Day 5

Saturday 5th June 2011 - Amsterdam

This morning we woke up to a lot of rain. Considering yesterday was so hot we spent half the day dodging sun spots and standing under barely leafed trees for the slightest relief from the sun, this was surprising to say the least. As this was the case, we decided to chill 'chez nous' aka - 'Big Green Tent in a field somewhere close to Amsterdam'. We've done so much walking on this trip already its hardly surprising that we feel the need to take a break this morning. I have beans out of the can for breakfast. It really is amazing how a little bit of rain can drain your energy levels and cause you to resort to beans straight from the can but hey, theres definitely something to be said for this kind of food. Living outside and feeling hungry makes all food taste so much better.

Eventually decided to head back into Amsterdam around 4pm. We caught the metro from Spinnerij to Central Station. Honestly, we spent a long time literally walking aimlessly around the city simply still gawking at the sights and activities going on in and around amsterdam. We found an old church in the centre of a circular road and stopped for some hot chips and a drink. A group of girls walked into the cafe after us and we immediately recognised them as some of the girls we'd seen dancing provocatively in the windows last night. It really does amaze me how different people can look in the light of day. They left in the direction of the Red Light District. We finished our food and walked around the back of the church to find even more windows with women dancing in them. I know not of any other place that at 8 pm on a Sunday, outside a church, this would be allowed to happen.

We picked up a weed leaf magnet with 'Amsterdam' on it as only would seem natural in such a place and headed home again sure that there is no place on earth quite like Amsterdam.

Day 4

Saturday 4th June 2011 - Amsterdam

When we get up in the morning I'm almost apprehensive over what we might find in this city. I don't know whether to be excited or afraid and last nights little sneak preview didn't really help. I never knew I was so easily affected before, I mean, its not like I've been walking around for the last twenty years with my eyes closed but there is a really massive difference between seeing crazy things on TV and actually witnessing them in real life. Anyhow, we showered and breakfasted and then headed in the direction of the metro. After a good long fight with the ticket machine which point blank refused to accept my travel money credit card I had to use my normal card and pay the bank fees - a little miffed but could have been worse.

It takes about 25 minutes to reach Amsterdam central station upon which we catch our first glimpse of the city. The tourist information office is situated directly opposite the train station and is the first Amsterdam Coffee-shop you encounter. The Amsterdam Coffee-shops are somewhat mythologised around the world and I'm almost certain that if you haven't seen them for yourself that each person has an idea about what they might be like. I was definitely quite a way off the mark. My imagined coffee-shops were situated in a quite calm city such as Bruges and provided a relaxed and inconspicuous place in which people could go and smoke drugs inconspicuously. This image was immediately replaced with a madness that cannot be effectively described. The following experiences were dreamlike, and not for reasons you might imagine. Walking down the traditional European-looking, olde-worlde, looking streets you are bombarded with signs in windows saying "Buy your herbs here", "Magic Mushrooms and other Psychedelia inside" and the music is pumping from these low lit bars where no cigarette tobacco or alcohol is served. The menu consists of the usual coffee list including hot chocolate and chocolate milk with the larger section at the bottom being reserved for different types and strengths of weed which can be bought and a selection of munchies, spiked and non-spiked.

Apart from coffee-shops the streets also offer a variety of weird and wonderful shops selling things that literally make you stop and stare. It was definitely necessary to take a picture of 'The Condomerie" selling every different type of condom you can and cant imagine, including one in the shape of a giraffe and one in the shape of a carrot. It was impossible not to smile as you walked passed and saw a regalia of condoms all hanging from what looked like a couple of washing lines.
The streets are also full of tourists drinking in the streets which is also legal, its mainly however, big groups of young twenty something males and the ones who were busy getting absolutely wheelie-binned at 12.30pm in the afternoon seemed to be mainly British - come on lads, don't let the side down.

The centre of the city was holding a women's beach volleyball contest, which included very little clothing and was being avidly watched hundreds of people. They had actually turned what was once before a piece of road into a massive sandpit big enough for two full size courts. We drank a Heineken - it seemed rude not to, then headed back to camp for dinner.

At nightfall, we returned to the city and literally stumbled into the heart of the red light district. Women stand in windows backed by a red glow. Bikini's fluorescent thongs and other extremely revealing and provocative attire are displayed for the thousands of tourists that are pouring down the streets. The variety of women is also astounding, large women, tiny women, small breasts, extremely massive and painful looking breasts, the more mature women, gay women, and women from every different culture. They sell t-shirts in neighbouring shops saying, "sex at home destroys the prostitution business, prostitutes have to eat too you know." There is no shame at all behind the services these women provide, in fact it is a source of humour and it simply seems as natural as selling ice cream at a kiosk. All the women charge 50 euros 'a time' and disappear behind curtains once the fee has been paid upfront. I don't really know what else to say about what I saw in my time in the Red light district, its not my place or my desire to judge any of this activity. My aim is merely to give a brief and as subjective as possible snapshot into the place I found at the end of the metro and I hope this is how this section of the post has been presented.

