May 13th: Adventure Trekkers

I...could probably write a novel about this 36 hour camping extravaganza but, for the purpose of this blog I will summarize it with one humorous anecdote.

Matthias and I can make magic happen if we are both on our game at the same time. Coordinating this takes significant effort from both parties and a load of patience. It is, however, absolutely worth it. After failing to camp on my third to last day in the Netherlands, we refused to fail again. So as mentioned in May 12th, we hit the computer and I wrote ALL of the important times and prices in my sketchbook. We reserved our campsite, destination: VLIELAND (check out the Dutsch Frisian Islands online and you'll want to go too...)

8:17 train to Centraal
8:42 train to Den Helder
9:56 arrive in Den Helder
10:30 ferry to Texel
11:00 arrive on Texel, rent bikes ride 20.4 km to De Cocksdorp
14:30-15:00 arrive in De Cocksdorp
??? Ferry to Oost Vlieland, walk to campsite

Since we both had gear to carry on our backs, I made only one request. Statement, rather. We are not running to catch ANYTHING. We go in enough time to walk.

With nearly everything packed and ready to go the next morning, we hustled it out the door and powerwalked to Muidepoort, bleary eyed and off to a decent start. We even made the rest of our connections with only a few sweaty moments before the first ferry! Upon our arrival on Texel, however, Matthias made an expert suggestion. Let's take the bus to De Cocksdorp. Done. We cruised gently through the grassy knolls of Texel watching sheep and quaint housing pass quietly by. It was nice to sit instead of bike as we had originally planned.

Cool! So it was like, 11:15 and we were already in De Cocksdorp, jumpoff point to the island we were camping on. You will notice on my plan that there are question marks instead of a time. This is because Matthias called several times and could not get ahold of anyone related to this ferry. We figured it would be no big deal. High season is approaching. So we waltzed into this little house of a ferry station and announced that we would like to go to Vlieland, please. The woman behind the desk looked at us incredulously.

Dutch Lady: "Today?"
Caitlin or Matthias: "Um....yes please. (conveying panic through peripheral vision) Our camping reservation is this evening."
Dutch Lady: "Oh. Okay. Then at 5 o'clock you get on the little boat to the beach here and then you take the adventure trekker half an hour to the village in the middle then you rent bikes or walk where you need to go"
Caitlin or Matthias: "We can't....go any earlier?"
Dutch Lady: "No, you go today, you go at 5 o'clock."
Caitlin or Matthias: "It's....not possible to go to the main town, Oost Vlieland directly with the ferry? (The map had shown us a dotted line right there)"
Dutch Lady: "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
Caitlin or Matthias: (turn to each other, wide eyed) "....two....adults for the adventure trekker at 5 o'clock please. Thank you."

Hahahaha, so she fortunately let us leave some of our gear under a bench there and we were off to kill about five hours in De Cocksdorp. Which actually wasn't so bad. We ate our lunch. We drank our beers on the beach. We realized all Dutch children are blonde. ALL OF THEM. We walked through the village. We chatted with a Dutch guy in German. We ate Patatjes and drank sodas. We postulated about the Adventure Trekker. We looked at souvenirs. We drank hot cocoa and flipped through fashion magazines. We arrived anxiously at the ferry station well before 5 o'clock, but were kindly tolerated and allowed to board.

Turns out we were the only ones headed to Vlieland. Everyone else was on their way back. AWESOME. So we had the ferry to ourselves AND the entire Adventure Trekker. Which turned out to be a ginormous desert beast of a vehicle driven by a seemingly omniscient Dutch man. He even drove us right to the dunes where we could simply disembark into our campsite! No bike renting/middle village debacles. And considering it was nearly 6:30 by the time we arrived, we were grateful.

