Terry's Travel and Thoughts: Amsterdam and Groninger

I spent most of yesterday in Groninger which is a tortuous 3 hour train journey from Amsterdam. I'd made an amateur mistake in that I didn't buy my ticket the night before but I was tired and just wanted my bed.

At 5:54 am Central station was packed with people and the ticket counter was lined up 5 deep at the one open wicket. Dutch people buy their tickets with their bank cards at machines. These machines take coins or Dutch bank cards but NOT foreign credit cards.

As I didn't have 43 euros in coins, I had to line up.

Though I missed my first choice of route I managed to get another train.

After two changes and 3 hours of chin on the chest "Oh Christ I've missed my stop", I arrived.
The first thing I saw as I came out of the station was this:

A bit odd looking huh?
They're very proud of their city museum in Groninger. I didn't go in but if you want to check it out go this link.
http://www.groningermuseum.nl/ or here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groninger_Museum

Its supposed to be one of the most important museums in the Netherlands, but it struck me as having a "Raelian welcome temple" flakiness.
(http://www.rael.org/)

But maybe it's just me.

Being green and cutting back on your carbon foot print seems to be the rage these days.

We all have some distance to go to match the Dutch.

Behold the bike parking lot at the station:

No, that's just the overflow area.

Here is the main bike garage:

I've never seen anything like it and I bet you haven't either.

I didn't spend much time in Groninger and before long I was back in Amsterdam where after a business dinner I was tucked up in bed by midnight well and truly shattered.

Being as I was in Sin city, I figure you deserve at least a glimpse of the city's red light district.

I got up this morning around 9 and had a walk around.

First thing you notice during the day time is how many messed up or scary people there are trudging around.

"Excuse my sir, can you tell me how to get to Anne Frank's house?

What?

You're going to kick my ass for taking your picture?

Never mind I'll just run and jump on this tram...."

Christ that hangover hurts just looking at it.

He's dressed for St Patrick's day anyway though it appears the celebration was a day early.

It's tomorrow O'DUDE!!

Steady...steady it hurts to ride a bike when your head hurts.
Nothing like smoking a joint in the bracing air at 9:30 in the morning.

Apart from the drunk Brits /Irish/Swedes, who have started REALLY early (or haven't finished), a different type of tourist is in the area during the day. Gaggles of British/German/Spanish women giggling in front of the sex shop windows and staring wide eyed at the girls in the windows are in the majority before 1 pm.

If you're a guy in the RLD and you need the toilet, all you need do is follow your nose.

There are more modern versions but they feel a little exposed.

Even though I didn't really need to, I just had to have a wizz alfresco. I was a bit reticent at asking someone to help me give photographic evidence so you'll just need to take my word for it.

The RLD has a lot of alleys and side streets lined with windows and during the evening girls in those windows. Its a little claustrophobic at first, but after a while becomes oddly compelling.....

That last picture just kills me.

Who the hell would bring their kid to this area of the city????

On a final note, just across from my hotel, I noticed this plague:

I lifted the following bit from Wikopedia:

Near the end of Baker's life, he resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA about once a year for a few performance dates. On May 13, 1988, he fell (or was pushed) from his second-story hotel window in Amsterdam, Netherlands and died from a head injury. A plausible reason for doubting murder is that the hotel manager claimed that Baker's room was locked from the inside and there was no evidence of a struggle. Large amounts of cocaine and heroin were found in his room, and autopsy revealed that there was both heroin and cocaine in his body. There were also rumors that a suicide note was found but is held in private hands. Another explanation is that Baker was careless and leaned too far out of his window. A plaquette outside the Prins Hendrik Hotel memorializes him. Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
I was pretty chuffed to see the same picture in the entry .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Baker

The hotel is pretty down market