Red Light District

Amsterdam is every adjective in the dictionary.

Women cost 50 euros ($75). I was brave enough to ask the question but not brave enough to ask what services were involved. We've visited the same coffee shop every morning for five days and Dave has become our source of information. (real coffee, not the non-coffee coffee-shop) He speaks five languages and knows everything. A good guy and hard worker, single and 33; he wants one of my daughters. In addition, we talk with another man from Golden who works at Coors. He visits Amsterdam on vacations and knows it well enough to suggest things to do.

This morning at 6:45a there was a tall blonde passed flat-out on the dirty carpet. I was attempting to go down the hall to use the bathroom and his feet were blocking the door. His head was blocking the bathroom door. I woke him up. Had to go...

This is not the place for a single older woman...young guys on drugs and a large gay population. I like the legality of it all though - a more sane and justified approach and acceptance. Legalizing doesn't increase or decrease useage or lifestyle.

Amsterdam: I've never had to dodge traffic anywhere like here. Trams, buses, bikes, cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, and vehicles popping out from underground garages. The bike lanes are great but anything with wheels goes anywhere with pavement or cobblestones. It's a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Literally, one's head has to work like a tennis match to avoid getting killed.

Beautiful city with chaos, noise, and crazy tourists. Canals and flowers add to the ambience but there's little serenity and quiet.

The most meaningful museum visit has been the Anne Frank House. She and Margot died of typhus at Auschwitz. Their father was the only one of eight to survive the camp. He lived until age 91 and died in 1980. How does one live after such devastation? But people did... I marvel at the human spirit.