However, Amsterdam certainly made an impression, I think it would be hard to see this place and not feel somehow like you'd seen something very new. One thing is for sure, they certainly know how to party here.

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Day 3

Friday 3rd June 2011 - Bruges to Amsterdam

Right now before I start this post I can hear the voices of my mum and dad in my ears - "that tent is too small" etc. etc. Well Mum and Dad, you were right, the tent is too small but worse than that is the condensation shower you get every morning. There is actually nothing worse than waking up with your face jammed against the waterproof tent material and finding the water is on the inside. Better still is trying to sit up and get dressed to leave and bashing your head on the soaked roof causing the whole inside of the tent to become sprayed with damp condensation. So, akin to my parents words, we bought a new tent this morning. It's a tour Licata 500 and it is amazing. Note to self and others - don't try and save money when it comes to a tent. Its easy to over-pack when planning a trip but this is one area where you should buy a tent a little bigger than you think necessary. This tent is 10m squared but the winning factor is the fact that you can stand up in it, this makes so much of a difference.

From the camp shop in Bruges we drove directly to Amsterdam which took around three hours, this was followed by a further hour and a half trying to find a camping site with space. We eventually plumped for a municipal campsite outside the main city but close to the metro station called 'Het Amsterdamse Bos'. I can only describe this campsite as a little oasis in the woods. We situated our tent (after 2 hours of fighting with it) right at the back of the site where you can hear the sound of running water behind the trees - beautiful. I must ask if you have you ever watched a couple putting up a tent and getting it wrong over and over again, its funny isn't it? Today, we were that couple and to the people we most surely entertained I hope we made your day all the better.

Once inside the tent, we made dinner on the gas stove and settled in for the night. Turns out, driving and then going two on one with a 10m squared waterproof giant will take it out of you. Furthermore it turns out that this plan to stay in was actually quite a good one as missing out on the scene which occurred next would have been sad to say the least. Now, unless I was so tired I dreamed it (Tom thinks it happened too though!), two men just after nightfall, appeared from their tent dressed in fluorescent Lycra, they then very quietly retrieved their bikes and went silently on their way in the direction of the city. Hello Amsterdam, and goodnight.

Day 2

Thursday 2nd June 2011 - Bruges By Day

I woke up to the smell of steamy hot coffee floating in on a woody breeze through the mesh of the half open tent door. Apparently I had slept in. I asked for my coffee and fell back to sleep still holding it. I then promptly poured it all over myself - this I felt must be included as it should be known how innately clumsy I am. After burning myself and giving the tent a sticky new flavour, it was time to check out the shower facilities at the camp. Camping Memling's shower facilities are free which is not the case at every camp site and were found to be more than satisfactory. It may be wise to mention however, that if you do plan on visiting this camp site, you should plan not to shower between 9am and 10am as you will find the showers either all occupied or the water may well already be cold.

We then packed a rucksack with two rain-jackets, a water bottle, camera and sunscreen - these are essentials for any day out in Europe - and begin our walk to the centre which is about 20 minutes away. On arrival we find that we have, without prior knowledge, stumbled upon Bruges lent festival. This turns out to be a superb spectacle with hundreds of participants in a parade that circles the entire city centre. The parade acts out Bible stories as well as showcasing young choirs of children dressed traditionally, young dancers, again in traditional dress waving flags as well as many other traditional skits and not forgetting the compulsory marching band. It is impossible to move around the city whilst the parade is in progress, if you don't look like you are inappropriately sniffing the hair of the person in front of you, then you are probably standing behind a child. It's worth the 'tinned sardine look' though as personally I have never seen a real live two humped camel wandering down a cobbled road carrying a man dressed like he's from the time of Christ shouting out Bible stories in Flemish, have you? My personal favourite however had to be the women in traditional dress, including the pointy hats and braids dancing in formation. Apparently, according to a free guide I picked up at the campsite, the most annoying thing you can say to a local is "why aren't you wearing you lace uniform?" and here I am not expecting anything of the sort and I get to see the whole traditional scene literally waltzing down the street. I say hats off to them - literally. So as you can probably imagine from my description I was giddy on the atmosphere, to say the least.

We then found a bar in the T.Zand area of Bruges where nearly all the bars have an option to sit outside. We chose a bar called Bras which was quite quiet with an incredibly tall man behind the bar. I do remember however that the actual bar itself was quite high and made me feel a little bit like I'd time-warped back to my youth again. Anyhow, we asked the tall man to pour us both something that is popular with the locals and he chose Westmalle which as we soon found out is 9.5% alcohol. This is a fact I researched later after finding myself go from giddy to downright skittish very quickly - beware of this beer travelers, if you're going to try it 'tapisser l'estomac' or 'carpet your stomach' as I was politely told by the very tall man after, not prior to drinking the very tasty but alcoholic beverage.

