Rotterdam

The last couple of days that I spent in Amsterdam were enjoyable. Unfortunately the heart of the city is so commercialized and expensive that there wasn't much more to do than walk around and take photos. The layout of the city with all of the canals and architecture is the redeeming part of the downtown area, and was more than enough to keep me enchanted with the city despite the commerce. On my last night in Amsterdam I was able to stay with Maria whom lives south of the city center. She lives in a house which used to be squatted and was rather neat to walk around in. She said that the city center itself used to be full of squatted buildings but slowly over the years the city has been able to evict them. It seems as if gentrification is taking place everywhere I go, but for some naive reason i had only thought about it in the context of San Francisco and the bay area before. After eating a lovely dinner that she had prepared (my first asian dish since i've been on the road), we went down a couple of streets to a bar that some punks had squatted and we shared a few beers. We were able to talk politics for a while and then finished the night by getting stoned in her apartment before going to sleep. It was refreshing to see a different side of Amsterdam.

I left Amsterdam early this morning for another full day of riding. I encountered much of the same weather that I've become accustomed to this trip, and was able reach town earlier than I expected. Most of the riding today was along a beautiful river which had quite a bit of boat traffic. Once I arrived in Rotterdam, my coachsurfing host had already prepared a nice curry for dinner which we sat down and ate, and then he took me on a bike tour around city. Rotterdam was practically levelled during the second world war, so almost all of the architecture is new and several futuristic sky scrapers are scattered around the city. We made a couple of stops at different bars along the way and talked about traveling (he had just gotten back from the Himalayas). Tomorrow after quite a long day of riding i should cross the border into Belgium and stay in a town called Antwerpen.

I finished reading 'Junky' a while ago and enjoyed it a good amount. I then read this booklet 'Call' which some French anarchists had given me in Rostock which seems to be written as a manifesto of sorts ~ an interesting read and I hope to go through it again soon. Now I'm reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' which is resonating with me quite bit as I get through the first couple hundred pages. Reading after a full day of riding is really one of the joys of this trip, and with this novel in particular I've been able to think about my own experiences in new ways as a result of picking up the text. I recommend giving it a read.

I also was able to post a few photos of my riding in the Netherlands, as well as from Amsterdam. After getting tired of the rain getting soaked up in my beard, I shaved it off the other day to just leave a moustache, please spare the jokes. Anyways, here's the link~
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30541750@N00/sets/72157600765829662/

Wish me good weather,
i