OneAndOneIs2

Famously, some bloke from America once said the immortal words "Ich bin ein Berliner" - which can be translated as "I am a donut" in the same way that "I am a Hamburger" could be interpreted more than one way...

Right now, I'm in a hostel in Frankfurt. Possibly it may be obligatory to eat a Frankfurter while I'm here. Don't try and mis-interpret that :P

So.. an update.. right:

I went into Amsterdam itself twice for a general look around. The amount of places where you can buy marijuana and interesting mushrooms is unbelievable. So is the number of young ladies standing around in.. "clothing appropriate for the hot weather" shall we say...

If you're a man and you're ever in need of an ego boost, try walking through the Red Light district. Having dozens of girls trying to entice you into spending some time with them can do wonders ;o)

I spent 5 nights in NL, and since the hostel was on the beach, I spent most of the other days just lazing around. I even swam in the sea once, for a few seconds. It was quite refreshing..

Was a very sociable hostel, unlike the other places I stayed so far it was not at all difficult to strike up conversations.

Getting out of NL and into Germany was a trial. The train I was booked on was affected by problems so couldn`t come into Amsterdam station, which I didn't know until it didn`t arrive. So I had to meddle around and get the next train, which meant I was both late and on a crowded train without a seat reserved. Hmph.

The hostel I wound up in was very German. Big, nice rooms, even ensuite, and quite cheap. Very efficient, but it was like being in a hospital. It was way too quiet. Luckily I struck up a conversation on the way there with a couple of Dutch people, and we wound up in the same dorm, so that was OK.

Went to a small open-air "rock concert" which was very odd - everyone was so well-behaved and only mildy tipsy. Not like you#d get in the UK at all.

The cathedral they have in the town of Cologne/Koeln/Koln (Don't ask me) is big and impressive. It has a lot of steps to get to the top of the tower (268+95+127) and the bodies of the three wise men, apparently.

Tomorrow, I'll probably head on to Basle, Switzerland. Or maybe not, considering the fun I've had with trains so far.

Watch this space!