In Amstersdam

Although a little late out of Vancouver the jet stream did its job and we arrived in Heathrow right on time. The new terminal 5 is awesome. Same color scheme as the old but well planned and functional. The lounge is superb and luckily so as we had a significant layover. A short skip to Amsterdam, a 15 minute train ride to Central Station and mission accomplished.We took a taxi to the hotel which was literally 400 M from the station, a healthy tip removed the driver's legitimate discontent.



 "Deborah enjoying the BA lounge"





We are in the the Hotel Sebastian, small but functional room, a little funky workable as we are both very close to ideal body weight. With the excellent meals on BA we were not hungry and just did a little walk about.

Outside our hotel are rental bikes and of course canals!

 We have chosen to travel by boat the next 2 days and it is proving very efficient and enjoyable!
Last night, to avoid jet lag we walked and walked , finally settling for a local pub a block away for a light meal. The bar tender was an eclectic guy and the jazz was great ! I felt like I was in New Orleans ! He confided to us that the owner was somewhat unusual and like Dutch FolK, Elvis and the Beatles. He made his own mixes to retain sanity. He was nice enough to hook my ipod into the system as we all anjoyed an Imelda May set. Great sound, great venue, great evening!

Observations:

Bikes : More than Beijing!, no collisions. Keep your head up! At the same intersection buses, trams, bikes, people and cars! Gregor would have a heart attack !

" Biles outside the Train Station"

Obesity: Only with the yanks and Brits. The Dutch are fit!

Dutch features: Long legs, Tildesley theory; they get bikes as kids which are too big and have to grow into them !

A little history: I was here 40 years ago with my classmate Mike Thomassin. We toured Europe together  and  came to Amsterdam to meet my school friend, and longtime neighbour. He had moved to Holland to study Medicine, Mike and I were at McGill. We had a good visit and I assumed we would crash at his house. Not the case, no room at the inn, and he suggested we crash at the local park. My expectations were abandoned and somewhat cushioned by the beer imbibed. We made our way to Vondelpark and settled into our sleeping bags.

The next thing we heard was a blood curtling scream, and a splash! It was 6 AM! Skin heads were touring the park and throwing campers in.The image of the fist victim emerging from a drenched sleeping back, in his underwear and fist defiantly raised will forever remain with me. They skipped us, perhaps because Thommasin, a power forward with the Loyala Warriors at 210 pounds was already out of his bag and looking for a scrap !

We walked the park and I reflected on the hospitality of my friend. We haven't talked in 40 years. This is the scene of the crime.

" the skin head toss 1972"

We visited the Van Gogh museum. A great review of his art and his demons. My own art took over with this photo:

It is actually part of the Van Gogh Museum reflecting another wing of the museum. The building is tilted as many of the canal houses are in order to make them look bigger.

The Donovan Report:

He has returned from altitude and tomorrow leaves for Italy, Catherine will be support staff there, he travels to London about Aug 21. He has knee issues to battle, which he will!

Next filing when time and content permits!