As you may recall, we changed our plans from spending 10 days in Scandinavia because we don't have enough money for a 6 euro cappuccino. We spent a little more time in Prague and Berlin and added on Amsterdam. So we finally left Berlin on Saturday and arrived in Amsterdam Centraal 7 hours later. We decided it might be a good idea to reserve our train tickets to Oslo 2 days later only to find that the ones we wanted were completely sold out. Instead of leaving Monday night, we would have to leave Monday morning, early. That cut out one of two days in the city of sin. So we decided to hit the ground running. We took the 45 minute bus ride out to our cheap hostel, changed and took the bus back into town.
If anyone has ever been to Amsterdam, you know how surreal it is. The main entertainment square is hopping with clubs, pubs, and people. On top of alcohol, there are coffeeshops everywhere that sell copious amounts of weed. Its odd to know that at least half the people milling around you are high. Chels and I walked from the main square to the red light district. We were on a mission...to see a sex show. Amsterdam sex shows are infamous, we didn't want to see it for the sexual entertainment (EW), we wanted to see it for the novelty value. So we forked over a very steep 25 euro and entered into the world of kinky sex. We sat ourselves down at the back of a row of booths that were full of young people, like us. Aside from a few creepers, everyone was there for the same reasons we were. The format of the show was a set of 6 acts. There was one couple act and 5 female single acts. I will spare you the sordid details but I can list the main props involved: a 50 foot piece of string, a sharpie pen, and a banana. These props were spread throughout the show, much like the performer's legs!
We left that room in shock and continued to wander the redlight district. As much as we tried not to, we stood gaping in front of the windows filled with gorgeous women bathed in red light and offering their services. We later found out that all the prostitutes in Amsterdam get tested for diseases on a regular basis and proudly display their certificate of cleanliness in their window. Another tidbit of knowledge, they charge 50-100 euro for each visit depending on the length and number of acts performed. What really surprised me was how gorgeous these girls were. I have been to Amsterdam in March and remember them being ok looking but nothing to write home about. Well I'm writing home, these girls were stunning. They easily put me to shame. So we went home for the night in a kind of shocked stupor.
The next day, we got on a free walking tour. It gave the whole history of the red light district and the tolerant ways of the rest of the city. It turns out that all drugs and selling sex are illegal in Amsterdam. In fact, the city was founded by a set of strictly religious prudes. However, unlike America, these prudes also believe in unwavering tolerance and turn a blind eye to the shenanigans as long as they don't blatantly advertise it. If you look at any of the coffeeshops, none say anything about selling weed or being able to smoke it there. Weed menus must be specially asked for and people are not allowed to smoke it in the streets. I found all of this out from the walking tour, of course.
Amsterdam is also very expensive so we ended up having another couple of picnics and then heading back to the hostel. In a way, we were glad our stay got cut short. Amsterdam is a lot to handle and we didn't feel like the mental stimulation anymore.
So we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to the train station. We had five trains and a 24 hour journey ahead of us. Time to settle in for the long haul. Little did we know how long it will actually be. We got a train to Duisburg, Germany and then had a 30 minute layover. The boards told us that our train would be 5 minutes late, so when it arrived only 3 minutes late, we thought it was a miscalculation. Nope. We got on the wrong train. We arrived in Essen, Germany instead of Hamburg and scrambled to save the remainder of our trip. In the end, we just had to get to Copenhagen by 11.08 that night for our night train to Oslo. The earliest way to get there got us there at 11.18. We were screwed. So we redid our entire itinerary. 3 more trains than originally planned, 22 euro extra for a new night train reservation, and 12 extra hours. Talk about long haul!
We were survived our 5 hour layover in Berlin, aided by wine, and managed to get on our night train to Malmo, Sweden. We popped a couple sleeping pills and realized we had already had a bottle of wine. Whoops! Better get to sleep pretty fast, NOT. We settled into our train beds when two italians walked in and showed us their tickets. We were in their beds, but our tickets said the same thing! Turns out that the woman in Germany sold us tickets for the next day. I wanted to punch someone. Luckily we managed to get an extra bed in the train but not before standing in a drunken, sleeping pill high in the corridor of the train for 30 minutes.
We made a friend on the night train and she translated for us the complexities of the Swedish language. Thank god she was there otherwise our trip would have been even more hellish. We were on the next train with her as well when the loud speaker came on. She groaned and threw her head back. There was construction on the tracks, we would have to get off, get on bus, and get back on the train. Our connection at the next station was only a half hour. We didn't make it.
More schedule rearranging, another station added to the itinerary, and another 4 hours. We finally arrived in Oslo 39 hours after we started. I believe we saw about 8 train stations. We had reserved a night in the airport hotel because all hostels were booked (WHAT???). We couldn't stomach the cost of a room for two people so we paid for one and snuck one of us in. Luckily we were supplied with two beds anyway. We spent the next two nights and one day wallowing in comfy beds and two channels of American tv.
I left early the next morning, connecting in Heathrow and Boston and then finally home. Chels left a few hours after me. Again, I settled in for the long haul. The trip ended up being about 28 hours long. I met a lot of cool people on the plane and that made things bearable. However, I only managed to sleep 6 hours in 48. I was buoyed by the fact that I got to see my boyfriend in the 3 hour layover in Boston and my family at the end of the line.
I'm finally back in my own room in San Diego. It feels unbelievable to be home. My boyfriend is here too for 10 days as well as some family friends from Britain (Pete, Jan, and Cath Jones) for 4 days. We've all been having a blast visiting various beaches and having delicious meal after delicious meal.
My final words for this blog: I absolutely loved my trip. I saw so many loved ones and met so many more. I would not trade the experience for anything. But I am so happy to be home. The backpackers life is not glamorous and I'm more than ready to settle down in one bed for a year or so. Basically, life is awesome and I'm a happy chick.
I hope you're all doing well. Until next time,
Ash
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