Amsterdam

Today we couldn't get it together. We'd had this great plan to get up early, have quiet times, drink Nespresso, and be in Amsterdam by around 11 a.m. That was a pretty big deal, because thus far we've had a hard time leaving anywhere before 11 a.m., much less arriving. Sure enough, when I finished my morning bathroom routine there was no sound from the Hammond room. I knocked on the door, and told them the time. Casey shot to the door, apologizing. "No big deal," I said, "I'm just getting going too...we're not in any rush."

I went downstairs and had breakfast and Nespresso and read my Bible for a bit. Casey came down and asked for my Tide To Go pen. Before I knew it, we had laundry problems. Adam and I hopped on bikes (very Dutch) and rode to the grocery store for an arsenal of cleaners. It made me appreciate for our Hispanic population at home that cleaners are often labeled in both English and Spanish. Here we had to sort through the Dutch, which wasn't always easy. We asked one woman if she could help us, and she said she spoke some English. We asked her what a particular bottle's use was, and she read it and then said, "It's for cleaning." Since we were on the cleaning aisle, this wasn't news to us. She was kind to try.

We made it back and put out our first defense. Finally, at about 11:30 we headed to the bus stop. We almost tried a new bus route but just as we were going to cross to the other side of the street the bus flew by us. Settling back into our original plan, we headed to the Den Haag Central Station. We made it there and went down to the train platform. That's when I realized I'd neglected to bring my Eurail pass.

"They don't often check," Adam said.

"Yeah, but I also have to book my Eurostar to London today," I replied.

"Oh yeah."

I had to go all the way back to Mark's Dad's place to get the dumb thing. I should have been in pain--I was kicking myself the whole ride back. But I busted it and, sprinting up to the stop just as the bus arrived, got to the Leiden station in record time. I was supposed to meet the Hammonds in front of the station.

I waited for an hour. The lesson here is try never to split up with the Hammonds. Finally I decided to chuck it and just get on the train to Amsterdam. I'd buy my ticket for tomorrow and then get on a train to Utrecht for the rest of the day by myself.

When I arrived in Amsterdam I was nearly bowled over by Casey. They'd been waiting for me there. Ah, communication. They were loving that train station, especially when we had to go up and take a number at the international ticket office.

Finally out on the town, we searched out a restaurant called Eat Mode. Adam led the way.

In Dam Plaza

Busy Amsterdam

Pretty soon I smelled pot. A few steps later, pot again. Another coffee shop, more marijuana smell. Then came the windows with blatant pornography, then lavish displays of sex toys and advertisements for erotic shows. Adam was leading us to lunch in the Asian neighborhood directly through the red light district. I was reminded why I don't like Amsterdam.

It was a gray day anyway, and I just felt heavier and heavier in my spirit. It rained outside and in; I couldn't finish my lunch. We saw all these groups of young guys, and I kept feeling sad.

Apparently there's a Christian hostel in town that most people stay in because it's the cheapest. They enforce segregated dorms and have Bible studies each morning. I can't imagine trying to live in Amsterdam permanently, but I respect the people who do try and make a difference. What a mission field. It's funny though: the more I thought about it, the more I realized Amsterdam only makes obvious what goes on more subtly in other places. Selling sex isn't new, it's just a little more raw and gaudy here. I spent a lot of today in prayer. We're all guilty of lusting after the pleasures of the flesh. They never satisfy us because we're made for more.

Don't get me wrong--Amsterdam isn't all bad. The canals are fun, the architecture is crazy, and there are some great museums (including the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House). We were just planning to walk around, though. We didn't stay long. After the long day of mishaps and soul-sadness, we were pretty tired. We headed home pretty early.

Zonked. Bri and Ryan--surprised this isn't me?

Home to Jonkerlaan! I just love saying that.

We had more Nespresso out on the little patio by the canal. We've had great talks every day, and did again this evening. Tomorrow we'll split ways. I'm definitely going to miss the Hammonds; pray for them in their travels. I'm really excited about London. I've been taking it pretty easy for the past week; I'm back into tourist mode starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be a train strike. Duwey! (bye)

Wassenaar

First things first--I've added pictures to the last three posts, so scroll down and check them out. There are a bunch so it might seem extra long, but you at least don't have to reread the words.

God really intended for Barrett Jones to have some friends while he was in Munich. We all went to the train station to catch our night trains, which were leaving around the same time. Upon arriving, Adam realized we had incorrectly remembered our departure time, and we were actually on the same train as Barrett. He would get off somewhere in Germany, and we'd ride all the way to Amsterdam. We were an hour early, so we broke out the Yahtzee. We continued it on the train, and I had my best game ever. I rolled three Yahtzees. I'm sure you're cheering.

Only in Europe would they have a whole car for bicycles, the perfect place for Yahtzee

We all went to sleep in the couchette a little after midnight. For once there were no snorers. Barrett had to get up just after 3 a.m. to make his connection to the airport. I vaguely remember him waking me up so that I could relock the door to our couchette.

We found out later in the morning that we sat at that station for 140 minutes. We'd heard the night before that we'd narrowly missed a German train strike. Not so narrowly, as it turned out--we arrived in Amsterdam four hours late. At that point, we abandoned our plans of going to Brussels and opted instead to hang out at Mark's dad's house just outside the Hague in Wassenaar (where we are staying).

Bus face

We ate lunch at this awesome place in town. We were so hungry. We'd made a pauper's breakfast out of our old groceries on the train while once again sitting at a station forever, but that was about 7 hours earlier. We found a place that served lunch till 4 p.m. We'd made it with 10 minutes to spare. We all ordered sandwiches: Adam, the house specialty; Casey, salmon; me, chicken. Mine was the only one with cooked meat, which was a bit of a shocker to the Hammonds. Casey likes sushi, but this was a huge piece of fish. I'm not huge on sushi, so when I tried hers I almost threw it up. Mine was stinking awesome. I think I could eat it almost every day if it didn't give me terrible onion breath.

Picking up breakfast foods at the store

Ah, Holland

Back at the house, the goal was to get clean. Casey had been wearing the same clothes for four days, ever since she bought the new shirt in Interlaken. We took turns showering and doing laundry, and it felt great. After paying so much for things here in Europe, it's kind of amazing to receive the hospitality of Mark's family. Suddenly we have a place to sleep and eat, do laundry, and use the internet all for free. Free, fast internet is the reason I've posted so many pictures. I'm really thankful.

I'm also thankful for the fellowship I've gotten to have with the Hammonds over here. It's been awesome to sit, journal, read my Bible, and then just talk about whatever we're thinking. We've gotten to discuss Scripture, pray together, and share struggles. Community in the family of God is a necessary blessing, I believe. God has provided in neat ways.

We're going to Amsterdam tomorrow. The Hammonds leave the day after. At this point, I am still going to London. Nick Vu is there now, and I'll hang out with him my first night before he flies home. I've prayed about it and don't feel directed not to go, so I'll take the Eurostar through the chunnel on the 5th.