schiphol thoughts

back in new york now from a very very nice 10-day visit to the netherlands. while i work on a more extensive coverage of the wonderful trip, here some thoughts from schiphol.

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waiting for the plane at schiphol

Maandag, 15 augustus 2005, 14:40
Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Nederland

This is not the greatest time for writing. It’s the part I hate the most in holidays—the waiting for one’s flight. The moment when by some unstoppable nature you are forced to look back. The overflow of mental snapshots of a different world that has somewhat become what’s normal for the past so and so days. The inner smiles and of course the uncontrollable sadness one feels in leaving a place behind. Feck! The past days have been great. And I’ll sure miss a lot of things from this trip. Most especially, the people and the way of life.

I do not think I’ve ever experienced as much wealth of experience in such a short period of time as before—Arriving in Dutch soil Saturday. Seeing Coen once again, great friend and able and willing tour guide for the trip. Doing grocery. Nice cooked pasta dinner at home. Drinks out in Amsterdam. Seeing the canals. Walking through the Red Light District only for tourist formality. Rotterdam on Sunday. Seeing and hearing the great sound of some Formula 1 cars. The rain. Koffie with Mark and Cary in Rotown. Seeing the Swan Bridge. Nice nice dinner and view in Hotel New York with David. Train ride back to Amsterdam. Monday taking care of some immigration bullshit. The train ride down to the summer house in Zeeland. Picked up by Coen’s mom in Goes. Seeing the farms and great space. Nice welcome wine and conversation. Overview and stories about the Philippines and its culture. Dinner with a great view of the water and nearby town over very lively stories. Coffee and more stories by the fireplace, special family place in Dutch houses.Tuesday breads and cheese and ham breakfast. Trip to Waterland Park in Neeltje Jans. Seeing the greatness of Dutch engineering through its dams as they’ve mastered the waters. Trip to Veere, nice old village. Nice little market. Great cobble stoned roads. And stone houses. Quick stop by a golden field. Going over a fence to come close to some cows chilling in the sun. Back home in Zeeland. Nice home-cooked dinner. The Dutch really take good care of its guests. Wednesday trip to the inside of a windmill. Seeing what it’s used for. Drive to Maastricht through the disorganized roads of Belgium. Seeing Coen’s home town. Very nice hills. Very nice scenery. Very nice modern house. Little grocery. Champagne with Mr. And Mrs. Beusmans. Barbecue out to celebrate the rare lekker weather. Sipping wine under grape vines. After dinner coffee and walk. Seeing Maastricht’s city center and squares and night. Mooie! Thursday drive to the American Cemetery. And then to Norbeek, setting of Safe Haven, the great movie waiting to happen. Driving through the fields of Belgium. Driving through the main business area of Maastricht. At night, greatest dinner ever, thanks to Mr. Beusmans. Dinner at Chateau Neercanne (the EU/Maastricht treaty people and Bush ate there). Aperitif in a Wine Cave/Cellar. Then french-style dinner in the main dining area of the castle. Great bottle of white wine. And red wine. Great Mushroom dishes—all freshly-grown from the area. Great fish dish, really tender and sweet. Great venison main course, very tender and went very well with the wine. Great cheese cart. Loved the contrasts of the sharpness of the Old Amsterdammer and the sweetness of the French goat cheese and the bitterness of the bleu cheese. Really nice. Nice dessert and coffee after. And really ridiculous trek back home in the muddy foggy dark. Which made the experience all the more memorable. Only with the crazy Dutchman can you expect having a 150 buck euro per head dinner then walking through wet roads and small bridges in your James Bond suit. Fantastisch! Friday the hike up to a hill to make a tour of the underground caves. Amazing. Snapping away coz I couldn’t understand a word the Dutch tour guide said. Walking 10 meters in extreme darkness through the caves, finding your way only by feeling your way through the walls. Walking through Maastricht’s city center and squares. Nice cappucino in Coffee Lovers’, kinda like Starbucks type, without the overpriced coffee. Unexpected meeting with Coen’s mom and beer and wine in one of the old cafes. Dinner at home with the family. Michiel’s after dinner drink at his new place. Night out party hearty in Maastricht. Crazy scene with crazy guy throwing a glass at the bartender in Take Five. No goed. Neeeexxt! Bar hopping. Dancing, drinking, drinking, dancing. Bier, Bier. Jetfighter, Strawbelisch. Bier. Bier. Not to mention pissing all over the place. A nice after-night-out frites. Trek back home. Straight to sleep at 4AM. Waking up late Saturday. Nice al fresco lunch with the family. Lil packing up. Trip back to Amsterdam. Dropped off things. Dinner at Indonesian Resto. On me, for a change. Few drinks out. A nice cigar and cappuccino at place I don’t remember what it’s called. Chilling at home. Sunday, saw a Filipino stranger in the tram to the Rijksmuseum. Showed me the way but I decided not to go in instead. I hate lines obviously. Walked around. Cappuccino at café. Took stalker photos of nice pretty girl. Met up with Coen. Walked around a bit through the shopping area. Bought a few souvenirs and some nice cigars. Walked to Central Station. Met up with Stef. Train ride to Utrecht. Dinner with the whole Beusmans family. Hubert back from month-long trip to India. Nice stories from everyone over coffee and drinks. Nice family atmosphere. Trip back to Amsterdam. Crazy bum on the train. Back home. A little packing. Some nice whiskey. Great trouble sleeping. The farting and coughing and sleeptalking were at their highest obviously. Monday, today, seeing Coen off for his first day at great agency 180 Amsterdam early morning. Going to miss the Dutchman. Coffee in Vondelpark with Stef and Frederique. Walking through Amsterdam. Quick visit to photomuseum. Trip to Schiphol. Which brings me to now. 14:00. Amsterdam local time. Boarding time. Time to sign off. And end this writing. A more extensive photo journal/slide show of the trip coming soon.

It sure has been a great trip—so much more than what I could have imagined. But time to move on. Next stop, Il Jointman and Il Cone conquer Malaysia and then the Philippines sometime next year. But first, back to New York for me, via London Heathrow.

Tot ziens, Netherlands! Dank u wel.