More Cool Buildings.

Someday I’ll Live Here.

Just Another Kickass Bar.

there are a million of these little bars all over amsterdam. the

kind that get 7 people in them and they feel completely packed.

this was one of those places. we ended sitting against the back wall jammed into people coats hung on the wall. the service sucked because i don’t think we really belonged in the bar. everybody seemed to know everybody and we knew nobody. no matter. we had our drinks and dug on the kickass jazz tunes the bartender was spinning and took off. if i lived in amsterdam i wouldn’t even need an apartment, i’d just hangout in cool bars like that all day and night.

this was really bizarre, on the big shopping street

in the middle of the city was this tiny little church jammed in between all the trendy sneaker and clothing stores. the techno music blaring out from the trendy shops would be really strange mixed with the church choir music you’d hear on a sunday. all in all it’s a pretty good symbol of opposites being able to coexist. and why not? i forgot to look, but i bet somewhere in that city a little church like

that sits between two whorehouses.

Store, Store, Store, Church, Store...

nothing says “amsterdam” like one of these.

maybe it will only be for a month or so and i’ll rent

one of these cool aprtments along one of the many canals...or maybe it will be for longer...but someday i

will live the amsterdam lifestyle.

...but i never tried one. why the hell not? actually they looked pretty scary but that shouldn’t have stopped me. i’m such a dumbshit for not giving one a go. oh well, guess i’ll just have to go back.

I Bet They Were Good...

no amstel light. in fact in amsterdam there is no such thing as amstel light. what the hell? i was all geared up to drink the stuff by the gallon but no go. all they have is regular old amstel. and it’s hard to find and frankly it didn’t taste that good. like all the beer over there it was really strong, no light version of any beer that i saw. probably get run out of the country for even asking for such a thing. i like the lighter tasting beer so mostly the beer over there didn’t do much for me, but i did try most kinds. brand was pretty good. this bar we had it in was even better. i could drink dog piss in a bar like that and enjoy it.

Brand Beer.

repeat like a million times and you’ve got yourself a pretty good picture of what amsterdam is like. oh ya, and cool buildings. i like how this bike is orange. that’s what i would have to do too if i had any hope of actually finding my bike. but i get the sense that most people don’t really care what bike they get as long as they get one.

Canals & Bikes...

i know what you’re thinking; “actually went to an art gallery?!?!? how could you not have gone to ALL the art galleries in amsterdam?!?!?!” maybe i should have. but i have to admit i don’t

groove on them much. (GASP!) they’re mostly pretty boring and all the old work feels a bit out of touch to me. there, i’m going to art hell for saying it. this sounds cheesy but art to me really is everywhere. popular culture is art. bars are art. stores are art. you don’t need to pay a shitload of money and go into a building with the words “ART” over the door to see art. that being said we did hit the rembrandt museum and check out that dudes stuff. what’s interesting is that he was basically what today would be a sears portrait artist. he was commissioned to do paintings of people that had enough money to pay for the luxury. he had a full staff that really did the work for him and he mostly acted as a creative director. very interesting stuff. sort of demystifies the whole art deal for sure. goes to show you no matter what century you live in you still gotta get paid. this husband and wife were enjoying the husband and wife paintings. i like how the

husband stood and looked at the husband and the wife stood and looked at the wife.

We Actually Went To An Art Gallery.

that’s one of my favorite things about really big cities...they have convenience stores that don’t suck. boston, new york, toronto, paris, london...they all have these great little places that will sell you a coke and some rolaids, but also some really good fresh fruit or flowers. sadly, we don’t have any such thing in minneapolis.

Cool Little Store.

words and pictures cannot explain how freakin’ cool this place is. just go there.

Antwerp Train Station.

wish there was something special to say about these buildings. there’s not. but they are pretty cool looking.

funny looking dude on a coin. sweet slicked back hair.

no big fancy insight here. it is what it is. but i will say that looks like some pretty good jelly and i’m pretty sure that’s all that the store sold. i love that, do one thing and do it well.

55 Jars Of Jelly.

didn’t get to go in because they were closed...or maybe that’s the point; they seem closed so no strangers wander in. de pilsner club. the beer club. gotta love that. the window had a nice display of old bottles and a crappy sheet covered the window behind the display so i couldn’t see the fun that was being had inside. clearly this wasn’t a club just anyone could join.

This Place Looked Pretty Sweet.

we were walking through a park and came across this guy with his violin playing doll hooked up with string and violin music cranked through some shitty speakers. i don’t know shit about the violin, but the dude seemed to be making the doll play all the notes pretty convincingly...so i gave him a few euros.

This Was Creepy.

it was a pretty dreary day but that didn’t stop people from getting out for a walk in the park. it was nice to see some trees. i get that way in big cities. we may not have a lot of really cool stuff in minneapolis, but we do have trees.

A Walk Through The Park.

have their own cool vibe. this place was known for having a ton of beers. no miller lite though. i had a beer with 15% alcohol content. that’s a lot. and i felt it too. if you like other types of drinks besides beer you’re pretty much out of luck in amsterdam, pam likes wine or mixed drinks and that stuff was mostly pretty sketchy to find. if they had wine they only had one kind, and if they had hard liquor there was no guarantee they had a clue on how to mix the stuff. lesson: go to amsterdam and get used to heavy, strong beer.

A Bizzillion Beers.

well, not me, but pam does. i think she was hungover and tore into one of those big deep fried suckers. this place was great...it’s the first place to get food walking out of the amsterdam train station and seemed to be busy 24 hours a day. i really dig the thumbs up french fry guy on the roof of the place...that’s a kickass mascot.

Sometimes You Gotta Have A Falafel.

bikes, bikes and more bikes.

i’ve seen this in so many european cities, where they have dedicated

street sweepers. how cool is that? the best example is paris where nobody cleans up after their dogs, they leave it for the street cleaners. that’s pretty extreme, but i sure would like somebody to clean up the puke piles in downtown minneapolis so i don’t have to deal with them.

Another Thing We Should Do Back Home.