Ok, I've been in the Netherlands. As I told you, for me the 'Netherlands' almost have some magical sound. The 5th of august (Caligula was visiting Poland) I drove with Caligula to the Netherlands. Our trip did not start that nice, because Tomek and I had a bit of a fight before and I also forgot my passport, which made Caligula a bit angry, because after 150 km we had to return. In the evening we were near the Polish border and we spend the night in Paradise... ok, it was a nice evening too, but mainly it was the name of the Motel we were in. It was a bit 'classy' and I felt a bit humiliated by the way the girl at the reception asked to Caligula, with a look on her face as if I had some severe illness, if we wanted a 2 persons or 2 times a 1 persons bed. The next morning we left early and crossed the border early. Well, we did not actually 'cross' it directly, because the customs officer made some problems and wanted to search the whole car. Funny he did not found some 'naughty stuff' I had in my purse ;-P.
Caligula just had a new appartment and there was not much of furniture yet, which gave great accoustics and a very special atmosphere. Two matrasses on the ground are just as effective as a normal bed :). The monday (we were there about two in the afternoon) we spent very nice together.
The next day I went to Amsterdam. With Tamar, an elderly woman I learned to know via the Internet, I visited 'jewish Amsterdam', the house of Anne Frank and the Jewish Historical Museum. It was all very interesting, to learn a bit more about your roots. The house of Anne Frank was at the same moment impressing and depressing. In the evening I wanted to take a look at the Red Light District (Tamar did not go with me) and it was very depressing. Although I think prostitution should be free (as in 'legal' and not as in 'free of charge'), I mainly think of a way the woman chooses for prostitution herself. But most of the girls were clearly from asian and african countries and I doubt if they chose for it themselves. Quite as a coincidence I spoke with an ukrainian girl 'working' over there (I thought she was polish because I heard her talk to a client and thought I recognized the accent, but she proved to be ukrainian, it was hard to talk russian after all these years :)) and she told me it was only partially 'free choice' working there. When I left the 'Red Light District' I felt sick and depressed, so I went to a pub and drank some beer. After the beers I went looking for a coffeeshop and while looking for it I met an american-polish girl. Her polish was almost as bad as my english (in speach), so it was a bit hard to talk, but we decided to go together with her girlfriend, an italian-american girl, to a coffeeshop. Together with her I got very, very stoned and we left to her place. While trying to start some love-making, I had to vomit and she got angy and I had to leave. I almost could not walk (ok, it's not wise to mix alcohol and pot, I know) and some guy (later I heard it was a policeman) asked me if I needed some help. Ok, they called for Caligula and he came for me and was very angry.
The next day I went with Caligula to Rotterdam. I heard from some people that there was a very nice shop with gothic clothes over there and I wanted to take a look. Five hours and many, many guilders later I left the shop with some beautifull dresses and a quite 'pissed of' Caligula. Well, he could know what kind of risk it is to take a girl like me to such a shop. But Caligula also wanted to visit a music shop, so we went. And there I fell in love. The first moment I saw her, I know I had to have her, to touch her, to possess her, no matter to what price. Such a beauty I had never seen before in life. So I asked the salesman about the price of the guitar, almost fainted when I heard it, asked him if I understood it well and bought her. It's I guess one of the most beautifull accoustic guitars which is ever made on earth (ok, Caligula says there is an even more beautifull guitar made by the same company, but I did not see it over there), the Ovation Celebrity CS 265. She also sounds lovely. But afterward we went for some sightseeing. The 'Euromast' and the park below the 'Euromast', places where Caligula once lived, the statue of Zadkine (we had a discussion, according to Caligula the statue was made for Rotterdam and according to me it was made for Warsaw, but because Zadkine was on the 'black list' of artists, the communist gouvernment did not want to have it in Warsaw and so Rotterdam, where the heart was also 'bombed out' got the monument. If someone knows more about it, please mail me) and the nautical museum. Afterward we went for a pizza (I forgot to tell you, we almost every day ate pizza) and went swimming in a tropical swimming pool. Over there I met a polish couple which lives quite close to me. What a coincidence.