Suitably sloshed, it took nearly 2.5 hours to get home due to the crowds which was a little frustrating but honestly, its nearly impossible to become too stressed in this beautiful city. When we got back I feel I should disclose that as it had taken 2.5 hours to get home I didn't want to go to the shops so cooked up some savoury rice and threw in a whole can of corned beef on top of it. Granted, if you try this at home it does look suspiciously like dog food but trust me, if you are hungry and can get past the obvious problems of presentation, you will find it to be an unbelievably delicious meal.

This was our only full day in Bruges before we had to move on. I wont tell you how beautiful the Belfry is, or how magnificent the buildings are, I really cant do them justice. Everywhere you look in Bruges the scene that is reflected back at you is enough to make you blink twice. The canals are terrifically romantic, the walking routes, the buildings that rise out the trees like regal palaces are phenomenal. I can only recommend you come and see it for yourself.

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Day 1

Wednesday 1st June 2011 - Louth to Bruges

We set off from Louth in England at 7.30 am in the morning ready to embark on our journey around Europe. We did not finish packing the car until 3am so already my eyelids felt like dead weights. Luckily, in this expedition, I am not the driver of our little blue Suzuki we named "Laura". Tom took his place in the driver's seat, triple espresso in hand we headed in the direction of Folkestone to catch our train under the sea to the main continent.

The drive was fairly uneventful so I wont bore you with the details, for those of you wondering what the Eurotunnel is like, it is so quick if you blink you'd miss it. It took 35 minutes altogether and cost 130 pounds sterling return. (That is for 2 people and the car.)

We arrived at our Campsite Camping Memling at 5.30pm local time so the entire drive took around 9 hours including an hours wait in Folkestone. If you are planning to do a trip like this yourself I will tell you that it was whilst navigating our way to the campsite that I thanked the heavens we decided to invest in a GPS and Europe maps, although sometimes its not 100%, it will stop arguments, save your life and possibly even your relationship if you are thinking of taking someone special. The roads here are mayhem. It is literally like trying to navigate your way through a roller disco backwards at around 70mph, not forgetting that you have to instantly remember to keep on the right hand side of the road.

The campsite from a glance was beautifully green surrounded by a wood and with hedges and small bushes growing around the site. It was warm at 28 Celsius and the air in Bruges has a subtle calm about it that seems to extend to the locals. On the drive into Bruges it is impossible to notice the hoards of people riding bicycles, not mountain bikes either, true old fashioned solid framed bikes with bent handle bars. The roads and pavements are built extra wide to make it not only an excellent mode of transport but a lot safer for cyclists too. Even the traffic lights and pedestrian crossings have a little bike symbol included on them.

After entering reception I realised I had been so ignorant as not to learn any Flemish, not even hello, goodbye, thankyou, you know the good apologetic "I'm a tourist" phrases that you hope may endear you to the locals. We inquired as to the price for each nights stay and the young 20 something guy at the camp reception simply peered at us over the desk from beneath a blonde fringe. We were clearly speaking too fast. Apparently the excitement and the heat had already turned me into an incommunicable idiot. We eventually figured things out and it was a fair 19 euros a night.

After setting up our quick and easy pop up tent I started to cook dinner whilst Tom disappeared for a really long time. When he came back, he was carrying a bottle of wine some other campers had given to him. I secretly thought it might be poisoned - cynical or too many fairy stories? However, the cork seemed pretty well forced in so I decided to take my chances, who turns down free wine anyway? I eventually met the couple in the form of at least 7ft 3 Rick with a strong Cumbrian accent and his partner who was at least half his size with a blonde perm named Sal. Both of them had a cigarette and a glass of wine in hand, we later learned they were both over 70. Before the end of the night we had made good friends and listened to many a story of the past. Before we left to explore a little, Sal insisted I take one of her many silver rings. This one was beautifully sculpted with a small opal in the centre. She feared she wouldn't live much longer and wanted me to take her round the world which she never got to see. It really does amaze me to meet such fine people. I'm wearing the ring right now.

Anyhow, Tom and I set off into the night to see Bruges lit up in all its glory and words may only begin to describe its splendour. The quaint cobbled uneven streets and shops with carved wooden signs hanging above the doors really take your breath away. The character of this place is astounding. We came across an old bridge that had been lit up underneath turning the canal a beautiful, yet mysterious purple hue which could not be captured with all its atmospheric qualities on camera.

We made our way to the city centre where we decided to grab some local food at 'Friterie 1900'where we waited to be served by an old man who was quite skinny and balding with his spectacles perched on the end of a long nose. He didn't seem to speak any English. However, after hearing him assist a customer in French I realised as I speak French too, we wouldn't have a problem. As I started to ask him for two hamburgers the old man replied in English "Don't worry we speak English. English, Flemish, French, Dutch, whatever you want." He then began to sing, "Mr Boom Bastic Telefantastic", complete with dance moves. The Dutch food was great, but this man made the first night of our trip. The Bruges locals were warm and friendly from the start and despite the cold we slept sound in our little tent.

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