Vlieland is beautiful. The pictures barely begin to describe what an idyllic place it was. The entire campground was filled healthy, happy Dutch families playing together in the waning northern light. There were miles of unoccupied white sand beach bordered by a navy, brooding sea. It wasn't even that cold. So we pretended that all of the other days we had been planning on camping, it must have been terrible weather. Hurricanes. Floods. Tigers were eating people. So we had to come for only one night instead.

Man of the Future

I had many theories about this photograph upon reception, including: aliens have arrived, chosen Berlin as their dropoff point and Germans must wield weaponry shirtless to prove their prowess in battle. Or at least defend the more helplessly lounging folk in the fountain with rigor. Elaborately photoshopped hoax also crossed my mind, I have no recollection of this Neptune fountain anywhere near the iconic TV tower. Turns out, it's just my fiancé in a tiny scarf, demonstrating against the man on a hot day with a squirtgun. The simplest explanation is always the winner, isn't it?

'Merica!

Pretty much the only thing I wanted to do when I woke up today was bake an American flag made entirely of mini cupcakes. So I called Shola. We made it happen. It was a big hit at the BBQ. 'Merica!

May 12th: When things started getting abstract...

I experienced a wide range of emotions during my stay in Amsterdam. On this day they were loneliness and despair.

I woke up knowing this. That it was going to be a hard day. Matthias and I had been trying to plan a camping trip and fit it in between friend visits, bad weather, and the exam/essays he had to accomplish. At this point, I had three full days left with bonus Saturday morning before my flight. We both hoped we'd be able to take off this evening and spend a couple nights up on the island I'd been looking forward to seeing. But, I slept too long and when I finally got up, I already felt upset for no good reason. Matthias had the curtains closed in his jammies at the computer typing away. I knew today wouldn't be the day. He was valiantly pounding out his essay though, so I pretended we were still going and went for a walk through the neighborhood to the south.

It was somewhat comforting to peek in the open window of all of the Dutch apartments with floor to ceiling bookcases, comfy rugs and families eating lunch or playing chess together. I wandered, took some photos, and wandered back. Matthias was still working and though he remained optimistic I went ahead and said it: "we're not going camping today." I felt sad that he had so much work to do over his break. I felt angry with myself for not realizing this beforehand and planning the logistics of my alone time to maximize adventure potential. I felt frustrated with both of us for not getting our act together sooner. It's difficult to pinpoint how I end up working myself into this kind of aggravated frenzy of self-criticism, but today was the day for implosion.

If we weren't leaving today, we were DEFINITELY going tomorrow. So Matthias took a break from schoolwork and we sat down at the computer together. I got out my notebook and we wrote down train times and prices, ferry times and prices, made camping reservations and borrowed a tent. This might have saved us...

May 11th: I'm just fuckin' with you Daddy!

In case you were just tuning in, this a witty and touching recount of my most recent visit to Amsterdam. Day by day. Welcome.

I liked this day quite a bit too, it was a Tuesday. Important highlights as shown:

#1: Five doughnuts for 1 Euro 50 cents. The most basic doughnut you could possibly buy. Not too sweet, white frosting. I am going to try my best not to eat these every day come September.

#2: Kaas

#3: Matthias wanted this portable grill set. Badly. And it was only 10 Euros, so I bought it. Unfortunately it started raining as soon as we arrived home and I discovered today that he lost it after the first use. It was possibly worth it just for this photo.

#4: (Not pictured) We saw Kick Ass. Matthias had watched many previews and read reviews, I wanted to be surprised. I wasn't sure where it was going for the first 15 or 20 minutes, but after the first bruisy bloodbath where Kick Ass stands up to the car theives, I realized we were in for a hilarious treat. Matthias has excellent taste in movies.

May 10th: Noordlicht

I loved this day. After a weekend full of friends, fiascos and fun it was back to just me and Matthias. Our first goal was to hit the flea market we'd missed the previous week due to foul weather. We were too cheap/lazy to rent a bike, so Matthias rode me halfway across Amsterdam on the handlebars of his bike. And we proceeded to travel this way for the rest of Monday.

