue reading this entry]

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The third installment in the trilogy of tidbits of info picked up along the road. 1. Hitler, evidently, was a speed freak. 2. Do not trust the Greek waiter when he says he knows something good and cheap for four young people: ... [Continue reading this entry]

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So maybe my post last night was done in haste, it looks as if I will not be heading north but instead I leave in a couple hours to get to Bari, Italy again, the place of the famed ferry ... [Continue reading this entry]

Im in Rome. Yesterday I spent the day seeing some of the tourist things; the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, lots of churches, and finally I arrived at the Spanish steps. I arrived just before sunsent, and as I sat ... [Continue reading this entry]

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