Right from the moment that

Right from the moment that the plane hits the Dutch coast, I know that I am in A Foreign Country. The landscape is alien in a way that I would have thought impossible for somewhere so close to home. The symmetrical precision of the fields, surrounded by and interwoven with water, makes for compelling viewing. We approach Schipol airport, but we're apparently too close to another plane and we have to continue north and loop back on ourselves to get another landing slot. I might normally be irritated by the delay, but the view of the IJsselmeer is fantastic and I could stay up here all day.

On the ground, we take the train into Centraal Station and then the fast train out to the apartment. Prol has a lovely place - light and airy; it's home from home. We relax for a while, then head into the centre. Technically, Amsterdam is everything that the guidebooks describe - canals, bridges, tall thin buildings - but that doesn't prepare me for the impact of actually being here. Water, water everywhere. It's disconcerting, coming from a city where you orient yourself by the (one) river. Despite the symmetry of the city's layout, the map of which I scrutinised in detail on the plane, I lose all sense of direction and I'm happy just to wander. We check out a few cafés and restaurants before settling on a Malaysian place, where the food is interesting and the beer delicious. We wander home via a brilliant Irish pub - a small slice of Dublin in the middle of Amsterdam, as far from a theme bar as it's possible to get.

The following morning (i.e. earlier today) we chat over coffee and then take the tram into the centre. After a lengthy queueing session for tickets for the Van Gogh and Gauguin exhibition, we have lunch at Wagamama's. I've never eaten here before, but I'll definitely be checking out its London branch when I get home. Then we head over to the exhibition. People, people everywhere. The exhibition is great, but trying to get close to the paintings is a bit like pitching into a rugby scrum - exhausting. I'll write more about the exhibition some other time - for now, suffice it to say that the comparison between the two artists and the story of their developing relationship is fascinating. We fall out of the museum and into a brown café with a soothing Art Deco / De Stijl interior. We take photographs and stare contentedly into space. Now we're back at the apartment, relaxing before a gig tonight.

I haven't really settled into Amsterdam yet, which is good. I like that feeling of dislocation. I want to know that I'm somewhere different, I don't want to start taking it for granted.

Posted by Hg on Thursday 18 April 2002 at 15:59.
Received 0 comments so far.

http://www.hydragenic.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hydragen/mt/mt-tb.cgi/248

The previous post was Hydragenic is three months old.

The next post is I have laughed so hard.

All original material on this site is © Hydragenic, 2002-2008. Extracts of other people's work are used for the purpose of criticism, review or news reporting, in line with the "fair dealing" (or "fair use") principle.