At the Noordermarkt flea market, we scored a handful of amazing vintage postcards (mostly black and white pictures of Dutch children holding flowers with a cursive birthday greeting below), new boots for me and a vest for him. On a mission for food we cruised through the center, but ended up at a well-curated vintage shop instead. I chatted with the lady for quite a while because she had a whole shelf of deadstock fabric from the fifties! I proceeded to purchase fifty euros of meterage from her, which Matthias also carried for the rest of the day (husband material).

We ate lunch at the library (they have an awesome pasta and pizza restaurant inside) and continued across the water to Noord. I love Noord. It was cold, sparsely peopled and industrial. Apparently it's less traveled because you have to ferry across from central station to get there so most people don't bother. There were student dorms made from shipping containers, a large warehouse space with a skate park and offices for theater groups and other creative outfits, and a cozy, colorful cafe that looked like an empty airplane hanger from outside. As soon as we entered, good smells and warmth wafted out. It was packed! People were drinking hot cocoa with their dates, chatting with their colleagues and lounging with friends. Matthias read aloud the foreward to sci-fi adventure thriller we had also picked up at the flea market. On the way back home, Matthias even managed to snag a message in a bottle that I'd sighted earlier while boarding the ferry. Yep. Lying on his stomach on the concrete ferry landing, reaching with his right hand while I held the bike lock around his chest. We were so excited to get home and open it...

Musical Mittwoch #1

Is it cheating to use the German word for Wednesday for alliteration/convenience sake? No. No it's not is the correct answer.

Something about this video does it for me. It's the original version of Robyn's "Handle Me" from 2005 before they shot the slick, many-outfits-in-a-box-show (which I also like quite a bit). But the lofi simplicity, the darkness, those dudes. This really is the only one I could find, and I kind of love how the resolution sucks. Because Robyn doesn't.

May 9th: Sunday stroll with the gang

Sunday was a good day. We all slept in, Konrad made us vegan pancakes, and then we went for a walk. The red light district had yet to be experienced by Einar, and Sunday during daylight seemed the most humorous method. Konrad also requested that we hang out at Central Station for a bit to hear some street performers. I was slightly skeptical at first, but ended up enjoying this time quite a bit. It was nice music, and hanging out at central stations watching everyone come and go somehow brings me joy. I used to go to Berlin's when I lived there and was feeling lonely.

bottom photo by Matthias

I haven't forgotten...

May 8th: See you at de Bosbaan

Today was a Saturday, and it was all about the Bosbaan. Matthias had his very first crew race, and it was sort of a practice round, like pre-season. But it was a race nonetheless. He had to get up at like, 7 am, so Konrad and I did too in a show of solidarity. (Einar was staying with his Swedish friend because...well, we made his bed for him and everything but, we were asleep before he called to be let in. Sorry Nar.) Anyway, Matthias used to make me breakfast all the time when I had to get up early for dance performances in Berlin and it was awesome. So I tried to return the favor. I knew I should have hopped on a bike to scurry for breadrolls but there didn't seem to be enough time. So while he was packing his bags I made him the only breakfast we had: half a bowl of mueslix, three celery sticks with peanut butter, coffee and OJ. It was pretty miserable, but he figured there would be food there, I did too.

Konrad and I had agreed to join him at the race for the second round in the early afternoon, since he would be biking there and we would have slowed him down for the morning time. Due to the breakfast shortage, I sent Konrad forth into the world with a 20 Euro bill with the instruction "breakfast." He was a great success in the breadroll department, but somehow ended up with Mediterranean flavored low fat cheese slices called "Slankie" instead of actual cheese. Whatev. He was discombobulated. This IS the Netherlands after all, and as Dutch is decipherable for those of us who speak English and German, it's not always easy or straightforward. We realized though, that we would really have to choke that Slankie down if we were to arrive in time for Matthias' race (only goal of the day). Konrad had to ride me on the handlebars of the bike at top speed to the bus station (shrieking with laughter), but we made it.

