Hit the ground fiddling

Well I haven't actually done any fiddling yet while in Amsterdam. I did at the Winnipeg airport while waiting for my flight to Chicago to leave. First I just want to mention how much I like Chicago. On arriving at the O'Hare airport I was hit by the smell of good food. There was an atmosphere of good will and relaxation. Rhapsody in Blue was playing on some hidden intercom as I made my way to Terminal 1 from Terminal 2. Art by high school kids hung in the beautiful pedestrian pedway. But then on to Amsterdam.

This city is really crowded. You can't stop to take pictures without someone herding you along. Not at all like the barren Portage Avenue of Winnipeg. Getting here, I caught the Amsterdam Central train at platform 1 at the Schipol airport. Only costs 3.70E. Then walked from the station down the main drag to Kerkstraat - bad move. No. 25 was closer to the station than I thought. Got a good workout lugging fiddle and pack but found the Amsterdam Downtown Hotel. Nice place, friendly staff person who offered me coffee and said I could leave my stuff there until check-in time at 3pm. It's now 1:45pm (about 6:45am in Winnipeg) and I am to meet Rien at the train station at 2:30pm. So excited to see two of my Camino friends again!

 

Other things of note: there's a busker in the square in front of the palace: Spanish guitar with amp - he's amazing. Madame Tussaud's has huge line-ups. It's a wet cold here: 0 degrees but bitter cold.

Out of time!