Yes, I know there are lots of other reasons to visit The Netherlands...

2/12 - 2/17

...but one of the main reasons we're travelling the world is expose ourselves to different cultures and broaden our horizons. When it comes to drug culture most Japanese are so blinkered that really, it would have been wrong not to experience as much as possible in our short time there, right? Responsibly, of course.

Anyway, our bus from Prague was first heavily delayed, then broke down halfway so after a long wait we had to transfer to another bus at stupid o'clock in the morning. We finally arrived around 5pm the next day and were too tired to do much other than find the riverboat hostel we'd booked, get connected in the wonderful central library and sleep.

We couldn't figure out why the Jordaan area is popular, but later heard it's due to the hidden courtyards and gardens that we didn't find. More ring hunting turned up some nice options but nothing we could settle on.

The Anne Frank house is somewhere I'd never bothered to visit in all my previous trips to Amsterdam so we figured it was about time to rectify that. Eight people hid in a few attic rooms behind a fake bookcase for 2 years with the assistance of a few trusted friends. They were eventually exposed and seven died in or between various camps with Otto, Anne's father, the only survivor. Anne died a mere month before liberation, just after her sister and with no news of the rest of her family. One thing that really stuck with me was Otto's comment on how her diary revealed a character he had never really known despite their close relationship. How well can parents know their children?

Still very cold!

At 'The Spirit' coffee shop we got incredibly stoned on one shared spliff. I held it together just enough to get us back to the boat. Good stuff.

The next day we ate a handful of mushrooms and headed for the modern art museum. Coming up on the mushrooms we found it closed, so opted for the Van Gogh museum next door. One stand-out painting was Monet's very blue Japanese bridge, in which I saw energy surging left and right, almost like a dragon with vivid red highlights and a floatiness to the whole thing. On 2nd, 3rd and 4th viewings the picture became steadily less impressive. Odilon Redon's 'The Buddha' and 'Figure under cherry blossoms' fared better with repeated viewings and remained fascinating for hours. Multi-layered, fractal, glass, woven or painted? A digital data flow from Buddha's head, the head itself part of the tree background while the body and flowers floated to the fore. Van Gogh's work we mostly ignored, although as we were coming down one painting of a cherry blossom tree stood out with vibrant colours. Hozumi trips much harder than I do and has the usual worries of 'standing out' and walking funny. At one point she was drawn by a young guy's perfume and followed him around. She later talked of how it was the first time in her entire life that she'd ever appreciated art, despite having two artist brothers! For a time she even felt like creating some of her own, but that feeling only lasted a day.

More ring hunting turned up a few potentials that we didn't settle on.

The free tour of Amsterdam was entertaining. Why is the oldest church right in the red light district? So sailors could whore all night and confess their sins in the morning before leaving port. The 'rabbit' king, brother of Napoleon. The 84 year-old prostitute with a two-week waiting list. Narrow buildings compete for waterfront space, and lean forward to ease the winching up of goods that require dry storage. Steep stairs and listing foundations. Surgery on public display, see Rembrandt's painting. A quiet courtyard for single women over 30, but with a 10 year waiting list. Catholicism banned for 200 years, but 200 people singing in the 'hidden' church every Sunday. The first-ever show of Jewish solidarity in history as 15,000 people strike to protest Nazi arrests.

Our very entertaining guide in front of the site of the public surgery exhibitions.

Fast food, FEBO-style.

The hidden square for unmarried women only. No photography or tours allowed!

Good foundations.

More impressive leanings.

The whole atmosphere in Amsterdam soured for one night as the city geared up for an invasion of drunken football louts. Water cannon tanks and police were out in force, and shouts, violence and tension permeated the air. We retreated to a nice dark bar and mellowed on the remainder of our mushrooms. I didn't trip much beyond picking out colours and patterns where none existed, but Hozumi was laughing and crying at the same time, the cola was too far to reach, then scary to drink when it fizzed. The stairs were wonky, the toilet an adventure, the people on the ledge above us looked like they'd slide off, then the ledge was 'like Disneyland'. At one point Hozumi was sucked in by her own reflected pupils. On the walk back Hozumi was still really high. A drunk guy tried to buy a kebab in a falafel shop and stormed out when he couldn't get 'is meat "I ain't payin' fer tha'!". Hozumi was still giggling to herself when we slept.

All in all, a very fine trip in Amsterdam.