Konrad politely confirmed with the bus driver that he was going our direction, and we requested day tickets. "Oh, hm, I'm all out of those," he told us "you'll just have to find a seat." He winked as he pointed backward with his thumb. We both looked at each other, wide-eyed in disbelief. Dutch bus tickets are EX-PEN-SIVE! And this magical gem of a man was offering us a free ride. High five. He instructed us to change buses about half an hour into the trip, we thanked him as he waved at the driver of our next ride. Again, Konrad politely confirmed that he was going our way and we asked him for day tickets. "Hm, how did you ride the other bus if you don't have a ticket?" He asked. "Oh, uh, he just told us to have a seat?" Konrad sheepishly announced. "Hm," thought the other bus driver. "Then I say that too." He pointed backward with his thumb and smiled. We couldn't believe our luck. Two free rides AND we were going to make it there in the nick of time.

As Konrad and I arrived joyously to discover the race had been postponed, so we had plenty of time, we found Matthias in a deteriorating state. "Did you guys bring food?" He asked. "Oh, uh, no. Were we supposed to?" He had sent us a text, but I'd already fried my power converter and phone was out of commission for the rest of the trip. Matthias was hungry, and was only halfway done with his racing. Trouble a'brewin'.

I've only experienced it once before in our entire time together, but when Matthias gets REALLY hungry, things go downhill fast. He turns into a shadow of a man, only goal: survival. Nothing will stop him. And it puts him in a TERRIBLE mood, which permeates all situations surrounding him. Again, I've only experienced this emergency once before, but it was BAAAAD. I had a premonition Konrad and I were in for emergency number 2, and I was scared. But I was glad I was not alone. We had a pack of Stroopwaffel in my purse (Dutch cookie treat, two crispy thin waffles with caramel between) and we offered him some. I knew it would only buy us about a half an hour though.

The race happened, Konrad and I biked alongside the river and yelled encouragement in German as Bootje 2 frantically paddled a very close race to an unfortunate last place finish. Matthias and team cleaned up their stuff and we headed out. The slippery slope began. Matthias was frowning, moving quickly, withdrawn. We found a french fry stand near a grocery store, this would buy us another half an hour or so. "I think I'm going barf if I eat these," were the only words out of his mouth. He ate them anyway. We hit the grocery store, purchased everything we needed for veggie burger dinner. A free sample of non-alcoholic beer bought us another ten minutes. His shoulders were slumping. We boarded the train back with his bike and grocery bags. Konrad and I took his bag. He leaned his bike up against the center pole, walked to the next compartment as the train jolted forward and the bike toppled, Konrad and I juggling grocery bags trying to right it. Matthias leaned his back against the wall and slid downward, collapsing onto the floor of the train. Konrad and I made eye contact through the grocery burden and sighed. The situation was looking grim. So at the train change, we continued on and he grabbed his bike with a gruff "see you back there." And bolted.

We found Matthias in his bed with earphones on as we arrived at the flat. So we unpacked the groceries and left him alone. I went to the common room to read, Konrad played Zombie killer on the computer. Apparently, Matthias eventually rose and opened a can of beans. He had his back to the door and his bare hand in the can when Einar walked in cheerfully oblivious to the workings of the day. "Hey Matthias! How's it goin'?" Matthias froze, hand full of beans. "I....just...need a minute." He said without turning. Einar immediately relocated to the common room where I got him up to speed and we remained until Matthias announced that burgers were ready. Things turned around from there :)

P.S. This last photo kind of breaks my heart every time I see it. It's at the french fry place, and pretty much sums this whole story up. Matthias' furrowed brow, the distant gaze, the pouting lip, Konrad waiting in the background, trying to put on a happy face. If the kids ever look like this, I will probably turn into a complete pussy and get them whatever they want.