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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Amsterdam Again

---McDonalds and Albert Heijn are companies that show a small example of how organizations put forth even minuscule effort to reduce waste or gain capital.  McDonalds charges a 50 Euro Cent to use the restroom in every location.  McDonalds in Amsterdam also charges a 50 Euro Cent for a pack of ketchup, fortunate to have those little red packs free here.  While the Big Mac and french fries are the same, the coffee cup sizes are smaller, yet more expensive.  I only wonder if the potatoes, beans and beef are grown in the Netherlands or imported from the United States.  When you go shopping, in most places like the Albert Heijn supermarket, a grocery bag is not included, they charge 25 Euro Cent for the extra plastic bag, you're suppose to bring your own bag.  Again like my first blog on Amsterdam, the city is full of bicycles, once you exit Central Station there is a huge parking garage full of bicycles on the adjacent side.  I love bicycling.  If every car was replaced by a bicycle for local commuting, think of the pollution and need for fossil energy we would conserve.





---Oh! I did not know that the Cannibus Cup 2011 event was being held on the dates of my stay or I would have bought preregistration tickets.  I only fount out through a conversation with visitors who were also rooming in my hotel.  It's okay, I'm not a grower or a pothead.  I simply enjoyed a little Hash, Super Skunk and Amnesia while there.  Pre-rolled, meaning the shop rolls it for you is a bit more expensive than buying it by the gram in bags and you roll it yourself but enjoying it rolled "professionally" is in my opinion as "consumed" better.

Strain: "Amnesia"


---I still hate flying.  Eight hours in flight to and from Amsterdam cramped up in limited body positioning and limited resources in food or nutrition is not something I like.  My last two trips served an on board meal, no matter how small is a nice treat to keep bodily levels up, but this trip did not.  Even my domestic flights like on Jetblue serves a small meal.  I guess it depends on the flight and the airline.  Though the tension, comfort and feel of the people and airline was much better than the atmosphere on Delta and Aeroflot.  It's good to bring a little snack aboard.

The train system is very unorganized.  Each station have no big signs labelling which station you are at.  If you choose to use the Metro instead of a Tram or Taxi, my advise is to get there at least one hour before the anticipated departure because you should not expect to board the very first scheduled train.  For example, if the train expected to board is scheduled to arrive at 12:35, be prepared to board the one at 1:05 because for reasons like being full, complications or missing the station of intent.


---When my train arrived on the Metro station: Central Station from Schiphol Airport, the very first thing I had was a slice at a New York Pizza - The Original, a small pizza chain.  The pizza was pretty good compared to other "pizza" places in Amsterdam and EVEN in New York City.  I went to my hotel and slept a few hours before venturing out.

Naked and Jamba Juice are on my plus list or in the Netherlands: Innocent and Juicy Details are nice little treats for those like me that like my fruit or vegetables in one serving as a variety.  Instead of buying or eating a bag of oranges, green apples, carrots, mangoes individually and finding a way to incorporating ginger and beets in a recipe, I like the prior-like mentioned ways to get my fruit and vegetable portion of the pyramid.  Juicy Detail: 4.50 Euros for a small or a large 5.50 Euros my choice from the Balance menu was a energy and great tasting Mango Mania: lemon, apples, mangoes, and ginger.



This is not a food blog so I won't mention every food related item in Amsterdam.  Dam square was one of the few places I could get a 2.50 small hot dog or higher priced similar Euro priced American/German resembling home/comfort food.  I liked that the carts offered a variety of toppings (like a pickled mix or fried potatoes and whole chili peppers) new to me, including a curry sauce along side the mustard and ketchup.


---Occupy!  Oh My God!  This Occupy idiocy has reach the Netherlands as well, in Dam square there were hundreds of them.  Instead of "Occupy Wall Street", why don't you "ninety nine percent" of the population get dress shirts and ties then organize an event where potential employers might actually consider yourself useful or aim driven. Before doing that, bathe and shave first.


---Everything in Amsterdam is still expensive!


---The only reason there are photos here is because someone asked me to take pictures or I wouldn't have even brought the camera along (which was out for only one day).  I went for personal reasons not as a tourist.  There's more but...


---That's it for now

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