When we returned at Caligula's place, I was dressing and undressing my new dresses all the time, while staring at my new guitar. When we wanted to go to 'sleep', and I was already undressed, I picked up the guitar once again and strummed some chords. Then that rat of a Caligula made a picture. I already told him to cut his balls of with an unsharp knife if he shows that picture to anyone. But next morning I had an even better revenge : When he left the shower I made a picture too. And believe me... Caligula who leaves the shower is something he does not want you to see it :-P.
The next day I went to Utrecht to visit some friends I learned to know by the Internet, Marcel, Mirjam and Esther. Marcel and Mirjam are a couple and Esther is the cousin of Mirjam. Marcel and Mirjam recently had a car-crash and because of this, Mirjam is still in a wheelchair and Marcel goes with a stick. At the station they could not find me, but luckily I recognized them (ok, it's easy to recognize a girl in a wheelchair, no big deal). I guess I have to say that those people all three are great (even Esther, who, because of her small size always calls herself 'the little mouse'). They are three completely different people, but in some way they form a kind of 'trinity', an atmosphere which made me feel very warm. I'm also a bit proud that I was the first person outside the family of Esther (ok, it was a coincidence, because she had to tell it to Mirjam and Marcel) that she's pregnant. Even more proud, that I was not allowed to tell it to Caligula (who knows them too). I bought a soft elephant for the baby, for good luck.
We visited some nice historical places in Utrecht. Mirjam is a member of some historical society and she could tell a lot about it. We also planned to go canalbiking, but the weather protested against it. It was a very nice day and I guess I like Utrecht more then Amsterdam (but this opinion is changing all the time in my head).
If you are not dutch, try to pronounce the word. And be sure it's not like the way the dutch pronounce it. In the netherlands they have a kind of black sweets they call 'drop' and really tastes awfull. Caligula said it's good for the throat and that's probably the reason why the dutch eat it, because I cannot imagine that someone can speak the dutch language without having a pain in the throat. All the time they make guttural sounds other people make when they have to vomit (In Amsterdam I had such a moment after to much alcohol and pot).
The name of this city 'Groningen' sounds like someone throwing up his breakfast. Caligula even learned me another name of a city which sounds like someone throwing up a complete diner : 'Gorinchem'. But Friday we went to 'Groningen' and visited some sites there, among them a very modern building of the 'Gasunie' and an even more modern building of the Groningen Museum. We also visited the old city and ate and drank something with some friends of him.
Ok, except for some irrisponsible gutteral sounds, the dutch also have some other things people cannot pronounce. For example 'Harderwijk', especially the ending of it. It resembles the sound females are supposed to make when someone opens the bathroom while taking a bath. Something like 'eek', but different.
Enough about the dutch language. I always liked delphins and other maritime mammals, so this was I guess the best day I had, the saturday. I liked the shows, but what I liked the most was the 'lagune', an underwater panorama on delphins and other maritime mammals. Caligula told me that once sailors believed that delphins are the souls of drowned sailors... If that would be true I would drown myself here and now. I was fascinated by the beauty of those animals, since I never had seen them that close 'life' before me.
In Harderwijk I also got my first lesson 'how to pretend to be dutch'... I had to eat a herring by holding it by the tail and let it 'slip' into my mouth. I saw people doing it, so it's actually possible, but I could not... every time I tried I had to laugh that much, that people started looking at me. I guess I'm not serious enough to be dutch :)
Sunday night I had to return, so we spent the sunday at home to 'rest'. Well, forget about the 'resting'. When I entered the bathroom in the morning Caligula thought I wanted to make another picture and started spraying with the shower to me, so we started 'fighting' a bit (it's good that he still did not have to much furniture) and I lost, so I got 'punished'...
In the evening I left, leaving my 'old' guitar in the Netherlands, but taking my beautyfull new one with me. (BTW, the old one will be sent to me, so I did not discard him). When I arrived in Poland I was very happy that Tomek was not that angry at me anymore.