Sleepless in Amsterdam

So, I've been up since 2:00 tossing and turning in my tiny twin bed. We're at The Bird, the room is quite small as I mentioned in the last update. It offers a great cross breeze, but with it the noise from the streets below. The other interesting thing is, the bathroom window. If I could describe it this way.. It is about 2ft by 2ft, has an old fashioned hook latch to prop it open. It has frosted glass, except the name of the hotel and logo is in clear glass. So, when nature calls, and you use the toilet there is no avoiding exposing yourself to the outside world. Not that anyone on the fourth floor level could see you, or could they?  So, a while ago I sat in there not wanting to disturb Steph.  I watched videos on my iPad in between listening to the sounds of the streets. It is now 4am, and you can still hear cars and the occasional revelers below.

The city is overflowing with people and there is a dominant form of transport, the humble bicycle.  Here, bikes have their very own sidewalk. In fact, the pedestrian part of the sidewalk is about 30% including trees with 70% going to bicyclists.  And they stake their territory quite well, until cars get involved, which is what happened last night around dinner time when we saw a girl on a bike hit by a car near Madame Toussauds. She was helped to her feet, the mud guard of the bike dragged off the street with the rest of it, and she stood on the sidewalk dazed as the car drove off. One gets the impression this happens a lot.  Another fellow was walking behind us carrying his bike which had a front wheel that resembled a pretzel.  So, we will be avoiding cars, avoiding bikes and avoiding bumping into as many humans as possible while we are here.

The other thing that strikes you, is the occasional whiff of marijuana, or as they refer to it here as "coffee."  Everyone is doing it, and it is quite commonplace because in Amsterdam it is completely legal.  This doesn't mean I will partake, I've always viewed Marijuana as a gateway drug, something that leads to something else.  But I do not judge those who enjoy smoking it, live and let live yeah?

There's a lack of public bathrooms from what I can tell. After we had drinks and walked to stake out a breakfast spot, we found ourselves several blocks away from the hotel and noticed there were simply no places to go on the walk home. I'm sure we will figure this all out and there will be a logical answer as we discover Amsterdam in the coming days. The loud sound of the city is also making it difficult to communicate, the hearing aids do little to help, so it can be a little stressful when we are both trying our best to make our way around the city.  The tram looks like a good form of transport for those long treks home. I might muster the courage to rent a bike but Stephani probably will not.

As for the Drone.. Well, it will probably be staying in the case unless I can find a park area to test it out. I am still a little rattled and embarrassed about crashing it into the Belfrey in Brugge.  Casey Neistat makes film making look so effortless. He was here last week, wake boarding behind a jet ski in the canals, and had his drone flying above, capturing it all. I think this is what sets him apart from other YouTubers, he is willing to go to the mat for that incredible shot.  For now, I will try to use the OSMO as much as I can to get some good on the ground video for editing when we are home.

Belfast will be our last port of call on Sunday.   While we were in Brugge, I found out about the Power of Video Conference taking place in Belfast, and on a whim bought a ticket.  Casey Neistat and Mr. Ben Brown will be two of the presenters in this all day conference on B2B Video.  I know it is probably in the Work category, but I figured it would be a good learning opportunity for my video endeavors, and something different to doing touristy stuff.  Still haven't figured out what Stephani will be doing. She mentioned wanting to study ancestry at PRONI. (Public Records of Northern Ireland) and that is close to the Waterfront where the conference will be happening, but that would not take all day. Worried that she would end up stranded while I am at the conference, and would want to enjoy as much of that as I can without holding her up.  Such are the complications of travel. I am sure we will figure it all out.

Well, I am going to figure out what the "coffee" situation is in our room and try to do some planning for our first full day here.