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curmugeonPart 6.
I spent the previous night in a Sheffield and was now travel across the countryside heading for Hull. I was to catch a ferry for Holland. When I arrived at the ferry I got my ticket and loaded my motorcycle. I I moved to the upper deck and watched as they loaded freight cars into the lower deck. This is a large ferry and it was going across the North Sea, a body of water known for severe storms. Shortly after leaving port we encountered one. Is ship had gyroscopic stabilizers to keep it fairly level and while sitting in the bar overlooking the bow I was amazed at it ploughed on through stormy seas. Large waves break over the bow and roll across the deck. I finally found the a place to sleep and look forward to the landing in Rotterdam. I departed the ship in Rotterdam in a rainstorm. I was wearing my rain gear so that was not a real problem but the flooding in standing water made travel by motorcycle difficult. It took me many hours before I made it to Amsterdam. At that point I had no plans so I went in search of a place to stay. It was then I met up with the Canadian who was also traveling by bike. We shared a room in a 17th century canal house. It was a Salvation Army Hostel. That evening we went off to explore the city. We gravitated to the sailor's quarter, which is Amsterdam's red light district. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands in Amsterdam does prostitution in a unique fashion. The women sit in chairs behind large windows waiting for someone to show interest in purchasing their time. My friend was doing a research project on prostitution for his post doctoral degree in psychology. And I went along as a curious American. We spend that evening talking to these women about the profession and how they got involved in it. He did extensive interviews with each of his subjects. I did some video taping for him so he could record some of the conversation. As the evening concluded one of the women invited us to dinner at her home in the suburbs. When we arrived at her house the next day we was surprised. She was married and had two children. Her husband was well aware of her profession and had no problem with it. The children knew that mom worked in the city at night. That was one of the most interesting dinners I ever had.
The next few days in Amsterdam were all museum visits, eating, and visiting marijuana bars. Yes in 1971 the Dutch decriminalized marijuana.
It was getting time for me to return to duty. I I packed my motorcycle and hit the Autobahn to Germany. 2 days later I was in Berlin.
After spending 45 days on the road I didn't look too military. Today are arrived in Berlin was also the day my unit was having a picnic so I rolled up on my motorcycle wearing my leathers and wearing a scruffy beard. My commander greeted me and told me I need to look like a soldier by tomorrow. The next day I was back on the job looking like the soldier he wanted.
I spent the previous night in a Sheffield and was now travel across the countryside heading for Hull. I was to catch a ferry for Holland. When I arrived at the ferry I got my ticket and loaded my motorcycle. I I moved to the upper deck and watched as they loaded freight cars into the lower deck. This is a large ferry and it was going across the North Sea, a body of water known for severe storms. Shortly after leaving port we encountered one. Is ship had gyroscopic stabilizers to keep it fairly level and while sitting in the bar overlooking the bow I was amazed at it ploughed on through stormy seas. Large waves break over the bow and roll across the deck. I finally found the a place to sleep and look forward to the landing in Rotterdam. I departed the ship in Rotterdam in a rainstorm. I was wearing my rain gear so that was not a real problem but the flooding in standing water made travel by motorcycle difficult. It took me many hours before I made it to Amsterdam. At that point I had no plans so I went in search of a place to stay. It was then I met up with the Canadian who was also traveling by bike. We shared a room in a 17th century canal house. It was a Salvation Army Hostel. That evening we went off to explore the city. We gravitated to the sailor's quarter, which is Amsterdam's red light district. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands in Amsterdam does prostitution in a unique fashion. The women sit in chairs behind large windows waiting for someone to show interest in purchasing their time. My friend was doing a research project on prostitution for his post doctoral degree in psychology. And I went along as a curious American. We spend that evening talking to these women about the profession and how they got involved in it. He did extensive interviews with each of his subjects. I did some video taping for him so he could record some of the conversation. As the evening concluded one of the women invited us to dinner at her home in the suburbs. When we arrived at her house the next day we was surprised. She was married and had two children. Her husband was well aware of her profession and had no problem with it. The children knew that mom worked in the city at night. That was one of the most interesting dinners I ever had.
The next few days in Amsterdam were all museum visits, eating, and visiting marijuana bars. Yes in 1971 the Dutch decriminalized marijuana.
It was getting time for me to return to duty. I I packed my motorcycle and hit the Autobahn to Germany. 2 days later I was in Berlin.
After spending 45 days on the road I didn't look too military. Today are arrived in Berlin was also the day my unit was having a picnic so I rolled up on my motorcycle wearing my leathers and wearing a scruffy beard. My commander greeted me and told me I need to look like a soldier by tomorrow. The next day I was back on the job looking like the soldier he wanted.
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Date: 2016-01-20 07:26 am (UTC)Amsterdam
Date: 2016-01-20 08:59 am (UTC)I was about two blocks from Anne Frank house, I visited almost all the museums, I went on the Amstel brewery tour. The conversations with the women working the red light district were wonderful. A great sex education lesson. I enjoyed a Rikstaffle (I know I spelled it wrong) (an Indonesian rice table, a 33 course dinner of vegetables and sauces with a few beers. I ate raw herring served with chopped onion from a push cart. I visited Edam and ate cheese. I took a canal boat cruise after dark. I would have loved to have gone awol and stayed there forever. I was amazed to find an Orange Julius stand. At one of the clubs I visited you got a drink menu and a drug menu. One thing I did do was if anyone asked my nationality I said I was Canadian as I didn't want to get into long discussions about Vietnam. I found the people wonderful, the food great, and the fact that everyone spoke English was a plus. Did you know that the Netherlands and the United States have a treaty that makes it easy for Americans to move there and become legal residents? If I had known earlier that would have been a place to retire too.
Franciscus PP forewarned
Date: 2016-01-20 08:55 am (UTC)